Sunday, September 04, 2005
I think my browser is broken
The sub-headline of this story reads "White House Shifts Blame to State and Local Officials." For some reason, it reads "shifts blame to" rather than, say "shifts blame back to" or "blames" or anything. No, apparently, the blame originally lies with the White House.
Shifting blame would be, in a completely hypothetical example, when a head of emergency operations throws a fit that the feds aren't doing his job. That is, the job of heading emergency operations. Or when a mayor demands to know why the government isn't in control of the city he's mayor of.
Anyway, here's some potential blame-shifting that was thankfully averted:
The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. "Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals," said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly.
A lot of times, people don't have the authority to speak publicly because they're ignorant, and thus will give misleading information to the media. Quoting these people is extremely wise, I say. By the by, since the feds are blaming them anyway, I don't see what they have to lose.
Now, sharing the blame is appropriate.
New Orleans City Council President Oliver Thomas acknowledged that the city was surprised by the number of refugees left behind, but he said FEMA should have been prepared to assist.
"Everybody shares the blame here," said Thomas. "But when you talk about the mightiest government in the world, that's a ludicrous and lame excuse. You're FEMA, and you're the big dog. And you weren't prepared either."
See? Sharing isn't so bad. They teach you in school to share.
Now, if you want to throw a fit about something the administration is doing, here's a good thing to point out:
Top Bush administration officials met at the White House with African American leaders amid criticism that the federal response to Hurricane Katrina has neglected impoverished victims, many of them black.
Well, that's helpful. Really helpful. Can you imagine what they talked about?
Top Bush Administration Official: So...
African American Leader: Yeah...
TBAO: We're not racists.
AAL: That's good. Are you sure?
TBAO: Um... yeah, yeah, I'm pretty sure.
AAL: That's good to hear. Because just because we're black, that doesn't mean we shouldn't be help.
TBAO: Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
AAL: Uh...
TBAO: Black people are people, too.
AAL: We certainly are. Are you helping the people in New Orleans, even though they're black?
TBAO: Yeah, yeah, definitely.
AAL: Well, that's good to hear.
TBAO: Yep. Is it two hours yet.
AAL: Almost. One hour and 59 minutes to go.
TBAO: Well, that's less than two hours.
AAL: Oh, certainly.
Caucus Executive Director Paul A. Brathwaite said Bush officials promised to keep black leaders informed. He credited the administration with reaching out to the caucus for the first time to solve a national problem.
Yep. And as hundreds of refugees get evacuated via "informing black leaders," and thousands are eating "reaching out to to the caucus," we can take steps to reduce the damage caused by this crisis.
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