But look at this:

But investigators have found the e-mail message referring to Mr. Bahamonde’s helicopter survey that was sent to John F. Wood, chief of staff to Secretary Chertoff at 9:27 p.m. They have also found a summary of Mr. Bahamonde’s observations that was issued at 10:30 p.m. and an 11:05 p.m. e-mail message to Michael Jackson, the deputy secretary of homeland security. Each message describes in detail the extensive flooding that was taking place in New Orleans after the levee collapse.

Given this chain of events, investigators have repeatedly questioned why Mr. Bush and Mr. Chertoff stated in the days after the storm that the levee break did not happen until Tuesday, as they made an effort to explain why they initially thought the storm had passed without the catastrophe that some had feared.

White House Knew of Levee’s Failure on Night of Storm, New York Times, 2/10/06

Is the reason that Chertoff ( and others?) said that the levee didn’t break until Tuesday because they were in a different time zone? How many hours ahead of DC is Greece?

He also does not tell us where he flew to Atlanta from. My guess is tax payers paid for his trip to a wedding in Greece as a “leg” of his planned business trip to Atlanta. My second guess is that there were other GOP big wigs on that plane who wish to not be identified.

A new center researching bioterrorism and agroterrorism, the use of biological agents to harm the nation’s food supply, would almost certainly have Level 4 status, the highest security designation for labs.

Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Bishop said in a telephone conference with reporters after the meeting that they told Mr. Chertoff that they and the vast majority of their constituents opposed a Biosafety Level 4 laboratory on the 840-acre island. Level 4 status would allow research on diseases fatal to humans and animals and with no known cure.

Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Bishop said Mr. Chertoff had not renewed a pledge by Tom Ridge, the former secretary of Homeland Security, that Plum Island would remain at Level 3. But they said they argued that the work done at Plum Island now was crucial and warranted upgrading the 50-year-old laboratory to continue at Level 3 designation.

”The calculus changes dramatically if you get a Biosafety Level 4 that is looking at human diseases and even looking at how animal viruses and pathogens jump from the animal world to the human world, and it just is very hard to justify putting that kind of facility in the midst of one of the most populated areas where workers would be going back and forth all the time,” Mrs. Clinton said.

Mr. Bishop said a Level 4 lab on Plum Island could allow study of diseases like avian flu, which has killed millions of birds in nearly a dozen countries and infected more than 100 people, including 60 who died.”

http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/…..0829a.html
8/29/05:
“The HHS Operations Center which operates 24 hours a day has been staffed up since last Friday and in constant communication with state and local emergency management operations, as well as other federal departments, including Homeland Security and the White House.”
8/31/05:
“HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today declared a federal public health emergency and accelerated efforts to create up to 40 emergency medical shelters to provide care for evacuees and victims of Hurricane Katrina.” [but not one word about FEMA or DHS]

FIRST >
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/relea….._0723.shtm
“United States Government Response to the Aftermath Of Hurricane Katrina
Release Date: 08/30/05 00:00:00
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
August 30, 2005
The federal government is supporting state and local authorities by leading one of the largest disaster response mobilizations in United States history to respond to Hurricane Katrina.

President George W. Bush declared major disasters for impacted areas in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, and Alabama, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is actively managing federal assistance to these affected communities in an effort to expedite response efforts and save lives. With these disaster declarations, we are able to bring the full resources of the federal government to bear in helping the residents in the impacted states with emergency needs and recovery support.

Hurricane Katrina has proved to be one of the most dangerous storms in U.S. history. Although the eye of the hurricane has passed, hazards from weakened and damaged trees, downed power lines, high water, and other dangers remain. We urge citizens to be mindful of instructions from state and local officials who have asked that individuals remain in shelters, homes or safe places until given further notice.

Working with federal, state and local agencies through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), DHS continues to coordinate disaster relief and life-saving efforts. Individuals in declared counties can register online for disaster assistance at http://www.fema.gov or call FEMA’s toll free registration line at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) – TTY 800-462-7585.”

SECOND >
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/relea….._0721.shtm
“United States Government Response to the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Release Date: 08/31/05
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
August 31, 2005
The federal government is continuing to support state and local authorities in leading one of the largest disaster response mobilizations in United States history to respond to Hurricane Katrina.

