Comments

This would be a good opportunity for future leaders to compare the 911 leadership model of Guliani to the Katrina/NO model that is happening now. People want to follow and when there is a lack of leadership, who knows what will happen. It will be interesting to see how this lack of leadership impacts the outcome. There is no question in my mind that the strong leadership of Guliani impacted the outcome from 911.

Posted by Dave Holland at September 2, 2005 9:25 AM

It should come down to performance, and it is unacceptable to-date. 'nough said.

BUT, when you heard they were evacuating the entire City of New Orleans, did you stop for just a moment, like I did, in awe of just what that meant? Evacuate an entire major city? To where?

Now, unlike many disasters that are at least approachable when finally over (i.e. you can land planes, drive trucks, etc.), this one just continued for days. For the many who thought things would start to progress after the storm passed, the silent rising of the water and the levee breaks didn't get the same attention as they weren't as photogenic for TV. This event was a new one.

BUT, the bottom line is "get the people out". Just go get them. No more excuses.

As for those complaining and ranting about the government, sign up to host a family; just one. Do it immediately. Take them into your home for what will probably be 6 months and maybe more. There is nothing for them to return to: no home, no jobs, no schools. They will probably adopt your home town.

So far, life is going on BAU in America. For Americans, what are you doing about our fellow citizens in New Orleans, Mississippi and Alabama? I'm asking myself the same question.

Posted by Jeff at September 2, 2005 9:37 AM

It is worth remembering that the events of 9/11 covered a few square blocks, whereas the area affected by the hurricane is 80,000 square miles. Also, New Yorkers had the wisdom to build their city above sea level. What I'm saying is, the magnitude of the problem, from a recovery standpoint, is maybe 10,000 times greater than 9/11. Which could overwhelm even The Great Giuliani.

That having been said, Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi is the Giuliani of the current crisis. He's not getting as much press, so you might not have seen his press conferences, but he has been calm, forceful, and hopeful. Governor Blanco of Louisiana should be recalled. She has been a total bust, crying, despairing -- making things worse, in other words. She finally seems to have her feet under her, but it tooks several days. Mayor Nagin of New Orleans was excellent BEFORE the hurricane hit, telling people they MUST leave town, and if they could not, they MUST go to the Superdome and bring food and water for three days. If everyone had done what he said, the current problem would be significantly smaller. (Everytime I watched a helicopter pluck someone from a New Orleans housetop, I thought to myself, "Gee, think what could be done if that helicopter could be put to work flying in relief supplies instead of saving that idiot.") And Nagin has been calm and low-key, for the most part, since then -- a problem-solver, but not much of an empathizer.

Posted by D T Nelson at September 2, 2005 11:29 AM

I could not agree more Tom. How can government officials say they do not know what is going on? Don't they get CNN on their TV's? I agree, the clear lack of a single leader with command and control over all resources is sadly lacking.

Everyone is obviously taxed and tired.

Posted by Tom Feeheley at September 2, 2005 11:51 AM

As one N.O. resident said; the local officials have no problem visiting the Hood when they need votes; Where are they now? Perhaps, they will start voting based on experience/skill instead of race in the future.

Posted by Interesting at September 2, 2005 12:06 PM

D.T. Nelson: Please keep in mind, not everyone has the resources to evacuate. Not everyone has a vehicle or enough cash to sustain them though an extended leave. Some people are homebound and can't leave. They might not have loved ones to watch over them. I think it's harsh to call them idiots.

I live in East TX, an hour across the La. border. We've had evacuees streaming in since before the storm hit. Our motels are full. Our churches are filling up. Area restaurants are giving away free or deeply discounted meals to the displaced. There is even a network of animal-lovers trying to relocate pets and livestock. One can't go into a store or restaurant without hearing evacuees telling their stories. It is heartbreaking to say the least.

Posted by Nancy R. at September 2, 2005 12:20 PM

If I'm warned of a major disaster heading my way, I'm going to pile my family and whatever possessions and supplies I can into our car and drive away.

If we don't get out in time, we're going to look to ourselves to survive it. I'll take whatever help the government can provide, but I can't honestly say I'll be expecting much, not in the immediate aftermath. I don't know of any government anywhere that's ever been credited with handling a major disaster well, at least not when it comes to earthquakes, tidal waves or hurricanes on the scale of Katrina.

I'm not going to waste time looking to the central or local government for too much help or blame them for poor planning, slow response and lousy leadership. I'm going to look to myself and the generosity and good will of regular people unaffected by it, even if it means having to walk hundreds of miles to find them. I won't give a damn for what the government wants me to do.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 2, 2005 12:34 PM

Tom's righton!

W lacks vision.
his administration W 2.0 lacks effectiveness and efficacy.

should the US be struck with a WMD or a nuke, you're looking at the federal response.

imagine a cold war nuke volley. Scarey to contemplate.

it's up to each individual to care for him/herself, immediate family. Neighbors and
community if possible.

expecting our government, and especially the current version W 2.0, with the HomeLand Security feature, to effectively and efficiently deal with HomeLand security is likely to be
disappointing and as proving in NO, dangerous.

Posted by kurt at September 2, 2005 12:52 PM

Noel: That's a good plan if you have a car...and can afford gas. The walking idea is good too...if you're able-bodied. So once you're out of the hurricane zone, where would you go? Do you have friends and/or family that would be willing to house you indefinitely? Keeping in mind that you may not be able to access you bank account for quite a while, do you have enough cash? So very many details to consider.

Posted by Nancy R. at September 2, 2005 1:04 PM

Lots of arm-chair quarterbacking being said here. I have to say we are sure quick to critize...helps all those folks in NO and other distressed areas alot. Unless you were there, unless you knew exactly what some of those peoples situations are or were at the time... the less said the better.
Let's just help by what ever means you or I can by donations, prayer or comforting those who are in your area that may have lost family or have not heard from them. Let's keep it real...

Posted by JDesGranges at September 2, 2005 1:20 PM

Nancy, what's the alternative? Sit, wait and complain or rely on yourself? May not be convenient; have to forego your car maybe and your cappucinos with chocalate sprinkles and those $300 hiking boots and your premiere mastercard account - you may even have to carry someone on your back - but there's always be people along the way who'll help out. That's life.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 2, 2005 1:38 PM

I guess I am just distressed at the attitude that everyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Let's face it some can't. Let's help. There is also the attitude of "I'm taking my family and getting the heck out of here." Fine, but maybe give someone less fortunate a lift while you're at it.

Posted by Nancy R. at September 2, 2005 1:46 PM

Nancy R,

My point was, the Mayor of New Orleans told everyone in his city exactly what to do, and thousands didn't do it, and everyone is paying a price because of it.

The Mayor of New Orleans issued a mandatory evacuation order in advance of the hurricane, with the Superdome being available as a refuge of last resort. Mandatory. He told them to bring food and water, because he knew it would be days before supplies could get in. The city of New Orleans was running buses on Sunday to take people to the Superdome. There is no reason for anyone in New Orleans to have been in their house when the hurricane hit. If they didn't leave, they're idiots.

(And if a person was so immobile they could not get on a bus, what the hell were they doing living ten feet below sea level with our largest river on one side and the second-largest salt lake on the other? That's worse than living on the slope of a volcano. If you can't move, you've got no business living there.)

Posted by D T Nelson at September 2, 2005 1:53 PM

D.T.: Your compassion for the infirm overwhelms me. Praying you discover the concept of compassion.

Posted by Nancy R. at September 2, 2005 2:03 PM

D.T.:

Your callous logic is about as stupid as saying that the rape victim was "asking for it."

Nobody, regardless of the reason why they didn't evacuate, deserves this.

Posted by rachel gaddy at September 2, 2005 2:22 PM

Nancy, life is about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and it's also about those of us who are strong enough or able enough helping those who need it.

I've known difficult times, been totally wiped out financially and materially, with children to care for, and have never sat around feeling sorry for myself or blamed people or felt that life owed me good fortune. To the best of my ability, I've, as you'd say, pulled myself up by my bootstraps, accepted help when I had to and helped others when I could. I agree we should help and I also think that people have to help themselves.

This instinct to cast blame is not something I understand. It's not the government's 'fault' there was a hurricane. When they knew it was coming, they did their best to warn people. All things considered, I think the government is doing reasonably well under the circumstances, certainly the mayor of New Orleans is doing an outstanding job for his city. Bad things happen and when they do, we need to look first to ourselves and then to each other to solve the problems rather than expecting Father Christmas to come along and make everything exactly like it was before. As heartless as this may seem, it's just not possible.

The human race has faced countless disasters, some of them man-made. We are a lot stronger than we give ourselves credit for. And those of us who are able can certainly do more than just say how sorry we are that it happened. That goes for the major disasters as much as it does for the little catastrophes that hit people everyday, like a friend of yours being downsized and 3 months later not being able to hold up their family roof, and countless other examples that aren't newsworthy but nevertheless devastate the lives of those involved.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 2, 2005 2:51 PM

What an opportunity for leadership! I'm waiting to see McCain or Frist or Hillary, some other 2008 wanna-be, or even a big CEO walking through the mud comforting the people. So far, nobody has stepped up. A very poor commentary on the state of leadership generally in this country.

Posted by CP at September 2, 2005 2:59 PM

D.T., I think your view is a little extreme. The people who stayed didn't expect the levies to fail. Not everyone can see the future. I probably would have listened to the warning and got the hell out, but I can understand people who've lived in a place their whole lives and have never experienced a catastrophe like this, who are probably like most of us inured to sensational doomsday reports on the evening news, figuring that it's just not going to be as bad as everyone is making out, and staying behind. The hurricane could have turned or lost force. It doesn't make them idiots. Just unlucky that on this occasion, the warnings were not exaggerated.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 2, 2005 3:00 PM

Noel: Of course the gov't isn't to blame for the weather, but they are to blame for their poor response. This was an opportunity for real leadership and I haven't seen any.

Posted by Nancy R. at September 2, 2005 3:06 PM

Nancy, my point is that we need to look to ourselves first, not to Uncle Sam.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 2, 2005 3:12 PM

Nancy, we can blame the government as much as we like. However, as mentioned above, I don't know of any government anywhere that's ever been credited with handling a major disaster well, at least not when it comes to earthquakes, tidal waves or hurricanes on the scale of Katrina. Under the circumstances, I think they're doing reasonably well. Can't say I care much about the quality of the PR.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 2, 2005 3:15 PM

Noel, like you, I would do whatever necessary to survive, regardless of what anyone else, including the government was planning or doing. It comes down to fight or flight, and our natural instincts for survival have not changed much through our evolution. Having lived in Alabama for 4 years, I don't know if I would have left my home, as the region is so familiar with hurricanes and tornados, and NORMALLY, they come and they go. I actually used to enjoy sitting in the innermost closet during tornado warnings, and seeing the trees down the next day after a hurricane, and the effects of the storm. The diners/cafes were always full the next day with a buzz as not too many people went into work "the day after". It brought people together. People would compare personal stories. "I have a 30 foot maple on top of my garage!",etc. It's awe inspiring. But, in this instance, it was treacherous; and people, who, like myself, might have been expecting another really bad storm, are suffering as a result of nature's unpredictability.

