More Katrina preparedness info...

[luvrpgrl]

Im continuing to read and listen to the radio for more info on who really messed up where.

I heard tapes of the Mayor being interviewed, he actually laughed at times when talking about the evacuation, he made public statements to the effect of "those who wish to remain behind...do this, do that"

In contrast, read what another area of the country does to prepare for hurricanes, its called the "magic marker approach"

Op-Ed Columnist
Magic Marker Strategy

By JOHN TIERNEY
Published: September 6, 2005

It was the climax of George W. Bush's video introduction at the Republican convention: the moment at Yankee Stadium during the 2001 World Series when he threw a pitch all the way to home plate. The video ended, and the conventioneers cheered as Mr. Bush strode onto a stage shaped like a pitcher's mound.
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Well, live by the pitch, die by the pitch. When you campaign as the man on the mound, the great leader whose arm rescues Americans in their moment of need, they expect you to deal with a hurricane, too.

Mr. Bush made a lot of mistakes last week, but most of his critics are making an even bigger one now by obsessing about what he said and did. We can learn more by listening to men like Jim Judkins, particularly when he explains the Magic Marker method of disaster preparedness.

Mr. Judkins is one of the officials in charge of evacuating the Hampton Roads region around Newport News, Va. These coastal communities, unlike New Orleans, are not below sea level, but they're much better prepared for a hurricane. Officials have plans to run school buses and borrow other buses to evacuate those without cars, and they keep registries of the people who need special help.

Instead of relying on a "Good Samaritan" policy - the fantasy in New Orleans that everyone would take care of the neighbors - the Virginia rescue workers go door to door. If people resist the plea to leave, Mr. Judkins told The Daily Press in Newport News, rescue workers give them Magic Markers and ask them to write their Social Security numbers on their body parts so they can be identified.

"It's cold, but it's effective," Mr. Judkins explained.

That simple strategy could have persuaded hundreds of people to save their own lives in New Orleans. What the city needed most was coldly effective local leaders, not a president in Washington who could feel their pain. It's the same lesson we should have learned from Sept. 11 and other disasters, yet both liberals and conservatives keep ignoring it.

The liberals bewailing the insensitivity and racism of Republicans in Washington sound like a bad rerun of the 1960's, when urban riots were blamed on everyone but the rioters and the police. Yes, the White House did a terrible job of responding to Katrina, but Democratic leaders in New Orleans and Louisiana didn't even fulfill their basic duties.

In coastal Virginia - which, by the way, has a large black population and plenty of Republican politicians - Mr. Judkins and his colleagues assume that it's their job to evacuate people, maintain order and stockpile supplies to last for 72 hours, until federal help arrives. In New Orleans, the mayor seemed to assume all that was beyond his control, just like the mayors in the 1960's who let the riots occur.

They said their cities couldn't survive without help from Washington, which proceeded to shower inner cities with money and programs that did more damage than the riots. Cities didn't recover until some mayors, especially Republicans like Rudy Giuliani, tried self-reliance.

Mr. Giuliani was called heartless and racist for cutting the welfare rolls and focusing on crime reduction, but black neighborhoods were the greatest beneficiaries of his policies. He was criticized for ignoring social services as he concentrated on reorganizing the Police and Fire Departments, but his cold effectiveness made the city a more livable place and kept it calm after Sept. 11.

Yet Mr. Bush, with approval from conservatives who should have known better, reacted to Sept. 11 by centralizing disaster planning in Washington. He created the byzantine Homeland Security Department, with predictable results last week.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, often criticized for ineptitude, became even less efficient after it was swallowed by a bureaucracy consumed with terrorism. The department has spent billions on new federal airport screeners - with no discernible public benefit - while giving short shrift to natural disasters.

The federal officials who had been laboring on a one-size-fits-all strategy were unprepared for the peculiarities of New Orleans, like the high percentage of people without cars. The local officials who knew about that problem didn't do anything about it - and then were furious when Mr. Bush didn't solve it for them. Why didn't the man on the mound come through for them?

It's a fair question as they go door to door looking for bodies. But so is this: Why didn't they go door to door last week with Magic Markers?

[Azimyth]

look out matilda, here comes the big one!

Luvrgrl, you're going to chase all the libbies away by shining lights like that in thier cool dark hideout otherwise known as open discussion

[neanderthal]

this doesnt change shrubs inadequate response does it?

we may cry and bemoan the lack of preparation from the part of the NO crew, but trying to shift blame to them for the govts woeful response to our biggest natural disaster sounds just like saying "well the iraqi people needed liberating anyway" after the invasion. it doesnt change the lack of a sufficient, massive response from a federal level.

[Azimyth]

Originally Posted by neanderthal

this doesnt change shrubs inadequate response does it?

we may cry and bemoan the lack of preparation from the part of the NO crew, but trying to shift blame to them for the govts woeful response to our biggest natural disaster sounds just like saying "well the iraqi people needed liberating anyway" after the invasion. it doesnt change the lack of a sufficient, massive response from a federal level.