“At this time, we are directing the full range of federal resources and capabilities to assist and protect those who have born the brunt of this catastrophe,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “We will ensure that citizens in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina have the sustained support and aid necessary to recover and reclaim their homes and communities.”

Hurricane Katrina has proven to be one of the most dangerous storms in U.S. history. Hazards from weakened and damaged trees, downed power lines, high water, and other dangers remain. We urge citizens to be mindful of instructions from state and local officials who have asked that individuals remain in shelters, homes or safe places until given further notice. Individuals in declared counties can register online for disaster assistance at http://www.fema.gov or call FEMA’s toll free registration line at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362); for the hearing impaired TTY 800-462-7585.

President George W. Bush declared major disasters for impacted areas in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, and Alabama. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is actively managing federal assistance to these affected communities to expedite response efforts and save lives. With these disaster declarations the federal government is able to bring its full resources to bear in helping residents in the impacted states with emergency needs and recovery support.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Under Secretary Michael Brown is currently in the region directing efforts under the National Response Plan. The primary activities remain focused on life saving and life-sustaining efforts. FEMA is currently coordinating with a number of their state and voluntary organization partners to help meet basic shelter and emergency needs.”
—
Again, it just seems that someone’s arm’s reach was out of reach FOR SOME REASON on 8/30/05.
http://64.233.169.104/search?q…..=firefox-a
“7:30 AM CDT — BUSH ADMINISTRATION NOTIFIED OF THE LEVEE BREACH: The administration finds out that a levee in New Orleans was breached. On this day, 28 “government agencies, from local Louisiana parishes to the White House, [reported that] that New Orleans levees” were breached. [AP]”

So I give up. Unless it was Depends.

In August 2005, the program began a test of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology at five land border ports of entry with Canada and Mexico to record the entry and exit of visitors who are required to carry a Form I 94 and enroll in the US-VISIT program. The test is expected to continue until spring 2006. RFID technology can detect a visitor at a distance of up to 100 feet and provide entry information quickly and accurately without requiring visitors to stop or even slow down to check out. The RFID technology protects sensitive information by reading a randomly generated number that links to a visitor’s information stored securely in a database. RFID is tamper proof and difficult to counterfeit or be surreptitiously read.”

“Engaging the Private Sector: Homeland Security R&D Directions and Opportunities (22-25 August; Atlanta) The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate is sponsoring a conference to gain a better understanding of the research, development, testing, and evaluation needs of the department; potential business opportunities; and R&D being pursued under DHS S&T sponsorship. Meet senior management from the S&T Directorate, including portfolio managers from the Office of Plans, Programs, and Budget and program managers from the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Office of Research and Development, and the Office of Systems Engineering and Development; learn how to participate in the challenge to bring innovative homeland security solutions to reality. Discuss and obtain information on innovative technologies from industry, the national and federal laboratories, and academia. For more information, contact Kimberly Owen. Update! Please note: a draft agenda for the DHS S&T Directorate’s 2005 Private Sector Conference is now posted on the site. [View conference website]”
But nah.
So then there’s cnn transcript:
http://64.233.169.104/search?q…..=firefox-a
Notsie totsie.
So I go to WaPo archive:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01475.html
“I’m sure we’ll get into the question of why I didn’t hear about e-mails that came later that night. But I will tell you, at least when I went to bed, it was my belief — and it was somewhat fortified by things I saw on TV — that, actually, the storm had not done the worse that had been imagined.”

“And I determined not to do it, because I was concerned about coming in and actually interfering with the operators in the first 24 hours of the post-hurricane operation.

I will tell you that I have a respect for the difference between the operator and the person who’s leading the organization. The operator’s very much involved in immediate decisions of what goes on. I have been an operator. I was an operator on 9/11. And I know the way I dealt with the attorney general on 9/11.

So I tried to be sensitive to not getting in his hair, but also be supportive. The decision I made was not to go to an avian flu conference, but to do two things on Tuesday [8-30-05]. Go down to a meeting at the CDC about avian flu with Secretary Leavitt.

And I want to make it clear, this is not like a conference, like you go to in a hotel. This was a meeting among the top leaders of the department to kick-start our preparedness for avian bird flu.