I think that the point that I and many others from the US are criticizing is that since 9/11, so much effort was supposedly put into our nation's disaster recovery program. Homeland Security was bolstered; local, regional and national agencies were trained in dealing with unexpected catastrophe; money was spent (our money) in funding research, planning, training exercises, etc. If anything positive came out of 9/11, it was that it shook us from a dangerous melancholy and taught us that we had to be prepared for the unexpected...that we weren't invincible. I, and many others thought that we were preparing since then, and that we should, after 4 years, have a better capability than before to respond in a swift, definitive, organized and well communicated fashion when an unexpected catastrophe occurs today. We haven't.

Frankly, it doesn't seem that there is any protocol or strategy that is being followed. Surely there is an outlined strategy for these types of things? We have a Mayor of a city yelling for help to the press and a Homeland Security chief telling the same press that he's unaware of what's going on at ground zero. Surely, the Mayor and the Homeland Security should be linked somewhere in the strategic communication blueprint in the disaster prep plan??

I find it a bit scary. The fact is, as much as we CAN fend for ourselves, in a complex society like we live in, individual response without leadership can and often will turn into anarchy. And that is exactly what has happened here. People were left to fend for themselves and it got messy quickly.

Like in war college, scenarios like this are played out in homeland security boardrooms regularly (or maybe they're not, but they should be). Worst case scenarios are thought out and responses to them strategized. This is what they do. Unfortunately, like in many businesses, expensive consultant strategies are very often left bound and filed and never get implemented. Unfortunately for the people affected by this disaster, effective response to catastrophe requires implementation.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at September 2, 2005 4:48 PM

Tom O', not everything can be planned for. Major catastrophes can overwhelm even the best laid plans. When something comes along as massive as Katrina and demolishes not just a city or a metropolitan area, but wipes out a 300 mile zone, the chances are that no matter how hard the government tries to evacuate the area or bring relief, people affected by it are going to suffer.

I think there are thousands of government personnel and civilians exhausting themselves as they work around the clock to bring people relief. It's only been a few days since Katrina hit. This urge to blame the government is in my view premature and unreasonable.

Those times you sat through tornado warnings etc. in your closet (and I personally can understand the inclination to do this having been through a couple of blowers in America myself), if your house had been demolished and you had been trapped for days, who would you have held responsible, yourself, the tornado or the government? In escaping from your dilemma, would you have waited for the government to bail you out or would you have looked first to yourself?

Please understand that I am not suggesting that people affected by this disaster should be abandoned to their fate and oh well, bad luck. Obviously they need our help and the government's help, but I think it's important, especially when things go wrong, that we keep things in perspective. All those people who are working tirelessly to help out, we want to keep their spirits up. We can't only be looking at the negative and casting around for who to blame. In my opinion, that is the worst thing we can do. Bring attention to problems, absolutely. Organize relief efforts, of course. Criticize and harp endlessly on the government's PR failings is a waste of time and not important.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 2, 2005 5:18 PM

Wow - what a discussion.

Now is perhaps not the right time to apportion blame - now is the time surely to do practical things to help as well as pray for the victims and their families caught up in this awful event.

I am attracted to JDesGranges comments earlier - a pragmatist like me I think - well said.

I have always said the easiest job to do is someone else’s.

'Cometh the hour cometh the man' is another famous quote - Mayor Giuliani was obviously the right man on the spot at the time on 9/11.

Please accept my heartfelt best wishes from England to all those who have been touched in any way by this.

Posted by Trevor Gay at September 2, 2005 5:43 PM

Thanks Trevor. I live in earthquake country-ALASKA and we don't get warnings. We do what we can to survive, ask what we can do for each other and hope that someone remembers we are part of the good old USA! I guess we figure that the gov't has enough to do with all the finger pointing, could put an eye out! (smile)

Actually I think some of these folks need to take stock of what is important and what God gave each of us (a brain). Instead of looking for leadership elsewhere find it in yourself.

Posted by jdesgranges at September 2, 2005 6:46 PM

My heart really goes out to the people of new orleans. I pray they are kept safe. Where is the mayor in all of this? Didn't he take to the high road to Baton Rouge and start shootin' his mouth off? What kind of leadership is that? What about the city council or assembly? Where are they??? W can't do it all. And while we're at it what about the Governor? This was a local problem that got out of hand and they fled.

Posted by Mike at September 2, 2005 10:11 PM

I think that all anyone wanted/wants to see is a coordinated effort. We understand that nature is all powerful and that no man-made strategy can ensure a successful response to it. But let's demonstrate an effort, led by leaders (local, regional, national). Let's try hard to do everything we can at any given time, in any given circumstances.

When I was in the Air Force, one of our biggest claims to fame was rapid mobility, anywhere, anytime, same day delivery. That is what we need on a national level in our response to catastrophe. Rapid Response. Action. It might only save one more life in conditions like this. But we must believe that one more life is worth it.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at September 3, 2005 5:37 AM

Those people out there trying to help are breaking their necks to save lives and bring relief. I'm sure they would not appreciate your suggestion that they are lounging around taking their own sweet time responding!

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 3, 2005 6:03 AM

Yes Tom, "W" looks more bumbling and out of touch with each passing month and year. As they say, "sh** happens" and the tight and controlling philosophy of the "W" whitehouse does not allow for energetic and spontaneous leadership.

It's sad. America expects more, deserves more of its leaders.

Thanks for saying something.

Posted by BT Hathaway at September 3, 2005 6:35 AM

No Tom, you are wrong on this one. As many people have pointed out, leadership responsibility flows in the following order

1. Personal Responsibility;
2. Local Government Responsibility (Mayor)
3. State Government Responsibility (Governor)
4. Federal Government Responsibility (President)

I find it interesting that you started with #4 with no comments on the bumbling mayor. While Rudy mobilized relief, this mayor is off getting his friends moved to the front of the line and complaining at a safe distance. President Bush is on the ground with the victims while the Mayor is sitting in a press conference. Where is the state governor? No, let’s focus on President Bush and Monday morning quarterback everything. What about the millions of people that have gotten help? What about the people of President Bush’s great state of Texas? What about the people of Georgia that are housing and feeding thousands of folks? Maybe it’s human nature to focus on the negative but I expected more from this community.

Posted by RTodd at September 3, 2005 7:19 AM

What is a WMD?

Posted by Helen at September 3, 2005 7:50 AM

WMD = Weapons of Mass Destruction

Posted by Tom O'Leary at September 3, 2005 8:25 AM

Noel. Nobody is saying that individual efforts aren't being made or that individual contributions aren't substantial in cases. Thank God, there will always be local heros in situations like this. What is lacking is coordinated leadership, communication, and effective implementation of our NATIONAL disaster recovery strategy.

Individuals, the mother who clung to her baby in a tree for 18 hours, the local police sherrif who is doing everything possible for the people knocking at his door, are doing everything in their power to survive and help others to. Unfortunately, this 'disaster' requires national support which was absent until recently and shabby even at present.

RTodd, in catastrophe, the chain of command is quickly climbed to the top. The local Mayor doesn't have electricity or phone coverage or water either for himself or the people of his city. Beaurocracy must be bypassed quickly in this instance and the national disaster recovery plan implemented from the top posthaste. It became a national concern from day one (with the potential forecast for devastation before day 1). There was never a question of whether the American people in New Orleans needed support from all of our national resources. What the hell can the Mayor do in New Orleans in a situation like this except yell to the top, "SOS", "Send help NOW". There is no ground for him to stand on there, and he had to go somewhere where his message for help could be heard.

The president's PR ground footage does little to help or impress.

Listen, there is absolutely no denying that our national response to this was/is pathetic, and accountability goes right to the top and more importantly to the lack of an effective disaster recovery plan that we've been supposedly improving since 9/11. I know that in Europe, people are shocked at the lack of response by GW and the agencies appointed to manage disaster in the US.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at September 3, 2005 8:46 AM

Municipal area / county responsiveness is KEY - Giuilani was / is a strong, smart leader, whereas the mayor of New Orleans [naggin' Nagin] is a low energy / low IQ idiot.

Posted by Sean at September 3, 2005 9:16 AM

Noel, Wow what an inspiration! What yo've been saying is right on the money. When all seems lost all we have is each other. It is important to keep the human compassion in the fore-front until every last person is safe and accounted for. THEN we can determine what happened and went wrong. 9/11, the war on terror, and the natural disasters over the last several years have opened the 21st century to an entirely new experience unlike anything before. Indeed, the internet, which allowed 19 terrorists with boxcutters to do what they did is allowing us to communicate, vent, and support people we have never met and probably never will meet. But we can share our support and frustration in the hopes that when another catasrophe occurs MAYBE it won't be so bad. Thanks Noel for being there and keep the sanity, and compassion out front.

Posted by Mike Mann at September 3, 2005 9:22 AM

Ronnie from New Orleans, a man who lived through it and lost everything said it best:

"Just what do you think anybody could have done. It was obvious to me ever since 7am that morning when we opened the door to the 4 ft of water outside that our survival was 100% up to us. There was nothing that anyone could do for us ... You can’t bring in helicopters with power and cable lines flapping everywhere. Big boats can’t get through the narrow channels and dodge the tops of the cars and trucks under the water ... It was miserable, lousy, and frightening. No sewerage, no cleanliness; diptheria city ... Put these same conditions in a crowded city center where you concentrated the misery by gathering people together centrally and you get what you see on TV. There are no answers to this problem that are easy. The pictures on TV are brutal. Try it in person. But scoring cheap political points by saying that ANY amount of preparation would have prevented this is asinine. There are just too many people and too much water and destruction for troops, or helicopters, or anything humanly possible to change it."

Ronnie, if you're out there reading this, I'm sorry if some of us here appear too accustomed to everything coming down to an abstract thought and are daring to use a major disaster for pointless political pontificating.

If you're reading this, maybe you could tell us if there is anything you, your family and your friends and neighbors need that we could help you with right now. Maybe we could set up a Fund or maybe there are things we could send that would be useful, like maybe you're inundated with tins of beans and blankets, but could really use kitchen utensils or a new pair of boots and some bourbon. Let us know if you can.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 3, 2005 11:51 AM

I agree that neither blame nor excuses will help in any practical sense in the midst of this tragedy. We must, however, as a community that wants the best for our children and grandchildren, transparently and objectively assess our local, regional and national response after we have done everything necessary for those remaining in the Gulf States who require assistance.

We will certainly need to re-examine our National Disaster Preparedness Strategy in the wake of this horrendous, historical catastrophe and see how we can make our strategy more implementable and responsive in the future. There were severe deficiencies in communications, logistics, security, and operational chain-of-command on every level and we should not be afraid to learn from our weaknesses in order to improve our future reactions to catastrophic events.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at September 3, 2005 1:55 PM

Okay, Tom O', at the appropriate time we can lynch the SOB's 'responsible' and rewrite the master plan for preparedness.

Meantime. let's think about ways we can help those who need it.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 3, 2005 2:30 PM

Sure, Tom, maybe there was a lack of leadership. But this situation in no way compares to 9/11 in size, scope, or severity, or lasting impact. Frankly, given the vast area of damage it is a miracle that so many got out. Having escaped a tornado, wildifre and several earthquakes I've learned that disaster can strike anywhere. Ignoring this possibility when you have thousands living below sea level results in this chaos. For me the image of Katrina is those casinos which brought so much cash flowing through the economically depressed region, now in ruins. And lest we forget, the margin of victory in 2004 assured that we have these leaders in control. And those W voters thought he would make us safer...

