The End of FEMA?

The U.S. Senate panel investigating the government's failures during and after Hurricane Katrina released their report yesterday. The panel was led by Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut). It called for the complete dissolution of FEMA, which they said is flawed beyond repair. The inquiry suggests creating a new, stronger authority called the National Preparedness and Response Authority, which would have stronger powers but would remain within the Homeland Security Department. The report also calls for a clear delineation of who is in charge of maintaining New Orleans levees, which is vitally important. The title of the report says it all, "Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared."

Hurricane season is too close to the beginning for any bureaucratic shakeup to have a real effect. Therefore, the nation is still stuck with the bumbling FEMA for this season. However, in the long run an overhaul is definitely necessary. FEMA is a bureaucratic mess and it needs to be remade in an improved form. As Senator Collins said, "that doesn't mean that we should continue in the long term to operate with a system that's failed, that is so clearly flawed." These reforms, however, must be legitimate if they are to have any real effect. They must create a new culture of leadership, effective coordination, and accountability if this effort is to be more than just a name-change.

Petition Page Problems Fixed

In the few days, several people have sent concerned emails wondering about the status of the petition. The page had been functioning very slow of late because as the number of signatures approached and then passed 10,000, the software that handles the petition became slower. Fortunately, the problem has been fixed. The petition is held in something called a guestbook, and we capped the first one at 10,000 and then started a new one. Everything should now run smoothly. Thanks for your concerns.

Update

In the past few weeks, SaveBigEasy.org has made real progress. We currently have 11,532 signatures. Supporters stretch from the USA all the way to Australia. High profile signers who have signed in recent days include Paul Michael Glaser, who starred in the hit TV series Starsky and Hutch and is currently the honorary chairman of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and director Jay Russell, who directed the films My Dog Skip and Ladder 49. In addition, SaveBigEasy.org was profiled in the Baton Rouge Advocate, a newspaper with a daily circulation of over 100,000.

On Saturday, April 22 SaveBigEasy.org will be at the New Orleans buildsmart expo at the Ashe Cultural Arts Center. We will be discussing our organization, its goals, and collecting signatures.

DMI Blogger Makes the Case

Drum Major Institute guest blogger Mike Klein made an eloquent argument for action and leadership in his post titled "Responding to the Perfect Storm." With the permission and approval of Mike Klein, I have put the link to his post here.

Mayoral Debate at Tulane

On April 10, candidates for Mayor of New Orleans will be debating at Tulane University. The event will be held in the McAlister Auditorium and doors will open at 6pm and close at 6:45pm. The event is free and is open to the public so please attend if you can. I do not know if questions will be asked from the crowd at the event. However, I do know that questions are being taken before the event.

Please, send your questions about the levees and the future safety of New Orleans to questionsformayor@yahoo.com. This is our chance to be heard. I will be there and will attempt to make contact with several of the candidates. This is a great opportunity to hopefully get straight answers from our potential leaders about the levees and the city's preparedness for the upcoming hurricane season.

Savebigeasy.org goes to North Carolina

The Blue Banner student newspaper at the University of North Carolina at Asheville recently did a story profiling Savebigeasy.org. It was a very well-written piece, and can be viewed here at http://www.unca.edu/banner/060330/index.html