DO NOT GIVE TITLE 10 AUTHORITY TO SUCCEED OVER STATE/LOCAL AUTHORITY
These photos are what happens when the State and Fed agencies go ballistic. If you empower the DoD domestically , think what a President Hillary Clinton would do with that power.
Posted on 09/25/2005 2:34:05 PM PDT by ARealMothersSonForever
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush said on Sunday that Congress ought to consider giving the U.S. military the lead role in responding to natural disasters, as he heard one general describe the Hurricane Katrina rescue effort as a "train wreck."
Bush spent the last three days monitoring Hurricane Rita's high winds and flooding from military bases and emergency centers in Colorado, Texas and Louisiana. The president, whose poll numbers have slumped to new lows, was widely criticized over the slow federal response to Katrina.
His meetings with military brass and disaster coordinators were aimed at showing hands-on approach to Rita -- in contrast to when Katrina struck on August 29 and he was in Arizona and California pitching his Medicare prescription drug benefit.
But in his sixth Gulf Coast tour, Bush steered clear of visiting devastated areas or meeting with displaced victims, saying he did not want to disrupt the relief effort.
"The last thing we want to do is get in the way of the ongoing immediate response efforts. That's something we have never done before and we had no intention of doing on this initial trip to the region," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
Maj. Gen. John White, who briefed Bush at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, urged him to create a national plan for large-scale disasters like Katrina.
Illustrating the disorganization in Katrina's wake, White recounted an incident in New Orleans in which five helicopters showed up at the same time to rescue one person.
"That's the sort of simplistic thing we'd like to avoid," White told Bush. "That was a train wreck that we saw in New Orleans."
'VERY CLEAR LINE OF AUTHORITY'
Bush said Congress would have to consider under what circumstance the Department of Defense should become the lead agency in coordinating and responding to a disaster.
"Clearly, in the case of a terrorist attack, that would be the case. But is there a natural disaster ... of a certain size that would then enable the Defense Department to become the lead agency in coordinating and leading the response effort? That's going to be a very important consideration for Congress to think about," Bush said.
McClellan said Bush's goal was to make sure "there's a very clear line of authority" in the event of another major catastrophe, whether it is another storm like Katrina or an avian flu outbreak.
"You need to mobilize assets and resources and logistics and communications very quickly to help stabilize or contain the situation," McClellan said. "The organization, in the president's mind, that has the capability to do that is the Department of Defense."
McClellan said Bush has already discussed some of these issues with the secretary of Homeland Security and some top military leaders, and that the next step was to hold talks with congressional leaders.
McClellan acknowledged the proposal faced legal hurdles, and that a major issue would be determining what type of disaster would "trigger" a shift in authority to the Pentagon.
Putting the military in the lead role would sideline the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA, which now works with local and state officials to coordinate disaster response.
Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu (news, bio, voting record), a Democrat, expressed reticence about that approach on CNN's "Late Edition."
Landrieu said the military has a strong role to play "but so do our governors and our local elected officials."
"I mean we do have a democracy and a citizenship that has elected mayors, county commissioners and governors particularly. I'm not sure the governors association or all the mayors in America would be willing to step aside," she said.
ACTIVE-DUTY MILITARY NOW CONSTRAINED
In Baton Rouge, Bush said at a Federal Emergency Management Agency hub that he had had an upbeat report from the Army Corps of Engineers on work to contain the latest flooding in New Orleans.
"I would say it's an optimistic appraisal in the sense that work has started now and they can start draining that part of the city again," Bush said.
Rita, while dealing a punishing blow to an already stricken region, appears to have been far less destructive than Katrina, which killed more than 1,000 people and left New Orleans in ruins. Bush has praised the federal response to Rita and taken responsibility for flaws in the Katrina recovery.
Bush headed back to Washington after the Baton Rouge stop but may return to the Gulf Coast as early as Tuesday.
(Additional reporting by Adam Entous)
conveniently
{{ walking away muttering }}
Coasties!
Don't seccumb to the notion that only the military knows how to do stuff right. If we fire some politicians over this--primarily Nagin and Blanco, then we can make a point that won't go noticed on future politicians.
