God bless the New York Times. They are nothing if not water-carriers for Mr Obama, Demorats and Leftists.
You gotta love that line above: “A Big Storm Requires Big Government:”
Most Americans have never heard of the National Response Coordination Center, but they’re lucky it exists on days of lethal winds and flood tides. The center is the war room of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where officials gather to decide where rescuers should go, where drinking water should be shipped, and how to assist hospitals that have to evacuate.
For the brain-addled amongst you and/or the potential Leftists or ignorant citizens who may occasionally cruise by:
The United States government, FEMA and all its ilk, are NOT FIRST RESPONDERS.
Let me make this abundantly clear for those of you who may just have tuned in: the United States government, FEMA and all its variants, are NOT nor were they EVER DESIGNED to be FIRST RESPONDERS.
The role of the federal government is to coordinate mutual aid, have unaffected states come in for assistance. But this is an after-crisis response that may not — likely won’t be — even be fully realized as the critical incident is occurring.
There are many fewer individuals in federal government service than there are at various local levels, to include your state, regional, city and county emergency responders.
Some blockhead with a blue FEMA coat is NOT going to be wading into floodwaters to remove your dog from your roof.
They will be, however, losing supplies, disallowing trucks full of food and water from other states — assembled by loose-knit organizations of civilians — into emergency areas (because they didn’t do it themselves) and generally slowing down progress. That’s what government does. That’s what a painters union or a carpenters union does. The US government is no different. If it’s not their idea and if they can’t do it, no one else will.
And here’s the newest excellent example, courtesy of the White House:
FEMA, W.H. send storm victims to Internet
Really??
Let’s just bloat up the federal government further, shall we? Sandy is as good an excuse as any!
BZ
The FEMA people are the middlemen who at their computers attempt to get supplies from one place to another.
Never a quick response team.
Oh sure, the managers come out to the disaster area, get their photos taken “pointing” at something.
They are button pushers, not the truck drivers, warehouse loaders, emergency service workers.
All of the administrators sit in chairs and stare at computer consoles, with a cup of coffee in their hand.
I have worked with them when I was “on the job”.
The First responders are the utility and electrical types, that clear the roads, secure the electrical grid is safe to touch and the pump crews and debris trucks and equipment operators, and of course the local police forces who will immediately call for more agencies if needed, and are always needed in this case.
Secure the area is safe to enter, and deal harshly with any looters(arrest and incarcerate).
Shoot to kill anyone who willfully dis-obeys this no looting order.
AKA,,,no rubber bullets.
The clean-up, and repair needed to get this devastated area up and running again will take a solid week or so.
It will be interesting how Harlem and other” like communities” will act.
Lots of slums and housing projects here folks.
There will be big shortages of food, supplies of all types, and cash money!
The drug peddlers and mafioso’s,,, don’t take credit cards.
This will be a show, so get your popcorn ready.
Hey, on the Left Coast, for once it doesn’t affect me, so I’m ready for the Big Show!
Ta-daaaa! Take it away — literally — Big Government!
BZ
Yep, I ‘really’ believe that s**t… sigh… and FEMA is NOT capable of responding in less than 72 hours. Need to just hire Walmart… sigh
NFO, have you seen the photograph of the huge lot of flooded taxis in New Jersey?
Remind you of something? Buses, maybe?
Hello?
Does anyone learn anything??
BZ
“This will be a show, so get your popcorn ready.”
F### the popcorn, I have my 30 aught 6 ready!
FEMA needs to butt out of the “management” part. They should be only a clearing house of information on where and how to obtain necessary resources and provide the Federal money to help with the process, and I am not so sure that federal funds should be a part of their purview. If the feds left the money in OUR (taxpayers) pockets, we could cover the costs at the state and local levels.
Oh no, Joe, that just won’t do. The Big Government has to run the Big Show, don’t’cha know?!
BZ
But I heard that FEMA was in charge. Of course, Obama now to the rescue doing what he only knows what to do. Promise to hand out gobs of money to everyone, while portraying Romney as an uncaring tightwad. Our October surprise.
How right you are. I believe even Romney was out there helping out faster than FEMA.
God bless our first responders, if it wasn’t for them, who knows how many more people would have died.
So far it appears the tally is over 30, with over a MILLION people lacking electricity!
BZ
So glad I’m not on FEMA’s to do list. Here in the west we can see Big Government at work as the US Forest Service allows small fires to become giant ones.
http://photos.denverpost.com/2012/06/11/photos-coal-seam-fire-in-glenwood-springs-2002/37454/
A local contractor offered the use of his five bulldozers and operators when this one started. Told the USFS official, “We can have this out in an hour”. “Sir”, was the reply, “Let the professionals handle it”.
FEMA. Katrina was their shinning hour.
The USFS and BLM were offered THIS PLANE to fight federal fires this year and last. Response: NO.
Yeah, because that 747 is just TOO SMALL to fight wildfires.
Your WISE federal government at work. Only THEY know how to better screw over the taxpayer.
BZ