Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (
More info?)
Richard Crowley wrote:
> <Kurt Riemann> wrote ...
>
>>Like I said before, Bush appointed the head of FEMA, and
>>he has not risen to the occasion.
>
>
> And the voters of NO selected their mayor and LA their
> governor. Both of whom had primary responsibility. Or do
> you think we should just do away with those pesky layers
> of local and state governments and let the Feds run everything
> directly? That should be great.
>
>
Crossposted from nashville.general:
Source:
<http
/www.chris-floyd.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&
Itemid=1>
"On Saturday, August 27, 2005 -- two days before Hurricane Katrina made
landfall -- President George W. Bush assumed responsibility for the
coordination of "all disaster relief efforts" in the State of Louisiana.
This is the specific, undisputed language of Bush's declaration of a
State of Emergency, issued that day by the White House, and still
available for viewing on the White House website. The responsibility for
coordinating all disaster relief efforts in New Orleans clearly rested
with the White House. Despite all the post-disaster spin by the Bush
Faction and its sycophants, despite all the earnest media analyses, the
lines of authority are clear and indisputable. Here is the voice of
George W. Bush himself, in the proclamation issued in his name, over his
signature on Saturday, August 27, 2005:
"The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of
Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local response
efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina
beginning on August 26, 2005, and continuing. The President's action
authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts
which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused
by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate
assistance for required emergency measures"
"Bush goes on to say: "Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify,
mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources
necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency."
"There is really nothing more to be said about "lines of authority" and
"who was responsible" for managing the relief effort. Two days before
the hurricane struck Louisiana, the President of the United States
assumed the responsibility for coordinating ALL disaster relief efforts.
He then specifically designated FEMA as the lead agency in charge of
this effort, giving it presidential authorization to mobilize any and
all resources necessary to "alleviate the impacts of the emergency."
What's more, FEMA was given specific, direct, presidential authority to
act at its discretion -- it did not have to wait for approval from
elsewhere in the federal government or from state or local authorities.
"All of this is as plain as day; it's set down in black and white, in a
direct, unambiguous document signed by President George W. Bush and
available 24 hours a day on the official White House website. If any
Beltway pundit or high media mandarin wishes to know who was responsible
for the direction of "ALL disaster relief efforts" in the Gulf Coast
during and after the storm, they need only consult the White House
website."
"Can we end this ludicrous "debate" about blame now?"