TCS: Tech Central Station - Four Years After September 11th: The Media Failure
Blogger Thought: Little does Mr. Schwartz know about the true failure.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Kerik discusses post-Katrina leadership - Hardball with Chris Matthews - MSNBC.com
Kerik discusses post-Katrina leadership - Hardball with Chris Matthews - MSNBC.com
Blogger Thought: I shudder to think of the people who may have seen this segment, or are reading this, and think Kerik's points are valid.
Blogger Thought: I shudder to think of the people who may have seen this segment, or are reading this, and think Kerik's points are valid.
9/11 Commission Report Silliness
The American Mind
Blogger Thoughts: I have no reason to think that the Author of this knows the lies and falsehoods he is supporting. It just sends chills down my spine to realise how incredibly co-opted most everyone seems to be.
Tag: 09/11/2001
Blogger Thoughts: I have no reason to think that the Author of this knows the lies and falsehoods he is supporting. It just sends chills down my spine to realise how incredibly co-opted most everyone seems to be.
Tag: 09/11/2001
Red Cross seeks 40,000 more volunteers - Hurricane Katrina - MSNBC.com
Red Cross seeks 40,000 more volunteers - Hurricane Katrina - MSNBC.com
Blogger Thoughts: Perhaps Red Cross might consider paying for the help? Did Halliburton volunteer?
Blogger Thoughts: Perhaps Red Cross might consider paying for the help? Did Halliburton volunteer?
Al Gore helped airlift some 270 Katrina evacuees on two private charters from New Orleans
Breaking News: Kevin Pina arrested in Haiti
Left I on the News
Readers who listen to Flashpoints!, which I frequently mention on this blog, are familiar with Kevin Pina.
Readers who listen to Flashpoints!, which I frequently mention on this blog, are familiar with Kevin Pina.
Fountainhead: Jose Padilla and he Death of Liberty
Fountainhead: Jose Padilla and he Death of Liberty
Truth exists, falsehood has to be invented.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Jose Padilla and he Death of Liberty
Jose Padilla and he Death of Liberty"The very core of liberty secured by our Anglo-Saxon system of separated powers has been freedom from indefinite imprisonment at the will of theExecutive." Judge Antonin ScaliaBy Mike Whitney
09/10/05 "ICH" -- -- I had to sit down when I heard the Padilla case had been settled. I literally felt sick to my stomach, like I was gasping for air. The case of Jose Padilla is quite simply the most important case in the history of the American judicial system. Hanging in the balance are all the fundamental principles of American jurisprudence including habeas corpus, due process and "the presumption of innocence". All of those basic concepts were summarily revoked by the 3 judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court. The Court ruled in favor of the Bush administration which claimed that it had the right to indefinitely imprison an American citizen without charging him with a crime. The resulting verdict confers absolute authority on the President to incarcerate American citizens without charge and without any legal means for the accused to challenge the terms of his detention. It is the end of "inalienable rights", the end of The Bill of Rights, and the end of any meaningful notion of personal liberty.I remember reading 3 or 4 years ago, in Zbigniew Brzezinski's, "The Grand Chessboard", of a strategy to dominate the world that would result in the loss of freedom for American citizens. Brzezinski recognized the inherent threat that liberty posed to the development of empire. He stated:"It is also a fact that America is too democratic at home to be autocratic abroad. This limits the use of America's power, especially its capacity for military intimidation. Never before has a populist democracy attained international supremacy. But the pursuit of power is not a goal that commands popular passion, except in conditions of a sudden threat or challenge to the public's sense of domestic well-being. The economic self-denial (that is, defense spending) and the human sacrifice (casualties, even among professional soldiers) required in the effort are uncongenial to democratic instincts. Democracy is inimical to imperial mobilization." (p.35)Brzezinski's prescient forecast has proved to be astonishingly accurate. The determination of the neocons, the Federalist Society, the far-right radio giants, the Olin, Scaife, Coors and Bradley foundations, and the entire stable of right-wing, quasi-fascist groups that operate openly within American society, have pounded the final wooden stake into the heart of the personal freedom. The basic legal protections that safeguard the citizen from the arbitrary and hostile action of the state have been