Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler OT: Katrina and World Support?

>>I agree completely that no one group is to blame.

I should also say that the real crime here was lack of alignment between city, state and federal plans. If you assumed that city and/or state plans covered getting the population OUT of the city then the federal response was quite reasonable. If you assume that the feds have responsibility for everything including getting people out of town in the first place, then they dropped the ball big time.

I guess the big question is "under the US laws, what responsibility does each level of government have with regards to disaster planning and execution ?".

I was under the impression that National Guard was always under federal control when reacting to an emergency, but other posts have indicated that they are normally under state control unless the Feds step in (and offer to pay ??).

bridgman, National Guards are under each state's control, and can only be ordered into action by that state's governor. Specifically speaking, there is an Alabama National Guard.

As for evac plans, each municipality (through its police force) is responsible for evacuating a city, with assistance from the State Police and National Guard.

The federal government's role is to aid and assist the local governments after the event - typically in clean up, long term housing and rebuilding.

That being said, a governor CAN ask for federal assistance and can also turn over control of the National Guard to Federal control, and the President can take control of a National Guard unit for a Federal mission.

Here is an excerpt from the Pennsylvania National Guard's mission statement :

In reply to:

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During peacetime, the Governor, through the State Adjutant General, commands the Pennsylvania Guard forces. The Governor can call the Guard into action during local or statewide emergencies, such as storms, drought, and civil disturbances, to name but a few. Additionally, the President of the United States (Commander-In-Chief) can activate the National Guard to participate in Federal missions. Examples of this are the many Pennsylvania Guard units that over the years have deployed to support operations in theaters overseas or here in the States.

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Interesting... thanks !!

That begs the question "why is everyone beating on the Feds then ?". Obviously a devastated state will require help from Guards corps outside the state, presumably by either asking other states for help or having the federal government request control of the NG from other states.

I still think SOMEONE should have jumped in after it became apparent that the evacuation had missed 100,000 or so people, and that resources from other states or federal government were probably the only ones in a position to do so (assuming the gulf states were overwhelmed, which is a reasonable assumption) but I certainly hadn't realized how much of disaster planning was a city and state responsibility.

Geez, it's nice to be able to blame the Democrats instead

Talking politics on a public forum where anonymity is common place, there is no accountability for one’s words, and anyone can claim whatever identity they wish…….. Didn’t y’alls parents teach you anything? What’s next, right to life and religion?

This thread needs to go away, badly…….I will not view it again.

I've met with enough regulars face to face that I do not feel anonymous on this forum. I could get away with a lot more crap if I were as careful about concealing my identity as, say, JohnK.

I cleverly disguise myself by using my surname as a handle and posting my full name and home town in my profile. Seriously, my parents are in their late 80s and weren't able to teach me much about Netiquette. Everything I know I learned from GeneticDrift

Whoops, and here I learned my netiquette from IRC and Usenet.

"Is 'stupid poop face' two words or three?"

U SUCKZ000000RRRRRRR!!!!!!ONE111!!n00B!!11!!

Bren R.

If you are typing in all caps then it's three words. If you are using upper and lower case then one word if you are a programmer, two words if you are under 13, and three words for the rest of us.

I just heard that Bush went to Congress for an additional $52B to help rebuild New Orleans. All I can say is that for $52 billion I hope New New Orleans will be a few feet ABOVE sea level. I know prices are higher than they used to be, but $52B should still buy a lot of fill

bridgman, that was PRICELESS.

I've seen that sentiment on a number of boards and I have to disagree.

New Orleans is a unique and enchanting city and deserves to be brought back to life but this time with a more than adequate levee system, decent flood control and a regenerated wetlands area.