Posted by Marilyn Jess at September 3, 2005 10:16 PM

Tom O' - I agree with all that you have said..In one of the editorials today, they said that sadly, maddeningly and infuriatingly - help arrived not soon enough to spare the wretched souls of New Orleans from miseries and horrors they were forced to endure for entirely too long. President Bush himself made a point that the federal goverment's disaster response performance has been "not acceptable."
But yesterday, when he visited the stricken Gulf, he made a point also of publicly thanking Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff (who should be fired) and Federal Emergency Management Agency boss Michael Brown (who lied on TV and said that he only found out about the convention center that Thursday) whereupon Ted Koppel said, "Don't you guys watch TV." Ridiculous! Bush thanks these two gents for their tireless work. What tireless work? The weasel Brown said the anticipated high death toll is "going to be attributable to a lot of people who did not heed the advance warnings" and get out. Such compassion, Such stupidity. Many of them had no means of escape. And so they stayed behind, trapped in a doomed city as the lights went out and the poisoned waters rose. As for Chertoff, if this is the best his department can do, the homeland is not very secure at all. God forbide, the terrorists decide to drop a dirty bomb on NYC now. I am enraged!! It is absolutely outrageous that the United States of America could not send help to tens of thousands of forlorn, frightened, sick and hungry human beings at least 24 hours before it did, arguably longer than that. Who is specifically at fault for what is nothing less than a national scandal will be a matter for the postmortems. It will never be known exactly what a day could have meant to so many unfortunates whose lives came to an end in those hopelessly tortured hours - on scorching roadsides, for lack of a swallow of water; in sweltering hospital beds, for lack of insulin. But what is already more than clear is that the nation's disaster-preparedness mechanisms do not appear to be in the hands of officials who know how to run them. And furthermore, let me say that racism was directly responsible for the lack of attention as far as I am concerned. Since all the local, state and federal agencies knew the problem in New Orleans, why didn't they bring busses in before the hurricane struck to move the poor people out. I am reminded of Ralph Ellison's novel of the 50's The Invisible Man ...the poor blacks were invisible - they didn't count..they were dispensable...And now the ugly sin of America's racism and class system is exposed for the world to see. In all its brutality...And now these 100,000 + invisible people are visable and the south will have to clothe them, hug them, hold them, find housing for them, school their children and nurse their pain for years to come..it is so ironic that we are in another country Iraq teaching that democracy is the best and yet here at home, our own American citizens are treated like ______ because of their skin color. The one saving grace this time is that all the reporters from all over America as well as other countries were there and saw it with their own eyes and believe me they will not let the world forget it. This time the debate is on and changes will have to be made. Racism in America has been hidden under the rug for far too long..The dirty secret is out and will never go under the rug again..

Posted by suzanne g. at September 4, 2005 1:42 AM

Suzanne, I don't think Katrina cared much for what color or creed happened to be in her pathway. The wind just blew and the water rose. And I think everybody's lives are being considered here, not just the elite lives as you're suggesting.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 4, 2005 3:44 AM

The real test is going to come at Christmas. Will America be as understanding when progress hasn't gone much farther than where we are now?

Posted by Mike Mann at September 4, 2005 7:05 AM

A main thing is that the masses that remained should have evacuated - many admitted how stupid they now felt - they had stayed for previous hurricanes and made it so they tried again. And remember "poverty" in the USA averages 2 color TV's per household plus air conditioning - free medical [even for obese we're seeing], free meals ... Seems racist to this caller that many blacks are blaming all others for their plight rather than facing the man in the mirror - and suzanne g. - have you been smoking meth all day - what USA are you referring to - the one in China? Eager to buy you a 1-way ticket out of USA misery if you live in the states.

Posted by Sean at September 4, 2005 10:15 AM

Sean: Why don't you offer some real insights instead of just personal attacks and meanness?

Posted by Nancy R. at September 4, 2005 10:44 AM

My hope for the reguilding of the levee that was breeched might include technology that has been used very successfully with bridges, like the one here in Toledo O. They build a container in the water the basic shape required and pour cement in of a fashion that forces the water to stay above it and continues to flow out until the container fills with the desired cement. This would surely speed up the time frame to begin pumping and draining the putrid water out.
Indeed, the pumps, generators and other needed equipment could be brought in on barges and started first thing.

Posted by Mike Mann at September 4, 2005 12:04 PM

Sean: I would like to give you some facts and figures of the truth about why we couldn't save the people of New Orleans. Errol Louis wrote in the Sunday News this morning, bubbling up from the flood that destroyed New Orleans are images beamed around the world of America's original and continuing sin: the shabby, contemptuous treatment this country metes out, decade after decade, to poor people in general and the descendants of African slaves in particular. The world sees New Orleans burning and dying today, but the televised anarchy - the shooting and looting, needless deaths, helpless rage and maddening governmental incompetence - was centuries in the making.The hard unsympathetic view is the traditional American response to the poverty, ignorance and rage that afflict many of us whose great great grandparents once made up the captive African slave labor pool. In far too many cities, including New Orleans, the marching orders on the front lines of American race relations are to control and contain the very poor in ghettos as cheaply as possible; ignore them completely if possible; and call in the troops if the brutes get out of line. By almost every statistical measure, New Orleans is a bad place to be poor. Half the city's households make less than $28,000 a year, and 28% of the population lives in poverty. In the late 1990's, the state's school systems ranked dead last in the nation in the number of computers per student (l per 88), and Louisana has the nation's second-highest percentage of adults who never finished high school. By the state's own measure, 47% of the public schools in New Orleans rank as "academically unacceptable." And Louisiana is the only one of the 50 states where the state legislature doesn't allocate money to pay for the legal defense of indigent defendants. The Associated Press reported this year that it's not unusual for poor people charged with crimes to stay in jail for nine months before getting a lawyer appointed. These government failures are not merely a matter of incompetence. Louisana and New Orleans have a long, well-known reputation for corruption: as former congressman Bill Tauzin once put it, "half of Louisiana is under water and the other half is under indictment." That's putting it mildly. Adjusted for population size, the state ranks third in the number of elected officials convicted of crimes (Mississippi is No. 1). Recent scandals include the conviction of 14 state judges and an FBI raid on the business and personal files of a Louisiana congressman. In 1991, Edwin Edwards ran for governor against Republican David Duke, a former head of the Ku Klux Klan. Edwards, whose winning campaign included bumper stickers saying "Elect the Crook," is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for taking bribes from casino owners. Duke recently completed his own prison term for tax fraud. The rot included the New Orleans Police Department,which in the 1990's had the dubious distinction of being the nation's most corrupt police force and the least effecive: the city had the highest murder rate in America. More than 50 officers were eventually convicted of crimes including murder, rape and robbery; two are currently on death row. The decision to subject an entire population to poverty, ignorance, injustice and goverment corruption as a way of life has its ugly moments, as the world is now seeing. New Orleans officials issued an almost cynical evacuation order in a city where they know full well that thousands have no car, no money for airfare or an interstate bus, no credit cards for hotels and therefore no way to leave town before the deadly storm and flood arrived. The authorities provided no transportation out of the danger zone, apparently figuring the neglected thousands would somehow weather the storm in their uninsured, low-lying shacks and public housing projects. The poor were expected to remain invisible at the bottom of the pecking order and somehow survive.
But the flood confounded the plan, and the world began to see a tide of human misery rising from the water - ragged, sick, desperate and disorderly. Some foraged for food, some took advantage of the chaos to commit crimes. All in all, they acted exactly the way you could predict people would act who have been locked up in the ghetto for generations. The world also saw the breezy indifference with which goverment officials treated these tens of thousands of sick and dying citizens, even as the scope of the disaster became clear. President Bush initially shunned the Gulf Coast and headed to political fund-raisers in the West. That left matters in the bumbling hands of the director of emergecy management, Michael Brown, who ranks NO. 1 on the list of officials who ought to be fired when the crisis has passed. Even as local officials were publicly reporting assults, fires and bedlam at local hospitals, Brown took to the airways to declare that "things are going well" as mayhem engulfed the city. When asked about the rising death toll, Brown attributed it to "people who did not heed the advance wramings." Brown's smug ignorance of the conditions of the place he was tasked to save became the final door slammed on the trap that tens of thousands of the city's poorest found themselves. Errol Louis says "Ten billion dollars are about to pass into the sticky hands of politicians in the No. 1 and No. 3 most corrupt states in America. Worried about looting? You ain't seen nothing yet. Rest assured, Seth, there are many more people like myself in America that see this as an opportunity to open dialogue about these situations and correct these wrongs. Keep your eye on the 10 billion and hope that no one picks up one stick of wood until New Orleans is brought up above sea level like Miami and New York according to the Army Corp. of Engineers recommendations. Then hope that the soul of those abandoned will want to come back to create a new community. I hope that these evacuees will not be ushered back into a black hole of public indifference as soon as the White House and local officials can manage it.

Posted by suzanne g. at September 4, 2005 4:01 PM

The foriegn press is calling us the United States of shame.. As we all watch the reporting of the aftermath of yet another natural disaster upon our home land, isn’t it ironic that this great country of ours, the liberator of the world has so many of her own suffering!! I hope that we do not overlook the heart of the issue. We need to care for our own!

Many of the victims of this disaster lived in poverty, many are illiterate, have no healthcare, no insurance or even the ability to flee an impending disaster! Post disaster financial assistance will be even more unobtainable to the very people for whom it was intended. FEMA, which should be renamed “the assistance prevention agency,” cumbersome and lengthy paperwork, will make it nearly impossible for the needy to receive any assistance.

This is the land of opportunity, but opportunity only applies to causes that serve W 2.0’s political agenda. America’s tired and poor are neglected by the very people paid to serve them!

To quote Lady Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

How did we get here from there?

Posted by ZM at September 4, 2005 6:57 PM

I'm not a fan of the Bush admnistration at all. However do you really think things would have been any different with someone else in the White House??? The problem is the bureacracy not the temporary resident on Penn Ave. One of the many factors which gummed up the works was putting FEMA, never an all-star agency to begin with, under the rubric of Homeland Security. Anybody who wonders why the slow response by FEMA apparently has never dealt with large bureaucracies.
And the problems weren't limited to the federal level. The mayor had hundereds of school buses he could have mobilized to get the poor out of town. He didn't. By the way, have you heard that on CNN? Or seen the pics of the hundreds of busses now sitting in a flooded lot? Doubt it. They are too busy playing junior Marxist and trying to put a race, class prism on everything.

Posted by Gerry Larose at September 4, 2005 8:02 PM

The immediate aftermath of a major natural disaster should not be used as an oppportunity to trash your country and your government, nor used as an excuse to bring race relations into focus. Let's show a little restraint and bury our personal axes for the moment. There are people who've lost everything and need our help more than they need our opinions.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 4, 2005 8:18 PM

I have probably watched way too many hours of CNN. Most of the thoughts and views have already been covered here. I think President Bush missed a great opportunity to give hope during the disaster. It may have been a security issue but why didn't Air Force One take a dozen elderly evacuees back to Washington? He could have said we'll open the White House, Camp David and Walter Reid Hospital and send back his jet and helicopters for more. Instead he strengthened the gap between "them" and "us".

