rethug defunding of disaster planning & emerg. mgmt. aggravated Katrina

[wli]

People said this deserved its own post, so here it is.

defunding of New Orleans FEMA a "disaster in the making" article (part 2 of 2)
New Orleans district of Army Corp of Engineers faces unprecedented budget cuts
politicization of FEMA and merger with Homeland Security hurts its New Orleans area response (part 1 of 2)
Louisiana National Guard wants its equipment back from Iraq
Zwerdling and Moyers "City in a Bowl" interview on prior knowledge of catastrophic consequences
disaster planning privatized by Homeland Security

These actions are so irresponsible negligence is insufficient to explain them. These actions constitute effective LIHOP.

Please feel free to add further sources. 2 of these 3 are from the same news source, so further sources would indeed be helpful.

[Bluebear]

1. Recommended, excellent work

[Bluebear]

2. 8/1/05 La. National guard wants equipment to come back from Ira!

http://abc26.trb.com/news/natguard08012005,0,4504131.story?coll=wgno-news-1

JACKSON BARRACKS -- When members of the Louisiana National Guard left for Iraq in October, they took a lot equipment with them. Dozens of high water vehicles, humvees, refuelers and generators are now abroad, and in the event of a major natural disaster that, could be a problem.

"The National Guard needs that equipment back home to support the homeland security mission," said Lt. Colonel Pete Schneider with the LA National Guard.

Col. Schneider says the state has enough equipment to get by, and if Louisiana were to get hit by a major hurricane, the neighboring states of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida have all agreed to help.

"As Governor Bush did for Ivan, after they were hit so many times, he just maxed all of his resources out, he reached out to Louisiana and we sent 200 national guardsmen to help support in recovery efforts," Col. Schneider said......

[wli]

3. excellent, thank you for the new link (editing) n/t

[blm]

13. Excellent find, Bluebear.

.

[sunnystarr]

12. Just one little problem with that ...

"the neighboring states of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida have all agreed to help."

What happens when they're hit at the same time and need help of their own? How can they help LA if they need help themselves?

[vickitulsa]

15. The interesting part about the LA gov's plan to get help from

neighboring states is that those states are ALSO going to be maxed out by the effects of Katrina on THEM....

So how can you turn for major help and relief to others who are dealing with their own catastrophic problems?

This is typical of how BushCo have depleted our resources in dozens of ways, leaving us so very vulnerable when bad things happen here at home. I think this Katrina disaster will point up so many things that have been handled *wrongly* and in large part due to the war in Iraq that has drained so much from our "homeland" (I'm still not liking the way he uses that word, sounds too much like "fatherland" a la Hitler).

This prez and his cohorts in crime are wrong-headed, and everything they DO therefore is ill-advised and mistaken, at the very least. At worst, it's criminal as hell.

Many of the consequences of his draining resources at home to send them to Iraq could have been predicted. In fact, I have been predicting exactly what's happening now for a long time. My friends and family know this. I hope it's clear that if *I* could see all this coming, surely those "brilliant minds" guiding the Bush Ship of State could have guessed that they were going to face a come-uppance of a major kind someday.

--Which makes me wonder, what was the point? Why would they be happy to get away with doing wicked things for their own benefit FOR A TIME when they know it's all gonna crash down on them someday soon?

Only thing I can figure is that they are making billions meanwhile, and they don't plan to be around for the "facing the music" part....

Sadly, so many millions of people here at home are going to be paying a very high price for trusting those in power in Washington. Somehow it's cold comfort to me that this catastrophic "act of God" event called Katrina may well prove how irresponsible, just plain wrong, and even illegal and therefore criminal were the actions and policies of Bush and his evil cabal.

I notice also that we haven't heard a single word from Condi Rice or the new Homeland Security head who replaced Tom Ridge -- or anyone else in the administration who should be at least making some reassuring and comforting statements during this unprecedented natural disaster. Only the FEMA people are speaking for Bush and crew right now, while what we're hearing from the governors of affected states and mayors of involved cities is becoming very interesting as well as worrisome.

We won't know for days just how bad the damage and loss from Katrina will be. I fear that a week from now we'll be talking about a cataclysmic event that is huge in its scope and historical in its consequences.

~VV

______________________________________

[Mabus]

23. it just makes me sick

looking at the destruction that Katrina wrought across states surrounding the Gulf. Those NG surrounded by sand in Iraq knowing if they had been home they would have been out piling sandbags along Lake Pontchartain to protect their homes, their neighbors and their city.

[Binka]

4. MotherFuckers Are Serial Killers This Is Criminal

This is the FACE OF FASCISM. Will this expose our little Crawford Hitler? I feel sick.

[Hubert Flottz]

20. You have to look at the bright side...

Dick Cheney got a $88,000 tax rebate check in the mail from Bush's third tax cut. 170,000 of the most wealthy Americans got a $90,000 check in the mail when Cheney got his check. Some of the 170,000 of the most wealthy people who did get the checks who lived in the areas where the disaster struck, had the money to buy $2.75 a gallon gasoline to get the hell out of there. The down side is YOUR insurance will go up, because the insurance companies will pass the cost of rebuilding those wealthy peoples $2,500,000 beach houses on to YOU!

Bush's tax cuts were another of his "NOBLE CAUSES", that have cost people their lives.

