Relief Efforts
The slowness of the relief response has been taking a ton of flak the last few days. I believe some of this griping is warranted…however, as was pointed out by an interfviewee I just heard on MSNBC – the relief efforts are, at best, only 24 hours behind schedule. Take this into consideration:
- Monday – nothing could move – the hurricane was still making its way through the area, and things were locked down.
- Tuesday – Staging areas, deployment areas, transportation routes all needed to be cleared before equipment could be moved in to start relief efforts.
- Wednesday – Trucks, helicopters, military vehicles arrive at staging areas as well as the food, water, and supplies they’ll be delivering.
- Thursday – supplies start to make their way into the city.
I am, in no way, trying to minimize the trauma NO are going through. It sucks bigtime. I’m just making the point that they’re not all *that* behind schedule. Think about it – all of the trucks that are now delivering supplies around NO. They couldn’t have been pre-staged around the city, otherwise they’d all be wrecked, looted, and/or floating away now. If there wasn’t the violence/shooting issue in NO currently, I believe that this relief effort would be further along. Yes, FEMA, DHS, etc *should* have been better prepared, and after seeing their rather un-coordinated response, I call into question the leadership of those orginazations. In all honesty though, I’m not sure that in this case, with different leadership in place, the situation would be much different.
Just my $0.02.
It would be different with different leadership.
24 Hours makes a whole hell of a lot of difference in emergency situations.
I can’t begin to get a handle on all of the things that weren’t done right. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but the Federal Government didn’t do their job. Period.
I guess I haven’t been convinced yet that the blame lays on any one orginazation/person/government/etc. From what I’ve read, Mr. Mayor (New Orleans) dropped the ball several times as well, especially with regard to the late timing of his evacuation orders and the fact that he didn’t use the hundreds of city-owned transit and school buses in the evac.
I guess in the end, it’ll be interesting to see how this blame game works out. It’s really too bad that once again, between the Katrina aftermath and Rehnquist’s death and pending replacement, that the country will be polarized into discrete political factions. I really dislike it when that happens.
Let me clarify a bit…I realized this morning that I didn’t articulate my views well…
Yes, there’s no doubt that the Federal Government should have had a much quicker response to Katrina. However…I don’t believe they’re the only ones to blame. The city and state governments of the affected areas also fell far short of what they *should* have done as well.
I’m not trying to “protect” Bush in any way by saying this – he certainly made a bad decision in appointing Brown as the 2nd in command at FEMA, and it seems that he surely could have shown in the first few days following the disaster, that he was concerned for the welfare of the affected people. My aim is to make sure that blame is applied in a just manner. Last night Meghan came home from work and told me about a conversation she had w/ a few of her co-workers last night. Her co-workers were making very naive, uneducated comments about the post-hurricane situation and were placing *all* of the blame on the president. I suggested to Meghan that she should challenge her co-workers when they make comments like that. If you’re a staunch anti-republican, it’s very easy to take advantage of this situation and get in your daily dose of Bush-bashing. I don’t think that’s prudent, however.
Yes, I’m sure it sounds like a daily dose of Bush bashing.
Trying to figure out where to place blame among city, state, and federal officials misses the whole crux of the problem, and proves my point.
The central problem was that there was a leadership vacuum. When there’s a leadership vacuum, you get a bunch of small frys rushing in trying to take charge.
This was obviously a national incident — a “disaster of national significance,” yet there was a tremendous lack of leadership fromt he federal level.
The Federal government should have stepped in early and taken control, directing resources and efforts where they needed to be. State and local gov’ts should have been taking orders from the feds — the only problem was the feds where nowhere to be found.
You can’t blame the mayor of New Orleans — his city was under water. You could blame the LA gov’t if they were the only ones affected, but it was a regional catastrophe. We have a federal givernment and a FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY for a reason (to manage emergencies).
Bush appointed a total incompetant to head FEMA, and it’s ludicrous to suggest that he shouldn’t be held responsible for that. If there had been an actual professional in charge at FEMA, it would have been totally different. They should have been ahead of the curve, yet they were totally and completely behind. Their performance has been totally unacceptable and unforgivable.
Just wait to see how many people are fired over this. If the answer is zero, then Bush and his cronies can burn in Hell for all I care.
Bush appointed a total incompetant to head FEMA, and it’s ludicrous to suggest that he shouldn’t be held responsible for that.
I didn’t suggest that.
You can’t blame the mayor of New Orleans — his city was under water.
I don’t think you can obsolve Nagin of any responsibility just cause his city was in a major crisis. Like I said, Nagin dropped the ball in a huge way *before* the hurricane hit by 1) not issuing the evac order till 12 hours before Katrina hit and 2) Not using the city’s buses to aid in the evacuation. Sure, neither of these step would have stopped the flooding, but it would have gotten a ton more people out of the city.
FYI – the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said in a statement today that “government at all levels failed”.
“Government at all levels failed.”
I expect leadership from the federal government in situations such as this. There was no leadership. That is why “government at all levels failed.”
I’m not trying to excuse the actions of the NO mayor, or the LA governor. My point is that their jobs in situations like these become exceedingly difficult when the federal government isn’t doing their job.
