Re: 'Katrinagate' fury spreads


You and the WSJ editorial
page can spin yourself
nauseous to yor heart's
content, but the fact is:
the third-world governments
dealing with the recent
tsunami acquitted themselves
*nobly* compared to ours.
Take a break from your
10,000 RPM "blame it on the
locals" horse*** and allow
yourself to be ashamed of
the criminally incompetent
regime to which you've
fastened your kisser.

No state or local government
could have handled this
disaster -- this is a
national crisis and had to
be dealt with via federal
expertise and resources. Too
bad it's also a national
tragedy and embarrassment --
wake up and unbundle the
acronym:

F(ederal)
E(mergency)
M(anagement)
A(gency)

This clearly implies that
there are situations that
are simply too extensive
and/or severe to be dealt
with by state and local
agencies, and that in
such situations the
response is to be
F(ederally) M(anaged)!
Moreover, any failures on
the part of state and local
officials are strictly the
business of those who vote
for those offices -- but
the federal government's
piss-poor performance is
the rightful concern of
all Americans. An
incompetent FEMA (and, for
that matter, entire DHS!)
endangers all of us,
regardless of how good or
bad our state and local
governments may be! Iow, if
you're not worried, you
simply haven't been paying
attention!


"John Wheaton" <wheatonjohn@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>
>"Bruce Morgen" <editor@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message...
>> 'Katrinagate' fury spreads
>> 06/09/2005 17:59 - (SA)
>>
>> Not for decades has there been such merciless questioning of the president
>> and his administration
>> by the US media.
>>
>Many in the media are turning their eyes toward the federal government,
>rather than considering the culpability of city and state officials. I am
>fully aware of the challenges of having a quick and responsive emergency
>response to a major disaster. And there is definitely a time for
>accountability; but what isn't fair is to dump on the federal officials and
>avoid those most responsible -- local and state officials who failed to do
>their job as the first responders. The plain fact is, lives were needlessly
>lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana's governor, Kathleen
>Blanco, and the city's mayor, Ray Nagin.
>
>The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to
>the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are
>charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to
>disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency
>personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his/her emergency
>operations center.
>
>The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national
>disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established
>evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot
>claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to
>evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to
>evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people
>would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the
>plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved.
>
>In addition to the plans, local, state and federal officials held a
>simulated hurricane drill 13 months ago, in which widespread flooding
>supposedly trapped 300,000 people inside New Orleans. The exercise simulated
>the evacuation of more than a million residents. The problems identified in
>the simulation apparently were not solved.
>
>A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an evacuation
>but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result
>many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the
>hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco
>and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan. Again,
>they did not take corrective actions. In 1998, during a threat by Hurricane
>George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and vandalism
>were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not
>corrected.
>
>The New Orleans contingency plan is still, as of this writing, on the city's
>Web site, and states: "The safe evacuation of threatened populations is one
>of the principle [sic] reasons for developing a Comprehensive Emergency
>Management Plan." But the plan was apparently ignored.
>
>Mayor Nagin was responsible for giving the order for mandatory evacuation
>and supervising the actual evacuation: His office of Emergency Preparedness
>(not the federal government) must coordinate with the state on elements of
>evacuation and assist in directing the transportation of evacuees to staging
>areas. Mayor Nagin had to be encouraged by the governor to contact the
>National Hurricane Center before he finally, belatedly, issued the order for
>mandatory evacuation. And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the
>president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation.
>
>The city's evacuation plan states: "The city of New Orleans will utilize all
>available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas." But
>even though the city has enough school and transit buses to evacuate 12,000
>citizens per fleet run, the mayor did not use them. To compound the problem,
>the buses were not moved to high ground and were flooded. The plan also
>states that "special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to
>transport themselves or who require specific lifesaving assistance.
>Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedures as
>needed." This was not done.
>
>The evacuation plan warned that "if an evacuation order is issued without
>the mechanisms needed to disseminate the information to the affected
>persons, then we face the possibility of having large numbers of people
>either stranded and left to the mercy of a storm, or left in an area
>impacted by toxic materials." That is precisely what happened because of the
>mayor's failure.
>
>Instead of evacuating the people, the mayor ordered the refugees to the
>Superdome and Convention Center without adequate security and no provisions
>for food, water and sanitary conditions. As a result people died, and there
>was even rape committed, in these facilities. Mayor Nagin failed in his
>responsibility to provide public safety and to manage the orderly evacuation
>of the citizens of New Orleans. Now he wants to blame Gov. Blanco and the
>Federal Emergency Management Agency. In an emergency the first requirement
>is for the city's emergency center to be linked to the state emergency
>operations center. This was not done.
>
>The federal government does not have the authority to intervene in a state
>emergency without the request of a governor. President Bush declared an
>emergency prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, so the only action needed
>for federal assistance was for Gov. Blanco to request the specific type of
>assistance she needed. She failed to send a timely request for specific aid.
>
>In addition, unlike the governors of New York, Oklahoma and California in
>past disasters, Gov. Blanco failed to take charge of the situation and
>ensure that the state emergency operation facility was in constant contact
>with Mayor Nagin and FEMA. It is likely that thousands of people died
>because of the failure of Gov. Blanco to implement the state plan, which
>mentions the possible need to evacuate up to one million people. The plan
>clearly gives the governor the authority for declaring an emergency, sending
>in state resources to the disaster area and requesting necessary federal
>assistance.
>
>State legislators and governors nationwide need to update their contingency
>plans and the operation procedures for state emergency centers. Hurricane
>Katrina had been forecast for days, but that will not always be the case
>with a disaster (think of terrorist attacks). It must be made clear that the
>governor and locally elected officials are in charge of the "first
>response."
>
>I am not attempting to excuse some of the delays in FEMA's response.
>Congress and the president need to take corrective action there, also.
>However, if citizens expect FEMA to be a first responder to terrorist
>attacks or other local emergencies (earthquakes, forest fires, volcanoes),
>they will be disappointed. The federal government's role is to offer aid
>upon request.
>
>The Louisiana Legislature should conduct an immediate investigation into the
>failures of state and local officials to implement the written emergency
>plans. The tragedy is not over, and real leadership in the state and local
>government are essential in the months to come. More importantly, the
>hurricane season is still upon us, and local and state officials must stay
>focused on the jobs for which they were elected -- and not on the deadly
>game of passing the emergency buck.
>
>Mr. Williams is president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a free market
>public policy research organization in Olympia, Wash.
>
> URL for this article:
> http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112596602138332256,00.html
>
>
>
>
>




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