Yes, it's self-evidently idiotic.

Gee, what law do you suppose that came from?

Please excuse this cross-posting from the previous thread:

Micheal, have you even bothered to read what the Red Cross has to say about getting into NO?

Access to New Orleans is controlled by the National Guard and local authorities and while we are in constant contact with them, we simply cannot enter New Orleans against their orders.

Is it not possible that FEMA (Red Cross is part of the FEMA response) was on the ball but not getting cooperation from the local officials, sovereigns of the land. Here are the lists of disasters in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Brown was appointed in January of 2003, his record speaks for itself. As do the records of the corrupt and incompetent officials of Louisiana.

You owe Under Secretary Brown an apology Michael. I doubt that you have the integrity to pay that debt, given that you didn't even have the decency to acquaint yourself with the facts before posting this drivel. You have now become Andrew Sullivan.

ajf: You owe Under Secretary Brown an apology Michael

I am not convinced, especially in light of what I just posted.

Maybe FEMA was forced to do this by some stoopid law passed by congress.

ajf,

Firefighters are not the Red Cross. While it may be true that the National Guard controls access to NO, it doesn't mean that they denied those firefighters access. I am also reasonably certain that the National Guard is not the party responsible for firefighters in sensitivity training while NO burned. Therefore this is not proof that Brown is competent.

As for the FEMA histories that you linked to, what exactly in that record shows Brown to be a competent leader? Be specific. What in that history of disaster declarations makes one think that Brown compentently managed his resources in NO? Nothing because that is the past. The discussion is about the present disaster. SO again not proof of Brown's competence.

I don't think at this point anyone owes Brown any apologies and I think his leadership as well as anyone else who failed in NO should be dragged in front of congress to answer some tough questions. No, no apologies needed. If indeed after investigation into the multiple failures it is found that Brown did his very best and no one could have done better, then apologies are due but not until that time. For now, Brown should watch his P's and Q's and make sure EVERYTHING goes smoothly from here on.

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/fema.html

The link above re FEMA. Who do these folks think they are? Regards.

The essence of the problem is that when there are no limits on what government should do, other than what voters want, then it becomes impossible to prioritize and to focus on what we all agree should be a function of government : public safety.

So as a result, government does whatever the voters and special interests want it to do, regardless if the actions are logical or not. This is precisely why our political campaigns lack any substance and always degenerate into name-calling. It's about the whims of voters.

Hence we get highways to nowhere in Alaska, and subsidies for rich farmers, while levees in need of repair in Louisiana are ignored.

This is the indisputable logic of democratic government, and the ONLY cure for this madness is to radically reduce the role of government in our lives.

Agree with me or not about the role of government, you cannot disagree that the process outlined above is accurate.

We have FDR to blame for much of this. He fundamentally changed the role of the federal goverment. And the results are not pretty.

That mistakes were made at all levels is evident. But maybe if the Louisiana state government hadn't blocked the Red Cross from delivering supplies to the Superdome, and if the city government had used its fleet of buses to evacuate the poor and sick, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

It's easy to blast bureaucratic processes which don't sit well with one's idea of a well coordinated and smoothly run operation. But the government (especially the Federal government) will never respond smoothly and efficiently. It's a bureaucracy! It follows strict rules, procedures, and legal statutes. It's not run like a nimble market based enterprise which puts value on inventiveness, agressiveness, or management by objective. It simply follows proven legal procedures. But that also keeps corruption to a minimum, comparatively.

If you want instant well coordinated response to cataclysmic disasters, you better be willing to pay big bucks. And it wouldn't hurt to privatize the operation and provide for penalties and incentives as well.

Ten years ago, Los Angeles incentivized the rebuilding of the Santa Monica Freeway. Instead of the target schedule of 140 days, a private company did the work in 66 days and earned a $14.8M bonus.

Maybe this could be a model for future disaster relief.

Based on the comments above, it sounds like some people are reading just Michael's quote and responding in their typical knee-jerk way. Read the whole article and then ask yourself; "If I were a firefighter would I want to do community relations work or fight fires that are burning right now?"

It sounds like FEMA is misusing resources and most likely not because of "some stoopid law passed by congress".

By the way, I encourage readers here, if you can't physically help, donate some money to the Red Cross. They are experienced and do a fantastic job when disaster strikes (and are not held back by FEMA).

Sammy,

Right on !

Note how the private sector and voluntary organizations have responded to Katrina. I read an article today about the incredible and massive response to this disaster from Wal-Mart. Of course, the article was buried in the back of my local newspaper because most journalists are completely ignorant about markets and many of them hate Wal-Mart.

WAL-MART HATERS TAKE NOTE : One overlooked aspect of the Wal-Mart response to the hurricane is that it is the most "hated" aspect of Wal-Mart - its HUGE SIZE and SCOPE - which allowed it to respond so well and so generously.

One of the things business analysts admire about Wal-Mart is it's incredibly efficient distribution system. Wal-Mart literally revolutionized the business model in this respect, and it is that very distrubution system which has served the hurricane victims so well - and NO ONE BUT WAL-MART could have done some of the things it did.

Oh, but I forgot. Wal-Mart is evil. Right ? FEMA will save us.

Freeguy says:
This is the indisputable logic of democratic government, and the ONLY cure for this madness is to radically reduce the role of government in our lives.

There are other solutions ... not pretty but there are other solutions. A central planned government might have a better chance of avoiding such inefficiencies. However, central planning doesn't mix well with capitalism. I think Japan, generally, has much better disaster preparedness than we do here and their government is closer to being centrally planned than ours. In Japan, they conduct earthquake drills fairly regularly and have good participation from citizens since almost everyone involved recognizes that there is a common good.

Here, if you were to remove the government completely, what would fill that vacuum? Who exactly would step in and take the place of FEMA/Homeland Security? Private corporations? Private corporations don't clean up disasters out of the goodness of their heart they do it because there would be a profit motive. Who would pay them for their disaster services? The taxpayer? And that means the government would be involved since the government is the only entity authorized to collect taxes. I am not sure I see what Freeguy's solution is to this but he is pretty good at blaming the government without proposing solutions. No, I think this is exactly government's job. They just need to do it better. A good start would be to hire a competent leader who is not a former horse judge. Another step would be to have drills for the top 3-5 most likely disaster scenarios and then do a post-mortem on the drills and when the post-mortem is done, listen to the people who say they need things (by the way, FEMA did a hurricane PAM exercise last year and had a post-mortem but did very little to address the failings)

Agree with me or not about the role of government, you cannot disagree that the process outlined above is accurate.

We have FDR to blame for much of this. He fundamentally changed the role of the federal goverment. And the results are not pretty.