rescinded. We all stand naked before the absolute power of the President.The government has no case against Jose Padilla, a hapless Chicago gang-banger who allegedly visited Pakistan before he was arrested at O'Hare airport 3 and a half years ago. He is simply an unwitting victim of circumstance; a convenient scapegoat for eviscerating the rule of law. The Bush administration has used its extraordinary influence in the media to demagogue the case and keep him locked-away without producing one shred of evidence against him. The entire affair has been a grotesque mockery of justice. The hard-right groups that engineered this plot know exactly where the fault-lines in American jurisprudence lie; in the inalienable protections of its citizens.Padilla became the test-case for shattering the Bill of Rights with one withering blow. It has succeeded beyond anyone's wildest expectation.There's no chance that the Supreme Court will retry the case and draw more attention to the shocking details of this judicial-coup; they already punted once before preferring to pass it along to the lower court. Rather, the meaning of the case will be ignored until the president needs to exercise the newly-bestowed powers of supreme leader. That authority is now firmly rooted in the legal precedent established by the Padilla ruling.No Longer the Land of the FreeAmericans seem unaware of the great loss we've all suffered by the Padilla verdict. If the President is allowed to arbitrarily decide who has "inalienable rights", than those rights become the provisional gifts of the government rather than a reliable shield against the abuse of state power. It means that every American citizen is as vulnerable to the same violation of human rights as the men currently imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay. It also means that the legal wall that shelters the citizen from the random violence of the political establishment has been reduced to rubble.The Padilla ruling is the blackest day in American history. The icons of American liberty; the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Statue of Liberty; are empty shrines if they are not underscored by the guarantee of freedom. The Vietnam Memorial, the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address, the 4th of July, the Federalist Papers, and the American flag; all gratuitous expressions of a principle that has vanished from the political landscape.Every man and woman who ever wore an American uniform and died in the service of their country, died in vain. Their sacrifice has been rendered completely worthless by the action of the 4th Circuit Court.George Bush has now extinguished every meaningful part of the American dream. The last vestige of the social contract has been defiled and desecrated by the administration and their court. Personal freedom is dead in America; it was impaled by the verdict against Jose Padilla. How many thousands or, perhaps, millions of Americans will die or endure incalculable suffering to regain what we have lost on this tragic day?
ProfessorBainbridge.com: Thanks Hugh
ProfessorBainbridge.com: Thanks Hugh
Blogger Thoughts: Hugh Hewitt is to be credited? for professorbainbridge.com.
Blogger Thoughts: Hugh Hewitt is to be credited? for professorbainbridge.com.
Have FEMA's failures really been forgotten so quickly?
The Washington Monthly
Blogger Thought: Check out JayAckroyd on FEDS response to Katrina:
I've been surprised at how effective the Bushies have been in throwing up chaff related to legalistic limitations on their roles, and on the paperwork and clearance requirements to proceed.....and on and on.
Mickey Kaus over at Slate bought into it. Josh Marshall treats it seriously, with a disclaimer. The NYTimes spends a lot of time on the issue on Saturday.
Leave aside the fact that in a time of crisis, one brushes aside such niceties. (In fact, what's supposed to happen is the President brushes aside such niceties, and takes the heat if he goes too far or not far enough.)
This is transparenlty a cock and bull story made up in hindsight. There is no doubt plenty of legal gobbletygook in place that could be construed to impede any federal action. I'm sure it's easy to concoct bureaucratic excuses for why simple tasks didn't get done.
Duh.
First, they're lying.
Second, the lies are profoundly stupid, because if they were true, they're just an exceedingly detailed explication of how DHS and FEMA failed, completely, manifestly at their assigned task. Their task was prevention and rapid response to dangers to the homeland. They get a pass on prevention (although four years starts to be a long time even on this one), but they completely screwed up the rapid response part of their role.
Any quibbling about legal limitations and state footdragging is simply lying.
