Stupid Katrina Hearings
The congress is holding hearings supposedly aimed at getting to the bottom of the failings of the government response to Katrina. They started with Michael Brown, who somewhat predictably pointed a defensive finger at Blanco and Nagin. So now today Blanco apparently is going to get her chance to point a finger right back at Brown.
What a stupid process. Not to say that the Democrats are right to boycott the hearings, which only makes them look more like the partisan hacks they are. But nothing will come of hearings of this type except political posturing and finger-pointing that is more about scoring political points than finding out what went wrong with Katrina and how to fix it in the future.
If our elected leaders really want to solve the problems, they should stop the hearings charade. They also should skip the "independent panel" demanded by the Democrats. What they really should do is get a group of experts in the business of disaster planning and recovery, making sure they are committed to keeping politics out of the process while letting the facts speak for themselves. The group should be led by a strong person, maybe Giuliani, maybe somebody else, who can make sure the right questions are asked and the information needed is gathered fully and accurately.
Then the investigators can present their findings to congress, including a published report that all Americans can read. This way, those who hope to use the investigation for political gain will have nowhere to go. Because the report will probably expand on the true facts of the disaster: Nagin was absent before, during, and after the storm; There was inadequate planning and missing execution of any disaster plan in New Orleans; Nagin and Blanco spent much of the aftermath bickering over turf; FEMA was ineffective and failed to take charge, sending emergency reponse units to sexual harrassment and diversity training instead of into the city to rescue people; and that it wasn't until the National Guard arrived that the real rescue effort took shape.
Unfortunately, the hearings will do nothing but provide a platform for those who want to score political points by blaming members of the opposing political party. The outcome will not produce any meaningful changes or improve government response in future disasters; other efforts performed quietly elsewhere will be needed for that.
What a stupid process. Not to say that the Democrats are right to boycott the hearings, which only makes them look more like the partisan hacks they are. But nothing will come of hearings of this type except political posturing and finger-pointing that is more about scoring political points than finding out what went wrong with Katrina and how to fix it in the future.
If our elected leaders really want to solve the problems, they should stop the hearings charade. They also should skip the "independent panel" demanded by the Democrats. What they really should do is get a group of experts in the business of disaster planning and recovery, making sure they are committed to keeping politics out of the process while letting the facts speak for themselves. The group should be led by a strong person, maybe Giuliani, maybe somebody else, who can make sure the right questions are asked and the information needed is gathered fully and accurately.
Then the investigators can present their findings to congress, including a published report that all Americans can read. This way, those who hope to use the investigation for political gain will have nowhere to go. Because the report will probably expand on the true facts of the disaster: Nagin was absent before, during, and after the storm; There was inadequate planning and missing execution of any disaster plan in New Orleans; Nagin and Blanco spent much of the aftermath bickering over turf; FEMA was ineffective and failed to take charge, sending emergency reponse units to sexual harrassment and diversity training instead of into the city to rescue people; and that it wasn't until the National Guard arrived that the real rescue effort took shape.
Unfortunately, the hearings will do nothing but provide a platform for those who want to score political points by blaming members of the opposing political party. The outcome will not produce any meaningful changes or improve government response in future disasters; other efforts performed quietly elsewhere will be needed for that.
posted by Dan S. at 7:29 AM
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