It's Easy to Confuse Libs: Just Present Them With the Facts

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Gotta absolutely love this particular quote by the columnist David Brooks in the N.Y. Slimes (oops, meant to say Times). He wrote:

Katrina was the most anticipated natural disaster in American history, and still government managed to fail at every level.

O'Reilly on FNC made a comment recently that really floored me. It dealt with the unreliablity of government in disaster situations. O' is just plain wrong at least as many times as he is right -- but the other night he basically told Gingrich that we Americans should not rely on government (at any level) to rescue us from disasters -- that govnerment cannot be trusted. (But I really did a double take when Newt disagred with him!)

Here is why it's likely that government will fail, according to Brooks ( most especially the Feds, imho):

For the brutal fact is, government tends toward bureaucracy, which means elaborate paper flow but ineffective action. Government depends on planning, but planners can never really anticipate the inevitable complexity of events. And American government is inevitably divided and power is inevitably devolved.

It's a very good piece, worthy of reading. For the full op-ed, go to:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/opinion/11brooks.html?hp

For those of you who don't subscribe to the online edition of the Slimes (or any of the other major publications, for that matter), go to:

http://www.bugmenot.com/

This site will allow you to bypass the pesky registration formalities.

Later on today, I intend to post on this thread more than a few facts about government responsibility at all levels with respect to emergency declarations, evacuation orders and recovery efforts -- not just in a general way (although all muncipilaties-states follow the template of NO-LA), but in a very specific way with respect to NO and LA -- and the FEDs, too. The pure, unadulterated, unpolluted, uncensored, undeniable printed facts will be maddening to all muddle-headed Libs who have mush where brains are supposed to be. So, Libs, be forewaned!

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Many empty, senseless words have been written by you Libs on this forum about who was reponsible for what.with respect to the Katrina disaster.

According to you Libs, Bush was supposed to order Nanny Fed (more specifically DHS/FEMA/Armed Services) to lead the calvary charge to resuce people and to offer relief assistance. According to you Libs, Nanny Fed (therefore Bush) is the major culprit for all the suffering, pain, anguish and deaths of the residents of NO --- but especially of all the poooorr black people (because, after all, the whole world and the race hustlers of this country know the President is a racist).

According to you Libs, Nagin is somehow justified in not using all the means and resources at his disposal to safely evacuate over 100,000 city residents (mostly poooorrr black people) who had no means to transport themselves out of harm's way. But Mayor Tweedelee Dee is justifed in criticizing Amtrak and Greyhound for not wanting to put their assets and people at risk by having to go into a high risk flood zone area that was under imminent threat of a major storm, and then out again. (However, I will show later that NO rejected an Amtrak offers for help!)

According to you Libs, Bush knew everything there was to know about the high risk factors associated with the City in a Bowl, about the intensity of the storm, about the potential for catastrophe, about the large number of pooorr people (especially blacks) without means to transport themselves out of high risk flood zone, about all the complex issues associated with rescue and relief efforts in the aftermath of the storm, etc. Therefore, you conclude that because Bush "knew it all", he should have "done it all". The responsibility was primarily his, so sayeth muddle-headed Libs. Therefore, Bush must shoulder at least 99.44% of the blame, according to your politcal game plan.

One of the implications to all these things is that Bush should have come to the rescue of the people and deliver them from the Madis Gras Boobs tag team of Mayor Tweedelee Dee and Gov Tweedelee Dumb, since these two elected idiots must have been ignorant of all these facts.

Or if not, then what? Why all the uncertainity at the local and state levels? All the indecisiveness? All the procrastination? The total lack of leadership? If Dumb and Dumber knew all these facts, why did they sit on their hands? Refuse help repeatedly? And when they tried to make an important decision, why was it, more often than not, a really poor one?