Blogger Thought: Check out JayAckroyd on FEDS response to Katrina:
I've been surprised at how effective the Bushies have been in throwing up chaff related to legalistic limitations on their roles, and on the paperwork and clearance requirements to proceed.....and on and on.
Mickey Kaus over at Slate bought into it. Josh Marshall treats it seriously, with a disclaimer. The NYTimes spends a lot of time on the issue on Saturday.
Leave aside the fact that in a time of crisis, one brushes aside such niceties. (In fact, what's supposed to happen is the President brushes aside such niceties, and takes the heat if he goes too far or not far enough.)
This is transparenlty a cock and bull story made up in hindsight. There is no doubt plenty of legal gobbletygook in place that could be construed to impede any federal action. I'm sure it's easy to concoct bureaucratic excuses for why simple tasks didn't get done.
Duh.
First, they're lying.
Second, the lies are profoundly stupid, because if they were true, they're just an exceedingly detailed explication of how DHS and FEMA failed, completely, manifestly at their assigned task. Their task was prevention and rapid response to dangers to the homeland. They get a pass on prevention (although four years starts to be a long time even on this one), but they completely screwed up the rapid response part of their role.
Any quibbling about legal limitations and state footdragging is simply lying.
The Otter Side: Woah! Cool! (MD in NO Rescue)
The Otter Side: Woah! Cool!
I spent 3 1/2 hours in an LAV (Light Armored Vehicle) driven by National Guard troops and manned by ATF agents. We had a list of 6 addresses from the 911 Center. Five were requests to "check welfare of occupant" and one was reported as "trapped." Five were clear--no one alive or dead at the address. At one, we rescued someone. I'm sorry, but I'm going to hold the story until I can upload my pictures of the event. To do this, we cruised for miles up and down streets filled above the tops of vehicles with black-green, fetid water. At Jeff Davis Parkway, the water became too deep for us to safely go further, so the search stopped there. There is a heck of a lot of inundated NOLA beyond that. Words cannot describe it well enough, but I promise there will be pictures later next week.
The mission would have taken far shorter, but we stopped multiple times to break open MRE's and bottled water for dogs and one cat trapped on their porch. We noted the addresses of many dogs and cats. The Humane Society is here with boats and will retrieve them when we give them the list. Interestingly, they have a command post at Harrah's, right there with the big boys.
Saw two floating bodies, the less description of them, the better.
It's late and I want to go to bed, so I'll just make a couple more observations, this time just about my own profession and how it is functioning here:
There are physicians and nurses here who are complaining about our vaccinating everybody for Hepatitis A. They keep quoting CDC studies that show that only the most heavily exposed personnel are at risk. I finally told one of them to shut up for a simple reason. No study has ever looked at the impact of filling a city of 500,000 with shit and corpses. This is an event unparalleled in the history of public health. I am tired of hearing about studies that can't begin to apply to a toxic event of this scale. Personally, I think everyone in the area should be vaccinated for Hepatitis A & B, and those with the most exposure should get the hyperimmune globulin (lay term, "gamma globulin"). My proof? None. My reason? Common damn sense.
Also, JCAHO, FDA, DEA, American Red Cross, etc. regulations cannot apply when the world turns upside down. Whether physician or nurse, state, federal, or volunteer, the most effective responders in this event have been those competent providers that do what is possible and necessary for the situation, not what the "Book" says they may do. Amazingly, there are some hide-bound fools out here that expect a team to vaccinate hundreds of people in a single day and maintain full documentation and not allow para-professionals (e.g., EMT's) to administer the injections. I had 3 patients today require intravenous hydration. They had a classic "swoon" after the vaccine shots, but they were so dehydrated, they didn't recover until they got some fluids. If we didn't have EMT's doing the shots "illegally," vaccinations would have ground to a halt while the docs and nurses were attending to these patients.
Rant over. Good night.
