This article (written in 1995) explains how FEMA has been late on arrival on MANY occasions after natural catastrophes. The fact hurricane Katrina affected an area with a high population of blacks gave those who already have a perpetual axe to grind with whites and/or Bush much needed fuel to bolster their argument.

The FEMA Phoenix

Reform of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

written by Daniel Franklin

[excerpted]

“Rarely had the failure of the federal government been so apparent and so acute. On August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew leveled a 50-mile swath across southern Florida, leaving nearly 200,000 residents homeless and 1.3 million without electricity. Food, clean water, shelter, and medical assistance were scarce. Yet, for the first three days, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is responsible for coordinating federal disaster relief, was nowhere to be found. And when FEMA did finally arrive, its incompetence further delayed relief efforts. Food and water distribution centers couldn’t meet the overwhelming need; lines literally stretched for miles. Mobile hospitals arrived late. In everything it did, FEMA appeared to live up to the description once given to it by South Carolina Sen. Ernest Hollings: “the sorriest bunch of bureaucratic jackasses I’ve ever known.”

“…It was a problem that had long dogged FEMA. In 1990, as Hurricane Hugo hurtled towards Puerto Rico with winds of 120 miles per hour, Governor Rafael Hernandez-Colon sent the proper federal aid request forms to FEMA headquarters in Washington. One scrupulous bureaucrat, however, noticed that the governor had failed to check one section of the form. Dutifully, the FEMA worker sent the request back–via the U.S. mail. The returned forms did not reach the governor until after Hugo hit. As Puerto Ricans were cleaning up the mess left by their worst hurricane this century, Governor Hernandez-Colon was forced to re-file the request forms and send them, once again, through the mail. Federal aid was held up for days. (more…)

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Many say “racism”. I say incompetence–decades of it!

Click here for the facts behind the Katrina aftermath.