One week later
It’s unfortunate that it has taken a catastrophic event to solidify public opinion against an incompetent US administration. Early last week headlines claimed “This is our tsunami”. Besides the insensitivity of the comparison to a disaster that affected 11 countries and has conservatively killed more 200,000 people, it has not been in any way similar. Response to the tsunami was swift, the governments accepted international help quickly and food was delivered in hours.
The response to hurricane Katrina has resulted in the unnecessary deaths of thousands of people. There are reports of FEMA representatives turning away water, Russian rescue units being denied entry into affected areas, an offer of 1500 Cuban doctors being ignored and an inability to decide where to deploy a mobile hospital resulting in 5 day delay. All while people continue to die. Americans are angry and understandably so.
FEMA has been relegated to an agency within the massive bureaucracy that is the Department of Homeland Security. It was not considered a priority in this age of fighting terrorism. Funding for this agency has been reduced and the leadership is a testament to Bush’s policy of appointing the faithful, not the competent. When the water is pumped out of the city of New Orleans and the bodies are counted Bush will have to take responsibility for a rescue effort he described himself as “unacceptable”.
Many Americans, liberal and conservative, republican and democrat are wondering how their government could fail so miserably.
The response to hurricane Katrina has resulted in the unnecessary deaths of thousands of people. There are reports of FEMA representatives turning away water, Russian rescue units being denied entry into affected areas, an offer of 1500 Cuban doctors being ignored and an inability to decide where to deploy a mobile hospital resulting in 5 day delay. All while people continue to die. Americans are angry and understandably so.
FEMA has been relegated to an agency within the massive bureaucracy that is the Department of Homeland Security. It was not considered a priority in this age of fighting terrorism. Funding for this agency has been reduced and the leadership is a testament to Bush’s policy of appointing the faithful, not the competent. When the water is pumped out of the city of New Orleans and the bodies are counted Bush will have to take responsibility for a rescue effort he described himself as “unacceptable”.
Many Americans, liberal and conservative, republican and democrat are wondering how their government could fail so miserably.
posted by mochi at 1:21 AM
3 Comments:
Let's think about it why don't we:
If we want to play the blame game.
1. Department of Homeland Security. The brainchild of a Democrat Senator--Big Government at its best. If fingers should be pointed, then let's finger Joe Leiberman for the creation of the big bureacracy that in the long-run accomplishes nothing.
2. It is Congress who makes the laws, regulates, spends the money or withholds it. If anyone needs to be criticized, it should be Congress.
3. Local governments. All of the money spent on everything else that could have been earmarked for stronger levees. It has been known that stronger levees have been needed since 1960.
4. The victims. Many people are victims of circumstance, but many also are victims of choice. A mark of a bad father is one who does not provide for the welfare and safety of his family. The mark of a bad parent is one who does not provide for the safety and welfare of their child. That is the hard truth. Preparation for many of life's challenges costs little money, and even most of America's "poor" has access to such. Many of us are taught to depend on others for our own welfare--those who remain so, are victims of choice.
6. Democrats. Lousiana and the city of New Orleans have been controlled and run by Democrats for the last 60 years. Talk about fighting poverty, Democrats have done nothing to secure the welfare, safety and prosperity of their own. 6 months ago, an article was published in the THE TIMES-PICAYUNE warning the citizens that they were ON THEIR OWN in the event of a hurricane--that they needed to prepare for circumstances exactly as they faced them. Why didn't the Democrats evacuate the poor and infirmed? Why didn't the Democrats have a plan in place to adequately evacuate the poor? Why did Democrats delay in urging residents to evacuate? Why have the Democrats failed in so many ways?
Want me to continue? See how pointless this game is?
-Jack
BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Multiple failures caused relief crisis
Take a look at the picture of the school buses underwater. School buses that could have taken thousands of people out of the city.
ummm...so EVERYBODY in gummint screwed up. So what? Only gummint can respond to incidents of this magnitude, not individuals. But where does the issue of accountability START??
This from a letter to Slate:
Bush supporters have made the claim that the real problem with disaster response rests with state and local officials. But the Department of Homeland Security's National Response Plan (NRP), released in January 2005, gives the president full authority over disaster response -- if he wants it.
The NRP acknowledges that response to disasters will typically occur at the lowest level possible, state, tribal and local. But it also distinguishes between smaller incidents and "Incidents of National Significance." These include "high-impact, low-probability incidents, including natural disasters and terrorist attacks that result in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment, economy, national morale, and/or government functions."
In the event of an incident of national significance, the president can authorize the head of Homeland Security to "assume incident management responsibilities."
The plan specifically says, "If the president determines that an emergency exists where the primary responsibility for response rests with the Government of the United States ... the president may unilaterally direct the provision of assistance under the act, and will, if practicable, consult with the governor of the state."
So it doesn't make any sense for Bush apologists to say that the real problem was with the state and local response. At any time Bush could have authorized DHS to take over command of the response. But he didn't. With a massive storm threatening to virtually wipe a major American city off the map, he remained on vacation. If losing New Orleans and 200 miles of Gulf Coast is not an "incident of national significance," then what would be?
-- Jim Holman
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