Seeing Red

Yesterday there was a 'high-priority' request for a generator installation at a water treatment facility. A team had been sent but no one could confirm if the generator was up and running. The team that was sent could not be reached and the state, FEMA, and the men in green were asking us every 10-minutes if the generator had been installed.

For some reason, it did not occur to anyone to call the point-of-contact who actually worked at the water-facility. That was always someone else's job. So I called. And the guy called me back an hour later and confirmed that, yes, the facility was up and running.

It's so typical. You're important enough to demand the information - but you're too important to actually call the person you are supposed to be helping.

Anyway, I received this congratulatory email from the deputy of the General:

Thank You!!! This was a really good save. Tomorrow we will be able to hold our heads high @ the State meeting and maintain our credibility as the Nation's Engineer. I appreciate your work.

Now, if he had just not written the heavy-handed sacchrine third sentence, I would have reacted more positively to this email. But, the longer I work in the government and especially in the past few months, it seems like the word credibility is associated with telling people what they want to hear rather than anything that has to do with reality, truth, and integrity. 'Credibility' rings hollow.

Everyday I fight small battles along these lines. Just two days ago I locked horns with a guy from the Department of Energy (DOE) over a map depicting power outages in the eastern-most counties of Texas:

“This map doesn’t reflect known outages in along the LA border. Some how we need to incorporate that into this map if it is being used for planning purposes.”

“Well, a power outage for 1 million people in Houston is a lot different than smaller outages in counties with less than 5000 people."

“I’ve talked to people in these counties. The outages are widespread. The county judges for these counties think a county-wide power outage is pretty significant. Even if your data doesn’t show it – for whatever reason – we’ve got to incorporate known outages in this map. It’s being used for planning purposes.”

"There are power outages every day. A squirrel can knock out a transformer and there’s a reported outage.”

“I don’t think these outages are caused by SQUIRRELS knocking out transformers. There was a hurricane.”

“But if we show all the counties with outages, there’s going to be a lot of RED on that map. It’s not good to show a lot of RED. It looks bad.”

At that point I chose not to continue the conversation lest I rip off his head and let him see red.

After he left, I turned to the gal who was worried about making the map with inaccurate information and said, “Look, this is your map. It’s akin to journalistic integrity. Don’t represent something you KNOW is wrong. If you’re not comfortable with the map he wants to produce, then don’t produce it. You’re making the map. Not him. If he doesn’t like it, he can make his own map.”

(I also mumbled to myself, "It's Texas. You'd think that RED was a good thing to see.")

I guess that is why that email I quoted at the top of this blog entry just didn’t sit with me very well. It seems as if credibility is maintained by telling people what they want to hear – and if it’s convenient, good news will align with facts, truth, reality. And if it isn’t convenient, facts, truth, and reality is easily expendable for the sake of maintaining the appearance of credibility.

I face that issue so many times a day. If you can’t provide the ‘good-news’ answer, there is a feeling of personal failure even when the situation contains 1001 factors beyond your control or knowledge. It seemed as if the DOE guy thought that it would reflect badly upon his agency to report the widespread power outage as if they could have done something to prevent the winds from knocking down the major transformer lines...

I don't want to depict myself as the lone oasis of truth and sanity out here in Federal disaster land. But one of my pet peeves is sloppy thinking and misrepresentation of information (see the work of Edward Tufte). If something needs to be done for 'political reasons', fine. But don't hide your political reasons behind data/information that you willfully misinterpret. Hmmm. Happily, I’m getting a massage tomorrow and going shopping.

All too human.

Another crazy day. Part of me hesitates to reveal too much operational specificity but some stories are just too funny and it reveals that FEMA and the Federal gov't is run by a bunch of humans. Myself included.

It's 730pm. I'm ready to leave early for once. And then I see two FEMA guys approach my colleague. Her eyes grow wide and she picks up her cell-phone and starts punching numbers.

