The SECRET COUNTING of the Gulf Coast Dead

[Land Shark]

How much more do i need to say?

Media sent home. A few days later, an order says some can get back in, but before they are in, we learn that the Election result, I mean the death toll, is much BTE (Better Than Expected). And if you question the secrecy, out come the dark and cynical conspiracist attacks.

Shave here, shave there, benefit of the doubt to low numbers. If in doubt, it was death by natural causes. Or cause undetermined. Anything but Katrina. If anybody questions it, "they weren't there" when the "tough call" was made and in any event don't have any real data or analysis to contradict the official toll.

Better Position: As with elections, there's NO BASIS FOR CONFIDENCE in the death toll when data (unfortunately, dead bodies are the "data" here) and analysis are kept secret from the public.

Better than expected. All's well that ends well, hey?

[mattclearing]

1. Great post.

You are exactly right. When they kick the media out, there is no basis for confidence in their rosy estimates.

[Land Shark]

2. Unlike saying 'the real death toll is higher', NO BASIS for Confidence

is a rock solid scientific position. the Basis of a response, of course, is simply FAITH in the 'authorities'

OHMYGOD! NOW the REAL issue is right out in the open!! Faith in the AUTHORITIES after five days of outrage and all this?

NO BASIS for confidence not only provides a strong position, it also outs the central issue, no faith in the Bush govts response to the disaster even when the entire world's television cameras are focused on it.

[whatever4]

4. Echo that

The estimates are predicted to be lower with no basis at all, save some talk about finding fewer dead in their homes, just a few days into the process of looking.

this is all just too horrible sometimes.

[papau]

3. When'll media report truth in the USA?FEMA rules in National Response Plan

seems forgotten.

The December 2004 National Response Plan (NRP), the federal Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) most recent plan for coordinated federal response to disasters http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRP_FullText.pdf , confirms the Red Cross' status as a "primary agency" http://mediamatters.org/items/200509090002#establishes
that will, under the oversight of FEMA and DHS, coordinate "federal mass care resources" to affected areas. Moreover, in a "catastrophic event," such as what befell New Orleans, the NRP directs FEMA http://mediamatters.org/items/200509090002#directs
to act on its own authority to quickly provide assistance and conduct emergency operations, bypassing state and local authorities if necessary.

And our uniform media responce is to put "some blame" on local and State officials, and on those workers that fled NO rather than stay at Hospitals or on the police watch as their homes were washed away?

When Knight-Rider, Fox, and the Bush Administration are not singing the same tune, let me know. Till then, our media sucks IMHO.

[Land Shark]

5. Just go to homeland security's main page to see that their mission

is 'primary jurisdiction' in the event of a terrorist attack or 'natural disaster.' http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp

Federal supremacy clause means federal law trumps inconsistent state law. Federal emergency declared by bush prior to the storm making landfall, August 26 and 27 to be precise.

case closed as to federal role being predominant, even as they cooperate (coordinate) state and local efforts.

[papau]

9. True - funny how our media can not read the "FEMA home page".

:-(

From your post: "Just go to homeland security's main page to see that their mission is 'primary jurisdiction' in the event of a terrorist attack or 'natural disaster.' http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp

Federal supremacy clause means federal law trumps inconsistent state law. Federal emergency declared by bush prior to the storm making landfall, August 26 and 27 to be precise.

case closed as to federal role being predominant, even as they cooperate (coordinate) state and local efforts.


Friday, August 26
∙ GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA:

∙ GULF COAST STATES REQUEST TROOP ASSISTANCE FROM PENTAGON: At a 9/1 press conference, Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, commander, Joint Task Force Katrina, said that the Gulf States began the process of requesting additional forces on Friday, 8/26.

Saturday, August 27
∙ 5AM — KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE
∙ GOV. BLANCO ASKS BUSH TO DECLARE FEDERAL STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA:
∙ FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARED, DHS AND FEMA GIVEN FULL AUTHORITY TO RESPOND TO KATRINA:"

[SmokingJacket]

6. Though I think you're right, I think the real numbers probably ARE

lower than expected. Because people generally aim high with projections, so that when the final numbers come out, there're be a sense of relief rather than anger and confusion.

9-11 numbers were lower than expected, too, if you remember -- not because it wasn't a terrible disaster, but because estimates tend to be high.

Utimately, it's a freaking TRAVESTY that the count is not being conducted in an open, well-documented way, so we can have a sense of TRUST about what the reality is.

"Conspiracy theories" happen when governments are secretive, as well as when there are real conspiracies.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

7. Dead right on (no pun intended)

Yesterday, I was stunned when an 86-year-old friend of ours, a remarkable kneejerk liberal artist with the soul and conscience we should all someday hope to have, said that she was certain the government would retrieve bodies and immediately - and secretly - dispose of them, just to keep the death count "respectable."

She's right, of course. Suddenly, there's this remarkable sanguinity that there are "not that many deaths."

