Ted, I don't think they are even doing that now. Last nite on the news, they said the program had been discontinued. I don't understand why the rules keep changing from day to day.
The more I watch, the more I'm convinced that FEMA suffers from a severe lack of leadership. That almost takes the governor of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans off the hook ... almost.
There is no question that the mayor and the governor could have done better. However, you have to remember that the local officials usually have no experience in disaster relief.....because typically there is a gap from one disaster to the next. For an example, neither Blanco nor Nagin were in office when the last hurricane hit LA in 1998. That's why FEMA is supposed to take charge and act as first responders. They are supposed to bring to the equation past experience and the history to help the local officials get through it. However, because we are a republic, there has to be the appearance that the local officials are in charge. Otherwise, it looks like the feds are taking over.
Knowing this is the reason why I blamed FEMA, Brown and Bush from the get go. FEMA and Brown because they were failing miserably at their job and Bush because he's the only one who can get FEMA off a dime.
I know to you, this seems like a change in position, but in reality I've been withholding my judgement until now. The resignation of Mike Brown only clinched it for me.
For me, it seemed patently obvious as to what was happening in the first week. I realize now that if you have never worked on a disaster or have never been in a disaster, it might not be so obvious. From the outside, the relationship between the local officials and the feds must appear somewhat murky and unclear; that the local officials are the ones who are in charge and FEMA is there simply to fill in the gaps. In fact, its the other way around.
Because JF and CJ got it.......I figured you didn't get it because you were having a partisan reaction. But then today I remembered that you probably have never been through a disaster unlike JF and CJ.......so that might account for their perception vs the one you have had.
The bottom line is that many Americans suffered needlessly because of FEMA's ineptness. It seems Brown was more concerned about getting it right legally than doing the job that FEMA is expected to do. I feel almost sorry for Brown. I really think he thought he was doing it right.
ted |
