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From: marilyn
Date: 08 Sep 2005
Time: 01:15:15 PM
Don't know how qualified I am to jump in on this issue but have been listening to radio shows (Air America) and getting some insight. Jerry Springer, former mayor of Cincinnati, OH (my home state; was born just north of there) said a city or even a whole state will not have the resources in the way of manpower to handle a disaster--be it natural or manmade. That is why we have federal agencies ot aid such as FEMA. The thought arose that even if the mayor of New Orleans had commandeered those buses without federal coordination on where they would go and offload those evacuees for long-term care was problematic. The mayor of a city or the governor of a state cannot order in federal assistance; that is up the the president to release the resources such as troops to police streets, navy planes or boats to act in rescue or care giving, etc. Both Mayor Ray Nagin and Governor Kathryn Blanco put in the required request for assistance from FEMA--the main agency in charge of disaster relief and you all know by now the egregious failure of Michael Brown to act in good faith to feed, search and rescue the stranded people of New Orleans. There is a litany of documented cases where FEMA representatives denied entry to all manner of help--both civiian and govesrnment organizations. It is clearly evidence of criminal neglect. Some are calling for Bush and his cronies to be charged with criminal negligance. I say, here, here! That carries a short sentence of only five years or so...(I would hope for twenty to life!) Karl Rove's spin machine is going into full throttle to head off criticism. Listen carefully, you will hear echos of the 9/11 excuses. They will pin this whole debacle on the state oficials and walk away with hardly a political stain. The man who suggested Michael Brown to head FEMA, a Mr. Allbaugh, for example, is in Baton Rouge now drumming up contracts to clean up another Bush-inspired fiasco; the major contractor? (and Allbaugh is a consultant)-- Halliburton, Bush's underwriter and sole no-bid contractor. Anyway, that's how I see it. marilyn