The Smoking Gun - Article in the Salt Lake Tribune

[Zen Democrat]

I just don't know what to say about this. Right down to the last mind-blowing paragraph, it's a bombshell.

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3004197

[Lorien]

1. Yep. A snip:

(They were asked to hand out FEMA flyers instead of doing search and rescue)

Roy Fire Chief Jon Ritchie said his crews would be a "little frustrated" if they were assigned to hand out phone numbers at an evacuee center in Texas rather than find and treat victims of the disaster.
Also of concern to some of the firefighters is the cost borne by their municipalities in the wake of their absence. Cities are picking up the tab to fill the firefighters' vacancies while they work 30 days for the federal government.
"There are all of these guys with all of this training and we're sending them out to hand out a phone number," an Oregon firefighter said. "They are screaming for help and this day was a waste."
Firefighters say they want to brave the heat, the debris-littered roads, the poisonous cottonmouth snakes and fire ants and travel into pockets of Louisiana where many people have yet to receive emergency aid.
But as specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.

(snip)

[FreedomAngel82]

6. This is outrageous!

Handing out a phone number?! What phone number????

[Lorien]

10. FEMA's phone number n/t

[The_Casual_Observer]

23. "stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas"

I really wish I hadn't seen this. This is really the very bottom.

[kath]

31. Meanwhile, thousands of people are dying in attics and the upper stories

of buildings.

[Erika]

2. Bush must have his photo op entourage security

Paid for by the good folks in Salt Lake. We 've never had a uh, president like this before.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

3. Yeah it was..I'm gonna print it

But as specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.

[eleny]

4. Like Kathy Malloy said on Mike's program tonight...

He loves a uniform.

[FightingIrish]

5. How many people died in their attics while these first

responders were in the FEMA Charm School?

[philosophie_en_rose]

7. Firefighter and EMTs turned into FEMA apologists.

These people took time out of their lives to help save people in New Orleans. They're trained in search and rescue, as well as sexual harassment sensitivity and the other stuff FEMA is shoving on them right now.

It's sickening.

[Canuckistanian]

8. Highly trained professionals acting as....

...well, basically Wal-Mart greeters and props for Shrub.

[Zen Democrat]

9. Some of them now refusing to work for FEMA.

"Many of the firefighters, assembled from Utah and throughout the United States by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, thought they were going to be deployed as emergency workers.

Instead, they have learned they are going to be community-relations officers for FEMA, shuffled throughout the Gulf Coast region to disseminate fliers and a phone number: 1-800-621-FEMA.

On Monday, some firefighters stuck in the staging area at the Sheraton peeled off their FEMA-issued shirts and stuffed them in backpacks, saying they refuse to represent the federal agency."

[ReadTomPaine]

24. Good for them! It takes guts to stand up to facism.

[Carolab]

11. Wow. This really says it all, doesn't it? And on MUNICIPAL $, too!

Roy Fire Chief Jon Ritchie said his crews would be a "little frustrated" if they were assigned to hand out phone numbers at an evacuee center in Texas rather than find and treat victims of the disaster.

Also of concern to some of the firefighters is the cost borne by their municipalities in the wake of their absence. Cities are picking up the tab to fill the firefighters' vacancies while they work 30 days for the federal government.

"There are all of these guys with all of this training and we're sending them out to hand out a phone number," an Oregon firefighter said. "They are screaming for help and this day was a waste."

But as specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.

:grr:

[LynneSin]

12. Great they're stuck doing nothing while leaving their hometown vulnerable

Don't get me wrong - this is the time that volunteers from across the country makes sacrifices to come to the aid of our fallen cities. But these people aren't there to sit around and do nothing. They're skilled workers who should be out there assisting with the rescue. If FEMA is going to be using them as leafleters then let them go home where they can at least be of use somewhere!

[brazil]

13. The Horse Trader strikes again!

[nolabels]

27. I've earned capital on this campaign !

I've earned polical capital,..........and I intend to use it :puke:

[Porcupine]

14. Please ignore the wounded, hold this flag up way high....

and SMILE!!! That's your president over there! Yessiree, now hand out this phone number to people WHOSE PHONES WON'T WORK FOR MONTHS!!!

AAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!! :headbang:

[undergroundpanther]

16. Fuck Bush

Somebody shoulda tossed his sorry ass into the superdome when the locked the people in and they were shouting they need help...Let him in there with nothing,After people had been dying..and let him quell the violence..let bush face the desperate people he is ignoring in THIER situation and I put my bet on Bush would wind up in the food service refrigerator with the dead ...half a week later..

[Miss Chybil]

15. I'm speechless. Michael Brown had to work VERY hard to fuck

this agency up this bad. He's got to go and I think FEMA does, too. Nobody will ever trust that name again. Ever. Our national emergency response needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.

[DarkTirade]

17. I don't know which is worse...

The ones who could be out saving lives being forced to act as communication people... or the ones who could be out saving lives accompanying the president on his photoshoot.

[Sugarbleus]

18. Holy cow, that's just FU all around... Unbleepingbelievable

Ya know, it's just more and more bad news every day... I hope someone, including me, is cataloging this stuff for future IMPEACHMENT and/or Election purposes.

I'm emotionally exhausted too.... :hangover:

[nookiemonster]

19. It's always been about image to these pukes.

Policy be damned!

[enigmatic]

20. unbelieveable

Simply unbelieveable. Impeach this fucker.

[Skwmom]

21. PR and political spin before saving lives.

This is insane!!!

[Historic NY]

22. What a waste of manpower.........

Christ sakes they could hire High School kids to hand out flyer's. It doesn't take oodles of training & security clearances to do that.

[cthrumatrix]

25. kick it

[Vinca]

26. Email the article to your local paper.

[berni_mccoy]

28. I don't even know what to say to this

I am so completely outraged I can barely type or speak.

[newyawker99]

29. kick

:kick:

[glitch]

30. Finally an explanation for cutting the phone lines.

We did wonder. But if your only response to a fucking disaster is handing out a phone number... you're gonna want to cut the lines first.