Hey Ferk, this paragraph that the leftists have been trotting around the blogosphere is just a statement of FEMA'S role within the Department.
It does not mean that FEMA is supposed to be the first responders. That falls to the local and state officials.
I wonder why the local officials didn't follow their own plan which was to use the buses to get people out of the area?
"Louisiana begged for federal help on Sunday in a formal request"
AFter rejecting it the Friday before!
There's plenty of blame to go around here! The primary problem was evacuation...President Bush and the National WEather Service BEGGED the mayor to evacuate, and he waited to long.. He didn't do as the evac plan said..to use buses to get the people out. Next problem, law and order...the WHOLE state National Guard should have been activated..not just 1700 of them. She rejected Pres. Bush's request to federalize the national Guard...if at THAT time it screwed up, he would be to blame. As it was, she was in charge of the National Guard.
And finally...the disaster affected an area the size of Great Britain. The evac plan of NO in NORMAL times would take THREE days....They evacuated virtually all by Saturday after the levees broke on MOnday with no communications, flooded streets, etc....FIVE days. Put it in perspective!
Also, I don't think the USG needs to send any paperwork in order for one state to send its National Guard, under state control, into another when asked to do so.
I agree. Bush may be a nice man, but the American government is an incompetent organization. HUD, IRS, etc., all of them are a complete mess. It doesn't matter who is president: Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr, Clinton, Bush Jr; it just gets worse and worse and nobody ever does anything to fix it.
How do you think NO did in executing their part of the plan? Good use of city transportation, or haven't you seen the hundreds of unused buses that are underwater? How about the centers where they directed these poor souls? Were they stocked with a couple of days of food and water as they were supposed to be? What are your feelings about the Governor refusing to turn over the evacuation and crisis management to the federal government as requested on August 26?
I could go on and on but I don't really delight in continuing to pummel someone when they are down. The facts here make your observations the equivalent of leading with your chin in a fight you have no business picking.
What truths you are grasping about this whole event could fit into a thimble. Time to school yourself like the rest of us have, noob (though I'm getting a whiff of troll looking through your past posts). Start with the mayor, the city, their published plans & lack of implementation of said plan, their refusal to properly build the levee to recommended Cat 4/5 standards, the governor's role and responsibilities, the state disaster plan & lack of implementation. When you get thorugh all those layers of imcompetence and GROSS CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE, maybe we can armchair quarterback on how the constitutionally & legally hamstrung FEDS could possibly have done better.
Good points you bring up on those early calls for help.
Maybe more investigation is needed before knowing full story. Have you found any other related articles on it?
Still doesn't undo the fact Mayor of NO waited so late for evacuation orders. But would be interesting to get complete picture of what all the Louisiana officials were actually doing in those pre- and early-post hours.
Does sound like some cries of LA officials for help were slow getting an answer, according to those articles.