When Katrina made landfall, John McCain was cutting a birthday cake with George W. Bush.

Back in 2004, an 11-page memo to Michael Brown, former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, described response teams that were not prepared and were getting  zero funding for training, exercise or team equipment.

The national responders  provide the only practical, expeditious option for the (FEMA) director to field a cohesive team of his best people to handle the next big one, wrote William Carwile, who was FEMA s federal coordinating officer.

As for the plans that response teams use during an emergency, Carwile wrote:  Revision should be a priority since not one word of response doctrine … has been published in over two years.

Carwile told Senate aides in a meeting this week that his memo largely was ignored at FEMA s headquarters, as were four budget requests over an 18-month period for money for the teams. He said each team needed about $1.2 million for training and equipment, according to an aide who attended the meeting.

Amid the chaos and confusion that engulfed New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina struck, a congressman used National Guard troops to check on his property and rescue his personal belongings  even while New Orleans residents were trying to get rescued from rooftops, ABC News has learned.

On Sept. 2  five days after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast  Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., who represents New Orleans and is a senior member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, was allowed through the military blockades set up around the city to reach the Superdome, where thousands of evacuees had been taken.

I am a post-9/11 conservative who voted for the President to do a job that the Democrats and Kerry could not (or would not) do. At this point, I have zero faith in the Republican Party at the federal level to accomplish anything to make our cities safe. It appears that there has been pretty much nothing done in the way of planning for emergencies since 9/11.

In only 4 days New Orleans descended into chaos over a hurricane we had advance warning about. What in God’s name will we do when we get attacked by terrorists the next time?

Hurricane Katrina is expected to cause a spurt of bankruptcy filings by storm victims — and sweeping changes in U.S. bankruptcy laws may leave them even more strapped than they otherwise might be.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, which takes effect Oct. 17, includes a slew of rules and restrictions intended to curb abuse. These are expected to make it harder for individuals to file to keep creditors away, and more difficult for businesses to reorganize.

But the law wasn’t directed at people who file because of catastrophes such as Katrina, in which people lost homes, businesses and perhaps months of regular paychecks. Katrina has caused widespread devastation in Louisiana and Mississippi and left New Orleans, population 462,269, virtually uninhabitable.

“People who are seriously affected by this hurricane are not going to be able to file bankruptcy by October 17,” said Henry Sommer, co-editor of “Collier on Bankruptcy,” a leading reference work. “They have more pressing things in their lives, like survival.”

UPDATE: Via Lis, we see that the House Dems have legislation to exempt Katrina victims from this legislation. Anyone who votes against it is scum.

“New Orleans hospital halts patient evacuations after coming under sniper fire, a doctor who witnessed the incident says.” — CNN

McClellan Misleads on  Early Emergency Declaration

“Fights and fires broke out, corpses lay out in the open, and rescue helicopters and law enforcement officers were shot at as flood-stricken New Orleans slipped toward anarchy Thursday. “This is a desperate SOS,” the mayor said.

Anger mounted across the city as thousands of storm victims grew increasingly hungry, desperate and tired of waiting for buses to take them out.” — AP

UPDATE: Dennis Hastert says it “doesn’t make sense” to rebuild New Orleans. What the eff is wrong with these people?

UPDATE 2: MoveOn is matching people up for Hurricane Housing.

Hurricane Katrina destroyed thousands of lives. Together, we’re trying to raise $1 million and prove that the liberal blogosphere can and help our fellow citizens in need. Donate Now.