Peter King and Katrina

Here are some posts from last year...

From 9/04/05: King and Katrina
King just doesn't get it. He wants to be Homeland Security Committee Chairman and he is completely clueless.King was on WABC Radio's John Gambling show and said "The main problem in obstructing the relief operation - it's almost like a Mogadishu-like gang situation that's prevailing in New Orleans," This is of course more water-carrying for the complete failure of the Bush Administration, FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. How many more excuses can Bush supporters make? According to the New Orleans Time Picayune "Bienville built New Orleans where he built it for one main reason: It's accessible. The city between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain was easy to reach in 1718.
How much easier it is to access in 2005 now that there are interstates and bridges, airports and helipads, cruise ships, barges, buses and diesel-powered trucks.
Despite the city's multiple points of entry, our nation's bureaucrats spent days after last week's hurricane wringing their hands, lamenting the fact that they could neither rescue the city's stranded victims nor bring them food, water and medical supplies.Meanwhile there were journalists, including some who work for The Times-Picayune, going in and out of the city via the Crescent City Connection. On Thursday morning, that crew saw a caravan of 13 Wal-Mart tractor trailers headed into town to bring food, water and supplies to a dying city.Television reporters were doing live reports from downtown New Orleans streets. Harry Connick Jr. brought in some aid Thursday, and his efforts were the focus of a "Today" show story Friday morning.
Yet, the people trained to protect our nation, the people whose job it is to quickly bring in aid were absent. Those who should have been deploying troops were singing a sad song about how our city was impossible to reach.
So how full of Bull---- is King?
Really very full.
According to Newsday, Gary Flowers of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition denounced King's comments. "It is un-American to blame the victim. It was the citizens who were abandoned by the United States government," And King compares New Orleans to Mogadishu? Interesting that he picks a city in Somalia, East Africa to make his point.
To go further with his analogy, let's examine what happend in Mogadishu; there was no help from the countries government to quell the violence. I am glad King sees Bush as ineffective as the leaders of Somalia which is to say there are no real leaders in Somalia. King continues his uninformed comments with "It's hard to get federal troops in to bring about order when the local police have broken down," The local police are stretched to the limit evacuating citizens, trying to keep order, and trying to get relief to those left in the city. How much does King expect a force of 2000 or so to do?
The fact is, federal troops would have had no problem getting into the city and helping in the relief efforts simply because journalists and relief aganecies were already getting in without a problem.king caps off his jibber-jabber with this gem; "I just think the situation would have gone a lot better if there were a Rudy Giuliani down there - someone who could have set a firm tone from day one."
Yeah, right. You can't compare 9/11 with this new disaster. They are not the same. The incredible loss of life might be the same but the situations are very different. 80% of New York City was not devestated on 9/11. If that had happend and most of Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island had been wiped out, we would have seen much the same situation as we do now in New Orleans. Unless adequete food, water, shelter and medical services reach the affected people, there will be huge problems.
King wants to be Homeland Security Commiteee Chairman. This committee overseas the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA. If King is so ignorant as he has proven with these few sentences, imagine the mess he'll make as chairman. He is making excuses for a complete break-down in emergency federal disaster response. We can't have an oversight committee chairman who will just make excuses to protect Bush.


