La. governor outraged over faulty pumps »
Posted by: JamesMarcus 1 year, 5 months ago129 Comments Report this Story
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco lashed out at the Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday for installing defective pumps at three major drainage canals just before the start of last summer's hurricane season. "This could put a lot of our people in jeopardy," Blanco said. "It begs the question: Are we really safe?"
Read Full Story at news.yahoo.com
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Comments So Far: 129
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fsev411 year, 5 months ago
Absolutely amazing. The Bush family even has its fingerprints on this fraud. Don't ya just wonder how they're able to sleep at night.
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DanmLiberals1 year, 5 months ago
FIrst the Article stated that Jeb "WAS" and I stress "WAS" a partner in the business but isn't apartner anymore. I bet you were so busy foaming at the mouth trying to pin everything on Bush, that you missed the part that said, " The system is working better than it ever was." Good job Bush for finally fixing these things and doing something right. I give credit where credit is do.
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disraeli1 year, 5 months ago
Your citation from the article, a quote by the current hurricane recovery boss that "The system is working better than it ever was" completely misses the point. The pumps in question were not needed and were not used because the hurricane season was mild. There is no indication in the article that the defective pumps have been replaced or repaired. There is absolutely nothing in the article that would indicate that these pumps would perform if they were required now.
Why is it that your close and precise reading of the article stopped after your defense of the Bush family's integrity was complete and lapsed into out of context quotations with respect to whether the pumps work or not.
As it is the article says that the Army Corp and the pump supplier are "still struggling to get the 34 pumps working properly" - that sounds a little different than "working better than ever".
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ramblingwreck1 year, 5 months ago
Perhaps you should reread the article. The article does not state that any member of the Bush family is connected to the company that produced these defective pumps; rather that Jeb Bush WAS a business partner of the father at one time in the past.
"The U.S. Justice Department sued MWI in 2002, accusing it of fraudulently helping Nigeria obtain $74 million in taxpayer-backed loans for overpriced and unnecessary water-pump equipment."
This is the only "Bush family fingerprints" that I could find in relation to this company since Bush was Pres. in 2002. So, I suspect that Bush and family sleep quite well thank you.
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insideoutgraphics1 year, 5 months ago
Jeb Bush business dealings, as reported by the St.Pete times provides an indepth article concerning Jeb's jobs prior to becoming Gov. of Fl.
http://www.sptimes.com/State/92098/Make_The_Money_
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bobo-in-texas1 year, 5 months ago
"The system is working better than it ever was"
The local and state elected officials are responsible for this type of thing. The fact that the system is now better only highlights the sad state of LA and NO leadership. The "outrage" from the Governor is no doubt related to the lack of cash flowing her way.
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invest071 year, 5 months ago
That d*mn George Bush! He is responsible for everything that is wrong in the world.
He causes hurricanes and Tsunamis.
He nominates the wrong Supreme Court Justices. He actually had the gall to lower taxes.
Clearly he is the reincarnation of Hitler and Satan himself, all in one smily package.
He must have something to do with my jock itch.
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NemoShiZniTComment removed: User banned.3 Replies
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ramblingwreck1 year, 5 months ago
I also find it interesting that the La. Governor has been outraged at practically everyone conected to the Katrina disaster except herself. I would think her incompetence was worthy of some outrage also.
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Silverghost1 year, 5 months ago
Good, even-balanced post, Dave! Too bad Yahoo had to put such a political spin on this. But then, they are yahoos.
A little better reporting was done by the NY Times on the same issue: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,159
The pumps were a rush job, were custom-designed, & can be fixed. The LA Governor seems to like yelling, more than seeking solutions. -Rev. S
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nostalgia1 year, 5 months ago
Bayou Buzz 3/12/07
"Today, New Orleans has suffered through at least 40 murders, 31 since the march on City Hall (2 months ago). The city is averaging more than one murder every other day, on track to exceed last year's high murder rate, which was five times the national average for a city the size of New Orleans."