If you are from Lousiana, get out the folks to fire the corrupt ones.
Disasters such as election results going the wrong way, public uprisings, etc. Maybe we could get some pointers from countries with a great deal of experience in such matters -- China, for example.
Louisiana.
Dangit, that's twice.
>>Spell it right, not like you say it doofus<<
Many groaned when Clinton expanded the mission to include police action and reconstruction.
Hopefully, Bush, now in full pandering mode, will resist the political encouragement to further tinker.
Looziana ping.
That is dangerous talk, comrade.
It's not wise to poke fun at the military government.
Look at the bright side -- we'll only live under military rule when the weather is bad.
Right?
The earlier story has been spiked from the Yahoooo front page, for this one:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/rita_washington_hk4;_ylt=Al80uVnV_ihYu68v0kgMykeCbpwv;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
Here we go...hold on tight! Kiss your liberties good-bye
All "hail" to a good response...
Okay, I am going to post a MODIFIED excerpt. Guess where I modified it:
In other Rita developments Sunday:
_Navy and Air Force teams flew rescue missions into Texas and Louisiana to search for stranded residents. By morning, military teams had transported more than 2,700 people, including nearly 1,300 patients. All of the people came from impoverished coastal areas. Most of the patients came from hospitals and nursing homes that have languished under an indifferent Bush administration.
_The Beaumont Federal Correctional Complex lost power during the storm and had to go to emergency generators, said an aide to Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas. The prison has high-, medium- and low-security facilities. Each facility houses poor, marginalized citizens that were leading innocent lives. Governer Rick Perry's spokesman was unavailable to answer the question about why these otherwise harmless inmates were locked down under atrocious conditions. After failing to take Louisiana govorner Kathleen Blanco s advice to give each wrongfully incarcerated convict nine gallons of water and sixteen meals-ready-to-eat, Rep. Ted Poe was overheard to say "ess emm enn". Our ace reporter translated this to an obscure reference to "SMN".
I can do without the liberty of watching poor people screaming for help on TV, thanks.
DO NOT GIVE TITLE 10 AUTHORITY TO SUCCEED OVER STATE/LOCAL AUTHORITY
These photos are what happens when the State and Fed agencies go ballistic. If you empower the DoD domestically , think what a President Hillary Clinton would do with that power.
D@mn right. I am a Texan. And I will never forget what started as the failure to pay tax on a receiver in Mt. Carmel.
The Clintons' G-D military meals on wheels program lives.
I'm so glad that we have a Republican president who is implementing the Democratic agenda
bttt
Do ya think the talking heads and the media picked up the hint??
That the Feds can't come in and save the day UNLESS THE GOVERNOR ASKS THEM TO
Hint Hint ... Blanco never asked till it was too late
No good. Against the constitution. The governors association will have a huge cow over this and rightly so. We are not a dictatorship or a communist society where the fed just take over. Katrina was a train wreck because of lousy state leaders, not because states cannot handle it.
Hey Mary ... then why is it that you don't have a problem taking FEDERAL MONEY ???
I agree .. but I think the President was trying to tell people that the Feds can't be the First Responders like the media is complaining they should be
I think in this presser the president was trying to give the media a hint
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1491136/posts?page=24#24
Besides, the States will never hand over control to the Feds
Right away, an AC-130 came in and showed what it could do. There were pieces of metal flying in the air.
Then, the A10's came in. I saw smoke, then heard a "burp", and all hell broke loose.
Next, F-15s came in with bombs, and then B-52s with bombs. My pantlegs were vibrating, and my chest was in compression.
I said to myself: "Do not ever, ever, pi$$ off the United States."
What we must not do is unleash this power The politicians will abuse that power. They will. Trust me.
God help us.
