Posted on 08/22/2006 8:25:06 PM PDT by PhilipFreneau
One year after Hurricane Katrina, the United States remains unprepared for a major natural disaster, and the Bush administration has failed to learn the lessons of that catastrophe, former Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown said on Tuesday.
Brown led FEMA's response to Katrina when the storm devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after making landfall on August 29. It killed 1,339 people and caused $80 billion in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
But Brown was forced to resign from the Department of Homeland Security agency amid the disastrously slow government response, just days after President George W. Bush's infamous accolade, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."
"Rather than address the systemic problems that existed within the Department of Homeland Security, we're now addressing superficial things," Brown told Reuters in a telephone interview from his Boulder, Colorado, office.
(Excerpt) Read more at today.reuters.com ...
It is impossible to do what they want
Exactly!
Libs think the Fed should pay for everything ... aka welfare
I don't have a problem helping others in a time of need
But there is an old staying .. God helps those who help themselves
And if you'll note .. Mississippi, Tenn, Fl, Alabama and a few other southern states .. rolled up their selves, cleaned up and are rebuilding their damage
I know. You'd think that the "leaders" of LA, specifically, NO would have SOME pride in doing something, showing some progress. It's really sad and pathetic.
Hey Brownie, bite the cheese.
The perfect example of why the fed should NEVER be in charge of anything that is the responsibility of the state.
Time to dismantle our socialist federal government and bring back the Republic of the United States of America.
Bush threw Brown under the bus. I don't understand why.
Brown obviously had been competent the year before, overseeing the response to four hurricanes in Florida, in 2004, in an election year. He didn't embarass the President then.
President Bush did more than he should have in trying to lead Blano and Nagin BEFORE the storm, but to no avail. The Federal government rescued 34,000 people and mounted a rescue mission through 18,000 square miles of flooded terrain to reach New Orleans, all in 72 hours.
Sorry, but anyone who ever has had to deal with logistics in an emergency situation knows that that was a herculean effort.
The media and the Demons were all over Bush within 48 hours, blaming him for the "failure " at New Orleans. The President''s advisors and the spineless Republican leaders in Congress said nothing. They allowed the media and race pimps and idiots like Nagina nd Blanco paint them into a corner--a corner they still haven't gotten out of. The one year anniversary of Katrina next week will bring hand-wringing and Bush bashing to ever higher levels. The truth will take decades to come out that Katrina was not sent, caused, directed, and enjoyed by President Bush.
Bush, as well as the Republican leaders, should have pounced on the Dems and media for the failures of Nagin and Blanco, but they didn't.
Brown tried to defend himself before Congress the best he could. His performance in Katrina was no where near as bad as Nagin, Blanco and others. But he was the designated scapegoat.
Quite frankly,the comment "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job" to kicking Brown off the job was one of the quickest, and unkindest, 180 degree acts I've ever seen.
To me, it was a betrayal of someone who least was a loyal servant.
I give Brown a lot of credit for at least standing up for himself before the gutless Republicans and the disgusting Demons that tried to pin the whole damn hurricane on him.
I don't understand why the government is supposed to save everyone from everything.
People who build wooden homes in the middle of dry forest should expect that a wildfire could destroy the home. They should prepare for that and pay the insurance premiums.
People who live on the coast should anticipate that a hurricane might destroy their home/community. They should prepare for that and pay the insurance premiums to cover it.
People who build or live in a home below sea level should anticipate possible flooding (especially when surrounded by water). They should prepare for that and pay the insurance premiums to cover it.
The major lessons of Katrina to me (New Orleans)were:
1. The welfare state is a tragic failure.
2. A major city should not be built below sea level when surrounded by water on a coast.
3. You should be prepared for a disaster so that you do not need the government to protect, clothe, or feed your family.
4. I am sure a meteor strike would be attributed to global warming and the ineptitude of the Bush administration.
It's the difference between red and blue states/cities/thinking......we think it's logical.....I guess others do not.....and I'm tired of paying for their stupidity.
YEP...what YOU said...."dismantle our socialist federal government".......people should look at New Orleans and see what Social Security, Medicare, Education, etc are or will soon be......a mess.
A terrorist act would get more attention because terrorists can be stopped. Mother Nature CANNOT.
"Mike Brown is doing well for himself, after being stabbed in the back by Chertoff and Bush."
While I place blame for the aftermath of Katrina squarely on the shoulders of Nagin and Blanco...
to the extent that "Brownie" accepted a position as FEMA director tasked with responding to situations of life and death (and not just horse poop) that he should have known he was not qualified to hold, and
to the extent that he utterly failed to perform in this position
He deserved a slap in the face, not a stab in the back.
BRENDAN LOY LOOKS AT hurricane disaster scenarios that make Katrina look mild.
He's right to warn of these. On the other hand, as I've noted before, the media's tendency to hype every hurricane mercilessly means that warnings about really dangerous ones are more likely to be ignored. I think that was one reason why Katrina warnings got less attention than they deserved.
UPDATE: On further reflection, I want to quote this bit from Brendan's post: "He is mystified by a study that found 60 percent of people in hurricane-prone U.S. coastal areas have no hurricane plan  which to disaster managers means up to a weekÂs worth of food and water squirreled away, a kit with flashlights and other gear, and an established evacuation route to higher ground."
People, I don't care where you live, you should have a week's food and water, some other disaster supplies, and a plan for where to go if you have to leave your home. More on that here.
The Long Island scenario is the worst. Not counting ferries, there are only 4 ways off the island, and they would all immediately jam shut. The highest point (about 400′) is on the Sound side; the Atlantic side is completely exposed. The south fork would be pretty much scoured clean. A category 4 would completely inundate 34 towns and largely destroy more than twice that number.
In the worst case scenario, it could be even worse than Galveston.
>>>Hahahahaha.....you bought his swill!<<<
Read the FR archives and you will find that I supported Mike Brown from the beginning -- before he was forced to resign.
>>>BTW...it makes me sick that people like Sean Hannity and others are STILL saying Katrina was Bush's fault.<<<
When did Sean Hannity say Katrina was Bush's fault? I listen to him nearly every day, and I don't recall him saying that.
>>>Brown should have been ridden out of office on a rail...<<<
Mike Brown sucessfully handled approximately 165 federally declared disasters prior to Katrina, including the recovery efforts of several major hurricanes in Florida the prior year. The Katrina disaster was not Brown's fault, but the result of a massive hurricane that devastated approximately 90,000 square miles, compounded by total incompetence at the city level (Nagin), and total arrogance and incompetence at the state level (Blanco). Bush and Chertoff should have backed Brown up.
Whenever Hannity gets into one of his anti-Bush rants...where he wants to prove to the audience that even HE can be hard on the Republican POTUS,
He lists immigration, spending, Katrina...
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