Asleep at the wheel

“I do have a question for conservatives.

Let's say that an able-bodied person endures some type of tragedy. It might be the death of a spouse or child. It might be a fire at the place of employment.

What should the government's role in that situation be? Should any assistance be given?

And what would be the perfect conservative scenario for something like New Orleans? And should the government response be any different for a mass tragedy rather than a personal tragedy? And if so, why?”

“RL - Here is the truthful answer:

The government's role should be to dole out contracts to companies that helped get them in office, so the comapnies can make a profit off of the disaster. No immediate government assistance should be given, because, currently, there are no private organizations that can deal with this on a massive scale and make money. Inthe case of assistance, we should rely on churches, and rich people who may choose to dole out money if they see fit. Of course, this should end once somebody can make a profit from it.

The perfect constructive scenerio for NO? Well, that's easy! Half of the problem may already be solved. We got rid of alot of poverty level folks, which should tip the balance of voters in the state (we were worried in the last election, it was close). At this point, we need to build NO better, and hopefully raise the insurance rates on home ownership for even the most modest homes to offset the cost for the multi-million dollar homes. This way, we'll keep all those poor people out of NO, and move them to more conservative states, where they won't be such a political threat.

The government's repsonse for personal and mass tragedies should be the same: Every man for himself, and we should only step in if we can use tax dollars to help out our political contributors. Further, we strongly believe in the individual, not the community (unless we are speaking to religious folks, and even then, we don't really mean it). Therefore, if the individual has the resources to bounce back from the tragedy, great! If not, maybe we'll help you out, but only if we can somehow profit from it, or look good publicly doing it.

I hope this answers your question!”

“I do have a question for conservatives.

Let's say that an able-bodied person endures some type of tragedy. It might be the death of a spouse or child. It might be a fire at the place of employment.

What should the government's role in that situation be? Should any assistance be given?

And what would be the perfect conservative scenario for something like New Orleans? And should the government response be any different for a mass tragedy rather than a personal tragedy? And if so, why?”
reformed lurker
7:00:24 PM
9/05/05

In the scenario you listed I would not expect the government to do anything unless some type of crime were involved.”

“"In the scenario you listed I would not expect the government to do anything unless some type of crime were involved.”

What and let a great chance to throw money at a problem? What the hell's wrong with you? [shakes head]”

“Thanks Buddha!!

So what you're sayin' is that schit walks and money talks.”

“Then, should the government be helping the people of New Orleans?”

“I am really getting tired of all the finger pointing. That is all the news is asking people anymore. Do you think they screwed up? Why did this happen or that happen?

Just shut the #&%!$ up! Report on what is happening and what is needed. There will be a time and a place to investigate.

Also, let's not forget the scope of this disaster. I heard on the news this morning that the disaster zone is something like 95 square miles. That is huge! None of us have ever seen destruction like this. It has never happened.”

“This whole blame game against the Feds and this administration has become a political rant for the ignorant. Simply, by law (Stafford Act) the Feds don't have that responsibility. The following are guidelines I ran across at work from a brochure on understanding FEMA and a state's role in disasters.

Most disasters do not reach the magnitude of a presidential declaration. However, when state and local resources are insufficient to respond to and recover from a disaster, a governor has the option to ask the President to declare a major disaster or an emergency. A presidential major disaster declaration sets in motion long-term federal recovery assistance programs, some of which are matched by state programs, to help disaster victims, businesses, and public entities. The state’s cost-share of these programs is no more than 25 percent. A presidential declaration of an emergency provides a secondary emergency response and relatively short-term federal assistance for conducting lifesaving measures. The state’s cost-share of these programs is no more than 10 percent. The state emergency management agency, at the request of the governor, should be able to recommend when a presidential disaster request is warranted. When the governor and other state official responsible for disaster operations believes federal assistance is needed, he or she should contact the FEMA regional director through the state emergency management director to request assistance. The FEMA regional office should then be able to deploy a federal team to assess and assist the state in determining if a request to the President is warranted.

In accordance with the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C § 5121 et seq., only the state governor can initiate a request for a presidential disaster or major disaster declaration. This request is made through the FEMA regional director. The governor bases the request on a finding that the situation is of such severity and magnitude that an effective response is beyond state and local capabilities, and federal assistance is needed.

Before making a request to the President for a disaster declaration, the governor must first activate the state’s emergency plan and ensure all appropriate state and local action has been taken. If the governor is considering asking the President to declare a major disaster or an emergency, state emergency management officials—in cooperation with local officials—must:
❖ survey the affected areas to determine the extent of private and public damage;
❖ conduct joint preliminary damage assessments with FEMA officials;
❖ estimate the types and extent of federal disaster assistance required;
❖ consult with the FEMA regional director on eligibility for federal disaster assistance; and
❖ advise the FEMA regional office if the governor intends to request a declaration by the President.

To complain about all the red tape is justified. But to complain about their response, when it was by the book is ignorance.”

“Now guys come on. You're forgetting the American's first and most important right. Free speech? No. the right to sit in the dark and bltch about the lights.”

“Trailhound's claims are soundly, posted on another thread as well have been soundly refuted by the following (posted on the same thread):

http://gov.louisiana.gov/Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp[i][i]

Right now is really the time to do the best we can to fix the immediate disaster. The time for looking at how this could have happened and where the ball got dropped (all the way from the lone individuals in the affected states to the president and the federal laws and regulations) will come later. However, in a castrophe like this, anger is only natural and bashing people for getting angry makes as little sense as finger pointing. And, anger that is focused on demanding action may be part of what is pushing people government to get more active and organized. It's sad to see how much energy is spent on blame shifting.”

“I actually think that the "blame game" has saved lives. There are now 60,000 troops in the hurricane zone. That's at least 45,000 more than before the #&%!$ing started.

Bush watched his poll numbers on Katrina drop from the mid-50s to the upper 30s in just a couple of days - because of the sniping - and got off his ass. I wouldn't be surprised if hundreds of people are alive because of this.

Silence=Death

(My apologies to ACT UP.)”

“You can always count on Prick Santorum....

When asked about the Hurricane Katrina disaster this weekend on Pittsburgh's ABC affiliate WTAE-TV, Rick Santorum said, "...you have people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings. There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving."”