Passing the Buck: Brown Blames Louisiana For FEMA's Problems - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

snowy · 09-27-2005, 09:21 AM

Spotted this in the New York Times this morning:

Quote:

Former FEMA Director Admits Errors in Response Effort

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 27, 2005

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former FEMA director Michael Brown aggressively defended his role in responding to Hurricane Katrina on Tuesday and put much of the blame for coordination failures on Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

Michael D. Brown, the former director of FEMA, said many people incorrectly believe the agency serves as something of a federal rapid-response force.

"My biggest mistake was not recognizing by Saturday that Louisiana was dysfunctional," two days before the storm hit, Brown told a special congressional panel set up by House Republican leaders to investigate the catastrophe.

The storm slammed into the Gulf Coast on Monday, Aug. 29.

Brown's defense drew a scathing response from Rep. William Jefferson, D-La.

"I find it absolutely stunning that this hearing would start out with you, Mr. Brown, laying the blame for FEMA's failings at the feet of the governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans."

Brown, who for many became a symbol of government failures in the natural disaster that claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people, rejected accusations that he was too inexperienced for the job.

"I've overseen over 150 presidentially declared disasters. I know what I'm doing, and I think I do a pretty darn good job of it," Brown said.

Brown resigned as the head of FEMA earlier this month after being removed by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff from responsibility in the stricken areas. Brown, who joined FEMA in 2001 and ran it for more than two years, was previously an attorney who held several local government and private posts, including leading the International Arabian Horse Association.

Brown in his opening statement said he had made several "specific mistakes" in dealing with the storm, and listed two.

One, he said, was not having more media briefings.

As to the other, he said: "I very strongly personally regret that I was unable to persuade Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin to sit down, get over their differences, and work together. I just couldn't pull that off."

Both Blanco and Nagin are Democrats.

"The people of FEMA are being tired of being beat up, and they don't deserve it," Brown said.

The hearing was largely boycotted by Democrats, who want an independent investigation conducted into government failures, not one run by congressional Republicans.

But Jefferson -- who is not a committee member -- accepted the panel's invitation to grill Brown.

Referring to Brown's description of his "mistakes," Jefferson said: "I think that's a very weak explanation of what happened, and very incomplete explanation of what happened. I don't think that's going to cut it, really."

Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., cautioned against too narrowly assigning blame.

"At the end of the day, I suspect that we'll find that government at all levels failed the people of Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama and the Gulf Coast," said Davis.

Davis pushed Brown on what he and the agency he led should have done to evacuate New Orleans, restore order in the city and improve communication among law enforcement agencies.

Brown said: "Those are not FEMA roles. FEMA doesn't evacuate communities. FEMA does not do law enforcement. FEMA does not do communications."

In part of his testimony, Brown pumped his hand up and down for emphasis.

Brown said the lack of a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans before the storm was "the tipping point for all the other things that went wrong." Brown said he had personally pushed Louisiana Gov. Blanco to order such an evacuation.

He did not have the authority to order the city evacuated on his own, Brown said.

When asked by Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky, whether the lack of an ordered evacuation was "the proximate cause of most people's misery," Brown said, "Yes."

While I think that certainly the evacuation wasn't executed as well as it could have been, I think it's awfully cheap of Brown to pass the buck on to Blanco and Nagin. Both of them gave their best during Katrina and its aftermath. They stood up for their citizens when FEMA wasn't responsive to the needs of the affected.

Who do you think is largely responsible for the governmental failure to respond adequately? FEMA? Former Director Brown? Blanco? Nagin? The President? Who would you point the finger at?

Glory's Sun · 09-27-2005, 09:24 AM

I think I'll just point my finger an equal amount of time at each one of them.

Sage · 09-27-2005, 09:27 AM

Wait a second... I though they found out that Brown lied about a bunch of stuff when he applied for the position as Director of FEMA? I totally think it's cheap to try and blame some one person for this problem.

At the same time, I think it's cheap to say "who would you point the finger at"?

We're talking about an entire city totally wiped off the face of the map, due to circumstances (water levels) that are near-impossible to control. I think everyone freaked out. I don't know who has direct responsibility for disaster response, but I definintely don't think we can fairly blame the President- just because there's a national disaster doesn't mean the entire country stops.

Personally, I think that FEMA had some major issues- I mean, it is the Federal Emergency Management Agency- they're supposed to MANAGE EMERGENCIES. Then, I'd say the mayor of NO and the governer of Lousiana didn't do what they were supposed to as well- Look at what the then mayor of NYC did on 9/11. He handeled things a lot better.

I think it was due to a lot of people not knowing what to do- I mean, what do you do when the biggest city in the state is under 20 feet of rising water?

feelgood · 09-27-2005, 09:29 AM

I'm pointing at FEMA, Brownie, Blanco and Nagin.

Brown's right about how the governor and the mayor failed to get together ahead of time to make plan for the coming hurricane.

But FEMA has a responsiblity to respond to emergencies such as New Orleans right away rather than few days later.

I don't see how the president could've played a role in this. Sure he's the head of the government but give me a break, he's got more important issues like the war on terror and Iraq.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sage

Wait a second... I though they found out that Brown lied about a bunch of stuff when he applied for the position as Director of FEMA? I totally think it's cheap to try and blame some one person for this problem.

He didn't blame anybody for that, in fact Brown called those statements to be totally false. Plus, how could you blame somebody if you fuck up your resume?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sage

We're talking about an entire city totally wiped off the face of the map, due to circumstances (water levels) that are near-impossible to control.

I think you're blowing this out of porportion (sp). New Orleans is still around, plus the water level could've been preventable by fixing barriers that's managed by the army engineers.

The issue isn't about what to do when a city that's about to drown under 20 feets of water, it's about how FEMA, local and state government responded to the emergency that arised after the hurricane passed through the area.

Poppinjay · 09-27-2005, 09:47 AM

<i>Brown said the lack of a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans before the storm was "the tipping point for all the other things that went wrong." Brown said he had personally pushed Louisiana Gov. Blanco to order such an evacuation.

He did not have the authority to order the city evacuated on his own, Brown said.

When asked by Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky, whether the lack of an ordered evacuation was "the proximate cause of most people's misery," Brown said, "Yes." </i>

Uh, an evacuation was ordered. There were no means to evacuate those without transportation. Handling large scale problems like that IS FEMA's mission. And then getting in quickly after the disaster is also their mission. The fact is, he was a no information getting chowder head. He claimed that he wasn't being informed by the folks in NOLA about the goings on at the Superdome and civic center. Well, duh, no phone service, no cell service, no communication. TV and radio had that news, but Brown ignored it because it didn't follow gov't regs for official communication.

He seemed like a weasel from day one, and this hystrical attack seems more like a plea for self justification in the face of many dead. He says he didn't realize NOLA was disfunctional... it would be his job to know if Louisiana was governed by a ping pong ball and the city of New Orleans was mayored by wallpaper. How could anybody in this country not consciously know how things work and don't work in NOLA? The city is famous for sin and debauchery!

powerclown · 09-27-2005, 09:50 AM

Order of Responsibility for Katrina

1. God
2. Human Nature
3. Blanco-Nagin-Blanco-Nagin-Blanco-Nagin (take your pick)
4. FEMA
5. Bush
6. France

feelgood · 09-27-2005, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poppinjay

Uh, an evacuation was ordered. There were no means to evacuate those without transportation. Handling large scale problems like that IS FEMA's mission. And then getting in quickly after the disaster is also their mission. The fact is, he was a no information getting chowder head. He claimed that he wasn't being informed by the folks in NOLA about the goings on at the Superdome and civic center. Well, duh, no phone service, no cell service, no communication. TV and radio had that news, but Brown ignored it because it didn't follow gov't regs for official communication.

FEMA's mission is to handle emergencies after a federal emergency has been declared. But in this case, the governor (or whoever is supposed to) declared it too late. Yeah, an evacuation was declared but when? Few days before? How are you gonna evacuate a city of millions within a few days? Especially when you knew you were in a hurricane area (Note, I said area, not path). Preparation would've been great but nobody bothered to prepare for anything, especially for the unpredicable. Hurricanes aren't predictable as history has repeatly shown.

