Monthly Archives: September 2005

A Total Disaster

Posted on September 2, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Mostly just links, because I’m too depressed and horrified to do anything more.

Hell on Earth

It’s really bad in the Superdome.
Much worse than they dare show on TV (OK, how much spine do you expect them to grow in a week?)
Life is even tough at the Ritz

The situation is so bad that the Press has grown a spine, however temporary:

On NPR: Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff wasn’t aware there were people in the Superdome without food or water.
I heard a similar thing on NBC-TV (which can be heard on the radio in Miami): First they summarized a Chertoff statement saying that the administration would be stepping up efforts to evacuate everyone from the Superdome, but these efforts were being hampered by more people turning up. It would be better, he said, if people would go to the many other areas in the city where food and water were being provided. Then NBC went to its man on the ground, who said, (1) that there were no communications in N.O. so that no one would get any of the messages from Chertoff or Bush or anyone else; (2) there were no public officials telling anyone anything; (3) he’d driven “all over town” and he hadn’t seen any sign of any attempt to communicate to the public what it should do, and (4) on those drives all day he had not seen any sign of a single of Chertoff’s supposed areas where people should go, nor of the food and water. If they were there — and it was pretty clear he didn’t believe a word of it — they were not visible to anyone.
CNN has a spine — see the video in which Sen. Landrieu mouths platitudes and gets clobbered for it by a reporter who’s just seen reality.
My brother has had a spine for some time, but it’s nice to see that recognized.

FEMA follies

FEMA web site suggests best place charity money should go is … Pat Robertson.
FEMA brass not picked for what they knew, but rather who
They were simply unprepared. And the diversion of resources to the Iraq war is a substantial part of the story.

Ugly talk by people who should know better

Shoot on sight
Bush administration tries out a blaming the victims meme

People who do know better

Don’t shoot on sight
Eric Muller
A suggestion that we adopt the ‘Dunkirk Model’
First thoughts on the economic costs: we’re poorer now (The actual broadcast version was better than this blogged version)

The root cause of the problem

Posted in Unspeakably Awful (Katrina) | 5 Comments

Helping Out (Law School Edition)

Posted on September 1, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

Eric Muller writes,

I have set up blogs for the Loyola-New Orleans and Tulane Law School
communities to use over the coming days and (if necessary) weeks and
months. The idea is to give the communities a message board — a
place to post information of common interest that community members
can access (as they are able). People can post to the blogs by
emailing me at the below addresses, or by phoning me at (919)
962-7067 and leaving a message with the content of what they’d like
posted.

For Tulane:
URL = http://www.isthatlegal.org/tulanelaw
email (for posts) = tulanelaw@isthatlegal.org

For Loyola-New Orleans:
URL = http://www.isthatlegal.org/loyno
email (for posts) = loyno@isthatlegal.org

And the IT director at Tulane writes an open letter saying,

We appreciate the efforts of all of you to assist those of us at Tulane Law
School as we put in place methods to communicate with one another.

Our efforts will be helped immensely if all were to put links directing
people to the “official” Tulane Law School website, which is being hosted
and co-developed by our colleagues at Emory:

http://tulane.law.emory.edu

Meanwhile, from the lawprof mailing list I learn that law schools around the country are making arrangements with the deans of the affected schools to take on their law students, for as long or short as they need it. Indeed, our associate dean sent a note around that we’ve taken on a few who had taken refuge with relatives in the Miami area. And one turned up in class this morning, looking a little shell shocked, as well one might.

And, Billmon posts a great list of charities

Posted in Law School | 1 Comment

American Nero

Posted on September 1, 2005 by Michael Froomkin

It’s going to sweep the country.

because of the reaction to this picture taken Tuesday while the nation’s largest modern disaster unfolded in the face of a rather underwhelming federal response: