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Wednesday, September 14, 2005

So much for "It's Governor Blanco's Fault"
Posted by Jill | 7:18 AM

Of course the wingnuts won't be satisfied with this. After all, these are the same people who think we should just "move on" and give C-Plus Nero a fucking medal of Honor because the words "I take responsibility" came sullenly out of his mouth yesterday, sounding like the words of a very reluctant five-year-old.

Sorry, but a 59-year-old man ought not to get a medal for doing the right thing TWO FUCKING WEEKS LATE. A person should be taught about accountability at a much younger age than that.

When I was five years old, I pocketed a blown-glass duck that belonged to a friend. I pocketed it because I want it. I don't remember 45 years later what I was thinking, but I sure remember how awful it was to have to return it, explain to the kid's parents what I did, and say I was sorry.

I was five years old, and I never "borrowed" things without permission again. I was very, very sorry I got caught, but I was also very sorry I took something that wasn't mine when I knew it was wrong.

Obviously, when your name is "Bush", this is a lesson you never have to learn.

But Bush's empty words notwithstanding, there's another exoneration of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, this one from a study by the Congressional Research Service.

The study's conclusions:

From the above review of the statutory authorities under the Stafford Act, the letters of Governor Blanco to President Bush requesting first a declaration of emergency and then a major disaster declaration in anticipation of the effects of Hurricane Katrina, as well as the President's responses to those requests in declaring a state of emergency with respect to Louisiana effective August 26, 2005, and continuing, and declaring a major disaster with respect to Louisiana effective August 28, 2005, and continuing, it would appear that the Governor did take the steps necessary to request emergency and major disaster declarations for the State of Louisiana in anticipation of Hurricane Katrina. In response to the Governor's requests, it appears that the President did take the steps necessary to trigger the availability of Stafford Act emergency assistance and disaster assistance, by declaring first a state of emergency, and later a major disaster, and authorizing specific Stafford Act assistance to be made available to the State of Louisiana to respond to the effects of the Hurricane. We hope that this will be of assistance to you.


So this exonerates Bush, no? Well, not exactly. The Department of Homeland Security may have triggered the steps necessary by issuing documents, but there was no follow-up to make sure that the required actions were taken. And whose responsibility is that? Well, it starts with "Brownie You're Doing A Heck Of A Job", but who was Brownie's boss?

UPDATE: Aren't you glad they set up the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate response to "Incidents of National Significance"? Look at what a swell job they did here:

The federal official with the power to mobilize a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina was Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, not the former FEMA chief who was relieved of his duties and resigned earlier this week, federal documents reviewed by Knight Ridder show.

Even before the storm struck the Gulf Coast, Chertoff could have ordered federal agencies into action without any request from state or local officials. Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown had only limited authority to do so until about 36 hours after the storm hit, when Chertoff designated him as the "principal federal official" in charge of the storm.

As thousands of hurricane victims went without food, water and shelter in the days after Katrina's early morning Aug. 29 landfall, critics assailed Brown for being responsible for delays that might have cost hundreds of lives.

But Chertoff - not Brown - was in charge of managing the national response to a catastrophic disaster, according to the National Response Plan, the federal government's blueprint for how agencies will handle major natural disasters or terrorist incidents. An order issued by President Bush in 2003 also assigned that responsibility to the homeland security director.

But according to a memo obtained by Knight Ridder, Chertoff didn't shift that power to Brown until late afternoon or evening on Aug. 30, about 36 hours after Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi. That same memo suggests that Chertoff may have been confused about his lead role in disaster response and that of his department.


Do you feel safer yet?
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