When would you have preferred that "shrub" responded?

[luvrpgrl]

Originally Posted by Azimyth

When would you have preferred that "shrub" responded?

DAmn, its funny how they always manage to bring Iraq into this.

I heard the mayor and he said, "we ask for help and it takes days, they asked for help in Iraq and they got it lickity spl...quick..."

what the hell is he talking about??????

I cant asses at this point in time what happened at the federal level. I only know what i have heard from the mayor and his bombastic attack from PHILADELPHIA while "his people" were dieing in NO.

The only thing I can say about the gov at this point is, its my understanding she didnt ask for help right away. IF thats true, she blew it too, other than that I dont know about the state level inadeqacies.

But I do have enough info about the mayor to know that he BLEW IT MAJOR BIG TIME ON THIS ONE, then tried to shift the blame.

[Azimyth]

I understand "shrub" waited so long for the call from the governor, that he actually called her himself and inquired as to the state's need. It is ILLEGAL for the fed to do anything relative to state matters until it is specifically invited. That invite was delayed, so the relief was delayed.

[peragro]

Originally Posted by Azimyth

I understand "shrub" waited so long for the call from the governor, that he actually called her himself and inquired as to the state's need. It is ILLEGAL for the fed to do anything relative to state matters until it is specifically invited. That invite was delayed, so the relief was delayed.

I had heard that as well, furthermore, I heard that she declined until Wednesday. I heard that he also called the Mayor of NO on Sunday prior to the hurricane and urged him to evacuate the city.

I guess they both figured it wouldn't be as bad as it was/is.

[Azimyth]

I just read an AP story which claimed that the governor is behaving coldly to the president's efforts and refuses to sign over control of the nat'l guard to the fed., opting instead to assign executive duties to a former Clinton admin. appointee. Politics to the end. Some folks want to provide aid and rescue, others seek to exploit the kaos for political gain.....

[MikeTangas]

Not signing over the NG at this point kinda makes sense, bear with me. If they federalize the Guard then the Guard falls under the authority of Sec Defense. If the Guard isn't federalized then they can be utilized by the State in a law enforcement capacity - something they cannot do once under the the Sec Defense's authority. Posse Cometitus (sp) is the legal precident dating back to the 1860's.

[420SEL]

This article suggests a deeper and older root of the problem.

http://www.mises.org/story/1902

[Plantman]

FWIW, I have come to the conclusion that in a disaster of this magnitude, no one is going to get everything right.

Pretty obvious from where I sit. NO govt was asleep at the wheel, followed by the state and then the feds, whom I inderstand cannot act unless requested to do do by the state govt.

IF they managed to get hundreds of buses after the storm, couldn't they have gotten them before the storma nd minimized the loss of life?

It seems to me that the mayor of NO is becoming a bit of a celebrity while showing a certain degree of incompetence.

Sure he's working hard now, he has little choice. Had he been a bit more proactive prior to a cat 4 storm, headed for a city that's below sea level, they all woudl have been better off.

[Azimyth]

Originally Posted by MikeTangas

Not signing over the NG at this point kinda makes sense, bear with me. If they federalize the Guard then the Guard falls under the authority of Sec Defense. If the Guard isn't federalized then they can be utilized by the State in a law enforcement capacity - something they cannot do once under the the Sec Defense's authority. Posse Cometitus (sp) is the legal precident dating back to the 1860's.

What is the law relative to states of emergency (state declared vs. fed declared)?

Don't know what the law is but I saw guys with 82'nd airborne patches clearing some business's on TV and they weren't equipped to distribute MRE's unless they were going to open them with m4's and Benelli tactical shotguns.

I also noticed a few guys with them wearing baseball caps and for those that don't know much about the military, a backwards baseball cap is SF uniform.

[Plantman]

Originally Posted by MedMech

Don't know what the law is but I saw guys with 82'nd airborne patches clearing some business's on TV and they weren't equipped to distribute MRE's unless they were going to open them with m4's and Benelli tactical shotguns.

I also noticed a few guys with them wearing baseball caps and for those that don't know much about the military, a backwards baseball cap is SF uniform.

Don't like to stick out in a crowd huh?

[raymr]

I was pretty well known that the levees were designed for a category 3 hurricane. Anyone who hangs around there for longer than a visit is taking a certain risk, knowing that eventually a catastrophic storm will arrive. Sadly, the city below sea level had no visible plan, and the mayor seemed to be feeling sorry for himself rather than taking charge. Blaming the Fed is like me blaming my bank because my checks are bouncing. Considering the special equipment needed, even under the best circumstances it would take the NG a couple days to get there in big numbers. Every city has special needs that can only be known and addressed at the local level. NOLA was relying on the saints and spirits to keep her safe.