There are only 40 trucks of water left at the warehouse in Dallas Ft Worth. The state of Texas is requesting 150 trucks for tomorrow. But yesterday, there were 400 trucks of water at the warehouse and they were only supposed to have shipped out 150 trucks today. So we are missing 200 trucks of water. Trucks are 18-wheeler semi-tractor trailers. 200 are gone.

After 10 minutes of frantic calls, the story comes out. The "wisdom that lies elsewhere" (i.e. FEMA in Washington, DC) decided to ship all the water to Louisiana without taking into consideration the water requirements for Texas. And without telling anyone working on Texas operations.

Tomorrow is gonna be one big whopper of a day.

Today marks my 32nd straight day of 12-hour shifts. In a moment of sanity and compassion, FEMA is ordering a mandatory day-off this weekend for people who have been deployed close to 30-days. I'm making plans.

In other news, keep your eyes on this webpage.

Texas wants you anyway

I’m in the land of Lyle Lovett, Super XX Man, and Townes Van Zandt. That’s right, I’m in Texas. But honestly, I can’t tell. I’m inside this office-plex most hours of the day. Today I escaped for 30 minutes to bring back sandwiches for lunch. I’m DYING to see Austin and go hear some live music. But that won’t happen for a while. Maybe not even during this trip.

Long hectic days were made even more torturous as I felt DEAD-tired on Friday and Saturday. But I finally perked up again today (Sunday). It must have been a cup of atomic strength coffee that I had – because I wasn’t feeling so hot during the first few hours at work. Must have hit the right neural receptor. The normal busy-ness is going on – the same ole problems, a few congressional inquiries, lack of information, and absence of good communications makes placating DC difficult. But at least masses of people’s lives aren’t endangered by our bumbling this time around.

I’ve been to Georgia, Mississippi and now to Texas – and my affection for the South continues to grow. This does not mean that I want to live in the South, but my romantic notions of ‘The South’ that I have developed through literature and music helps me notice the picturesque through the ugly. For instance, in the mornings, there was a big red sun hanging low in the sky over the parking lot of the Cabot Lodge in Jackson, MS. As I backed out of my parking space, Lucinda Williams could be heard singing ‘big-red sun blues’ in my head. And there was a large Federal staging area (where we send all the trucks of the supplies) near Meridian, MS. Every time I deal with an issue related to Meridian, I hear Emmylou Harris sing the melancholy chorus of her song “Red-Dirt Girl.” (Look up the lyrics to this song and listen to this whole album– it’s one of my favourites) And when my colleagues went for a beer after work, I could hear the HEM cover of the Johnny Cash tune, ‘Jackson.’

When you find me down in Jackson,
I’ll be dancin’ on a pony keg.

If ‘the South’ at the interchange of I20 and I55 in Jackson still manages to inspire other writers and musicians to this very day, well, there’s a reason why I’m not a writer or a musician. Now, that I’m headed to Texas, I’ve got Lyle Lovett on the brain.

You say you're not from Texas
Man as if I couldn't tell
You think you pull your boots on right
And wear your hat so well

So pardon me my laughter
'Cause I sure do understand
Even Moses got excited
When he saw the promised land

That's right you're not from Texas
That's right you're not from Texas
That's right you're not from Texas
But Texas wants you anyway

To Dallas..and beyond!!!

Made it safely to Dallas last night. I listened to tons of David Bowie on the road and have a new appreciation for his musical artistry and hear how contemporary musicians 'quote' his music in stuff they are putting out today. (Sound and Vision is quoted by The Doves in There Goes the Fear track on The Last Broadcast album. Then there is the Vanilla Ice sample from Under Pressure, of course).

I listened to the new Death Cab for Cutie. You can sing Blondie's HEART OF GLASS in a slower tempo to Track3 of that album. I did just that, several times.

But perhaps the funniest part of it all is the car I'm driving. It's the only thing Enterprise would rent to me for a one-way rental. When I got gas in Vicksburg MS, the guy in the pickup next to me totally looked shocked to see me getting out of the cab of this vehicle.

