WHAT DOES THE 'F' STAND FOR?

The Sheep Will Never Be Anything But Sheep

What does the 'F' in the acronym, F.E.M.A, represent? What does the 'E' and the 'M' represent? Who is responsible for the 'Federal' government? Who is Mike Brown, the head of FEMA? Is he really just a 'political hack' and former 'college roommate of Joe Albaugh', who was Dubya's first Director of FEMA (after being his campaign manager)before leaving to take a job as a lobbyist for Halliburton? Which former president knew the importance of FEMA and made it a cabinet level position? Which president buried FEMA under his new massive Homeland Security Department? Why are American taxpayers paying billions for Homeland Security and FEMA if it's 'not their responsibility'? At what point do all you sheep realize you've drank too much kool aid?



Administration Tries to Shift Blame for Its Own Incompetence

September 6, 2005

True to form, the president’s hatchet man, Karl Rove, began executing a public relations effort over the weekend to shift blame for the administration’s failures in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina onto hard-pressed state and local officials in New Orleans and Louisiana. Although the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had been granted full authority to coordinate relief efforts and assistance prior to the disastrous hurricane, administration officials failed to effectively use their authority to provide swift and comprehensive relief efforts when it mattered most.

• The Bush administration took full responsibility for coordinating the rescue and relief efforts days before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. The White House effort to shift the blame for the response to Katrina contradicts their public statements before the storm hit. An August 27 declaration on the White House website "authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts" The order specifies that "FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency." Jane Bullock, former FEMA chief of staff, said "The moment the president declared a federal disaster, it became a federal responsibility…The federal government took ownership over the response."

• Despite this clear authority, administration officials failed to properly execute their duties to protect and assist citizens in New Orleans and other areas. As levees broke, flood waters rose, and thousands of people became stranded in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, Bush administration officials were bickering about lines of authority and bureaucratic red tape. Although there were clear ways to get people out of New Orleans and provide medical and relief support for those left behind, DHS and FEMA failed in their basic duty to aid and assist victims of the hurricane.

• In a further slap to the face, President Bush and Karl Rove are trying to shift the blame for their own incompetence and negligence during this crisis. Bush and Rove are trying to claim now that state officials in Louisiana were "slow to call for outside help." The reality is that Louisiana state officials reached out to the federal government for assistance before the storm hit but got little in return. On August 27, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco sent a detailed letter to President Bush requesting assistance because "this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster."

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp?c=klLWJcP7H&b=700005