Ineptness at every level of govt in dealing with Katrina..

[q2261]

Taken from:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9287434/site/newsweek/print/1/displaymode/1098

The denial and the frustration finally collided aboard Air Force One on Friday. As the president's plane sat on the tarmac at New Orleans airport, a confrontation occurred that was described by one participant as "as blunt as you can get without the Secret Service getting involved." Governor Blanco was there, along with various congressmen and senators and Mayor Nagin (who took advantage of the opportunity to take a shower aboard the plane). One by one, the lawmakers listed their grievances as Bush listened. Rep. Bobby Jindal, whose district encompasses New Orleans, told of a sheriff who had called FEMA for assistance. According to Jindal, the sheriff was told to e-mail his request, "and the guy was sitting in a district underwater and with no electricity," Jindal said, incredulously. "How does that make any sense?" Jindal later told NEWSWEEK that "almost everybody" around the conference table had a similar story about how the federal response "just wasn't working." With each tale, "the president just shook his head, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing," says Jindal, a conservative Republican and Bush appointee who lost a close race to Blanco. Repeatedly, the president turned to his aides and said, "Fix it."


I just find this so hard to believe. The bureaucracy seems to have been so tight that the hapless sheriff sitting amid water was told to "email" his request. I migrated to America ten years ago, and this is not the America I once knew. *SIGH* Let me know what you guys think.

 

[dmcowen674]

This is what happens when you appoint unqualified friends and relatives in positions that require experience and expertise.

While this is something that has always been "normal" in political circles, it has reached a pinnacle of self destruction in these recent years.

 

[PELarson]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674
This is what happens when you appoint unqualified friends and relatives in positions that require experience and expertise.

While this is something that has always been "normal" in political circles, it has reached a pinnacle of self destruction in these recent years.

Leadership flows from the top down.

This is what happens when you have a President that cares more about vacations and photos ops than he does for the job he swore an oath to perform. I don't care how good the communications system is on Air Force One or in Crawford TX. He had a job to do and a responsability to the country and again as he has done every other time he is faced with a challenge he has run.

All he had to do was return to Washington, call his cabinet back from vacation, and show his presence to the American people. But, he prefered to have some cake with Senator McCain (who appears to have lost his backbone), play guitar, and watch a ballgame while a major (if not the major storm of this century) hit a population center.

 

[slyedog]

yep, from the top down....state and federal. federal only after requested by the state

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: slyedog
yep, from the top down....state and federal. federal only after requested by the state

Which happened before the storm and again afterward but the chimpie needed some sleep after eating all that cake.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: slyedog
yep, from the top down....state and federal. federal only after requested by the state

Which happened before the storm and again afterward but the chimpie needed some sleep after eating all that cake.

And what was requestd was far less than what was actually required.

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: slyedog
yep, from the top down....state and federal. federal only after requested by the state

Which happened before the storm and again afterward but the chimpie needed some sleep after eating all that cake.

And what was requestd was far less than what was actually required.

"Give us everything you've got."

Yeah...I can see where that can be considered "far less than what was actually required."

You've turned into YABA.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: slyedog
yep, from the top down....state and federal. federal only after requested by the state

Which happened before the storm and again afterward but the chimpie needed some sleep after eating all that cake.

And what was requestd was far less than what was actually required.

"Give us everything you've got."

Yeah...I can see where that can be considered "far less than what was actually required."

You've turned into YABA.

The state only requiested about 16M in aid before the storm hit. The comment you quoted came 2-3 days after the state hit.

and for the record, I have yet to give the fed a pass on its mistakes.

 

[conjur]

$16MM? BWA HA HA HA HA HA!! You're so full of sh*t I can smell you from here.


And, she told the Pres. that on Monday...the DAY the storm hit.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/natio...076b&hp&ex=1126411200&partner=homepage

"I need everything you've got," the governor said she told the president on Monday. "I am going to need all the help you can send me."

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: conjur
$16MM? BWA HA HA HA HA HA!! You're so full of sh*t I can smell you from here.


And, she told the Pres. that on Monday...the DAY the storm hit.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/natio...076b&hp&ex=1126411200&partner=homepage

"I need everything you've got," the governor said she told the president on Monday. "I am going to need all the help you can send me."

The request before the storm hit was for $16M. YOu have posted the link so you know the truth.

 

[conjur]

Looks like $130 million to me

 

[sandorski]

Bush is inept and certainly should never have been selected to run for President, but his biggest failure here is in approving equally inept people to important positions. He probably, as one would expect any President to do, called up FEMA and told them to get ready for Katrina and left it at that. Unfortunetly the heads of FEMA appointed by him were schmucks and totally clueless(apparently not even paying attention) and thus this mess developed.