Stayed with a good friend in Dallas. Got to have breakfast with her and her husband. Got to see their crazy cute 2 year old. It was so great to be in a house for the first time in a month.

Speaking of houses - if anyone has friends in Austin who can give me a place to sleep - let me know!!!

Shreveport LA 1040PM.

So, it became obvious that I wasn't going to get a flight out of Jackson MS.

I'm now in Shreveport LA and headed to Dallas. Final destination Austin TX.

Why am I online? Needed to look up a phone numberof my college roommate who lives in Dallas.
So I pulled into a Courtyard Marriott outside of Shreveport. (They have no vacancies tonight)

In the past 4 hours, I've asked myself, "Are you crazy?"

I think the answer might be yes.

Four more hours to Dallas.

Perversely beautiful.

I find these satellite images perversely beautiful. I get the chills just looking at these images. Especially when you can can see the texture of the clouds.
Rita, like Katrina, has a 'perfect' symmetry which helps it intensify or maintain its strength.

Day 22 - Waiting for Permission

It felt like I spent the day waiting for permission. Everyone else seemed like they were waiting for permission, too.

I left work at 715pm and while I was eating a salad in my hotel room, I read this WashPost article about red-tape. And I wonder if my dithering today implicates me as a suspect on the scene.

There are ways to do things to ensure that FEMA will reimburse your agency for money spent. Yeah, the fabled red-tape. But, legally-speaking, there is not alternative because:

1. It is illegal for Federal agencies to spend money you don't have (but, then, where does the deficit come from?); and
2. It is illegal for Federal agencies to spend money that allocated (by Congress) in your budget for another purpose.

Then there are the grey areas. I'm working on issues that my agency typically doesn't address. Consequently, we don't really have defined resources (people, tools, equipment) to solve my problems. Although FEMA has given my agency the money, FEMA is not, in theory, authorized to provide "permanent" solutions to problems - only funds for "emergency-repairs."

But when significant portions of infrastructure have been wrecked - 'permanent' repairs are pretty hard to distinguish from 'emergency-repairs.' Maybe today, no one will care about defining that line. But rest assured, that a year from now, that line will be debated endlessly by the financial people and the auditors.

Maybe I shouldn't be waiting for permission. But I'm just steps away from committing lots of money and creating a lot of work for people other than me. And I'm not even confident that this direction will solve problems identified. Maybe this is not one of those situations where you ask for forgiveness later.

It's been 22-days since I left home. The 21st day of working 12-hour shifts. But I feel surprisingly okay - getting decent sleep and I'm not internalizing the stress anywhere near as much as I did last year. I bought the new DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE album and the 2-disc Best of Bowie. SunVolt will be playing in Jackson next week. I need some exercise. And in a weird way, I'm bored.

And then some.

If Katrina hadn't come along, this story would never have been written.

Washington Post - FEMA's City of Anxiety in Florida

In one year from now, what stories won't be written unless another catastrophe strikes? Timely considering what I wrote previously.

There is no easy solution. But why does FEMA keep using a broken formula?

My take: Because recovery isn't about the people (the most disadvantaged). It's about the money that the gov't will spend...

that it's all just a little bit of history repeating

If thousands of lives were lost in New Orleans, LA because local, state, and Federal officials couldn't agree upon who had authority and the responsiblity to act and make decisions, then:

to me it seems quite clear
that it's all just a little bit of history repeating

I'm specifically referring to the gargantuan task of setting up temporary housing in LA and MS for the thousands of people who have lost their homes.

I've been working on other issues but listening to the conversations and briefings about the housing and temporary bldg missions that my agency is involved in support of FEMA. Once again, no one knows who's in charge, who has the authority to tell the contractor to procure materials and spend money, and other organizational issues. Decisions are made. Decisions are countermanded. Promises are made and then the scramble is on to ensure that the promise-maker can spend the money to deliver.

