FOLLOW THE MONEY!! Communications the main problem.

[OregonBlue]

Write to your Congress people. Again, the problem was communications. We were told after 9/11 disastrous communications, that our tax dollars were being spent for a state-of-the-art communications system so this would not happen again.

Write your Congress people. Demand to know where that money was spent. They have refused to divulge the Homeland Security budget details because of "national security" issues.

DEMAND ANSWERS, DEMAND TO KNOW WHERE THEY SPENT THE MONEY!! THIS IS THE ONE THING THEY REALLY FEAR, HAVING TO LET THE AMERICAN PEOPLE KNOW WHERE THE MONEY ACTUALLY WENT!!!

[knowbody0]

1. a failure to communicate

is the root to all of the problems. no excuse for that.

[Norquist Nemesis]

2. Well, Rush Limbaugh was off the air at the time

so it was a little difficult to disseminate our leader's message.

[OregonBlue]

3. I'm talking about an actual hands on communications system.

They made such a huge deal of spending tax dollars to create a radio system that would allow all emergency responders to communicate with each other. Nothing was done. The cell towers went down, the phone lines went out and once again, no communications between responders.

My Dem Congress people seem to think that this is really important. They don't want to reveal how the money was actually spent, therefore WE MUST DEMAND THAT THEY TELL US.

[Norquist Nemesis]

4. Understood

I was being snarky

[OregonBlue]

5. OH. I'm so mad I'm not thinking very clearly today!

[NVMojo]

6. they only fund communication systems that lie for them ...what did

we expect??

[texpatriot2004]

7. kick n/t

[OregonBlue]

8. My letter to Homeland Security Oversight Committee and Lieberman's

response to me. Long - Sorry.

To the Congress of the “United” States of America:

In the past several years this country and this Congress has allowed our nation to pursue a course of war, not peace. Funding for the national infrastructure and for the welfare of American citizens has been cut and cut in favor of war funding and tax cuts. Our tax dollars have been diverted to Iraq and into a “Transportation Bill” that was so loaded with pork that even the most zealous among you might be ashamed. You have refunded billions of our tax dollars to the richest in this country and never asked them to sacrifice for the common good.

Not since the Harding Administration has there been such unabashed greed and avarice, such a criminal rip-off of the American people. There has never in the history of the world been a government that took so much from the poor to give to the rich.

Now we are seeing the results of YOUR policies. Where did the money in the Homeland Security budget go? Where did the money in the Army Corp of Engineers budget go? I am tired of the “representatives of the people” hiding behind the platitude of “homeland security” in order to deny the citizens of the country the right to know how our tax dollars are being spent.

Even after your disastrous budget cuts to the New Orleans levee system and a total failure on the part of our Department of Homeland Security/FEMA/Army Corp of Engineers, you are still proposing elimination of the Estate Tax and Capital Gains Taxes and still insist on the Privatization of Social Security.

Your friend and colleague Grover Norquist stated “My goal is to cut government in half in twenty five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in a bathtub”. Well, you have succeeded in drowning it but, unfortunately, you have not cut the spending. You have run up the largest budget deficit in the history of the world. You have only spent it on those things that you believe benefited you and your friends personally.

My questions to you are:

DO YOU AGREE WITH MR. NORQUIST NOW?

HOW MUCH MONEY DO THESE “CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY” NEED?

WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO CONVINCE YOU THAT WE NEED FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS TO CARE FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE AMONG US?

WILL YOU GO ON FIDDLING (and spending on bridges to nowhere) WHILE OUR NATION BURNS, OR IN THIS CASE BURNS AND DROWNS?

HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT?

.................................................................

Thank you for your letter regarding Hurricane Katrina and the devastating flood that recently struck the Gulf Coast. I am saddened and horrified by the pain, suffering, and human tragedy caused by what may turn out to be the worst natural disaster in American history. Millions of Americans are currently pulling together and reaching out to help the victims of Katrina. We here in Washington must now come together to help the victims, fix our emergency response system, and restore the public's confidence in our government.

I am pleased to inform you that the Senate has recently passed a $51.8
billion federal aid package, which I strongly supported, to aid the relief efforts in the Gulf Coast. This is in addition to the $10.5 billion emergency supplemental bill passed earlier to meet immediate needs in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. These are only first steps, and more federal funding will be needed in recovery efforts. As Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Committee with jurisdiction over the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), I will work to ensure that the Executive Branch has all the resources and authorities it needs to coordinate and respond to this catastrophe. Chairman Susan Collins (R-ME) and I will reach out to FEMA and other agencies to identify what additional support and resources they might need during this terrible time.

It is also the responsibility of the Committee to examine the response to this storm at all levels of government. It has become increasingly clear that serious shortcomings in preparedness and response have hampered relief efforts at a critical time. That is why the Committee will conduct an oversight investigation of the preparation for and response to Hurricane Katrina. I understand how important it is for our country and our people that this investigation be conducted without partisanship and with a commitment to find the truth and tell it so our government will never again make the mistakes it made. The initial focus of the investigation will be to ensure that the federal government is doing all it can to help the victims of this terrible tragedy. I intend to demand answers as to how this immense failure occurred, but our immediate focus must and will be on what Congress can do to help the rescue and emergency operations that are ongoing.

Thank you again for letting me know your views and concerns. My official Senate web site is designed to be an on-line office that provides access to constituent services, Connecticut-specific information, and an abundance of information about what I am working on in the Senate on behalf of Connecticut and the nation. I am also pleased to let you know that I have launched an email news update service through my web site. You can sign up for that service by visiting http://lieberman.senate.gov and clicking on the "Subscribe Email News Updates" button at the bottom of the home page. Additionally, the web site for the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is designed to provide visitors with information about the matters of the Committee, including news regarding our investigation into the preparation for, and response to, Hurricane Katrina. You can access the schedule of upcoming hearings, view press releases, track legislation that has been sent to the Committee, and view other Committee information by visiting http://hsgac.senate.gov. I hope these are informative and useful.

Sincerely,


Joseph I. Lieberman
UNITED STATES SENATOR

At least he wrote back!!

[mrdmk]

10. What would have cost $61 million now cost $61 billion.

A day late and a dollar short.

Fire Bush Today and a few dino's with him!

[cmd]

9. Communications failed because of Iraq

Generators needed to power radios at command centers were in Iraq. The Louisiana Guard deployment is more than just men and women. They take their equipment with them. Land lines were down, cell phone towers toppled, batteries lasted only a few hours and the generators were in Iraq. Follow the money; but follow the trail of those generators as well.

[OregonBlue]

11. PORK AND GRAFT IN Homeland Security Department budget is the

issue I want uncovered. They were supposed to create a communications system, complete with generators, etc., but obviously the money was not spent. I am certain that if the American taxpayer got a look at this budget, it would absolutely SHOCK us. Write your senators and representatives and DEMAND that we be allowed to see where that money actually went. Don't let them hide behind "national security" any longer. We have a right to know!!! Email every MSM outlet you can think of. Write letters to the editors.