Beaumont, Tx Official - FEMA Hurr Rita Response "A Bunch of Bull"

[GOPAgainstGW]

Head of Beaumont official disgusted that FEMA has large generators here, but will not give some of them to Beaumont for emergency hospital uses, etc, because FEMA said they had more paperwork to do before releasing them. The entire City of Beaumont has no power and was hit very hard by Hurricane Rita. (Beaumont is 1 hour west of Houston, Texas)

Beaumont official starts talking about the problem 30 seconds into the video. Video also shows the huge stockpile of FEMA generators, trucked into the area, just sitting idle:

Video Requires RealOne Player

rtsp://real.tvc.cbsig.net:554/cbsnews/2005/09/26/video886309.rm

Video Source: CBS News

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. why am I not surprsied, calls to be placed tomorrow

god this is getting old

[supernova]

2. Why is it that the "less govmint" party suddenly

turns glacially bureaucratic in the face of emergency?

This is what has puzzled me. :crazy:

Just goes to show what an utterly stupid idea the Dept of HS really was.

[iamjoy]

6. Dept Of HS Is Not A Stupid Idea

it is just being administered in a stupid way.

Here are some other ideas:

The scope of Homeland Security needs to be expanded. It should not focus entirely (or almost entirely) on terrorism, but its stated mission should be keeping America safe from natural disaster and epidemic as well.

FEMA should report to DHS, but responding to natural disasters, etc should be just as important as responding to potential terrorist threats. Also, even if FEMA director is not a Cabinet position, the FEMA director should be invited to some Cabinet meetings. For example, the start of hurricane season and when ever a state of emergency is declared, as well as other relevant meetings.

[supernova]

10. Return FEMA to Cabinet level

It worked just fine under Clinton. I don't know why Bushco* thought they had to "fix" something that wasn't broke.

The mission of FEMA has nothing to do with terrorism, though first response is very similiar. And I definitely don't like this new trend of the military taking over civilian responsibilities.

HS is too big, too unwieldly to be effective now. If you think response to a natural disaster was bad, wait till you see what happens when we get attacked again. And we will because our policies have become more aggressive under *, not more humane.

[hobbit709]

13. They should call it something else

than "Homeland Security" Translate Hitler's SD-Gestapo into English, or the KGB from Russian.

[sandnsea]

28. Prove govt bureaucracy is incompetent

Yes, I do believe they'd let people die to further their ideological agenda. Look at Iraq.

[FloridaPat]

3. It this a joke played on the American public? The Keystone Cops

were better at getting things done. I can't imagine an agency being this incompetent. They have to be doing this on purpose. Are they trying to kill Americans now? Is this the master plan - everything looks like Iraq? Maybe this is the only vision these people are capable of. * hated everything Clinton did and wanted to be opposite. So maybe this is his master plan for the world. Total incompetence everywhere so he would look competent sitting in his chair reading a book.

I would this that in a disaster the first thing that comes to mind is get stuff to people affected by the disaster. That seems to be the last thing FEMA wants to do.

[converted_democrat]

12. My personal speculation....

You said- I can't imagine an agency being this incompetent. They have to be doing this on purpose.-

I think they are doing it on purpose. They are intentionally trying to fuck up the FEMA response, to ensure Bush will get no resistance when he says he wants it all handled by the military. He wants FEMA to be a disaster, so he can trick the American public into getting rid of Posse Comitatus, even though he already has the power to use the to military "help" victims. Why does he want to do away with the Posse Comitatus Act, even though he already has the power he is "claiming" to need? They are doing it on purpose, they are playing us all to grab more power. If and when these powers are granted our president will be able to use the military against his own people, and we lose our country. These people know what they are doing, and they are doing it on purpose, they are putting the last nail in the coffin of our democracy, and they know it.


P.S. Call your local politicians and tell them Posse Comitatus is important, Bush already has the power he "claims" he needs. There is no reason to get rid of Posse Comitatus, period.

edit - for my awful spelling

[ClintonTyree]

4. I can't see how this could have happened.......

not with "the hurricane president" rolling up his sleeves and taking control and all. :eyes: You'd think there wouldn't BE any red tape left after Katrina, but bush's FEMA continues to amaze, doesn't it? A hollow agency crafted by a hollow president, what else would one expect.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

5. I heard this yesterday and wanted to regurgitate when I heard the Shrub

saying how successful it all is going.

[iamjoy]

7. Because It Is Small Towns

Remember how after Katrina all these little cities in Louisiana and Mississippi were all but ignored and most of the focus was on New Orleans?

