Posted on 09/25/2005 9:55:48 PM PDT by bobsunshine
But yet I don't give President Bush the credit for Texas doing what was Texas's responsibility and planned for in a time of emergency (unless of course, President Bush as Governor, set the plan in motion).
That said, I still lay the blame on the Gov. of LA and Mayor of NO for not having a plan in action, a plan rehearsed many times, and for not responding to the personal calls from President Bush. Unless the leadership in LA was completely unqualified for their emergency, and that would have to go very deep, President Bush was being set up. Without a doubt I feel if President Bush had acted like he was blamed for not acting, we would be into impeachment hearing a week old.
Every state must have plans that have been practiced over and over. I have talked with HI Civil Defence and they, on invitation, travel all over sharing their experience. That's as it should be.
I remember Gov. Keating did a "what if practice emergency" and there were very interesting results from that drill.
All that said - I'm very proud of our President and I have all faith in his leadership.
You can work through some items (how can we use the buses if we wait too long and all the bus drivers have gone; who do we flush the toilets in the Superdome if the water/sewer service is gone?) during a table-top walk-through, but nothing points out weaknesses in the plan like an actual practice.
The point is that getting all those people out was a major test. Now the authorities have to apply lessons learned this time to the plan for next time. That's how it gets better.
Really enjoyed the read; thanks so much for the ping.
It was a refreshing breath of air.
That's a stronger endorsement than many Freepers will give to Govenor Perry. I'm not quite sure why there's so much antipathy to him Freepers and Texas Republicans. Some people hold the fact that he switched parties back in 1990 against him, but the Republican party would still be the minority party in the US Congress and in the Texas legislature were it not for conservative Democrats who switched to the Republican party. Rick Perry personally destroyed the political carreer of Jim Hightower when he beat him in his bid to be reelected to a third term as the Texas Agriculture Commssioner. It was well known that Hightower wanted to eventually run for a US Senate seat from Texas. I'm very glad he never had the opportunity.
Hightower is a populist in a broad sense. I think that Republicans should always maintain a "presidential" behavior. They would avoid to play on short term sentiments/fears, following more principled lines of action.
"Remember the traffic jammed up on the highway getting out of Texas? THAT was Bush's fault. /sarc"
Actually NPR news was trying to hint at that this morning.
As a person that lost TWO HOMES and ONE BUSINESS in Katrina, I can tell you that the President's and the Feds response to helping us here in Mississippi has been MAGNIFICENT! Any other conclusion is 100% BOVINE EXCREMENT!!!
I KNOW, as I SURVIVED that bitch Katrina!!!
LLS
Bumperoo
"Seems a bit nuts to me. But, that's what the media has made Katrina into".
Have YOU stood amongst the rubble on Hwy 90 on the Gulf Coast? Have you walked the barren wasteland that was once the Mississippi State Port in Gulfport? Have you seen upclose 300 foot barges covering entire neighborhoods, or seen the slab that was once the Coast Guard Station? I have! If another storm of the magnitude of Katrina hits again, you had better evacuate. My friends that did not... are DEAD!
LLS
Any lefty comments for this thread LJ?
Is that the cute little lady mayor with the husky voice? (Lyda?)
I was struck by how polite and friendly she was with all the news people who interviewed her.
She said things like, "Thanks for helping us get the message out with your show, and "Come and visit us when this is all over", etc.
Neat lady!
Lyda Ann Smith I think is her name, but yeah, she's the one. She's been outstanding, calm and reasoned from the word "go", unlike those public officials in LA who are driven by sheer emotion. I've noticed Blanco looks like she's about ready to blubber every time I see her, and Nagin has an expression of "cluelessness" written all over his face.
President Bush did a great job but I will say that the local officials in Calcasieu and Cameron Parish deserve a lot of the credit. They are very competent and are excellent leaders. They knew exactly what to do and implimented the plan they had. They successfully evacuated for Hurricane Lili a couple years ago and they were on the ball for Rita. The problem with New Orleans was local leaders elected above their capabilities and corruption.
Our evacuation was hampered by Texas people getting out of the way (which is fine)and even though people have been complaining about the slow crawl of traffic here we did a damn good job of getting people out of the way. Louisiana has had ZERO deaths from Rita that is great considering the storm surge caught a lot of people off guard further east than forecast.
Meanwhile, Bush forges ahead to do the right thing as he sees it. No matter what the critics say.
He knows that not everyone will be happy all the time with him, but he does what he thinks is best for everyone. I am glad he doesn't pick a certain group and kiss their ass just to keep the peace. He has spunk and I admire that.
Thanks, Good Work!
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