FEMA top officials ignored warnings about Katrina

[Greebo]

WASHINGTON - In the midst of the chaos that followed Hurricane Katrina, a Federal Emergency Management Agency official in New Orleans sent a dire e-mail to Director Michael Brown saying victims had no food and were dying.

No response came from Brown.

Instead, less than three hours later, an aide to Brown sent an e-mail saying her boss wanted to go on a television program that night — after needing at least an hour to eat dinner at a Baton Rouge, La., restaurant.

Continued here...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9765601/

{rant}
Does anyone else find this absolutely appalling??

This is what we should expect when emergency responders end up being under the thumb of bean-counting beaurocrats. Further evidence why organizations like FEMA should not be run by political appointees...

{/rant}

 

[etsisk]

But PLEASE y'all, when you start to respond, PLEASE don't let this turn into another SoapBox forum style melee!! PLEASE!!!

Thank you for your patronage.

 

[Brian Austin]

But PLEASE y'all, when you start to respond, PLEASE don't let this turn into another SoapBox forum style melee!! PLEASE!!!

Thank you for your patronage.

Healthy debate is allowed and encouraged. Just keep it within the Rules of Conduct.

That said, I think the story was overblown. With communication the way it was at the time, was it even CONFIRMED that the e-mail/page didn't get stuck somewhere for a while?

 

[wsuffa]

Here's the next FEMA issue.

FEMA agreed to provide criminal checks for the folks running the shelters (primarily sex offenders). The checks are not yet done. The talking heads had one on the news tonight. He says "we're working on it".

Apparently their database can't talk to or compare to either the city's database or the Red Cross database. They're having to check every one of the shelter residents... by hand.

Something tells me the shelter will close before they're even close to done.

THis one is also being smokescreened.

 

[The Old Man]

As I said on soapbox, the 2 memos are in no way related. Another attempt by the press to make a story.