Well, since there aren't thousands (tens of thousands) of people stranded by rising flood waters with no food or water, this is seen as successful. Because it isn't as bad as Katrina, it is seen as successful.

I wonder how successful all this would have been had the hurricane hit Galveston/Houston directly.

[txindy]

15. But it's on his little checklist, ya see. "Generators? Yep, check."

It don't say nuttin' 'bout givin' those generators to folks to USE, ya see! :eyes:

Talk about shooting themselves in both feet. The GOP is messin' with their own voters in SE Texas. :evilgrin: Gov. HairMousse is sooooooo toast and no one will mourn Junior when he's imprisoned, either. Fitting, that. And about d*mn time!

[Solly Mack]

8. Hi! I'm from FEMA and I'm here to help. ( from the list of things you

never want to hear - and if you do - RUN!)


on edit: to add fairly - Clinton was building FEMA up to be a decent organization...that all changed on December 12, 2000.

Forget Selection 2000 and you forget the watershed moment for the last 5 years. Just a reminder. :)

[GOPAgainstGW]

9. East Texas Officials Say Federal Storm Aid Still Not Reaching Them

I posted this article in another thread yesterday. More FEMA Doing A Bad Job Post - Hurr Rita and local town official reactions. This is an updated article that was published late last night. - GOPA
-------------

East Texas Officials Say Federal Storm Aid Still Not Reaching Them

Published: September 26, 2005 11:30 PM ET

While the national media continues to contrast the strong federal response to Hurricane Rita to the fumbling post-Katrina, this is not the message put out by local East Texas officials in a Beaumont Enterprise online story late today. They said much the same yesterday apparently to little notice.

Frustrated Jefferson County leaders said they are not getting much-needed help from the feds, and "complained that resources were not making it into their communities to get much-needed services such as water and sewer operating again," the newspaper revealed.

Jefferson County Judge Carl Griffith called the bureaucracy "ridiculous" and said the federal government has failed the people of East Texas.

"Unless George Bush is a different man than I knew as governor of Texas, he's going to make some changes. And I'm a Democrat," Griffith said, to emphasize his faith in the president's ability to ease the suffering in Southeast Texas.

"We've had out-of-area leaders come in before and tell us a bunch of bull----," Nederland Mayor Bill Nugent said. "But hopefully this is going to be for real. We'll have faith in her and trust her until she proves (she's) speaking to us like the rest of them have. And if I sound upset, I am. It's time to quit being nice."

<snip>

"I'm so damn frustrated," Nugent said, "because we've been screaming and hollering for the generators. They keep saying we're going to get them, but they're sitting on trucks at Ford Park, and we can't get the damn things to Nederland. Give me one more day I'm going to get real nasty."

(GOPA says.......Late yesterday Beaumont official's gave FEMA a deadline this morning re: the generators. If FEMA doesn't deliver them, the City's police are going to confiscate them for emergency use)

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001181432

[zbdent]

11. Can't use the generators for helping Hospitals and such - they're needed

on standby in case the boy king needs another photo-op . . .

One of the few times that he is NOT in front of an audience ordered to smile and applaud . . .

[GOPAgainstGW]

16. THAT'S IT! - I Forgot Bush Is Suppose to Be in the Area TODAY!...

I live in Houston and have been running a Hurr Rita Command Post for the last 8 days. I forgot BushCo is suppose to be in the area today!

[GOPAgainstGW]

17. 9/27 - Prez Bush in Beaumont Texas Today

Bush getting a close-up look at Rita's damage to energy resources
Tuesday, 09/27/2005

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush was getting a personal look at Hurricane Rita's damage to U.S. energy resources with a visit to the birthplace of the modern oil industry.

Bush planned to receive a briefing on hurricane damage Tuesday in the port city of Beaumont, Texas, where the Spindletop well erupted a century ago and created the Gulf of Mexico's oil boom. The city is now home to refineries that turn oil into gasoline, many of which were knocked out of power by the storm.

"We're not sure yet the full extent of the damage," the president, a former oilman, said Monday after a closed-door meeting with his secretaries of energy and the interior. After his meeting in Beaumont, Bush was to get an aerial tour of the Texas-Louisiana border area where Rita blew ashore, then meet with Louisiana officials in Lake Charles, La.

<snip>

He also asked Americans and federal workers to cut back on unnecessary travel to make up for fuel shortages caused by Hurricane Rita.

