A Disastrous Idea-Rummy in charge of Disaster Relief...

[kpete]

A Disastrous Idea
by TChris

Donald Rumsfeld is an expert at disaster creation. Why would the president want to put him in charge of disaster relief?

A White House assessment of the sluggish federal reaction to Hurricane Katrina concludes the Pentagon should oversee future catastrophe responses but does not recommend that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff be fired, officials said Wednesday. ... he document - which a congressional aide said approaches 200 pages - proposes sweeping changes to federal response plans. These include making the military the lead agency to coordinate immediate relief when state and local resources are overwhelmed, one official said.

FEMA would continue to handle lesser disasters, thus dividing disaster management into two competing turfs. Can you imagine Rumsfeld and Chertoff arguing with each other -- as victims drown -- about which agency should be in charge of the latest hurricane response?

http://talkleft.com/new_archives/014105.html

[tanyev]

1. Oh my goodness. Natural disasters are messy. Things happen.

[Jacobin]

3. Those storms are just a few dead enders. nothing to worry about

"We don't need lots of disaster relief workers. Those who say we do should be fired."

"The hurricanes are to the north, east, west and slightly south of Miami."

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. Oh, Jesus on a stick!!! these people are MORONS

Just put it back the way it was! Cabinet level position. Give them back the power they used to have and put a competent person in charge. It's not freaking rocket science!

Of course, that plan doesn't give them the option of using military and bypassing the posse comitatus law.

[Lindsay]

4. There ya go. It's a swell chance

to declare martial law and let the military control the peasants.

on edit: my customary typo

[PA Democrat]

5. What was it that Rummy said about the looting in Iraq?

"Freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things," and "stuff happens." I wonder how that would fly with the right wing media that was so outraged by the looting in New Orleans?