Mr. President, get off your dead ass!

“Patriot protests Katrina response

By TORY N. PARRISH
tparrish@potomacnews.com
Monday, September 5, 2005

Edward Skewes' front and back yards, as well as his home, are peppered with red, white and blue patriotic symbols.
There are American flags in the potted plants on his porch and on his patio roof, in a wreath on the door. A throng of bald eagle statues and other patriotic knick-knacks is scattered throughout the den and living room of the Manassas Park house he and his wife have called home for 35 years.

But the new homemade signs in his front yard are the products of an angry man whose patriotism is more resolute than ever.

"Mr. President, get off your dead ass. Send help now. Food, water !!!!!!" is hand-written in black marker on cardboard. The flag that always hangs in his front yard is upside down, and a sign bearing the name "New Orleans" is attached to it. Skewes, 61, says it is meant to be a sign of distress for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Two of his neighbors have followed suit in their own front yards with simple messages: "I agree."

Skewes is among a growing segment complaining about the federal government's response to the crisis. A convoy of buses, food and medical supplies arrived four days after New Orleans flooded. Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown said the agency was unaware of the situation until Thursday morning.

"That's a disgrace. Here we are the richest country in the world. And the most powerful man in the world waits a week before he sends help," said Skewes.

Skewes describes himself as a patriot, having served four years in the U.S. Air Force. He watches the 24-hour cable news coverage with disgust, even breaking down crying when recounting scenes of a mother being reunited with her family shortly after giving birth.

Images of brown faces dominate the televised Hurricane Katrina coverage, but Skewes says the federal government's slow response is due more to the victims' poverty than their race.

Skewes says he plans to fly his distress flag and increase the size of the signs in his yard until Bush publicly apologizes to victims of the hurricane, explains why the response took so long and admits he was wrong in the way he handled the crisis.

Some local residents echoed Skewes' sentiments criticizing the federal government's response time, particularly given the U.S. military presence in Iraq.

"I think [Bush] could have gotten more help for those people a lot more quickly than what he did," said Manassas resident Shirley Estes in the parking lot of a Giant grocery store on Sunday morning.

Mark Jackman concurred, objecting to the term "refugees" being used to describe victims of the disaster. Jackman said he was buoyed by the response from local groups, such as Washington, D.C., officials sending 10 buses to New Orleans on Friday to bring 400 evacuees to the D.C. Armory.

Not everyone is ready to focus on the federal response. Increasing finger-pointing is overshadowing relief efforts for a massive disaster that could not have been safeguarded against, according to Woodbridge resident Charlie Vaughters.

"Let's get in there now and help those poor people and make life better for them and go on with it," said Vaughters.
last edited: 9/06/05 7:04:35 AM”

“This whole blame game against the Feds and this administration has become a political rant for the ignorant. Simply, by law (Stafford Act) the Feds don't have that responsibility. The following are guidelines I ran across at work from a brochure on understanding FEMA and a state's role in disasters.

Most disasters do not reach the magnitude of a presidential declaration. However, when state and local resources are insufficient to respond to and recover from a disaster, a governor has the option to ask the President to declare a major disaster or an emergency. A presidential major disaster declaration sets in motion long-term federal recovery assistance programs, some of which are matched by state programs, to help disaster victims, businesses, and public entities. The state’s cost-share of these programs is no more than 25 percent. A presidential declaration of an emergency provides a secondary emergency response and relatively short-term federal assistance for conducting lifesaving measures. The state’s cost-share of these programs is no more than 10 percent. The state emergency management agency, at the request of the governor, should be able to recommend when a presidential disaster request is warranted. When the governor and other state official responsible for disaster operations believes federal assistance is needed, he or she should contact the FEMA regional director through the state emergency management director to request assistance. The FEMA regional office should then be able to deploy a federal team to assess and assist the state in determining if a request to the President is warranted.