I spent 3 1/2 hours in an LAV (Light Armored Vehicle) driven by National Guard troops and manned by ATF agents. We had a list of 6 addresses from the 911 Center. Five were requests to "check welfare of occupant" and one was reported as "trapped." Five were clear--no one alive or dead at the address. At one, we rescued someone. I'm sorry, but I'm going to hold the story until I can upload my pictures of the event. To do this, we cruised for miles up and down streets filled above the tops of vehicles with black-green, fetid water. At Jeff Davis Parkway, the water became too deep for us to safely go further, so the search stopped there. There is a heck of a lot of inundated NOLA beyond that. Words cannot describe it well enough, but I promise there will be pictures later next week.
The mission would have taken far shorter, but we stopped multiple times to break open MRE's and bottled water for dogs and one cat trapped on their porch. We noted the addresses of many dogs and cats. The Humane Society is here with boats and will retrieve them when we give them the list. Interestingly, they have a command post at Harrah's, right there with the big boys.
Saw two floating bodies, the less description of them, the better.
It's late and I want to go to bed, so I'll just make a couple more observations, this time just about my own profession and how it is functioning here:
There are physicians and nurses here who are complaining about our vaccinating everybody for Hepatitis A. They keep quoting CDC studies that show that only the most heavily exposed personnel are at risk. I finally told one of them to shut up for a simple reason. No study has ever looked at the impact of filling a city of 500,000 with shit and corpses. This is an event unparalleled in the history of public health. I am tired of hearing about studies that can't begin to apply to a toxic event of this scale. Personally, I think everyone in the area should be vaccinated for Hepatitis A & B, and those with the most exposure should get the hyperimmune globulin (lay term, "gamma globulin"). My proof? None. My reason? Common damn sense.
Also, JCAHO, FDA, DEA, American Red Cross, etc. regulations cannot apply when the world turns upside down. Whether physician or nurse, state, federal, or volunteer, the most effective responders in this event have been those competent providers that do what is possible and necessary for the situation, not what the "Book" says they may do. Amazingly, there are some hide-bound fools out here that expect a team to vaccinate hundreds of people in a single day and maintain full documentation and not allow para-professionals (e.g., EMT's) to administer the injections. I had 3 patients today require intravenous hydration. They had a classic "swoon" after the vaccine shots, but they were so dehydrated, they didn't recover until they got some fluids. If we didn't have EMT's doing the shots "illegally," vaccinations would have ground to a halt while the docs and nurses were attending to these patients.
Rant over. Good night.
For Reference: 9/11 Fire Near the White House Reported on in USA Today
USATODAY.com - 'I fear for my daughter'
WASHINGTON — In the nation's capital, a plane crash into the Pentagon and a fire near the White House forced evacuation of federal government buildings and sent workers rushing into the streets. One witness to the Pentagon crash said the plane appeared to be a commercial airliner that was accelerating as it approached. Gray smoke billowed from the five-sided building as more than 20,000 civilian and military men and women who work there streamed into surrounding parking lots, driven by blue-and-white strobe alarm lights and wailing sirens.
Read more
Audio
Washington D.C. office workers react
Aydan Kizldrgli, a student from Turkey, was driving by the Pentagon when the plane hit, about 9:35 a.m. ET. "I was in the car, and there was a big boom," he said. "Everybody was in shock. I turned to the person in the next car and said, 'Did you see that?' Nobody could believe it."
Kizldrgli said he began walking aimlessly, ending up in Rosslyn, a commercial area just north of the Pentagon, about a half-hour later.
"The plane exploded after it hit, the tail came off and it began burning immediately. Within five minutes, police and emergency vehicles began arriving," said Vin Narayanan, a reporter at USA TODAY.com, who was driving near the Pentagon when the plane hit.
Before the plane hit, the scene at the Pentagon was already chaotic. Sheriff's deputies were screaming at people to move along quickly. "There's a hijacked plane two minutes away. We don't know where it's going to hit. Keep moving," they shouted.
Some of the people running from the Pentagon were in tears. One woman was crying as she yelled, "Brian is in there. Brian is in there. What are we going to do?"