The reason why TV and radios don't follow government regulations for "official communications" is that they tend to get blown out of porporation. For example, there was reports all over the news that hundreds of bodies were lying around in the superdome and other centers when it turns out that there was actually a tenth of that number.

raveneye · 09-27-2005, 10:06 AM

And the implication is, I guess, that all the terrorists have to do is attack a city with a bad local government, and there's not much the U.S. can do about it.

Poppinjay · 09-27-2005, 10:46 AM

FEMA can go in when an area is declared a FEDERAL disaster area. Our gov always asks for this declaration when hurricanes threaten us. Maybe Blanco didn't ask, but it is the President who makes such declarations.

I don't see where Ray Nagin can take much blame for what went wrong at all. He can't really make any sweeping declarations. In fact, the most he can do is report the levee status to the federal government, which he did a year ago when he begged for stronger levees. The money to do that was in Iraq, so it didn't happen.

Blanco can take some blame in that she didn't ask for a FEMA declaration, but it is the President who makes that declaration and he can do it if he's been asked or not.

What would happen if Blanco had been killed in the storm? Would we still be sorting out the paperwork to see if we could send in some post toasties?

stevo · 09-27-2005, 11:58 AM

This topic was done to death in the politics forum...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poppinjay

I don't see where Ray Nagin can take much blame for what went wrong at all. He can't really make any sweeping declarations. In fact, the most he can do is report the levee status to the federal government, which he did a year ago when he begged for stronger levees. The money to do that was in Iraq, so it didn't happen.

jay, there are a couple articles in this post http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showpos...8&postcount=34 that describe how NewOrleans got more money under bush than under clinton and how the levees breaking had nothing to do with iraq, but the city's own mismanagement of funds.

If y'all want to keep arguing about this lets pick up where we left off, there were 2 or 3 long threads already running in politics. We can revive them if we need to.

flat5 · 09-27-2005, 01:27 PM

Racism played a role.

feelgood · 09-27-2005, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flat5

Racism played a role.

You're telling us that Racism played a role in FEMA's failure to respond to the problem in NO/Louisiana? You can't just post that without backing it up bud

Astrocloud · 09-27-2005, 02:00 PM

Browns Revisionist History

Quote:

Brown’s Revisionist History
Today, answering questions before a special congressional panel set up to investigate Katrina, Michael Brown tried to resuscitate his reputation. The facts didn’t back him up so Brown engaged in some revisionist history.

BROWN CLAIM: “FEMA doesn’t evacuate communities.”

FACT: Brown Said FEMA Was Engaging In Evacuations During Katrina

If there is still floodwaters around there, they shouldn’t be trying to evacuate those patients by themselves. The Coast Guard, FEMA, all of those continue to do those rescue missions and we continue to do those evacuations and we’ll certainly continue to evacuate all of the hospitals. [CNN, 9/1/05]

BROWN CLAIM: FEMA Was Stretched Beyond It Capabilities

“Mr. Chairman, this event stretched FEMA beyond its capabilities. There’s no question about that. It did it in several ways. One is FEMA, over the past several years, has lost a lot of manpower. At one point during my tenure, because of assessments by the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA has lost — at one point, we were short 500 people in an organization of about 2,500. You do the math. That’s pretty significant… FEMA has suffered from the inability to grow to meet the demands.”

FACT: Brown Said FEMA Had All The Manpower It Needed

BLITZER: Are you ready? Is FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, ready to deal with this new hurricane?
BROWN: We absolutely are. We have all the manpower and resources we need. President Bush has been a very great supporter of FEMA. [CNN, 9/26/04]

BROWN CLAIM: “I can’t discuss with you my conversations with the president’s chief of staff and the president.”

FACT: Brown Spoke to New York Times About Conversations With Chief of Staff

“Hours after Hurricane Katrina passed New Orleans on Aug. 29, as the scale of the catastrophe became clear, Michael D. Brown recalls, he placed frantic calls to his boss, Michael Chertoff, the secretary of homeland security, and to the office of the White House chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr. … ‘I am having a horrible time,’ Mr. Brown said he told Mr. Chertoff and a White House official — either Mr. Card or his deputy, Joe Hagin — in a status report that evening. ‘I can’t get a unified command established.’” [NYT, 9/15/05]

The fact is that "Social" programs like FEMA aren't high on the Republican's priority list. If FEMA were replaced by Republican pitch schemes like say "lower taxes for the rich" -then guys like Cheney would simply sleep better at night -despite deaths in New Orleans.