"If it makes sense for the citizen out there to curtail nonessential travel, it darn sure makes sense for federal employees," Bush said. "We can encourage employees to car pool or use mass transit, and we can shift peak electricity use to off-peak hours. There's ways for the federal government to lead when it comes to conservation."

Bush sent a memo to agency and department heads, saying the federal government must "lead by example and further contribute to the relief effort by reducing its own fuel use during this difficult time." He instructed them to report to him within 30 days, describing which steps they took to conserve.

<snip>

The fuel consumption is even higher on Bush's cross-country travels, which include flights on Air Force One as well as movements by a group of helicopters for the president, his staff, Secret Service agents and press that accompany him wherever he goes. The Air Force recently estimated fuel costs for Air Force One have risen to $6,029 per hour, up from $3,974 an hour in the last budget year.

http://www2.whdh.com/news/articles/national/MIA7892/

[GOPAgainstGW]

14. Anger Against FEMA Builds in Hard-hit Areas

Sept. 27, 2005, 6:34AM

BEAUMONT - Frustration and anger mounted in Southeast Texas on Monday over the response to Hurricane Rita by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. With homes smashed, trees and power lines downed and a looming shortage of food and water, one official even threatened to take federal relief supplies by force, if necessary.

"If you have enough policemen to take it from them, take it," Jefferson County Judge Carl Griffith said Monday during a meeting of city and county officials.

Rising along with the anger in the hard-hit Louisiana-Texas border region was the death toll, which jumped Monday with the discovery that five people had died in a Beaumont apartment.

The death toll in Texas since Rita rushed ashore early Saturday now stands at 10, which includes a Shelbyville man who was electrocuted while trying to start a generator. In addition, 23 people died in a fiery bus crash south of Dallas while being evacuated from the Houston area early Friday morning, and one person died in a northern Mississippi tornado.

<snip>

'Short on food and water'
-----------------------------
Southeast Texas officials charged that the federal agency's response to Rita was inadequate.
"We are very short on food and water, and the FEMA trucks that were supposed to be here just aren't here," Griffith said.

Griffith was angry over an incident in which a FEMA truck was supposed to deliver fuel to a police facility but took the gasoline to a fire station. When the crew learned its error, it left, the county judge said, without providing the fuel to anyone.

If police had been available, Griffith said, they should have just taken the fuel. Griffith also was outraged over FEMA portable generators that, he said, were sitting in a park and not being distributed. "We can't help it if politicians come here and just want to be seen by the media," Griffith said.

"We hit the ground running with our own commodities and our own facilities, but we have no support." Beaumont officials also cited a shortage of water pumps and generators. They complained that federal relief teams had failed to show up and that fuel deliveries had not been made as promised.

<snip>

In nearby Port Arthur, Mayor Oscar Ortiz also expressed frustration with FEMA's response in his city which was extensively damaged. Ortiz said he had seen only three FEMA officials on the ground as of Monday afternoon. "They are supposedly bringing us some diesel, but I haven't seen it yet," he said. "We are relying on some of the refineries in town to keep us on the road.

"The (FEMA) director is a very nice person," Ortiz added, "but that is not what we need now. We need someone who is going to do what they say they are going to do." The mayor said there were not enough supplies for residents who remained in the city during the storm and the few who had slipped back in since it passed. In addition, there were 700 to 800 emergency personnel in the area, as well as about 700 energy workers who needed supplies.

<snip>

Andre Wimer, city manager of Nederland said he was tired of getting the run-around from federal officials. "We spend the day faxing and talking, and we don't get any feedback," Wimer said.

"I realize that there is a significant logistics issue, and I appreciate that. But there is a significant amount of equipment and manpower sitting at (local FEMA headquarters), and for whatever reason, it has not been released," Wimer said.

<snip>

In Livingston on Monday, the Trinity River Authority significantly reduced the amount of water being released from the Lake Livingston dam, easing worries that widespread flooding could occur downstream.

The dam was severely damaged by Rita, and repairs could take six months and cost millions of dollars. The water is being released so engineers can repair the dam. Authorities hope to have the water level in Lake Livingston reduced by four feet by noon today.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory/3371052

[Moderator]

18. GOPAgainstGW

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
copyrighted news source.


Thank you.


DU Moderator

[GOPAgainstGW]

26. Thanks For the Heads Up!

[Jane Austin]

19. Small Correction:

" The entire City of Beaumont has no power and was hit very hard by Hurricane Rita. (Beaumont is 1 hour west of Houston, Texas)
"

Beamont is east of Houston, closer to Louisiana.

