Happy As Kings

What if ....

... Powell had been put in charge of FEMA, and Michael Brown had resigned?

(professional emergency management people would be my first choice, with my general-of-choice for fantasy-FEMA-purposes actually being Patton.  still, I'm a devoted Powell fan)

Hurricane Katrina Direct Relief!

Link: Hurricane Katrina Direct Relief!.

Grace's new blog working to ship materials directly to shelters.

Keesler AFB T-shirts: "We're going to kick Katrina's ass."

Link: DoD News: Defense Department Briefing on Ongoing DoD Response to Hurricane Katrina.

•   Let me tell you, the spirit of these folks -- the Massachusetts doctor, the Arkansas nurse, the young lady from Keesler Air Force Base and everybody I saw -- it's an unmistakable spirit.  They're wearing T-shirts over there in Keesler -- "We're going to kick Katrina's ass".  So they've got a pretty good attitude. 

Chrenkoff

Link: Chrenkoff.

I knew there would be backing & forthing about why the preparation and response to the hurricane was so botched.  I'm just glad I don't have to be on the commission that investigates the disaster, although it might be a long-paying gig.

Another interesting response is at Ramble.

There were problems before the hurricane struck that caused the devastating cascade of events afterward, but I'm still disappointed in the federal response.  The hurricane was not Bush's fault, but his slow reaction, the lack of apparent reaction by his administration and his appointees was, in his understated words, not acceptable.

From top to bottom this entire sequence of events reminds me of a sign I saw years ago in the Munich health clinic's dispensary:  "Piss-poor planning on your part, does not constitute an emergency on mine." 

Unfortunately, because of the magnitude of a long line of piss-poor planning on many levels, this time it does.

As we start down the road, one step at a time, so that at some point in the future, we eventually come out of this mess (and yes, that sentence was drawn out on purpose), I hope that the people most affected -- and those who govern -- will, in future, and to quote a line from Jamie Lee Curtis's character in the movie Freaky Friday, "Make good choices."

White House shifts blame for Katrina response - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

Link: White House shifts blame for Katrina response

• Bush, who has been criticized, even by supporters, for the delayed response to the disaster, used his weekly radio address to put responsibility for the failure on lower levels of government. The magnitude of the crisis "has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities," he said. "The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orleans. And that is unacceptable."

That response is unacceptable.

There is plenty of blame to go around, but accepting no fault for the tragedies once the magnitude of the disaster became apparent is not an answer. 

This reminds me of a recent story in the newspaper about how people suing medical facilities and doctors for botched care have scaled back their claims after the people involved expressed remorse for the poor care.  There doesn't appear to be any remorse here.

The federal government are employees of the people.  This is not about politics, this is about the failure of government, whose responsibility is to manage programs that protect citizens, to come through on their end of the deal.  Citizens give their tax money to the government for programs that serve we, the people.  That's the deal.  The dead and dying people of New Orleans, and perhaps, god help us, Louisiana and Mississippi, have not been served.

Coast Guard and the other services

I haven't a clue as to Coast Guard awards and citations, but, to this Army-minded person, battle streamers and unit citations to all the personnel involved.

The photo is Navy because during peacetime the Coast Guard isn't part of the DoD, but it's the only representative photo I came across.

U.S. Navy search and rescue swimmer Petty Officer 1st Class Tim Hawkins rescues a victim of Hurricane Katrina from a rooftop in downtown New Orleans, La., into an SH-60B Seahawk on Sept. 2, 2005. The Navy is participating in humanitarian assistance operations led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in conjunction with the Department of Defense. Hawkins is an aviation warfare systems operator. DoD photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Jay C. Pugh, U.S. Navy. (Released)

Now I know it's bad

Christiane Amanpour is at the New Orleans airport.

I've only ever seen her in war zones.

Good news

Rescuers empty squalid refuges in New Orleans

Superdome emptied An estimated 20,000 refugees had been waiting for rescue for nearly a week at the Superdome, with as many as 25,000 more at the New Orleans Convention Center. National Guard Lt. Col. Bernard McLaughlin said the number may have been closer to 5,000 to 7,000. In any case, living conditions there had become virtually unbearable: The stadium as well as the center were choked with sewage and garbage.

On Saturday, thousands were taken away by National Guardsmen on buses and helicopters. By nightfall, both the Superdome and convention center had been cleared out.

How could they not know?

I've heard it, you've probably heard it, now you can read it:

• The Times-Picayune, 23 - 27 June 2002
  Washing Away:  It's only a matter of time before South Louisiana takes a direct hit from a major hurricane.  Billions have been spent to protect us, but we grow more vulnerable every day.

Speechless

Watching the news and reading email since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast is like living in a post-apocalyptic movie.

• Press release from Senator Mary Landrieu
  "But perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment. The good and decent people of southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast -- black and white, rich and poor, young and old -- deserve far better from their national government."
• Fox News reporters all but crying with frustration (video at site)
  "Shepard Smith and Geraldo Rivera were livid about the situation in NOLA as they appeared on H&C. When Hannity tried his usual spin job and said "let's get this in perspective," Smith chopped him off at the knees and started yelling at him saying, "This is perspective!" It was shocking."
• And then there's the email I received from a friend from an acquaintance in Baton Rouge.  It seems that the criminals from New Orleans have fled to Baton Rouge.  According to the email, carjackings and rapes have escalated, and home burglaries have increased.

In the case of the reporters not knowing anything, and of people being locked in the New Orleans convention center, where are the military-style briefings of what is going on and why the Red Cross is being kept away?  If the problem is the incubation and spread of disease, wouldn't it be better for the Red Cross to start treating these people as quickly as possible?