One other thing...

For everyone who is arguing that local government is supposed to be first responders and the federal government is supposed to come in after the fact and help clean up (several people have made this argument to me today), and thus Gov. Blanco and the rest bear all of the responsibility and FEMA did exactly what it was supposed to, please read the following:

In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort. The new Department will also prioritize the important issue of citizen preparedness. Educating America's families on how best to prepare their homes for a disaster and tips for citizens on how to respond in a crisis will be given special attention at DHS.

Lest anyone think I'm pulling that off of some left wing fantasy fest, let me point you to the link.

The Homeland Security department web page is http://www.dhs.gov. If you go there and click on the "Emergencies & Disasters" tab, you're brought to http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp, and right there, plain as day.

Reading further, it's clear that they share first-responder responsibility WITH local authorities, but local authorities were on the scene and doing what they could. They had insufficient resources, and DHS (and FEMA, which is now part of DHS), which were supposed to provide additional support, were nowhere to be seen.

Again, remember, the state of emergency was signed on Friday before the storm hit. The letter requesting aid was signed and delivered on Sunday. And yet the only real indication of the presence of FEMA or DHS on the ground before Thursday evening was certain cases of documented blocking of local efforts.

And by the way, what changed? As far as I can tell, Gov. Blanco STILL hasn't signed the document, and yet now there are armed forces in the city of New Orleans trying to solve the issues. So clearly that signature was not necessary, which means that the delay of getting troops in there was NOT because she wouldn't sign... except if her not signing put Bush into a snit and made him choose to move slower.

Liam.