Subj : Re: Ok, NOW Brownie resigns To : alt.tv.farscape From : Ken McElhaney Date : Wed Sep 14 2005 11:00:54 From Newsgroup: alt.tv.farscape Nick wrote: > Ken McElhaney wrote: > > TNW7Z7Z7Z12345 wrote: > > > >> When revamped under Clinton, FEMA had disaster experts who > >> immediately explained all options/procedures to state and local > >> officials, who can't possibly know every detail of how to get > >> help from the federal bureaucracy. > > > > And now, FEMA is under the department of Homeland Security. > > > >> And yes, state and local officials screwed things up (and that > >> will come out in an investigation), > > > > I really hope so since their decisions helped lead to the disaster > > that happened. > > What decisions are you talking about? Lack of executing their disaster plan for one thing, assuming they had a decent one to begin with. Admittedly, all those people in the Superdome and Convention Center that were stuck there for four days at least were still alive. The question are; 1. Why wasn't either facility fully stocked with water for an extended stay? Mayor Nagin's announcement of the manditory evacuation told those who planned on going to either place to carry "three or four days" worth of food and water. Obviously, he must've considered the possibility that the city could be flooded and road access cut off for days. 2. Why weren't the buses, which were apparently used to move those to the Superdome and Convention Center, then moved back to the Superdome & Convention Center AFTER the hurricane passed? Should that have been an automatic move, not requiring any communication (considering that hurricanes tend to down power & phone lines). 3. Did the local law enforcement have a disaster plan at all? I would think that the first move for police officers, once it was clear that the city was flooding, would be to congregate around the Superdome, Convention Center, and other evacuation sites in order to create safe zones. A decent disaster plan would take into account power outages and downed communication lines (presumedly from the hurricane), so police officers would automatically report back to their precincts, and if those facilities were underwater (which many of them were), report directly to their pre-designated "safe zone". > >> The big > >> issue in NYC was communication failures. Blanco begged FEMA for > >> phones and didn't get them for days. > > > > But that doesn't explain why Blanco was so late in moving her > > national guard into New Orleans. If she truly was not in control > > and couldn't contact them, she should've told Bush to federalize > > them and make them his responsability. > > You know the National Guard is made up of regular guys who are at > home riding out a hurricane themselves. They have power go out and > phone lines go down and get flooded just like anyone else. And yet they were called up BEFORE the hurricane hit and were NOT in New Orleans when the hurricane struck. Besides, wouldn't the disaster plan take downed communication lines into account? And if not, what kind of screwy disaster plan did the gov use? > > >> More important here's a very long and detailed chronology of > >> events that spares no one. > >> > >> >> 0,2153804.story?page=1&coll=la-home-headlines> > >> > >> or > > > > Yea, that one is pretty bad. It assumes that once Chertoff made > > the declaration, federal aid, troops, and supplies would appear > > instantly. Besides, isn't the state national guard STILL under > > Blanco's control? > > Again, the national guard troops don't just appear instantly either. > In fact, I would expect an active duty unit to beat a national guard > unit to the scene since they are already mobilized. Can't do it; http://tinyurl.com/bjjvx United States military forces CANNOT be used in a law enforcement role withing the US. They can assist in rescue (and limited drug enforcement, but that's more of a Coast Guard role), but they cannot be used in a security role. Of course, Bush could've invoked the Insurrection clause, which would override the Posse Comitatus Act, but that would be illegal since last time I checked carrying a big screen tv out of Wal-Mart does not constitute open rebellian against the US government. Basically, the first responders are local and state officials, including law enforcement that assess what is needed on the ground and then inform FEMA for additional assistance. Did FEMA screw up? Yup. But how much of that was due to a poorly executed disaster plan on the part of local and state officials. Ken .