What I never hear are discussions on the following items:

• Household size of displaced residents - based on census data and applications for FEMA assistance.
• Age distribution of displaced residents - to determine what services will need to be in place for these communities.
• Design considerations to make trailer parks a little more liveable.

In other words, I never hear substantive discussions about how the housing needs to address the needs of the people who will be living there. They pay lip service to serving the 'victims' but 95% of the time the big-decisionmakers are involved in turf-wars and not involved in understanding who they are going to be assisting. The big companies hired are all about construction and engineering - and they are all about bringing in big aluminum boxes by the thousands and lining them up in big ole grid. The FEMA decisionmakers are largely ex-military people who have plenty of experience in strategic planning to accomplish tactical objectives - but not humanitarian or community oriented objectives. Where are the urban planners? Where are the social workers/sociologists that might bring insight into the special needs of a traumatized community?

Maureen Dowd's column in the NYTimes almost brought me to tears in the middle of the office this morning. I cite it here not because of her condemnation of the President's past and current actions in this disaster, but because of her description of the fate of many who died and how they were ignored because of reasons too numerous and too flimsy to mention. Those horrible days of inaction finally, but slowly transitioned to a responsive rescue and relief effort. In response, the media commentary was about the 'hidden' nature of class, race, and poverty. Now that Katrina headlines have been replaced by confirmation hearings, airline bankruptcy, and Iraq, is it just a matter of a few more weeks until the disenfranchised are buried in the back of the newspapers, again?

The word is about, there's something evolving,
whatever may come, the world keeps revolving
They say the next big thing is here,
that the revolution's near,
but to me it seems quite clear
that it's all just a little bit of history repeating

I just shook General Honore’s hand.

-----Original Message-----
> From: J C
> Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2005 9:52 AM
> Subject: I just shook General Honore's hand
>
>
> He's definitely a pretty cool guy.

-----Original Message-----
>From:"K, M A"
> OOOH. So tell me about it.

-----Original Message-----
> From: J C
> Sent: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 12:25 PM
> Subject: I just shook General Honore's hand

He came in, said a few words thanking everyone and reminded everyone that we should treat the victims with a degree of hospitality.

"If they are waiting to apply for assistance, don't let them sit in their car like they are waiting for gas. Give them some water, some food. Give them a chaplain to feed their soul."

He had a big booming voice and looked everyone straight in the eye.


I thought the WashingtonPost published a great profile of Honore a few days ago.

The REAL truth behind Nagoya - Jackson, MS

Nagoya is a Japanese restaurant to the west of I-55 exit 103 in Jackson MS. It's in a large strip mall that has HomeDepot, Target, and OfficeMax as it's neighbors.

The sushi/sashimi there is mediocre at best. The quality of the ingredients is fine (i.e. I don't worry about getting sick) but the preparation of the actual sushi (rolls, nigiri, etc) isn't the most artful I've ever seen- and presentation is an important part of my personal enjoyment of sushi. Their sushi-rice is a bit mushy and under-seasoned. The nigiri looks sloppy. The one saving grace is their UNAGI - it is grilled to perfection - but it's assembly was poor. I thought they used too much of that sweet bbq sauce and it covered up the charred goodness of the eel.

For me, the real standouts are the items I've had off the non-sushi menu.

• Miso with seafood
• Asparagus Salad
• Spinach with sesame sauce
• Gyoza
• Beef Tataki
  

All have been very satisfying. I look forward to trying more of their non-sushi items tomorrow.

Now for the REAL truth behind Nagoya.

I've dined solo at Nagoya twice - each time taking a seat at the sushi bar and marveling at the good business this restaurant has. I would not have suspected Japanese food to be so popular in Jackson, MS. At the sushi bar, I noted that 3 of the 4 sushi chefs were Asian and there was one guy who looked mixed between Latino and Asian. As the waitresses picked up their orders from the sushi bar, I caught snatches of Mandarin Chinese.

At first, I tried to figure out if it Mandarin was just spoken by one or two of the Asian waitstaff. After 10 more minutes of listening to the conversations around me, it became clear that everyone was speaking Mandarin. Not a word of Japanese was being spoken.

