home

My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? "Off with his head!"

by Last Night in Little Rock

CNN.com last night posted this story: 'People making decisions hesitated' / More officials' jobs may fall to Katrina response criticism with a video link to who knew what and when before Katrina struck.

And Michael Brown's magnanimous resignation is not the first.

Even after Brown's resignation as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, criticism of the government's response to the disaster keeps rising.

It threatens to swamp other officials involved in the recovery effort. Blame is being directed at every level of government--federal, state and local

As new details emerge on what happened behind the scenes as the storm ravaged New Orleans, it is becoming clear that government officials knew what to expect, despite claims to the contrary. (Watch the video that documents what officials knew and who warned them--3:28) [active link]

They had planned and trained for it for five days last year, playing out the disastrous scenarios of a hypothetical Hurricane Pam. But when the real disaster stuck, they appeared to be paralyzed.

Bush's first appointee to head the Federal Emergency Mismanagement Agency, Joe Allbaugh, called it "an oversized entitlement program." Not when hurricanes struck Florida, where FEMA rode in to attempt to prove it had some value. But, Florida was a state in contention then, and the Bush Crime Family needed to shore up support for Republicans.

Safely re-elected, the Paleo-Con's could allow FEMA to crumble into disuse, except where Florida is concerned where Bro Jeb is Governor.

Surprise: A real disaster occurs. And this is not just any disaster. It is one that was expected, planned for, and ignored. And then government, at every level, comes off looking like unprepared fools. FEMA, who "gamed" and planned for this very disaster just blew it as far as protecting "we the people," but it did a fine job of funneling cost-plus contracts to cronies as noted here and here. Halliburton will clean up, thank you. At least the Administration was prepared to help out somebody: their friends. And VP Cheney still owns a lot of stock in Halliburton.

The "don't play the blame game" mantra is still being played by the Administration, because they know they are heavily at fault. How can the people not play the "blame game" when their lives are destroyed? How can a citizen of this country with a scintilla of conscience not "play the blame game" in the face of either stupidity or venality or both? Outrage does not even begin to describe what the people feel.

How can a country that felt so vulnerable after 9/11, a country which had its inner strength and desire to avenge a crime of the worst magnitude manipulated by George Bush into believing in his ability to protect us from terrorists to rise up to his spurious war against "terrorists," suddenly feel stripped naked again by the incompetence of the Administration? It was all a charade. "I'm a uniter, not a divider," he said, as he built the foundation for division.

The facts remain that the Admininstration knew about the threat from Al-Qaeda and Katrina and did nothing to protect us or mitigate the damage from either. We remain vulnerable because of the pea-brained thinking that says that FEMA is an "oversized entitlement program," apparently for the rich and not the citizenry. We are at risk of something worse happening, and we see no proof that we can protect ourselves from anything or anybody, including those amongst us who would harm us: The Administration itself.

Looting the Army Corps of Engineers budget for the NOLA levee projects for tax cuts for the rich and funding the War in Iraq while knowing the NOLA disaster scenario is so Machiavellian, so despicable, that it warrants impeachment for dereliction of duty.

But can the Republican House be expected to do it? After all, Congress had to pass the BS budget that the President presented, and the Republicans were all too willing to go along and reward their wealthy contributors at the expense of the people.

It is beyond bizarre that lying about fellatio is an impeachable offense while utter stupidity, venality, and outright dereliction of duty in the face of national crisis apparently is not. Maladministration was an impeachable offense at common law, and so was "procuring office for persons who were unfit and unworthy of them." Raoul Berger, Impeachment: The Constitutional Problems 63-67 (1973). George Bush is impeachable, but few are saying it. Republicans are scared to because they are afraid of the Bush Crime Family. But George Bush is now permanently damaged goods, and the clean up should include him.

"Off with his head!" (King Richard, Act III, Sc. iv, l. 75) Off with all their heads. None of you are worthy of leading.

< Volunteer Defense Attorneys Needed in Lousiana | 100+ Killed in Iraq >
  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


  • Display: Sort:
    Anyone interested in the whole story, rather than in just assigning blame to any convenient Republican, might find this interesting. I especially liked: "New Orleans was also well aware that its levee system was inadequate for a major storm and that the economic plight of its citizenry, with their lack of cars and cash, rendered evacuation plans meaningless."

    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#2)
    by peacrevol on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:47 PM EST
    No layer is a good layer. Bureaucracy, with its pettiness and formalities, slows action and initiative in any situation, business or otherwise. In a crisis like Katrina, it can be deadly. The terrible part is that Katrina might have avoided some of its bureaucratic bumbling if FEMA had not been buried in the Department of Homeland Security. - Mr Welch
    That pretty much sums it all up. Government burocracy killed people.

