FEMA gets it's groove back

That accumulated experience stands in marked contrast to the background of Michael Brown, a former official at the International Arabian Horse Assn. who headed FEMA in Katrina's aftermath. "When you put a professional emergency manager" in the top FEMA spot, "it's a quantum level of performance than when you have a political" appointment, says James Carafano, a director at the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation in Washington.

Fugate has what he describes as a "Waffle House" theory of emergency management to assess how bad a situation is after a disaster. "If the Waffle House is open and serving food and has got a full menu, then it's green," he said during an interview inside a FEMA mobile home parked outside a fire station in Joplin. "If the Waffle House is open but has a limited menu, it's yellow, and if the Waffle House isn't open, that's red." (Joplin's local Waffle House survived.) 

Exactly right.

Another way, I would like to point out, is that they aren't showing that there are, in fact, looters in Joplin, but that is another issue entirely.

Exactly right.

Another way, I would like to point out, is that they aren't showing that there are, in fact, looters in Joplin, but that is another issue entirely.


Fortunately Joplin did not have a Superdome to trash...  ;)

I hate to compare the two natural disasters, but Hurricane Katrina caused far greater damage and far more loss of life than the Joplin tornado. 

The Republicans are now saying the government shouldn't just write a check for natural disaster areas without cutting spending somewhere else in the budget.  Yeah, real tactful.  Just suppose I'm looking at the heap of rubble that used to be my house and some butthead politician is waving his finger saying, "No freebie for you, buddy!"  Oh, like I had anything to say about where the whirlwind strikes!  I blame all the hot air blowing out of Washington for the tornadoes! 

http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/10/uhoh3.gif

The Republicans are now saying the government shouldn't just write a check for natural disaster areas without cutting spending somewhere else in the budget.  Yeah, real tactful.   http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/10/uhoh3.gif


It is not about tact, it is about controlling spending.  If you're gonna spend money on an unplanned event like disaster relief, then the belt has to be tightened somewhere else.

Just like a family that has to cut back on some extras for a while if the family car needs some major repairs...

It is not about tact, it is about controlling spending.  If you're gonna spend money on an unplanned event like disaster relief, then the belt has to be tightened somewhere else.

Just like a family that has to cut back on some extras for a while if the family car needs some major repairs...


All right, then, let's bring some of our boys home from Iraq and Afghanistan.  It's like wicked expensive to keep them hanging around over there and whatnot!
::)

It is not about tact, it is about controlling spending.  If you're gonna spend money on an unplanned event like disaster relief, then the belt has to be tightened somewhere else.

Just like a family that has to cut back on some extras for a while if the family car needs some major repairs...


Budget tightening is an exercise that should be carried out long after the families have had their needs taken care of.  If the Republicans hadn't fought so hard to keep those oil company subsidies, we'd have had plenty of money for this. Or the tax cuts for the rich.  Or.. well, the list is pretty big of their give-aways...