In accordance with the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C § 5121 et seq., only the state governor can initiate a request for a presidential disaster or major disaster declaration. This request is made through the FEMA regional director. The governor bases the request on a finding that the situation is of such severity and magnitude that an effective response is beyond state and local capabilities, and federal assistance is needed.

Before making a request to the President for a disaster declaration, the governor must first activate the state’s emergency plan and ensure all appropriate state and local action has been taken. If the governor is considering asking the President to declare a major disaster or an emergency, state emergency management officials—in cooperation with local officials—must:
❖ survey the affected areas to determine the extent of private and public damage;
❖ conduct joint preliminary damage assessments with FEMA officials;
❖ estimate the types and extent of federal disaster assistance required;
❖ consult with the FEMA regional director on eligibility for federal disaster assistance; and
❖ advise the FEMA regional office if the governor intends to request a declaration by the President.

To complain about all the red tape is justified. But to complain about their response, when it was by the book is ignorance.
last edited: 9/06/05 10:48:40 AM”

“I’ll be charitable here.

You just swallowed a huge lie, hook, line and sinker.

http://gov.louisiana.gov/Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf”

“There's this too: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html”

“Excellent Violin, I'd call that a smoking gun!

Let me add something I found on the Homeland Security website:

“For all those who say the Feds aren't responsible, please address what I found on the Homeland Security Website:



Preparing America

"In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort. The new Department will also prioritize the important issue of citizen preparedness. Educating America's families on how best to prepare their homes for a disaster and tips for citizens on how to respond in a crisis will be given special attention at DHS."

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp[i][i]”

“But again it still goes back to the fact that by law the Stafford Act restricts "presidential declaration of an emergency provides a secondary emergency response and relatively short-term federal assistance for conducting lifesaving measures." Preparations can take place however implementation is a wait and see scenario. The last the Feds want is for a state to not utilize its full potential of resources and dependant on federal action and they don't want to be part of the problem or disaster. In addition, even a worst case scenario did not predict such events from southern LA to AL.
last edited: 9/06/05 11:06:04 AM”

“"even a worst case scenario did not predict such events from southern LA to AL.
last edited: 9/06/05 11:06:04 AM”
trailhound57
11:04:20 AM"

What's your evidence for this claim. For years when major hurricanes come close to New Orleans, I've heard about the potential for all of New Orleans to be flooded, been reminded that the city is below sea level, that the Lake and/or the ocean could come crashing in and flood the whole city.”

“Mon night I heard several folks that were interviewed say it wasn't supposed to be this bad. BS, it was a Cat 5 storm, this is what they do.”

“Dayhiker, this thread already has 8 posts in it. Please do not add to it and please start a new thread about Katrina. LOL!”

“What's your evidence for this claim.
pedxing

Yes, the natural disaster was predicted. Not the social nightmare and lack of cooperation both before and after the event was not. The governor or mayor's (don't remember) estimation of number of citizens that didn't evac has only quadrupled in the last week.

From your previous post, can you name me one thing the feds did not do? They assumed primary responsibility for a coordinated comprehensive response and daily the effort is proving to be very effective and very swift (I know relative terms but be realistic, we are talking about the gov't). As far as educating individual how to prepare, what better single piece of advice can you get than board your homes and leave immediately because you might be flooded to the roof. Specific prep if you ask me. But again, who knew? Yes, the argument will be given that these people were poor and lacked transportation. But is that a federal issue?
last edited: 9/06/05 11:38:44 AM”

“I'd like to see where the decades old Stafford act, as currently amended, restricts what the Feds can do to prepare for disasters, save lives and prevent or mitigate damages on an emergency basis. There is also Title 6 of the Stafford act which addresses “Emergency Preparedness” and FEMA and Homeland Security related law and regulations enabling actions to prepare and swiftly respond to emergencies.”

