Katrina Response Investigations

What we hear these days coming from federal elected and appointed officials and the media: blah, blah, blah, Katrina, blah, blah, blah, FEMA, blah, blah, blah. Of course, with the change of two words, it's pretty much all we here from those quarters.

I am certain that the 100,000, or so, who were left behind during the evacuation of New Orleans to fend for themselves for 3 or 4 days, and other victims of the shameful FEMA failures, are comforted to know that President Bush will personally investigate the bungled federal response to Katrina. Much as they were, no doubt, comforted by the President's belated visit to the devastation, which he memorialized by noting that he had often partied in the destroyed city. (Incidentally, during the President's photo-op visit, intended to bolster is plummeting approval rating, rescue and aid helicopter flights were grounded and firefighters were imported from as far away as Utah to act as props during the president's visit.)

Republican leaders of congress have also announced a "bi-partisan, bi-cameral" investigation into the federal response.

I guess that just about takes care of the whole matter. Why, who could doubt that the President and Republican congressional leaders will conduct honest investigations?

The results of an honest investigation, which we will never witness, would indicate that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has once again become a dumping ground for patronage appointments of political hacks with no emergency management experience.

Remember, after the pathetic FEMA response to hurricane Andrew, owing to the incompetence of hacks appointed as FEMA managers by Bush I, there were calls for FEMA reform. During the 1990s James Witt, an actual professional manager with emergency management experience, did just that. FEMA gained a reputation as an effective emergency response agency.

President Bush II has returned FEMA to the bad old days.