Posted by Bonnie at September 4, 2005 8:30 PM

By the way, an elite group of firefighters from New York have been asked to mobilize at 3:00 a.m. this morning to go down to Mississippi. My son in law is one of them. I can only imagine why they are going down - probably to deal with all the dead since rescue workers are getting very stressed out. Mobilization is happening all over the country.

Noel, my comments were not meant to be construed as bashing of America. We live in a complex society here in America and sometimes issues must be raised and dealt with and race is one of them and crooked local governments is another one - unless you can expose it and then try to make it a better place for everyone - it continues to fester in our society...hence, my comments. I have worked my entire life to improve my environment on every level and racism has always been one of the sore spots in this country that strikes a passionate chord within me.

Posted by suzanne g. at September 4, 2005 8:54 PM

Hey people !

I've been reading part of the comments you all posted here. Now I'm not from NO or even from the US or even from the NA-continent. I live in Europe so this chaos is happening a long way from my door BUT it still makes me turn silent and sad and sick to see all the misery and grief of the people being struck by this force of nature.

Of course you have a ?imwi? for president, I dont know for the governors or local mayors BUT what I do know is this :

EVERY - and I do mean EVERY - large organisation ( a city, a state, a country, profit company and non-profit organisation ) is about POWER, CONTROL and (most of the time MONEY ). What did you expect ? That is was about people ? About saving lives ? About making sure everybody gets his part ? LOL ( unfortunate in this situation ).

This happens when you dont follow some of nature's laws - building below water-level ... bad idea, covering up massive amounts of ground surface with concrete... bad idea, having enourmous concentrations of people with un-equilibrated infrastructure and ressources... bad idea, etc.

Now dont take this as US or whatever bashing, it really isnt... its just a way of saying - and its not meant to be funny or something - 'you ( or someone else ) should have known better ...

Posted by Ray at September 5, 2005 1:14 AM

Thanks 'Ray'. I'm sure Americans everywhere appreciate your view. Somehow I doubt it represents what the majority of Europeans are thinking.

Suzanne, you'll have your chance to tell us all about it. Now isn't the time.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 5, 2005 1:51 AM

Noel,

I think you misunderstood my previous post...

I dont think Americans everywhere are naive. And rest assured... ALL governments are like that. All organisations are like that ( of course there will be some exceptions ).

Society as a major concept SHOULD be about the people... but unfortunately its about the survival of a)those who run the society, and b)the society itself. And you know why? Because thats the (only ?) way the people running the society make money and have power and control.

The examples of 'bad ideas' I gave in my previous posting were examples of what happens when the people running a society (town, country, ...) are considering things for their 'personal' better instead of the collective better or the better of the individuals of the said society. Problem is that those who 'think' they know whats best for everybody often only know whats best for them.

All major aid organisations first and foremost think about their own operation. They 'have to' pay for infrastructures, ressources, etc. Only when these costs have been paid ( and I'm almost certain they also contain high salaries ) can they start using the money to whatever cause they work for. Just to paint the idea : when you know that local management DEMAND bigger 4×4 than their fieldstaff use just because it cannot be that they drive a smaller one, then you can perhaps better understand my previous pov.
I never give money to large aid organisations. I always look for ways of getting my help ( goods ) directly to the field by the way of individuals who do work there.

Posted by Ray at September 5, 2005 2:23 AM

My heart goes to the people who suffered from katrina.

A very interesting conversation blogged here.

Almost a month ago, on July 26th, me and my family went through huge rains and floods and losses in mumbai in India. My house was fully flooded. I was stranded away from home, trying to reach and help my family members. But my 70 year old mother along with my wife and daughter, were brave... They tried to save as much as they can.... going through chest deep water... no rescue boats available here. And of course to help them was none other than my great neighbours.... a couple 70 plus year old.. living on first floor... chose to help my family .... they forgot their age, their disabilities and waded through chest deep waters and saved as much as they can...

Noel, I agree with you. You are the owner of your crisis...no one else. if someone helps, it is god sent..
when you are faced with crisis and you are alone, you anyway help yourself as much as you can. and people around you, irrespective of their age and disability, help you out..These insticts are god sent.... during that rescue mission, my mother, wife, daughter or my neighbours didnot blame anybody... they did just what they had to do.. and later on even after a month when whole of india is trying to place blame,... none of us even thought of blaming anybody... we got on with our lives as fast as we can... even after the loss in the deluge, we are looking at helping somebody as much as we can, who has been affected.

Please remember people who are affected by natural disasters...irrespective of their economical background, and prosperity... come down to the same plane... and they start helping each other ... at that moment they forget all the differences... religious, financial,etc.

here is something i must share...

indian education system and infrastructure is still very harsh and tough on students as compared to USA.. today's children are under extreme stress to perform.. their books, notes are tooo valuable to them.

a fifth grade class ( students aged 10 years) , when they came to know about some of their classmates having lost their books and written notes getting washed away... decided on their own... to copy all their notes ( i mean make a new written note book) for their own classmates even before anyone asked for it... i mean anyone.... that enabled the affected children to submit their assignments on time and also appear for exams which were held just after the deluge.

There was no noise made about this by the children. They just did it... and made sure that everyone went on with the life..

I am sure there are stories like this in USA.

I just pray that the damage due to this nature's fury is minimal and people in USA come back to their life as fast as possible.

Posted by ujwal pradhan at September 5, 2005 2:53 AM

Ray, in an emergency, the primary focus of the organizations trying to help out is to save lives and bring relief, no matter who is running the country. That they all may not have performed as well as we would have liked them to is not the point. In the middle of a crisis, it is about the people, doing what we can to help them. It is not about abstract concepts or casting around for who to blame.

I know it's frustrating watching something like this happen on TV and not be able to put out your hand and lift people out of the water personally or offer them a meal and some encouragement. A natural reaction is to vent, but it's one we have to control. Send blankets or food or money however you like or contribute your muscles if you can. And instead of complaining about how other people are doing badly, make suggestions for how things could be done better. And tell us about it. Those stories we'd love to hear.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 5, 2005 4:36 AM

Ujwal, I'm sorry to hear that you and your family had such misfortune and I hope everyone is now well. I also hope that if my family and neighbors ever have to face something similar, that we will show the same courage as your family and neighbors.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 5, 2005 5:00 AM

Thanks Noel, thanks for your kind words. I pray that you and your family along with your friends and neighbours live a happy life without any disasters.

We all are well and fine. thank you once again.

Posted by ujwal pradhan at September 5, 2005 5:42 AM

The wonderful workers trying to restore something resembling ‘order’ and normality in that tragic situation deserve our thanks, our praise, our prayers and our thoughts as their work gets more and more challenging.

Finger pointing blame in the immediate aftermath of any tragedy never helped anyone. This was a natural disaster - no one is to blame for the weather. When the crisis is finally under control an examination of what could have been done better will show up the deficiencies that were apparent and will also help the learning for any future disaster.

In my career I was directly involved in two relatively ‘minor’ disasters compared to this one but in both those cases I have to say the procedures and policies written in times of great tranquility by bureaucrats in warm offices (who were not around when the disaster occurred) - meant absolutely nothing – a few of us had to just get on with it and ensure lives were saved. Rules were quickly made, leaders emerged and action occurred.

As Tom Peters has always taught us - no one ever achieved real greatness without having a CV that contained large public ‘screw ups.’ So maybe much will be learned in the inquests about this awful situation.

It is tragic that this natural disaster has claimed so many lives. They and their families deserve our support – blame and recriminations are for the future.

Just one other small point from me.

America – and indeed my own Britain - are always first to support other countries both practically and financially when disaster strikes. I hope the rest of the world can now repay the favour and support America in an acute hour of need for that great country.

Being the richest country in the world does not mean Americans do not need or deserve our love and our help in practical as well as psychological ways.

I for one am thinking of my fellow human beings across the pond who have been most directly affected by this awful tragedy.

Posted by Trevor Gay at September 5, 2005 8:58 AM

Noel,

I see your point... my whole was/is only to make something clear that more or less joins what you said. In the crisis it all comes down to just help who/where/however you can. But people also have to understand the reasons why some people/organisations/... are slow or inadequate with starting a help/relief mission. Just as they must understand that people sometimes trust organisation, a trust that will bring them a lot of problems later on ( building in the wrong spot, with the wrong materials, giving bad or incomplete advice, ... ). Blaming is indeed a normal reaction that has to take place after all the people have been helped out...

I just hope to that me and my children are spared from this kind of times, just as wish the same thing to the rest of the world. But I also know that human greed or incompetence or ... will always be there and that is a great problem/threat towards the future.

Posted by Ray at September 5, 2005 4:25 PM

Wow, who knew that a business oriented blog could have some of the best political debate I have seen on the Katria emergency.

The government at ALL levels definately did not perform well in advance or immediately after the huricanne and flooding. It is a shame that those who deeply dislike "W" had to so quickly blame him (although, the CEO is at the top and has to take the heat!!!)....but there are many people in our country that would condem Bush if he cured all diseases in the world, as it would displace healthcare workers.

The good news is that things seem to be working better now in the rescue efforts and the number of volunteers, donations, etc...is AMAZING. This is really a time to admire the heart of the American people....not jump all over our leaders (oh my, regardless of your political beliefs, there will be lots of time to blame the other side for the whole thing).

The people of Texas have shown by their actions what makes Texas a Great State. And the rest of the country as well.

As for those who try to make this about race....SHAME ON YOU. I have seen people of all races, religions, and economic stature jump in to help everyone who has been hurt in this disaster. God has a place for people who make human tragedies a chance for their own political grandstanding.

I always find those who post on here to be some amazing, smart and insightful....this string is right on with that observation.

Posted by Thom Singer at September 5, 2005 5:16 PM

Forgive me for a slight deviation.

This posting was originally about leadership. I have always believed humility is one of the greatest attributes of real leaders.

Tony Benn MP is a real leader even if he never did become leader of the Labour Party over here in the UK.

I hope you don't mind me sharing this story - it is my Simplicity Blog posting http://simplicityitk.blogspot.com/ for Tuesday 6 September as well.

"So there I was wondering what to write for my Simplicity Blog last night at 10.30 and the phone rang.

Annie answered the phone and was more than a little surprised and shocked to hear the voice on the other end saying

“Hello Tony Benn here”

Tony Benn – a mega famous Labour Party politician – now retired as an MP was ringing to thank me for an e-mail I had sent (via his son Hilary Benn MP) – congratulating Mr Benn Senior on the publication of his latest book “Dare to Be a Daniel”

I proceeded to have a ten minute chat with this very alert, full of beans, sprightly, 80 year old who seemed to have boundless energy and related many quick memories of his time in politics and about the National Health Service and its formation in 1948.

More important than that, he was interested in what I had done in my life.

People in the full glare of national politics sometimes get bad press and are portrayed as arrogant, distant and not in touch. Tony Benn has had many critics in his long and fascinating political life. To me he always appeared genuine whenever I saw him on television. He is still passionate about his socialist beliefs.