[Horse with no Name]

5. Can you add this?

These people knew what would happen--they just didn't have the funding to take care of business. They knew there wasn't a safe place for the people left behind.

http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript_neworleans.html

also a report done in September 2000 on hurricane preparedness
http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:aP3OXnjjNLUJ:www.ametsoc.org/atmospolicy/forumreports/forumreport.pdf+%22red+cross%22%22safe+shelter%22%22new+orleans%22&hl=en&client=firefox-a

[wli]

6. adding to the list of links, thank you very much n/t

[Bluebear]

7. kick

[Karenina]

8. LIHOP

LIHOP.

[Binka]

9. It's Time To Galvanize

Their finger is on the trigger....

[annabanana]

10. kickin back up for visibility n/t

[gatorboy]

11. Ah! So you did make your own thread on this!

Once again, terrific post and nominated!

[atommom]

14. Is there any news on what IEM actually did to prepare?

Their website brags about the contract, but there's no recent news there about what they actually did to make things better for the people of N.O. during this hurricane.

[wli]

16. I've yet to see any mention of their accomplishing anything at all. n/t

[atommom]

17. I did find this, about an exercise they conducted in 2004.

I'll be curious to see whether anyone reports on how much their planning helped (or didn't help) during this disaster.

From July 16–23, 2004, over 300 participants from Federal, State, local, and volunteer agencies participated in the Louisiana
Catastrophic Hurricane Planning Workshop at the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
(LOHSEP) in Baton Rouge. The purpose of the workshop was to develop functional plans for response to and recovery from a
catastrophic hurricane striking southeast Louisiana, including the City of New Orleans.
Driven by a predetermined scenario, entitled Hurricane Pam,
the participants developed 15 functional plans over the course of
the week, including: pre-landfall activities; unwatering of levee-
enclosed areas; hazardous materials; billeting of response
personnel; distribution of power, water, and ice; transport from
water to shelter; volunteer and donations management; external
affairs; access control and re-entry; debris; schools; search
and rescue; sheltering; temporary housing; and temporary
medical care.
The scenario involved a slow-moving Category 3 storm
making landfall near Grand Isle in the early morning. In the
scenario, the storm, sustaining winds of 120 mph at landfall,
spawned tornados, destroyed over 75% of the structures in its
path, and left the majority of New Orleans under 15–20 feet of
water. The workshop was sponsored by FEMA and LOHSEP,
with a weather scenario designed by the National Weather
Service and damage and consequences developed by IEM, Inc.
of Baton Rouge. IEM, Inc. also facilitated the workshop
sessions.
From November 29–December 3, over 90 participants met in
New Orleans to continue planning for three topics: sheltering,
temporary housing, and temporary medical care. These three
topics were chosen by the workshop’s Unified Command as
areas that needed continued group planning.
The outcome of these workshops is a series of functional
plans that may be implemented immediately. Along with these
plans, resource shortfalls were identified early, saving valuable
time in the event an actual response is warranted. It is because
of the dedication of every workshop participant that Louisiana is
much better prepared for a catastrophic hurricane.

http://www.lepa.org/Newsletter/Spring_2005.pdf

[Karenina]

18. Kick!

:kick:

[Hubert Flottz]

21. They probably did what the department of homeland security...

did with their money. Gave Every GOP loyalist in the area, a $100,000 a year job, doing NOTHING! The people who got the $100,000 a year jobs did nothing, so NOTHING was done.

[NYC]

19. Deliberate indifference.

Keep spreading this information.

[lildreamer316]

27. Isn't that a punishable crime?

(I know; I know; but I can dream...........)

[NYC]

28. If it isn't, it ought to be.

Negligent homicide?

[lildreamer316]

29. Something like that

Of course; I am basing this on my Law and Order viewing exp. Ak.

[FreedomAngel82]

22. Kick

Very important news. Everybody should know this!

[rodeodance]

24. this was AUG 1 that the LA guard wanted their equipment back!1

LA National Guard Wants Equipment to Come Back From Iraq

Yunji de Nies

August 1, 2005, 9:07 PM CDT

JACKSON BARRACKS -- When members of the Louisiana National Guard left for Iraq in October, they took a lot equipment with them. Dozens of high water vehicles, humvees, refuelers and generators are now abroad, and in the event of a major natural disaster that, could be a problem.

"The National Guard needs that equipment back home to support the homeland security mission," said Lt. Colonel Pete Schneider with the LA National Guard.

Col. Schneider says the state has enough equipment to get by, and if Louisiana were to get hit by a major hurricane, the neighboring states of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida have all agreed to help.

"As Governor Bush did for Ivan, after they were hit so many times, he just maxed all of his resources out, he reached out to Louisiana and we sent 200 national guardsmen to help support in recovery efforts," Col. Schneider said.......

[Horse with no Name]

25. kick for relevance

:kick:

[Lisa]

26. CNN said today that 40% of Mississippi NG and 35% of Louisiana NG

... were away in Iraq. (The numbers were lower for Alabama and Florida -- but they weren't hit as hard by Katrina.)

Those poor Guardsmen overseas must be absolutely frantic, worrying about their families and friends back home. Knowing that they (and their equipment) could be helping rescue trapped survivors.

p.s. thanks for posting this thread, wli.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

30. Kick nt

[bobbieinok]

31. thanks...we all need to copy that info...earlier some DUers were reporting

articles disappearing

[annabanana]

32. kick . . . n/t

[Horse with no Name]

33. kick

:kick: