>> > Interesting message that came across my desk... You might be interested
>> > in it.
>> > I didn't create it. Only passing it along for informational value
>> > In case you aren't familiar with how our government is SUPPOSED to >
>>work:
>>The
>> > chain of responsibility for the protection of the citizens in New
>> > Orleans is:
>> >
>> > 1. The Mayor
>> > 2. The New Orleans director of Homeland Security (a political appointee
>of
>> > the Governor who reports to the Governor)
>> > 3. The Governor
>> > 4. The Head of Homeland Security
>> > 5. The President
>> >
>> > What did each do?
>> >
>> > 1 . The mayor, with 5 days advance, waited until 2 days before he
>announced
>>a
>> > mandatory evacuation (at the behest of the President). Then he failed >
>>to
>> > provide transportation for those without transport even though he had
>> > hundreds of buses at his disposal.
>> >
>> > 2. The New Orleans director of Homeland Security failed to have any >
>>plan
>> > for a contingency that has been talked about for 50 years. Then he
>> > blames the Feds for not doing what he should have done. (So much for
>> > political appointees)
>> >
>> > 3. The Governor, despite a declaration of disaster by the President 2
>> > DAYS BEFORE the storm hit, failed to take advantage of the offer of
>> > Federal troops and aid until 2 DAYS AFTER the storm hit.
>> >
>> > 4. The Director of Homeland Security positioned assets in the area to &g t;
>>be
>> > ready when the Governor called for them.
>> >
>> > 5. The President urged a mandatory evacuation, and even declared a
>> > disaster State of Emergency, freeing up millions of dollars of federal
>> > assistance, should the Governor decide to use it.
>> >
>> > Oh and by the way, the levees that broke were the responsibility of the
>> > local landowners and the local levee board to maintain,
>> > NOT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
>> >
>> > The disaster in New Orleans is what you get after decades of corrupt
>> > (democrat) government going all the way back to Huey Long.
>> >
>> > Funds for disaster protection and relief have been flowing into this
>> > city for decades, and where has it gone, but into the pockets of the
>> > politicos and their friends.
>> >
>> > Decades of socialist government in New Orleans has sapped all self
>> > reliance from the community, and made them dependent upon government >
>>for
>> > every little thing.
>> >
>> > Political correctness and a lack of will to fight crime have created >
>>the
>> > single most corrupt police force in the country, and has permitted gang
>> > violence to flourish.
>> >
>> > The sad thing is that there are many poor folks who have suffered and
>> > died needlessly because those that they voted into office failed them.
>> >
>> > For those who missed item 5 (where the President’s level of
>> > accountability is discussed), it is made more clear in a New Orleans
>> > Times-Picayune article dated August 28:
>> >
>> > NEW ORLEANS (AP) — In the face of a catastrophic Hurricane Katrina, a
>> &g t; mandatory evacuation was ordered Sunday for New Orleans by Mayor Ray
>>Nagin.
>> >
>> > Acknowledging that large numbers of people, many of them stranded
>> > tourists, would be unable to leave, The city set up 10 places of last
>> > resort for people to go, including the Superdome. The mayor called the
>> > order unprecedented and said anyone who could leave the city should. He
>> > exempted hotels from the evacuation order because airlines had already
>> > canceled all flights.
>> >
>> > Gov. Kathleen Blanco, standing beside the mayor at a news conference,
>> > said President Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory
>> > evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding.
>> >
>> > The ball was placed in Mayor Nagin’s court to carry out the evacuation
>> > orde r. With 5-day heads-up, he had the authority to use any and all
>> > services to evacuate all residents from the city, as documented in a
>> > city emergency preparedness plan. By waiting until the last minute, and
>> > failing to make full use of resources available within city limits,
>> > Nagin and his administration messed up.
>> >
>> > Mayor Nagin and his emergency sidekick Terry Ebbert have displayed
>> > lethal, mind boggling incompetence before, during and after Katrina.
>> >
>> > As for Mayor Nagin, he and his profile in pathetic leadership police
>> > chief should resign. That city’s government is incompetent from one end
>> > to the other. The people of New Orleans deserve better than this crowd
>> > of clowns is capable of giving them.
>> >
>> > If you're keeping track, these boobs le t 569 buses that could have
>> > carried 33,350 people o ut of New Orleans–in one trip–get ruined in the
>> > floods. Whatever plan these guys had, it was a dud. Or it probably >
>>would
>> > have been if they'd bothered to follow it.
>> >
>> > As for all the race-baiting rhetoric and Bush-bashing coming from
>> > prominent blacks on the left, don't expect Ray Nagin to be called out >
>>on
>> > the carpet for falling short. You want to know why? Here’s why:
>> >
>> > It’s more convenient to blame a white president for what went wrong >
>>than
>> > to hold a black mayor and his administration accountable for gross
>> > negligence and failing to fully carry out an established emergency
>> > preparedness plan.
>> >
>> > To hold Nagin and his administration accountable for dropping the ball
>> > amounts to letting loos e the shouts and cries of “Racism!”. It’s sad,
>> > it’s wrong, but it’s standard operating procedure for the media and
>> > left-wing black leadership.
