OMG. A group in Florida wanted to volunteer to bring in 500 air boats

[Pirate Smile]

to help in the rescue efforts.

FEMA "emphatically" refused. They said they had to CONTRACT OUT for that and couldn't use volunteers.

Republican Rep. Mark Foley just said that on MSNBC.

UN.F#$KING.BELIEVABLE!

edit to add - After this segment, they had on one of their military experts that MSNBC has on all the time.

He said (paraphrasing)- This is a question of leadership. If the regulations in the beaurocracy required things that were untenable in the crisis, then a leader sees it and does what you need to to make it possible. Lincoln suspended Habeas Corpus during the Civil War, if there was a question about posse comitatus or something like that, a leader would be able to determine when the rules or laws are more harmful to the people, the reasons why the law is in place doesn't fit and a leader will suspend it or do what they have to do. This was a failure of leadership.

[Cooley Hurd]

1. Kick, recommended - air boats would be PERFECT for the task at hand!

What the FUCKITY FUCK???????????:grr:

[JuniperLea]

2. I guess unless there is money to be made...

they can't accept the help.

Deplorable.

Disgusting.

IMPEACH THE CRIMINAL NOW!

[liberaliraqvet26]

3. WOW....

that is something else. This MUST be investigated.

[AnnieBW]

4. Does Halliburton Own Airboats?

n/t

[shadowknows69]

8. this has to be impeachable offenses for the lot of them

somebody please just lie to me and say it is.

[JohnyCanuck]

16. If they didn't before, and if there is a buck to be

be made leasing them to the Fed gov't for a million bucks a pop, I am sure they'll manage to scrounge some up pretty soon.

[Career Prole]

5. Maybe they should have gone anyway.

Difficult as it is to make this administration look even more inept than they already have, that would have done it. :grr:

[MO_Dem]

11. I haven't heard it reported, but I think

the Feds must have prevented volunteers from getting into New Orleans. I just know that a lot of good people would have been in there. I firmly believe they were not allowed.

[Why Syzygy]

13. You would be correct

They won't let the RED CROSS IN!

The *plan* so far, disable FEMA and then allow them to turn away all disaster relief.

What might happen in another terrasit attack happens? Bullshit. That's what.

[havocmom]

20. FEMA/WH setting up to force decent people to ignore orders so they can

declare martial law? Martial law is the ONLY thing that will save the Junta now. It is the ONLY way they will all avoid court & prison. They have to manufacture enough 'lawlessness' to justify it.

Senator? Congressmen? You all seen enough yet. Surely there are some human beings in Congress? Rein in the junta before America dissolves into the civil war BUSHCO wants. It has already been thourghly demonstrated that BUSHCO has been waging war on the American people. They will keep pushing until the people finally push back, as is our right. Then they will use maximum force. They do not want most of us alive anyway. Been looking for justification to make us all destitute and/or dead.

Where's Cheney, the Director of National Preparedness? He sure as hell isn't looking out for Americans!

[Why Syzygy]

41. what more is there to say .... nt

[Career Prole]

29. That's criminal stupidity!

I hope the repukes are happy with the price they're paying for their "honest, straight-talkin'" president.
:grr: :grr: :grr:

[LibertyLou]

15. Yes, I am suprised a revolt didn't occur where some people

refused orders and tried to delivery supplies anyway, or hundreds of private helicopters and planes in the US dropped supplies to rooftops where needed, or even coming up the Mississip from the gulf in private boats. Damn their criminal negligence. This goes way beyond incompetence. This is on purpose. The 'safety' issue was a red herring, to explain away their refusal to help. Refusing official help from Chicago, from Florida, from Arizona, the list keeps growing. They wanted a great American city , The City of New Orleans, to die.

The WH is desperate for the images of death and destruction to not come out. Like New Orleans, the admin may be 'sunk' politically.

[Career Prole]

30. I certainly hope this sinks the shrub.

And welcome to DU! :hi:

[Pirate Smile]

22. I heard a man from Georgia drove to NO with multiple air boats and gas.

They wouldn't let him help. I believe they said his boats were taken and locked in a garage at the airport or somewhere.