How dare a mere peasant question the authority of the almighty governess. Have you no idea that she is doing her best to coordinate with the parish presidents, FEMA, and mayors to repopulate? Nevermind the irritation from all the evil conservatives that have have utterly ruined the Louisiana schools. Only the wicked, heartless conservatives want to deny the disadvantaged voters of the 9th ward their God given right to have a manufactured housing slum airlifted in, courtesy of Uncle Sugar. Er Uncle Sam. Anyway, the corrupt government of Louisiana has the equally satanic republican administration on the ropes now! They will (s)trumpet "compassionate conservatism!" Trent will fall in line, and declare that every penny wasted on this nonsense will be accounted for. By the next administration.
How were natural disasters handled in the 1800s and first half of 20th century?
This is a bad precedence by Bush - Bush isn't president forever, you know.
The federal response by the USCG was timely and effective. It takes time to assess and marshal additional federal troops and equipment to any disaster area for search/rescue.
IMHO, the perceived delay by the federal government was created by the MSM and the left to tag the administration, Bush in particular, as failing the victims and their families.
Bottom line is new federal power given to the military is flat wrong and not needed.
Please allow me to be the first to say that a Homeland Security department under the auspices of the DOD is a very,very, bad idea. The USCG does NOT fall under DOD domestically for a very good reason. My first comment is still valid. The US congress MUST address this in a well reasoned manner. Not in the hysterics of September 12th, 2001. Otherwise, I might as well join in with the nitwits that want Texas to secede from the union (not that it is untenable).
Hey, extremist. Did you READ the second half of my post? Jeeez.
Amen. And God Bless you.
I am not saying that we will use B-52s on the American public, but we should not open the door for the Title 10 military forces (active duty) on the public. That authority should remain with first responders, local Police, Firefighters, and the rest of those heroes.
The National Guard is Title 32 by Law. Even today, the Guard is under State control in LA, MS, and TX. Only under "The Insurrection Act" may the President Federalize those troops.
The US congress MUST address this in a well reasoned manner.
That is precisely why I put PCA as the first keyword. Rooters alluded to it, yet never stated it in the text. I personally will push for PCA to be implemented in Mass. as part of the big dig. That is the same scale as reconstruction. Sauce for the goose and whatnot.
I aint skeered. Grew up an Army brat. I have full faith and confidence in every man and woman that takes the oath. The politicians oughta be skeered. Bigtime.
Bump to 36. You are rock solid.
I aint skeered. Grew up an Army brat. I have full faith and confidence in every man and woman that takes the oath. The politicians oughta be skeered. Bigtime.
That is the point. We prevent an internal war with ballots. That is what skeers politicians. Sorry if I was not clear on that point.
bump
That corrupt city is screwing us all. Stealing billions of our dollars and maybe taking away some of our rights.
What would it take for President Bush to form a new military division that is dedicated to rebuilding New Orleans and Louisiana?
I'm not sure if it will fly, but how else would one go about training a whole city of uneducated people to learn productive vocations with all the money that will be spent? How else can we ensure that much of that money flows into the hands of the poor in productive ways? If we can do it in Iraq, why can't we do it in New Orleans?
-PJ
Yes, unless the candidate blatanatly lies about his/her philosophy. Which they all do, lately. That's how you lose freedom. No one KNOWINGLY votes for a villain...we've elected liars whose political consultants work extremely hard to hide their true beliefs until it's too late.
Couple that with Party organizations that threaten every lesser official who strays from the party platform with blacklisting, and you get an atmosphere where using the military as a police force amongst the general populace is discussed.
This option shouldn't have even come up; and would not have if we had leaders who cared about the principles of our democratic republic. But, we don't.
Skypilot - you are right on target. I fear there are too many John Q. Publics who will go merrily along with this. We need to go back and read from the founding fathers their ideas on limiting the military.
OBTW, did I tell you that I have 35 years of active/reserve and Department of the Army Civilian service? Been there, done that, and am wearing a tee shirt.
But the military is controlled by the Feds. It needs to be up to the states to decide how bad their situation is and whether or not they need help. they can deploy their own national guard anyhow. Besides, this was a case of an incompetent leadership in Louisiana. The rest of us should not have to suffer because of them.
BINGO
The rest of us should not have to suffer because of them.
The states will never give up control of their own states to the feds
Do not worry. From this time on only Republicans will be winning the elections. :)
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