But secondly, to go to the emergency operations center in Atlanta, which is where Region 4 is located. Region 4 had half the responsibility for coordinating the response for Katrina. My thought was that that would be a way of my getting another perspective and visibility on what was going on on the ground, talking to operational people, without getting into a situation where Mike Brown felt someone was coming and now actually creating a question about who’s running the immediate incident management in the field.

On Tuesday morning [8-30-05], at around 7:00 a.m., I got the spot report that indicated there had been a substantial levee breach. I made a determination, since I was going to go to the operations center, I ought to continue with the trip.

And I need to make clear that the federal government spends a considerable amount of effort providing me with 24-hour communications. There is never a moment that I am not within a hand’s reach of a secure telephone, a secure fax, and literally what I have in my office. So my the hardware and the ability to communicate is that full capability was with me at every moment that I went down. And I frankly spent a lot of time on the phone and in communication back with headquarters during Tuesday.”
So, the question is “where was he on 8/29? or 8/30?” and it looks like he really doesn’t know. Even though he is never more than a hand’s reach …
except in the emergency operations center/region 4? and while in a CDC meeting on bird flu (but not the conference).
http://www.semp.us/publication…..BiotID=384
And, coz I like ya, there’s a link to more so have at it:
“Secretary Chertoff: “Let me separate two questions. If you’re asking me why I didn’t go down to Katrina itself, because my judgment was that we had a battlefield commander. For me to go down to Baton Rouge, I would be doing Michael Brown’s job at that point, but there wouldn’t be a Secretary of Homeland Security in Washington. So I felt that my role was then, at least in the initial days, required me to not go down and try to sit down as the battlefield commander myself, which, as I said, I am not a hurricane expert, but rather do my job as Secretary. As far as the trip to, and just to correct the record here, I obviously was deeply involved on Monday [August 29, 2005] dealing with all of the hurricane issues getting reports. The last report I got on Monday [August 29, 2005] was that the levees, there had not been a significant breech in the levees. It appeared that the worst was over. Obviously, it was going to be a tremendous challenge. First of all, Mississippi was devastated and it was as if, um, a giant had walked along and crushed all the houses. So that was a huge challenge. And of course New Orleans was a huge challenge. But it looked like the event was over, the actual peril was over and now it was going to be a question of response.

“At the same time, I, I, obviously my responsibilities involve other things, I had a long-scheduled trip with Secretary [Michael] Leavitt [Department of Health and Human Services] to go to the CDC [Centers for Disease Control] in order to discuss preparing for avian flu. So what I determined to do was to go down and do that and also stop at the Region IV Headquarters of FEMA in Atlanta so I could get a first-hand sense from the operations center for the group that was dealing with Mississippi and Alabama, because the main had hit Mississippi about their perspective on things. Tuesday morning [August 30, 2005] when I, we took off, I learned that there was a significant irreparable levee breach. At that point I was in constant communication back with my office by telephone. The deputy secretary obviously fully engaged there. I had dealt with the issues that I had to deal with in terms of the biological question and I went on to the briefing center to talk to people there about what was going on the ground and then came back.” (7)”
That’s all I got.

Since upthread emails note WH formed WH Taskforce On Hurr Kat Response, eay to posit Rovian/political orders from aboveinput down to DHS/FEMA. Also, emails pin demote of Brown to PFO abt 8:20pm/IIRC on 8-30.

Return Atlanta from euro wedding easily possible by 30th afternoon. And photo etc estab presence can be orchestrated cover ruse.

But Congressional investigators have now learned that an eyewitness account of the flooding from a federal emergency official reached the Homeland Security Department’s headquarters starting at 9:27 p.m. the day before, and the White House itself at midnight.
…
“FYI from FEMA,” said an e-mail message from the agency’s public affairs staff describing the helicopter flight, sent Monday night at 9:27 to the chief of staff of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and recently unearthed by investigators. Conditions, the message said, “are far more serious than media reports are currently reflecting. Finding extensive flooding and more stranded people than they had thought — also a number of fires.”

I just wanted to point out to my best blog buddy mtwheel that the picture of Chertof in Atlanta on 8 30 05 has a clock in the background which reads 10 to 2:00 . If some one could blow up the picture to show the digits on the watch of the guy picking his nose next to chertoff we could verify the date.

Tried the Internet Archive too, but got the dreaded “Robots.txt Retrieval Exclusion.”