I think you connected two dots that really have lots of other dots between... I think you will need to provide some detail to prove your case. I am just surprised that you didn't blame this on Clinton. Maybe your older than that?

Wow! Freeguy! I didn't expect the answer so quickly. And the answer is .... Wal-Mart! YES! Why didn't we think of that? Maybe Wal-Mart could get into the firefighting business and maybe they could get into military operations. Then, when we see a poster that says "Uncle Sam needs you!" We will know that uncle Sam is actually Sam Walton. We'll all be in Sam's club then. I could go all day.

Please, Pleeeeze, PLEASE freeguy, tell me that you're not serious and you're just taking the piss out of all of us because if I have to rely on Wal-Mart for governmental services, I am going to have to live off the grid. Also, please tell me you don't vote because voting is governmental mind control or something like that. It would make me feel better.

Jim,

Read what I said again. I did not say we should have no federal role in disaster response, but it should be limited to only that which local governments, states and private organizations cannot perform.

I said government cannot prioritize because of the political pressures brought about by the fact that we have no consitutional limits on government spending and vote-buying. That is a FACT.

FDR basically destroyed the concept of CONSTITUTIONALLY limited government with respect to the role of government in the economy. And I know someone is going to bring up Social Security. Yes of course Social Security has helped people, but no one considers what might have occurred if the program had not been created, other than to ASSUME people would be worse off. Now we are stuck with a system which needs to be reformed, but cannot be reformed because of political pressure. See what I mean ? Government is not a flexible system. It mitigates against innovation.

Do you HONESTLY think that the problems with FEMA are merely a result of the people running it, rather than the incentives and disincentives in the agency which are inherent in government ?

People are creatures of their environment. Central planning more efficient ? Do you remember Chernobyl ? What is the incentive in a centrally-planned system ? There is a reason the Soviet Union did not produce a Bill Gates or a Sam Walton, but the US did. And it is not because Americans are a superior race of people.

Tell me that monopolies are good and competition is bad. Go ahead, I dare ya.

Michael,

In this post you call the people of FEMA idiots. Yet, it sounds like you either didn't read or just didn't comprehend the story you linked.

It is very clearly stated that those people were called in to go out in to the effected communities and be contact points for people to get the information they need. I can think of a few reasons why firefighters would be the right people for this job in a major disaster area, can you? Oh, and the 1-day training has been around longer than Brown, though I think it used to be 3-days a while back.

Anyway, my point is that Under Secretary Brown has a record in office and it's damn good. No one has yet to point to something that Mr. Brown did wrong, let alone something in which he was negligent.

Jesus, it should give one pause to be in the same camp as Nancy Pelosi.

ajf: I can think of a few reasons why firefighters would be the right people for this job in a major disaster area, can you?

Handing out the FEMA phone number in an area without phones is a waste of time, as are sexual harrasment training seminars while a city is dying.

Careful, Michael, FEMA has a tenacious band of defenders in the blogosphere.

Question about the buses: Say Nagin picks up 30,000-40,000 people in his 1,000 schoolbuses on Sunday. Where the hell is he expected to drop these people off?

Lastly, Carl Pope of the Sierra Club has an interesting essay on what the timeline SHOULD have been:

http://sierraclub.org/carlpope/

Jim says...."Maybe Wal-Mart could get into the firefighting business and maybe they could get into military operations."

Huh ? How on earth did you leap to that conclusion from anything I said ?

And Jim said..."if I have to rely on Wal-Mart for governmental services, I am going to have to live off the grid."

I don't know where that one came from either, but the appopriate question is this :

What SHOULD "governmental services" be ? What should government do ? Few people are willing or able to define that today. And that is the problem. The more involved government becomes in our lives, the harder it is for us to determine what government should and should not do. Government causes confusion during disasters like this hurricane because people try to do rational things and come up against government stupidity..such as people with donations of bottled water being turned away by FEMA. Government literally confuses our thought processes.

Here is my take..Government should do ONLY those things which are necessary to preserve individual liberty AND life, and it should do those ONLY when the private sector cannot provide them.

As I see it, either you agree with the definition of government's role as outlined above, or you are endorsing unlimited government, with no logical end.

I think we would all agree that food is a necessity. So tell me, should the government run the grocery stores and restaurants ? Should the government own our farms ?

FEMA, or some such thing, may be necessary. But it should not be a permanent agency, IMHO. I would prefer it to be an adhoc committee, drawn from the best talent in private industry, which would operate like a commission, tasked with oversight of HUGE disasters that required a federal response, ready to respond quickly if needed - which would be rare.

Michael,

I would argue that sexual harassment seminars are a waste of time... any time.

However, I wish you would at least consider that there may be a reason why an orientation session is appropriate. Why paperwork might be necessary before sending people into a disaster zone.

Phone service has been restored in some places and it's the kind of thing that happens quickly in these situations (and these times.)

Sounds to me like these guys signed up for the community outreach gig, but were hoping to get in to "action" after they should up and impressed everyone with there skills! There is a reason why some people are labor and others management.

This is all besides the point though. Net it out. Compare the response to Katrina to any Cat 2/3 hurricane which hit a populated area ten years ago. This FEMA did more, faster and better than before.

It is simply not possible to have an understanding of our Federal system, the role of FEMA (and the FEMA related agencies + Red Cross) and the timeline of this disaster and conclude that FEMA has preformed poorly. In fact, given the severity of the storm and the absolute incompetence of virtually every Louisiana official, they have performed extremely well.

I can agree that using people with their training for "community-relations officers for FEMA"

Is kind of dumb and a waste of their talents,.

but didn't you happen to miss where they

ANSWERED A CALL TO DO JUST THAT???????????

"The initial call to action very specifically says we're looking for two-person fire teams to do community relations," she said. "So if there is a breakdown [in communication], it was likely in their own departments"

So Fema puts out a call for volunteers to perform a specific function, these folks show up and Immediately inform FEMA that they DO NOT WANT to perform the function they volunteered for?

Gee wouldn't it be just dandy if EVERY volunteer got to make decisions like that?

Granted they would be better off used per their training who does the job they volunteered for?

I mean when the staffing requirements are filled.

IE yes we have 1000 persons enroute to do that You STOP LOOKING for anyone to do that.

"One fire chief from Texas agreed that the call was clear to work as community-relations officers. But he wonders why the 1,400 firefighters FEMA attracted to Atlanta aren't being put to better use. He also questioned why the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - of which FEMA is a part - has not responded better to the disaster"

Yes makes sense to me volunteer for something you do not want to do and then bellyache because you are asked to do it.

"However, I wish you would at least consider that there may be a reason why an orientation session is appropriate. Why paperwork might be necessary before sending people into a disaster zone."

Next time there is a flood in my town and people need to be rescued, I will remember to get an "orientation" and fill out the necessary paperwork before I help anyone.