Poppinjay · 09-27-2005, 02:09 PM

THANK YOU Astrocloud!

I'm a bit touchy in this area because where I live, we have hurricanes frequently. In fact, while the nation was thunderstruck over Katrina, Ophelia moved in here, took a few lives, caused 34 million in damage.

I listened to the testimony Michael Brown gave before congress today, and I was ANGRY. He is so sanctimonious. My least favorite line was that he knows tragedy because his sunday school teacher died in the Murrah federal building in OKC.

Yeah, way to relate to the devastation of a jewel and unique sprakle in America's crown.

I salute George W. Bush. I didn't vote for him, but I salute him. He fired Michael Brown. Good Job! Do you realize how hard it is to get fired by President Bush? You have to fail spectacularly. WTG Bush! Love ya man!

The more I heard Brown, the more I was absolutely disgusted by him and wished he'd spend time in pound me in the ass prison. He got grilled by some congressmen and acted indignant. I SO wish I could have been there when he gave that, "I don't expect lectures from YOU" response.

Grrrrrr.....

flat5 · 09-27-2005, 02:10 PM

Hello feelgood,

I meant racism played a role in the way the disaster was handled.
Not FEMA in particular.
I'm not going to post (more) examples.

tecoyah · 09-27-2005, 02:15 PM

Glad they are using his expert advice still

Brown serving as consultant to FEMA
Ousted chief says he should have pushed for federal troops

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A congressional panel on Tuesday is expected to scrutinize the decision to keep ousted Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown on the federal payroll.

Brown told congressional investigators Monday that he is being paid as a consultant to help FEMA assess what went wrong in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, according to a senior official familiar with the meeting.

Brown also said he wished he had pushed more forcefully -- and earlier -- for federal troops to be brought in to restore order in New Orleans, the official told CNN.

Brown's comments were made to investigators for Rep. Tom Davis, R-Virginia. Davis leads a House select committee probing the federal, state and local response to Katrina, and Brown is scheduled to appear before the panel Tuesday in a highly anticipated appearance.

Congressional aides told CNN that given all of the questions already raised about Brown's qualifications for the FEMA job, the decision to keep him on the payroll for about a month will be examined at Tuesday's hearing.

Brown resigned September 12 after two weeks of intense criticism of FEMA's response to Katrina, which killed more than 1,000 when it struck near the Louisiana-Mississippi state line August 29.

The storm devastated Mississippi beach towns and left most of New Orleans flooded when the city's protective levees failed at several points.

A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA's parent agency, said last week that Brown would be paid for about a month for "transitional purposes." The spokesman, Russ Knocke, said he did not know how much Brown was being paid.

Brown's 2004 salary was $145,600, according to the Plum Book, a congressional reference guide to executive branch salaries.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/...ema/index.html

ngdawg · 09-27-2005, 02:58 PM

Shoulda, coulda and woulda and $12160 will get you a land deal in New Orleans....
I suppose if anyone could be a consultant on what went wrong, it'd be this guy, since 90% was his doing. The other 10% has to go to the governor of La and the mayor of New Orleans. They saw a truck barrelling down on them and all they did was cover their eyes. But once they got hit, help was too little, too late.
I don't understand how someone who did the equivalent of hiding in the closet while chaos reigned outside the door could justify taking any money at all, but then again, I am clueless as to the whereabouts of most consciences in Washington, DC.

ShaniFaye · 09-27-2005, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poppinjay

FEMA can go in when an area is declared a FEDERAL disaster area. Our gov always asks for this declaration when hurricanes threaten us. Maybe Blanco didn't ask, but it is the President who makes such declarations.

I don't see where Ray Nagin can take much blame for what went wrong at all. He can't really make any sweeping declarations. In fact, the most he can do is report the levee status to the federal government, which he did a year ago when he begged for stronger levees. The money to do that was in Iraq, so it didn't happen.

Blanco can take some blame in that she didn't ask for a FEMA declaration, but it is the President who makes that declaration and he can do it if he's been asked or not.

