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Wednesday, September 07, 2005

What part of the Stafford Act don't those wingnuts fuckwits understand?
Posted by Jill | 7:50 PM

Ever notice how you can work out like a fiend every day and nothing happens, but when your sciatica kicks up and you're unable to move without pain for a week, suddenly your clothes get looser? Why is that?

Light blogging yesterday and today, and yesterday we were on Daou Report and today we got linked to from none other than the great Steve Gilliard, who ought to be on your must-read-every-day list.

Anyway...

Dr. Atta J. Turk has some news for the fuckwits on the right who refuse to see any blame in their chosen Lord and Messiah, George W. Jesus H. Christ Two Terms Mandate Bush (TMKent Jones) by quoting none other than Andrew the Bush Suckup Sullivan, who reminds us of the State of Emergency that Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco requested on August 27:

Pursuant to 44 CFR § 206.35, I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster.

The Stafford Act is the legal stipulator in that declaration. Under The Stafford Act:

§ 5170a. GENERAL FEDERAL ASSISTANCE {Sec. 402}

In any major disaster, the President may--

# direct any Federal agency, with or without reimbursement, to utilize its authorities and the resources granted to it under Federal law (including personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, and managerial, technical, and advisory services) in support of State and local assistance efforts.

When President Bush signed that declaration on 8/27 he accepted a responsibility to the citizens of Louisiana. Who has the greater resources, Gov. Blanco, or President Bush? Why is Gov. Blanco held to a higher standard of competence than President Bush, when they each had the same responsibility?"

The only problem here is the formulation: "accepting responsibility." This is something this president has a great deal of trouble doing.


The Bush Moonies are doing everything they can to try to lay blame on Ray Nagrin and on Blanco, but that dawg just won't hunt. Much wingnut wind has been wasted on obsessing about the school buses that are now under toxic sludge. Let me ask the wingnuts this: Even if those buses, which collectively could hold about 12,000 people, had been loaded, where the fuck were these people supposed to go? When the Feds get involved, they can provide funding to states who take them in. Mayor Ray Nagrin does not have the authority to do that. So what was he supposed to do, load up a bunch of people into a bus and then have them be welcome exactly NOWHERE? Can YOU name a state that would have taken in busloads of penniless, homeless black people without some form of government plan for their care?

What on earth is it going to take for the wingnuts to wake up? Do we need to call in deprogrammers? Have they been zapped by alien deathrays and replaced with alien doubles?

Did Ray Nagrin make mistakes? Yes. Did Kathleen Blanco make mistakes. Yes, the most egregious of which was to assume that the Bush Administration would do what's right for American citizens, even when their state is governed by a Democrat. As Otter said to Flounder after the Delta House guys wrecked his brother's car: "You fucked up! You trusted us!"
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