[ESPCamaro]

WHY?

You know what I do when I can't afford something. I don't buy it. Not some people if they can't afford it they just find a way to TAKE IT from someone who can.

And ANY excuse to do so is fair game. Even if it involved you neibors being homeless or dead.


I even heard that just now on the news that these morons were steeling guns and firing at national guard and aid choppers.


Sometimes I think it would be just easier to shoot people like this than to bother with the "justice system"


PUKE!

[bruecksteve]

The Wall Street Journal
September 6, 2005
COMMENTARY


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Blame Amid the Tragedy
By BOB WILLIAMS
September 6, 2005; Page A28

As the devastation of Hurricane Katrina continues to shock and sadden the nation, the question on many lips is, Who is to blame for the inadequate response?

As a former state legislator who represented the legislative district most
impacted by the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, I can fully understand and empathize with the people and public officials over the loss of life and property.

Many in the media are turning their eyes toward the federal government,
rather than considering the culpability of city and state officials. I am
fully aware of the challenges of having a quick and responsive emergency
response to a major disaster. And there is definitely a time for
accountability; but what isn't fair is to dump on the federal officials and
avoid those most responsible -- local and state officials who failed to do
their job as the first responders. The plain fact is, lives were needlessly
lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana's governor, Kathleen
Blanco, and the city's mayor, Ray Nagin.

The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to
the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are
charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to
disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his/her emergency operations center.

The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national
disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established
evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved.

In addition to the plans, local, state and federal officials held a simulated hurricane drill 13 months ago, in which widespread flooding supposedly trapped 300,000 people inside New Orleans. The exercise simulated the evacuation of more than a million residents. The problems identified in
the simulation apparently were not solved.

A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an
evacuation but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan.
Again, they did not take corrective actions. In 1998, during a threat by
Hurricane George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and vandalism were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not corrected.

The New Orleans contingency plan is still, as of this writing, on the city's Web site, and states: "The safe evacuation of threatened populations
is one of the principle [sic] reasons for developing a Comprehensive
Emergency Management Plan." But the plan was apparently ignored.

Mayor Nagin was responsible for giving the order for mandatory evacuation and supervising the actual evacuation: His office of Emergency Preparedness (not the federal government) must coordinate with the state on elements of evacuation and assist in directing the transportation of evacuees to staging areas. Mayor Nagin had to be encouraged by the governor to contact the National Hurricane Center before he finally, belatedly, issued the order for mandatory evacuation. And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation.

The city's evacuation plan states: "The city of New Orleans will utilize
all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas."
But even though the city has enough school and transit buses to evacuate 12,000 citizens per fleet run, the mayor did not use them. To compound the problem, the buses were not moved to high ground and were flooded. The plan also states that "special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves or who require specific lifesaving assistance. Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedures as needed." This was not done.

The evacuation plan warned that "if an evacuation order is issued without
the mechanisms needed to disseminate the information to the affected
persons, then we face the possibility of having large numbers of people
either stranded and left to the mercy of a storm, or left in an area
impacted by toxic materials." That is precisely what happened because of the mayor's failure.

Instead of evacuating the people, the mayor ordered the refugees to the
Superdome and Convention Center without adequate security and no provisions for food, water and sanitary conditions. As a result people died, and there was even rape committed, in these facilities. Mayor Nagin failed in his responsibility to provide public safety and to manage the orderly evacuation of the citizens of New Orleans. Now he wants to blame Gov. Blanco and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In an emergency the first requirement is for the city's emergency center to be linked to the state emergency operations center. This was not done.

The federal government does not have the authority to intervene in a state emergency without the request of a governor. President Bush declared an emergency prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, so the only action needed for federal assistance was for Gov. Blanco to request the specific type of assistance she needed. She failed to send a timely request for specific aid.

In addition, unlike the governors of New York, Oklahoma and California in
past disasters, Gov. Blanco failed to take charge of the situation and
ensure that the state emergency operation facility was in constant contact
with Mayor Nagin and FEMA. It is likely that thousands of people died
because of the failure of Gov. Blanco to implement the state plan, which
mentions the possible need to evacuate up to one million people. The plan
clearly gives the governor the authority for declaring an emergency, sending in state resources to the disaster area and requesting necessary federal assistance.

State legislators and governors nationwide need to update their contingency plans and the operation procedures for state emergency centers. Hurricane Katrina had been forecast for days, but that will not always be the case with a disaster (think of terrorist attacks). It must be made clear that the governor and locally elected officials are in charge of the "first response."

I am not attempting to excuse some of the delays in FEMA's response.
Congress and the president need to take corrective action there, also.
However, if citizens expect FEMA to be a first responder to terrorist
attacks or other local emergencies (earthquakes, forest fires, volcanoes),
they will be disappointed. The federal government's role is to offer aid
upon request.

The Louisiana Legislature should conduct an immediate investigation into
the failures of state and local officials to implement the written emergency
plans. The tragedy is not over, and real leadership in the state and local
government are essential in the months to come. More importantly, the
hurricane season is still upon us, and local and state officials must stay
focused on the jobs for which they were elected -- and not on the deadly
game of passing the emergency buck.

Mr. Williams is president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a free
market public policy research organization in Olympia, Wash.
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