I asked the sushi-chef, "Aren't you all Chinese?"

His eyes grew wide behind his spectacles and he raised his hand to his lips.

"It's kind of a secret. Nobody can really tell."

"I speak and can understand Mandarin - just a little" I replied in Chinese. Continuing in English, "But enough to understand that everyone is speaking pu-tong-hua!" (Chinese for "Mandarin")

"But we look close enough!" He shrugged and grinned.

Question of the Day.

Question of the Day:

What happens to the rest of FEMA with a shift in responsibility today?

Good question - especially since the media interest and political heat is so intense. In my opinion, the answer to this question: NOT MUCH.

Bush appointed a response-oriented person from the Coast Guard to replace Brown. In my opinion, Bush appointed this person because he wears a uniform and therefore has the appearance of authority. Personally, I’m not sure if this CG person was the right person to appoint – and I’m not saying this because I’m engaging in partisan sniping. The reason I don’t think a CG person suits this job is because, as I said earlier, FEMA is not a ‘first responder’ organization.

If you take the time (and don’t fall asleep) to look at FEMA programs and authorities, most of their activities affect recovery activities. In the short-term those recovery activities might include finding shelters and clearing debris. In the long-term, recovery activities typically include helping localities rebuild schools and public facilities and helping individuals find long-term housing. FEMA also tries to serve as a clearinghouse of information for other grants or loans or services that are provided by other Federal agencies. This is not the stuff that a CG person, whose primary role in Katrina operations is ‘first-responder’ activities, is necessarily suited for.

The fact that FEMA is not, under the Bush administration, a cabinet-level agency is another reason why this leadership change doesn’t mean much. Under Clinton, FEMA was elevated to a cabinet level agency when Witt was director. The current administration has DHS at the cabinet-table but FEMA is buried under DHS as one of many agencies subsumed by the creation of that mammoth agency.

Lastly, will people like me (or the FEMA guys in the same room) notice the change in leadership? Not bloody likely.

Mississippi Bound

Finally, I'm leaving Atlanta tomorrow (Thursday) and I'm going to Jackson, MS. My role down there is not incredibly clear - but it has something to do with finding engineers to do infrastructure assessments for some of the most-impacted counties in that state.

Yeah, I'm goin' to Jackson, 
Look out Jackson town.

If you had asked me when I was a 20-year old undergraduate if I could see myself working for the Corps of Engineers on assignments in the Deep South, the esthete wannabe that I was back then would have laughed and proclaimed, "Nooooo waaaay!"

Wow, things have changed in just 6 years. HA-HA!!!!!

I've haven't been tuned into the news very much in the past two-days. But I'm reading my newspapers online - particularly the WashingtonPost. MEDIA NOTES is one column - written by Howard Kurtz - that I usually make a point of reading.

I particularly liked today's column. While reading the articles that cover various perspectives of the evolving 'blame game,' I keep coming back to the idea of RESPONSIBILITY that I mentioned previously. The relationship between politics and the media has devolved to such a state that, to me, politicians have learned that their 'credibility' and 'electability' is earned through the media. A politician's sense of RESPONSIBILITY to the lives of people that they serve is done through soundbites and public opinion polls. They don't see the CONNECTION between their jobs and the people whom they are supposed to serve. It seems like this adminstration still doesn't get that connection.

But, in actuality, I really don't like talking politics. I guess that's part of why I decided to become a civil servant. Walk the talk. Be the change you want to see. That sort of idealistic drivel. Politicians come and go. Career civil servants - we're like grass stains on cotton.

tropical depression 16

Earlier today, I was copied on an email that contained:














Tropical Depression 16 is the cloud-cover over the eastern side of Florida.
The meteorologist is also concerned about the weather system that may potentially develop in the smattering of clouds just to the west in the Gulf.

The FEMA offices is still running 24-hours even though we've fully transitioned our responsibilities to the field. Guess they want to keep some punching bags around if current ops go haywire again.

