Hurricane Katrina Comments and Questions 2266

"Enumerated powers" is just one of those things subject to interpretation. If the President declares something a "national emergency" then he becomes the final authority and that essentially overrides the enumerated powers concept.

And in real life, there's always been a censensual hierarchal approach to emergencies: if the local town or city can't handle it, the state steps in; if the state can't handle it, then the Feds come in. For something like the hurricane, everyone immediately gets involved, even if it's only FEMA at the federal end.

But for this thing...WTF! I can't believe what seeing and hearing on TV. All the on-scene reporters are confused and more than a little upset about the response so far. I normally despise anything on Fox News, as does anyone who cares about honest, responsible journalism, but I have to give Shepard Smith credit for dropping the GOP-mouthpiece spiel and becoming a real reporter for once, including pointing out with barely contained anger the chaotic and spotty response by all the authorities involved.

But I have give Miles O'Brien and Soledad O'Brien the most kudos for really putting officials on the spot to explain why there seemed to have been no real plan for both preparing for the storm and for dealing for a totally foreseeable aftermath. That Mississippi governor, Haley Barbour, was really grilled by Miles about the painfully evident lack of preparation, and Barbour came off as a complete buffoon including trying to weasel out of things by saying stuff like it was only a category 1 storm originally and that they only had a few hours to prepare...!!! Miles kept correcting him and I have the feeling they won't be an exchange of Christmas cards this year between them.

I'm actually wondering if we should ask the Brits and even the French to come in - they have lot more experience at this type of relief and rescue stuff, and our guys are just not doing it.

Of course anything is too late now for all the people that could have been saved Tuesday before the levee flood got bad. As I said somewhere before, that general area has all those military bases and....

What if this was a dirty plant and chemical attack with no warning whatsoever? Are there really any genuine plans in place for any emergency? If they can't handle a hurricane emergency, can you really expect them to do any better in the case of something far more sinister and unexpected?

Whatever. I like a good online debate-flame war as much as anyone, but I'm finding myself really drained this sorry mess. I'm ending my contribution to this thread and I'm just going to just hope for the best for everyone down south around New Orleans and the Mississippi coast. I may have mocked that whole area in the past and may do so in the future, but right now I just want people to pull together and at the least not make things worst.

-BC