thebullet
Rebel without applause
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2003
- Posts
- 1,247
From FindingAVoice.Com:
In his column, 9/16/05, The NY Times, Paul Krugman says the Heritage Foundation has already published a “manifesto” on post-Katrina policy that calls for “waivers on environmental rules, elimination of capital gains taxes, and private ownership of public school buildings in the disaster areas.” They would also exempt from estate taxes any of the dead with a net worth over $1.5 million. In essence the Heritage folks and many other Republicans see New Orleans and other storm-ravaged areas as laboratories for an agenda they have already embraced and tried to push through Congress.
The Far Right sees every disaster as an excuse to push their extreme agenda down America's throat. And they have just the guy to do it in George W Bush.
What has happened pre- and post- Katrina is a in lesson crony politics, incredible indifference to human suffering, and criminal profiteering.
How did FEMA perform before GW?
During the lead-up to Hurricane Floyd in 1999, 2.6 million people were evacuated. That is an example of what FEMA was capable of when it was run by people who were disaster managers rather than political cronies. President Clinton named James Lee Witt as Director of FEMA. Witt was the last FEMA director with disaster experience. In addition, he was a friend of the President and in times of emergency could get the President on the phone. It is difficult to underestimate how important this is. In the 90's, FEMA concentrated on emergency preparedness and disaster mitigation. The FEMA response to disasters was quick and professionally handled.
How does FEMA perform now?
When GW came into office, he appointed Joe Albaugh as FEMA director. Albaugh's extensive disaster experience was garnered as GW's chief of staff in Texas (that's cynicism). Albaugh brought in Mike Brown as a legal counsel to FEMA. Neither had disaster experience.
Albaugh stated upon taking over the department that FEMA was a 'bloated entitlement program' that should be eliminated.
Other nifty Bush administration FEMA facts:
1) Bush removed FEMA from being a cabinet level department and made it part of Homeland Security.
2)Then it changed FEMA's funding to REQUIRE that 75% of FEMA funds MUST be spent on terrorism.
3) Much of FEMA's funding was taken away and distributed to other departments
4) The professionals that had been running FEMA were eliminated and replaced by political cronies and PR people.
Net result: when a disaster struck, FEMA was not only unprepared, they weren't even sure that it was their job to do anything - since the neo-cons felt that disasters should be taken care of on a local level. Even after GW Bush declared the Gulf Coast a national disaster area, Mike Brown COULD NOT get the President on the phone.
I heard an interview with a former FEMA Chief of Staff who is in close contact with the agency. She was told every day during the Katrina crisis that the agency was doing nothing and no one in upper management would 'pull the trigger' and make a decision.
What have we learned?
The current administration does not look at promoting the general welfare of the populace as part of its responsibilities. However, the Bush Administration has no compunctions against exploiting a crisis to its advantage.
Thus, billions of dollars of no-bid contracts arel being awarded to Bush's buddies. Troublesome laws that were established in the past to do nasty things like preserving the environment will now be circumvented and eventually eliminated.
The 9/11 disaster gave Bush the political clout to tramp on the Constitution and eliminate much of what had been done for the common man in this country over the previous 50 years and also to invade Iraq for no other reason than Bush wanted to - even though it was the administration itself that allowed 9/11 to happen.
Katrina will be transformed from a total cluster-fuck exposing the indifference and incompetence of this administration into a tool to further mold this country into the perverted right-wing image that these anti-American ideologogs aspire to.
Christ, Amicus must be dancing on America's grave.
In his column, 9/16/05, The NY Times, Paul Krugman says the Heritage Foundation has already published a “manifesto” on post-Katrina policy that calls for “waivers on environmental rules, elimination of capital gains taxes, and private ownership of public school buildings in the disaster areas.” They would also exempt from estate taxes any of the dead with a net worth over $1.5 million. In essence the Heritage folks and many other Republicans see New Orleans and other storm-ravaged areas as laboratories for an agenda they have already embraced and tried to push through Congress.
The Far Right sees every disaster as an excuse to push their extreme agenda down America's throat. And they have just the guy to do it in George W Bush.
What has happened pre- and post- Katrina is a in lesson crony politics, incredible indifference to human suffering, and criminal profiteering.
How did FEMA perform before GW?
During the lead-up to Hurricane Floyd in 1999, 2.6 million people were evacuated. That is an example of what FEMA was capable of when it was run by people who were disaster managers rather than political cronies. President Clinton named James Lee Witt as Director of FEMA. Witt was the last FEMA director with disaster experience. In addition, he was a friend of the President and in times of emergency could get the President on the phone. It is difficult to underestimate how important this is. In the 90's, FEMA concentrated on emergency preparedness and disaster mitigation. The FEMA response to disasters was quick and professionally handled.
How does FEMA perform now?
When GW came into office, he appointed Joe Albaugh as FEMA director. Albaugh's extensive disaster experience was garnered as GW's chief of staff in Texas (that's cynicism). Albaugh brought in Mike Brown as a legal counsel to FEMA. Neither had disaster experience.
Albaugh stated upon taking over the department that FEMA was a 'bloated entitlement program' that should be eliminated.
Other nifty Bush administration FEMA facts:
1) Bush removed FEMA from being a cabinet level department and made it part of Homeland Security.
2)Then it changed FEMA's funding to REQUIRE that 75% of FEMA funds MUST be spent on terrorism.
3) Much of FEMA's funding was taken away and distributed to other departments
4) The professionals that had been running FEMA were eliminated and replaced by political cronies and PR people.
Net result: when a disaster struck, FEMA was not only unprepared, they weren't even sure that it was their job to do anything - since the neo-cons felt that disasters should be taken care of on a local level. Even after GW Bush declared the Gulf Coast a national disaster area, Mike Brown COULD NOT get the President on the phone.
I heard an interview with a former FEMA Chief of Staff who is in close contact with the agency. She was told every day during the Katrina crisis that the agency was doing nothing and no one in upper management would 'pull the trigger' and make a decision.
What have we learned?
The current administration does not look at promoting the general welfare of the populace as part of its responsibilities. However, the Bush Administration has no compunctions against exploiting a crisis to its advantage.
Thus, billions of dollars of no-bid contracts arel being awarded to Bush's buddies. Troublesome laws that were established in the past to do nasty things like preserving the environment will now be circumvented and eventually eliminated.
The 9/11 disaster gave Bush the political clout to tramp on the Constitution and eliminate much of what had been done for the common man in this country over the previous 50 years and also to invade Iraq for no other reason than Bush wanted to - even though it was the administration itself that allowed 9/11 to happen.
Katrina will be transformed from a total cluster-fuck exposing the indifference and incompetence of this administration into a tool to further mold this country into the perverted right-wing image that these anti-American ideologogs aspire to.
Christ, Amicus must be dancing on America's grave.
