honest inquiry into how nation was caught unprepared must list cronyism

[dajoki]

NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/26/opinion/26mon1.html?th&emc=th
Faking the Katrina Inquiry
Published: September 26, 2005

As the nation reels from Rita's devastation along the Gulf Coast, any hope for a thorough investigation of government's gross mismanagement of Katrina is quietly ebbing away behind the political levees of Washington. The White House and Republican-controlled Congress, resisting popular support for an independent, nonpartisan commission, remain determined to run self-serving, bogus investigations.

President Bush has designated his domestic security adviser to deliver the supposedly no-holds-barred investigation he promised after his early embarrassment over Katrina. In a similar retreat, Congressional Republican leaders' ballyhooed promise for a special two-house select committee to fathom government's failures has already been scrapped. Democrats are understandably demanding equal membership and subpoena power - if not a 9/11-type independent commission - for such a task. But the House majority refuses to yield its edge in dominating this politically explosive issue. And the Senate goes its own way, advancing some helpful but totally inadequate ideas for post-hurricane oversight by an inspector general and a reconstruction financial officer.

The public should not be misled by the spectacle tomorrow when Michael Brown, the disgraced and departed director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will most likely be pilloried in an appearance before a Republican-heavy House committee. Scapegoating Mr. Brown is not enough. Lawmakers should be looking at wider mismanagement. The case of David Safavian, the White House's top federal procurement official, comes to mind. He was already enmeshed in the lucrative Gulf Coast rebuilding plans when he had to resign abruptly to face arrest on charges of obstructing justice in a deepening investigation into lobbyist corruption in Washington.

It's obvious that any honest inquiry into how the nation was caught unprepared must list administration cronyism as a topic of investigation as much as Katrina's timeline. Mr. Safavian was a G.O.P. loyalist and veteran lobbyist appointed to run the entire government's purchasing policy, apparently on the basis of patronage influence, not professional credentials.

[KoKo]

1. A lightbulb goes off! Bushies terrified of Independent Investigation....

They can't use the same hacks they used for "9/11 Investigation" and they are running out of "untainted cronies" who will step up to the plate. Another Investigation might have to inlude some folks who just might tie together "9/11" with the repeate performance in Katrina.

They are in a very tough spot. They've got to keep spinning and blaming and scrambling to cover up WHY they don't want this.

[donkeyotay]

2. Are they saying there are a bunch of GOP crooks running the country?

The White House and Republican-controlled Congress, resisting popular support for an independent, nonpartisan commission, remain determined to run self-serving, bogus investigations. . .

It's obvious that any honest inquiry into how the nation was caught unprepared must list administration cronyism as a topic of investigation...

[texpatriot2004]

3. That's right Cronyism and Corruption go hand in hand with this

administration.

[dajoki]

4. finally being exposed...

but can thet spin their way out of it, like the've done since the begining? lets hope not!!