It's good to see that four years of garrison-state tactics in the name of Homeland Security were all for naught. The President created an entire Cabinet department to deal with large-scale emergencies, yet the situation in New Orleans is making it quite clear that the federal government couldn't handle a fire drill in a phone booth.
By now we've all seen and heard the story; lawlessness, stacks of corpses (in 90 degree heat, mind you), and tens of thousands of people herded into the New Orleans Convention Center and Superdome (the fact that I've been in both is just surreal and weird now) without food, water, supplies, or authority of any kind. No one is in control. No FEMA, no police, no National Guard, nothing. I understand that those individuals are in other parts of the city tending to other problems, but this shouldn't be a zero sum game.
There's no plan and no control over the evacuation process. People are intermittently herded onto buses, destination unknown.
They have placed 50,000 people in two giant buildings and basically left them to their own devices. And yet some people are shocked to see looting and violence? What were they expecting? "We were confident that this angry mob could control itself and the corpses it is producing". An increased National Guard presence is promised, but should that take four or five days to arrive? As the city's disaster management chief says:
"This is a national emergency. This is a national disgrace," he said. "FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans.
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"
Does anyone watching this cluster-fuck really feel confident that, despite the billions of dollars spent and endless fearmongering in the name of safety and preparedness, the government could deal with a city that was bombed? Attacked with chemical weapons? Nuclear?
Aren't those exactly the things that they've been telling you are ever so imminent for the last four years? "THE TERRORISTS WILL STRIKE, AND THEY WILL DO SO WITHOUT MERCY OR WARNING! Oh, and by the way, on the off-chance that does happen, we don't have a fucking clue how to deal with it.
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Perhaps we need a couple billion more in appropriations."
mike says:
Maybe you didn't hear, but the President looked at the disaster area from within several thousand feet while flying over it in Air Force One. That's the kind of leadership we need more of in this country.
Liz says:
Sorry to be a non sequitor. As always, Ed's reporting has left little to add.
Perhaps if much of our National Guard was not busy in that other hopeless quagmire…
I thought that ginandtacos would be pleased to know that my mother's best friend's son, who is thirty-three, has an infant daughter, and has not been in the army for six years, got called to duty this week.
Also,
http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2005/08/56285.html
jb says:
Look, our leader has a lot on his plate right now, okay?
Not to mention, he has lots of hobbies.
Look here for proof:
http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/08/how-out-of-touch-is-george-bush-on.html
bestec-burjuiam says:
HAVANA (AP)