Liars. They're vile, scheming liars who define their own reality.

When - tell me, please - when will any of this stick to GWB and his thugs? When will they be held accountable? When will someone call them on their "blame game" bullshit, and demand someone take responsibility and tell the truth?

All we've got so far is The Daily Show.

[jlseagull]

11. I wonder about the fires that broke out after FEMA came in.

Could those have been for burning the bodies?

[Land Shark]

16. the absence of evidence is created by them, make sure they suffer the

consequences for that secrecy by saying that there's NO BASIS for confidence or belief in ANYTHING they say, given the secrecy they've created.

Alternatively, if you instead posit that they are burning bodies, YOU'VE GOT NO EVIDENCE OF IT (i assume) because of secrecy, and now YOU ARE SUFFERING the consequences of secrecy === no evidence.

Don't let the secrecy problem boomerang on you without consciously pointing out that there's no basis for confidence in what the secrecy-creators say, and then you can tentatively identify possibilities (if you wish)

[elehhhhna]

8. They'll be ressurected as Reep Voters in '06. Bank on it.

[GuvWurld]

10. Kicked / Nominated / Amen-ed / Period / EOM

[understandinglife]

12. Exactly. We have "NO BASIS FOR CONFIDENCE" in anything ...

... our current government says. NONE.

And, neither does any head of state in any other government.

Will be interesting to see how Bush is handled at the UN on Wed.

We also have "NO BASIS FOR CONFIDENCE" in our media.

So, what to do.

Given that we know the above to be true, it is our responsibility to look no further than ourselves for the answer.

We need to become our government, just as we need to become our media.

We have a Constitution and a Bill of Rights and the internet.

It's time we made the best use possible of all three.


Peace.

[Amaryllis]

13. Land Shark's brilliantly perceptive mind cuts to the chase once again...

[FogerRox]

14. what did the Gators have for lunch?

[Land Shark]

15. and the EPA is withholding any and all data on NO contaminants...

see the press release, at

http://www.sej.org/foia/index5.htm
(september 6, 8 and 12 releases)

[Time for change]

17. I would say that this is truly shocking --

except that nothing this Administration did would shock me -- unless it was good.

You are certainly correct that there is NO BASIS FOR CONFIDENCE in anything that we hear from this Administration.

I can't understand how they can get away with kicking out the press from an event like this. What happened to the 1st Amendment to our Constitution? Is that gone forever unless and until our election system is fixed and we get a decent President back in Washington?

[Land Shark]

20. yeah, CNN supposedly got an order based on the 1st Amendment

but not until all had been kicked out; don't know how many will fly back to try to get back in

[EC]

18. I think it was yesterday I read that in one old folks home

there were 134 dead, but only 20 listed dead from the disaster, the others died of "other" causes, so they weren't being counted in the "official" count...

[Amaryllis]

24. Umm...isn't this the same counting method they use in Iraq?

[Land Shark]

25. Do you mean the counting method that goes like this:

Hup two three four, one two three four, hup two three four, one two three four...

SOund off, one two, sound off, three four, sound off one two one two, three four!

(hard to get above four, and it seems to be a rare day we have more than four casualties...)

[Jamastiene]

19. That's because they know a lot of the deaths were not due to Katrina but

their own sorriness.

[BushSpeak]

21. Bush's Texas cronies (SCI) gets the bid to count the bodies

Talking Points Memo has been following the disaster profiteering fairly closely.

Not only do Bush's cronies from Texas the lucrative contract, which the National Funeral Directors Association was willing to do on a voluntary basis, but they're also in charge of counting the bodies.


"FEMA has hired Kenyon Worldwide Disaster Management, a Houston-based company which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Service Corporation International (SCI), another Houston-based corporation, which bills itself as the "dominant leader in the North American death care industry."

SCI is not only closely associated with the president (which is not surprising since the company is based in Houston), they were also at the center of what is probably the best-known scandal during Bush's six years as governor of Texas: the so-called 'funeralgate' case."

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_09_04.php#006496">Talking Points Memo

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/08/20/timeline/">The funeral scandal time line

[Bill Bored]

22. Maybe they can just have Diebold count them. nt

[Angry Girl]

23. hehe! that's pretty funny!

Nightweed's Hurricane Katrina Aid Organizations

[texpatriot2004]

26. Today I put on my VOTE OR DIE t-shirt for the first time since

November 2004 or before...THE VOTE IS SACRED you know, kind of like the dead.

[Land Shark]

27. SACRED: yes, so how do you feel about them making sacred votes and bodies

DISAPPEAR? It brings them outside our ability to honor

[stickdog]

28. Indeed. They won't even be given the respect of being COUNTED

since they obviously don't count to this no-account administration.

[Land Shark]

29. no public count kind of goes with no public accountability, i guess

[Carolab]

30. As Jesse Jackson said tonight on Tucker's show, more died from abandonment

than from the actual flood, in all likelihood. He said it walks the line between inhumane and criminal.