We Knew It
There are many of us out there that have known for some time now of the dangerous incompetence of President Bush and his administration. This knowledge pre-dates Hurricane Katrina by a long time. And now, In the aftermath of Katrina there is rightful outrage by more and more Americans because so many of us have known all along that Bush should not be president – that we cannot trust this administration to be honest with the American people and that they’re not up to the job of making sound decisions in the most difficult of times.
The infamous 7 minute My Pet Goat delay now seems like a split-second decision compared to the day’s long delay in sending the cavalry down to the Katrina disaster area. It’s been said that those were cheap shots launched at Bush in Fahrenheit 9/11 and by others; and that Bush wouldn’t have saved any more lives or prevented any more of the disaster on Sept 11 had he got up right away after being told our country was under attack. That may be true, but those people never understood what the rest of us did and what we’ve been saying all along. Those 7 minutes were a warning of a man not up to the job.
Today, the Bush critics are becoming more vocal in their attacks, and they’re now bringing up any and all of his other mistakes because they are all related. They all speak to a man and an administration that has mismanaged and bungled one thing after another and of whom we have no confidence in. We knew that his incompetence has always been dangerous, and now we saw another example of it playing out over several days on national TV. We’ve seen evidence of it prior – in the streets of Iraq, but this time the consequences of these inept decisions are playing out in the streets of America, so it’s really starting to hit home to a lot of people.
This is the reason that there is so much outrage against Bush, some of which may even be unfair to him. In reality, he is not at fault for everything that has gone wrong in the Gulf Coast region, but for most of us he doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. He hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt. He has mismanaged so many important aspects of his presidency thus far, including the war in Iraq, the failure to pursue Bin Laden, and the squandering of the post 9/11 good will we had as a country, that now all of his mismanagements become magnified. Likewise, the administration’s less than truthful rhetoric has been so overwhelming (“we know where the WMD’s are”, “mission accomplished”, “the insurgency is in its last throes”, “anyone involved in a leak will be fired”, etc…) that when we see Americans dying in our own streets - and once again the administrations rhetoric is so obviously disconnected from the realities on the ground -then most Americans are not willing to accept this empty rhetoric any longer.
Many of us haven’t been willing to accept it from the beginning, but haven’t been able to effectively convince enough Americans, along with enough in the media, how severe of a problem it is to let this great nation remain unchallenged in the hands of this crop of neo conservatives. What is happening now is that the frustrations we’ve had all along have reached a boiling point because we’ve known how incompetent this administration was, and we knew that those incompetencies would come back to haunt all of us once again. This time the result was a national embarrassment.
The infamous 7 minute My Pet Goat delay now seems like a split-second decision compared to the day’s long delay in sending the cavalry down to the Katrina disaster area. It’s been said that those were cheap shots launched at Bush in Fahrenheit 9/11 and by others; and that Bush wouldn’t have saved any more lives or prevented any more of the disaster on Sept 11 had he got up right away after being told our country was under attack. That may be true, but those people never understood what the rest of us did and what we’ve been saying all along. Those 7 minutes were a warning of a man not up to the job.
Today, the Bush critics are becoming more vocal in their attacks, and they’re now bringing up any and all of his other mistakes because they are all related. They all speak to a man and an administration that has mismanaged and bungled one thing after another and of whom we have no confidence in. We knew that his incompetence has always been dangerous, and now we saw another example of it playing out over several days on national TV. We’ve seen evidence of it prior – in the streets of Iraq, but this time the consequences of these inept decisions are playing out in the streets of America, so it’s really starting to hit home to a lot of people.
This is the reason that there is so much outrage against Bush, some of which may even be unfair to him. In reality, he is not at fault for everything that has gone wrong in the Gulf Coast region, but for most of us he doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. He hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt. He has mismanaged so many important aspects of his presidency thus far, including the war in Iraq, the failure to pursue Bin Laden, and the squandering of the post 9/11 good will we had as a country, that now all of his mismanagements become magnified. Likewise, the administration’s less than truthful rhetoric has been so overwhelming (“we know where the WMD’s are”, “mission accomplished”, “the insurgency is in its last throes”, “anyone involved in a leak will be fired”, etc…) that when we see Americans dying in our own streets - and once again the administrations rhetoric is so obviously disconnected from the realities on the ground -then most Americans are not willing to accept this empty rhetoric any longer.