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crazibrunette71 year, 5 months ago
first of all, my city is not trash. how dare you sit there & criticize it. you do not live here. on tv, all you see is the bad things the media shows you. & so, you decide how you hate the city & wish for it to be wiped away. if you lived here, you'd understand. go get a life.
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B1BLancer1 year, 5 months ago
What I understand is NO deserved exactly what it got. Don't blame Bush because you decided to live in a city that's below sea level.
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Hamlet1 year, 5 months ago
virtually all the 16 million residents of the Netherlands live below sea level. About 1/2 the land mass of the country is reclaimed land. The last major flood caused by breached dikes was c. 60 years ago. 100s died and it was never forgotten. The famous Delta works (watch your Discovery channel) was one of the results.
They are extremely careful about building & maintaining the dike, pump, and levee systems - there is a whole government ministery devoted to it. Pretty close to 0 corruption.
Why?
Life matters to the Dutch? They feel a collective responsibility? Because politicians also live below sea level? Because it is cheaper to do it right?
NO was a man-made disaster made of many mistakes, short-comings, short-cuts, & short-sightedness. Many of the worst and most crucial happened under the present government - remember the levee system is a federally financed project, not a state one.
In Holland, 39 pumps that don't function aren't pumps at all. They are a flood.
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invest071 year, 5 months ago
Ms Blanco,
Nobody gives a rat's patoot what you think.
Before Katrina hit, you decided not to declare LA a disaster area even though W suggested you do so. If you had, there were 12,000 National Guard ready to assist. My guess is that some of them might have had driver licenses and could have driven some of Ray Nagin's 2000 school buses.
Some could have patrolled NO after the local police abandoned ship. Some could have assisted with order in the Superdome (which you didn't do).
In FLA in 2004 we were hit by 4 storms in a row and nobody from FLA cried like you have.
I have a suggestion for you if you are not satisfied with the job done:
DO IT YOURSELF!!!!!
This is a local problem and not of national concern.
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JustCallMeV1 year, 5 months ago
That sums it up! The Governor failed the people. She and other LA politicians, have been playing roulette for decades, hoping that disaster would not happen while they were in office. All the while, stealing from the citizens of the Great State of Louisiana.
Now, "crapping out", they point their fingers to everyone for their failures; except the person in the mirror. This is not to say that the federal government is not at some fault, but it is the responsibility and duty - under oath - for the state government to care for its people. If not, why have one?
-V-
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ABANOCLA1 year, 5 months ago
Lousiana installed a defective Governor and reinstalled a defective mayor in New orleans, why not defective pumps...the corp wanted to fix stuff back in the 90's and were sued by environmentalists and were stopped....sure don't hear people blaming the mess on tree huggers
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B1BLancer1 year, 5 months ago
Too bad Nagin and Blanco weren't outraged enough to use the hundreds of school buses right there in their own yard to get people out, despite the personal calls from the director of the NHC made to both of them to make sure they knew exactly what was coming.
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vulcan201 year, 5 months ago
If you love N.O. fine You support your city yourself, Do not expect the rest of us to.
I would compare that to me wanting to live in a high maintence
mansion with a 20 acre lawn and expect the rest of the taxpayers to keep the place up and take care of it.
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m-simon1 year, 5 months ago
Same number of murders per month 1/2 the population. A police force 85% of its former size. Do the math.
The murder rate in NO was 5X the national avgerge for a city its size. So it is now up to 10X.
What it probably is is a drug gang turf war to divide up the remaining customers. Prohibition is working.
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m-simon1 year, 5 months ago
First you clean out the corruption. Then send the money. In reasonable amounts.
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nostalgia1 year, 5 months ago
January 2007
More Woes: New Orleans Sliding into the Gulf
A new report by scientists studying Louisiana's sinking coast says the land here is not just sinking, it's sliding ever so slowly into the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.livescience.com/environment/070102_slid
How do you save a city that is sinking and sliding?