I guess the people whose lives are hanging in the balance will just have to wait.

Is is absolutely amazing how 60+ years of growth in government control and Leftist government school curricula have brainwashed us all into a false consciousness in which we just passively accept the notion that "permission" from the "authorities" is required to do so many things. Our thought processes have literally been bureaucratized.

On September 11 2001, ONE of the four hijacked planes did not reach its destination ( the White House or the Capitol ) only BECAUSE several heroic passengers did NOT OBEY the Federal Aviation Administration rulebook and did not accept the notion that we should all sit passively on a hijacked plane.

Most people now say that if that ever happens again, everyone would attack the hijackers, which is the right attitude. But ask yourself this question : If the idea of attacking the hijackers from now on is the correct response, then WHY should that not have been the proper response PRIOR to 9/11 ?

And what does it say about the nature of our government when performing a heroic act requires us the violate the law ?

Ponder those questions my friends, in light of the disaster in New Orleans.

Again, in light of what happened in New Orleans, consider this, from Nigel Ashford, of the Institute for Humane Studies :

"Complex social orders require freedom because the information and knowledge that make them work can never be amassed by a central authority...Freedom is critical to the process of achieving spontaneous order in society because we do not know in advance which rules will work, because liberty is essential to the trial-and-error process, and because the creative powers of man can only be expressed in a society in which power and knowledge are widely dispersed. To impose a pre-designed pattern on society would make society cease to function as a creative force. Progress cannot be commanded."...

"Essential to the progress of an orderly society is the distribution of power among its citizens, as opposed to the concentration of power in the hands of the state. This allows society to experiment in the rules and mores that govern people's behavior. The process of trial and error limits the impact of mistakes to a small segment of society."

What worked well in New Orleans last week ? Government agencies with "plans", or the spontaneous action of individuals with dispersed local knowledge ?

Now tell me what we need is a stronger FEMA.

"Question about the buses: Say Nagin picks up 30,000-40,000 people in his 1,000 schoolbuses on Sunday. Where the hell is he expected to drop these people off?"

Well, part of the point of these posts it that someone should have asked that question BEFORE the hurrican season. The 1980 hurrican season.

I consider myself a libertarian, but among the things government should do is disaster preparation. And in one of the few areas where I think government has a legitimate role, ours (local, state, and federl) blew it.

“I am not convinced, especially in light of what I just posted.”

“Handing out the FEMA phone number in an area without phones is a waste of time, as are sexual harrasment training seminars while a city is dying.”

And whose fault is that? The governor’s office apparently refused to allow telephone repairmen to enter New Orleans to assist the police department with their communications crisis. There is also a very good possibility that the firefighters would not be immediately allowed in to save lives. Once again, we must remember that FEMA is cannot legally tell the mayor and governor to go screw themselves.

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Sigh

Sexual Harassment classes and community relations...

Folks, it is time for Atlas to shrug, but unfortunately it'll never happen.

People who actually defend Brown and the FEMA leadership are not even worth debating with. The internet really does bring out every sort of loon, maybe for an encore these people can tell us how good the Italian army really was in WWII and convince us that Jimmy Carter's plan to rescue hostages in Iran was undermined by the media. Sometimes incompetence really is self-evident.

Assuming Brown has the authority to make or change all the rules that FEMA has to follow, he's got to go.

Sexual harrassment class before the volunteer fire fighters are able to get crackin? What an effing joke. sheesh.

It's shit like this that makes people say, fuck it, Im goin home.

Michael, this is BUREAUCRACY in action. I posted on this yesterday as did several other commentators.

This is the type of thing that these creatures do as a matter of course . As another has said this is probably some STUPID polititically correct federal requirement.

It's not the director who is responsible; its's the system. The time to complain is when the system was set up. Not when something egrigious occurs and the system shows itself for what it is.

If you FIRED every civil servant or corporate cipher for acts of sheer cluelessness, the un-employment rate would be about 25%.

As I have posted previously you need a SPECIAL DIRECTOR with SPECIAL AUTHORITY for times of National Disaster. His/her authority would supercede all other responders for the a set time period and all agencies would report directly to his/her office.All STUPID bureaucratic rules COULD be suspended for the duration.

Complaining about 1 guy when it is the system that is dysfunctional is largely useless. I would bet that even if Brown went postal over this he could not FIRE anyone. Civil Service don't you know.

What would YOU do if you were in charge?

President Bush vowed to make the Federal emergency response and mitigation apparatus more nimble.

Has he?

I'm conservative enough to make Newt Gingrich look like Barb Mikulski, but it's a fair question.

Nay, and IMPERATIVE question.

Having said that, somehow I doubt Brown said: "Hey, let's teach 'em not to touch breasts while rescuing women."

It is likely a regulation, and in a bureaucracy regulations MUST BE FOLLOWED.

No exceptions!

The course is MANDATORY:

see it here

Director Brown's policy:

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/oer/2-04_sexual_harrassment.pdf

It was a good thing until a few days ago.

I agree with dougf - big, inefficient, government bureaucracies behave as big, inefficient, government bureaucracies. And people are shocked and outraged? What do people really expect?

As more information comes out we will find that many people made poor decisions and did not plan well. Here is an article showing that the city of New Orleans probably did not have an effective hurricane evacuation plan in place.

On the positive side Texas government - Gov Rick Perry (Rep) and Houston Mayor Bill White (Dem) appear to have done a decent job coordinating with volunteer, private, and public organizations, including FEMA, to handle 250,000 storm victims (100,000 in Houston).

I Have to second Dougf's comments.

Brown is practically irrellevant. Have we not seen examples of politcal appointees who try to reform an inept agency? (Not that Brown tried this, but the point is, what difference would it have made?) Jim Webb resigned in frustration at the inbred culture of the Naval bureaucracy when he was SECNAV in the mid-80's, to name just one example. The ingrained culutre of the State Department has resisted the policies of many a President/SecState.

The FEMA culture is what we got. If you want the government to do stuff for you, then your sole option to learn to like the way they do business, cuz that is as good as it is going to get.

Some of you may now cite an example or two of agencies that were reformed by the Herculean efforts of some new guy with a vision. Fair enough. I can cite an example off the top of my head: The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. But the exception does not disprove the rule. There are many more examples of failure. Hmmm, like Rumsfeld's well-intentioned but doomed to fail attempt to re-invent the U.S. Army.

How come? Lots of reasons. But on top of my list: Most really bright, talented, thoughtful, people with common sense and vision tend not to be attracted to bureaucracies, for obvious reasons.
Sure there are exceptions, but not many.

