Agency's Disarray On Display (DHS missing boats & PCs)

[NorthernSun]

WASHINGTON -- At 7:52 a.m. Wednesday, about two hours before Department of Homeland Security officials were due to be grilled about why employees bought beer-brewing kits, plasma TVs, and other questionable items, the Senate committee chairman's office got an e-mail.

The 12 missing flat-bottom boats the department and congressional investigators could not find had suddenly turned up, it said.

So had 74 of the 107 laptop computers logged as missing.

http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/hc-katrina0720.artjul20,0,4713148.story?coll=hc-headlines-nationworld

More lies

[ixion]

1. isn't it great that they use our tax dollars for their private shopping

spree?

Isn't that just precious?

:sarcasm:

[The Deacon]

2. You Know

I worked with FEMA many times in the pre-DHS days (I used to be a disaster director for a response organization) and found them (the workers, at least) to be caring, creative & hard-working. Something happened after the 2004 hurricane season (Bonnie, Charley & Ivan) so that the whole thing went to Hell in a Handbasket during the 2005 season.
I think the real Genesis of the failures of Katrina can be found in 2004 - so many of us worked so hard for so many hours - and then found our efforts to be unappreciated by our bosses. Half of my colleagues, both in my own organization & in FEMA, etc didn't return for 2005. Those of us who did have since left - some voluntarily, some forced out.
Disaster response has become the province of the politically motivated - and will remain so until the American public demands that the professionals be put back in charge.