Katrina's POLITICAL aftermath (keep the political discussions HERE)

President Bush declared an emergency prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, so the only action needed for federal assistance was for Gov. Blanco to request the specific type of assistance she needed. She failed to send a timely request for specific aid.

i have a hard time believing that gov. blanco didn't send a "timely request" (wtf is that anyway?!?).

xpost hurting could you please repost the wsj article?

again, this was declared a disaster zone BEFORE THE HURRICANE HIT.

Someone (gypsy, I believe) said he wasn't incompetent. I say the jury is out on that. I agree with the rest of your post, though.

xpost - Don - as I pointed the guy doesn't know what he's talking about.

This is a really ludicrious excuse. Red tape should not be par for the course in disasters. Again, the question stands: what the hell is the government (FEDERAL, not STATE) going to do in the face of a trickier disaster, a terrorist attack, biological warfare, a fucking EARTHQUAKE--ie disasters that you aren't aware are coming for days prior?

I mean, why am I paying so much in federal taxes? Why can't I elect to just pay all of it to my state if this is the response that exists? Oh right, because we have to pay for the overseas pay for kids in Iraq, and military contracting all over the goddamn place...right. Homeland security.

2 xpost

I will, right after someone gets done defending Cindy Sheehan's affiliations. Oh wait, nobody gives a fuck about her anymore.

Then again, I could just wait for you to refute that column, point by point, and the discussion might gain some insight instead of ignoring what the mayor did not do.

Conservatives respond by attacking ... the outspoken mother of a dead soldier.

goes along with turning away the water from the nearby Walmart, diesel from the Coast Guard, and severing the emergency communication links in one of the parishes.

say, how did Sean Penn get in there, anyway?

well shit, man, if you got a boat and a chopper and some medpacks, ain't nobody gunna spit on that help, unless you're under control of a former-cabinet-level department absorbed into a bloated superbureaucracy by those who preach "less government" or some shit

And, again, the article is based upon a false premise to begin with, ie that they didn't ask for assistance. Dredge up an article not based upon that that addresses your points and maybe someone will argue the points with you in depth.

Don - why don't you refute my point, then - if you're so interested in insightful debate?

2xpost

Explain to me, Don.. explain to me why the burden of these people's safety should fall on the municipal gov't when Bush's own emergency plan states that it is federal?

And then I would please like to see you explain to Ally about how pinning the blame on some bus bungling mayor is in the best interest of the U.S. - allowing FEMA to continue operating in the same manner when they are the ones who would be responding if there should ever again be such a disaster (natural or terrorist).

xpost - shit!

Q: Yes, but you're telling us today there will be time for that somewhere down the road. Well, what if it happens tomorrow?

MR. McCLELLAN: We can engage in this blame-gaming going on and I think that's what you're getting --

Q: No, no. That's a talking point, Scott, and I think most people who are watching this --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, that's a fact. I mean, some are wanting to engage in that, and we're going to remain focused --

Q: I'm asking a direct question. Is he confident --

MR. McCLELLAN: We're going to remain focused on the people.

Q: -- that he can secure the American people in the event of a major terrorist attack?

MR. McCLELLAN: We are securing the American people by staying on the offensive abroad and working to spread freedom and democracy in the Middle East.

Q: That's a talking point. That's a talking point.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, that's a fact.

Go ahead.

Q: No, it's not.

It strikes me that this identification issue, btw, is an argument in favor of some kind of nationalized health care. I mean at the very least you'd have a greater chance of scoring dental records that way...

xpost ok that is a great interview.

Why are we talking about the "blame game" - there are thousands of people dead because government officials failed to do what they're supposed to be doing. That's criminal behavior. I mean, that's no game. There are poeple dead in the city of New Orelans and up and down the gulf coast because people charged with seeing to their welfare failed to do that. I don't understand this relecutance to say, Mr. Brown, you failed in your assignment. You're out of here. Go away. Go back to Colorado and go back to working for the Arabian Horse Association that we got you from.

And that hierarchical role is not just symbolic. It is conscribed by the Constitution, of course -- it has limits. But it is still the single most powerful governmental position in the country, and it carries enormous expectations. People don't expect the president to personally dam a river or pluck people off rooftops, but they expect him to respond quickly and strongly when a crisis hits that is clearly beyond the capacity of local communities to deal with. That's the whole point of having a chief. This is basic tribal code. A chief who fails to respond to his people when they're in danger, who neither protects nor rescues them, is going to be a chief with an unhappy tribe. So sure, the mayor and governor are going to have to answer to their particular constituencies, and they should.

But here's the real thing, Part II: If New York gets hit by a bomb or an earthquake or a crippling drought tomorrow, I'm not concerned about how Ray Nagin and Kathleen Blanco are going to respond. I'm not going to be calling them for help. Their level of competence and preparation are not going to be an issue for me. The same is sadly not true of Mssrs. Winkin, Blinkin and Nod down at FEMA and Homeland Screwity. Those guys are the ones I'm going to have to count on, just like the people in New Orleans did. So there's a reason for all Americans outside Louisiana to be a lot more worried about the federal response than the state and local, and it's not just about party politics. It's about who's going to be there when we need them.

a) has this gone to haliburton already? i read this, but wasnt sure if it was already the case

b) the poorer areas of new orleans, is that valuable real estate? if bulldozed, as unsafe now, i mean?

c) will poorer people be able to return, or will their homes be gone/replaced?

d) is there now a lot of money to be made, in the reconstruction?

check out what Al Gore's been up to this weekend.

i'm leaving now to go hear him speak at the Conv Center just south of here.

http://www.techcentralstation.com/images/taylorhurricanes.gif

kbr, halliburton's subsidiary, has a contract with the navy to rebuild/repair naval installations on the coast. it's not clear to me whether or not that contract existed pre-katrina.

b) the poorer areas of new orleans, is that valuable real estate? if bulldozed, as unsafe now, i mean?

valuable? not particularly. i'm not sure how one values real estate in new orleans now, nor whether that will really be a question anybody can answer until rebuilding.

c) will poorer people be able to return, or will their homes be gone/replaced?

the poorest parts of town were the worst hit, but i think it's still unclear whether there will be anything to return to, or whether housing can be replaced. there won't be any answers to the questions for a few months, i'm sure.

d) is there now a lot of money to be made, in the reconstruction?

probably, although the places that will have the most need reconstruction-wise might be the least attractive to builders.