The Best-Laid Plan: Too Bad It Flopped

NY Times ^ | September 11, 2005 | DAVID BROOKS

[neverdem]

Among the many achievements of the human race - Chartres Cathedral, the Mona Lisa - surely the New Orleans emergency preparedness plan must rank among the greatest, and the fact that this plan turned out to be irrelevant to reality should not detract from its stature as a masterpiece of bureaucratic thinking.

The plan (which is viewable online at www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal=46&tabid=26) begins with the insight: Be prepared. Or as the plan puts it, "Individuals with assigned tasks must receive preparatory training to maximize operations."

The plan lays out a course of action so that all personnel will know exactly what to do in case of a hurricane. The Office of Emergency Preparedness will coordinate with the Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness in conjunction with the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan by taking full advantage of the courses offered by the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Association and other agencies "as well as conferences, seminars and workshops that may from time to time be available, most notably state hurricane conferences and workshops and the National Hurricane Conference."

In addition, the plan continues, the administrative and training officer of the Office of Emergency Preparedness will maintain close communication with the state training officer of the L.O.E.P., making sure workshops are conducted at the Emergency Support Function level, reviewing Emergency Operating Center/E.S.F. standard operating procedures and undertaking more "intensive work sessions with elements of the emergency response organizations in order to enhance unified disaster planning."

One can imagine the PowerPoint presentations! The millions of cascading bullet points! The infinity of hours spent planning a hurricane response that would make a Prussian officer gasp with reverence!

Furthermore, the plan instructs the O.E.P. director to execute Mass Casualty Incidents scenarios; work with the Association of Contingency Planners and other groups to coordinate disaster organization responses...

[Psycho_Bunny]

One can imagine the PowerPoint presentations!

It's hard to tell which has the greater potential to more quickly destroy human civilization:  Leftist Thought or PowerPoint presentations.

[geopyg]

Or in New Orleans case : the Best Laid Plans of Mice. (period)

[battlegearboat]

"But liberals who think this disaster is going to set off a progressive revival need to explain how a comprehensive governmental failure is going to restore America's faith in big government."

The cackling Grey Lady cracks.

[pollyannaish]

LOL. In many cases, they are one and the same.

[neverdem]

FWIW, the left won't appreciate this OpEd.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

I will have to forego article, I don't register for leftist rags.

[Bush gal in LA]

Too bad when push came to shove,and the category 5 hurricane was bearing down on them, the RATS chose to ignore ''The Plan'' and instead picked up the cry that most Rats do in a time of crisis. ''Abandon ship'' every man'' (or in this case Rat) for himself.

[SierraWasp]

Ancient Hebrew platitude, dude!

"Man plans and God laughs!"

[neverdem]

The cackling Grey Lady cracks.

Say what you will about the old grey/gray whore, they let David Brooks and John Tierney write what they please, IMHO.

[jammer]

Bureaucracies exist to employ bureaucrats. What realist can be surprised? Central planning results in, for example, 75 consecutive years of "bad weather" in Russia which leads to poor harvests which leads to 70 consecutive years of unmet goals in 5-year "plans."

For other examples, check the American companies (all that I know of are bankrupt) who used the TQM planning models of Demming.

When people do most of their own planning, with their own risks, "plans" work much better. They actually plan and implement, rather than plan for planning's sake. Results count, not the "process."

[neverdem]

I will have to forego article, I don't register for leftist rags.

You haven't come across bugmenot.com? It's worth reading.

[Dane]

Huh NYT, Cancun, Mexico actually followed their plan, but of course you guys who work at the old grey democrat prostitute will never acknowledge that, because your precious democrats might be shown for the incompetants they are.

CANCUN, Mexico - A massive evacuation of tourists in one of the world's largest resorts began Sunday, as hundreds of buses were dispatched to move tens of thousands of tourists away from Hurricane Emily, heading toward a direct hit on the coast. The very size of the task was daunting: about 500 buses were ordered to move 30,000 tourists in Cancun — part of a total of 70,000 to 80,000 mostly foreign tourists to be evacuated statewide to temporary shelters in ballrooms and convention centers

While blanco/nagin decided to make a new Louisiana navy consisting of yellow submarines.

[tet68]

No plan survives contact.
OODA.

[msnimje]

David Brooks was put on my Shite list last week for his harsh remarks toward the President. This is better and more like the David Brooks I used to enjoy reading.

[Bush gal in LA]

I think since things have calmed down some,( since last week,) and people are having time to really examine the situation and discover what REALLY HAPPENED,. More and more fingers are going to be pointing in the right direction. The locals! But Pelosi and Company are going to try their hardest to make sure that doesn't happen.

[muawiyah]

The toilets weren't working ~ that happened when the power to the municipal watersupply went out.

You missed some interconnectedness ~ might study up on what makes what go in your own community so that you aren't left sleeping in a tent on what used to be somebody's front lawn wondering outloud about why "they" haven't brought you ice yet!

[js1138]

But of course this illustrates the paradox at the heart of the Katrina disaster, which is that we really need government in times like this, but government is extremely limited in what it can effectively do.

Katrina was the most anticipated natural disaster in American history, and still government managed to fail at every level.

.....

So of course we need limited but energetic government. But liberals who think this disaster is going to set off a progressive revival need to explain how a comprehensive governmental failure is going to restore America's faith in big government.

[digger48]

The toilets weren't working ~ that happened when the power to the municipal watersupply went out.

Even animals pick a certain spot to relieve themselves, From the reports, anyplace in the dome was considered a toilet.

You missed some interconnectedness ~ might study up on what makes what go in your own community so that you aren't left sleeping in a tent on what used to be somebody's front lawn wondering outloud about why "they" haven't brought you ice yet!

Don't assume that I know nothing of preparedness or that I would wait on anyone to bring me ice. I've assisted in more than one tornado aftermath, including one that claimed the life of my own grandmother. And I didn't even complain that Richard Nixon didn't dig her out of the rubble in time.