[GOPAgainstGW]

20. Sorry typo, thanks. :-)....... I live in Houston.

[Jane Austin]

27. I figgered it was a typo.

I just wanted to make the correction to lessen the confusion for non-Texans.

[GOPAgainstGW]

21. Hurr Rita Hard Hit Texas City Still Can't Get FEMA Generators

Per Chris Matthewes Hardball Interview just on.

City manager of Nederland, (on TX-LA State line) met with Prez Bush today. City Manager said he still couldn't get FEMA generators for his destroyed town. Finally had to get 2 generators from private concerns today in Houston to help out. All Bush had back was lip service per usual.

Brownie's gone and FEMA is still no better BushCo, WTF!

[rainbow4321]

22. Beaumont resident on the news tonight pissed at chimp

Basically said he has heard ENOUGH of chimp visits to the area, that the visits are NOT getting the area residents the help that is needed. Said the Washington politics are getting in the way of the city's recovery efforts.

Not a good sign for chimp if the TX locals are tired of his photo/PR stunts.

[GOPAgainstGW]

23. Majority in SE Texas is Pissed at Chimp. Sick of Do Nothing Photo Ops

[txindy]

29. I know, ain't it grand?!

It's taken them long enough to buy a clue, but they're getting one now, that's for certain.

[converted_democrat]

24. Good to know people are speaking out about it!! n/t

[txindy]

30. A very, VERY bad sign if those particular locals are sick of Junior

Die-hard fans. Well, they were. Not now. Never again. He's having pictures taken while their lives are ruined, at worst, and in limbo, at best. The anger, frustration, and rage here are palpable - and I'm hundreds of miles inland, but I can feel it all around me.

[rainbow4321]

31. The news guy added "this isn't for the locals, they don't have TV"

The reporter made a point to say that chimp's photo ops were made to play on the national level since the people in the areas where chimp was had NO electricity and therefore no TV/radio. If the majority of locals feel like that one guy did, it's no wonder chimpass is avoiding them.

[babylonsister]

25. Yep, lighten up on Brown! FEMA is doing a

marvelous job! And the blivet is now there to oversee it all! Rest easy, everyone! :(

[GOPAgainstGW]

32. Rita: Caveman Conditions in Texas-No Fed Help

Hurricane Rita Victims Are 'Living Like Cavemen,' Emergency Official Says Four Days After Storm

PORT ARTHUR, Texas Sep 27, 2005 — Nearly four days after Hurricane Rita hit, many of the storm's sweltering victims along the Texas Gulf Coast were still waiting for electricity, gasoline, water and other relief Tuesday, prompting one top emergency official to complain that people are "living like cavemen."

<snip>

Red tape was also blamed for the delays.Port Arthur Mayor Oscar Ortiz, whose own home was destroyed by fire after the hurricane, said "we've had 101 promises" for aid, "but it's all bureaucracy."John Owens, emergency management coordinator and deputy police chief in the town of 57,000, said pleas for state and federal relief were met with requests for paperwork.

"We have been living like cavemen, sleeping in cars, doing bodily functions outside," he said. Temperatures climbed into the upper 90s, and officials worried that swarms of mosquitoes might spread disease.

<snip>

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1164322

[Oilwellian]

33. Here's more...

Frustrations were evident at all levels. Residents caught in the gridlock of evacuation were locked out of their communities. Local officials offered some of the first vocal complaints about the federal response to Hurricane Rita, saying the government was ensnarled in red tape.

"We've got 50 generators sitting on trailers that would get water and sewer back running, but they won't let us unload them," fumed Carl Griffith, the administrative judge of Jefferson County in Texas. "There's still a breakdown of communication between the state and federal government."

Griffith said he was forced to rage at federal authorities to instigate the airlift that took more than 1,300 patients out of local hospitals and nursing homes, and whenever he appealed for help, "All I get is, 'Sorry, can't do that.'"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/25/AR2005092500335_pf.html

Yet, here are some remarks by a FEMA official and Cornyn:

R. David Paulison, acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said there was "absolutely phenomenal" coordination and preparation. He said many preparations went unneeded. Texas received 3.8 million liters of water, 193 truckloads of ice and 320,000 military meal rations, but "we've had minimal requests for some of those commodities," Paulison said. He said FEMA would move more water and ice to Louisiana.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), in an interview Sunday in Austin, said: "I think what happened in Texas demonstrates that when state, local and federal officials have a plan and work together, it can work successfully."