What would happen if Blanco had been killed in the storm? Would we still be sorting out the paperwork to see if we could send in some post toasties?

in one of those politics threads I made a post linking to where the president declared them a federal disaster area (along with other states) On either the friday or the saturday before the storm hit (i cant remember which day it was)

09-27-2005, 09:27 AM	#3 (permalink)
Sage hoarding all the big girl panties since 2005 Location: North side	Wait a second... I though they found out that Brown lied about a bunch of stuff when he applied for the position as Director of FEMA? I totally think it's cheap to try and blame some one person for this problem. At the same time, I think it's cheap to say "who would you point the finger at"? We're talking about an entire city totally wiped off the face of the map, due to circumstances (water levels) that are near-impossible to control. I think everyone freaked out. I don't know who has direct responsibility for disaster response, but I definintely don't think we can fairly blame the President- just because there's a national disaster doesn't mean the entire country stops. Personally, I think that FEMA had some major issues- I mean, it is the Federal Emergency Management Agency- they're supposed to MANAGE EMERGENCIES. Then, I'd say the mayor of NO and the governer of Lousiana didn't do what they were supposed to as well- Look at what the then mayor of NYC did on 9/11. He handeled things a lot better. I think it was due to a lot of people not knowing what to do- I mean, what do you do when the biggest city in the state is under 20 feet of rising water? __________________ Sage knows our mythic history, King Arthur's and Sir Caradoc's She answers hard acrostics, has a pretty taste for paradox She quotes in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus In conics she can floor peculiarities parabolous -C'hi

09-27-2005, 09:47 AM	#5 (permalink)
Poppinjay You had me at hello Location: DC/Coastal VA	<i>Brown said the lack of a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans before the storm was "the tipping point for all the other things that went wrong." Brown said he had personally pushed Louisiana Gov. Blanco to order such an evacuation. He did not have the authority to order the city evacuated on his own, Brown said. When asked by Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky, whether the lack of an ordered evacuation was "the proximate cause of most people's misery," Brown said, "Yes." </i> Uh, an evacuation was ordered. There were no means to evacuate those without transportation. Handling large scale problems like that IS FEMA's mission. And then getting in quickly after the disaster is also their mission. The fact is, he was a no information getting chowder head. He claimed that he wasn't being informed by the folks in NOLA about the goings on at the Superdome and civic center. Well, duh, no phone service, no cell service, no communication. TV and radio had that news, but Brown ignored it because it didn't follow gov't regs for official communication. He seemed like a weasel from day one, and this hystrical attack seems more like a plea for self justification in the face of many dead. He says he didn't realize NOLA was disfunctional... it would be his job to know if Louisiana was governed by a ping pong ball and the city of New Orleans was mayored by wallpaper. How could anybody in this country not consciously know how things work and don't work in NOLA? The city is famous for sin and debauchery! __________________ I think the Apocalypse is happening all around us. We go on eating desserts and watching TV. I know I do. I wish we were more capable of sustained passion and sustained resistance. We should be screaming and what we do is gossip. -Lydia Millet

09-27-2005, 10:46 AM	#9 (permalink)
Poppinjay You had me at hello Location: DC/Coastal VA	FEMA can go in when an area is declared a FEDERAL disaster area. Our gov always asks for this declaration when hurricanes threaten us. Maybe Blanco didn't ask, but it is the President who makes such declarations. I don't see where Ray Nagin can take much blame for what went wrong at all. He can't really make any sweeping declarations. In fact, the most he can do is report the levee status to the federal government, which he did a year ago when he begged for stronger levees. The money to do that was in Iraq, so it didn't happen. Blanco can take some blame in that she didn't ask for a FEMA declaration, but it is the President who makes that declaration and he can do it if he's been asked or not. What would happen if Blanco had been killed in the storm? Would we still be sorting out the paperwork to see if we could send in some post toasties? __________________ I think the Apocalypse is happening all around us. We go on eating desserts and watching TV. I know I do. I wish we were more capable of sustained passion and sustained resistance. We should be screaming and what we do is gossip. -Lydia Millet

