The New York Times reports yesterday on the quality work done by FEMA after the hurricane hit New Orleans:
Hundreds of firefighters, who responded to a nationwide call for help in the disaster, were held by the federal agency in Atlanta for days of training on community relations and sexual harassment before being sent on to the devastated area. The delay, some volunteers complained, meant lives were being lost in New Orleans.
“On the news every night you hear, ‘How come everybody forgot us?’ ” said Joseph Manning, a firefighter from Washington, Pa., told The Dallas Morning News. “We didn’t forget. We’re stuck in Atlanta drinking beer.”
You can’t make this stuff up. Just imagine if Bill Clinton were president and this had happened. But, of course, FEMA had a response:
Ms. Rule, the FEMA spokeswoman, said there was no urgency for the firefighters to arrive because they were primarily going to do community relations work, not rescue.
Uh…firefighters? Rushing to a disaster zone? For community relations work? Apparently, FEMA can make this stuff up.
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