Fw: Why is FEMA blocking rescue efforts?

Many stories below imply strongly that FEMA was more hindrance than help when it finally got going.  I've worked with the Red Cross in disaster areas, and I know that the key is using every available resource, and mobilizing and organizing all volunteers.  FEMA has been doing just the opposite, as the following list of stories shows- sorry I don't have URL's for some of them- they are compiled from other people's emails. 

 

Our Veterans for Peace group has provided the only food, communication line, organization in Covington, LA for the past week.  Person to person, community to community must replace the feds, who have become enemies of the people.  Let's show up the pious rulers, the false Christians who have diabolically made the situation worse.  Let's love our neighbors, and organize privately to help the hurricane victims.

 

In the name of the Prince of Peace, Carol Wolman

http://www.dailykos.com/  These stories from the their main page

FEMA won't accept Amtrak's help in evacuations

FEMA turns away experienced firefighters

FEMA turns back Wal-Mart supply trucks

FEMA prevents Coast Guard from delivering diesel fuel

FEMA won't let Red Cross deliver food

FEMA bars morticians from entering New Orleans

Update [2005-9-5 16:14:29 by DavidNYC]:

FEMA blocks 500-boat citizen flotilla from delivering aid

  U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., issued the following statement following her tour of the flooded area with Bush:

"...I understand that the U.S. Forest Service had water-tanker aircraft
available to help douse the fires raging on our riverfront, but FEMA has
yet to accept the aid. When Amtrak offered trains to evacuate significant
numbers of victims far more efficiently than buses FEMA again
dragged its feet. Offers of medicine, communications equipment and other
desperately needed items continue to flow in, only to be ignored by the
agency.
 03 Sep 2005 A visibly angry Mayor Daley (of Chicago)
said the city had offered emergency, medical and technical help to the
federal government as early as Sunday to assist people in the areas
stricken by Hurricane Katrina, but as of Friday, the only things the feds
said they wanted was a single tank truck.

Private communication- FEMA cut communication lines in some LA parishes.  One story is that a sheriff's department reconnected the wires, then guarded them so that FEMA wouldn't cut them again. 

be sure to read this:
Media Failures, Media Truths

http://www.dailykos.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then this:

The Last Time America Lost a City

by SensibleShoes

Mon Sep 5th, 2005 at 12:22:26 PDT

[Promoted from the diaries with minor edits by DavidNYC.]

...comparing the government reaction this past week to the government reaction the last time an American city was destroyed - San Francisco, April 18, 1906.

The earthquake struck at 5:13 AM.

By 7 AM federal troops had reported to the mayor.

By 8 AM they were patrolling the entire downtown area and searching for survivors.

The second quake struck at 8:14 AM.

By 10:05 AM the USS Chicago was on its way from San Diego to San Francisco; by 10:30 the USS Preble had landed a medical team and set up an emergency hospital.

By 11 AM large parts of the city were on fire; troops continued to arrive throughout the day, evacuating people from the areas threatened by fire to emergency shelters and Golden Gate Park.

St. Mary's hospital was destroyed by the fire at 1 PM, with no loss of life, the staff and patients having already been evacuated across the bay to Oakland.

By 3 PM troops had shot several looters, and dynamited buildings to make a firebreak; by five they had buried dozens of corpses, the morgue and the police pistol range being unable to hold any more.

At 8:40 PM General Funston requested emergency housing - tents and shelters - from the War Department in Washington; all of the tents in the U.S. Army were on their way to San Francisco by 4:55 AM the next morning.

Prisoners were evacuated to Alcatraz, and by April 20 (two days after the earthquake) the USS Chicago had reached San Francisco, where it evacuated 20,000 refugees.

Of course, the technology of the day was fairly primitive, and the U.S. was a much poorer country. No doubt we could move more quickly today.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the BBC noted the criticism of the government's slow response, Lt. Commander Kelly explained that NorthCom was ready to go well in advance of Katrina making landfall, but suggested the president didn't make the right call at the right time.

"Northcom started planning before the storm even hit. We were ready when it hit Florida, because, as you remember, it hit the bottom part of Florida, and then we were planning once it was pointed towards the Gulf Coast.

"So, what we did, we activated what we call 'defense coordinating officers' to work with the states to say, 'OK, what do you think you will need?' And we set up staging bases that could be started. We had the USS Bataan sailing almost behind the hurricane so once the hurricane made landfall, its search and rescue helicopters could be available almost immediately So, we had things ready. The only caveat is: we have to wait until the president authorizes us to do so. The laws of the United States say that the military can't just act in this fashion; we have to wait for the president to give us permission."

Apparently, that permission could have been given right away, but it wasn't. Bush was on vacation, sharing some cake with John McCain, and pretending to play some guitar.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~