So, if the really talented folks aren't interested in working for agencieds like FEMA, then who is? Most are just working stiffs who like the low performance bar and the security, and others are attracted to the power that comes with being in a government agency. Those guys are looking in the mirror this very morning completely satisfied with their actions in this NO business.

Man, my comments seem so obvious and banal, but reading the previous comments it seems that some folks out there don't see this, or don't believe that it is so. I have 25 years of experience up close and personal that says it is so.

Just let it go, people.

FOOLS!

Those firemen were used for photo-ops!

All that crap that FEMA gave them was to keep them busy, until they could take staged photos with Bush and other admin. folks!

The New Republic has an article today on Michael Brown, and what he did before he came to FEMA, including a lot of stuff I have not read elsewhere. Brown was basically a failed lawyer with a law degree from a barely accredited law school.I think it is a must read. It is at:http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050919&s=campos091905
I hate to think about how many other cases like this there within the federal government.

Brown did some major work for the Bush/Cheney campaign...I think he was supposed to do "white-glove" inspections...pro-Bush folks got the nice glove....anti-Bush folks got the dirty glove...the Hurricane was apolitical.

We can argue all day long about whether the director of FEMA is an idiot or not, or whether local and state government failed worse or did better than the federal government.

Here's what I know:
o My mother and aunt were in a "safe" suburban area that didn't flood. There was some looting near her church; a medical helicopter was fired on by an armed mob about a mile away; there were bodies floating in floodwaters 8 blocks away.
o The local police presence disappeared after Tuesday. This is Jefferson Parish, with the parish president with the colorful sound bites.
o In Washington Parish, where my brother lives, the first relief workers showed up five days after the storm. The FEMA representative handed out the business cards -- telling people to call the 1-800 number for a free meal. He didn't ask whether the phones were working or not. They weren't.
o St. Bernard Parish, 95 percent flooded, saw virtually no outside help for a week. Nada. Nothing. Except for what they were able to do for themselves.

The lesson is pretty clear for all of us -- local, state and federal government all failed. If you live in an area prone to natural disasters, you should be prepared to survive without outside help for one to two weeks. If you're poor, you should be prepared to die. That's the lesson of Katrina.

But the graf at the end of the piece really puts everything in perspective, and gives some sense what the Bush administration really has in mind when it talks about a crisis. The paper reports that one team finally was sent to the region ...

As specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.

THIS IS THE PHOTO-OP PRESIDENT AT HIS BEST!

Just to make us all feel better, these are the idiots who will respond during a Flu Pandemic. This pandemic is now a matter of when not if, according to the WHO: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=1105046

In the words of Dr. Michael Osterholm, one of the world's experts on infectious disease public health and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Reserch and Policy (CIDRAP), and Associate Director of the Department of Homeland Security’s National Center for Food Protection and Defense:

"We're screwed."

Freeguy, you're doing pretty good, but I'm not quite convinced a "pratical" compromise is possible with gov't, and am fully convinced a true competitive market in disaster relief will NOT be allowed. Privatizing aspects of it, and allowing Wall-Mart to win special service bids, seems the most positive realistic way forward.

The CA partial "de-regulation" of energy comes to mind -- a small step towards freedom with other parts not allowed to adjust. System failure; blamed (too much) on the deregulation aspect.

"It is likely a regulation, and in a bureaucracy regulations MUST BE FOLLOWED."
This is the accurate complaint against gov't -- but is also NOT always true. Brown could have suspended such regs, told his deputies to be more helpful and merely note the exceptions, and why, and allow folk to do better.

Regs only must be followed if they will be enforced. Brown was in charge of enforcement (that IS the power of the executive -- enforcement); he could have said there will be none.

He failed, perhaps more in PR than in practice, but it's still a failure. He should fall on his sword. Or be axed.

Pope's timeline is the best, and best Bush-bashing, I've seen, it's so subtle; naturally almost ignoring the Mayor or Governor's executive authority.

THIS IS THE PHOTO-OP PRESIDENT AT HIS BEST!--NeoDude

As I said yesterday, keep up the good work. It is PRECISELY this type of pit-bull attack that will ensure you always FAIL.

For every loon who says ' right-on,man.you tell those MFs',there are two people who simply tune you out. Politically(and that is all you really care about), you are on a raod to nowhere.

Send a postcard when you can.

As I said yesterday, keep up the good work. It is PRECISELY this type of pit-bull attack that will ensure you always FAIL.--dougf

When beautiful little minds respond like this....I know I'm on to something good.

So, dougf, does the truth hurt, much?

Now, some of you might object that this little stunt isn’t really an optimal use of first responders. Some of you might point out that this little stunt leaves Atlanta and other cities with fewer experienced firefighters, as replacements are called up in their stead. But unless you’re a really cynical SOB, you probably wouldn’t go so far as to imagine that President Katrina’s administration is sticking cities with the bill for those replacements. Again, from the Salt Lake Tribune:

Also of concern to some of the firefighters is the cost borne by their municipalities in the wake of their absence. Cities are picking up the tab to fill the firefighters’ vacancies while they work 30 days for the federal government.

And only the hypercynical among you would dare to suggest that this photo will do its job—that the Mark Steyns and the Hugh Hewitts and the Jonah Goldbergs will dash to their keyboards and begin gushing about their bold, steely leader rolling up his sleeves (note the sleeve!) and getting to work. For those of you who just can’t imagine that it will get any worse, I leave you with these words from Peggy Noonan:

This, truly, is a good man. And that is a rare thing. Agree with Mr. Bush’s stands or disagree, there can be no doubting the depth of his seriousness and the degree to which he attempts to do what he is convinced is right, and to lead his country toward that vision of rightness. We have had many unusual men as president and some seemed like a gift and some didn’t. Mr. Bush seems uniquely resolved to be as courageous as the times require and as helpful as they allow. There is a profound authenticity to him, and a fearlessness too.

A steady hand on the helm in high seas, a knowledge of where we must go and why, a resolve to achieve safe harbor. More and more this presidency is feeling like a gift.

Good nautical metaphor, no? A five-gallon barrel of New Orleans water will be awarded to the first right-wing hack who retools Peggy’s January 30, 2003 column for emergency deployment in Operation Cover Our Asses.

Ladies and gentlemen of the wingnut press, power up your laptops.

Posted by Michael on 09/07 at 09:44 AM

http://www.michaelberube.com/index.php/weblog/operation_cover_our_asses_goes_into_overdrive/

Who is to blame for the Katrina debacle?

Who is responsible for this: http:/www.sltrib.com/ci_3004197

And this: http://www.nbc5.com/news/4946511/detail.html

And this: http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/09/04/katrina.sick.redtape.ap/index.html

And this: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/05/katrina.lott/

And this: http:/www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/5/105538/7048

The dull truth is that there will be no one person to blame. Bureaucracy is to blame, federal, state and local. Blame will disappear into the vast ocean of jello which is bureaucracy Fire Michael Brown if you want, and I'll shed no tears, but it won't solve the problem. The real problem is that we have the wrong type of organization in place to respond to this type of emergency. The real problem is that FEMA is set up for long term programs and has no system in place for dealing with the emergency phase.