Kim Dent, 33, who works across the street from the Pentagon, said she and some co-workers were looking out the window of their office building. "We saw the shadow of a plane. We heard the engine. We all said, 'That plane is flying kind of close.' "
Judy Rice, a tourist from Clearfield, Utah, visiting Washington with her 13-year-old daughter, Arianna, was trembling and on the verge of tears as she stood not far from the Pentagon. "I just don't know where to go,"she said. "I fear for my daughter. She's my youngest. All I want is to get away from the monuments."
Richard Benedetto, a USA TODAY reporter, saw the plane slam into the Pentagon. "It sounded like an artillery shell. It hit on the west side of the building, near the helipad."
Pentagon public information officer Glenn Flood said the Pentagon rehearsed small-scale evacuations in recent months, but, "We haven't had a rehearsal for anything like this." Flood said some Pentagon corridors were impassable because of damage. He said there were "heavy casualties," and he personally saw three bodies.
The U.S. Capitol was evacuated shortly after 9 a.m. ET, and officials were telling people to stay away from the building by 10:30 a.m. Senators and representatives were given the option of gathering at a secure place. Senator Charles Hagel, R-Neb., said, "This changes everything. We essentially have been attacked at home."
The White House ordered an evacuation of its complex (President Bush was out of town) and eyewitnesses said fire trucks surrounded the building.
More than a dozen fire engines could be seen around the White House. There was no access to Lafayette Square across Pennsylvania Avenue, which was being guarded by officers with sub-machine guns.
WASHINGTON — In the nation's capital, a plane crash into the Pentagon and a fire near the White House forced evacuation of federal government buildings and sent workers rushing into the streets. One witness to the Pentagon crash said the plane appeared to be a commercial airliner that was accelerating as it approached. Gray smoke billowed from the five-sided building as more than 20,000 civilian and military men and women who work there streamed into surrounding parking lots, driven by blue-and-white strobe alarm lights and wailing sirens.
Read more
Audio
Washington D.C. office workers react
Aydan Kizldrgli, a student from Turkey, was driving by the Pentagon when the plane hit, about 9:35 a.m. ET. "I was in the car, and there was a big boom," he said. "Everybody was in shock. I turned to the person in the next car and said, 'Did you see that?' Nobody could believe it."
Kizldrgli said he began walking aimlessly, ending up in Rosslyn, a commercial area just north of the Pentagon, about a half-hour later.
"The plane exploded after it hit, the tail came off and it began burning immediately. Within five minutes, police and emergency vehicles began arriving," said Vin Narayanan, a reporter at USA TODAY.com, who was driving near the Pentagon when the plane hit.
Before the plane hit, the scene at the Pentagon was already chaotic. Sheriff's deputies were screaming at people to move along quickly. "There's a hijacked plane two minutes away. We don't know where it's going to hit. Keep moving," they shouted.
Some of the people running from the Pentagon were in tears. One woman was crying as she yelled, "Brian is in there. Brian is in there. What are we going to do?"
Kim Dent, 33, who works across the street from the Pentagon, said she and some co-workers were looking out the window of their office building. "We saw the shadow of a plane. We heard the engine. We all said, 'That plane is flying kind of close.' "
Judy Rice, a tourist from Clearfield, Utah, visiting Washington with her 13-year-old daughter, Arianna, was trembling and on the verge of tears as she stood not far from the Pentagon. "I just don't know where to go,"she said. "I fear for my daughter. She's my youngest. All I want is to get away from the monuments."
Richard Benedetto, a USA TODAY reporter, saw the plane slam into the Pentagon. "It sounded like an artillery shell. It hit on the west side of the building, near the helipad."
Pentagon public information officer Glenn Flood said the Pentagon rehearsed small-scale evacuations in recent months, but, "We haven't had a rehearsal for anything like this." Flood said some Pentagon corridors were impassable because of damage. He said there were "heavy casualties," and he personally saw three bodies.
The U.S. Capitol was evacuated shortly after 9 a.m. ET, and officials were telling people to stay away from the building by 10:30 a.m. Senators and representatives were given the option of gathering at a secure place. Senator Charles Hagel, R-Neb., said, "This changes everything. We essentially have been attacked at home."
