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September 08, 2005
It's The State, Stupid
Since the mainstream liberal media will not, we will.
From the Fox News' "Special Report," 9/7/05
Fox News' Brit Hume: First, the focus of all of the attention has been FEMA, Federal Emergency Management Agency, what is FEMA?Fox News' Major Garrett: Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2,500 full time employees, 4,000 stand by employees. The mission statement very simple: prepare, respond, help, recover, reduce risk. How does it do it? By coordinating with state and local entities and other groups The Salvation Army, Red Cross, dedicated to helping the needy when disaster strikes.
Hume: So FEMA is relatively, it isn't very labor intensive it mostly works through other agencies?
Garrett: It works through other agencies. But it has been moved into the Department of Homeland Security. And in this crisis, It is a bit a victim of its own bureaucratic boastfulness. Earlier this year the new national response plan released by the Department of Homeland Security promised this - "seemless integration of the federal government when an incident exceeds local and state capabilities." In the minds of many Americans, this one did. And FEMA, at least initially, in the minds of some, did not respond enough.
Hume: The words seamless don't exactly spring to mind. But look, they are down there, The Red Cross, for example, is there.
Garrett: Standing by, ready.
Hume: Standing by, ready. Why didn't FEMA send The Red Cross into New Orleans when we had all of the people there on that bridge overpass and elsewhere. Why not?
Garrett: First of all, no jurisdiction. FEMA works with The Red Cross, The Salvation Army and other organizations but it has no control to order them to go one place or the other. Secondarily, The Red Cross was ready. I got off the phone with one of their officials. They had a vanguard, Brit, of trucks with water, food, hygiene equipment, all sorts of things ready to go where? To the Superdome and convention center. Why weren't they there? The Louisiana Department of Homeland Security told them they could not go.
Hume: This is isn't the Louisiana branch of the federal Homeland Security? This is --
Garrett: The state's own agency devoted to the state's homeland security. They told them you cannot go there. Why? The Red Cross tells me that state agency in Louisiana said, look, we do not want to create a magnet for more people to come to the Superdome or convention center, we want to get them out. So at the same time local officials were screaming where is the food, where is the water? The Red Cross was standing by ready, the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security said you can't go.
Hume: FEMA does, presumably at some point, have some jurisdiction over some military forces. Of course, the first responders there are the National Guard. Why didn't FEMA send the National Guard in? You heard that cry from many people.
Garrett: FEMA does not have jurisdictional control over any state's National Guard, only the governor does. The governor in this case, Kathleen Blanco, A democrat, did use the Louisiana National Guard for some purposes, did not deploy them in massive numbers initially and they were not used to move any of these relief organizations in and they could have been for the very same reason I talked about earlier, the state decided they didn't want the relief organizations where the people needed it most because they wanted those people to get out.
Hume: But even today we know that Governor Blanco has now decided that a mandatory evacuation may not be necessarily after all. But we can go into that later. What about the use by her of the National Guard to impose law and order during the early looting and all of that?
Garrett: She had a choice, as I am told. She could have taken up the offer from FEMA to federalize all of the activities in Louisiana, meaning that FEMA would be in control of everything. Not only law enforcement, but everything else. She declined to give them that authority. So essentially FEMA was trapped between two bureaucracies. One the Department Of Homeland Security where many of its decisions have to be reviewed and in some cases approved, and a recalcitrant state bureaucracy that wasn't going to give them the authority they needed to make things happen, among them, the National Guard.
Hume: What about this evacuation problem? It's clearly was something that New Orleans faced, knew it faced to some extent.
Garrett: And the city [sic] of Louisiana. They have a whole plan that contemplates dealing with an evacuation in the effect of a hurricane three, four or five. Their own plan says, 100,000 residents minimum from the New Orleans area will have to be evacuated. This plan makes it clear ...
Hume: You mean, can't get out on their own.