This was reported days ago on MSNBC or CNN. I just heard it once.

This is just soooo insane! I just don't get it!!!

[Career Prole]

31. I starting to think half of us should go to New Orleans with water...

...and the other half should go to DC with baseball bats.
:grr:

[Pirate Smile]

33. Now there is a post for the day.

[htuttle]

6. They'll try to make money off of anything

They'll keep trying to privatize the relief and reconstruction efforts so they can give lucrative contracts to their crony friends.

This is the sort of behavior that only the worst despots engage in.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

7. Unfuckingbelievable! More and more outrages coming out! nt

[fishwax]

9. Here's a link

Unbelievable. Someone should be held criminally liable for this. :grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr:

on edit:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-caneboats0205sep02,0,5932477.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

So pissed off I forgot to include the link.

[Spazito]

10. BINGO!!!

The real reason there was no immediate response! The private contractors had to gear up so they could loot more of American taxpayers money and so more of bush's buddies could get even richer.

I am beyond words!

Recommended! This needs major attention, imo.

[bloom]

12. Just like Flotilla that was turned back

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4588797


This explains a lot.

[SammyWinstonJack]

14. Just wait until the dust settles from this!

Bush is gonna pay for his blatant incompetence! Another DUer just posted that James Lee Witt is being brought in! :woohoo:

[havocmom]

17. FEMA top management doing all it can to assure maximum death count

Keep trackin/documenting refusals to let aid/rescuers in America. They are gonna answer to this.

[xultar]

18. As these stories come out. Shit is gonna hit.

[DoYouEverWonder]

19. FEMA is so full of shit

People do this sort of thing all the time in hurricanes. I went through 3 last year and never saw FEMA or the National Guard anywhere. I we didn't all just help each other, nothing would have gotten done. This is total bullshit.

[wli]

21. They have to hang for this. This is genocide. n/t

[Gregorian]

23. We need to start America over.

What's that word? Rev....revo.....something. Can't say it without getting in trouble.


It's over. Done. Forked.

When common sense can't work because of ________, then you know it's not a functioning country anymore. Fill in the blank with litigation, or racism, or money, or "a war president".

Someone probably decided that a disorganized group of people in boats, floating around New Orleans, just wouldn't be smart. So doing nothing would be the logical conclusion.

I really can't help but think this would never happen in Kinney Bunk Port, or whatever the fuck you call that place.

Heads are going to roll. From the top down, this time. Too bad the damage is already done.

[MO_Dem]

25. Yes, and just think..the U S is

trying to tell Iraq how to organize a government!

[truedelphi]

24. If It Can Be Contracted out the PROFIT$$$$ Will Be Enormous

We are now faced here at home with exactly what has happened
in Iraq.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll excerpted parts of "Riverbend's" blog written by an Iraqi woman in Baghdad.

She was commenting oh way back in summer of 2003, thatthe populace in Iraq knew what the cost of re-building was, since we had already damaged their infra-structure before and despite sanctions and everything else, the Iraqis renbuilt.

The cost in 2003-4 of re-building a Baghdad bridge that had been rebuilt in 1994 for $ 30,000 -- THIRTY MILLION DOLLARS!

This will now be happening here.

And those who die while lawyers spell out Hallibruton's contractual agreements, well, who cares?

[izzybeans]

26. This is precisely where privatization gets you. Locked into someone

else's web. If the right had complaints about government bureaucracy before, as if their own companies were not in fact bureaucracies, full of bureaucrats asking for paper work first, action second, they need look no further to see the "efficiency" of privatized, contracted, governmental functions (or in other words: the intellectually impoverished oxymoronic shortsightedness e.g. privatizing a public utility, agency, organization, etc.-you just can't make private something that is inherently public by nature.)

Thanks for the good times. I think its time to abandon the false promise of privatization once and for all. You rich folk have had your fun. We the people want our land, air, and water back in the hands of the only organization we can hold within the confines of our own power. Our government. Publicize Halliburton! And do it NOW! WE THE PEOPLE HAVE NO BOTTOM LINE OTHER THAN OUR OWN WELFARE! FUCKERS.

