Chertoff knows CYA...

Chertoff had both hands firmly planted on his ass today when he spoke to the media.

I don't know if it was the skill with which he covered his butt or "journalists" just not getting the job done, but no reporter really challenged him or his statements.


This kinda how I heard most of it:

We couldn't have foreseen BOTH, of those TWO SEPARATE, did I mention UNFORESEEN? Maybe one, but definitely not two, no, definitely not both together, who could've known?

OK for three, not a four or five...

This was Mother Nature, bad - bad, Mother Nature!*
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Follow my chain of consciousness>>>>>>



My Bottom line:

People died that didn't have to. This was case where time is life.....
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I look at the aerial shots of submerged houses and I wonder how many of them have people in them who died waiting for help?

As usual, there doesn't seem to have been any ONE "leader" to kick butt and actually show a "sense of urgency" until yesterday, and once he arrived, trucks were rolling into New Orleans within hours. If the President had any decent military training, HE might have done that same thing at the outset, but actions show a lot. His kind words of compassion were welcome I'm sure, but just imagine if we could could go back.....
Back to before the huge tax cut, hell, back before Bonzo went to Washington!

But realistically, back before the cuts to the levee programs slowed things down, or even back to the night the storm hit. So much could have, no SHOULD have been done that night. All the bureaucratic roadblocks and hesitation were left to play out without the leadership necessary to overcome them quickly and expedite the critical decisions.

Again, communications were a MAJOR problem for First Responders....?

I agree with the people saying that they fear the next terror attack more now because of the way this disaster was handled at the beginning.

Now back to Chertoff's press conference.

More interested in covering his and the government's butt, than admitting 'mistakes were made, we learned from them, and we won't make them again'. I'm OK with that, as opposed to how it went down.

It won't bring back the lives of those who died, WAITING for someone, to act, to mobilize all the State and Federal Disaster Search and Rescue Units. To find out exactly what the local Police need 'right now' and get it to them.

To have learned from previous natural disasters and terrorist attacks, and implemented more effective responses, much more so than has been done to date.

Damn it, why can't people's lives be put before wasteful PORK projects and lobbying efforts that may be wonderful for that company (and the politician who "helps", I mean, thinks "it's going to help so many people"), Senator, Congressman, or Trade Group, but take budget dollars away from projects that will ultimately save lives and benefit the majority in many ways.

Pretty much the best that can be hoped for when government screws up and people die, is to ADMIT IT, LEARN from it, and NEVER repeat it.

Am I hoping for too much? Do you want to chalk it to naivete' on my part? I know, I'm not being "realistic" right? Tell that to those who died unnecessarily.... That's right, you can't.


*Maybe Mother Nature AND bad planning and implementation? [trd]