George Bush does not care about black people.

[bloodrayne]

Originally posted by AUSTIN316426808
True, but the heat he's getting from the shitty response is his fault.

Actually...The chain of command for major disasters goes like this:

Mayor: It's the mayor's responsibility to assess the situation and act first, utilizing the police force, and other city agencies...Usually taking on the responsibilty of taking preventative measures...Levies should have been reinforced, cities evacuated (mandatorially), power stations shut down to avoid fires, electrocution, and more potential damage, etcetera...No preventative measures were taken in this case....SO, then it would be the mayor's responsibility to act AFTER the fact, helping to evacuate people, securing the city, etcetera...

When the task is too much for the mayor to handle, which understandably it CLEARLY was...The mayor then has to turn over the job to the...

Governor: The governor, once contacted by the mayor, would then have the SAME responsibilities as the mayor (before or after the disaster, depending on when he/she was contacted by the mayor)...But, he would have much more power and assistance (state agencies) at his disposal to do a more effective job...The governor failed to act appropriately, or he was simply contacted too late to be of much use...

If the governor cannot properly handle the situation...He then has to request help from the...

President/Government: The president is unable (by restriction of law, and the 'chain of command') to respond to a situation unless and until assistance is requested from the governor...His hands are tied, until a formal request is made...In this case, that request took way too long, and seriously delayed action...

Once the President/Government's assistance IS finally requested, the president has EVERY agency at his disposable...Including the military and FEMA, among others....In this case, FEMA was overwhelmed with the responsibility of handling the task, their 'assistance' was woefully inadequate...And again, much too little, much too late

The ONLY thing that the President CAN do without a request, is declare an area as a 'natural disaster' which is necessary to achieve funding for, and acquire assistance (including the military, FEMA, etcetera) for the area....In THIS case...Bush declared the area as a natural disaster BEFORE the hurricane even hit, so that when the time came, everything would be ready to send out forces, and try to do as much as possible as soon as possible...But, he still had to wait for that request from the governor before he could act...That HAD to be frustrating...Government red tape had SO much to do with the slow, ineffective response...


I'm not sharing any opinions here (except that it had to be frustrating, and it was all too little, too late)...I'm not bashing OR defending anyone....I'm only trying to inform everyone of the 'chain of command'

[AUSTIN316426808]

OK, you're right it's FEMA's fault. I'm not one of those people who just throw all blame on Bush, I actually find it rather ridiculous that people can think that every problem an entire country has is one mans fault who for the most part can't do anything with out consent. And I'd like to add that I don't blame the mayor for anything.

[meetthecreeper]

I dont have a link to the article, but I can sum it up pretty well.

The federal gummit had given money to the state of La. that was earmarked to be used for repairs and reinforcements of the levies in New Orleans.

In true Chicago democrat fashion or Republican governor of Illinois fashion if you prefer, lets face it theyre all fuckin crooks, used that money to buy a 2002 Crown Victoria, a trenchcoat and umbrella from LLBean, send a bunch of politicos to Germany and a whole host of other things.

As usual when blame time comes no one accepts it and just points the finger at someone else.

Mayor Nagin has NO exp. in politics and Gov. Blanco looked like a deer in the headlites before the federallies came in to save the day.

There is a chain of command and a chain of where the blame should be laid. I think the answers are obvious.

[AUSTIN316426808]

The reason why I don't put that much blame on the mayor is because Friday night it was a cat2-3 with only a 20% chance of hitting New Orleans(we've had hurricanes with an 85% chance miss). Then Saturday afternoon it was a cat4 with the eye heading directly for us, he ordered the evacuation Sunday morning. Even if he would've done it at the moment of discovering the new info on the storm I don't think it would've mattered much because for the most part everyone that could get out did and the people left behind either didn't want to go(even though I do, it's hard to feel sorry for 'em) or couldn't go. Is there blame to be put on him? yes, but not that much imo, certainly not as much as the governor or feds.

[MichaelMyers]

If national officials are incapable of rising to the occasion, the responsibility and duty of local officials goes beyond simply pointing that out.

[meetthecreeper]

its not up to the national authority to solve the problem. It starts at the local level and then goes up from there.

IMO I wouldnt depend on the gummit to do a damn thing. Like I have said before, ever deal with the gummit for anything????

Subject: Yes Mr. Gummit I need help.

Gummit: OK fill out this form in triplicate, then go stand in that line over there.

Subject: I dont have a pen.

Gummit: The line to fill out a form to get a pen is over there.

Subject: How do I fill out a form to get a pen if I dont have one to fill it out??

Gummit: Sir dont take that tone with me. I am going to lunch. Back in 2 hours.

[MoonLit Meadow]

I think the time for finger pointing and pinning the blame on individuals, state gov., fed. gov is over. Mistakes were made...most of which were probably preventable. However, now that we're aware of what went wrong...let's learn from the mistakes which were made to ensure that something like this doesn't happen again.

To be honest, it shouldn't have happened....not after 9/11...we should be more prepared for attacks on our homeland, whether it be because of a terrorist or a hurricane. I'm angered by what occured, and also pretty concerned about the message our un-preparedness sends to other countries, terrorists, and most importantly...the citizens of the United States.

However, we can't turn back time and change what occurred. Expending energy fighting over whose to blame does no good after a while...that energy should be spent righting the wrongs...making things better now.

There is alot of good that is being done to help the people of New Orleans and the surrounding areas...it seems to get over-shadowed by all of the bad.

[AUSTIN316426808]

Originally posted by MoonLit Meadow

There is alot of good that is being done to help the people of New Orleans and the surrounding areas...it seems to get over-shadowed by all of the bad.

That's because there's far more bad than good.

Have you ever considered writting speeches? No offense but you sounded just like a politician.

[meetthecreeper]

And on another note.


I just heard on the radio that the debit cards that the Red Cross handed out were being used in a strip club in Atlanta.

Cograts Hellboy, you just gave someone 350 lapdances.


Glad to see that those donations are being put to good use.
:rolleyes:

Handout is what you get fron the government, a handup is what you get from a friend.

[MoonLit Meadow]

Originally posted by AUSTIN316426808
That's because there's far more bad than good.

Have you ever considered writting speeches? No offense but you sounded just like a politician.

You're right...there's definately been more bad than good going on...I agree with that completely. I just think that the focus should now be on what good IS being done...or what CAN be done...rather than to keep focusing on all the negative.

And no....I've never considered writing speeches or getting involved in politics...I'm a moral person ;):p