[Strelnikov_]

27. You Forget The 'Tine'. You Improvise. You Execute.

This lives up to what I have always suspected the result of 'privatized' America would be.

[izzybeans]

28. There is no improv when you are contracting

Yep privatized America stifles a whole lot. In this case, it turned out to be thousands of people. In most cases, its just mundane ingenuity. The only thing it doesn't stifle is transaction costs.

[Spazito]

32. Kick for the added info

*

[Spazito]

34. Here is independent corroberation of this, from another thread

"When the storm hit and everyone knew the worst had happened, I contacted the Red Cross, (someone there hung up on me) and then FEMA where someone told me it was all up to the DOD -- and I wondered why the Pentagon was in charge of FEMA? I was also told that FEMA was being privatized and a number of the experienced staff trained in hurricane relief had been told they had to resign from FEMA and then be rehired by the private company."

much more on this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4610127

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

35. Wars and disasters are simply business opportunites

Neocons like to disassemble governmental functions , "privatize" them if you will, and then selll the services back at hughely inflated prices. Because, we all know that government is bad and the private sector is so much better. I asked in an earlier thread why according to a WP story today, FEMA "rented" 2000 buses when there were obviously thousands of available, closer buses from cities, towns and churches tripping over themselves to offer help in transporting. Profit is much more imporatnt than life.

They are also trying to privatize the prison systems. Soon municipalites will contract to private policing companies. (Everyone needs to rewatch Robocop.) Soon they will try to privatize water as well as oil. This disaster is just shining a big light on this. And hey, haven't we done spectacularly with our privatized health-care?

We need to get the Neo-Cons out before they kill all of us, we need to get either real Democrats or a new party back in and we all have to realize that there are some functions of a nation that should be the responsibility of government rather than corporations. Al Gore gave a GREAT speech about this once. He should put it on CD and make it available to everyone.

[Imagevision]

36. They said they had to CONTRACT OUT? - unfuckingreal!!!

Only from a Bush administration could you expect such actions while people die!!!

How the fuck is it this incompetant loser disguised as the president remains in office?!!!

http://downingstreetmemo.com/

[wryter2000]

37. Foley?

Is he any good? Will he raise a stink? We're going to need Republicans to help us get to the bottom of this pile of excrement. I swear to God, if Hastert blocks investigations, my head will explode!

[Pirate Smile]

38. This explains a lot - if you missed this link - check it out. They

must not only be out of office but in jail after this:

"My husband used to work in disaster preparedness/relief ...

He doesn't post here, but he wrote this - he's been on the phone day and night for the past five days trying to get someone to OK the offered assistance. Everyone knows this is a first-class fuck up, but here's another perspective.


*************

Over the years I have worked in and out of government to solve communications and technical problems, save lives and help where possible. I was managing director of a Russian-American telephone company providing rapid communications in the former Soviet Union and have helped with disaster communications projects around the world.

This is the first time I have ever encountered this unbelievable kind of absolutely uncaring, Washington/political two-step. When the storm approached the Gulf coast I called offering simple suggestions to government types (since this was obviously from all reports going to be a terrible storm) of how to bring communications systems up as soon as the storm passed. I recommended bringing in Blimps with portable cell transceivers and VHF, UHF and other types of broadcast equipment and also equipment to aid in the search and rescue effort. No one was interested.

When the storm hit and everyone knew the worst had happened, I contacted the Red Cross, (someone there hung up on me) and then FEMA where someone told me it was all up to the DOD -- and I wondered why the Pentagon was in charge of FEMA? I was also told that FEMA was being privatized and a number of the experienced staff trained in hurricane relief had been told they had to resign from FEMA and then be rehired by the private company.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4610127

You have to go read the entire post.

[applegrove]

39. I saw one in NO. It was zooming everywhere. Plus - they can just

roll over debris.

[me b zola]

40. .

:grr: :cry: :grr: :cry: