Many of us have admitted that the possibility of federal failure in the response is possible.I have included it in most of my posts and I have not decided who is “more to blame”It is the automatic assumption of “There is suffering, therefore it is evidence of federal bungling, they are the major culprits.” Do any of us have all the facts about the communication between, city, state and federal authorities. Do any of us know exactly what Bush could legally do. As I have stated many times before it could that the Bush administration blew it big time. I don’t have all the facts. But in certain sections of the MSM it has already been decided. And how do they know? People are suffering! Guilt has been decided, we don’t need all the facts, game,set, match. The FEMA head should quit, Bush hates blacks, (and of course this is also evidence that Iraq is wrong and Kyoto is right). The one week trial and execution method of the critique is simplistic and may not be correct. Lets get the stranded saved and get started on the recovery. Let’s wait a week, MAYBE TWO!!!!!!, and then we can hold the political trial. If Bush blew it I will have no problem saying it. For many, It haseen decided “because there is suffering, as if a storm of that quality is going to be painless.

Michael Brown is virtually powerless if the local authorities opt to sit on their hands. The governor of Louisiana is still the chief executive of the state. Even the president of the United States cannot casually push her out of the way. We do not live in a dictatorship. It appears that some members of the MSM are unaware of the principle of federalism.

That item is the most revealing about what has been going on behind the scenes.

I hate to be comical, but I have to.

The Governess of LA. is the Wizardess of OZ

The Mayor of N.O. is Chicken Little.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301680.html

At the Washington Post, in a story with a headline that gives no indication of the important information it contains, we discover that federal officials were desperately trying to get Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco to do something about the disaster in New Orleansóbut she refused to act:

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There’s a memo, too.

Reading other blogs and comments this morning is depressing. So much furor. So little fact. So much cherry picking of news items.

Michael Moore and Maureen Dowd are at their usual level of unhelpful propaganda.

One of the things you learn in management very early is not to accept responsibility without authority. The state leader in La. is unwilling to give up her authority. She must also assume the responsibity.

It seems evident that there was a total collapse in civil control from before the hurricane hit.Certainly, after the levee failed early Tuesday the city government had disappeared. The state was no more effective.

I wonder when the feds realized that the locals had lost control of the situation. And, what alternatives did they have.

Again, thank you RogerA

There are clearly some problems with FEMA and the disconnect between what the FEMA director was saying and the national weather service was saying–but the federal response has been excellent in the face of a storm of massive proportions–It is sad that the critics of the Bush administration will take a national disaster of immense proportions and use it to bash a president–really really sad.

The emergency preparedness system starts at the local and state level–it is their responsibility to plan and execute and call on the feds when it is out of their control–Clearly the city of NO and the state of LA are woefully incompetent. But New Orleans has had an ethos of corruption for 100 or more years.

I suppose the president could have declared the Gov and Mayor incompentent prior to the hurricane and federalized the operation (required by the posse commitatus act)–OR the mayor and the governor could have said it was out of their control which permits the president to declare martial law–do you, Eric Deamer, think that either situation is likely? Or are you one of these people who think the President and federal government have far more than they actually do.

It is sad enough when the critics come out of the woodwork–but sadder still when they have no knowledge of how emergency management works, or how the laws of our country work with respect to the division of federal and state power.

Can’t post too much, since these 16 hour days are kinda wearing . . .

But basically, the way the Feds respond to a disaster is the same as the way the Feds help any state or local entity.

Show us your plan and we’ll give you the goodies.

No plan, no goodies.

Second point. Entities like FEMA are small and depend for their survivial on playing nice with others in the government who can acommplish things for them and who also want a share of the credit. That means – for example – that MREs purchased in Marengo, Indiana are bought and moved to New Orleans by FEMA but distributed by the National Guard. That means that in the eyes of the TV-watching public, the National Guard “made it happen” and gets the credit. And FEMA is happy to give them the credit.

Third point. The ad hoc nature of the planning and execution process means that many entities must be involved in order to get something done. Plus the inherent bureaucratic desire to make things more baroque than they really need to be. So FEMA tells Bureaucracy A to instruct Bureaucracy B to choose between potential Contractor Number 1 and potential Contractor Number 2 to get something done. You can see where this is headed . . .

There is also the small matter of doing it quickly (and you can never do it quickly enough) while keeping the purchasing and the spending of money legal. The ability to do this requires a high degree of skill – bureaucratic skill – and there are lots of folks who really shine at this. Another thing you never hear about.

Fourth point. Since World War 2, we have had a very large and capable military Reserve, that increasingly has become more and more integrated with the active services. Health care, promotions, tuition reimbursement, training, the whole deal. There is no Homeland Security reserve.

Apologize for no spell check. Gotta run.

From A Man who Has Been There Done That.

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2005/09/president_is_no.html#comments

In the past few days it has been rare to hear from who is knowledgable and has FACTS.

I cannot watch the TV now. The bile and hysteria spewing forth from nitwits is beyond the pale.

If I were King, only senior staff from the Corps of Engineers, Construction Engineers and Rudy Guliani and George Pataki would be allowed on the morning talk shows tomorrow. No politicians, no political operatives, no so called journalists. And someone like Ben Bauman who actually knows what he is talking about.