FEMA puts Nevada convoy to Gulf region on hold at last minute

[Lori Price CLG]

FEMA puts Nevada convoy to Gulf region on hold at last minute

Shortly before they were set to leave for Hurricane Katrina-battered states, a group of about 100 law enforcement officers from across Nevada was told to stay put by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FEMA officials put the contingent on hold on Sunday afternoon for between one and three days until its mission can be determined, Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman Kevin Honea said.

The officers were in briefing at the NHP office in Las Vegas when they received the word. They had been scheduled to depart in a convoy of patrol cars at 3 p.m. Sunday from the office.

<snip>

Lori Price

[anitar1]

1. Saving money already ? n/t

[TahitiNut]

2. FEMA was really busy stopping people from helping in New Orleans.

I've yet to hear of a single instance where they actually sped up any assistance. Rectal sphincters.

[soothsayer]

4. FEMA--the 'ring pass not'

worthless fucks

[Swamp Rat]

5. You are too kind...

... and I can't say what I'd really like to say.

[TahitiNut]

8. You're not alone. Words fail me.

These fascist murderers can't open their pie holes without spewing forth lies. They claim that they were trying to first make New Orleans "secure" for relief workers ... but this story puts the lie to that stream of vomit. It's murder. Deliberate.

[Pirate Smile]

9. Not only did they not speed it up, they actively hindered it.

[Miss Chybil]

14. You're right. Not only did they "actively hinder it," they "worked

hard" at keeping it from happening.

[Swamp Rat]

3. Somebody wanted us to die? n/t

[Lori Price CLG]

11. Yup, Bush is trying to kill as many poor people in N.O. as possible.

There is no other logical explanation to Bush's 'response.'

Lori Price

[0007]

27. If junior doesn't kill em, he pisses em off.

[koopie57]

18. I was thinking about that

wondering why they went to such extremes to stop the help and I wonder if it ... and if this is a conspiracy theory then delete this, but I wonder if it had something to do with ... like the more of the poor and old who died, the less people receiving public assistance, social security, .... etc. I don't know. It scares me to think this, but why would they have stopped all the help?

[UpInArms]

22. I posted about emergency workers from KC the other day that

offered to go to NO to help - no response from FEMA until Sunday - and then they were sent down after helping the living was impossible. I now am only left to assume they are down there doing the death work, instead of keeping people alive.

I just cannot express my anger well enough any more.

[SuniSurf]

6. Swamp Rat - Are you okay??????????

Swamp, Please hang in there!!!! We will get someone there!!!!!

Your responses have me worried.

[applegrove]

7. Bingo. How many times did that order go out? Swamp rat - we

got your back. The people of the world are on your side.

[Digit]

10. Loudoun Co, Va was stopped, too

I saw it on the news and posted it here. The story can be found on Google.

[unrepuke]

12. I don't understand how FEMA stops these people. Who specifically

could it be that tells convoys of police and fire fighters all over the country to stand down -- and they DO IT?! Why don't they tell Mr. FEMA to get bent and go anyway? It isn't as if it was 3 or 4 locals talking big in a bar - they'd be easy to convince they ought to go home and sleep it off - we're talking about official organizations with the sanction and backing of their local governments.

What is it they think would happen if they showed up on location with personnel and rescue equipment, ready to go to work, several days ahead of FEMA's stalling tactics? That the National Guard would shoot them on site? Who scares 100 cops into staying home?

[texanwitch]

20. Great post, I think the same way. There is something big going to

happen, that is why the Red Cross and other outside groups are not being let in.

[Shipwack]

25. The reason why they are listening

They all believe in the rule of law, and have some small bit of faith that if they are being told not to go in, there must be a good reason.

Even if the voice inside their heads is screaming "go in!", they know that real life is not a novel, or a Hollywood blockbuster. All their lives, they've seen that there has to be a chain of command, a set of rules, a 'plan'.

We are a society of rules and laws. We are taught that the rules are there for the greater good. These rescue workers have seen that when people go off on their own, and abandon 'the plan', the end result tends to be bad. Resources wasted, people left stranded, men lost.

These people aren't cowards, they aren't weak, they aren't stupid. They just have faith in their government. The sad, sad truth, though, is that in this case their trust is misplaced. This might be the Bush administration's worst crime: taking the trust of good men and women, and mocking it.

