Links as of 9/4:

Ask and you shall receive. It's just a matter of wanting to be informed, really.

"Why didn't people just evacuate?"
This is why, in a nutshell. throwingstardna dedicated a post to this specific topic. Furthermore, to quote thebratqueen, "This is not about wanting to leave but being able to leave. This also includes those who were elderly or sick..." (If you have more to add to this, please post it in comments.)

"What more could the government have done to prepare?"
thebitingfaery passes along info about how hurricanes were handled under other administrations, vs how Katrina was handled by the Bush administration. Other links on my "Katrina" tag show how Louisiana politicians repeatedly tried to get funding to bolster the levee, but were repeatedly turned down because the Bush administration had earmarked those funds for Iraq.

Also, just because I have to say it: it is not enough to say "I'm sure they (whomever "they" may be, in context) have it under control." Reporters lashing out at their home stations and politicians have proven that. Firsthand accounts have proven that. You can't just listen to the sound bytes and think that it's okay. Want proof? Senator Landrieu suspects that levee repairs were a staged photo op. You have to actually want to know and want to be informed.

(Further reading: Landrieu implores President to relieve unmitigated suffering and end FEMA's "abject failures." Click on my "Katrina" tag link for already-posted links on the great disconnect between what is happening vs. what is being reported, and on the complete incompetence of FEMA.)


ETA: The most complete list of FEMA's failures to date. This is... I just can't comprehend it.


That's all for now. My brain needs a rest.