Hurricane Katrina Aftermath

[Aileron]

Okay, this topic is very newsworthy but non-political, so admittingly there isn't much to discuss here. However, we haven't had any new topics in a while.

 

I am finding the fact that Congress is criticising organizations (such as FEMA) for response times to the hurricane is rather pathetic. Its easy to sit behind a desk and yell that somebody else could have been faster.

 

I mean Congress themselves should have their hands full at the moment. They have not one but two Supreme Court positions that need to be filled. We have problems with health care, social security, and prescription drugs. Yet here Congress is trying to figure out what to do about the hurricane.

 

The answser: nothing. We have police, firefighters, national guard, and medical workers, as well as every Tom, !@#$%^&*, and Harry who picks up a tool and helps out. It is their job to give relief and they are giving it...though they can't undo the hurricane and thus the process will take time.

 

Government should be like a Henry Ford style factory. One guy mounts the carborator and someone else mounts the alternator. The guy mounting the carborator shouldn't worry about whether or not the alternator is mounted correctly or quickly enough. While whether or not the alternator is mounted correctly is important, the carborator guy should worry about the carborator and let the alternator guy worry about the alternator.

 

By the same token congress should stop worrying about the hurricane and get back to the Supreme Court nominations. (Though I think that mayhaps the attacks on FEMA might just be a clever way for the democrats to create a subs!@#$%^&*ute for a fillibuster.)

[Hackysack]

Whats all this I read about victims of the hurricane being given more money then most of them had in the first place? I dont know what that was about, but I heard it somewhere.

[MonteZuma]

Okay, this topic is very newsworthy but non-political...

Actually it is quite political. It is about the organisation of government, national insfrastructure and resources.

I am finding the fact that Congress is criticising organizations (such as FEMA) for response times to the hurricane is rather pathetic.  Its easy to sit behind a desk and yell that somebody else could have been faster.

I agree. At this stage of the game it is too early to lay blame.

 

I mean Congress themselves should have their hands full at the moment.  They have not one but two Supreme Court positions that need to be filled.  We have problems with health care, social security, and prescription drugs.  Yet here Congress is trying to figure out what to do about the hurricane.

So they should. The hurrican is an immediate crisis. The rest can wait.

The answser:  nothing.  We have police, firefighters, national guard, and medical workers, as well as every Tom, !@#$%^&*, and Harry who picks up a tool and helps out.  It is their job to give relief and they are giving it...though they can't undo the hurricane and thus the process will take time.

It actually isn't Tom, !@#$%^&* or Harry's job. To most people, it seemed to take much too long to start the evacuation and rescue process. It is reasonable to want to know if this really was the case and why.

 

Government should be like a Henry Ford style factory. One guy mounts the carborator and someone else mounts the alternator.  The guy mounting the carborator shouldn't worry about whether or not the alternator is mounted correctly or quickly enough.  While whether or not the alternator is mounted correctly is important, the carborator guy should worry about the carborator and let the alternator guy worry about the alternator.

The government is not simply another part of the !@#$%^&*embly process. The government is responsible for the proper functioning of the entire system. If there is a system failure, it may well be because the government failed to design a system that works. Perhaps the infrastructure was inadequate? Perhaps more money should have gone to strengthening the levees? Perhaps the current structure and funding of the emergency services meant that disaster preparedness was inadequate?....ETC ETC ETC...In cases like this, government needs to take a look at itself and see if government needs to make changes....not any single department in isolation.

[Aileron]

Congress is a legislative body. Their function is to create, modify, and remove laws. Since its impossible to p!@#$%^&* a law making it illegal for mother nature to throw hurricanes at us, a legislative body really has no place in this whole fiasco.

 

This is hardly government looking at itself, its spreading blame and criticism to avoid being criticised themselves. Certainly I agree first off that it is way too early. Not only is there no evidence of anything yet, but these allegations serve to distract the people who are working on the problems at the moment. Its a hit below the belt, because the people they accuse can't defend themselves at the moment, they have to manage the recovery efforts. Pointing fingers and throwing around blame doesn't solve problems, and in this case it may even cause us a few new ones.

 

I don't really think the response times could have been much faster anyway. It usually takes a few weeks to get everything straightened out after a normal hurricane, and this was a really bad hurricane.

 

 

I guess my opinion was forged when I read some editorial...some moron was criticising the recovery times as if he was know-it-all on disaster recovery...and then wondered what government would do if Al Queda planned their attacks to coincide with the hurricane. (Apparently Bin Laden is in possession of the 2007 World Almanac.) At that point I stopped reading and threw out the newspaper.

[MonteZuma]

Congress is a legislative body.  Their function is to create, modify, and remove laws.  Since its impossible to p!@#$%^&* a law making it illegal for mother nature to throw hurricanes at us, a legislative body really has no place in this whole fiasco.

Congress can't prevent a hurricane, but that can allocate funds for building infrastructure and setting up agencies responsible for avoiding and mitigating a hurricane's impacts. One of the roles of congress is to scrutinise government agencies to ensure that they meet the community's needs and expectations. If a government agency fails, responsibility ultimately falls back to government.

 

Certainly I agree first off that it is way too early.  Not only is there no evidence of anything yet

There is some evidence that things weren't right. The wretched experience of the people in the stadium and the allegations of refugees being turned back into the city at gun point. Confusion over the allocation of emergency funds to individuals, the delay in getting buses into the city. Not to mention the apparently avoidable failure of the levees. And I would have thought that any evacuation plan would have provided buses to evacuate those without other means of transport BEFORE the hurricane hit. An evacuation order should apply to everybody. Some or all of these problems may have been unavoidable. I think it is important to find out if things could have been done better.

 

but these allegations serve to distract the people who are working on the problems at the moment.  Its a hit below the belt, because the people they accuse can't defend themselves at the moment, they have to manage the recovery efforts.  Pointing fingers and throwing around blame doesn't solve problems, and in this case it may even cause us a few new ones.

I doubt that many people (outside of the Gulf Coast) are criticising the emergency services staff and volunteers on the ground. The blame is going to the government and the bureaucrats. But I agree that there can be (and usually is) excessive blaming after a catastrophe.