It's hard to believe that just two-days ago, the scenes were only of despair and sadness. Looking up at CNN, they are showing kids playing together in the astrodome. I never thought we'd get to this point.

The blame game is going at a fast and furious pace. FEMA was radically overhauled post Hurricane Andrew. Undoubtedly, FEMA will be radically overhauled post Katrina.

Surfing and waiting.

It’s much quieter here in Atlanta now that we have transitioned the bulk of our responsibilities to the offices in MS and AL.

I’m reading some blogs and newspapers online as the phone is, for the first time in 7 days, rather quiet.

I’m happy to note that some other smart people are questioning what responsibilities a state has within the structure of federalism:

http://instapundit.com/archives/025328.php

But it all boils down to a bunch of powerful people who have no sense of what their RESPONSIBILITES are in their real job and how to exercise leadership in that role. And that precedent rolls down hill and permeates the bureaucracy here in the MONOLITH.

Glass 1/5 Full.

Sunday was a frustrating day. I’m sitting in my hotel room at 0100, 5 Sept 05 and I’m getting ready to go to bed.

The news is not getting much better – the accounts I hear of the violence (rape at the SuperDome and shots fired at USACE contractors working on levee repairs), chaos (evacuees without a haven or proper medical care) and the huge loss that my agency may have faced (90% of the New Orleans USACE district personnel has been accounted for. So 10% are still missing.) is so disheartening and disillusioning. And as I said to a friend this evening, “I wasn’t very illusioned to begin with!!!”

All the bad news only compounds my frustration with the bureaucrats inside the monolith. The frustration grows every minute I’m in the office. No one knows what is going on. No one has the time to write down the common processes that we (the Federal agencies) should use to do a variety of tasks. But then again, we don’t have the time to NOT write down the processes that need to be implemented up and down the chain – all the way from a county in Mississippi, through the FEMA region in Atlanta and up to Washington DC.

In the past, the processes to coordinate Federal emergency efforts have floundered, at the very best. But, in the past, this hasn’t killed anyone. Or at least not enough to draw a compelling causal relationship. This time our floundering or failing processes (perhaps I should be more frank – our INCOMPETENCE) is making people sick, compounding their severe emotional distress, or killing them.

The directors and leaders at various nodes often say, “We’ll work that issue.” I’ve heard some variation of that phrase 5000 times in the past week. Basically that translates to: I don’t have an answer and I’m not going to take 15 seconds or 5 minutes to actually THINK and formulate a possible avenue of ACTION to resolve the identified issue.

After leaving work at midnight, I called a friend to vent about my day. After my tirade, she commented, “It seems like no one thinks they have any power to do anything.”

Her assessment is spot-on. And yet it seems so odd – usually some self-aggrandizing self-promoting jerk usually emerges to fill the vacuum. Why did it not happen this time? Last year, there were tales of such jerks that had prominent roles in the Florida operations. Maybe even the jerks know when they are out of their depth and no CYA safehouse is in sight.

Now that the situation in NOLA has calmed down, relief efforts in coastal MS are going to be scrutinized and lambasted and maybe Congress might wake up and show some leadership. And, by the way, where the hell is the National (Congressional or otherwise) discussion and leadership that needs to take place about the future of these evacuees? What options will the Feds provide? Look at the harsh reality. Many of these people may not be citizens of Louisiana any more. These people have NOTHING, have been through HELL, and no one is formulating a long-term plan to provide help to these people through a combination of Federal vouchers to evacuees as well as Federal grants to states/localities that agree to accept and provide services to these people. (I would quote someone from the mtg I attended at 10pm tonight, but I’m trying to avoid too much operational specificity). I know Congress just had their August recess and the Administration is completely out-of-touch – but I think the silence is based on that nasty reality of race-and-class. These are the neediest people that will drain local and state economies. They are going to be an unwanted population.