Garrett: These people will have not have their own vehicles. Not only that, It stipulate that these people are disproportionately poor, sick and in need of special transportation assistance. Brit, I think in these circumstances, bureaucratic language is important. Let's go to this. This is what the state says: "the Department of Health and Hospitals has the primary responsibility for providing medical coordination for all of the special-needs populations, i.e. hospital and nursing home patients, persons on home health care, elderly persons and other persons with physical or mental disabilities." Brit, I don't think you can come up with a better description of the people we saw, day in and day out, at the Superdome and the convention center, than this very population that the state's own plan said needed to be transported to a safe place and provided services.
Hume: Apparently no plan, no provision, no facility for doing that.
Garrett: No facility for doing that. Not only that, those who reviewed the plans the state put together before were critical of it. In 2002 the New Orleans Times Picayune had a whole story about this saying no one believes the evacuation plans are possible, feasible or will be carried out. They proved to be accurate.
Hume: It sounds like the state will have much to answer for in the investigation coming before Congress as well as the federal government.
Garrett: It appears to be.
Posted by Aaron at September 8, 2005 01:15 PM
Copyright © 2007 by author. May not be copied, published, or otherwise used (except for brief quotes) without express permission of author. Articles published with permission by Pardon My English.
-->Comments
Gov. Blanco has a hell of a lot to answer for. What was she thinking? She declined eh? Well, I hope that people will decline to vote for this idiot next time. The truth will out. Sorry for all the libs, but they have lost agian in their attempt to demonize the President.
Posted by Lisa ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.pardonmyenglish.com//nav-commenters.gif)
at September 8, 2005 03:04 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050903/ap_on_re_us/katrina_national_guard
>>New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson offered Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco help from his state's National Guard last Sunday, the day before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. Blanco accepted, but paperwork needed to get the troops en route didn't come from Washington until late Thursday.
California troops just began arriving in Louisiana on Friday, three days after flood waters devastated New Orleans and chaos broke out.
In fact, when New Orleans' levees gave way to deadly flooding on Tuesday, Louisiana's National Guard had received help from troops in only three other states: Ohio, which had nine people in Louisiana then; Oklahoma, 89; and Texas, 625, figures provided by the National Guard show.
...
http://gov.louisiana.gov/2005%20%20proclamations/48pro2005-Emergency-HurricaneKatrina.pdf
Posted by Um Yeah at September 8, 2005 03:20 PM
Ah yes, yet another cut/paste not commented on link. Got a point with that? Or is the only point there the fact that you know shit about he NG and that it takes time to call up NG troops. You DO know that they're civilians don't you? You DO know that they're not on 24 hour alert status don't you? Guess not. Chalk it up with the rest of your military ignorance.
Have nothing to say? Didn't think so.
Ooooooh....a pdf file of the declaration of a state of emergency by the guvna. Guess that's supposed to mean something somehwere....Bueller? Anyone? Have you read the evacuation plan and figured out why the guvna didn't want the Red Cross to bring food/water aid into the city yet?
Posted by Sarge at September 8, 2005 03:42 PM
>>Ah yes, yet another cut/paste not commented on link. Got a point with that?
>>pdf file of the declaration of a state of emergency by the guvna. Guess that's supposed to mean something somehwere.
State of Emergency was declared and NG troops were asked for.
Wow Marge. This is a low point even for you.
Posted by Um Yeah at September 8, 2005 03:48 PM
they didn't want to encourage them, I guess. After all, they were used to hand-outs. Cruel, but truthful. The local authorities just wanted to be rid of them, so , God forbid, don't give them anything FREE.
Posted by Lisa at September 8, 2005 03:50 PM
All you're doing is furthering the fact that you are ignorant of all the matters you're trying to not discuss. A declaration of a state of emergency means nothing if the officials don't follow the plan for evacuation...all it is is a a piece of pdf file for dinks like YOU to throw around ignorantly. Get your facts straight. Read the evacuation plan. Are you scared to? Find out why the Red Cross was stopped form delivering much needed supplies to people that needed it.