The White House ordered an evacuation of its complex (President Bush was out of town) and eyewitnesses said fire trucks surrounded the building.
More than a dozen fire engines could be seen around the White House. There was no access to Lafayette Square across Pennsylvania Avenue, which was being guarded by officers with sub-machine guns.
Civil Commotion » William F. Buckley gives deservedly
Civil Commotion » William F. Buckley gives deservedly …
Blogger Thought: WF Buckley= Not a clear thinker on this....
Blogger Thought: WF Buckley= Not a clear thinker on this....
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Salon editorial fellow J.J. Helland surveys the political patronage that crippled FEMA.
Salon.com - War Room
Brownie and the gang
Salon editorial fellow J.J. Helland surveys the political patronage that crippled FEMA.
War Room reported yesterday on FEMA Director Michael Brown's dubious professional credentials -- specifically his record as a failed lawyer; a fallout with his previous employer, the International Arabian Horse Association, over charges of impropriety; and the patronage that landed him his plum assignments with FEMA. A new report on the Time magazine Web site delves deeper into Brown's lack of qualifications for his post.
Brown isn't the only senior official at the federal agency with little experience in dealing with natural disasters, and more evidence has emerged indicating that the agency's ability to adequately respond to disasters like Katrina has been totally undermined by political cronyism. The Los Angeles Times reports that Brown "is just one of at least five senior FEMA officials appointed under President Bush whose backgrounds showed few qualifications."
For example, Brown's acting deputy director, Patrick James Rhode, got his start in the television news industry before moving on to public relations work in Texas. After working as the deputy director of national advance operations for Bush's 2000 campaign and later as a special assistant to the president, Rhode was tapped for FEMA in 2003.
Meanwhile, before becoming director of FEMA's Recovery Division, Daniel Craig worked for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he "was responsible for Chamber-related legislative, political, and media initiatives in New England and the Atlantic Coast." Craig's professional experience also includes previous work as a lobbyist, campaign advisor and political fundraiser.
The Times article goes on to note that as recently as a year ago, the "head of a labor union representing FEMA workers sent a letter to members of Congress charging that 'emergency managers at FEMA have been supplanted on the job by politically connected contractors and by novice employees with little background or knowledge' of disaster management."
The letter offered the prescient warning that "as ... professionalism diminishes, FEMA is gradually losing its ability to function and to help disaster victims."
That sentiment was echoed in a report today in the Washington Post, in which experts referred to a "brain drain" when discussing FEMA's lack of experienced managers familiar with emergency management. According to I.M. "Mac" Destler, a professor from the University of Maryland, FEMA "has gone downhill within the department, drained of its resources and leadership ... The crippling of FEMA was one important reason why it [the federal response to Katrina] failed."
Considering the Bush administration's woefully inept response to the devastation wrought by Katrina, it's clear that Bush administration patronage has hobbled FEMA -- with fatal consequences for the people affected by the hurricane.
But of course you wouldn't know that from listening to Vice President Dick Cheney. He defended Bush's FEMA appointees yesterday, saying, "You've got to have people at the top who respond to and are selected by presidents, and you pick the best people you can to do the jobs that need to be done ... We've also got some great career professionals, an absolute and vital part of the operation — couldn't do it without them."
Of course we couldn't have done it without them. That's the problem.
Brownie and the gang
Salon editorial fellow J.J. Helland surveys the political patronage that crippled FEMA.
War Room reported yesterday on FEMA Director Michael Brown's dubious professional credentials -- specifically his record as a failed lawyer; a fallout with his previous employer, the International Arabian Horse Association, over charges of impropriety; and the patronage that landed him his plum assignments with FEMA. A new report on the Time magazine Web site delves deeper into Brown's lack of qualifications for his post.
Brown isn't the only senior official at the federal agency with little experience in dealing with natural disasters, and more evidence has emerged indicating that the agency's ability to adequately respond to disasters like Katrina has been totally undermined by political cronyism. The Los Angeles Times reports that Brown "is just one of at least five senior FEMA officials appointed under President Bush whose backgrounds showed few qualifications."