Many of us haven’t been willing to accept it from the beginning, but haven’t been able to effectively convince enough Americans, along with enough in the media, how severe of a problem it is to let this great nation remain unchallenged in the hands of this crop of neo conservatives. What is happening now is that the frustrations we’ve had all along have reached a boiling point because we’ve known how incompetent this administration was, and we knew that those incompetencies would come back to haunt all of us once again. This time the result was a national embarrassment.
posted by The Animal | 2:40 PM
8 Comments:
Your blog is pretty unintelligent and gay when compared to a real blog, such as the mighty, strong, and never wrong http://independencewire.blogspot.com
George Bush and the federal government are not to blame for the disaster we have witnessed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
In fact, the primary responsibility for the disaster response lies with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco and other local officials.
Yet leading Democrats and their allies in the major media are clearly using this disaster for political purposes and ignoring one obvious fact.
This fact – which needs to be repeated and remembered – is that in our country, state and local governments have primary responsibility in dealing with local disasters.
The founding fathers devised a federal system of government – one that has served us remarkably well through great disasters that have befallen America over more than two centuries.
But if we believe the major TV networks, George Bush, FEMA and the Republicans in Congress are all to blame for the current nightmare.
Let's remember that FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was created only in 1979. It was formed to coordinate and focus federal response to major disasters – to "assist" local and state governments.
Common sense suggests that local and state governments are best able to prepare and plan for local disasters.
Is a Washington bureaucrat better suited to prepare for an earthquake in San Francisco, a hurricane in Florida, or a terrorist act in New York?
After the Sept. 11 attacks against the World Trade Center, no one suggested that the Bush administration should have been responsible for New York's disaster response or that federal agents should have been involved in the rescue of those trapped in the buildings.
Last year, four major hurricanes slammed into Florida. Governor Jeb Bush led the disaster response and did a remarkable job, with nothing happening like what we have seen in New Orleans.
The primary response in disasters has always come from local communities and state governments.
First responders and the manpower to deal with emergencies come from local communities: police, fire and medical. Under our federal system, these local departments answer to local authorities, not those in Washington. These first responders are not even under federal control, nor do they have to follow federal orders.
In addition to local responders, every state in the Union has a National Guard.
State National Guards answer first to the governor of each state, not to the president. The National Guard exists not to defend one state from an invasion by another state, but primarily for emergencies like the one we have witnessed in New Orleans and in other areas impacted by Katrina. (See: http://www.arng.army.mil/about_us/organization/command_structure.asp)
Tim Russert and the Blame Game
The media would have you believe that this disaster was worsened by a slow response from President Bush and his administration, though the primary responsibility for disaster response has always been with local and state governments.
It is true that federal response was not as fast as it could have been. The president himself has acknowledged that fact.
But the press has focused on the first 48 hours of federal response, not uttering a word about the fact that New Orleans had 48 hours of warning that a major Category 4 or 5 would make landfall near the city, yet local officials apparently did little to prepare.
Obviously, Gov. Blanco did not effectively deploy her state's National Guard.
And New Orleans' city leaders did almost nothing to evacuate the portion of the population with no transportation. In failing to follow their own evacuation plan, these officials did little to pre-position food, water and personnel to deal with the aftermath.
I was surprised Sunday to watch Tim Russert, on his show "Meet the Press," tear into Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff. During his encounter with Chertoff, Russert did not suggest once that local government had any role in dealing with the disaster. Russert also asked for Chertoff's resignation.
It wasn't until after the first 29 minutes of his show – 29 minutes – that Russert raised the question of local responsibility. And when he did so with Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard, he did so in a passing way. Broussard brushed off his question with a non-answer.
Broussard began his interview claiming that the nation had "abandoned" New Orleans.
That is nonsense and a lie.
Broussard, who was never identified by "Meet the Press" as a Democrat, spent much of his time attacking the Bush administration, as has Democratic New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.
Broussard then ended his performance as he collapsed in tears with a demand: "For God's sake, just shut up and send us somebody!"
His tears didn't wash with me. My sympathies lie with the tens of thousands of people who have suffered or died because local officials like Broussard, Mayor Nagin and Governor Kathleen Blanco, also a Democrat, failed monumentally at their jobs.
As former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial told Russert, the disaster in New Orleans was "foreseeable."
In fact, New Orleans has long known that such a disaster could take place if a major hurricane hit the city.
The municipality even prepared its own "City of New Orleans Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan."
The plan makes it evident that New Orleans knew that evacuation of the civilian population was the primary responsibility of the city – not the federal government.
The city plan acknowledges its responsibility in the document:
As established by the City of New Orleans Charter, the government has jurisdiction and responsibility in disaster response. City government shall coordinate its efforts through the Office of Emergency Preparedness.