Last night, I kept thinking of the governments of India and China who are building massive dams that, when operational, will flood (or have flooded) many small poor river communities out of existence. There were half-hearted efforts by the national gov’ts to relocate these communities but monies allocated were said to have been siphoned off by local officials and not actually used to give people money to move and buy a new home etc.

In some ways, by ignoring the risks of New Orleans for the sake of commerce and capitalism, we’ve done the same thing – flooded the poorest people out of their homes. But we still have the opportunity to help these people. However, like I said earlier, I was never very “illusioned” about these things. And based on the last seven days – I’ve got no reason to change my outlook.

But lest you think I’m completely in the throes of despair….my mounting frustrations actually have less to do with my immediate job responsibilities. I feel like my immediate team is well-organized and know how to work through the system to effectively fill our primary function as the ‘money-people’ in addition to doing some coordination of mission execution. I’m a tech-geek and have implemented some efficiencies to reduce the time it takes for me to respond to questions about the reams of paper that I have to track. And I take some small satisfaction in the role I played in getting a team of structural/hospital engineers from our agency and ANOTHER agency to deploy to Mississippi to evaluate 8 coastal hospitals. The fact that inter-agency coordination actually came to fruition on the ground is a minor miracle that I’ve marveled at all day. Does my contribution give me satisfaction enough to keep me coming back for more?

Katrina Inside the Monolith

The past four posts to this blog are 'retrospective' entries that are edited excerpts of some emails I sent to some friends over the past week while working in the FEMA Region 4 office in Atlanta, GA.

It's been a long week. You can read about what my role inside the monolith of the Federal gov't has been in the email excerpts I posted according to the date I sent the emails. I really hope I'll be moving down-range to MS and LA sometime early next week.

Almost every day, I've been checking in with my mom and dad. We talk a little about the Federal response to Katrina and I enjoy talking about things completely unrelated to Katrina. In my family, that would mean we talk about my brother's upcoming wedding in October, what my mom is going to wear, and whether I'll be able to attend. My mother is looking for a softly structured outfit and will probably go shopping with M___ J___. The folks were supposed to visit me in PDX and we were going to go shopping over Labor Day weekend. And, yes, I will be able to attend the wedding unless another hurricane hits the the U.S. And if that happens, then I make no promises.

But when we do talk about Katrina and the Federal Response, it's interesting to hear the outside perspectives on this event and it helps me digest the various emotions and thoughts I've had throughout the past week (disgust, frustration, embarassment, satisfaction, perplexity, and fatigue). (I'm working 12 hour days and catch (maybe) 2-hours of news a day in addition to occasional glances at the CNN text-crawl at the bottom of the TV. Reading text-crawl is how I learned, this evening, that Justice Rehnquist died.)

As it is getting late (0130, 4 Sept 05) I'll put down one question that has been in my head all day:

Why didn't FEMA or some civilian civil servant (Federal, State, or Local) step up to the plate in LA the way General Honore has in the past 36 hours (or so)?

That question has been bothering me all day. And I've come up with some theories. General Honore came into the event with some situational awareness. FEMA did deploy people to Baton Rouge, LA in advance of landfall and so the situational awareness of the federal people in Baton Rouge would have been poor - in the first 24-36 hours or so. However, during that time, someone ELSE outside of LA should have realized that FEMA did not have the on-the-ground capability to aid 1000s of people trapped in a flooded city. Someone should have stepped up.

Why did it take so long to start evacuations out of the city? and bring aid into the city?

My thoughts on that actually makes me wonder if the finger might point to the governor of LA. I could be wrong, but the Governor has the authority to direct the National Guard to act within the State. Inasmuch as I hate playing Monday Morning Quarterback, I would be interested in seeing if/when the LA governor directed National Guard troops to initiate operations in NOLA. National Guard is a state asset. Not a Federal FEMA asset even if FEMA can support their operations by providing supplies and equipment, and arranging for the care and feeding of evacuees.