I'm going to make a distinction here: Business suit bureaucracy versus boots on the ground field units. Business suit bureaucracy is the county office. They work through forms and don't rock- the-boatism and CYA and soothing, oily double-talk. Everything in a business suit bureaucracy is geared to avoid individual action and individual responsibility - or more to the point - individual blame, yet, in contradiction, there are many individuals who want to get credit for success and want a finger in every pie. Everything is against quick action and risk taking and in favor of delay and too-many-cooks syndrome.

Boots on the ground field units are the cops and the paramedics and the firefighters. Quasi- military governmental agencies such as police and fire departments can get things done quickly. They have a chain of command.. Specific real time orders are given and obeyed. Individual units - down to individual people - can do things on their own initiative, and do things that are physically - and morally - risky. They have pride and esprit-de-corps and honor. Or do when they're working right.

Imagine if you had to call the county governmental offices to put in a fire alarm. How long would it take to get action? What if the fire department had to get permission from the business suit county bureaucracy each and every time it had to respond to a fire? What if it had to go through several different divisions in more than one county? But fire departments don't have to do this - they are on a pre-arranged hair-trigger.

Business suit bureaucracy cannot react quickly. It just isn't in the nature of the beast. Even a bureaucracy that is supposed to be set up as an emergency response system cannot respond quickly if it doesn't contain within itself hair-trigger field units which can act quickly on their own initiative. It has to gear up slowly. By the book, with the proper forms filled out, with the contracts completed, with the sensitivity training classes taken, with....

Bureaucracy is not a hierarchical organization in the same way the military is. It's a tangled web. It is individuals working in a inflexible system. There is no leader - only the head bureaucrat. And even the head bureaucrat can't order immediate action from the bureaucracy. The system doesn't recognize such a thing as an order as the military knows it. There isn't even a system to disseminate such an order. Not in anything less than three months anyway, while the pamphlets and posters and phonebook-thick policies and procedures manuals are being written and printed and then distributed to section heads in day-long meetings to prepare them for this wonderful new upbeat program which they will introduce to the personnel of their sections in two-day-long meetings and.,,, oh , god, I'm depressing myself.

Business suit bureaucracies have no internal system of quick communication. It isn't needed. Everything is done in slow motion through memos. There is no command center, There are no dispatchers. That's boots on the ground kind of stuff. Business suit bureaucrats hear things first through the office grape vine and then get the memos later. Or when a hurricane hits they hear about things first from CNN. And then the memos come in. Days later. Yes, I know that FEMA has it's "National Emergency Operations Center," but what does this center really do?

And when you have to go through layers of different federal, state, and local business suit bureaucracies... it's like trying to play a CD on a turntable... like trying to get your PC to talk to the computer in your car. There's just no interface.

Mottoes of the business suit bureaucracy: "Keep your head down." "Don't rock the boat." "Cover your ass " Any one person who looks as if he may do even a little boat- rocking is quickly put in his place. The social system will make a concerted pre-emptive strike on any suspected boat-rocker. And CYA at all times. You must have the sexual harassment class in place. You are now officially sensitive and no harm can come to you.

Business suit bureaucracy is a headless beast. The system says you must have the mandatory sexual harassment course even when the city is under water. No one in the system would dare go against the system for fear of being fired... for a very good reason. They would be fired.

Asking anyone within the business suit bureaucracy to make a snap decision and to by-golly-go- ahead-and move those trailers from Atlanta, let those doctors in, use that Wal-Mart provided water is hopeless. No one would do it, because they would be fired - and no individual could do it, because there's no one who could get the rest of the system to cooperate. Not even the head bureaucrat could do it.

Even the president couldn't do it. He's just a guy in a suit. Not a sorcerer. He can't magically make something happen just by decree. Any emergency order he gave any business suit bureaucracy would just disappear into the vast ocean of jello. This is something very few people understand or want to believe, anyway. The president is nothing more than the head bureaucrat. The head of the executive branch. He's just a guy in a suit.

There's one exception. He can order the military to react quickly and things could get done because there's an actual chain of command and an actual system for doing things quickly. In certain units of the military, anyway. The field units. The boots on the ground guys.

To deal with the emergency phase of any disaster, FEMA needs to have field units which are capable of independent action on their own initiative upon order from a single individual - the president. There has to be a separate emergency unit of FEMA headed by a separate individual - just as there is a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a Secretary of Defense. During the emergency phase the business suit guys need to step aside and let the FEMA emergency unit step in, just as the suits in county government step aside to let the fire department fight fires. This unit must be authorized to bypass any other state or local business suit bureaucracy. FEMA needs to have the power to hook up with - to deputize - state and local police and firefighters, the National Guard and so on, and work with them in joint operations immediately - without having to put them through sexual harassment classes. FEMA needs a command and control center with real time communications. Once the emergency phase is over this unit would stand down and let the business suit guys do their long term thing.

Yes, I know. State and local rights versus the federal government. Too many questions. Militarists in charge. Fascism. I have a rejoinder.

Floating bodies.

Let's work out a system of cooperation beforehand. Cooperation in the face of real world forces. Are you truly scared of militarists? As if this could - real world - lead to some scary dictatorship?

Or does this scare you?

This is a business suit bureaucrat's idea of quick response to disaster: http://wid.ap.org/documents/dhskatrina.pdf

Imagine the water is rising and you're relying on this type of system. I mean really stop, and really try to imagine that. Posturing aside, what truly scares you?

I doubt that FEMA under Clinton or any other president would have responded to Katrina, during the initial emergency phase, much differently from FEMA under Bush, despite this: http://www.indyweek.com/durham/2004-09-22/cover.html

Mitigation is a complicated issue and one worthy of discussion. But FEMA has always been a business suit bureaucracy not suited for fast reaction. State and local business suit bureaucracies have always been what they have been. The system simply has never been tested in this way before and we're now waking up to reality.

If the Bush administration needs to be criticized is can only be for it's long term failures, not the short term. The system was set up long before this happened. Has the emphasis on privatization moved the agency even farther away from the hair-trigger boots on the ground model by adding another layer of complication and delay? Let's find out.

And what happened to the National Response Plan?

Katrina could be overmatched any time. Read up on the New Madrid fault and what it could do to the mid-west. Salt Lake City is also very vulnerable to earthquake. The Pacific Northwest is vulnerable to both earthquake and volcanism. Yellowstone is an area that could erupt into colossal volcanism. And if that's not enough, read this:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/267299p-228989c.html

.

