Katrina’s Kast of Thousands
February 11, 2006

The blame game continued this week on Capitol Hill. Former FEMA chief Michael Brown testified and Homeland Security Chief Chertoff is expected next week. The showmanship before the national media, from witnesses and senators alike, would be amusing if it weren’t for the seriousness of the Katrina failures.

The White House and Department of Homeland Security yanked Mike (Charlie) Brown’s football from him and he’s now flying solo. Brown admitted mistakes, but said his leadership was not the issue. The issue, in his eyes, is that FEMA is now under DHS, an umbrella agency whose primary responsibility is terrorism prevention and response. PurpleThink believes Mike (“Can I go home now?”) Brown indeed had leadership issues. However, we also believe it cannot be pinned on Brown alone, and that his assertions have considerable merit.

As messed-up Cuba is, they got this one right. Cuba is probably the model of disaster preparedness. Mandatory evacuations are just that – mandatory. Centrally organized and executed response is nearly seamless. Everyone knows who’s in charge. In Cuba, the military, emergency responders, and medical teams perform in concert. Cuba’s approach demands results. We don’t think failure should mean time in the gulag, but sure do like the clear accountability. Full disclosure time: PurpleThink likes a good Cohiba.

The foundational responsibility for Federal government is the protection of the homeland. Education, Commerce, Interior and many other cabinet-level departments may be necessary, but they aren’t constitutionally mandated (or, quite possibly, even allowed). We’ve lost sight of what our national government is truly responsible for.

There has been a historical struggle between local and federal control of everything from taxes to speed limits. Our founding fathers warned about this legislative minutia. Franklin and Jefferson at least have graves to roll in as thousands of New Orleans coffins were washed away by Katrina. Arguments about “No Child Left Behind,” and prescription drug benefits have distracted us from what really matters. PurpleThinkers want to see local control and accountability for nearly everything. However, this is one HUGE exception.

On a personal note, PurpleThink has a friend in New Orleans as a hired hand. He was contracted by a company hired by FEMA to bring-in workers from out of state with heavy-duty equipment. He started right after the New Year and has yet to be paid. One of the many intermediaries was embezzling federal funds intended for the rebuilding effort. Many have quit and gone home to keep from defaulting on mortgages and having cars repossessed.

What’s to do? First, enough with the dog-and-pony-show on Capitol Hill. Enough scapegoats. There needs to be a Katrina Commission, much like the 9/11 Commission to fix disaster response. PurpleThinkers hate meetings and bureaucracy, but this time it’s necessary. We have an idea of what the commission would find. Below are our thoughts…

1) The Feds need to control the resources during a disaster. Mayor Ray (Chocolate School Bus) Nagin and Governor Kathleen (Am I on the air?) Blanco were not elected to handle disasters. We cannot expect local authorities, elected to fix roads and schools, to be disaster experts.

2) The Feds need to enforce accountability for maintenance of known disaster infrastructure. Controlled locally, enforced federally. Dams, levies, bridges and other infrastructure across the nation on par with the New Orleans levy system need to be catalogued and inspected. Local authorities that do not maintain infrastructure appropriately face federal prosecution. Think about it. Wouldn’t this be the same list we should be tracking as terrorist targets?

3) Define "disaster." Not every calamity requires federal control. Numbers 1 and 2 above could result in a bureaucratic nightmare unless there is a very clear definition of when and how the Feds take over.

4) Learn from Cuba. Yep, I said it. Hire cigar, uh I mean, disaster experts from Cuba as consultants to give us some idea of how it’s done. Oh, and lift the ban on Cohibas – pretty please?!

 

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