At first, I was inclined to give the feds some slack but when I learned they'd 
diverted funds from disaster preparedness to Homeland Security, I was 
incensed.  It's all very well to prepare for invasions, etc., but when the 
richest country in the world can't take care of its own citizens after a 
natural disaster, there's something very wrong.

And the head of FEMA saying it was their own fault, in a way, was quite 
tactless to say the least.  Of course they made the wrong choice, no  one 
disputes that, but to say that in face of such misery and suffering shows an 
arrogance and disregard for the suffering of others that seems all too 
evident in this administration.  It's as if they can't believe we can have 
our own poor people who can't fend for themselves in times like these.

I have broken down in tears several times this week when watching the news.  
This is *America* dammit - I can't believe we could respond more quickly to 
the tsunami victims last year than our own victims.

Kat

On Saturday 03 September 2005 11:21 am, Mike Collis wrote:
> Was FEMA ready for a disaster like Katrina?
> Critics cite shift in priorities following the 9/11 attacks
> By Lisa Myers
> Senior investigative correspondent
> NBC News
> Updated: 6:46 p.m. ET Sept. 2, 2005
>
> WASHINGTON - The terrorist attacks of 2001 changed the priorities and focus
> of federal emergency planners. Former officials say 9/11 diverted attention
> from natural disasters such as Katrina, which had been the  primary focus
> of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
> A government document obtained by NBC News shows just how radically the
> focus shifted to terrorism. It is dated July 2004 and lists 222 upcoming
> FEMA and homeland security exercises scheduled to prepare for national
> emergencies. Only two involve hurricanes.
> "And even in both of those cases, they're dealing with what would happen if
> there were a terrorist attack associated with a hurricane event," says NBC
> News analyst William Arkin.
> What's more, it appears that the federal government did not follow up on an
> exercise last year that mostly predicted what happened in New Orleans —
> devastating flooding and hundreds of thousands stranded.     
> The scenario was dubbed Hurricane Pam: 120 mph winds, a massive storm
> surge, 20 feet of water in the city, 80 percent of buildings damaged,
> refugees on rooftops, possibly gun violence that would slow the rescue.
> "What bothers me the most is all the people who've died unnecessarily,"
> says Ivor Van Heerden, a hurricane researcher from Louisiana State
> University who ran the exercise.
> Van Heerden says the federal government didn't take it seriously.
> "Those FEMA officials wouldn't listen to me," he says. "Those Corps of
> Engineers people giggled in the back of the room when we tried to present
> information."
> One recommendation from the exercise: Tent cities should be prepared for
> the homeless.
> "Their response to me was: 'Americans don't live in tents,' and that was
> about it," recalls Van Heerden.
> However, others say it's unfair to blame the federal government, that no
> amount of planning could have prepared for this.
> "We have trained against similar scenarios, but it's not the same as a
> crisis unfolding before your eyes," says Frank Cilluffo, a former Bush
> administration aide for homeland security.
> Homeland security officials also argue that no one predicted that flooding
> and devastation would encompass not just New Orleans but the entire Gulf
> Coast.