The number one failure was with FEMA. The director and deputy directors should be held responsible. Those who appointed them should also be held responsible. It’s important to have qualified people in these positions, and I don’t think the president should be allowed to *goof* the first time around…
Mike Brown couldn’t put on a horse show. Why did Bush think he was qualified to run FEMA?
This post I just read on USENET and this followup sum up my feelings well. So rather than re-iterate these posts, I’ll just let them speak for themselves.
The spirit of those USENET posts do not mesh with the amount we pay in taxes to our city, county, state, and federal governments, respectively, in my opinion.
If we’re not going to get any help from the feds in the event of a regional natural disaster, then they have no reason to exist, let alone any reason to levee taxes.
The federal government gets the lionshare of the tax revenue. With that comes reponsibility. I’m sorry, but attempts to let them off the hook are sickening.
If we’re not going to get any help from the feds in the event of a regional natural disaster, then they have no reason to exist, let alone any reason to levee taxes.
Hyperbole won’t get you very far w/ me ;-)
I’m sorry, but attempts to let them off the hook are sickening.
Whoa there – I’m not trying, in any way, to obsolve the federal government of any wrongdoing, and I’d disagree with anyone who tried to do that. I’ve said several times that there have been systemic failures. My aim is to get people to understand that there are many people and organizations (at all levels of government) here that are to blame, not just a single culprit.
I don’t pay taxes to the City of New Orleans or the State of Louisiana. That doesn’t mean you have to pay taxes to be upset with them. But, I think with better leadership at the Federal level this situation would not be as bad.
I believe the Minneapolis Police and Fire Departments, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s department, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (and Division of Emergency Management) are all competently run.
The only government under whose jurisdiction I fall and to whom I pay taxes that I believe has failed in this disaster is the Federal Government of the United States of America, which currently is run by My President, George W. Bush.
I’ve written enough checks to “US Treasury” in the past few years. I’d like to think that money is being used wisely.
The recently signed highway bill included some $200 million to build a bridge to an island in Alaska with 50 residents.
The list of pork projects of excessive spending is endless. The Corps of Engineers had been requesting more money for flood protection in the New Orleans area — only to get a fraction filled from the feds.
Well, just read this. I’m going home.
The only government under whose jurisdiction I fall and to whom I pay taxes that I believe has failed in this disaster is the Federal Government of the United States of America, which currently is run by My President, George W. Bush.
Fair enough…I will permit you to gripe ;-)
Well, just read this.
Interesting read…however this article is indicitave of the political polarization I really dislike. It’s written by a known liberal, frequent Bush-basher. So of course she’s going to criticize him. So once again, we have the liberal camp in their corner, trying to place as much blame on him as they can, and in the other corner, we have the pro-Bush stalwarts (myself discluded), tossing blame back at the state/city governments. I’m here in the middle, trying to be a voice of reason. So sue me.
Even handedness does not equal reason. I believe I’ve stated reasons for why I feel the way I do.
Modo has been a Bush-basher as of late. She usually supports her arguments. Just because someone has a strong opinion doesn’t mean she’s wrong. She was also a Clinton basher, remember.
She could be the love child of Karl Marx and Che Guevara, it wouldn’t change the fact that the cost of the bridge in Alaska would have covered the cost of re-enforcing the levees in Louisiana to the degree the Army wanted.
“Known liberal?” Like it’s some form of treason to think the government has a job to do, and they ought to do it well?
This isn’t about liberal vs. conservative, though. It’s about competant vs. incompetant. The director of FEMA was fired from his last job, as a horse association director. None of the top three people in FEMA have any prior emergency management experience.
That isn’t vitriol. It’s fact. We’re paying these bozos’ salaries, and their incompetence is causing people to suffer. I’m upset, and I believe rightly so.
Is it too much to ask that the government of the United States appoint top level directors with at least some experience in their field?
Am I supposed to think it’s ok that these jobs are handed out as political reimbursements?
Just because someone has a strong opinion doesn’t mean she’s wrong.
I didn’t say she was wrong. I was using her story as an example of the political hubris that is going on at both ends of the spectrum. She, as all of us, are entitled to our opinions.
..it wouldn’t change the fact that the cost of the bridge in Alaska would have covered the cost of re-enforcing the levees in Louisiana to the degree the Army wanted.
And if the funds were actually approved, what are the chances that the work would have been completed by now? I know…it’s the thought that counts, right? ;-)
As an aside, I heard today (and I need to do some research to verify this), that the main breach in the levy was caused by a river barge which had broken free of its moorings with the rising floodwaters. Methinks no amount of reinforcement would have prevented that…
It’s fact. We’re paying these bozos’ salaries, and their incompetence is causing people to suffer. I’m upset…
I’m upset too. I thought I’ve made that clear. If you’re going to be upset at Bush, FEMA, et. al. for not doing “all they could do”, then I just ask that you be equally upset with local officials for not doing the same.
I’m not trying to sway your opinion here, of the current administration. We all are well aware of your views. I’m just trying to get through the…short-sightedness perhaps…that I’m hearing from you.
umm…that’s about all have I have say about this topic folks…