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nostalgia1 year, 5 months ago
Unfortinately protecting the city of NO with levees has actually destroyed wetlands
"The flows through Bayou La Fourche have been essentially eliminated, and practically all of the flows over and through the natural levees have ceased as a result of levee construction for flood protection. Thus, the supply of sediments that formerly spilled over the banks along the length of the river has been all but eliminated. Similarly, the river now discharges most of its sediment load into deep water rather than depositing it where it can offset the effects of relative sea level rise. This has had a significant negative impact on the barrier islands and wetlands."
http://www.nae.edu/NAE/bridgecom.nsf/weblinks/MKEZ
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royal-m1 year, 5 months ago
Contractors with inferior products to sell making contributions and outright bribes to get a project they probably don't have the skill or manpower to pull off and people in a difficult situation suffering because of it
hmmmm Where have we heard that before ...hmmmmmmmmm Maybe they'll move to Dubai and call anybody who questions it ignorant or unpatriotic
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fotoman11334061 year, 5 months ago
Guys,
What's important...the GOD money. People don't matter; just the "fat cats" padding their pockets. Again and again.
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evelyna1 year, 5 months ago
Did Jeb used to be a partner like Cheyney used to be a ceo of halburton?
Maybe both can say again "Mistakes were made."
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jordan111 year, 5 months ago
despite warnings from one of its experts that the machinery was defective and likely to fail in a storm.>>>>>
I won't respond to anyone who excuses this crap. We're broken. Those who don't see it, are so GD stupid that NOTHING will get through to them Best to just leave them lie in their ignorance, and find some way to get control of this.
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MacR1 year, 5 months ago
{{Ms Blanco,
Nobody gives a rat's patoot what you think.
Before Katrina hit, you decided not to declare LA a disaster area even though W suggested you do so. If you had, there were 12,000 National Guard ready to assist. My guess is that some of them might have had driver licenses and could have driven some of Ray Nagin's 2000 school buses.
Some could have patrolled NO after the local police abandoned ship. Some could have assisted with order in the Superdome (which you didn't do).
In FLA in 2004 we were hit by 4 storms in a row and nobody from FLA cried like you have.
I have a suggestion for you if you are not satisfied with the job done:
DO IT YOURSELF!!!!!
This is a local problem and not of national concern.}}
I just had to type this all over again for invest07. Seems like at least you understand what others have said in the past about this.
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insideoutgraphics1 year, 5 months ago
MacR, I'm from the area hit in Fl. and 2 years after, people still had blue tarps for roofs. The place was a disaster for a very long time. I have so much film footage during and up 2 years after to prove how slow recovery was in many areas.
But Florida's saving grace was that it was election year. And when the Govenor's brother is running for Pres. you can bet it had an effect on clean up in Fl. But still, areas most hard hit were slow to recover as evidenced by towns dressed in blue tarps,mold,rubbish,rip off contractors, Insurance companies that made it difficult for many,and in some cases,it depended on your race wether you were to recieve redcross vouchers to a department store or to Salvation army.The red tape was horrendous.Poorer areas did not receive the quick results that neighboring wealthier towns did.
Jeb Bush made certain that those in wealthy districts received funding and they were not even hit. Unless you live here, and went through it, please don't generalize.
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invest071 year, 5 months ago
I saw blue tarps for months after the storms. My neighborhood was directly in the eye of Charley and was hit 2 more times dead-on within the next 4 weeks.
After the wind quieted down, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work fixing the damage. We bought chain saws and bundles of roofing shingles and plywood and fixed everything that was wrong. No federal dollars. No FEMA. No blaming the Prez. We paid our insurance deductibles and now my neighborhood is back to normal.
We didn't expect anyone to bail us out. We did it ourselves.
So why do we (as US taxpayers) have to bail out LA and NO?.
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