Let's get this out of the way

[erikred]

According to Talking Points Memo, Newsweek recently said:

"Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco seemed uncertain and sluggish, hesitant to declare martial law or a state of emergency, which would have opened the door to more Pentagon help."

Let's nip this in the bud. Blanco proclaimed a state of emergency on August 26, when the hurricane was about to hit, to extend to September 25.

So, if you catch someone at the watercooler saying that the reason the Feds reacted slowly is because Blanco didn't declare a state of emergency, print out the declaration and slap them with it.

Comments

[therobbergirl.livejournal.com]

I wonder if the confusion is stemming from the mayor's declaration of a mandatory evacuation on August 28. According to this article, Bush "personally appealed" to the governor to get a mandatory evacuation underway. The usage of such language (personally appealed) has been common in reporting of the actions (or inactions) of all bureaucrats involved. This language combined with the two dates may be contributing to the problem. When I heard of the state of emergency, for example, I assumed that a mandatory evacuation was simply one part of the state of emergency declaration. Had you not made your post, I wouldn't have read the declaration and would still think that the two elements (state of emergency, mandatory evacuation) came from the same declaration.