“Sorry Karl... I mean trailhound:

Starting on page 43 of the December 2004 National Response Plan

"Proactive Federal Response to Catastrophic Events
[...]
■ Standard procedures regarding requests for assistance
may be expedited or, under extreme circumstances,
suspended in the immediate aftermath of an event of
catastrophic magnitude.
■ Identified Federal response resources will deploy and
begin necessary operations as required to commence
life-safety activities.
■ Notification and full coordination with States will occur,
but the coordination process must not delay or impede
the rapid deployment and use of critical resources.
States are urged to notify and coordinate with local
governments regarding a proactive Federal response.
[...]”

“The Fed had the authority, responsibility, resources and the plan. They just plain sat on their thumbs while our fellow citizens died.

That's bad.”

“I don't know of any specific restrictions either; however, it is worded and carried out so that the state is empowered and responsible for utilization of its resources and specifying where help is most needed when a natural disaster is declared. I think most of us agree more than we disagree. I'm not totally pleased with how things have panned out. However, I tend to believe it has been a problem more with the system rather than taking a shot at this administration. Yes, the system has worked for other disasters; however, this system has never been tested under the magnitude of a disaster like this that continues days after the storm has passed.”

“Violin there is no argument here as I'm aware of that info. However, did anyone know truly what we were dealing with before 48 hrs after? No! Remember Sunday before the storm hit the Mayor was very happy with the response of its citizens and eveything seemed to be going as planned. As I mentioned eariler, even the Mayor or Governor understimated the number of those who did not evacuate by tens of thousands. I don't blame the feds for not having info that even those within didn't. Obviously, if we had of known what we know now there would have been door to door forced evacuations.
last edited: 9/06/05 12:11:48 PM”

“I think that it could also be said that other states like Florida and Texas are better prepared for these situations and have state and local programs that have them better prepared so aid gets to those communities alot quicker than what happened in New Orleans.
last edited: 9/06/05 12:08:05 PM”

““I think that it could also be said that other states like Florida and Texas are better prepared for these situations"

Considering that NO’s general hurricane readiness program consists of boarding themselves into a bar on Bourbon St. to ride out the storm; I’d say you’re correct.”

“foiled by facts again! Nice work Violin & Ped!”

“So the local officials told everyone to goto the superdome and wait out the storm. You would think that the local officials would have had some sort of plan in place before they started bussing people to the dome by the thousands, like proper supplies and support personel. Plans on how to get the people out of the dome and contingency plans in case of flooding (Which from day 1 was the biggest concern). The whole Superdome fiasco was not very well thought out. Is that the fed's fault?

You don't solve a problem by just throwing a possible solution out and acting on it. More often then not you will end up making the problem worse. The Hurricane was through the area by Tuesday. A day to assess the condition and figure out which action plans you want to follow will eat up Wednesday. Thursday begin implementation. Any response to the situation before Thursday is highly unrealisic... which is why everyone was told to bring enoguh food and water to last THREE TO FIVE DAYS because the officials knew they wouldn't be able to react before that time in any sort of large scale.

Since everyone here is such an expert at disaster relief and search and rescue I'd love to see a timeline of what you guys would have done differently taking into account the information on hand at the time.”

“BB do you actually read other's post or do you just post accusations with a little cut and paste every once in a while?”

“we can't blame Bush or the administration for anything.... lets blame someone else, errr, locals, that's it local officials .... if that doesn't work we'll blame....errrr..... terrorists, yes terrorists, that's it. If you blame Bush or the administration for anything then you hate america and the terrorists win.”

““BB do you actually read other's post or do you just post accusations with a little cut and paste every once in a while?”

BB's role here is a clear one...



V and Pedxing post with haste,
Ra Ra Ra Ra,
Cut and paste!

Heehee! Irreverent
bassturd ain't I? :)”

“I think bush's and the federal response is now up to something like it should be. But the time lag is a major problem. Also is the cutting of finances for the levy system. Cutting millions from the budget then leads to $100 billion estimated costs now.”

“DAMN! She is hot!”

