When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout
The federal government took five days to respond to the crisis in New Orleans, NOAA knew in advance the vulnerabilities of the levees and deforestation around the city. What happened was predicted in detail, yet the federal emergency response took five days. The damage is so severe that Dubya cut short his vacation and took advantage of some good photo ops in the aftermath zone, sleeves rolled up, ready to get to work, to take charge. He avoided visiting the refugee camps, however. There was complete lawlessness in New Orleans that forced the unprotected rescue workers and hospitals to limit their response to the emergency. Why did it take "my pet goat" so long to protect American citizens? Was he too hurt and bewildered over Cindy?
The Bush administration has really dropped the ball on this one. His people have failed to place a ceiling on gasoline prices and they have failed to respond to a disaster on par with the Malaysian tsunami, but on continental U.S. soil. In this day of supposed homeland security, Katrina has given this country a serious wake-up call. Can we expect any quicker a response here on the west coast in the event of a natural or man-made disaster?
The Bush administration has really dropped the ball on this one. His people have failed to place a ceiling on gasoline prices and they have failed to respond to a disaster on par with the Malaysian tsunami, but on continental U.S. soil. In this day of supposed homeland security, Katrina has given this country a serious wake-up call. Can we expect any quicker a response here on the west coast in the event of a natural or man-made disaster?
posted by J. L. Kunkle at
Friday, September 02, 2005
8 Comments:
J.L blaming Bush or anyone else at this point is stupid and unproductive. Make a cash donation like I did and pray that the 90,000 square miles of disaster area can recieve the disaster aid before too many die. I have heard the lame arguements of how we helped the Tsunami victims faster. People go back and read the accounts from late last year. The massive help took longer to arrive than most critics have claimed. It also sickens me that politicians are using the LARGEST natural disaster in our nation's history as a way of gaining political advantage. Would'ves/should'ves and could'ves with hindsight are pretty irrational in this case. Even if all the money had been spent on every flood control project that New Orleans wanted, the fury of mother nature probably would have still had the same result.It may be popular to say New Orleans should be rebuilt, but the question should be asked: Can any amount of engineering or levee reconstruction protect New Orleans from another Hurricane with a 40' storm surge? Maybe a city that is 20' below sea level and still subsiding should be moved and reconstructed on higher ground. Such a thought may not be popular but it is rational.
By
Anonymous, at Friday, September 02, 2005 10:13:00 PM
MurrietanEyes,
Very well put!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jeff
By
Anonymous, at Saturday, September 03, 2005 7:59:00 AM
There is a question posed on the CNN news site today, and I quote:
"Do failures in the response to Hurricane Katrina raise questions about how officials might handle a major terrorist attack?"
When I last looked, the public "yes" response to this question was running at 89%.
The implications in this question deserve our careful thought.
New Orleans is not a small town, but the Los Angeles metropolitan area is immense by comparison. It makes one wonder just how large and frantic the mass migration outward might be if a really major terrorist event occurred in L.A..
After we in our country have helped get New Orleans stabilized, we need to start thinking about another scenario. CNN was right to pose the question, but it is not just a national question, it is a local question as well.
Are the small towns on the periphery of the megalopolis prepared to deal with what could (but hopefully never will) happen?
If the worst case terrorist scenario unfolded (and I probably don't have to state my guess as to what that might be), is our local government sufficiently prepared to deal with the immediate consequences, and sufficiently integrated, for the ongoing ordeal, with civil emergency planning at the county, state, and federal government levels?
There is much to think about. And much to be done. The technological "advances" that have occurred in the world during our lifetimes have left us exposed to unprecedented possibilities. As they once said on Apollo 13, "Houston, we have a problem."
We owe it to our families, our neighbors and our friends to not only hope and pray for the best, but to prepare for the worst.
I want to close this with thoughts and prayers for the people of the entire gulf region.
Tom Suttle and Family
By
Anonymous, at Saturday, September 03, 2005 6:54:00 PM
The federal response on the Gulf Coast was pathetic, and to say they had no idea that it was going to be this bad is a bunch of B.S., days before Katrina struck it was a category 5 Hurricane and government officials were on the news saying this was going to be a “disaster of biblical proportions” on the city of New Orleans. Why wasn’t action being taken days before, well we’ll probably never know.
This should be a concern to all of us here in California because if a big earthquake does hit us, we could be in the same situation or it most likely it will 10 times worse because of the population in our region and on the top of that it will hit without warning unlike hurricanes.
Mike
http://www.redcross.org/
By
Anonymous, at Saturday, September 03, 2005 8:22:00 PM
Great thoughts guys and for once all i can say is I agree too.
Jeff
By
Anonymous, at Saturday, September 03, 2005 10:05:00 PM
M.E. Show me how it makes more sense to spend 6 trillion on poverty programs over the last 40 years with little or no improvement in the poverty rate. (And remmber we are talking about the rich U.S poor compared to the poor in third world countries)
VERSUS
Giving tax breaks to Corporations(Corporate welfare) which in the last 40 years have done a great job at broadening our economic and job base.
The first expendenture has been worthless while the second has been over the top fruitful.
By
Anonymous, at Sunday, September 04, 2005 8:57:00 PM
MurrietanEyes,
Another great post. Keep up the effort. I agree wholeheartedly and so do many many others. I have been arguing with Rholmgren for a month and it is wasted as he doesn't have the capacity to understand the truth. He lives in a fantasy world where EVERYTHING the conservatives of this coutry do is the right thing. I like the way you think. Someone recommended that I run for office but it is a person like you that I would love to support.
Keep posting
Jeff
By
Anonymous, at Monday, September 05, 2005 6:47:00 AM
I was really offended when I learned that the U.S. Supreme Court used the fourteenth amendment to justify opinions favoring corporate personification. The Civil War is fought and freedom for all Americans is supposedly gained, but then we find that an American citizen doesn't necessarily need to be human. All a citizen needs are stockholders. And now nationality is of no consequence with multinational corporations pitting nations one against the other for corporate favor. If a country is willing to look the other way a bit, then the corporation is happy to play ball, but don't mention the environment or human rights or they will take their business elsewhere.
I can't help but suspect a racial connection regarding the response in New Orleans. I'm sure in the south the racial bias is a fact of life, but aren't we in California better than that?
By
J. L. Kunkle, at Tuesday, September 06, 2005 3:53:00 PM
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