Unfortunately, that type of training is mandatory.

FYI, for anyone who wants to pretend that lack of funding from this administration caused the levees to fail:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/07/AR2005090702462.html

And for anyone who still thinks Brownie is doing a heck of a job:

http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/thedebate/2005/09/facts_and_rumor.html

Vanya,
You need to read up on WWII history. The Italian military was not a bunch of incompetents; that is one of those legends that has been blindly accepted as truth by people who don't know better.

Miriam,
And Harry Truman was a failed haberdasher. Abraham Lincoln had a miserable record of failures prior to becoming President. George Washington's military career was hardly stellar until well into the Revolutionary War. And Brown didn't do well as a lawyer. Your point is ... what, exactly?

Ed Blair,
You make some good points, but the problem is that no federal level entity is going to be nearly as good as the locals in fixing the problems, simply because they don't know, and never could know, the area/people/problems nearly as well. Your suggestion about quicker FEMA response teams is good, but they still need to be under control of the locals.

Your suggestion about quicker FEMA response teams is good, but they still need to be under control of the locals.--exheoldrvr

What then happens when the 'locals' are either unwilling or unable to provide 'control' or even more likely are not providing the 'right' sort of control? This appears to have been the case in NO and Louisiana.

This is what happens when right-wingers who "pretend" to hate government, runs the government, period!

Billions were thrown their way, because they hyped every danger an Islamist could dream up...but when it comes time to perform, like a typical right-winger, they are toooo flacid to perform. Just can't get it up! They cabv strike a tough pose, but just can't do the job.

What the hell did these government-haters spend that money on?

"Unfortunately, that type of training is mandatory."

Ex, don't you think someone with authority couldve made a command decision and said,you know what, screw the SH training, lets git 'er done and Ill take the consequences if someone gets outta line. There appears to be no leadership with any spine at all at key positions in FEMA

Neodude, your kind would be the first to ask for heads to roll if the training was skipped and there was an "incident".

mnm,

If that's what makes you feel warm, princess.

I like the part where Bush wastes time and money so he could take pictures with them.

Like he's one of those wealthy Roman ladies who would sacrifice other peoples lives, so that she may "spend time" with a soldier or gladiator.

Maybe that was what the sexual-harassment training was really for?

MNM,
That would be nice, unfortunately, that's not the PC-world we live in. Someone who might consider breaking the rules to get something done has plenty of examples of what has happened to others who have tried that, and many people are not willing to take that risk.

"We're sitting in here having a sexual-harassment class while there are still [victims] in Louisiana who haven't been contacted yet."

I agree, Michael, this is silly, and as pointed out by Charlie, I associate this sort of required pc nonsense with the Democratic Party. What goes around comes around. Too bad the bureaucrat involved didn't have the good sense and guts to say screw it.

I would absolutely love to get rid of this sort of BS. Guess where that puts my sympathies?

Dougf,

"What then happens when the 'locals' are either unwilling or unable to provide 'control' or even more likely are not providing the 'right' sort of control? "

In cases like that, I would say that FEMA should be very publicly prodding the locals on what to do, while advising the President that he may need to start doing the same thing.

"Someone who might consider breaking the rules to get something done has plenty of examples of what has happened to others who have tried that, and many people are not willing to take that risk."

I agree, exhelodriver, however... I would say that by placing personal job security over the well being of their fellow citizens, it should call into question their ability to sustain the moral fortitude required to serve the public during disasters.

If you don't put your neck on the line when thousands are dying... I don't think you're fit to lead a disaster team.

Hate to break it to you ladies, but that "sexual-harassment" training was down-time-fun, until they met with the Commander-and-Pre-Madonna.

You could spin it anyway you want, but Mr. Unilateral Action hungered for her gladiators...mmm scrumptious, Mormon gladiators at that.

A lady likes to have her pictures taken with hunky Firemen (show them off to the girls at the office, you know, they all hate her cause she is so beautiful), especially when they JUST HAD TO STOP AND POSE WITH HER ON THEIR WAY TO SAVE CHILDREN AND KITTENS.

It just shows how powerful/irresistible she really is.

OK, now I am really pissed off:

The now very much criticised US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has stopped Mac and Linux victims of hurricane Katrina from applying for relief. The agency, which is already in hot water for its lack-lustre rescue efforts in New Orleans, has created a web-based service that only works for users of Windows and IE6.

Can anyone verify this?

Rat,
My guess is that no one told lower-level FEMA personnel, in advance: "F the rules, just get them in there as quick as you can."

Unfortunately, this mindset is a by-product of the liberals PC-world.

I agree, exhelodriver, however... I would say that by placing personal job security over the well being of their fellow citizens, it should call into question their ability to sustain the moral fortitude required to serve the public during disasters.--Tosk

Have you worked in lots of bureaucracies ? Even corporate bureaucracies?

This is exactly how people think. It's their JOB. Their families depend on them keeping it. Serving the public during disasters is wonderful, but it does not protect you from the small minded little toad who might happen to be your superior and who can and will make your life a living hell.

Unless there is protection from the system people will do what they have been told to do. Some will do so anyway because they are essentially ciphers, but it will be the rare person who steps outside the box FOR ANY REASON.

Not defending it; just describing it. You simply cannot rely on the bureaucracy to be 'flexible'. It is not made that way.

but it does not protect you from the small minded little toad who might happen to be your superior and who can and will make your life a living hell.<?I> -- dougf

I'm glad to see that you finally see Bush for what he is.

I'm not seeing the connection.

One city's firefighters were not tapped for the disaster and that is evidence of something?

Where is the perspective? How many people WERE tapped / mobilied? Is this even relavent or just partisan spin? What is the BIG picture?

After dealing with Michael Moore (in the last election) I'd expect everyone's BS detectors to be on high alert for this kind of false narrative spinning... I guess not.

"mnm,

If that's what makes you feel warm, princess."

If you mean warm as in it pisses me off, then yeah, but I don't think thats what you meant.

If you meant warm as in, all warm and fuzzy, then no. The level of dishonesty and hypocracy on the left does not make me feel warm.

Imagining my foot bustin off in your ass makes me a little warm, cup cake.

Rat, and exhelodrvr,

"My guess is that no one told lower-level FEMA personnel, in advance: "F the rules, just get them in there as quick as you can."

"Unfortunately, this mindset is a by-product of the liberals PC-world."

