"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Riptide of the Brownshirts
Power Grab in New Orleans

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

The New Orleans catastrophe is inexplicable.

FEMA's slow response is a mystery.

No it's not. Blanco failed to turn over authority to the Feds, as was
requested the Friday before the storm hit. That left the ball was in her
court, and she dropped it.


Never before has federal funding for work by the US Corps of
Engineers on the New Orleans levees and for the congressionally
authorized Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project
(SELA) been curtailed in the face of dire expert warnings of the
consequence.

Bush sent more funding to NO to sure up the levees than any of his
predecessors.


The Department of Homeland Security and FEMA knew days in
advance that Hurricane Katrina was threatening the Gulf coast of
the US.

Exactly. That's why Bush called Blanco five days in advance and asked her
to issue a mandatory evacuation, and to turn over authority to the Feds.


]
Yet, the normal advance preparations were not
undertaken.

Then maybe you should ask Blanco why.



At the request of the Louisiana governor, President Bush
declared a federal emergency for Louisiana on Saturday August 27
prior to Katrina's arrival in New Orleans on the following
Monday.

Hahaha. Nice spin...but wrong. Bush was in contact with Blanco on
Friday...and it was at his urging that NO was even evacuated.

The declaration specifically authorized FEMA "to
identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and
resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency."

It didn't give him power over local police and the National Guard...which is
exactly what was needed to quell the looting and ensure the safety of the
relief workers.

However, FEMA took no action until 3 days after the hurricane,
delaying the arrival of effective help until 5 days after 80% of
New Orleans was under water.

Compare this inexplicable delay with the rapid response to the
Florida hurricanes last year.

That's what a decent Governor can do for you.


Cynics note that Florida's governor is President Bush's brother,
a Republican being groomed for a run for president, while the
Louisiana governor and New Orleans mayor are expendable
Democrats. However, the New Orleans disaster is too great to be
attributed solely to crass party politics.


Yet the Dems are making every effort to do so.




Paul Craig Roberts has held a number of academic appointments...His
graduate economics education was at the
....the University of California at
Berkeley...


Berkeley, eh? Figures.