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FEMA can't mount a relief effort in the face of an insurgency amongst some of the local populace, with the local and state government washing their hands of the situation within the first moments after it occurred.

I saw Meet The Press this morning and they had the president of Jefferson Parish on. I thought he related something relevant here about what FEMA has done here:

MR. BROUSSARD: Sir, they were told like me, every single day, "The cavalry's coming," on a federal level, "The cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming." I have just begun to hear the hoofs of the cavalry. The cavalry's still not here yet, but I've begun to hear the hoofs, and we're almost a week out. Let me give you just three quick examples. We had Wal-Mart deliver three trucks of water, trailer trucks of water. FEMA turned them back. They said we didn't need them. This was a week ago. FEMA--we had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on a Coast Guard vessel docked in my parish. The Coast Guard said, "Come get the fuel right away." When we got there with our trucks, they got a word. "FEMA says don't give you the fuel." Yesterday--yesterday--FEMA comes in and cuts all of our emergency communication lines. They cut them without notice. Our sheriff, Harry Lee, goes back in, he reconnects the line. He posts armed guards on our line and says, "No one is getting near these lines." Sheriff Harry Lee said that if America--American government would have responded like Wal-Mart has responded, we wouldn't be in this crisis.

But I want to thank Governor Blanco for all she's done and all her leadership. She sent in the National Guard. I just repaired a breach on my side of the 17th Street canal that the secretary didn't foresee, a 300-foot breach. I just completed it yesterday with convoys of National Guard and local parish workers and levee board people. It took us two and a half days working 24/7. I just closed it.

MR. RUSSERT: All right.

MR. BROUSSARD: I'm telling you most importantly I want to thank my public employees...

MR. RUSSERT: All right.

MR. BROUSSARD: ...that have worked 24/7. They're burned out, the doctors, the nurses. And I want to give you one last story and I'll shut up and let you tell me whatever you want to tell me. The guy who runs this building I'm in, emergency management, he's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, "Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?" And he said, "Yeah, Mama, somebody's coming to get you. Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday." And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night.

Pretty appalling. They commandeer local fuel supplies and cut working emergency phone lines. But then they keep telling us that the local officials won't ask for help. Maybe they don't ask for help because FEMA cut their freakin' phone lines!

FEMA has just about completely screwed the pooch on this one. And it's the people giving orders, not the ordinary FEMA staff.

a little info from the live thread about Mr Broussard:

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UPDATED: 6:28 am CDT August 18, 2005 WDSU

NEW ORLEANS -- Two more Jefferson Parish officials are being drawn into the corruption probe dubbed Operation Wrinkled Robe, according to a newspaper report.

The Times-Picayune reports that investigators have issued subpoenas to Parish President Aaron Broussard and 24th District Judge Kernan "Skip" Hand.

The story says the subpoenas are related to political donations made by Bail Bonds Unlimited to Hand's campaigns.

Last month, Judge Alan Green was convicted of mail fraud as a result of the ongoing investigation.

He was caught by FBI video surveillance taking an envelope stuffed with money from a Bail Bonds Unlimited employee.
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