It was a matter of time II

Whatever · September 2005

Michael Brown, the head of FEMA, is no longer responsible for onsite relief efforts for the aftermath of Katrina. Of course, he is still the head of FEMA. He is returning to Washington to "oversee the government's response to other potential disasters."

LisaMN2 · September 2005

My favorite bit of information is the instructions for these displaced citizens to go to the FEMA web site to register for aid. So after clicking through 7 pages of informational material you get to the application which requires an address!

HRinNH · September 2005

Assuming they have access to a computer...kinda hard without electricity and the Library is closed due to water damage.

National Guard · September 2005

It may be helpful to remove Brown, but it it still lack of leadership at the mayoral level and the governor! You can't ignore their lack of leadership. I hope they don't get re-elected. This morning on the radio I heard the Mayor of Ocean City talking about emergency management and relief efforts. The relief efforts start immediately if not during the disaster. That its really all about recovery efforts, what your going to do the day after, how your going to get water, food, supplies etc. to everyone. He talked about how his phone in Ocean City started ringing off the hook during one of their storms/hurricanes with offers from other towns, cities and other governors offering to send help, just let them know what was needed!!!!!! Is the governor of LA and the mayor of NO trying to say no one called to help? Puhleeeze!!! When the forecast said it was POSSIBLE for Katrina to hit LA then they should have been planning! It doesn't appear that they did and no help came! It is mind boggling to me that at the minimum, the Nat. Guard wasn't activated by the Gov. My experience has been that at the first drop of rain or the first snowflake or the first gust of wind, the Nat. Guard is alerted and activated. Many members are told to report to their respective armory to wait for further instructions. The MD Nat. Guard was put on alert even for Katrina! Some of the Medical Units are down there now helping out. Where was the LA Nat. Guard? How come the Governor did not activate them? I heard the Mayor say on TV that he wasn't concerned about the looting, it was not a priority! Bull sh*t! If there had been a guard and police presence immediately, along with recovery efforts then the looting would not have been necessary.

Fire Brown indeed. I say off with the governor and mayors' heads!

ray a · September 2005

NG, you raise a good point about the immediate police presence. But, from what I've read, a significant number of NO police went awol when the storm hit. Guess they took the saying literally, "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen." They skedaddled.

Whatever · September 2005

I agree with you on almost everything. However, I don't think they should have started planning when it became possible for Katrina to hit, they should have had a plan in place for years and years. There is no reason why the couldn't have evacuated anyone who wanted to go (including people in hospitals and nursing homes). However, as far as the local officials, it is up to the local residents to vote them out of office. Of course, you can't vote for Mayor of NO if no one is allowed in NO.

LivindonSouth · September 2005

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 09-10-05 AT 07:02AM (CST)[/font][br][br]Not only does National Guard 'raise a good point', she raises about nineteen of them. The governor of Louisiana refused Federal offers at midnight on 'that Monday nite'. She refused to call for guard activation. She refused to heed the president's suggestions. She said she thought the winds would die down and folks would get back to normal in a day or two. The mayor is inept and his response and professionalism were worse.

The head of the National Weather Service office said that he personally telephoned the mayor and the governor (LA) on Monday morning and told them how bad the hurricane was going to be and that they should evacuate the city and both refused saying they had it all under control. Haley Barbour had Mississippi declared a disaster area TWO DAYS before the hurricane hit and that does make a great big difference in terms of what can be done by the feds in coordination with the locals.

What they needed in New Orleans was a 'CEO In Charge', like we have in the governor's office of my state. Instead, they have a bunch of moaners and blamers and they are running hard to escape the bright light that will shine on their ineptness for years to come after this is over and done with. When the Mayor of N.O. did finally put the mandatory evacuation in place, after the fact, he failed to think about the 1/3 of the city who have no transportation and are below the poverty level. He had no public transportation in place and figured they could get out on their own.

Brown, whoever this man was, should never have had the job he had. His resume was a lie. How in the world could a man with a short stint as an assistant to a city emergency director qualify for a job like this. He never held a management position, never supervised anybody, never directed a department at any level. This only proves my earlier point that this entire agency is a living graveyard of dead political hacks and a bunch of 'payoff' positions for election efforts.

These jobs have been awarded in a manner similar to the way in which ambassadors to foreign countries are appointed by presidents. It is scandalous, regardless of party. It must change.

System · September 2005

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 09-10-05 AT 06:51AM (CST)[/font][br][br]And just what does that mean to "oversee the government's response to other potential disasters." Is that a second chance for Mr. Brown to redeem himself after his trial run-in with Katrina?

Here's what I just pulled from the Washington Post:

"officials said the president's aides wanted a more effective, hands-on manager at the scene."

Now, who you gonna' call?

It was a matter of time II

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