“we can't blame Bush or the administration for anything.... lets blame someone else, errr, locals, that's it local officials .... if that doesn't work we'll blame....errrr..... terrorists, yes terrorists, that's it. If you blame Bush or the administration for anything then you hate america and the terrorists win.”
Y2

Y2 my point is who do you blame when everyone does what the system of management entitles them to do? Other than opinion based retrospect, there doesn't seem to be anyone holding a position or office that failed to follow what has proven to be very successful in the past. Yes, we could realistically still blame the system and recognize that it needs tweaked a bit. Maybe we could also blame the citizens of course who failed to follow the advice and precautions stated. Even blaming the financial cuts to the levy system is a bit or a stretch since design limitations still remain focused below a strong cat 3. BTW in my experience in working FEMA contracts natural diaster prevention measures and diaster management are horses of two completely different colors. Anyway, so who’s to blame? Obviously, there are many issues that need to be and will be addressed each carrying the theme of how we can do this better.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,168574,00.html
last edited: 9/06/05 2:00:33 PM”

“Baltimore Gas and Electric put trucks on the road 25-26 August.”

“And your point is?”

“F.E.M.A. waited until a week later.

El Presidente was playing golf and ignoring the problem a couple of days after the storm.

Maybe he was hoping someone else would take care of things.

He's a lousy leader who shirks responsibility.....except for things like political fund-raising and selling his war to the public when the polls slip.”

“Please go back and read much of today and try to get some type of grasp on how FEMA responds and is utilized. If the system is broke or needs tweaked it will be made known following investigations. However, again as I previously mentioned, other than opinion based retrospect, there doesn't appear to be any position or office that failed to follow what has proven to be very successful in the past. Until around 48 hrs after it was not confirmed of what we would be dealing with. Can anyone give me anything specific that was not done or steps avoided? Any buffoon can make any accusation but is it valid?
last edited: 9/06/05 2:19:35 PM”

“I have a bigger complaint with the lack of law enforcement inside the Dome than I do the food or water, however, the world shelter does seem to imply a certain level of sustainance.
last edited: 9/06/05 2:21:06 PM”

“70% of statistics are made up right on the spot

85% of the people believe them whether they're right or not”

“Here's on column I agree with:

The Magic Marker Method of Disaster Prep

Mr. Bush made a lot of mistakes last week, but most of his critics are making an even bigger one now by obsessing about what he said and did. We can learn more by listening to men like Jim Judkins, particularly when he explains the Magic Marker method of disaster preparedness.

Mr. Judkins is one of the officials in charge of evacuating the Hampton Roads region around Newport News, Va. These coastal communities, unlike New Orleans, are not below sea level, but they're much better prepared for a hurricane. Officials have plans to run school buses and borrow other buses to evacuate those without cars, and they keep registries of the people who need special help.

Instead of relying on a "Good Samaritan" policy - the fantasy in New Orleans that everyone would take care of the neighbors - the Virginia rescue workers go door to door. If people resist the plea to leave, Mr. Judkins told The Daily Press in Newport News, rescue workers give them Magic Markers and ask them to write their Social Security numbers on their body parts so they can be identified.

"It's cold, but it's effective," Mr. Judkins explained.

That simple strategy could have persuaded hundreds of people to save their own lives in New Orleans. What the city needed most was coldly effective local leaders, not a president in Washington who could feel their pain. It's the same lesson we should have learned from Sept. 11 and other disasters, yet both liberals and conservatives keep ignoring it.

The liberals bewailing the insensitivity and racism of Republicans in Washington sound like a bad rerun of the 1960's, when urban riots were blamed on everyone but the rioters and the police. Yes, the White House did a terrible job of responding to Katrina, but Democratic leaders in New Orleans and Louisiana didn't even fulfill their basic duties.

In coastal Virginia - which, by the way, has a large black population and plenty of Republican politicians - Mr. Judkins and his colleagues assume that it's their job to evacuate people, maintain order and stockpile supplies to last for 72 hours, until federal help arrives. In New Orleans, the mayor seemed to assume all that was beyond his control, just like the mayors in the 1960's who let the riots occur.