No one should infer from my questions that the Feds aren't culpable --that FEMA and DHS, etc. should get off the hook. But we really have to keep this entire disaster in proper perspective. Bush is not primarily responsible for disaster relief. The primary responsibilities for the safety of the residents of NO and its visitors rests first and forermost with the city. Then with the state. Then with the Feds. The first two people who should be quartered and hung out to dry is Dumb and Dumber for all their ineptness, irresponsible decisions, lack of leadership and indeciseveness when either one of these two clowns couldn't even bring themselves to make a decision.

As far as the Federal government is concerned, it's probably time to revamp DHS and FEMA. Heads, perhaps, should roll. Ways to cut through bureaucratic red tape should ber found, but probably won't because bureaucracy is the true nature of government -- at all levels.

But as I read and waded through voluminous reports about this disaster, one thread seemed to run from top (federal government) to bottom (local government): Everyone (except the professional meteoroligists) seemed to be operating on the assumption that the intergrity of the levee system would not be compromised. Everyone was in an arrogant state of denial. The assumption (probably on the sub-conscious level in most cases) seemed to be that Man is stronger than God -- stronger than forces of nature he created and still controls. This assumption has made more than a few people look very foolish, including all those who could have evactuated but, instead, chose to remain..

The second thing that struck me is that no one can really predict or anticipate the full scope of some disaster through mere computer modeling. No one can take into account all the complex possibilities and contingencies (as the NYT columinst Brooks pointed out); therefore at best, the best laid plans of mice and men are weak, and at worst grossly inadequate.

In the next post, we'll look at several excerpts from a lengthy MSNBC article. This article will cause many here to go slink into the dark, deep abyss called Denial.

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"Fox News Alert"

If at all possible watch and listen to this interview that Mike Wallace is about to have with the two LA senators -- especially the one w/Mary Landeaux. She is one piece of work!

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Like muttering to yourself?

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MSNBC published a very lengthy and, suprisingly, relatively "fair and balanced" article regarding this disaster. There's enough blame (but far too little constructive criticism) to go around at all three levels of government. If the city/state had stuck to its own major disaster plan and implemented it, it surely would have made the Fed's jobs a lot easier. But even more importantly, it would have saved a lot of lives.

All emphases in the quoted material are mine and the relative link will be posted above all quotes. My brief comments will follow all quoted material.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9286534/page/2/

QUOTE
After the Hurricane Pam drill, disaster planners had concluded that evacuating New Orleans could take as long as 72 hours before a storm's landfall. By midday Friday, it was 66 hours before Katrina would end up hitting, and the threat was just starting to sink in. "With this storm, people should have evacuated no later than Friday," said a senior official in a neighboring state. "Anything after that was very risky."

"Very risky" indeed. The Gov and the Mayor rolled the dice and lost. Don't forget the mandatory evac order by Nagin came only 20 hours before landfall -- even though they knew that NO could take as long as 72 hours to evacuate because of the high volume of traffic over a limited number of routes.

QUOTE#
That evening, shortly before Max Mayfield made his call to Walter Maestri, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D) declared a state of emergency. However, unlike her Gulf state neighbors, she neglected to tap a nationwide governor's network known as the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which is designed to rush supplies to disaster areas.

Why??? What was this airhead thinking? This gal was not in control of the situation. Not by a longshot!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9286534/page/3/

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But local officials got the word out that this was no ordinary storm, and residents took them seriously, streaming out of town in the contra-flow lanes. Hurricane Pam's leaders had predicted a 65 percent evacuation rate, but Maestri reported 70 percent in Jefferson Parish, thanks in part to a church buddy program that provided rides for as many as 25,000 residents, and St. Bernard Parish reported 90 percent...

Thanks to people helping people, many were spared the ravages of Katrina. I have long maintained that what makes this country great are its people, not the institution of government.

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In fact, while the last regularly scheduled train out of town had left a few hours earlier, Amtrak had decided to run a "dead-head" train that evening to move equipment out of the city. It was headed for high ground in Macomb, Miss., and it had room for several hundred passengers. "We offered the city the opportunity to take evacuees out of harm's way," said Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black. "The city declined."

So the ghost train left New Orleans at 8:30 p.m., with no passengers on board.

