I didn't really mean for this thread to turn so sharply political, but perhaps its time to consider some politcal ramifications of FEMA blowing half
a billion dollars a day to take four days to respond, then responding only by coordinating the resources of OTHER organizations for god knows how
long. It isn't about they showed up with this and that, it's about them showing up, and taking over the situation (see the last line of my signature
:flame

. With every other major disaster prior to this tragedy, the private sector and organizations like the red cross have had the experience and
the means to step in and assist, but FEMA was literally turning buses and food away as people died for four days. Half a billion dollars a day folks,
where did it all go?
Hell for that kind of money you could buy 3,000,000,000 packs of Oodles of Noodles a Day and put em up somewhere for just such an occasion. Jesus
Christ, Does NASA spend that much a day? At least they have a couple space shuttles and some cool uniforms to show for it. All FEMA does is Coordinate
other peoples already funded and paid for stuff??
No politics to it folks, this is a good example of where your money goes, and what you might get back out ot it someday.
But anyway, back tot he topic, some harsh and relevant words from Senator Mary Landrieu of LA...
So it looks like it is true. I initially gave this story some benefit of a doubt, that surely with all the media attention surrounding the
President's visits to the area that creating a photo op complete with props and working Joes that vanish when the motorcade pulls out is just too far
out to be true. But I dont think that Mary Landrieu, a US senator is just going to make this up...
rawstory.com...
"Yesterday, I was hoping President Bush would come away from his tour of the regional devastation triggered by Hurricane Katrina with a new
understanding for the magnitude of the suffering and for the abject failures of the current Federal Emergency Management Agency. 24 hours later, the
President has yet to answer my call for a cabinet-level official to lead our efforts. Meanwhile, FEMA, now a shell of what it once was, continues to
be overwhelmed by the task at hand.
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."
-Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
[edit on 5-9-2005 by twitchy]