As Hurricane Rita wreaks havoc in Louisiana and east Texas, I watch the radar maps on TV and hope that my friend and her husband were able to leave their home in western Louisiana and get to someplace safer. And I hope that FEMA will do a better job at managing the effects of this storm than they did with Katrina.
Last week, the New York Times ran a lengthy article about FEMA's failures in responding to Katrina. An article at Blah3 boils it down to a few key points. While I don't necessarily accept the conspiracy theories proposed at the end of the Blah3 piece, the fact list is alarming. [Read it.]
Despite the screwups, there are some good people working in the FEMA rank and file (including a Philadelphia fireman -- the brother-in-law of a close friend of mine -- who happens to be a true hero). And the new director is said to have strong credentials. But it will take a while before the new director can turn things around. And, to do so, he'll need cooperation from the Bush administration and he'll need federal funding. Good luck to him.
And good luck to all affected by Hurricane Rita.
Let's hope that al-Qaeda is gracious enough to hold off on any more attacks on U.S. soil until FEMA has a chance to get its act together.
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