Here's the dirty little secret that no one is yet saying in the national media. FEMA is not a 'first responder' organization. And, it never has been. I'm not trying to make excuses for FEMA. Someone should have realized much earlier that the situation in NOLA far outstripped the FEMA capabilities and expertise on the ground and called for DOD assets much earlier.

Maybe I'll push the thought a little farther. FEMA is not a 'first responder' organization. It never has been. It never should be. If I understand my basic US civics, Federalism dictates that the States have primary responsibility for citizenry within their boundaries. The concept of Federalism is why FEMA has always explicitly stated that they SUPPORT the STATE government in emergency response. They do NOT takeover the emergency response efforts for the State. FEMA has always stated that states must be self-sustaining for the first 72 hours of a disaster. Given the funding and personnel of FEMA, they cannot be a 'first responder' organization. It is the responsibility of the STATE government to manage events within their jurisdiction.

The political and fiscal reality of it is that State governments don't have the resources to plan, train, and equip themselves for disasters. And the political and fiscal reality of it is that FEMA is not equipped or trained to be a first responder organization.

Well, I better go to sleep. Hope some of this makes sense. Hopefully I don't sound like a complete idiot.

Big Ole Mess - Email to a friend

It looks like a big mess.

I was really pissed to see a CNN reporter trying to
get the MS governor (Haley Barbour) to say that the
Federal gov't has fallen down on the response.  While
I'm no fan of the former head of the RNC - I was proud
to say that Barbour didn't take the bait.  In fact he
chewed out the CNN reporter for trying to set him up.

Nothing is ever going to run smoothly in a disaster of
this magnitude.  The federal gov't is not a monolith.
We just play one on t.v.

I'm still in Atlanta churning out funding memos that
allow the Corps of Engineers to spend money.  Not
involved in Louisiana stuff - just MS and AL.  We've
set up close to $60M funds for just Corps to spend in
those states.  $100M Funding has been approved for use
in the purchase water and ice across the whole
disaster.

Anyways, the existing Corps plans to dewater New
Orleans in such a disaster have always said that it
would take months if the situation was this bad.  No
one would say that on the news two days ago.  But it's
finally coming out now.  People just need to accept
that shit happens and it's going to take time to
resolve these complex issues/problems.

The Corps will be cleaning this mess up for two years.
My prediction.  We're going to have to go in and
raze those neighborhoods that are flooded.  It'll be
interesting to see how they rebuild New Orleans.  Why
move thousands of people back into a dangerous area?
Because we're americans, dammit and we're not going to
get beaten by mother nature.

I should be in Atlanta through next Tues or Weds.
Then I'm hoping to get an interesting job to do down
in LA.    Today I've had nervous flippy floppies in my
stomach about going down there.  Maybe I'll get over
that now and then I'll be less nervous next week.

As one of my colleagues put it, we're not going to be
home much over the next two years, are we?  But (come
hell or high water - what a pun!) I'm still coming to
Lawrence for a KU game this winter!!!!

Random Thoughts - email to a friend

> The fall sun has arrived, it is such a great time of
> year here, you must  make sure you are here to enjoy
> it next year.

One of my coworkers in Alabama said to me over the
phone, "I guess we won't see much of home for the next
two years..."  We still have folks supporting FL
housing needs from the 2004 hurricanes...

> The coverage seems to justify the loss at some
> level, as they "could" have made alternative
choices.

The poor are always the most affected in these
situations.  The 'choices' the poor have are a lot
different than the choices that the media thinks
everyone can exercise.

Things are not so difficult in Atlanta.  A lot less
than last year.  Today, I'm a little nervous about
what my next assignment will be - the challenges, the
conditions, etc...  But that's because I have some
time to think about it.

> By the way the Mariners lost 2-0, but I guess who
> really cares.

Well, S___ does!  All of this is about getting things
back to normal.  Worrying about my window cornices,
forgetting about housing the poor, my cabinet project
which may not get done until December, ignoring the
real risks we live with everyday, getting a better
pitching staff for the Mariners...

okay break is over...