The fact that Mr Benn took the trouble to ring me – someone pretty insignificant in his life - tells me so much about the man. Annie and I were both gobsmacked!

I felt privileged Mr Benn took the time to ring and it illustrates to me he is someone who walks his own talk.

That is – he does care for people."

Posted by Trevor at September 5, 2005 6:00 PM

Where do they start ... what point up river do they start to rebuild from ... name that town that has enough still going to rebuild ... And the same goes for transportation ... where up the river do we invest in our nations transportation infrastructure .. it is a question where to start .. If we are going to build down ... then point to the first highway .. the first bridge .. to start to rebuild ... What must be there tomorrow .. to keep our nation moving ...

This is the question that should be on our minds .. because we made them start to respond ... Because of our disgust and anger .. that they clearly did not .. see the need .. We now need to find .. where must we now .. put our support and direction ..

Posted by Mike Reardon at September 6, 2005 3:05 AM

MIKE REARDON [STOP] HAVE YOU ANY SUGGESTIONS [STOP] WHEN YOU STOP BEING DISGUSTED [STOP] WHICH TOWN WOULD YOU START WITH [STOP] ; )

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 6, 2005 4:15 AM

To the above comment, I disagree that "they" did not "see the need" to help. Were "they" slow and disorganized, God yes. But this tragedy is so big that most do not understand the size and scope of what is going on. It is more than we see on the news.

Had "they" been in New Orleans on day one, people would still be pointing fingers about the rural areas (which are also in need, and in many cases have not seen help yet).

My friends just got back from a church out-reach mission to feed those in need. They started by driving into a town, flagging down a police officer and asking where they could find people who needed food. The cops would bring them to a shelter or housing project, and they would "start" to help. Then they drove their convoy to the next area.

These are regular people who took off from work to go do what they could. And they are going back again this week to do more. They did not know what they would find when they got there, they just went with 6 tons of food.

And that is just one out-reach from one Texas church. There are many more teams from around the country doing the same thing.

You start by starting. That is what individual citizens are doing right now. That is what our government is doing right now.

Posted by Thom Singer at September 6, 2005 6:00 AM

Fantastic comments Thom - a real pragmatist like me - pragmatists rule ok? I am with you 100 per cent.

Instead of moaning and putting forward negative views why don't those same people get of their backsides and use that energy positively and actually do something instead of spending time criticising from comfortable warm offices and lounges whilst people are dying in such tragic circumstances.

I just love you comment 'you start by starting' - it is awesome wisdom.

I am all for evaluation in the cold light of day after the crisis is over but for now let's all pray and do something positive and practical where we can.

Fantastic to hear what your church is doing - more power to you and your friends - I wish I was closer than England UK. I will continue praying.

Posted by Trevor at September 6, 2005 6:36 AM

Tom,

Your comments "if I can afford the gas to get to market" came across to me in much the same way that Terrell Owen's comments did a few months ago when he complained that he had to worry about feeding his family on a multi-million dollar salary, out of touch. So what if we are paying $3+ a gallon for gas. I make roughly 65k a year and yeah I probably won't be taking as many Sunday afternoon drives as I used to, but in general my life won't change that much.

Now if you or I were my mother 20 years ago trying to raise a family of 5 at or below the poverty level, then you or I might have something to complain about.

Until I see that you aren't jet setting around the world, weeks at a time, charging who knows how much to speak for a few hours, might I suggest you lay off the how am I going to afford gas line?

BTW, Does all responsibility for a failure to respond lie in the Feds lap? I for one think there is enough blame to go around and some of the Pols doing the finger pointing may have 3 or 4 pointing back at them.

Posted by Israel Lang at September 6, 2005 1:53 PM

My suggestion is that, FEMA redirect the three Carnival Cruise Line ships, into the affected areas NO, Mobile, as homes for people who still have employment inside these cities. . This would give workers a healthy place return to when they finish work everyday, and a place to see to their health needs working inside these cities.

Also Monster.com and other employment sites, should direct local employees back to jobs in these cities, employers are now saying that they cannot find many displaced employees. FEMA will be contracting rebuilding, under contractors, having local people get a chance to reestablish themselves with local employment is a good idea.

And the last suggestion, this web site and other web sites, should have a separate posting section, this one, on the left-hand column, that people can continue to post suggestions continuing aid and direction for this area.

Posted by Mike Reardon at September 6, 2005 4:49 PM

Noel, your way with words simply amaze me. Mike, good response.

Posted by Randy Reynolds at September 6, 2005 9:11 PM

I am utterly amazed that anyone would waste effort at this point trying to fix blame rather than fix the problems we still face. Thank you Noel for sharing the posts from the Buzzmachine - I think that gentleman should have the greatest credibility among us since he was there.

Where is/was leadership? It is supposed to be at every level. Every home, block, parrish, city, and state - in case people forgot - WE are the government. Stop trying to lay all social, economic, environmental, and other problems at the foot of the federal government. If we are going to blame the president for everything and depend upon him for everything then why not just abolish all the other levels of government and establish a monarchy. Give me a HUGE break!

Posted by Walter White at September 6, 2005 11:53 PM

Thanks for the compliment Randy (though even I think you might be overstating my incredibleness just a tad). Still, it's appreciated. Male ego's like mine need the bolstering support of hollow and sarcastic reverence every now and then. ; )

Walter I am forced to agree with you on this one. We are the government. It's good to see so many people trying to think of ways to help out and be encouraging. The only thing that matters here is the people who are in trouble. NPR is saying there's 250,000 of them in Texas alone.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 7, 2005 5:09 AM

Walter: Is it "fixing blame" or finding out where things went wrong? How can we learn how to do better next time unless we ask some hard questions?

Posted by Nancy R. at September 7, 2005 8:17 AM

Nancy:

When the house is on fire you don't stop fighting the fire to find out who left the stove on. There will be a time for analysis to mitigate future impacts (they can't be eliminated) but even then the main focus of the questions should center around, "how can we do it better or differently next time?" not "Who is responsible?" The question of WHO is responsible doesn't bring us one inch closer to doing better next time. The question of HOW can we do better does.

Posted by walter white at September 7, 2005 9:07 AM

Nancy,

Many who are claiming they want to "find out what went wrong" are actually trying to stick it to whomever they do not like politically. That is "fixing blame".

If we really want to learn from this horrible event...GREAT. I hope that we as a nation do learn many lessons in disaster releif and other topics. If we want to make sure that the "other" political party gets a black eye....SHAME.

I think it is time that both political parties stop looking at every news event as a chance to "out shine" the other party. Maybe if we had some better leadership in both parties the fringe of both sides could stop throwing crazy hate at eachother. A disaster like this is no time for the professional politicians to grandstand.

Posted by Thom Singer at September 7, 2005 9:34 AM

Nancy: The unmitagated horror of this event has everyone asking questions while housing and feeding and rescuing and picking up the dead - Hard Hard Hard questions have to be asked...and believe me will be asked..Some friends on this site seem to think if you ask hard questions you are not coming up with solutions or you aren't doing anything to help - but everyone one I know who is asking hard questions has opened up their homes and are sending supplies down and continue to be the kind of American whose spirit is recognized throughout the world...but there is a possibility that 10,000 to 20,000 people died and someone has to answer for that and they will.

Posted by suzanne g. at September 7, 2005 9:59 PM

Well said Suzanne! Many of us are doing whatever we can in the midst of this situation to help. Being in Ireland, I was only able to donate financially to the Irish relief effort (Isn't it interesting to note the contributions from Iran, Afghanistan and Cuba by the way!). This is seen internationally as a massive disaster, and many politically-minded people in the US are saying that the leader of New Orleans boy scout troop 201 didn't do what they could have. This is a national issue and must be addressed immediately. Put party politics aside. I don't care if you have a poster of Bush or Kennedy on your wall. Let's objectively get to the bottom of the fiasco ASAP! Catastrophe doesn't wait around for us to get our act together. We need an effective plan TODAY!

There is plenty of time to discuss the hard issues while simultaneously doing what we can to help. We're all in here blogging. Is it more productive to write "stop talking about what went wrong" or "As a citizen witnessing this atrocity, I demand an explanation!" It is through public outrage that accountability will be eventually forced. If everyone stayed quiet, this would sweep over and tomorrow would come as it did yesterday. Do what you can and say what you must!

I haven't heard anyone saying that the disaster could have been prevented. I think that we all respect nature and its power. What many people are saying (listen to the pulse of the media, listen to the pulse of the discussion boards, listen to the pulse of blogs) is that our national response to this catastrophe could have saved lives, many lives perhaps, if it was orchestrated rapidly and professionally. And it wasn't.

Solutions will only come when the hard questions are asked. If I could reach down right now and help someone get out of the flood water, I would be doing that rather than writing this. But I can't, so I write.

One solution might be for someone to consolidate every blog entry written about this horrendous event and publish it for historical record so that the event isn't neatly polished in our grandchildren's text books. All procedes from the book could go to the victims of this catastrophe.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at September 8, 2005 3:04 AM

I'm with Walter. What do you want to do Suzanne, Tom O', haul the hurricane into court and ask it tough questions? I have lived through a revolution, forest fires, serious illness and financial catastrophie, as far as I recall it never entered into my mind to say 'Who did this to me? Why isn't the government helping me?' or 'By God someone's head is going to roll, I'll see to that!'

Just because we have the luxury of being able to complain from the comfort of our armchairs, doesn't mean it is something we should indulge in. If you see something that can be improved, by all means make a suggestion, but finger pointing in the middle of a crisis is not helpful.

Posted by Cassandra Helm at September 8, 2005 3:56 AM

I do not think it is wrong to ask the hard questions. In fact...that is EXACTLY what needs to be done. But if you listen to Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean, Maxine Waters, etc... it is embarrassing how they are making this political.

My point is that those who are grandstanding and dividing this country on politics, class and race are doing more harm at this point.

Someone should ask these people who are not looking for answers, but rather looking to burn their political foes, if their "questions" are intended to be part of the problem or part of the solution.

But nobody is held accountable for the words they say in the press. It is all just to get the sound bite, then they act like it never happened. No one is ever forced to appologize for horrible words uttered at others. That is too bad.

Comeon guys, we all know the difference...be part of the solution.

Posted by Thom Singer at September 8, 2005 5:59 AM

Thom, I agree that there is no place for politics in a situation like this.

The frenzied competition for disaster ratings has been hard to take. Now we're hearing, "If it wasn't for us asking all those tough questions, no one would have bothered doing anything." Of course. Silly me. All those soldiers, firefighters, emergency workers and private civilians would have just sat around, put their feet up, made a nice cup of tea out of the wholesome floodwaters and watched the show until Geraldo appeared and inspired them to get off their backsides and put a hand out to help. Where would we be without important TV anchors telling us what to think and who to believe?

I doubt very much that rescuers are asking people before hauling them out of the water, "Excuse me, sir, are you a Democrat or a Republican?" or "Excuse me, ma'am, we're taking a survey on the disaster relief effort going on here and would like to know who's fault this is. Who do you think should be blamed? Quickly now, before you go under."

