Er, the Conventional Wisdom SUPPORTED putting FEMA into Homeland Security

[Armstead]

I hesitate to point this out, but not very long ago, there was widespread support for putting FEMA under Department of Homeland Security, along with every otehr dang thing.

That was seen -- often pushed by Democrats -- as a way to rectify the mistakes of 9-11. In fact, Bush was initially reluctant to create this new bureaucratic layer and was criticized for it.

That's not to let Bush off the hook for the appalling lack of leadership he showed last week. Nor the cronyism, and the general attempt by the GOP to gut government.

But there was a sheeplike movement -- on all sides of the political spectrum -- to create this cumbersome monster called Department of Homeland Security. In part it was part of wantinmg to seem like we were just as concerned with National Security as anyone.

It was a typical bandwagon in which too many of us went along with a bad idea....Kinda like the Iraq War.

[crispini]

1. just another reason why i am mad at everyone

who created this horror. democrats as well as republicans. blame them ALL. shit, if Castro can do a better job evacuating his people :grr:

[speedoo]

2. If you fuck up the execution, the greatest idea will always look bad.

Maybe it was not such a terrific idea.

But if the implementation had been even moderately effective, FEMA would be much stronger today.

[Armstead]

4. True, but with the wisdom of hindsight it was a bad idea

You can't have one agency expected to do so much. It is the ultimaste in bureaucratic maze-building, plus it is dangerous to invest so much power in one agency.

[MADem]

7. If you have subordinate agencies with sufficient autonomy

...within a certain area to do their job, you can very effectively coordinate these kinds of things--especially when there is terror on the table. But if you give the subordinate agency an idiot in charge, and give them no money or authority, and the only way they can act is to go to the top if they need so much as a roll of buttwipe, that is a recipe for disaster.

[Armstead]

9. I agree with some of that

Itmight have been possible to make it work with effective leadership. And there's no doubt that effective leadership is in very short supply these days.

But the basic idea of combining so many things together intensifies the bureaucratioc muddle that makes the opposite more likely. Plus it is too much concentration of power.

[MADem]

5. BINGO!!!! Tell Speedoo what he's won, Don!!!

The putting FEMA under DHS was not the problem, taking all the FEMA money and using it to buy expensive gear for red states with the smallest risk of terror attacks WAS the screw-up. Putting "Brownie" in charge, while Allbaugh went off to be a lobbyist for Kellogg, Brown and Root was a screw-up. Not acting decisively as Commander in Chief was a screw-up.

People died because monkeyking screwed up....

[yurbud]

12. yep--if Bush said he was going to alleviate black poverty...

half the black people in the country would be dead by the end of his term.

Whenever he says he's going to fix something or help someone, the problem gets worse, the people get hurt, and his friends get richer.

[kentuck]

3. you are right Armstead....

Who stood up and said, "Hey, this might be a bad idea!"?

[Armstead]

6. I thunk it, but I didn't say it

The whole idea of this Superagency responsible for everything made me nervous at the time. But I guess I was in sheeple mode about it.

[kentuck]

8. Same here....

:(

[Armstead]

10. Hoisted by our own petards

I guess there's a lseeon there somewhere....Like maybe we should all listen to our instincts more

[yurbud]

11. that whole "Homeland Security" deal was a scam

15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers got into the US on expedited visas from Saudi Arabia. The CIA, FBI, supposedly the Pentagon, and foreign governments warned us something was in the pipe before 9/11.

But instead of placing blame squarely where it belonged on the Bushies and their dubious buddies Saudi and Pakistan, we allowed our own civil rights to be curtailed, and new bureauocracy to be created so that Bush could give jobs to his cronies.

These guys have the con down. Create a problem, blame someone else, then profit by pretending the fix the problem they created themselves.

[Armstead]

13. It does seem like the obvious answer would have been:

"Do your job better" instead of creating something entirely new and untested.