Furthermore, Blanco did not "request" ANYTHING. Troops were offered up and she accepted. In order for those NG troops to cross state lines, there's a process that has be undertaken to lawfully have that happen...as in, they can't just go crossing state lines without federal recognition and transfer. You DO know the a state runs it's own NG troops don't you? You DO know that NG troops, even if it's just for training, have to go through a formal process to cross state-lines don't you? You DO know that Blanco didn't request ACTIVE DUTY troops don't you?
No...yoiu don't know ANY of that because you're just an ignorant child that's trying desparately to pin all this on the POTUS you don't like. Keep trying.
Posted by Sarge at September 8, 2005 04:30 PM
Not "all" of the blame.
But a lot of it belongs to him and the people he appointed.
Posted by Um Yeah at September 8, 2005 04:36 PM
no child, the Pres is not to blame, once again. Too bad for you lefties. If you would only look at the facts, you would not be able to keep spewing your garbage. But you won't. You hate George Bush that much.
Posted by Lisa at September 8, 2005 04:44 PM
Ah yes....when confronted with facts, just dig your feet in and go nowhere. Read that not-implemented evac plan yet? No ANYTHING about the military yet?
Posted by Sarge at September 8, 2005 04:49 PM
I really do not like the guy, but its not like its without good reason.
Him and his cronies fucked up, not to say that the local government shined but shit FEMA and DHS and the Bushistas that run them really really screwed the pooch.
Lisa why do you worship W?
Posted by Um Yeah at September 8, 2005 04:51 PM
Know?
Posted by Um Yeah at September 8, 2005 04:53 PM
I do not "worship" anyone mortal. Only God. I believe with all of my heart that George Bush is a decent, religious, compassionate man. I agree with most of his policies, and find him to be as honest a politician as there can be. I actually liked Clinton way back when. Of course I was young and stupid. Kinda like you. Since growing up, I have discovered what truly matters, and it aint what Clinton stood for!
Posted by Lisa at September 8, 2005 05:18 PM
>>I believe with all of my heart that George Bush is a decent, religious, compassionate man.
That does not make it true.
>>nd find him to be as honest a politician as there can be.
See above.
>>and it aint what Clinton stood for!
Peace and prosperity?
W sure took care of that.
Posted by Um Yeah at September 8, 2005 05:55 PM
>>I believe with all of my heart that George Bush is a decent, religious, compassionate man. I agree with most of his policies, and find him to be as honest a politician as there can be.
Then you've given him a metric ton of forgiveness over starting a war over WMDs - only to say "ooops" when he doesn't find them.
Posted by mattk at September 8, 2005 07:17 PM
I not sure he said "ooops" Matt, and she probably hasn't forgiven him, because there's nothing to forgive him for.
Posted by Jay H at September 8, 2005 07:40 PM
>>I not sure he said "ooops" Matt
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3570845.stm
Hahaha oops. /end sarcasm
And the jokes on us.
Posted by Um Yeah at September 8, 2005 08:16 PM
UY, I didn't find that bit all that funny, but I think if John Stewart had done it you would have laughed so hard the kool-aid would have squirted out of your nose.
Posted by Jay H at September 8, 2005 09:06 PM
Not really, I have a sick ass sense of humor but that is far beyond the pale.
Odd hypothetical anyway since Jon is a comedian and not POTUS.
Posted by Um Yeah at September 8, 2005 09:11 PM
Not to say that the local goverment "shined"???!!!! Evidently, you are out of your fucking mind if you give the local government ANYTHING other than a 100% incompetant rating...but since you're trying to pin things on Bush...well, you can follow yoiur complete ignorance of emergency matters and ignore the complete incompetence at the local level that compounded this tragedy. Kool-aid made from putrid N.O. water these days?
Posted by Sarge at September 9, 2005 09:52 AM
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