I am hearing from random apolitical people I know utterings of disgust about how unprepared we were for this. This is not the moment for national unity, unless you want to get conned again by President George W. Excuses. RedDan's
excellent diary on the critical resources diverted from New Orleans prior to the storm by Bush, and the
Op-Ed by King County Wash. Emergency Management Director Eric Holdeman on Bush's gutting of FEMA, show that George Bush is guilty of criminal negligence and mismanagement of our nation.
Witt fought for federal funding to support the new program. At its height, only $20 million was allocated to the national effort, but it worked wonders. One of the best examples of the impact the program had here in the central Puget Sound area and in western Washington state was in protecting people at the time of the Nisqually earthquake on Feb. 28, 2001. Homes had been retrofitted for earthquakes and schools were protected from high-impact structural hazards. Those involved with Project Impact thought it ironic that the day of that quake was also the day that the then-new president chose to announce that Project Impact would be discontinued.
Indeed, the advent of the Bush administration in January 2001 signaled the beginning of the end for FEMA. The newly appointed leadership of the agency showed little interest in its work or in the missions pursued by the departed Witt. Then came the Sept. 11 attacks and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Soon FEMA was being absorbed into the "homeland security borg."
This year it was announced that FEMA is to "officially" lose the disaster preparedness function that it has had since its creation. The move is a death blow to an agency that was already on life support. In fact, FEMA employees have been directed not to become involved in disaster preparedness functions, since a new directorate (yet to be established) will have that mission.
Given the critical situation, with gas prices spiking by 20% alone yesterday, there is no possibility that Bush will handle the crises with any degree of credibility. It's just too tempting for him to allow refineries to drag their feet on restarting production so as to keep prices high and force tax credits, like he did with Enron during the California energy crisis. It's too tempting for him to lie his way towards more executive power using this crisis as an excuse. We cannot wait another three years for someone to act 'like an adult'. This is it.
I hope that a progressive in the House will offer articles of impeachment against George Bush and Dick Cheney. That person will take incredible flack for sure, but like voting against the war in 2002 the argument needs to be put on the table and on the record. Or else Bush will put his argument on the record, and we will be hearing nothing but demands for resolve, faith, and blank checks for the political allies of George W. Excuses.