Stephen Harding

Petal and Leif wrote:

    > I think most of us understand that it is more likely that a category 5
    > hurricane one day eventually would hit the city of New Orleans, than an
    > asteroid hit our planet. Don`t pretend to be more stupid than what you are.
    > We know New Orleans is under the water surface, we know it is in the region
    > that is hit by hurricanes. We know that dikes could break and kill a lot of
    > people and make a great damage.
    >
    > I think it is crazy and very very irrisponsible if people look at it the way
    > you do, like comparing that to an asteroid could hit the earth.

And more likely severe flooding of the Mississippi or Ohio Rivers some
spring, a winter storm or just a hot summer over-taxing an already
over-burdened electrical service grid, a Pacific mudslide, hurricanes
in Florida or the SE, and on and on it goes.

Over course we do know Yellowstone is due for a "big one" as is the
San Andreas fault, and an asteroid hit isn't just a supposition but
a future fact.

Everyone plays the odds and when you combine it with a host of other
issues requiring money, you often get away with demoting even Cat 5
hurricane hits on a canal/levee system designed only for Cat 3.

Only after the fact are the geniuses around to tell us the folly of
our ways, and how "obvious" things were.


SMH

Petal and Leif

"Stephen Harding" <> wrote in message news:WeEUe.4240

    > Only after the fact are the geniuses around to tell us the folly of
    > our ways, and how "obvious" things were.
Well, to me you dont have to be a genius to understand that it is wise to
be well prepared for the effects of a category 5 hurricane on the coasts of
Florida and the Golf of Mexico. Before or after this one...
Don`t be surprised if it happen again.


LA

tr2267

In article <GZdUe.18$>,
Kurt Ullman <> wrote:
    >In article <>,
    >wrote:
    >>This was a national catastrophe with effects well outside of New Orleans.
    >>The country was in desperate need of some leadership.

    > Ah, because he legally couldn't, with the exception of the
    >California trip.

Bullshit. Every single thing I mentioned Bush could legally do. Let's look
at them one by one.

    >>Why wasn't Bush
    >>on national TV on _Tuesday_ (instead of flying to California to speech on
    >>Iraq) telling us his response plan for the biggest disaster in American
    >>history.

Legal for president to do? It is preposterous to suggest Bush cannot get on
national TV. And it was already the federal government's responsibility when
the disaster was legally declared an "Incident of National Significance".

    >>Why wasn't he requesting every city and town in the 48 states to
    >>figure out how much shelter space they would be able to provide if or when
    >>necessary?

Legal for president to do? Again it is preposterous to suggest otherwise.

    >>Why didn't he immediately negotiate reduced or suspended hotel
    >>rates with the national chains for the masses of refugees already in hotels?

Legal for president to do? Obviously.

    >>Why didn't Bush order the many naval ships capable of helping to go there
    >>immediately?

Legal for president to do? Obviously.

    >>When didn't Bush immediately order a Berlin Airlift type
    >>operation out of the New Orleans airport?

Legal for president to do? Obviously.

    >>Why didn't he send troops in
    >>immediately?

Legal for president to do? Definitely. The president has _always_ had
the authority to send troops anywhere in the country. Back in 1957
for example Eisenhower used the Alabama national guard to protect
schoolchildren. And the declaration that the disaster was an "incidence
of NATIONAL significance" explicitly game FEMA and the president the
responsibility and authority.

    >>Why didn't he make sure there was a large fleet of vehicles
    >>and busses getting the refugees out round the clock?

Legal for president to do? Obviously.

    >>The president could
    >>have made all of these happen and I would have expected _any_ president
    >>to do these things and more and do them _Tuesday_.