Free Republic

Rep. Tom Tancredo on Thursday became one of the first congressional Republicans to call for the ouster of embattled Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown. Echoing criticism leveled by numerous Democrats this week, the Littleton congressman said he had lost confidence in Brown, a former Colorado lawyer who has been under fire for his agency's response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Tancredo has been harshly critical of state and local officials in Louisiana, too, saying they deserve 90 percent of the blame for the mismanaged relief efforts. But he said the FEMA director should be removed from his post...

New Orleans' motto is "Let the good times roll," but its homeland security efforts since 9-11 are anything but laissez faire. New Orleans, famed for its Mardi Gras festival--which draws 1.5 million revelers--is also home to five major universities, nuclear power plants, petroleum facilities and refineries, chemical plants, and seaports, all of which require heightened security attention in the post-9-11 threat environment. New Orleans also has infrastructure elements such as reservoirs, pipelines, and electrical power systems to protect. On top of that, says Colonel Terry Ebbert, director of New Orleans' Homeland Security and Public Safety Department, "We're the only city...

Got this from my cousin this morning. Just in case anyone didn't see it or hear some of its content, read below. This reporter really locked down a lot that happened before the storm, and most of it isn't even being touched on the net. This kind of incompetance and stupidity in a Governor and Mayor is absolutely unforgivable and inexcusable. Before I read this, I thought impeachment talk for Blanco and Nagin was just talk, but now I don't think anything short of impeachment would be enough considering the level of absolute stupidity the two of them showed before...

While nobody is going to say that FEMA and the federal response to Hurricane Katrina has been a model of efficiency, what should be acknowledged, however, is why it wasn't. From FEMA's own Website: "SOME THINGS FEMA DOES NOT DO": - Physically rescue people or serve as "first-responders" in a disaster – that is the responsibility of local and state police, fire and emergency personnel. (This is exactly why FEMA notes that they won't arrive for 72-96 hours after a natural disaster passes). - Building dams or levees or activating sand-bagging activities – generally the responsibility of local/state officials and...