This shouldn't be surprising to anyone. Since Bush took office Experts have been fleeing the Government in droves, being replaced with "Yes men" and people with clear agendas in line with Bush and his supporters. A certain amount of Patronage can be expected from any President, but there are some operations in Government that are too important, too Life and Death, and too technically complex to be handled by any yahoo you've befriended over the years.

This is the biggest problem with Bush, he thinks being President is being part of some exclusive Country Club. He has no Empathy for others nor even a grasp on the consequences that his decisions bring to others. FEMA is little more than the Father/Son Golf Tournament Organizing Committe, Iraq(Rumsy) part of the Membership Drive Committee, the EPA just a bunch of annoying grounds keepers ruining the quiet. It is too easy for him to appoint people to positions he lacks any understanding of.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: conjur
Looks like $130 million to me

Your right, I dropped a 0. However the 130M, is still a far cry from the billions that will be spent. And the fed delivered far more than the initial request in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[conjur]

If by reasonable you mean criminally negligent in its delay then, yeah.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: conjur
If by reasonable you mean criminally negligent in its delay then, yeah.

There were problems that existed at the state, local and federal levels that need to be addressed, however I dont think any of them fall under criminally negligent.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: conjur
If by reasonable you mean criminally negligent in its delay then, yeah.

There were problems that existed at the state, local and federal levels that need to be addressed, however I dont think any of them fall under criminally negligent.

True.

The crime rests squarely on the shoulders of the sheeple that put these inept people in power.

 

[dahunan]

Bush was helped along all his life by his Father and his cronies... so he is bound by blood to do the same

I still do not like the fact that the only people who could count the votes were long time republican suppporters and were related and told the public they would be sure to give Ohios votes to Bush.. oh well.. some call it sour grapes.. I call it healthy skepticism

 

[redhatlinux]

Simply put, the entire system failed, simply why?
The total devfastation caused by Katrina was not part of the models that were tested.
Sure we have a cat 5, big deal, nobody can 'test' for the losses that occured. First responders without homes, buildings, food or water. A mayor that COULD have used plenty of buses to evacuate, put chose the 'last resort' alternative to move people without food or water. The head of the Weather Service informed ALL the State Officials long before the storm hit, he gave the interview, stating he couldn't leave and sleep without passing on this info. Politics absolutely played a part in the storm. Mississippi, with a Rebulican governor, and Trent Lott suffered massive damage, but the BS has been kept to a minimum. Louisiana, with the Democrats is another story. EVERY chance is a chance to blame, every single chance. News media have 'spun' the storm at will. Facts go out the door.

I'm glad Brown has gone, he was just a screw-up. Bush, I'd still pick him over John Kerry.

 

[ShadesOfGrey]

" Ineptness at every level of govt in dealing with Katrina."

Solution?

More Government? I think not.

 

[EXman]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674
This is what happens when you appoint unqualified friends and relatives in positions that require experience and expertise.

While this is something that has always been "normal" in political circles, it has reached a pinnacle of self destruction in these recent years.

This is what happens when a Governor would not allow food and water ready to go on pallets to the superdome for fear of a magnet drawing too many people. That is a paraphrase of the American Red Cross Director telling Major Garret that the Lousiana office of homeland security nixed the red crosses plans to distribut the already in place water and food to the superdome for fear of drawing too many people there.

The above statement is pure attack on the president and has little to do with events that already have happened.

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: EXman
This is what happens when a Governor would not allow food and water ready to go on pallets to the superdome for fear of a magnet drawing too many people. That is a paraphrase of the American Red Cross Director telling Major Garret that the Lousiana office of homeland security nixed the red crosses plans to distribut the already in place water and food to the superdome for fear of drawing too many people there.


The above statement is pure baseless rhetoric on my part and has little to do with any fact in evidence.

Ayup...I agree.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: EXman

Originally posted by: dmcowen674
This is what happens when you appoint unqualified friends and relatives in positions that require experience and expertise.

While this is something that has always been "normal" in political circles, it has reached a pinnacle of self destruction in these recent years.

This is what happens when a Governor would not allow food and water ready to go on pallets to the superdome for fear of a magnet drawing too many people. That is a paraphrase of the American Red Cross Director telling Major Garret that the Lousiana office of homeland security nixed the red crosses plans to distribut the already in place water and food to the superdome for fear of drawing too many people there.

The above statement is pure attack on the president and has little to do with events that already have happened.

No matter how inept and poor of a job the guy does, his supporters still tow the line.

An amazing and sad spectacle.