They said their cities couldn't survive without help from Washington, which proceeded to shower inner cities with money and programs that did more damage than the riots. Cities didn't recover until some mayors, especially Republicans like Rudy Giuliani, tried self-reliance.

Mr. Giuliani was called heartless and racist for cutting the welfare rolls and focusing on crime reduction, but black neighborhoods were the greatest beneficiaries of his policies. He was criticized for ignoring social services as he concentrated on reorganizing the Police and Fire Departments, but his cold effectiveness made the city a more livable place and kept it calm after Sept. 11.

Yet Mr. Bush, with approval from conservatives who should have known better, reacted to Sept. 11 by centralizing disaster planning in Washington. He created the byzantine Homeland Security Department, with predictable results last week.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, often criticized for ineptitude, became even less efficient after it was swallowed by a bureaucracy consumed with terrorism. The department has spent billions on new federal airport screeners - with no discernible public benefit - while giving short shrift to natural disasters.

The federal officials who had been laboring on a one-size-fits-all strategy were unprepared for the peculiarities of New Orleans, like the high percentage of people without cars. The local officials who knew about that problem didn't do anything about it - and then were furious when Mr. Bush didn't solve it for them. Why didn't the man on the mound come through for them?

It's a fair question as they go door to door looking for bodies. But so is this: Why didn't they go door to door last week with Magic Markers?”

“Trailhound - I'm ready to wait until more information is available before discussing who failed and where. As I've said, it looks to me like there will much to learn on every level of responsibility - but things will be cleaer over time.

What I responded to with certainty and vehemence is the notion that Fema, Homeland Security, Bush and the Federal government are only supposed to step inafter it turns out that locals can't handle things. The pro-Bush spinners have been putting out the message that there is no basis for thinking that the Feds bore any responsibility for anything - it's jsut nice of them to come in and help after the locals F-'ed it up.

I agree with Bush, that the time for a real inquiry has not come. We are all better off if we spend our energies figuring out what we can do. That said I should shut up and move on.”

“Very interesting DX! It will be interesting to see that after all this has past into history and people are back into their homes, what will they stragety be when another Katrina comes knocking.”

“Ped I couldn't agree more. Please don't assume that I do not question the Feds side of the issue also. As the article above best states it, "federal officials who had been laboring on a one-size-fits-all strategy were unprepared for the peculiarities of New Orleans." Certainly, something needs to change. The very policies and laws that historically have proven effective to facilitate action prevented the task from being accomplished most efficiently. However, calling Bush a dumass and accusing him of ignoring the situation is different than saying that there are some obvious issues involving how we go about to relieving such events that need to be addressed in wake of this disaster.
last edited: 9/06/05 4:47:47 PM”

“DX - that's a simple case of blame shifting - yet again. Lets turn the focus elsewhere once more. We'll mention that the response isn't what it should be, briefly, then we'll talk about the local officials and the local people.

The evacuation order was given ahead of the hurricane. The dire warnings or what would happen if people stayed were given. They were told they would die.

Southern Virginia is not a major metropolitan area - the dynamics are completely different. It would be interesting to see how many of the people on the Virginia coast stay after receiving the warning. How many people would it take to visit what, several hundred thousand homes, and really, once they've made the decision to stay, they're already ignoring the best advice, someone telling them personally that are at severe risk is only likely to change the mind of a few.

It really is amazing how those on the right will try to shirk any responsibility for failings.”

“It really is amazing how those on the right will try to shirk any responsibility for failings.”
Y2

Since you brought it up, again I ask specifically where did they fail? I was not aware that the entire emergency management organizations were owned or operated by the right.
last edited: 9/06/05 5:04:42 PM”

“Adminstration failings in the planning for coping with a significant distater, man-made or natural.”

