Originally posted by BP:
hold on, since when did the mayor of NO run FEMA and NOAA? those are the people responsible for disseminating information related to evacuation orders and planning for natural disasters.



NOAA is a government-sponsored weather agency; they can issue all the warnings under the bloody sun but they have NO authority to enforce anything. I dare you to tell me that they weren't warning the Southern states that they were in for a Hell of a ride long before Katrina made landfall...

FEMA can issue warnings, evacuations and mandate removals, but again, their ability of enforcement revolves almost EXCLUSIVELY around local responders; there is no "FEMA-police" going door-to-door telling people to get the hell out of the way. It's local police who are in turn directed by the LOCAL authorities, who are in turn often directed by state leaders, who are in turn ADVISED by Federal agencies...

Jesus, didn't ANY of you guys study government or have any inkling on how state, local and federal powers are seperated???

A profound LACK of state and local preparations is NOT the fault of FEMA, nor is it a "first-responder"; FEMA is a mop-up group and HAS ALWAYS BEEN.

Initial preparations are the UTTER AND SOLE responsiblity of state and local authorities. Period and end of story. When someone breaks into my home, I don't call Donald Rumsfeld and ask that he dispatch the 82nd Airborne; I call 911 and let LOCAL responders mop up what is left of the perp if I'm lucky; if not, they are moping me up.

Originally posted by BP:
the point of this thread is to bash the mayor for supposedly going against FEMA when a hurricane threat is near. that's not case based on the information i've seen.

Nope; my point in this thread is to show that Nagin is an idiot. He's asking people to come back home to a place that has marginal social services established and was risking this happening again as the levees are STILL damaged and in a weakened state. Past that, he has the gall to piss and moan about the Feds finally taking the initiative and stopping the re-population of N.O. due to the salient risks associated with it and play "jurisdiction" games when he was nearly soiling himself not two weeks ago BEGGING for the Feds to come in and take over for him.

Nagin was pissed because FEMAs new director, Thad Allen, in Nagin's own words, "stepped outside his lane by talking directly to the citizens of New Orleans".

Well, doesn't someone have to when you have a reputation for not just dropping the ball, but ENTIRELY ignoring it's existance?


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