For example, Brown's acting deputy director, Patrick James Rhode, got his start in the television news industry before moving on to public relations work in Texas. After working as the deputy director of national advance operations for Bush's 2000 campaign and later as a special assistant to the president, Rhode was tapped for FEMA in 2003.
Meanwhile, before becoming director of FEMA's Recovery Division, Daniel Craig worked for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he "was responsible for Chamber-related legislative, political, and media initiatives in New England and the Atlantic Coast." Craig's professional experience also includes previous work as a lobbyist, campaign advisor and political fundraiser.
The Times article goes on to note that as recently as a year ago, the "head of a labor union representing FEMA workers sent a letter to members of Congress charging that 'emergency managers at FEMA have been supplanted on the job by politically connected contractors and by novice employees with little background or knowledge' of disaster management."
The letter offered the prescient warning that "as ... professionalism diminishes, FEMA is gradually losing its ability to function and to help disaster victims."
That sentiment was echoed in a report today in the Washington Post, in which experts referred to a "brain drain" when discussing FEMA's lack of experienced managers familiar with emergency management. According to I.M. "Mac" Destler, a professor from the University of Maryland, FEMA "has gone downhill within the department, drained of its resources and leadership ... The crippling of FEMA was one important reason why it [the federal response to Katrina] failed."
Considering the Bush administration's woefully inept response to the devastation wrought by Katrina, it's clear that Bush administration patronage has hobbled FEMA -- with fatal consequences for the people affected by the hurricane.
But of course you wouldn't know that from listening to Vice President Dick Cheney. He defended Bush's FEMA appointees yesterday, saying, "You've got to have people at the top who respond to and are selected by presidents, and you pick the best people you can to do the jobs that need to be done ... We've also got some great career professionals, an absolute and vital part of the operation — couldn't do it without them."
Of course we couldn't have done it without them. That's the problem.
Confusion on Debit Card Aid - New York Times
Confusion on Debit Card Aid - New York Times
The New York Times
September 9, 2005
Confusion on Debit Card Aid
By SHAILA DEWAN
BATON ROUGE, La., Sept. 8 - After a day of confusion and complaints, officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday that the agency would not expand a trial program to distribute debit cards worth $2,000 to victims of Hurricane Katrina for immediate living expenses.
A FEMA official in Washington said the cards would be distributed at the Astrodome in Houston beginning on Friday.
Reports that the debit cards would be distributed on Thursday morning at the Astrodome, a temporary shelter, brought several hours of mayhem to the complex, attracting a crush of cars and pedestrians that caused the police to shut the gates, locking out thousands of residents in the 90-degree heat.
Meanwhile, in Baton Rouge,David G. Passey, a FEMA spokesman, said he did not know why the program had been discontinued.
But Mr. Passey said, "As we've looked at the logistics of expanding the debit card, we believe that our normal methods of delivery, checks and electronic funds transfer, will suffice."
Under questioning by reporters, he said he could not explain why traditional conduits of aid, which take from 10 days to two weeks to reach victims, provided they have addresses or working bank accounts, had been deemed more appropriate than the immediate relief offered by the debit cards.
He said "program specialists" had made the decision.
Announcing the debit card program on Wednesday, Michael D. Brown, the FEMA director, said it was designed to "empower" evacuees "to make their own decisions about what they need to have to restart their lives." But he did not say when and where the cards would be distributed.
In Baton Rouge, The Associated Press reported, people went to a Red Cross office believing they could get the debit cards there.
Callers to a Baton Rouge radio station from as far away as Atlanta and Houston complained that they did not know how to get the cards. One person said she had called the FEMA office in New York, only to be told that the cards were in Atlanta.
But Mr. Passey said the cards had been intended for distribution only at the Astrodome, where the highest concentration of evacuees was housed.
After the police lockdown at the complex, the order that had characterized the temporary housing situation there so far threatened to collapse, as people fainted, pushed and shoved, and complained loudly.