09-27-2005, 02:09 PM	#14 (permalink)
Poppinjay You had me at hello Location: DC/Coastal VA	THANK YOU Astrocloud! I'm a bit touchy in this area because where I live, we have hurricanes frequently. In fact, while the nation was thunderstruck over Katrina, Ophelia moved in here, took a few lives, caused 34 million in damage. I listened to the testimony Michael Brown gave before congress today, and I was ANGRY. He is so sanctimonious. My least favorite line was that he knows tragedy because his sunday school teacher died in the Murrah federal building in OKC. Yeah, way to relate to the devastation of a jewel and unique sprakle in America's crown. I salute George W. Bush. I didn't vote for him, but I salute him. He fired Michael Brown. Good Job! Do you realize how hard it is to get fired by President Bush? You have to fail spectacularly. WTG Bush! Love ya man! The more I heard Brown, the more I was absolutely disgusted by him and wished he'd spend time in pound me in the ass prison. He got grilled by some congressmen and acted indignant. I SO wish I could have been there when he gave that, "I don't expect lectures from YOU" response. Grrrrrr..... __________________ I think the Apocalypse is happening all around us. We go on eating desserts and watching TV. I know I do. I wish we were more capable of sustained passion and sustained resistance. We should be screaming and what we do is gossip. -Lydia Millet

09-27-2005, 02:15 PM	#16 (permalink)
tecoyah Illusionary	Glad they are using his expert advice still Brown serving as consultant to FEMA Ousted chief says he should have pushed for federal troops WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A congressional panel on Tuesday is expected to scrutinize the decision to keep ousted Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown on the federal payroll. Brown told congressional investigators Monday that he is being paid as a consultant to help FEMA assess what went wrong in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, according to a senior official familiar with the meeting. Brown also said he wished he had pushed more forcefully -- and earlier -- for federal troops to be brought in to restore order in New Orleans, the official told CNN. Brown's comments were made to investigators for Rep. Tom Davis, R-Virginia. Davis leads a House select committee probing the federal, state and local response to Katrina, and Brown is scheduled to appear before the panel Tuesday in a highly anticipated appearance. Congressional aides told CNN that given all of the questions already raised about Brown's qualifications for the FEMA job, the decision to keep him on the payroll for about a month will be examined at Tuesday's hearing. Brown resigned September 12 after two weeks of intense criticism of FEMA's response to Katrina, which killed more than 1,000 when it struck near the Louisiana-Mississippi state line August 29. The storm devastated Mississippi beach towns and left most of New Orleans flooded when the city's protective levees failed at several points. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA's parent agency, said last week that Brown would be paid for about a month for "transitional purposes." The spokesman, Russ Knocke, said he did not know how much Brown was being paid. Brown's 2004 salary was $145,600, according to the Plum Book, a congressional reference guide to executive branch salaries. http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/...ema/index.html __________________ Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha

09-27-2005, 09:24 AM	#2 (permalink)
Glory's Sun Registered User	I think I'll just point my finger an equal amount of time at each one of them.

09-27-2005, 09:50 AM	#6 (permalink)
powerclown Junkie Location: Detroit, MI	Order of Responsibility for Katrina 1. God 2. Human Nature 3. Blanco-Nagin-Blanco-Nagin-Blanco-Nagin (take your pick) 4. FEMA 5. Bush 6. France

09-27-2005, 10:06 AM	#8 (permalink)
raveneye Born Against	And the implication is, I guess, that all the terrorists have to do is attack a city with a bad local government, and there's not much the U.S. can do about it.

09-27-2005, 01:27 PM	#11 (permalink)
flat5 Very Insignificant Pawn Location: Amsterdam, NL	Racism played a role.

09-27-2005, 02:10 PM	#15 (permalink)
flat5 Very Insignificant Pawn Location: Amsterdam, NL	Hello feelgood, I meant racism played a role in the way the disaster was handled. Not FEMA in particular. I'm not going to post (more) examples.

09-27-2005, 02:58 PM	#17 (permalink)
ngdawg peekaboo Location: on the back, bitch	Shoulda, coulda and woulda and $12160 will get you a land deal in New Orleans.... I suppose if anyone could be a consultant on what went wrong, it'd be this guy, since 90% was his doing. The other 10% has to go to the governor of La and the mayor of New Orleans. They saw a truck barrelling down on them and all they did was cover their eyes. But once they got hit, help was too little, too late. I don't understand how someone who did the equivalent of hiding in the closet while chaos reigned outside the door could justify taking any money at all, but then again, I am clueless as to the whereabouts of most consciences in Washington, DC. __________________ Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.