At Talking Point Memo, Josh Marshall does a number on the “deconstruction, privatization and crony-fication of FEMA.” He points to an article by Joe Elliston in the Independent that gives a moving picture of men and women struggling valiantly to do important work while the crew of thugs they work for fails, at every juncture, to give them the support that they need.
Among emergency specialists, “mitigation”–the measures taken in advance to minimize the damage caused by natural disasters–is a crucial part of the strategy to save lives and cut recovery costs. But since 2001, key federal disaster mitigation programs, developed over many years, have been slashed and tossed aside. FEMA’s Project Impact, a model mitigation program created by the Clinton administration, has been canceled outright. Federal funding of post-disaster mitigation efforts designed to protect people and property from the next disaster has been cut in half, and now, communities across the country must compete for pre-disaster mitigation dollars.
Update: 3:02:05 PM good story on the gutting of FEMA at Salon.
Update: Thursday 5:54:05 PM This is unbelievable! The FEMA website, in their list of organizations to which Katrina donations can be made, has Pat Robertson’s personal charity Operation Blessing in the number 2 spot, between The Red Cross and America’s Second Harvest.
Update: Friday 9:38:31 AM The Washington Monthly has a timeline of events regarding FEMA and NOLA flood-control projects under the Bush administration; I can’t do better than the Monthly’s lead-in: “Read ‘em and weep.”
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