Unfortunately, this is true. But it is more than just the "liberal PC-world" which is to blame. It is the broader passivity of American society, resulting from the decline in individual responsibility and self-reliance. As a result, too many people are like sheep who just blindly follow rules and procedures issued by government. We have become a feminized culture. Too many people have not developed coping skills because, thanks largely to the Democrats, many people expect government to restore them every time they have a setback in life. We need a huge dose of testosterone. But that requires an overhaul of the education system and an end to the therapy fad. I think that will change. Hints of a more masculine and resilient culture reappeared after 9/11, with Giuliana, Todd Beamer, and others. But now Oprah is back in charge. Sadly, it may take a terrorist attack of epic proportions to arrest the feminization of our culture.

Giuliani, not Giuliana. I got a "C" in typing. ;-)

exhelodrvr: "Unfortunately, this mindset is a by-product of the liberals PC-world."

We could have probably dispensed with the previous 60+ comments to get to your post. Nothing more needs to be said.

P.S. exhelo- caught your Q to me several threads ago too late. Just to be sure (that I wasn't sacrificing hubby's life - BTW kid is grown and moved on), I checked with hubby. His reply was basically - nuh uh - ain't leaving the dogs. (He doesn't actually talk that way but that was the gist). Besides, he's mister disaster preparedness 24/7 on an average day. My initial thought is that we could create our own raft by chopping off the house siding, since the house is gonna be torn down anyway. I'll have to check with him on what he thinks of that plan. He'll probably bluntly tell me that it's dumb as hell, but at least we're in agreement on what matters and where there's a will there's got to be a way. :-)

WOW,

The right-wing Blame-America-First crowd is out in full force. Soon, we'll be hearing that 9-11 happened because, not enough people read Ayan Rand, Plato and the Bible.

Just cope America, terrorist attacks and disasters is God's love in action.

Freeguy: "We have become a feminized culture. Too many people have not developed coping skills because, thanks largely to the Democrats, many people expect government to restore them every time they have a setback in life. We need a huge dose of testosterone. But that requires an overhaul of the education system and an end to the therapy fad."

Superbly said. That reminds me of one of those mass emails that goes around and winds up in my inbox every now and then. This arrived today (long I know but worth reading) - what follows is the contents of the email:

What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895

--Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kansas, USA. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, KS, and reprinted by the Salina Journal

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS -1895
Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of"lie,""play," and "run."
5. Define case; Illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?
4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour) Do we even know what this is??

1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)

1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete. Gives the saying "he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?! Also shows you how poor our education system has become... and, NO! I don't have the answers, and I failed the 8th grade test!

Neodude - why don't you go back to frequenting websites that wax orgasmic about smoking weed. You might feel more at home....

Caroline,
I doubt that house siding has enough reserve buoyancy to make a good raft.

But I did learn in survival training how to make a flotation device out of a pair of pants. Of course, that means you have to be wearing your good pair of underwear in a survival situation, just in case.

I'm hoping I can get a contact high from what you delusional dreamers are smoking.

Bush ignores the deaths of thousands of Americans and it is a feminized culture at fault?

He puts more thought into photo-ops and you see him as the essential American President?

Please pass that joint!

And what are the odds that Bush could pass that exquisite 8th grade test?

If you right-wingers would apply your self-righteous nonsense to your own leaders, you wouldn't seem so amorally clueless.

Re my previous post about the Kansas 8th grade exam: When I saw Ken Burns series on the Civil War, I found it rather befuddling that so many young, presumably rather uneducated men, consistently wrote such eloquent letters home. Mystery solved?

exhelo: "I doubt that house siding has enough reserve buoyancy to make a good raft."

What if the humans waded through the water guiding the raft and distributed the animals' weight evenly on the raft - say, by putting the animals in box-like receptacles - laundry baskets, file cabinet drawers, etc?

Neodude: "And what are the odds that Bush could pass that exquisite 8th grade test?"

Well if you want better leaders, maybe there's your answer. Bush is a product of the modern liberal education system as well.

Neodude - why don't you go back to frequenting websites that wax orgasmic about smoking weed. You might feel more at home....--Caroline

Or in the alternative, how about shipping me a few grams of the 'good' stuff so that at least your posts are understandable.

Thanks in advance.

What if the humans waded through the water guiding the raft and distributed the animals' weight evenly on the raft - say, by putting the animals in box-like receptacles - laundry baskets, file cabinet drawers, etc?--Caroline

You are GREAT. Your 4-footed 'friends' are lucky indeed.

Handing out the FEMA phone number in an area without phones is a waste of time, as are sexual harrasment training seminars while a city is dying.

Uh, Michael, if the area didn't have phones, how did that little old lady call Geraldo?

Are you unaware that phone service often doesn't go out (regular old phone, not cell) and is often the first thing to come back? (Losing power doesn't kill phone service; regular POTS phone service runs off batteries. Look it up.)

You make rather a big deal about being one of those blogger "citizen journalists" and you've done some wonderful work that way, viz. in Lebanon and North Africa.

But would it be asking so much to ask you to check your facts before calling people idiots?

(See also: FEMA did pre-position supplies; FEMA and the federal DHS did not keep the Red Cross out. And so on.)

Caroline,

So your lectures concerning the individual taking care of themselves, stops at right-wing politicians?

According to your logic, there is NO EXCUSE for a citizen of the United States, to be lacking in education. Libraries and a sober allowance could provide for the education of an enterprising American, pulling himself up from the ignorance of poverty and laziness.

So really, there is NO EXCUSE to be ignorant of those subjects that test covers. Unless of course you are a sheep in the liberal farm, then you can blame others for your ignorance?

Or if you are a born-again spoiled-rich faux cowboy? He can avoid the responsibility of knowing his nation’s history by blaming a “liberal education”

How is that “the power of the individual conquers all” dope doing for you?

Besides, Caroline...I though you right-wingers were of the mind:

Typical liberal elitist BS. If a man has a good heart and a strong character, that's all the qualificatin' he needs.

Dougf: "You are GREAT. Your 4-footed 'friends' are lucky indeed."

Not so fast Dougf. According to hubby my friends would sink! He gave me a brief lecture on the flotational properties of various kinds of wood and said that short of cork, most pieces of wood you could rip from the interior or exterior of your house would sink. He recommends leaving them at home and going out and russling up a boat and then coming back to get them. Works for me. (Of course, we would immediately return the boat from where we "borrowed" it. I would insist. :-))

Caroline,
If you are in a flood-prone area, it would probably be best to have an actual boat/inflatable raft that you could use. That way you and your husband could get in if need be. You could also use those large plastic storage bins to keep the dogs in; they would float well if need be (might require some ballast, depending on the size of the dog.)

Neodude - what are you nattering on about now?

You want me to trash Bush? Be glad to. He spends too much. Too liberal. He won't shut down the borders. Too liberal. He thinks Islam is a religion of peace. Too liberal.

Regarding modern education. If I were raising kids today, I would home school them, check out books from the library, and make good use of the internet. It would be a whole lot cheaper than the trash that passes for education these days. Incidentally, my husband has a 9th grade education and he's the one who would keep me from drowning my animals on a home made raft.

See neodude - my problem is that I AM a liberal. If you're looking for repentance from the posters here, I can assure you I'm working hard real hard to turn it around...

Well, it looks like your "liberal" prez has a really right-wing organization on his hands. They were attempting to "toughen" the folks of NO, right up.

====================================
Why did FEMA block Wal-Mart shipments of water to the New Orleans area?
Why did FEMA block fuel shipments to the New Orleans area?
Why did FEMA cut emergency communication lines from the New Orleans area?
Why wouldn't FEMA let the Red Cross deliver food to the New Orleans area?
Why wouldn't FEMA let the people in downtown New Orleans leave?
Why wouldn't FEMA let others come in to deliver relief supplies or transportation out from New Orleans?
Why did it take the government 5 days to give a "yes" to airlines who had asked to ferry refugees out of New Orleans for free, immediately after the storm?

The problem isn't that FEMA botched rescue efforts -- it's that they PREVENTED rescue. They PREVENTED survival. They didn't just "oops!" screw up -- they actually CAUSED death by their actions, not through their lack of action. They have actually slapped sanctions on the city of New Orleans and are slowly finishing off any hold-outs. I wonder how many people will die getting shot for refusing to be removed from their own homes?

The best we could have hoped for from any level of government was the get the hell out of the way, but how can they resist the opportunity to absolutely ruin absolutely everything they touch, and then say "See? We needed more money and power"? Breathtaking.

From:
http://anti-state.com/forum/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=14791

Why did FEMA block Wal-Mart shipments of water to the New Orleans area?
Why did FEMA block fuel shipments to the New Orleans area?
*************************************************
Let me take these two. The answer??

They didn't. That good enough for you??

Very good chance that is also the answer to the rest of your questions, but the first two are more familiar.

Hey I have a novel idea. Why don't we read what the Louisianna Libertarian has to say?

I mean he evacuated from Slidell went back has been doing volunteer work for FEMA so just MAYBE listening to someone who really knows what they are talking about, might be more instructive than
listening to someone like NeoDude who can only repeat the most current Urban Legends?

http://louisianalibertarian.blogspot.com/

Y'know, NeoDude, you're sorta working against physics here. This Universe has entropy, and a couple of rules: everything has to be somewhere, and if it's there it can't be someplace else.

I seem to recall you being one of the ones castigating George Bush for not reacting to the first breeze. According to you, he should have dropped the fence-pliers, grabbed the nearest microphone, and (emoting all the way) rushed immediately to Air Force One, so that he could orbit New Orleans beaming down Caring Rays. Of course it wouldn't help much -- if he was a Democrat that would have calmed the storm, allowing Gov. Kathleen (who is without flaw, and pure) to part the waters and lead her people to Freedom. But he's a Republican, so the best you could do is not deduct points for Indifference, right?

Now he wants to put together an entourage and go beam down Caring Rays on the people being rescued, and all you can do is hyperventilate about what a waste of time and effort it is.

You'd do a lot better just to pick one alternative and stick with it. "Damned if you do, damned if you don't" just gets people to ignore you altogether.

By the way, I wanted to compliment you on your savoir faire. The debonair way you wipe the spittle from your chin after your speeches just warms my heart.

Regards,
Ric

By the way, I wanted to compliment you on your savoir faire. The debonair way you wipe the spittle from your chin after your speeches just warms my heart.---RL

LOL.

These creatures are seriously ill. Unhappily they have passed thru the ' to be more pitied than censured' stage ,and gone directly to the 'censured' end game. I very much doubt civic society will in fact survive them or their delusional puppets in the 'loyal' opposition.

This is serious territory we are entering now. IMHO anyway. Serious.

Caroline,
One thing you should consider is that people who stay behind in these situations make the job of the emergency personnel much harder.

Rick Locke,

I think Bush's amoral brand of Christianity is sexy.

Regarding Neodude's condition, I believe it could best be described as "bankrupt". This condition pretty much describes the entire Left.

And given that the Leftist worldview appeals to and cultivates an infantile mentality, the childish antics of Neodude should be no surprise.

Neodude is sorta like Maureen Dowd...utterly without substance, yet mildly amusing prose the first couple of times you read them, but after that you quickly realize its just the same stale formula with the words rearranged.

THE POPULIST PROGRESSIVE PRESIDENT AT WORK FOR HALIBURTON!

--------------------------------------

PLAYING POLITICS....Remember back in October of 2002, when George Bush took a careful look at the Department of Homeland Security — an organization originally proposed by Democrats — and tried to figure out how he could gin up some pre-election Democratic opposition to creating it? His answer was to insert a bit of strategic union busting into the DHS bill, something that he knew no Democrat could possibly support. Voila! Democrats opposed the bill and the president accused them of not caring about national security. That was good for a pickup of two seats in the Senate.

Fast forward to September 2005. What would be a good way of trying to gin up some Democratic opposition to reconstruction in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina? How about some more union busting?

One action Bush did not trumpet publicly drew a quick protest from a leading Democrat. By executive order, Bush suspended the Davis-Bacon Act in areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi, allowing federal contractors to pay less than the local "prevailing wage" on construction projects.

Rep. George Miller of California, senior Democrat on the House committee that oversees labor law, said the move would allow employers to pay "poverty wages" as they rebuild from the hurricane.

"The administration is using the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to cut the wages of people desperately trying to rebuild their lives," he said in a statement, noting the prevailing wage for construction in New Orleans was about $9 an hour. "At under $9 an hour, workers certainly won't be able to rebuild their livelihoods," he said.

It's a good thing we have a president who doesn't believe in playing politics, isn't it?

NOTE FOR THE MATH CHALLENGED: $9 an hour is about $18,000 a year. The prevailing wage wasn't about to create any new millionaires on the Gulf Coast.

From
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_09/007081.php

Can I assume that we will see all the ultra-PC liberals up in arms demanding that sexual-harrasment training be abolished? No? Then they can stop complaining.

Carlos,

If that is the rael choice, I would give-up on those traing sessions anyday, but that isn't the choice.

Bush is handing his wealthy friends cheap labor. His wealthy friends get priority and special treatment.

While a liberal education might be to blame for a lax view of personal responsibility... the 8th Grade test appears to me, a result of the liberal education that causes us to believe and spout stuff we read... just because we read it.

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.htm

The exam is a fraud, the exam has been a fraud since it first made the rounds on the net.

One of the sacred laws of Discordianism:

"Never believe anything you read, including this."

Now Bush has "taken responbility" this FEMA's screw ups. check this out:
Bush Admits The Impossible: He Screwed Up.

FEMA is great... not.