"It's just a hassle to get assistance," said Sparkle Stanwood, 25, an evacuee from downtown New Orleans, as she stood outside an Astrodome gate, sweat glistening on her face. "They gave us an appointment for 10 a.m. today - now they won't let us in. Some people broke a gate open. It's a lot of people, and it's hot."
Another evacuee, Eric Robertson, said: "We're very angry. We don't really know what's going on. It's so unorganized out here. There's nobody to even answer a question about why the place is on lockdown."
The Red Cross in Houston began handing out debit cards Thursday loaded with $650 to $1,600 in purchasing power.
The relief organization issued 7,000 cards at the Reliant complex around the Astrodome and will issue more Friday at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Tennessee has distributed 1,550 "electronic benefit cards."
The New York Times
September 9, 2005
Confusion on Debit Card Aid
By SHAILA DEWAN
BATON ROUGE, La., Sept. 8 - After a day of confusion and complaints, officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday that the agency would not expand a trial program to distribute debit cards worth $2,000 to victims of Hurricane Katrina for immediate living expenses.
A FEMA official in Washington said the cards would be distributed at the Astrodome in Houston beginning on Friday.
Reports that the debit cards would be distributed on Thursday morning at the Astrodome, a temporary shelter, brought several hours of mayhem to the complex, attracting a crush of cars and pedestrians that caused the police to shut the gates, locking out thousands of residents in the 90-degree heat.
Meanwhile, in Baton Rouge,David G. Passey, a FEMA spokesman, said he did not know why the program had been discontinued.
But Mr. Passey said, "As we've looked at the logistics of expanding the debit card, we believe that our normal methods of delivery, checks and electronic funds transfer, will suffice."
Under questioning by reporters, he said he could not explain why traditional conduits of aid, which take from 10 days to two weeks to reach victims, provided they have addresses or working bank accounts, had been deemed more appropriate than the immediate relief offered by the debit cards.
He said "program specialists" had made the decision.
Announcing the debit card program on Wednesday, Michael D. Brown, the FEMA director, said it was designed to "empower" evacuees "to make their own decisions about what they need to have to restart their lives." But he did not say when and where the cards would be distributed.
In Baton Rouge, The Associated Press reported, people went to a Red Cross office believing they could get the debit cards there.
Callers to a Baton Rouge radio station from as far away as Atlanta and Houston complained that they did not know how to get the cards. One person said she had called the FEMA office in New York, only to be told that the cards were in Atlanta.
But Mr. Passey said the cards had been intended for distribution only at the Astrodome, where the highest concentration of evacuees was housed.
After the police lockdown at the complex, the order that had characterized the temporary housing situation there so far threatened to collapse, as people fainted, pushed and shoved, and complained loudly.
"It's just a hassle to get assistance," said Sparkle Stanwood, 25, an evacuee from downtown New Orleans, as she stood outside an Astrodome gate, sweat glistening on her face. "They gave us an appointment for 10 a.m. today - now they won't let us in. Some people broke a gate open. It's a lot of people, and it's hot."
Another evacuee, Eric Robertson, said: "We're very angry. We don't really know what's going on. It's so unorganized out here. There's nobody to even answer a question about why the place is on lockdown."
The Red Cross in Houston began handing out debit cards Thursday loaded with $650 to $1,600 in purchasing power.
The relief organization issued 7,000 cards at the Reliant complex around the Astrodome and will issue more Friday at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Tennessee has distributed 1,550 "electronic benefit cards."
Feministe � African-Americans are the Dumbest People on the Planet
Feministe � African-Americans are the Dumbest People on the Planet
Blogger Thoughts: Click the Link....
Blogger Thoughts: Click the Link....
Appeals court reverses lower court ruling in �dirty bomb� suspect case
Appeals court reverses lower court ruling in �dirty bomb� suspect case
Blogger Thought: This is a post 9/11 world we are living in.... civil libertarians have to understand that... right....
Blogger Thought: This is a post 9/11 world we are living in.... civil libertarians have to understand that... right....
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