    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#3)
    by squeaky on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:47 PM EST
    Cheney's priority was to restore an oil pipeline to the NE over restoring power to two local hospitals. The calls ordering the pipeline restored came out of Cheney's office Aug 30 & 31. Today in WAPO Dan Froomkin's excellent article Was Kanye West Right? links to The Hattiesburg (Mississippi) American where Nikki Davis Maute writes:
    Shortly after Hurricane Katrina roared through South Mississippi knocking out electricity and communication systems, the White House ordered power restored to a pipeline that sends fuel to the Northeast. That order - to restart two power substations in Collins that serve Colonial Pipeline Co. - delayed efforts by at least 24 hours to restore power to two rural hospitals and a number of water systems in the Pine Belt.
    via josh marshall It is worth reading his take as well.

    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#4)
    by scarshapedstar on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:47 PM EST
    Justpaul, That's why we tried to shore up the levees. If you can prove to me that the funds were cut by someone other than a Republican, I'd like to hear it.

    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#5)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:47 PM EST
    justpaul: Are you and grad and Jim and James really shills for the republicans? Or does Jeralyn give you free coffee to come here, stir up the hornets nest, and play devils advocate??? ;-)

    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#6)
    by swingvote on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:47 PM EST
    Scar, So your position is that, when the administration cut funding to a levee reinforcement project, the Mayor of New Orleans, whose city depends on those levees, and the Governor of Louisiana, in whose state those levees and that city exist, were waived of all accountability for failing to excercise any leadership on the issue? In other words, and just to put this in personal terms, if you know that you live in a flood plain, ask for help in moving, are refused such help, for whatever reason, and then sit there in the midst of a major storm and drown, it's not your fault you drowned, it is the fault of whoever denied you the assistance you requested? Their denial of assistance waives you of all responsibility for your subsequent failure to take any action to protect yourself, including getting out of harm's way when the storm approaches? That's a very interesting viewpoint, and one that I would say is definitely part of the problem. The problem with the levees predates this administration by several decades. The problem with the location of New Orleans in a major floodplain predates this administration by several centuries. Every Mayor of New Orleans and every Governor of Louisiana has faced the same issues; the only difference is that they never got called on it. The two now in power did. Should the levee funding have been cut? I don't know. It's easy to say "no" given what has happened, but the truth is that there is no levee on earth which will solve this problem for all time. New Orleans is in a bad location. By doing nothing but blame the current administration for the failure of everyone to take action on problems that have been evident since the founding of the city, you do nothing but make clear that the majority of the complaint is a now standard partisan attack and nothing more. I can't help but wonder how you would be reacting if the President was a Democrat and the Mayor and Governor were Republicans. I may be wrong, but I'm willing to bet your tune would be very different.

    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#7)
    by swingvote on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:47 PM EST
    Edger, You speak of shills as if you have a clue. But I've read enough of your posts to know that this is not the case. Next you'll be claiming people are citing "Republican Talking Points" as if everything you say wasn't cut and pasted from the latest Move-On.org press release. I'm neither a Republican nor a Democrat, and Jeralyn certainly isn't compensating me for being here (actually I pay for the privilege by donating from time to time). I'm not making excuses for the lame response on the part of the federal government; I'm only trying to point out that the lame response also came from the local officials who were actually responsible for the safety of their citizens, and who failed utterly in that responsibility. If you took the partisan blinders off for a minute or two you'd be able to see that, but I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen.

    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#8)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:48 PM EST
    justpaul: sigh... tongue-in-cheek A adjective 1 bantering, facetious, tongue-in-cheek cleverly amusing in tone; "a bantering tone"; "facetious remarks"; "tongue-in-cheek advice" B adverb 1 facetiously, jokingly, tongue-in-cheek not seriously; "I meant it facetiously" 2 banteringly, tongue-in-cheek in a bantering fashion; "he spoke to her banteringly"

    justpaul gets the best false analogy award for 2005. He writes: "In other words, and just to put this in personal terms, if you know that you live in a flood plain, ask for help in moving, are refused such help, for whatever reason, and then sit there in the midst of a major storm and drown, it's not your fault you drowned, it is the fault of whoever denied you the assistance you requested? Their denial of assistance waives you of all responsibility for your subsequent failure to take any action to protect yourself, including getting out of harm's way when the storm approaches?" One of the many things wrong with this analogy is that private citizens aren't obligated to help other private citizens. Nor is the government obligated to help you move out of a flood plain preemptively. Government officials, who are elected and paid for the purpose of avoiding and managing huge disasters, do have some liability. Bush cut funding for the levees, he cut funding for the corps of engineers, and he ignored pleas from the local government for help on this problem. Way before the flood. No one is saying that the local government did a great job (and if they are, they're wrong) we are simply trying to establish that Bush failed miserably when the country needed him. You seem unable or unwilling to admit this despite overwhelming evidence. I also like the implication that since the levees have been a potential problem for a long time, Bush is free of blame. At what point will this second term president start taking responsibility for things that happen on his watch? I can't help but wonder how YOU would be reacting if the president was a democrat.