This applies even more so to those military units chomping at the bit to go in, and fulfill the oaths they took to protect their country against 'all enemies, foreign and domestic'. If the CO of the USS Bataan tried to go in early, I guarantee that some lower ranking toadie would make a phone call and have her relieved of command before she could get very far.

This is a sad state of affairs this country has been brought to, when good people are not allowed to assist their fellow Americans. God have mercy on us all.

[amber dog democrat]

28. So what does this mean ?

Are we to understand FEMA is not going to provide help beyond a certain level of cost? Hopefully if they stall long enough more will die that won't have to be cared for.
Is that it ? I would like to know what is behind FEMA's unresponsiveness.
Grover Norquist wanted to dismantle government for the common good as we know / knew it. I just hope I am mistaken.

[NoQuarter]

13. My post would be deleted

If I wrote what I really think.

I've been trying to tell my partner that they want these people to die since Tuesday. After today, I think he's convinced.

[Miss Chybil]

16. I don't think they wanted anyone to die. They are just absolutely

incompentent. Michael Brown is incompetent. He spent more time doing press conferences and exerting his authority, (perhaps to compensate for a small penis, I don't know), - using it not to help the situation, but to prove he was in charge - than he did actually trying to help the victims of this tragedy. Now, he is blaming these very victims for their demise. He's too stupid to have killed these people on purpose. He killed them out of pure INCOMPENTENCE.

[koopie57]

19. I understand what you are saying

but the reason I disagree with you is that I worked in EMS for five years and am not an expert in any sense of the word, but EMS people are so prepared and know who does what that no matter how stupid the leadership is, the people who are doing the work know exactly what to do and how to do it. They are the most amazing people I have ever seen in action. The problem was not incompetance, the problem was the orders to stop the automatic response of the professional responders.

[Ravenseye]

23. Which was caused by incompetence

Have you ever truly seen incompetence in action? I have. It's glorious.

If anything I think the plan here was to gut FEMA to the point where Bush could say that the private sector would have responded to a disaster better than FEMA. All accounts say Brown and FEMA were completely incompetent, holding back response because they couldn't get a handle on anything.

Police, Firefighters, National Guardsmen, EMS....everyone clamoring to FEMA "Where do you want us?" and FEMA not able to tell them saying "Just hold tight"

From what I've seen the orders weren't given because they wanted people to die, Brown simply had a bunch of people screaming at him and his mind stopped, because he's an incomptent boob. Nothing really happened till that Nation Guard commander got on scene and just started doing stuff on his own.

[54anickel]

24. Incompetence by design. FEMA was to be privatized by the Bush

administration - just like nearly everything else. A huge failure will help push the remaining Bush agenda for FEMA forward.

FEMA's poor performance in FL was blamed for Poppy's defeat by Clinton. Clinton was responsible for turning FEMA around and giving it focus, especially in the area of mitigation which could reduce the damage and hence the costs of rebuilding after a natural disaster. The new FEMA had been praised by both sides of the aisle.

FEMA has been set up to fail, originally by Bush's first appointment, Allbaugh - who by the way left to create a string of lobbying firms to win contracts in Iraq.

Bush did everything in his power to assure FEMA was successful in handling the 2004 FL hurricanes. Of course, that was Jebby's FL and an election year. The memory of how the same circumstances cost Poppy his job was not lost on the Idiot Son. The destruction of FEMA would have to wait for the next hurricane season.


Here's an article from last year's hurricane season that covers the nuetering of FEMA pretty well.

http://www.indyweek.com/durham/2004-09-22/cover.html

[kansasblue]

15. that's significant. I thought it was just incompetence...

meaning the just didn't get their act together. But here they are expending energy to stop good things from happening.

What's law in enforcement in Nevada think of that? Are they just sitting on that info. God people..shoot it from the roof tops!

[goforit]

17. Let those poor people suffer ...right Brown?

[zalinda]

21. Is anyone sending all these reports

to Keith and Conyers?

zalinda

[Corgigal]

26. Hillsborough Sheriffs office (Tampa Fl)

is also sending 100 deputies and boats. The sheriff told his people that he talked to the Gov of Louisiana and she wants you there. If anyone from FEMA tries to stop you, well you're cops do what you have to do.

I haven't heard they have been turned back.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

29. They listen to FEMA because if they need help, they

have to depend on FEMA, so they don't piss them off lightly.

[despairing optimist]

30. NYC just sent down 300 police and 300 firefighters

Don't tell me they're going to be sent back. Unbelievable.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

31. Hold on boys. Let's see just what this here Zyklon B does...