This has definitely not been the media's finest hour.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 8, 2005 8:12 AM

Firstly, let me make it clear that my desire to discuss the lacklustre national response to this catastrophe is in no way politically motivated. I am a non-partisan world resident (having lived in Europe for the last 9 years, Mexico for one year and the US for the rest of my life) and don't have too much time for politicians in general, be they Democrats, Republicans, Green Party, Labour, or Sinn Fein! I judge people by performance not affiliation. So my disillusionment with our National response in the wake of this disaster is objective, and strictly in terms of my observation that loss of life could have been prevented with swifter more purposeful action on all parts, but mostly through an organized effort orchestrated my government.

I am not interested in blaming any specific person, agency or party (in Washington, Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama). I just want us to be better prepared for tomorrow's disaster. The fact that it might be tomorrow makes the urgency of review critical. Belive me there are plenty of strategists and analysts in our government NOT on the ground in New Orleans or Mississippi too busy helping out. We can multi-task and start reviewing simultaneously.

Obviously, there were and are many people working hard to help people and they are doing it selflessly. But the fact remains that for some reason, there was a delay in adequate response during the first 3-4 days; and in a disaster, every hour is precious. I read about at least 3 babies that died before being evacuated from the dome becuase of the delay. They weren't killed by the storm, they were killed by waiting too long without food or water or transport to proper medical services. Many deaths that occurred after the storm had come and gone were preventable. To this day, there remains confusion about who is orchestrating what and it seems apparent that there are huge gaps in our disaster recovery strategy. A strategy that we were supposedly strengthening over the last 4 years.

I do understand that there are many out their with agendas blaming this person or that party; and I agree wholeheartedly that doing so is as lame as doing nothing. It is unproductive, emotional and divisive.

It is also unproductive and impractical to say that hey, we shouldn't expect much from our nation in times of disaster. Talk about poor customer expectations! Goodness, we talk so often in here about how the customer is king and deserves good service. Well, guess what, I am the customer of my nation's representatives and I expect them to do everything in their power to help me and my family in times of crisis. I will certainly be doing my best to survive and help others to. Every woman for herself is not the best that our government can do for us. We live in a nation that cares for the well being of its people, or at least we did when I lived there 9 years ago. We regularly provide international assistance and relief because we care about plight in the world. I have expectations that we would do the same in America to the best of our ability. It is not a casual issue. If we didn't have the resources or capacity to react better, this wouldn't be an issue. But this is what we do best, or perhaps my perception is based on a good PR and propaganda campaign and we don't really have the capacity that I thought we did. Maybe I've been watching too many movies where America saves the day?

As for people demanding accountability not being part of the solution, well, I suppose we could say the same when those same people take the time to write about other things like MBWA and GM and other topical issues here in this very blogosphere. Taking the time to raise concerns about the cluster*&%! of a national response to a storm that devestated a big chunk of our country isn't any worse that sitting around, having a coffee and discussing business theory unrelated to the disaster. Neither are going to help the people suffering today. But at least raising concerns about our national safety might expedite improvements that will help people the next time around. And the next time around could be tomorrow, or the next day. We don't have the luxury anymore to be complacent about inadequacies in our national security and safety systems.

I agree, it's not about politics, it's about Human Rights.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at September 8, 2005 11:57 AM

Tom O. thanks for your supportive words. I am sorry that this catastrophy had to happen under George Bush's administration - I think that is why we see so many contributors to this site being so defensive. It isn't easy watching the one whom you thought had the qualities of a great leader being lamblasted in the media. I am sure when all is said and done that before he leaves his office, he will want to lop off a few heads himself. At the moment, the buck stops with the leader of the free world and GB is responsible for the incompetence of his agencies operating under the federal government whose lack of immediate planning and execution of evacuees before this hurricane arrived cost thousands of lives for which hard questions have to be answered about that...Just think, not only did the media see the lack of response but there are around 250,000 people across the board on the gulf coast who have stories to tell....and they will. The pain of this event is unimaginable and next up will be the body bags and then maybe 25,000 funerals so if you are defensive now, get ready because you haven't seen anything yet but you will...In the meantime, America will recreate, redesign, refocus, pick up the pieces and take care of ourselves as we have always done.And that kind of spirit will bring new hope into the hearts of all those who have lost more than what words can express. Thanks Tom O.

Posted by suzanne g. at September 8, 2005 11:57 AM

Tom O said it beautifully. The fact that you clarified your position and used logic made me agree with everything you said. I find most people use emotions and harsh words to stick home a point. That is what drives me nuts. Not whom they attack, but just the out-pouring of attack language (it doesnt matter if you are talking far right or far left....or if they are attacking republicans or democrats....the fringe on both sides are just as bad).

A little calm logic and explanation goes a long way. I think you have a great prospective on the world due to your having lived so many places.

For the record, I don't think I said that demanding accountability made one part of the problem. I think I said that making grandstanding politically charged over-the-top comments (Nancy Pelosi and others) was being part of the problem. Demanding explanation and accountability is exactly what everyone deserves. It is all in how one goes about selecting their words. (like your above post, I think you said it very eloquently....maybe you should run for office.....I would vote for a man of logic and explanation regardless of party affiliation!!!)

Posted by Thom Singer at September 8, 2005 2:51 PM

I disagree. I think "demanding accountability" in the middle of a crisis is disgraceful, as much as I think using a major catastrophe as an opportunity to grind a personal or political axe is disgraceful. Do something, more than write a poem. Suggest something, not what other people should be doing but a direct and useful improvement to help the relief effort run more smoothly. That at least is constructive. And if we can't do that, we should at least have the grace to be positive and encouraging to those who are breaking their backs to save lives out there. Who are we to complain or cast blame sitting in the comfort of our armchairs, our access to information for the most part being through a ratings-grabbing sensational media with an agenda of its own.

We're not speaking about an abstract concept or thought. We're not speaking about business strategy. We're speaking about people's lives. The reason I brought Ronnie's comments over from BuzzMachine was to give us a little perspective, take us out of our comfortable living-rooms to listen to the words of someone on the ground who is not a TV reporter or a government administrator or an armchair radical.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 8, 2005 3:27 PM

I think I can save some time and money for those wanting to determine accountability. IT WAS THE HURRICANE!

This was one of, if not the largest of natural disasters in US History, and perhaps one of the larger on a global scale as well. The area affected is reportedly larger than the United Kingdom. The storm surge was reported between 28 and 35 feet high (by comparsion the tsunami surge was reportedly about 12 feet).

As already pointed out by Tom O, emergency response is hampered whenever you lack communications. Communications were knocked out through a good part of the region. I'm sure however, there were, through various means, tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of requests for help in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane. How does one go about assessing accuracy and validity of reports that may or may not be accurate, then determining where to send resources? In an area the size of the UK?

Why can't our military respond in the way they invaded Bagdad? Could it be because they aren't trained for emergency response?! Could it be because their mission is to fight wars? You want a war - you'll find none better. A disaster? - you want people trained in urban search and rescue, water rescue, etc. Military operations typically are preceded by tactical planning and known intelligence, usually with someone already on the ground in the location. And let's not forget the fact that before you go about engaging your military in rescue missions you first have to plan how you are going to defend the country in case of attack when you have diverted assets and people from defense to rescue. (And they are doing an excellent job in my view)

This was simply a disaster of a magnitude that was not imagined in planning scenarios. So - stop worrying about accountability - the answer is H-U-R-R-I-C-A-N-E!

The people I have known that have done local, state, and federal emergency planning over the years have been among the most committed I have found. Some have devoted all of their professional lives to making people understand risks and trying to get them to prepare for the emergencies that are inevitable.

To suggest that they must now be held accountable for a storm of this magnitude is unfathomable to me. If there was ever a time to pull together it is now. Don't add to the dispair that has been growing because some people want to lament the fact that a disaster happened. The timing is just plain WRONG. Now is the time for encourgagement, hope, and renewal.

My sincere thanks and best regards to all who are assisting in this disaster.

Posted by Walter White at September 8, 2005 6:54 PM

So we shouldn't bother to stop and find out why FEMA is having such a difficult time with the relief efforts? If you were driving your car and it suddenly started lurching, would you keep driving? Would you not look under the hood and fix the problem?

I agree that there doesn't need to be name calling and that we need encouragement, hope and renewal, but it's pretty bad when FEMA announces that evacuees can get a $2000 debit card and doesn't bother to give ALL of its employees enough information to help people actually get their card. (See NPR's Web site for the complete story if you're interested.)

I also think it is frightening that people seem to have a "Shh, don't criticize the government" attitude. That's one of the great things about America, being able to sound off when you feel there is something wrong.

Posted by Nancy R. at September 9, 2005 9:49 AM

Nancy, the answer to your question is not if there was somebody bleeding to death in the car and you needed to get them to hospital. And that's essentially the situation in New Orleans.

No one is suggesting that we shouldn't criticize the government. It's just that there's no point in asking those questions now when no one has the time to stop and answer them. And those people who are supposed to provide answers, like the government's PR people, have to get their answers from someone else and those people are busy right now doing their best to sort enormous problems out. So show a little restraint. There'll be time for recriminations and for praise. In the meantime, if you can think of some specific and immediate improvement that could be made to improve the relief effort, let's hear it.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 9, 2005 11:26 AM

Noel: Start by straightening out the poor communication within FEMA that is causing the debit card sanfu.

I'm not looking for recrimination. I'm looking under the hood of that car and trying to find out how to fix it.

I work at a college. When we are registering students and a bottleneck develops, our team leaders ask "what is causing the problem" and they fix it. Same thing for the relief effort.

"Restraint" sounds a lot like "stick your head in the sand."

Posted by Nancy R. at September 9, 2005 12:02 PM

And to be fair, I just checked nola.com and found that debit card distribution is going much better today. Yay!

Posted by Nancy R. at September 9, 2005 12:39 PM

Nancy, how? How would you suggest they fix it? They don't need us to tell them they have a problem. They already know they have a problem. Can you suggest a specific way for them to fix it? And that goes for any negative that we're hearing about the relief effort.

I guess what I am ineptly trying to explain is, let's say the rotors on the helicopters won't spin. It's not enough for us to say: "That's unacceptable. Tough questions must be asked and someone should get into big trouble for it." Instead, it might be useful if someone came along and said, "Oh, yeah, I was in the Air Force and when that happpened we used to run a little grease on them. I've e-mailed my suggestion to my old commander and he's going to pass it along to the guys on the ground." Unless you have a specific suggestion for how to fix something, no one is going to thank you for the criticism, at least not those who are running around trying to get things done.

I may have been a little harsh yesterday. I do realize that a lot of this is people like us who are unable to lend a physical hand and help out and want to do something, but feel that our hands are tied. It's horrible to watch something like this from the sidelines and it makes us feel better to discuss the problems as they're being reported, as I think you want to do. You don't sound like a cooped-up-behind-the-desk-let-someone-else-take-decisions-kind-of-gal.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 9, 2005 1:13 PM

Noel, well one of our suggestions was heard and implemented, thank God.

"FEMA director Brown relieved of Storm Duty and sent back to Washington." - NY Times

I already feel better about our prospects for a more effective response tomorrow. Especially with an Admiral at the helm of the agency instead of the president of the Arabian Horse Foundation!