The city document also makes clear that decisions involving a proper and orderly evacuation lie with the governor, mayor and local authorities. Nowhere is the president or federal government even mentioned:
The authority to order the evacuation of residents threatened by an approaching hurricane is conferred to the Governor by Louisiana Statute. The Governor is granted the power to direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from a stricken or threatened area within the State, if he deems this action necessary for the preservation of life or other disaster mitigation, response or recovery. The same power to order an evacuation conferred upon the Governor is also delegated to each political subdivision of the State by Executive Order. This authority empowers the chief elected official of New Orleans, the Mayor of New Orleans, to order the evacuation of the parish residents threatened by an approaching hurricane.
It is clear the city also recognized that it would need to move large portions of its population, and it would need to prepare for such an eventuality:
The City of New Orleans will utilize all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas. Those evacuated will be directed to temporary sheltering and feeding facilities as needed. When specific routes of progress are required, evacuees will be directed to those routes. Special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves or who require specific life saving assistance. Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedures as needed. ...
Evacuation procedures for small scale and localized evacuations are conducted per the SOPs of the New Orleans Fire Department and the New Orleans Police Department. However, due to the sheer size and number of persons to be evacuated, should a major tropical weather system or other catastrophic event threaten or impact the area, specifically directed long range planning and coordination of resources and responsibilities efforts must be undertaken. [You can read New Orleans' Emergency Plan for hurricanes at its Web site: http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal=46&tabid=26]
The city's plan also specifically called for the use of city-owned buses and school buses to evacuate the population. These were apparently never deployed, though the Parish of Plaquemines just south of the city evacuated its population using school buses.
The plan, written well before Katrina was even a teardrop in God's eye, was obviously never heeded or implemented by local leaders.
But why should the New Orleans mayor and Governor Blanco take responsibility when they can blame George Bush and the Republicans in Washington?
With congressional elections fast approaching, Democrats who are out of power in every branch of the federal government know they need to change the tide quickly.
They have apparently seized on the Katrina disaster to harm the president politically.
Criticism of the federal government's response is fair and warranted. But putting full responsibility for this disaster on the Bush administration is way over the top.
Primary responsibility for this disaster remains with local officials like Nagin and Blanco, not President Bush.
Well thought out anonymous, but you too greatly diminish the role of the Federal Govt, and therefore all your logic is meaningless because it is built around the premise that this is not the federal govt’s responsibility first and foremost. This was the worst disaster ever to hit America. The Fed govt has the money, resources, and manpower. There is plenty of blame to go around, including the city and state officials. The mayor should have done more to evacuate the city, but noone knows that better than the residents of the city. They know their mayor and whether or not he made every effort to evacuate his city, and if they think he didn't then they should vote the moron out of office. I have no problem with that.
But, there have been studies on this done, and everyone knows that at least 100,000 people would not evacuate. They never do. Therefore, regardless if you blame the citizens for not leaving, you're still going to have hundreds of thousands of people trapped in the city. With that being said, the city and state officials DO NOT have the resources to manage this kind of catastrophe.
From the Chicago Tribune:
“…Denise Bottcher, press secretary for Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, noted that Blanco made a number of requests for more federal troops beginning last Tuesday, the day after Katrina hit the city. It wasn't until Saturday, Bottcher said, that those troops--and more than 100 military helicopters--arrived in force.”
Again, the mayor and governor do not have the resources to handle this type of catastrophe. And, considering that we are in a war on terror, which your boy Bush reminds us of constantly, how can the federal govt not be prepared for this type of disaster? What if it was a terrorist who blew up that levee which caused New Orleans to flood? (Which actually would’ve been diabolically brilliant on their part) Do you feel comfortable letting the local mayors and governors of all of our major cities be the ones responsible for managing a disaster after a terrorist attack or do you think it should be the job of the federal govt.? A terrorist could strike anywhere at anytime. They could blow up a chemical plant, a levee, a dam, set off a dirty bomb in Las Vegas, etc... and we are not prepared at the federal level. Not even close.
FEMA Pilot: Rescue Began Just Hours After Flood
Helicopters from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were conducting rescue operations in New Orleans less than a day after breaks in local levees began flooding the city.
But the lightning quick fly-out mission had to be abandoned that same night because local marauders were shooting at the FEMA choppers. "We first got in on Tuesday night," a FEMA pilot, who identified himself only as "Randy," told Fox News Radio's Tony Snow this morning.
The 17th Street levee had begun to give way late in the evening Monday. Well into Tuesday, city officials were celebrating reports that the brunt of Hurricane Kartrina had missed the Big Easy.
