Tuesday, September 06, 2005

 

Now We’ll Get To The Bottom Of Things

This is an actual quote-

"What I intend to do is lead an investigation to find out what went right and what went wrong," Bush said. "We still live in an unsettled world. We want to make sure we can respond properly if there is a WMD (weapons of mass destruction) attack or another major storm."

Really, you can’t make this stuff up.
I’m not really sure where to begin on this. Bush leading an investigation into the Katrina response (or, lack thereof) is like our buddy Sadam leading an investigation into why his regime was so corrupt.
Not so long ago I would walk into a voting booth and just pull the lever that said “Republican.” For the most part, I still would, but lately- Jesus H. Christ.
I'd say Katrina is the straw that broke my camel's back. The Bush Administration’s incompetence, stupidity and corruption boggles me beyond belief. I can remember hoping to myself after the Clinton administration that our new president would lead in a way that would make us forget all of Slick Willie’s sliminess. Well, be careful what you wish for. Compared to Bush, Clinton is freakin’ Plato.
Katrina is not like Sep. 11th, we knew it was coming, we knew (pretty much) how bad it would be, and we knew where it would be. So what’s the excuse?
Way too little, way too late. The lackluster response to what is one of the worst American natrual disasters in history is staggering. An entire city is under water, just to start. I think when it's all said and done we will find that the lives lost and amount of devistation will tower over the results of September 11th.
- and when it hit, our nation’s leader was not gearing up, he was on vacation.
Unfeeling incompetence, plain and simple.

# posted by Kirk @ 6:39 PM
Comments:
Kirk,

f your dad hasn't already forwarded this to you. please read:

http://www.proteinwisdom.com/index.php/weblog/entry/18966/#comments

Read especially the comments, which contain some people familiar with FEMA and how it works. It just might make you think differently.
# posted by Blogger Lisa : 8:20 AM
 
That would make an inkling of sense if, as I said before, the hurricane snuck up on people. There was at least a week's warning. This "we didn't know how bad it would be" is a load. I live all the way in S. Illinois and I knew how bad it would be. It's not the first time this has happened to The Big Easy, but no one seems to want to mention that. I suppose learning from history isn't on the list of things they've done.
It will also come out soon that the levees broke because they were only made to hold a level 3, and Katrina was a 5. However, the winds at N.O. were only a 2. The city has been begging for more federal funding (yes, it is the fed's responsibility on this matter) to improve the levees for years. The prior administration had granted it, but before the plans were set in place the funding was taken away by, you guessed it, the Bush administration. I'll bet ya Halliburton was able to construct a nice levy in downtown Kabahla.
One last point- even if it wouldn't have made any real difference where he was, why was GW still on vacation? What kind of message to the masses does that send? FYI, until two days ago our V.P. was STILL on vacation.
The example of leadership from this administration is poor at best.
# posted by Blogger Kirk : 9:41 AM
 
Disaster preparedness and relief should never be conservative -- using the word in it's non-political usage. There was ample notice of the storm and it's strength; corporations such as Wal-Mart were not only prepared but had already loaded trucks with relief supplies, the nuclear power plant was shut down in an orderly fashion (you can't just shut them down on a moment's notice), and private disaster plans went into effect for many businesses.
The idea that FEMA should wait to do anything until AFTER the disaster is so absurd as to be horrifyingly inhuman. With two days notice of a huge, category 5 hurricane -- two days notice AFTER it already struck Florida -- FEMA should have been staged with relief supplies and personnel around the region ready to move in.
The local and state governments in the region are as culpable as the feds (New Orleans should have forced people to evacuate and brought in buses to do so); the major difference here is that we've all been seeing our federal tax dollars swirl into the black hole that is Homeland Security, feeling confident that when a catastrophe happens they'd be sweeping in to help. And they've had 4 years to create that disaster relief infrastructure.
I think I want my money back.
# posted by Blogger Gene Cowan : 9:57 AM
 
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