From 9/16/06: What the FEMA is up with Peter King?
We've been going over King wanting to be the Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee during the past few weeks here at King Watch Central and with each passing day, more questions arise about his qualification. Right now, he is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology.
Notice the words "Emergency Preparedness."
What just recently occured that showed us we are NOT prepared? A devasting hurricane.
Before we go any further though, we have to throw some history in here...
Back in the day - before Bush - FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was made a Cabinet level position by President Clinton. Clinton appointed James Lee Witt, a man with a decade of Emergency Management experience, as head of FEMA.
After 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security was created and Bush drop-kicked FEMA out of the Cabinet and into DHS. Bush then took a man with no emergency management experience and put him on charge of FEMA. Director Micheal Brown is a political hack with a patronage job
Back to today... DHS and FEMA are answerable to congress. The Homeland Security Committee has oversight of the department. FEMA is now deep in the bowels of a department created to protect us from terrorism.
Do you see the emerging problem?
FEMA which deals with all sorts of crisis from natural to man-made disasters is placed under the control of a department charged dealing with only man-made disasters.
So where are we going with this and what does King have it do with it?
King's sub-commitee over-sees "Emergency Preparedness."
BUT the problem seems to be the focus is only on terrorism. From the sub-commitees website:"Preparedness for and collective response to terrorism, including federal support to first responders; terrorism-related incident management and response; consequence mitigation; Department of Homeland Security-administered homeland security grants to first responders; conduct and coordination of exercises and training relating to mitigating the effects of and responding to terrorist attacks (including nuclear, biological, radiological, and chemical attacks on civilian populations); federal government coordination of terrorism-related emergency preparedness and response with and among state and local governments, the private sector, and the public; research, development and deployment of technology for combating terrorism; adaptation of existing technologies to homeland security prevention priorities; coordination and enhancement of Department of Homeland Security interaction on science and technology matters with the private sector, federally funded research and development centers, educational institutions, the National Laboratories, and other scientific resources; Department of Homeland Security-based science and technology entities and initiatives; conducting relevant oversight; and other matters referred to the Subcommittee by the Chairman."
See the many uses of the words "terrorism" and nothing about "natural disasters?"
That is a big issue.What is the sub-commitees role in over-seeing FEMA and natural disaster preparedness?
Go through the full commitee website and the stated mission for each sub-commitee is all about "terrorism."
Now King's sub-commitee should be dealing with the over-sight of FEMA disaster plans right?What exactly was the sub-commitee's role in making sure FEMA natural disaster planes were up to snuff?
If King wants to be chairman of the full Homeland Security Commitee he needs to show he was an effective sub-commitee chairman.

From 9/19/06: King Takes Charge
Boy, King sure hit the ground running. King tells the NYPost "It's a great opportunity and a great challenge."
King continues "By being chairman, I have the opportunity to do what millions of Americans want to do, and that is fight terrorism and rebuild the Gulf Coast."
King will rebuild the Gulf Coast and fight terrorism?
Is he Superman? Nah, it's all just hyperbole.
King is doing a victory lap and was gushing like a school girl after her first kiss. He tells the NYDaily News "I feel good. It's a great country."
"If someone told me on Sept. 12, 2001, that I'd be chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security four years later, I'd consider it a gift,"
Who is he, Sally Field at the Oscars?
"You like me, you really like me."
In his first official act as Chairman, King took flight down to New Orleans. He wante dto see first hand what inept oversight sows.We once again remind our dear readers that King was Chairman of the Emergency Preparadness Sub-Committee.King tells the NYPost "I want to see how the relief efforts are going, and I want to see what went wrong"
What went wrong???
There was no EMERGENCY PREPERADNESS.According to the Post, "King has vowed to overhaul the beleaguered Federal Emergency Management Agency's operations."What was King doing with his sub-committee?In Newsday, King says "We're a lot more ready than we were before Sept. 11. ... But we're not ready enough... Seventy-two hours is way too long. What we have to do is really re-evaluate the whole concept of a national response."
What sub-committee is tasked with oversight of Emergency Prepaeradness?
Why, it was King's sub-commitee. Where was he on all the plans for national emergencies?
If he couldn't handle the sub-commitee, how can he head an entire committee.
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert tells Newsday "Thoughtful, detailed leadership is critical right now."
Where was the "detailed leadership" on the sub-committee?
And "thoughtful?" King is the least thoughtful congressman up for the job. This is a guy who didn't know France had an aircraft carrier or that it was assisting the US in the war in Afghanistan.
King also excuses treason and would have the media shot for exposing the treason.
New York State Sen. Mike Balboni tells Newsday "I think this is going to be very good for New York and very good for Peter personally because he's invested some time and passion on this subject." Yup, he invested 30 odd-years supporting the terrrorism of the IRA. He certainly was passionate in his support of killers.
More on King's victory lap, his appearance on WNBC's News Forum with Gabe Pressman and why King is opposed to an independent investigation into Katrina relief effort failures like he was opposed to the 9/11 commission tomorrow....