Goddamn it, Shearer, you’ve got it all wrong.

Obama’s speech ended with a ringing evocation of three words he claimed were emblematic in the life of the nation: “Yes, We Can”; and the crowd joined in chanting those words in response. But, in their turning away from a “man-made engineering disaster” (in the words of UC Berkeley’s Dr. Bob Bea), in their turning away from a city that was betrayed by its country twice—in the faulty construction of a “protective system” and in the refusal to follow the letter of the nation’s own National Response Plan when that system failed, the candidates, Obama included, are paying silent tribute to the three words that more accurately describe America’s contemporary approach to problems: We Moved On.

Don’t you get it, man?

The nation wants change!  Read more 

Via Scholars and Rogues comes this disturbing little blerb that seems almost drugged to calmness in this discussion of what will could happen in the event of an emergency that ’requires’ martial law:

But gun confiscation is exactly what happened during the state of emergency following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, along with forced relocation. U.S. Troops also arrived, something far easier to do now, thanks to last year’s elimination of the 1878 Posse Comitatus act, which had forbid regular U.S. Army troops from policing on American soil.

If martial law were enacted here at home, like depicted in the movie “The Siege”, easing public fears and quelling dissent would be critical. And that’s exactly what the ’Clergy Response Team’ helped accomplish in the wake of Katrina.

Dr. Durell Tuberville serves as chaplain for the Shreveport Fire Department and the Caddo Sheriff’s Office. Tuberville said of the clergy team’s mission, “the primary thing that we say to anybody is, ’let’s cooperate and get this thing over with and then we’ll settle the differences once the crisis is over.’”  Read more 

This is not the argument I’d make, but I find it interesting and want to know your thoughts:

The New Orleans Fetish: The Real Reason New Orleans got no help after Katrina

I like it when people list reasons to save New Orleans:

1.It’s morally the right thing to do
2.It’s the government’s obligation to protect it’s cities and citizens
3.Because New Orleans is so special

The third reason, perhaps the most compelling argument to some, is actually what is hurting the systemic relief effort the most.  Read more 

Posted whole because it’s so good:

I took a jog around presidential candidate websites to see how they were responding publicly to the public’s dismay/astonishment over what happened 2 years ago and what hasn’t happened (in terms of Gulf Coast relief and recovery) since. (the photo of Bush and McCain holding cake above was taken not long after the levees breached in New Orleans and people were drowning).

The re-building of New Orleans and the Gulf region could have been a boon to the U.S. economy with one of the biggest public works projects in American history. New homes could have been built and bought at a time when the real estate industry needs help. New Orleans could have been a shining example of American industy, ingenuity and science as a sparkling clean, safe and energy-efficient metropolis rose from Katrina’s ashes.

That hasn’t happened. Yet. Instead, President Bush proposes $200 billion for Iraq spending while local police are running low on ammunition to protect folks here at home.  Read more 

Chertoff better not eat in any black-owned restaurants in NOLA. Really, the arrogance of these people is stunning at times. It wouldn’t surprise me if some overworked, low-level FEMA employee just shot him, the next time he got out of a taxpayer funded hookermobile car.

And we’ve got to do a much better job, frankly, of how we manage the process of recovery. We still have tens of thousands of people who suffer the lingering effects of Katrina. And as the city of New Orleans and as the state of Mississippi and the state of Louisiana try to recover and rebuild in what is a mammoth task, we have to make sure that FEMA does not become so enmeshed in its own bureaucratic processes sometimes that they lose sight of the need to have simple common sense and humanity in dealing with the public. So we’re going to have to continue to crack down and make sure we get this job done.

As Scout points out:

Can someone please give Chertoff an organization chart for DHS so we can remind Michael that FEMA is that little box below YOU. Perhaps you should crack down on yourself Mr. Secretary.  Read more