If you needed any more proof that our government doesn't know what they're doing with the aftermath of Katrina, here it is. Yes, I'm sure handing out fliers with contact information for FEMA is important, but it doesn't need to be done by firefighters! Their skills would be put to much better use, oh I don't know, saving people?
This is FEMA we're talking about - the people who are supposed to know how to handle a natural disaster. And don't get me started on the 50 assigned to be walking publicity stunts for the president... The Daily Kos has a nice rant on that.
4 comments:
Um your blog and all, but if the firefighters knew ahead of time, as it says in the article, why are you all up in arms?
Also, from what I understand most of the people in the city have already been evacuated and the fires put out. (<- Just going from what I read in that guys blog)
What else should they be doing? Hand pumping the water? All I am saying is, until the pumps do there work there is not a whole lot these people can be doing as far as I see...Pamphlets kind of make sence. A lot of people are going to need FEMA's help in the days to come, and also didn't that guy say in his Blog they were actually getting the phones up and running again?
I don't know, just how I see it...
No real comment on that other link...seems kinda ranty to me, but hey I am a hard lining Righter so what would I know =)
I think all they're saying is there are *still* people without food / water / shelter that are in desperate need of it. Instead of just playing FEMA's lackey, they should be helping those people.
And please don't be the apologist who thinks that Bush has done nothing wrong when it comes to this disaster.
My only problem with that, and that is what I meant about what the kid said in my Poly Sci class, is those people were told to evacuate. They have had now coming on a week and a half to evacuate or be evacuated...Hell if the critical patients in a hospital can get evac'd everyone else has had the opportunity too...
Also, what has Bush done wrong? Believe it or not, Bush didn't cause the hurricane, Didn't build the levies, doesn't have the ability to personally rebuild the city (That takes a partisan effort in the house) so you know what, as far as I can see he has done nothing wrong. Only possible thing I heard someone bring up, was the possibility that the FEMA appointment was made for political reasons and not because he had any ability...And guess what...that is no a new idea.
There are still people (in other cities besides just New Orleans) that haven't gotten out. Some of them couldn't get out when the orders came beforehand - a big example would be the homeless, but in reality many of the poor would have found it difficult to get out (if you're barely living paycheck to paycheck, and have no car, bus fare out of the state is tricky). Those people could still be helped.
In any case, even if the firefighers knew what they were getting into, someone at FEMA of all places should realize "hey, we don't need 1,000 firefighters to hand out fliers" and put them to better use. And I see being walking publicity stunts for the president's TV appearances as a gross waste of everyone's time and talent.
I'm not blaming Bush for the hurricane. I'm not directly blaming him for the botched efforts afterward. I do think that shoving FEMA into a little arm of the Department of Homeland Security has weakened it. In this instance, I find it morally reprehensible that he would request firefighters that have come to help to be props for him on TV. At least with the FEMA deal they were doing a trivially small amount of good.
But in general, I'm not just saying "Bush screwed up the hurricane response!!!!". I'm saying that the hurrican response was slow, poorly organized and executed. Fault for this doesn't lie in one position. In the times we live in, I think it's clear that we need to improve our disaster response system dramatically, regardless of the cause of the disaster.
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