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Thanks for running the article from the Post Gazette on Free Republic. You were correct in that PG usually does not allow any conservative viewpoints - but they ran the article so they could only run a bunch of vindictive, assaultive attacks on me and the federal government. I did not see any positive support Letters to the Editor. What most folks missed (not the Free Republic), was that my article was not an emotional piece or Karl Rove talking points (as one reviewer thought). It was the facts and the law. It is my perception that Liberals are not swayed by the facts - their minds are made up, don't confuse them with the facts. As time has shown, some mid-level bureaucratic problems held up FEMA relief in certain areas, but overall, FEMA did an average job on response - not poor and not great. The local and state governments were all graded - from the panhandle of Florida to Texas, everyone took care of themselves except for Louisiana. As I wrote in my piece, what societal factors would lead to such a catastrophic breakdown? I offer that maybe it was the welfare state mentality that abounds in Louisiana - the few in charge live lives of luxury and power and are there because of the hundreds of thousands of poor. This reminds me of the system in the Soviet Union where the one percent of the Communist Party lived above the 99% that supported them.

I also must respond to attacks on my character, a favorite liberal approach, perfected by the Clinton presidency. A google search on my name will turn up some unfavorable information. Unfavorable if you believe liberal news organizations. A number of non-credible folks stood before a podium and stated "facts" by strong assertion (they yelled louder than everyone else). If anyone can tell me how to get intransigent government employees who don't want to do what they were hired to do to do it, then please let me know. My efforts were considered to be "intimidation." I was paid at a 75% rate of overtime for 75% of my overtime worked (which is legal under the federal system), so that was fraud. Harassment is the buzzword when morally-bankrupt employees don't want to do something that authority is trying to get them to do. Ensuring that the government gets what it pays for is a challenging task, to say the least. You are right when you comment on the glacier-like movement of government bureaucracy. Read between the lines of the articles - nothing could be proven because there were no transgressions. Maybe some people will grovel and compromise to retain their government job, but I was not one of them. It remains important to me that the government get what it pays for. Creating a huge FEMA bureaucracy in order to take over when a disaster strikes is not the answer. Bush was right in tapping the military - already there, already trained, and already paid for. The liberals who despise federal intervention at the state and local level, demanded it in this case. The MSM became pretty quiet after the President's announcement of his plan to deal with future emergencies. The liberals, as usual, had no plan at all - just vitriolic rhetoric. Unfortunately, their hatred of Bush blinds them to his admirable leadership in times of need. In a couple decades, GW Bush will be looked back upon as a great president. The media also hated President Reagan, until he passed away, then they could not say enough good about him.

My best regards to all and congratulations on such an outstanding web site with insightful commentary. The facts, analysis, and lessons from the past will lead us wisely into the future.