NYT's Krugman: "All The President's Friends":

[babylonsister]

Thanks, Mr. Krugman; lethally inept indeed!


All the President's Friends

By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: September 12, 2005
The lethally inept response to Hurricane Katrina revealed to everyone that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which earned universal praise during the Clinton years, is a shell of its former self. The hapless Michael Brown - who is no longer overseeing relief efforts but still heads the agency - has become a symbol of cronyism.

But what we really should be asking is whether FEMA's decline and fall is unique, or part of a larger pattern. What other government functions have been crippled by politicization, cronyism and/or the departure of experienced professionals? How many FEMA's are there?

Unfortunately, it's easy to find other agencies suffering from some version of the FEMA syndrome.

more...
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/12/opinion/12krugman.html

[annabanana]

1. People who don't believe in governments.....

should NOT be allowed to run them.
Anyone who thinks this is "just one of those things", should look up the history of the appointment of James Witt under Reagan.

This is the earliest one I remember where the new head was appointed with the express purpose of dismantling the agency he was to head.

Krugman speaks truth..

[enough]

2. Another good one from Krugman.

I was going to post a snip, but it's so terse. Read the whole thing.

[graphixtech]

3. from 911Truth.org - "It’s Not JUST New Orleans..."

It’s Not Just New Orleans That Needs Rebuilding
By Bryan Sacks
(more)
http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20050904221329705

So now, horribly, we know what it takes to stir disgust and outrage directed at the federal government, in the hearts of the corporate press corps. It takes a catastrophe of biblical proportions unfolding right before their eyes, right here in America, right in front of their cameras and camera crews, amid the stench of rotting corpses and a heaving mass of literally thousands of sick and dying.

Katrina’s aftermath has exposed the ‘most powerful country in the world’ as literally powerless to address the most basic needs of the most highly visible suffering people on the planet. This monstrous failure could literally be paradigm-shifting in its effect on the public consciousness.

(excerpt)
While the scope of the tragedy in New Orleans grows, its immediacy will make comparisons to past government-sponsored failures seem inappropriate, and that's understandable. But when enough time has passed, perhaps this colossal failure will enable the public to entertain the similarities between the Administration's failure to respond to Katrina, and its orchestrated failure, represented by the omissions and distortions of the 9/11 Commission Report-- to answer the questions gnawing at victims' family members and millions of other Americans for years now about the true scope of the attacks. The victims of Katrina deserved better, and likely thousands have died because of a cataclysmic failure to respond in time. There should be a full investigation and a complete accounting of the tragedy with consequences for failure and malfeasance. To our great detriment, that is exactly what has thus far been denied all citizens regarding the aftermath of September 11.

(excerpt)
The horror of Katrina's aftermath, even more than 9/11, may prove to be a monumental political turning point. We must work to ensure that, unlike with 9/11, it's a turn for the better. Getting the truth out, both about the scale and disproportionate impact of this tragedy as well as the facts about 9/11 cover-up, has never been more important. The dead and dying in the South, and the dead in New York demand it.


http://www.911truth.org/index.php