Sep 4, 2005

Random Katrina links

Remember when the media was obsessed with the idea that President Bush never admitted to any mistakes regarding 9/11? Then there was the flap because Bush never mentioned the casualties the US suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the immediate wake of Hurricane Katrina, it was Bush's continued vacation, that got their dander up. Then he cut the vacation short, but the grousing remained.

Ace: "You got the empty gestures. So why are you complaining now?"

Why? Because Bush can never do anything to silence his critics.

Nothing. Nada. Bupkis. Zilch.

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Celine Dion loses her head on Larry King last night while Harry Connick Jr. and Magic Johnson sounded remarkably sane. Geraldo, meanwhile, continues to ramble. Someone evacuate him, please.

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Cindy Sheehan reacts to Hurricane Katrina. Via Protein Wisdom.

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Consider donating to the Kids of Katrina School Supply Drive.

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Author Anne Rice asks "What do people really know about New Orleans?"

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Survival of New Orleans blog (found courtesy of Andrea Harris) has been documenting life in the city since the storm struck.
The government is never equipped to handle a crisis like this. There's too much bureaucracy -- initiative-stifling bureaucracy which prevents swift, effective action. I would like to hear from government employees on this. The nature of that bureaucracy is such that you have very specific guidelines to follow for even the most minute tasks. You need approval for just about everything, and the person you need approval from usually needs approval to give you the approval.

It's not as easy as say rounding up 4 of your co-workers and saying, "We've got someone at such and such an address, let's go grab her and get her out of there." Now add a destroyed or disabled command and control center to that bureaucracy and you've got a total and complete mess.

You (as a civilian) don't need "Approved" stamped on 3 different forms before you can run into your neighbor's house and pull them out. I hope this makes sense.

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