What you have to understand Noel, is in blogs, like this one, people generally banter back and forth. It isn't an official relief centre. People who express their concerns here generally are also actively engaging in appropriate ways (generally, blogs are for blogging). Personally, I have written to my State Representatives asking them to request an investigation posthaste into the confusion and subsequent lethargy of a national response to this disaster so that we might be better prepared tomorrow. By the way, Pataki is from my home town and we used to buy our fruit and veg from his farm! I suggest that everyone else concerned about our national capacity to respond to disaster do the same.

Perhaps some of our 'suggestions' here echoed enough to influence the decision of Brown's removal and hopefully, other suggestions will be heeded as well, like the need for a storm-proof communications network and an organized, less beaurocratic system when action is needed quickly in times of disaster, when hours, not days, mean so much.

Regarding "...those people who are supposed to provide answers, like the government's PR people, have to get their answers from someone else and those people are busy right now doing their best to sort enormous problems out..."

Those of use requesting answers certainly don't want the government's PR staff involved in the matter. Also, I'm sure that you know that there are more government disaster preparedness analysts sitting behind their desks in Washington than in the muck of the mississippi. A thorough enquiry will take some time, and should be started now.

The New Orleans Authorities stated today that the Search and Rescue Operation ended this afternoon. Victims of this horrendous disaster will be suffering for years. Certainly you aren't suggesting that we wait years to look into the matter when another disaster could strike tomorrow?

Posted by Tom O'Leary at September 9, 2005 4:19 PM

Tom: Very well said!

Noel: I didn't know anyone still used the term "gal." Seriously tho, if I had specific information on why FEMA is broken, believe me I would be the first one to burst on the scene with a list of solutions. As it is, the most I can do to help is to lend a hand this weekend at the local rec center that is housing some 300+ displaced persons.

Posted by Nancy R. at September 9, 2005 4:52 PM

The local, state and federal response in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has certainly pitted us against each other, as evidenced in blogs all across the internet where emotionally fuelled bloggers openly express their views (Thank god for the 1st amendment!). Unfortunately many took it as an opportunity to spout party-political insults and non-constructive criticism. Buzzmachine is nothing more than a political mosh pit at the moment. I started visiting, but it reminded me too much of indymedia, where far left and far right collide, creating lots of thunder but little substance.

This disussion at TP started sophisticatedly with Tom's post about Leadership: "Partisan politics aside, this has not exactly been W's finest hour. As my (very Democrat) wife said, "Where's Rudy?"

Watched an interview with Homeland Security's Michael Chertoff; his "We have no info on the Convention Center" while viewers simultaneously watched chaos from the Convention Center was pathetic. My equivalent to Susan's "Where's Rudy?" was almost, "Where's Bernie Kerik when we need him?"

Obviously, in blogland, disucussions spiral and twist at times. But we're here to blog about issues, not save the world. We can only save the world when we get up from our chair and unpaste our gaze from the brilliant glare of the screen. Until then, blog on my brothers and sisters. Even through the muck and mire, we can extract true gems at times.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at September 10, 2005 4:45 AM

Tom O' said:

“By the way, Pataki is from my home town and we used to buy our fruit and veg from his farm! I suggest that everyone else concerned about our national capacity to respond to disaster do the same.”

I am confused. Is the Pataki farm donating their profits to the relief effort? ; )

Seriously though, I heard Rudy Guiliani interviewed on NPR last night and he said that when 9/11 happened, finger-pointing and political grandstanding just didn't feature. Even three weeks later people were not criticizing the government; they had the decency to wait and at the appropriate time he initiated a proper investigation to see how things had been handled and how the handling of them could be improved in the future. He was calling on people to show restraint. Made sense to me.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 10, 2005 5:25 AM

Nancy, you overlooked my compliment to pick on one word. If I had a thing for shrinking violets I would not have married my wife.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 10, 2005 5:27 AM

Tom O', I agree with you about BuzzMachine descending into a political quagmire. I've stopped commenting there until this blows over.

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 10, 2005 5:29 AM

Noel: That was a joke. That's why I followed it with "Seriously, tho." Oh, the constraints of the written word.

Posted by Nancy R. at September 10, 2005 9:17 AM

Nancy, should have realized. Me see picture. Me in leopard skin toga, big matted beard, large club in hand, beautiful maiden gripped by hair in other hand, this I drag into mountain cave, grunting. ; )

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 10, 2005 10:17 AM

Glad we got that cleared up, Noel. :-)

Posted by Nancy R. at September 10, 2005 10:34 AM

AAAARRRGGHHHHH !

Posted by Noel Guinane at September 10, 2005 10:37 AM

Been offline this weekend while on a college visit with my daughter as she attempts to determine where she will go after high school. Having had a few days in which I did not read a blog or watch any television I approach this with a somewhat fresher perspective than I had last week.

I think, in retrospect, much of my frustration comes not from people's criticism of the federal response nor their timing. It is pretty normal psychology to try to assign cause and effect in our minds. We always want to know the answer to "why?"

More than anything, I have trouble with people having the notion that it is the federal government's responsibility to plan for and respond to everything in our lives. Increasingly, I see people all to willing to cede their responsibility for decision making in all facets of their life to Washington,DC.

The strength of America has always been that we are a nation of individuals - a collective of strong individuals dedicated to strong ideals (you know - the life, liberty, pursuit of happiness stuff!), whose government is of the people, by the people, for the people.

Consequently, my views focus on local solutions to local problems. I simply refuse to accept the notion that someone in Washington,DC can have a better understanding of my local issue than someone in my hometown. To put this into perspective let's move the issue of disaster planning away from the affected area. Consider Florida. Consider hurricanes. Should it be a federal responsibility to plan for hurricanes or should that be the responsibility of the state and local governments with assistance from the federal government? In my way of thinking the federal government should provide assistance and resources to state and local government - not do it for them. There are simply too many hazards that are region-specific to make it practical for the federal government to do everything. It seems wrong for someone in Vermont to have their taxes used for Florida emergency planning.(What do people in Vermont think Tom?) Who would do a better job of planning for Florida emergencies - someone in Florida or someone inside the beltway? Which is more likely to be influenced by politics?

I hope that it is evident that my argument is independent of which party is in power in the White House and Congress. To me this is simply a matter of practicality and common-sense.

All that said, do I expect everyone to hold hands and sing as we move forward on how to respond more effectively next time? Not in the least. One of the features of our form of government is vigorous debate by dedicated, spirited individuals. This is a hallmark of a strong system of individuals from independent cities and states. A do-everything for everyone federal system doesn't encourage this type of debate. I can only imagine some of the posts on this blog were the signers of our Declaration of Independence able to participate.

I would be curious to hear from others how they think we need to approach this situation moving forward. That is - how do we become more effective at dealing with this type of situation should we face it in the future?

Posted by Walter White at September 11, 2005 4:15 PM

Very well said Walter. You do indeed sound refreshed. Congratulations on the awesome parenting milestone with your daughter. Any decisions made? Did any college Wow her or you?

While I do agree that we shouldn't wait around for the feds to do everything for us (God knows we don't want them involved in so many other aspects of our lives), we have to appreciate that in disasters, like this one, the local capacity is often overburdened (or incapacitated) and requires resources that only the federal government can provide. There is also the question of control. Do we need a centrally controlled disaster response agency, obviously with decentralized operational resources so that regardless of where disaster strikes, mobilization can be quick and effective?

Reading blogs on this issue over the past week, it is very clear that many are using the issue to wave partisan flags in the air. It is a sad, but unsurprising fact. I do think that we need to re-assess our response capacities across the board, looking at local, regional and national networks within our disaster preparedness strategy and try to find out if we can create a better, more organized and consolidated response in the future. Like so many things, much of it involves communication.

Welcome back!

Posted by Tom O'Leary at September 11, 2005 5:08 PM

A dexterous leader knows how to converse with the team through his style, his voice, and his manner. Additionally, he communicates nonverbally what he believes and how he lives. Both capability and personality are evident. Consequently, he makes achievement easy for others. Under his oversight, the members of the team can bring together and combine their efforts. “Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes”. --Peter F. Drucker

Nowadays complexities require of a set of very unique attributes. I call the empowered with these attributes “TransLeader.”

The forthcoming is Part 2. I will here venture some ideas, principles or tenets (label it as you wish) that a corporate manager (leadership exerciser) may wish to consider. These are ideas to be applied by business settings (here “creative tension” has been invited to exercise mind expansion). Between one idea and the other, the reader is the only one who makes the connection. Some are to be understood metaphorically ones, others are literarily. NOTA BENE: This is a call of business imagination. As follows:

SET # 26 - (metaphoric ideas for updated management practitioners)

Don’t worry about being surprised by the unexpectable. Just carry on expecting the unexpectable, regardless of the implicated chaos. Create instability as the essence of your strategy. Keep in mind: a more volatile external environment requires a less stable internal world. Seek out substitutes and opportunities to increase productivity by measuring the mass used in your business today, and getting it to decrease every year. Respond with more rapid and varied adaptation.

SET # 27 - (metaphoric ideas for updated management practitioners)

Conduct thousands of tests of products, prices, features, packages, marketing channels, credit policies, account management, customer service, collections, and retention. Make informed but subjective judgments. Push ahead before the competition could catch up. Seize the opportunity―even when not really prepared.

SET # 28 - (metaphoric ideas for updated management practitioners)

Empower talented people. Accelerate talented people very quickly, because that’s where you get the value. Place bets on future values. Cross boundaries, change jobs, and form new teams to meet evolving needs. Align with the business. Use good economic judgment. Be flexible. And be empathetic to your colleagues.

SET # 29 - (metaphoric ideas for updated management practitioners)

It’s okay to break the rules in the right way. Run around doing randomly disconnected things. Develop all the peripheral relationships you need to be effective organizationally. Manage the connections rather than the structure. Also know how to hybridize.

SET # 30 - (metaphoric ideas for updated management practitioners)

Reach out to others with corresponding roles across the organization to learn and share ideas. Move around and support your colleagues when needed. Enable innovation by bringing DIVERSE elements together. Without these kinds of connections, DIVERSITY has little inherent value.

SET # 31 - (metaphoric ideas for updated management practitioners)

Empower others and yourself by the whole chaotic percolation of ideas at the bottom of the organization. Bear in mind: Empirical evidence, based on small tests, always carried the day. Attract very bright people with initial proof of concept, then plug them into your organizational structure.

SET # 32 - (metaphoric ideas for updated management practitioners)

Maintain common interfaces and cross-functional capabilities that allow work flows and value chains to talk to teach other. Harvest the idea, then propagate it wildly before the mimicry of competition sets in.

SET # 33 - (metaphoric ideas for updated management practitioners)

Employ diversification to spread their risks. Be willing to take risk of shaping the future according to your own design. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Beware of this: Discontinuities, irregularities, and volatilities seem to be proliferating. Remember: Without risks, life poses no mystery.

SET # 34 - (metaphoric ideas for updated management practitioners)

Seed, select, amplify, and destabilize the situation are the two management ideas for acceleration evolution. Don’t expect a perfect feedback system in a volatile environment. Don’t be excellent at doing, be excellent at changing, too.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, speaking of leadership, said: “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.”

Posted by Andres Agostini at September 11, 2005 6:56 PM

Something Walter says does raise an interesting point.

Obviously we can expect some logistical support from our government in time of crisis because the money we pay in taxes does mean that the government has a lot to call on in terms of equipment and resources that we individually do not. I do not own a helicopter for example. However something insidious creeps in when you strike a certain type of bargain with the government - "Please help me. I can't handle life on my own. It is up to you to take care of me. I'll give you control of my life so that you can keep me safe". A dangerous attitude to take. The control of our lives being in our own hands is precisely why America fought for her independence from England. We had made a bargain there too, we said to Lords of the manor "if you keep me safe I'll fight for you, die for you, work my fingers to the bone for you". You have to hope that the organization or individual you are giving this control to is benevolent, you also have to expect that you will not be treated well or thought much of. You will be a ‘civilian’ in the way of important government business, a ward of the State, subject to commitee-led incompetent bullying not unlike that found in communism.

What America has always stood for in my mind is independence, like my great Aunt Willie who lived in a sod house and didn't marry 'till she was in her thirties, working and living free, or my grandfather who landed in New York at seven from Sicily to live with his brothers and grew up to be a successful pharmacist. Standing on your own two feet when you can and despising anyone be it the government, the mafia, or the local busy body who wants to interfere with the way we live.

I believe in the individual, I try to stand on my own two feet. I do not like the idea of the control of my life being in other people's hands.

What do you think?

Posted by Cassandra Helm at September 12, 2005 4:51 AM

Very interesting and well articulated Cassandra. I think that it requires some thought, and I will resist in replying immediately. I will say that I truly think that many in our society are attempting to become more self-sufficient in their lives. Not being overly reliant on mass produced goods; recycling, reusing. Many of these people are environmentally conscious and self actualized in that they don't need to be part of a large group to feel worthy or fulfilled.

I wonder though, if individualism on a large scale would cause panic in the government? The problem with self reliance is that we are bound by so many laws that it is nearly impossible to not be a ward of the state. They make the rules and you must abide by them if you want to live within the state. Obviously, there are many who live in cabins in the woods with private arsenals who refuse to acknowledge the government's control over them.

I will think on this and try to offer a more comprehensive, focused response. Is it too early to be thinking so much? Coffee sounds good right now.

C'ivediamo

Posted by Tom O'Leary at September 12, 2005 5:05 AM

To continue...

Obviously, there are some in our society who require more support than others. The infirm, elderly, mentally disadvantaged, etc. require resources that may or may not be available within their local communities, and thus are more reliant on government supports. So, our communities broaden in the context of our individual needs when they require support beyond family, local community and at times even state level capacities.

Natural disasters, war and other unfortunate occurences often require our larger community (i.e. our nation) to come together in a coordinated effort to support the people within society. This occurs even on global scales, when the support required surpasses even national capacities (i.e. Darfur, Niger, Indonesia, etc.)

Does that make any sense?

Posted by Tom O'Leary at September 12, 2005 7:05 AM

Without question there are times when each of us is forced to be dependent. I myself have been very ill more than once and even destitute. My point is not that we shouldn't help each other or not expect the government to hold up its end in a crisis.

I am concerned about a more subtle shift in attitude. In other words there is a difference between having no choice but to accept help and having your hand out. There is a difference between expecting the government to provide the services we pay them to provide and the dictatorial view that civilians should take what they are given and get out of the way.

I prefer a system where we are for the most part self-governing with very limited interference from the governmant, rather than having a system where we have to fill out three forms before we can sneeze. I believe it was the intention of our Founders that we are for the most part self-governing and indepentdent and that the function of governmant is to serve the people. I think we should be careful that in our material concern for comfort and security we do not give up our basic rights.

I was listening to the radio and there was a reporter travelling with some military FEMA personnel who were complaining that the few local people who were insisting on staying in their flood-damaged homes were being given water and food and allowed to stay. It was his view that the whole operation would be much smoother for them if they could force these people to evacuate.

No one should force anyone from their homes if they do not want to leave. They can be advised as to the dangers they are facing, but not forced against their will under the banner of 'efficiency'. They have the right to do as they please on their own land even if we think they are crazy to stay.

Posted by Cassandra Helm at September 12, 2005 9:13 AM

I think that the problem with self-governance occurs in a complex society such as ours. As you pointed out, the FEMA personnel desired to forceably evict residents from their homes, where you and I might consider that course of action an infringement on an individuals human rights. The difficulty arises when mulitple individual views are allowed to be expressed within a community without centrally managed oversight. Too often, local infringements on an individuals' rights require recourse from a central overseeing government. The fact is, to be completely frank, there are many individual locos out there in our society that would be dangerous to themselves and others if left to their own devices. People want law and order, safety and protection. The important thing is that we the people (as the government) always retain the power of checks and balances and ensure that our representatives continually act in our best interest and do not overstep their roles as our elected representatives. Many times in our world, people have had to overtake their governments when it lost the plot and became too controlling and self serving. I don't think America is there yet where we need to consider a coup. But, we do have every right to demand transparency and accountability.

What bothers me is that often, not just in America, but all over the world; so many people are overly accepting of their governments breaches and have a perception that the government has some sort of right to act without support of the majority of its people. This blind acceptance of governmental decision making is dangerous over time as the line gets stretched further and further beyond the control of the people.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at September 12, 2005 3:52 PM

We all want less government and we all want government to leave us alone, but we all want the government to save our backsides from hurricanes and everything else that can go wrong in the world? We already have "leaders" who have promised us we can have it both ways, which is why we are in the situation we find ourselves today. Our pioneer forefathers and mothers are turning over in their graves at this discussion. We all have the responsibility and authority to look out for ourselves during natural disasters. And let me pre-answer the ineviatable question about what to do with all those hundreds of thousands in NO and elsewhere who can't fend for themselves with another question. WHY are there so many helpless people living on their own in the first place? Where were their families? Where were their friends? Where were their neighbors? Why were there 100,000 wards of the state of LA in New Orleans in the first place? Yeah, we all want leadership, but we want leadership to show up like the cavalry in the movies and otherwise to leave us to our own devices. If you are looking for effective leadership, please stop looking at your elected representatives or government bureaucrats. That's not what they were elected or appointed for.

Posted by Mike at September 12, 2005 5:19 PM

Tom O - Thanks for the recognition of the "parenting milestone." Like all those parents before me, I find it somewhat disconcerting to have arrived at this point in time in the proverbial blink of an eye. The search is still underway - although it looks strong for the University of Tennessee in Knoxville at this point.

I have enjoyed the discussion relative to the governments role in our lives. Too many brain cells in a population of too few have been strained today so I don't really have much to add to the conversation at this point. I am tired of the partisan politics of the day - there should be no politics in a disaster - just the neighbors, friends, and family mentioned by Mike. I was raised in a home that pretty much had a rule that said you should't complain about an issue unless you are personally willing to do something about it. I have already complained more than my allotted share. So I will redirect some of this frustration and I will do my part in my community to help with better planning and execution - if we all did that then this issue will be moot.

In the end, the actions of our government are controlled by us. I am reminded of a quote that I read some time ago that I am unable to give proper credit for but it goes like this - We don't live in America - America lives in us. Every so often we need to be reminded that we came from a heritage like Cassandra's grandmother. Katrina was a none too gentle reminder. Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work.

Posted by Walter White at September 12, 2005 10:36 PM

Tom O', "a danger to themselves and others"! Who are we to judge? Are we speaking about thieves and drug addicts? Mental patients? Homicidal maniacs? No, we are speaking about ordinary adults who for whatever reason do not wish to leave their homes. Once you reach a certain age you have to be allowed the freedom to make your own decisions. Maybe those people would be better off leaving, but they are willing to rough it. That is their decision no matter what you or I think. It is one thing to make a suggestion or offer advice, it is a very different thing to force people to your point of view. I am no Nazi.

"The difficulty arises when mulitple individual views are allowed to be expressed within a community without centrally managed oversight."

Have you ever heard of the first amendment? I don't need anyone to tell me what to say or what to think.

I think your intentions are good, but I do not like the sort of system they imply. I believe in tolerance and freedom.

Posted by Cassandra Helm at September 13, 2005 4:26 AM

Cassandra, you are correct in pointing out my lapse with "The difficulty arises when mulitple individual views are allowed to be expressed within a community without centrally managed oversight." Very poorly worded. "views" was in the context of self-governance, not personal outlooks (i.e. when your self-governing action conflicts with my self-governing action.) Of course, thank God, we all have our own views and the freedom to express them.

But our actions and behaviors are controlled by laws set out by our government, who represent us. Without such central oversight, my fear would be that our society would be faced with a "survival of the fittest" mentality. It's nice to think that we're all nice people and that we'd get along swimmingly without structured rules of engagment in a society (rules of engagment that we ourselves request from our representatives); but the truth is that left to our own devices, without limitations and restraints, it would be more "Lord of the Flies" than Utopia out there.

There are many people in our society who choose to engage in deviant behavior on a daily basis, there are people in our society that murder others, there are people who rape others, there are people that steal large sums of money from corporations, etc. Of course we need a government to be a voice for the people in socitey. Otherwise, it's back to the wild west.

Mind you, I am not seeking more federal government involvement in my life. But I certainly wouldn't suggest that we'd be better off with no involvement. There's a happy balance and I think that we're not too far off an acceptable line at the moment. Remember, the government is the people.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at September 13, 2005 3:47 PM

I am very glad that you feel we have the right to express our opinions even if our opinions differ. I’m relieved that you wouldn’t be so controlling as to want to outlaw freedom of expression. Oddly enough part of my love for freedom of expression comes from my childhood in Iran. There everyone has an opinion about everything. Parents go shopping with their children and the whole family will have very long and heated discussions about what brand of rice to buy or what kind of spice or rose water, even five year olds proudly voice their opinions, and after much discussion a consensus is reached and they move on to the next product and have another long discussion. It is really entertaining and wonderful and explains why so many Iranians love the ideals and promised freedoms of the West.

The Lord of the Flies was a very interesting book, but I understand it differently. It describes a system where one young man was freely elected to run the group and then this respected agreement was cast aside and life became cheap with everyone at the mercy of a few bullies, led by one. If you truly despise the message of our loss of civility and respect for individual freedom of action and expression, then in a quirky way I believe we must agree.

I agree that murderers and thieves and so on are bad for society and that it is useful that the government we elect and pay for helps us to keep law and order. I also believe that civilization really amounts to our agreement with each other to uphold certain values and customs (which may vary from place to place), not because a government with armies and a police force makes us but because we believe that on the whole it to be the best way to live.

Incidentally I would just like to mention that I never used the term self-governing nor have I suggested the need for a coup. Please do not put words in my mouth or insinuate that I follow a view that I do not.

Posted by Cassandra Helm at September 14, 2005 6:24 AM

Okay, Tom O', I'm sorry. I did use the term 'self governing', but I did not mean it in the way you understoond. I meant that as law-abiding adults, we really do not need to expect much interference from the government in our lives. I believe it was the intention of our Founders that our nation should be run in the spirit of independence. I certainly do not think we need a coup. Our constitution is the foundation of a government that should be able to function within this spirit.

Posted by Cassandra Helm at September 14, 2005 6:40 AM