    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#10)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:48 PM EST
    dger - It's hard work. Where were you when we needed help? Off selling some marketing concept to make money to line your pockets, I'd wager. Now, flush with cash because of the Bush economy you wander up trying to act like you're somebody. ;-) Actually Ed, if you had been around, you would know that I am an ex-Democrat, social liberal who has taken pro positions on national health care, am pro-choice and believe any adult should be able to marry any adult. I am somewhat anti-death penalty, think our education system is a joke and our tax ssystem is totally unfair. Where I differ from the Left is I didn't believe the Clinton administration was totally corrupt, nor do I believe the Bush administration is. Most people try to do good, and by and large life is a process of struggling on. I find that some anti-war people are sincere, but most are just after Bush, and use the war as a ready excuse. Katrina also falls into that category. If Bush morphed into Gore the eforts expended on Katrina would be praised in high glory, and all would be right in your universe. I do find amusing all the criticism of the response, when, in fact, it was well done.
    "We do not yet have teleporter or replicator technology like you saw on 'Star Trek' in college between hookah hits and waiting to pick up your worthless communications degree while the grown-ups actually engaged in the recovery effort were studying engineering. "The United States military can wipe out the Taliban and the Iraqi Republican Guard far more swiftly than they can bring 3 million Swanson dinners to an underwater city through an area the size of Great Britain which has no power, no working ports or airports, and a devastated and impassable road network. "You cannot speed recovery and relief efforts up by prepositioning assets (in the affected areas) since the assets are endangered by the very storm which destroyed the region. "No amount of yelling, crying and mustering of moral indignation will change any of the facts above."


    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#11)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:48 PM EST
    Morning, Jim: ..flush with cash because of the Bush economy.. On reflection, in all honesty, I did much better during the Reagan economy... and the Clinton years were not half bad either! ;-)

    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#12)
    by swingvote on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:49 PM EST
    C-law, I see Edger isn't the only one with the partisan blinders on. From my post: "I'm not making excuses for the lame response on the part of the federal government; I'm only trying to point out that the lame response also came from the local officials who were actually responsible for the safety of their citizens, and who failed utterly in that responsibility." Maybe if you actually read the comments you could make an intelligent response to them.

    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#13)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:49 PM EST
    justpaul: Responding to c-law, you say: Maybe if you actually read the comments you could make an intelligent response to them. If you read c-law's post carefully you'll see that he agreed with you: c-law:
    No one is saying that the local government did a great job (and if they are, they're wrong)


    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#14)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:49 PM EST
    jpaul...I am primarily concerned with the federal response, since I am a constituent of the federal govt. I am not a constituent of Louisiana officials. I agree the preparation and response was abysmal at the local level. But it is not up to me, or the residents of the 49 other states, to hold Louisiana officials accountable. We are all responsible, however, for holding the federal govt. accountable, and that is where my focus is. Would you agree?

    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#15)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:50 PM EST
    Edger - I agree. The Clinton years were fantastic. Of course the main reason was the Internet bubble, which I managed to use to my advantage. Many didn't. Should I feel guilty? kdog - Sorry, but you can't disassociate the three. If the Mayor and Governor had done their job, the Feds would not have had to arrive to find thousands in the Superdome and snipers shooting at the first responders. Keep that in your mind. It is hard to rescue people when someone is shooting at you. So what do you do? You get real careful, take no chances and wait for someone to clear the area. Think that slows things down a bit?

    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#16)
    by killer on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:50 PM EST
    The Mayor did his part by moving the remaining people to the designated evacuation points. It was then the responsibility of the DHS, under the authority of the National response plan, to respond. They didn't. CHertoff didn't even know he was supposed to. And he wrote the plan.

    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#17)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:50 PM EST
    Jim: Should I feel guilty? I don't know. If you didn't hurt anyone, I don't think so, do you?

    If only Lousiana was a swing state and this were an election year...things may have been a bit different.

    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#19)
    by jimakaPPJ on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:51 PM EST
    killer - I don't believe that the feds are responsible for coming in and picking people up from the Superdome. Perhaps you can show us shome proof of that? edger - Oh, I don't know, I must have hurt the dummies that bought the stocks I sold when I bailed out of the market in late 2000. I know what I'll do. I'll protest against Bush. That'll make things right. ;-) Now on an intra-generational level, wasn't there a song about that? Ernie - Naw. Blanco isn't Bush's sister.

    Re: My Rant: Are The Heads Just Beginning to Roll? (none / 0) (#20)
    by Edger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:03:52 PM EST
    Jim: Now on an intra-generational level, wasn't there a song about that?
    I'm down a one way street With a one night stand With a one track mind Out in no man's land The punishment sometimes Don't seem to fit the crime Yeah there's a hole in my soul But one thing I've learned... ---Aerosmith