Some FEMA articles...

[nyhuskyfan]

These articles have all been posted here in different places, but I thought the four of them together would put the last 15 years of FEMA in perspective, and what happens when good presidents make good hires and come up with good ideas and implement them -- compared to what happens when bad presidents make bad hires and come up with no ideas (and eliminate the good ideas they inherit).


First - an article from 1995 about how FEMA revitalized itself under Bill Clinton after it failed badly in 1992's Hurricane Andrew, maybe costing Bush I re-election in the process. This isn't revisionist history -- this is the opinion at the time.


http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:V4x1aPLu5CgJ:www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0509.franklin.html+FEMA+%2B+Hurricane+Hugo&hl=en


Next - a longer, but rather prescient article from The Best of New Orleans written last year "A Disaster Waiting To Happen", due to the problems at FEMA under Bush II. It talks about Clinton's "Project Impact", a novel program which dealt with state and local governments to put in plans for disaster preparedness. Bush cut the program in March of 2001 - less than 60 days into his presidency. This article is not Monday Morning quarterbacking -- it was written last year.

http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/2004-09-28/cover_story.html


Next, an article from the Boston Herald this week about Bush's FEMA director Mike Brown, who was asked to resign from his previous job at the International Arabian Horse Association and was hired at FEMA because he had impeccable credentials -- he was college roommates with the previous FEMA director, Joseph Albuagh, sho stepped down in 2003 and left Horse Boy in charge.

http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=100857



Finally, a New York Times article that describes the current mess, which is what you get when you use an agency like this for political favors for people who can't successfully manage Arabian Horses...

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/03/national/nationalspecial/03fema.html

[mom cat]

1. Thanks for putting this all together.