Katrina Facts.

*On August 27, 2005, Governor Blanco, speaking about Hurricane Katrina , told the media in Jefferson Parish, "I believe we are prepared. That's the one thing that I've always been able to brag about."

*That same day, Governor Blanco, issued a request for federal assistance and USD $9 million in aid to President George W. Bush, which stated, "...I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster. I am specifically requesting emergency protective measures, direct Federal Assistance, Individual and Household Program (IHP) assistance, Special Needs Program assistance, and debris removal."

*President George W. Bush declared a state of emergency in selected regions of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi on Saturday, the 27th, two days before the hurricane made landfall. However, the president's declaration did not include any of Louisiana's coastal parishes,

*President Bush, who had appointed Brown in 2003, praised Brown shortly after the storm hit, saying "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job," but later deflected questions about the resignation, except to deny having discussed the resignation with him.

* But after Katrina On September 1, 2005, Governor Blanco authorized United States National Guard troops to "shoot and kill" rioters and looters

*In a September 26, 2005 hearing, former FEMA chief Michael Brown testified before a U.S. House subcommittee about FEMA's response. During that hearing, Representative Stephen Buyer (R-IN) inquired as to why president Bush's declaration of state of emergency of August 27 had not included the coastal parishes of Orleans, Jefferson, and Plaquemines. Brown testified that this was because Louisiana Governor Blanco had not included those parishes in her initial request for aid, a decision that he found "shocking." Brown blames Blanco. After the hearing, though, Blanco released a copy of her letter, which requested assistance for "all the southeastern parishes including the New Orleans Metropolitan area and the mid state Interstate I-49 corridor and northern parishes along the I-20 corridor that are accepting [evacuated citizens].

*In the wake of what was widely believed to be fackless handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and facing allegations that he had falsified portions of his resume, Michael Brown resigned, saying that it was "in the best interest of the agency and best interest of the president.". His credibility with the public was further shaken when it emerged that he had had no emergency management experience before joining FEMA.

SOURCES:
http://www.snopes.com/katrina/politics/blanco.asp
http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/tabid/411/Default.aspx
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050901-2.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1451906.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Blanco
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_D._Brown