Comments on: Katrina, What Went Right?

By: ICallMasICM

ICallMasICM — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 14:02:52 +0000

'Largely invisible to the media's radar'

Which incredibly only detects things involving the media or occurring in and around expresso bars. Except when it can rip on George Bush. Mayeb their radar screen would be a little broader if they could dislodge their heads from their asses. With emotion!

By: Elephonkey

Elephonkey — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 02:58:27 +0000

Katrina: Successes Get No Coverage

Katrina's death toll is far lower than feared. This means that people heard the warnings and most were able to evacuate in time. Of those caught by the flood waters, clearly many were rescued, leading me to believe that...

By: cirby

cirby — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 01:02:31 +0000

Of course, there's not much mention of the giant amounts of supplies and fuel that were used by the second-stage responders, or where much of it came from. Like the guys who showed up with a hundred boats, but filled them from Coast Guard fuel tanks (which were cross-funded by guess what government agency?).

By: RJT

RJT — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 23:32:06 +0000

a broad-based rescue effort by federal, state and local first responders pulled 25,000 to 50,000 people from harm's way in floodwaters in the city.

actually I was just watching the news and they said only between 6 and 7 thousand where rescued.

By: Maryann

Maryann — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 20:43:22 +0000

We call up citizens for jury duty. Perhaps communities should have a call up for civic duty. Individuals can be randomly called up, appropriate screened, then sent to a course on disaster relief. Over time, a greater percentage of the population would know how to organize and provide assistance in the event of a disaster. People would learn what to expect and what can be done in the interim until regional or federal assistance arrives.

By: odograph

odograph — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 20:14:46 +0000

This is just my gut-feel, after reading the first-hand accounts, but it sounds like as many people were picked up by citizens in boats as by the Coast Guard in helicopters. That's a big lesson for me, because I tend to trust the system to send someone official. Indeed I felt a little bit of "who does that guy think he is?" when I saw the first-day story of a guy with his airboats. Later I figured it out, "that guy" was "smart."

By: pragmatist

pragmatist — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 19:28:35 +0000

Firms drawn into contracts with government are frequently as inefficient or more so than government.
"Privatization" does not necessarily mean subjection to market forces or other pressures on inefficiency, nor does it necessarily reward innovation. Indeed many American firms actually subjected to markets still slowly and painfully die, take GM or Delta.

The crpny system you propose is an example of magical thinking.

Effective tools of management can be applied at both the private and public level. FEMA was reformed in the nineties, so was the VA system. The issue is will.

While Democrats have too little incentive to work on reform, crony capitalists of the Bush mode have none. Their goal is to prove government useless and thus bring in crony capitalism with increased expences and profits, aka Iraq.

By: Steve Verdon

Steve Verdon — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 19:13:30 +0000

Why "companies", just looking to put the profit motive to good use, that is all. Volunteers are good too so long as they don't end up needing to be rescued as well.

By: odograph

odograph — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 18:46:21 +0000

Why "companies?" Didn't much of the good work just get done by "guy who showed up with boats?" It could be that volunteer response brigades are at least part of the answer. I remember that in post-analysis of the last San Francisco quake they said people died just because there weren't enough police and firemen. It was left to people to try to save each other. Suggestions were 1) that police/fire should train to fan out and collect a group of citizens to assist them (one fireman, ten volunteers) or 2) that people should actually prepare to rescue their neighbors (keeping a ladder and an axe on hand).