Governor Blanco asked for help; no one gave it

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


On Sunday, August 28, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco surveyed the lay of the land and shot off a letter to the regional director of FEMA, detailing her assessment of the severity of the upcoming hurricane, and asking for help. Apparently, FEMA’s interpretation of the term “major disaster” is somewhat different than the interpretation with which most of us are familiar.

Today, Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut announced that they will open a bipartisan investigation of the “immense failure” of the government to respond to the consequences of Hurricane Katrina. Many of us would feel better if someone other than Collins and Lieberman were involved in an enterprise that will undoubtedly call for getting tough, but it seems we are stuck with them.

We have only to look at the report of the September 11 Commission to know what happens when the government “investigates” itself. Who at FEMA failed to do what and why will most likely never be known, though we may see one or two scapegoats trotted out to be shamed, while the perpetrators of incompetence are awarded medals. We have been here before.

Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, in a piece of weary understatement, said: “There was a time when FEMA understood that the correct approach to a crisis was to deploy to the affected area as many resources as possible as fast as possible. Unfortunately that no longer seems to be their approach.”

PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate