we got the wrong Bush

[soul4sale]

I apologize if someone has posted this already, but 'ol Jeb has a point here. He may be a Bush, and his essay is terribly self-congratulatory, but the underlying principle is sound:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/29/AR2005092901636.html

I don't think states need to be ceded what little sovereignty they have left at their most vulnerable moments. What happened on the Gulf is a tragedy, but it should serve as a wake-up call to state governments for the need for reform in their emergency preparedness, not a catalyst for further federal consolidation. The expectation that FEMA should have been omnipresent (hack administrator or no) is unrealistic and scary. Do we really want to open the Pandora's Box of letting our federal army operate within our borders? The municiple and state emergency systems in Louisiana collapsed under a storm that gave plenty of warning, and that is not acceptable.

Or maybe I just sound quaintly libertarian...*sigh*.

 

[soul4sale]

I don't think states need to be ceded what little sovereignty they have left

I speak good English...

 

[vraiblonde]

Or maybe I just sound quaintly libertarian...*sigh*.

No, you sound like someone with sense. Can you imagine if the feds could just come in and take over a state when they felt it necessary? Does anyone really want the President to have that much power?

 

[2ndAmendment]

No, you sound like someone with sense.

Yeah, he does, and he and I don't often agree.

Can you imagine if the feds could just come in and take over a state when they felt it necessary? Does anyone really want the President to have that much power?

Not me! Nope! Nope! Nope!

 

[hvp05]

The expectation that FEMA should have been omnipresent (hack administrator or no) is unrealistic and scary.

That's why FEMA is an organization composed of only 2,500 people -- and I wonder how many of them have the hands-on relief work experience that Brown was criticized for lacking.

Mr. soul, you are correct... and your point seems so simple, it's a mystery why so many people miss it.

 

[Lenny]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/29/AR2005092901636.html

Don't expect the Democrats to understand or accept this premise.

As I noted before, it's too long, some words have more than one syllable, it doesn't hold up a poor black family to pity and it is bounded by reality.

 

[Railroad]

I also agree, 100%! The States (all 50 of them) should have been prepared for reasonable disasters/recovery plans all along. I also think that complacency at the local level had a part in the mis-handling of the hurricanes.

 

[Railroad]

I remember when growing up that there was a Civil Defense organization in every state; it seems to me like each state maintained the organization, and that the organizations depended on volunteer membership to some degree. I did a search on that and the closest thing I could find was the American Civil Defense Organization, using the same logo the one in the '60s had. Here's their charter:

The mission of The American Civil Defense Association (TACDA) is to effectively provide information, tools and resources that empower American Citizens with a comprehensive understanding of reasonable preparedness strategies and techniques, in turn, promoting a self-reliant, pro-active approach to protecting themselves, their families and their communities in the event of Nuclear, Biological, Chemical or other manmade and natural disasters.

I guess they weren't able to do anything, but the concept seems like a good idea. The cold war might be over, but mother nature's still inclined to kick butt when she feels like it.