By the time the scope of the impending tragedy became known, however, FEMA rescue operations were already well underway.
"We were one of two helicopters with night vision goggles," Snow's caller explained. "They wanted to start evacuating Tulane Hospital, which is right next to Charity [Hospital]."
Shortly thereafter, however, the mission ground to a halt. "We were being shot at by various snipers around the city," chopper pilot Randy said. "So the military, Eagles Nest 1, basically called all helicopters out about 10 o'clock that night."
Within hours, however, reinforcements had arrived.
"They sent in the Blackhawks first to survey all the rooftops with a gunship. Then they started flying all their C-130's in . . . the Chinooks went in and the Blackhawks went in to evacuate."
Asked about allegations that the federal response was "sluggish," the chopper pilot told Snow: "I think they're wrong. They had C-130s on the tarmac [in New Orleans] Wednesday morning, which came in sometime during the evening on Tuesday."
"They had the Chinooks on the tarmac Wednesday morning. They had the Blackhawks Wednesday morning. Everything was there."
If there was any delay at all, the FEMA pilot said, it was because operations planners needed time to coordinate the mission.
"If all of them just started doing their own thing, there would have been total chaos," he told Snow. "And [the flood victims] would have been a lot worse off than they are now."
Funny, from reading the above it sounds like we did a great job, with only some minor delays to coordinate, and the only obstacle was the citizens shooting at the Choppers. There were plenty of helicopters, supplies and troops.
Unfortunately, that doesn't mesh with the realities that we saw on TV. I guess it was that "liberal media" inventing stories of thousands of people at the convention center with no food and water in hell-like conditions. It must have been an invention by the "liberal media" because FEMA and Homeland Security knew nothing about that for days and it was the media who had to inform them on Thursday about the situation. And, I guess the video that the media took of elderly people and babies dying from dehydration at this convention center was typical hollywood special effects. That damn "liberal media" is always making stories like that up.
TV is not reality. It is the impression of the reality they want you to see. Sorry you have not figured this out by now.
At least one major media outlet has finally noticed that New Orleans had an emergency response plan for hurricances and evacuations that somehow never got implemented. ABC News yesterday asked why Mayor Ray Nagin not only did not follow the plan, but actively sent non-evacuees to a site that had no preparations to handle them:
New Orleans' own comprehensive emergency plan raises the specter of "having large numbers of people … stranded" and promises "the city … will utilize all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas."
"Special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves," the plan states.
When Hurricane Katrina hit, however, that plan was not followed completely.
Instead of sending city buses to evacuate those who could not make it out on their own, people in New Orleans were told to go to the Superdome and the Convention Center, where no one provided sufficient sustenance or security.
ABC also asked Governor Kathleen Blanco's office about their response to the evacuation. They responded that they never asked for evacuation assistance from the federal government as part of their interaction with FEMA, only for assistance with shelter and provisions. They assumed that the city of New Orleans had followed its own evacuation plan.
That assumption wound up costing lives. Did they ask Nagin if his administration had followed the plan, and if so, what kind of response did they get? If ABC's report is correct, then the feds may not have known of the evacuation breakdown until the flood on Tuesday made it a critical situation -- and then were forced to respond by getting the correct assets in place within 72 hours for evacuation while almost all the roads and bridges were unusable. By that time, FEMA had begun to use what roadways were left open to move in the supplies and temporary shelter they had prestaged in the area. The feds would have had to quickly shift to a massive evacuation effort instead, a difficult and time-consuming transformation.
Kudos to ABC for asking the right questions. The answers will prove very disturbing for those who want to cast blame at the feds for what eventually will prove to be a heroic response, under the circumstances. The answers ABC published already prove most of that conjecture wrong.
You guys can argue about the disaster all you want, but it's worse than anyone can imagine. As reported in this article
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/
09/08/Katrina.cheney.ap/index.html,The Arch Devil Dick Cheney has appeared in a small Gulf Coast town.
I'm sure Dick Cheney's souless enthusiasm and potent aura of evil are an inspiration to all his worshippers that lost thier homes and blood soaked alters in the hurricane. After seeing a twisted half demon cleaning up a score of sacrificed cats and babies from his waterlogged basement with nary a complaint, Cheney was said to remark how much he was touched by the "Can do" attitude of his faithful hellspawn. "Well, about as touched as a murderous Hellbeast can be I suppose." He mumbled under his breath. Cheney went on to say that his mindless zombie George Bush thought it would "make for good damage control" if Cheney visited the state. Cheney was shocked at the independant thought of his mindslave.
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