“Specifically. That means tell me how they did not plan. Tell me how they failed to follow what has proven to be very successful in the past. Give me anything specific that was not done or steps avoided? How was this not done by the book? In working with FEMA I will tell you that once the process begins it functions rather systematically.
last edited: 9/06/05 5:34:37 PM”

“Well specifically. I think there should be a force assigned within the US military, or the national guard, to deploy to anywhere within the US at 24-hours notice. These people can have normal assignments for the years that this is not needed, but get the training necessary. This force only needs to be 10,000 and can be rotated, but they much have the equipment to respond - say for example, a significany quota of heavy lift helicopters and the supplies to deal with an emergency.
Other resources can be brought to bear when the situation become clearer.

They also need the independant communications and intelligence gathering capacity to cope when normal networks fail.

Much of the modern military is now geared to be on the ground anywhere in the world within hours, or days at the most.
10,000 troops on the ground and significant supplies being lifted in early to New Orleans would have made a huge difference to a situation which quite frankly got completely out of hand.

it's been shown in the past few days that the resources are there to cope with this situation, but the response needed to be more rapid.

The Administration can be faulted for cutting the funding to NO flood defences, and not having the rapid reaction system in place to cope with a significant disaster.

Or would you say nothing could have been done better here?
Or would you rather argue about rules and regulations applies. Regulations which could have been changed ahead of this disaster? This was not a surprise event. Sure the notice was short, but it was going to happen sooner or later.”

“population facts:

the tidewater area has a significant larger population than new orleans. in fact, virginia beach itself is as large as new orleans (440,000). throw in hampton roads (146,00), newport news (180,000) and norfolk (237,000) and it is more than twice the size. this doesn't even take into consideration the other metropolitan areas in the area chesapeake/suffolk/portsmouth which will add another 500,000. it is densley populated and has limited evacuation routes. not only that, you would be dealing with a large number of local governments.”

“and where is all the discussion around nagin's plan of sending all new orleans police and fire personnel to las vegas for 5 days with their families. he asked fema to pay for it. they said they couldn't so he said new orleans will.”

“Well that's fair enough then. I was wrong, there are significant populations in Southern Virginia.

But how effective has this measure been? I've certainly seen it before, but I would guess it has marginal impact on the numbers who would evacuate.
Even if it is effective, then it still detracts from the issue of why those unable to evacuate weren't helped more before or after Katrina hit.”

“Yes that's it Baume, lets shift the focus away from the Adminstration. There must be others to blame.
Still it goes on and will continue.”

“in my opinion, before and immediately after, it was because the city and state didn't have an adequate plan. the slow response by fema exacerbated the situation. but that's just my opinion.”

“where did i shift blame y2?”

“Trail - You are right, calling Bush names isn't helpful. Maybe it helps some directly injured by the crisis to vent their rage and upset - but those of us who are further away would do best to stay focused on what can be done.

I find the situation un-nerving. What if terrorists had blown up the levees? The flooding would have happenedc and there would have been no warning or evacuation. Would things be worse? It's hard to tell, because the hurricane did much more damage over a much greater area. I would like to think we, as a country, were better prepared to deal with something like this four years after 9/11.”

“The response at all levels pretty much sucked, but Louisiana sure could've used a Rudy Giuliani to take charge. It was sad to see New Orleans just leave all those flooded school buses they could've used to evacuate folks.”

“Here's an interesting blog from someone who stayed behind.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/2005/08/28/”

“It's pointing the finger at the Mayor. This is afterall a thread about the President. I was responing earlier to a thread that said the people should have been persuaded to evacuate using more severe warnings, and a magic marker. It's all part or the gradual looking around for someone else who messed up. Take a little focus of GW and the boys.

And Buck, I wholeheartedly agree. NO needed someone like Guiliani. Admittedly Guiliani lost a few blocks and not the whole of his city though. Not belitting the horrendous loss of life in 9/11 in any way - but it was a different kind of disaster.”