by Last Night in Little Rock

AOL users: AOL has a 3:19 video clip from CNN that I could not find on CNN's website entitled Chertoff Fact Check. It has video clips of the various positions taken by DHS Secretary Chertoff and FEMA Director Michael Brown before and after Katrina struck where they are caught, shall we say, flip flopping? Some would say flip flopping, but I'm going to say lying to CYA, forgetting that everything a public official says or does is on videotape.

They deny that this scenario could occur, yet they studied this specific scenario months before Katrina struck, etc. The list painfully goes on forever, and we don't have to recount it any more. CNN.com also has a story Clinton: Government 'failed' people with a video link.

If we can find "Chertoff Fact Check" on CNN's website, we will post it here as an update.

The LA Times:

In the chaos that was Causeway Boulevard, this group of refugees stood out: a 6-year-old boy walking down the road, holding a 5-month-old, surrounded by five toddlers who followed him around as if he were their leader.

They were holding hands. Three of the children were about 2 years old, and one was wearing only diapers. A 3-year-old girl, who wore colorful barrettes on the ends of her braids, had her 14-month-old brother in tow. The 6-year-old spoke for all of them, and he told rescuers his name was Deamonte Love.

Not everyone has praise for New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. Law Prof Michael Froomkin at Discourse Net says, "Long before FEMA dropped the ball, local authorities decided they didn't need one." [hat tip to Making Light.]

NBC's Brian Williams blogs about the official warning on Sunday, August 28 from NOAA. [Via Atrios]

I remember it well, since TalkLeft and several other bloggers posted it that night. Here it is again:

Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks...perhaps longer. At least one half of well constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail...leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed.

The majority of industrial buildings will become non functional. Partial to complete wall and roof failure is expected. All wood framed low rising apartment buildings will be destroyed. Concrete block low rise apartments will sustain major damage...including some wall and roof failure. High rise office and apartment buildings will sway dangerously...a few to the point of total collapse. All windows will blow out.

by TChris

Thousands of people (perhaps as many as 10,000) have died in New Orleans. Frustrated by the Bush administration's strategy to blame state and local governments for the failure to save more lives in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Sen. Mary Landrieu is ready to lace up the boxing gloves:

Underscoring the strain of the disaster, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., lashed out at federal officials who she said have denigrated local efforts to deal with the catastrophe.

"If one person criticizes them or says one more thing, including the president of the United States, he will hear from me," she said on ABC's "This Week."

"One more word about it after this show airs and I might likely have to punch him. Literally."

For your afternoon reading:

• Bob Herbert, A Failure of Leadership

• Why Fema Was Missing In Action

• Rescuers Going Door to Door Met With Silence and Stubborness

BBC is reporting that thousands of residents are returning to New Orleans to inspect the damage to their homes and pick up belongings before leaving again. Authorites warn against staying too long, saying the city has been destroyed:

The Superintendent of the New Orleans police department, Eddie Compass, has warned people remaining in the city to leave. "Our officers are basically telling people there is absolutely no reason to stay here... We advise people that this city has been destroyed."

More than 1 million people have been displaced by the hurricane.

In related news, Bush has cleared his calendar for September to focus on Katrina-related issues. And it looks like Congressional hearings into what went wrong may begin this week. President Bush may become the "lamest of lame ducks."

Raw Story has an advance copy of the Senate Democrats' press release regarding their Katrina Relief Plan to be issued tomorrow.

From appellate whiz Peter Goldberger (in the TL commments):

Justice O'Connor does not "have to stay for awhile"; she can supersede her conditional resignation letter with an unconditional retirement. I believe this is likely, given the motivation for her leaving the Court, which is to devote her primary attention to her ailing husband. I predict that she will announce her immediate retirement soon after Rehnquist's funeral.

It is important to understand that "Chief Justice of the United States" (not "Chief Justice of the Supreme Court," as Bush mistakenly stated this morning) is a separate office. Roberts is no longer proposed to replace O'Connor; his nomination to that position has effectively been withdrawn....

For the re-opened vacancy for an Associate Justice, I bet Bush picks a highly "conservative" jurist who is Hispanic (if he can find a Protestant -- gotta watch that base; Roberts is, what, a third Catholic on the Court? Further proof that real Christians are being discriminated against, right Pat?) and/or female.

Senator Edward Kennedy responds to President Bush's elevation of John Roberts nomination from Justice to Chief Justice(received by e-mail):

.....Only 17 Americans have held this position since the birth of our country. The Chief Justice is the most important judge in the country, with even more responsibility for the protection of the rights and freedoms of all Americans. Thus John Roberts bears a heavier burden when he comes before the Senate. The Chief Justice must be committed to moving America forward toward equality, opportunity and fairness for all Americans.

Our review of even the limited available parts of his record has raised serious concerns about his role in the early 1980's in seeking to weaken voting rights, roll back women's rights, and impede our progress toward a more equal nation. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, which were due to begin this week, were the opportunity for the Senate and the American people to hear from John Roberts about those extreme views and explain his position on these and many other vital issues facing the country.

by Last Night in Little Rock

President Bush just nominated John Roberts, age 50, to be appointed Chief Justice.

Justice O'Connor will have to stay for a while since her retirement was dependent on confirming a replacement.

CNN is reporting right now that it takes worrying about Rehnquist's and O'Connor's replacements "off the table" while the President deals with Katrina.

Update: (TL) The New York Times reports that the hearings will be delayed until Thursday at the earliest, and perhaps until Monday.

by Last Night in Little Rock

Soledad O'Brien of CNN reports talking to National Guard medics who were moved by their experiences in NOLA:

We talked to men and women, some of whom have been in the military for decades, some who are new. All expressed how horrific it is. We sat down and talked to a medic who, with two colleagues, treated literally thousands of people today as they filed out of the Superdome.

This medic has been to Baghdad and seen people decapitated. But he said this is so much worse because it is so disorganized and because it is on American soil. His official orders said to prepare for 20 percent of the people he treats to not make it. They didn't lose anyone today. They showed true heroism.