Text 12049, 83 rader
Skriven 2007-02-11 18:40:07 av Josh Hill (15490.babylon5)
     Kommentar till en text av rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
Ärende: Re: Cath0licism and Creati=nism
=======================================
On Sun, 11 Feb 2007 06:21:31 -0600, "Dennis \(Icarus\)"
<ala_dir_diver@yahoo.com> wrote:

>"Josh Hill" <usereplyto@gmail.com> wrote in message
>news:22vss2thq1lbqe98vqlkn941l7ab8l8ki3@4ax.com...

>> Precisely the problem. A disaster of this magnitude can't be handled
>> at the local level; it requires the expertise and resources of the
>> Federal government.
>
>But you said earlier that the Federal government (current administration)
>was incompetent.
>The local government took a chance - figuring that NO would get lucky and
>avoid serious problems.....like they have for many years previously. After
>all, ordering the evacuation has its own risks, as one in Texas showed (and
>turned out to be unnecessary, IIRC)
>
>So at what point should the Feds override local & state governments, and
>just take over?
>10 days before the storm? 5?
>What additional laws are needed toallow 'em to do this?

Interesting question, actually.

AFAIK, not much by way of new legislation is needed for the general
situation (as opposed to specific legislation that would cover New
Orleans). FEMA was already involved -- a Category 5 hurricane in New
Orleans was at the very top of their threat list. They had adequate
notice. But their preparations, e.g., the supplies they prepositioned
and troops they had on hand, were inadequate.

So that wasn't a matter of taking over, but of  having available the
help you're supposed to. And that isn't going to happen when the
agency is run by political appointees like Brownie. Morale is so low
in the civil service now that every disaster relief expert they tried
to get to replace Brownie refused to take the most prestigious and
influential disaster relief post in the country.

The spoils system caused a FEMA disaster under George H. W. Bush. When
he took office, Clinton resolved not to let that happen again -- he
asked for and appointed the best man, and FEMA became a model of
efficiency. George W. Bush went back to the spoils system, with
predictable results.

Furthermore, the Bush Administration stripped FEMA of prerogatives and
funding. Their emphasis was on Homeland Security, of which FEMA is now
a part. And Homeland Security is itself grotesquely pork barreled and
mismanaged, with funds allocated on the basis of politics rather than
need. They Administration had also stripped out of the budget funds
that would have improved the levees, not enough to prevent a disaster
-- that was a longer-term project -- but enough to significantly
mitigate it.

Regarding the Feds taking over after the disaster, the  President
refused to federalize the National Guard, a mistake. And of course he
didn't send in troops quickly enough, never mind school buses! We know
from the post mortems that while the rest of the world was watching
horrified on TV, Bush didn't have any idea what was going on and  his
staff members were scared to tell him. Then, when he was finally
informed, he made the wrong calls, as he so often does, e.g., refusing
to Federalize the Guard.

So again, it's not really a legal issue, but a management one. By
comparison, after the great earthquake in San Francisco, aid poured
in, including troops and train after train of supplies.

Now -- we still don't have a commitment from the Federal Government to
build levees that would survive a Category 5 storm, and the
Administration left to the local government important decisions, e.g.,
about where people could live. It seems to me that that's where we
need -- or needed, because it may be too late in some cases --
legislation: the Feds build better levees and, in return, require the
city to abandon low-lying neighborhoods. 

-- 
Josh

[Truly] I say to you, [...] angel [...] power will be able to see that [...]
these to whom [...] holy generations [...]. After Jesus said this, he departed.

- The Gospel of Judas
--- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32
 * Origin: Time Warp of the Future BBS - Home of League 10 (1:14/400)