Holy shit. Joseph Heller could've have written this...

*****

The heart-rending pictures broadcast from the Gulf Coast drew offers of every possible kind of help. But FEMA found itself accused repeatedly of putting bureaucratic niceties ahead of getting aid to those who desperately needed it.

Hundreds of firefighters, who responded to a nationwide call for help in the disaster, were held by the federal agency in Atlanta for days of training on community relations and sexual harassment before being sent on to the devastated area. The delay, some volunteers complained, meant lives were being lost in New Orleans.

"On the news every night you hear, 'How come everybody forgot us?' " said Joseph Manning, a firefighter from Washington, Pa., told The Dallas Morning News. "We didn't forget. We're stuck in Atlanta drinking beer."

Ms. Rule, the FEMA spokeswoman, said there was no urgency for the firefighters to arrive because they were primarily going to do community relations work, not rescue.

William D. Vines, a former mayor of Fort Smith, Ark., helped deliver food and water to areas hit by the hurricane. But he said FEMA halted two trailer trucks carrying thousands of bottles of water to Camp Beauregard, near Alexandria, La., a staging area for the distribution of supplies.

"FEMA would not let the trucks unload," Mr. Vines said in an interview. "The drivers were stuck for several days on the side of the road about 10 miles from Camp Beauregard. FEMA said we had to have a 'tasker number.' What in the world is a tasker number? I have no idea. It's just paperwork, and it's ridiculous."

Hec, I think you're right.

Edited to add, "Community relations"?? WTF? You don't send in firefighters to do community relations! God. Just when I think I can't get more pissed off. And my doctor wonders why my blood pressure is high.

I think the biggest single cause of fuckup was simply that the Bush Adminstration redirected FEMA after 9/11 so that it was not in charge of an emergency situation, but there to serve local administrators basically doing what they asked.

That, and that the qualifications for FEMA and Homeland jobs seem to place patronage above experience and ability. Look at the current regional directors of FEMA and their qualifications: [link]

Hec, would you provide a link for that, please?

That quote is at the end of the big New York Times review of the mismanagement of the relief efforts.

Yep. That's my question. How could the POTUS know less than the average citizen?

Because the POTUS cares less than the average citizen. Simple enough.

And because "Crime makes you stupid."

Ah, crap. Try this [link]

Monkeys! Arg!

I love you, Erika.

Yep. That's my question. How could the POTUS know less than the average citizen?

Because the POTUS cares less than the average citizen. Simple enough.

And because he doesn't read or watch TV. He doesn't have to - he's always right, and doesn't need to be bothered by those pesky "facts."