More help refused. This time by the mayor! Such neglect and incompetence defies reason and any rational explanation. What was Tweedelee Dee thinking?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9286534/page/4/

Dateline: August 28 -- the Sunday before the Storm:

QUOTE
But he [Nagin] never mentioned the numbers that had haunted experts for years, the estimated 100,000 city residents without their own transportation. And he never mentioned that the state's comprehensive disaster plan, written in 2000 and posted on a state Web site, called for buses to take people out of the city once the governor declared a state of emergency.

How convenient: "he never mentioned". Another liberal with a selectively bad memory. You see, according to "the plan", those buses should have been rolling very shortly after the Gov declared a state of emergency. Instead, 500+ school buses stood idle just waiting to be flooded up to their axles and beyond!

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In reality, Nagin's advisers never intended to follow that plan -- and knew many residents would stay behind. "We always knew we did not have the means to evacuate the city," said Terry Ebbert, the sharp-tongued city director of emergency management.

So why did the city and state plan for something that was supposedly beyond their means!? To give their constituents a false sense of security? So that the government could betray the trust of the people?

Furthermore, this adviser's brain must have been on overload. What do the uncooperative residents have to do with the city not attempting (at the very least) to implement "the plan" so that those smart enough to cooperate would be able to!? Tremendous disconnect here in logical thought patterns.

But morst importantly, this Ebbert character is a liar! The city did have the means. If those weren't school buses sitting there half submerged, what were they --space ships? And we're supposed to believe that they city wouldn't be able to find drivers for those buses?

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By late Sunday, as millions of people in the Gulf region sought a safe place to hunker down, hundreds of shelter beds upstate lay empty. "We could have taken a lot more," said Joe Becker, senior vice president for preparedness and response at the Red Cross. "The problem was transportation." The New Orleans plan for public buses that would take people upstate was never implemented, and while many residents did manage to get out of town -- about 80 percent, the mayor said -- tens of thousands did not.

Here's a hint Mayor Tweedelee Dee: "Tens of thousands did not" because you failed to implement the local/state plan!

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"Once a mandatory evacuation was ordered, those buses should have been leaving those parishes with those people on them," said Chip Johnson, chief of emergency operations in Avoyelles Parish, who helped put together the plan.

Oh yeah...woulda, shoulda, coulda. This "dynamic tag team" personifies all the traits of losing gamblers. Unreal!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9286534/page/5/

This was the worst of the worst-case scenarios. New Orleans is a soup bowl of a city, most of it well below sea level; everyone knew a serious crevasse could fill it with 20 feet of water. Even the gloomy Hurricane Pam drill had optimistically assumed the levees would hold, but they were designed to withstand only a Category 3 storm, and Katrina created at least five breaches at three locations. Now the waters were rising.

And nobody in charge seemed to know it.

This is classic! But let me clarify: Everyone knew it! They just didn't want to accept it (Recall what I said earlier about knowing and accepting?) Everyone was submerged in the deep, dark, murky waters of Denial -- just like the Libs on this forum.

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But now the power was out, roads were unnavigable, and communication was practically nonexistent; even Nagin's aides had to "loot" an Office Depot for equipment to install Internet phone service. Maj. Gen. Bennett C. Landreneau, the top National Guard official in Louisiana, found his New Orleans barracks under 20 feet of water; vehicles were washed out, and troops had to take refuge upstairs.

Meanwhile, everyone was expecting the Fed Calvary to come rushing in to the rescue in these dangerous and impossible conditions.

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As water poured into the city, as many as 20,000 more residents poured into the Superdome. "People started coming out of the woodwork," Ebbert said. The stadium was hot and fetid, and tempers were flaring. Ebbert said he told FEMA that night that the city would need buses to evacuate 30,000 people. "It just took a long time," he said.

That Dome must have been one hell hole! The sad thing is that if the city/state had followed its own plan, the people wouldn't have been there -- left without food, left there to languish in horrible conditions.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9286534/page/6/

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At this point, Blanco believed she had long since asked for the maximum possible help from the federal government. But the military was not specifically asked for its assistance. Blum began moving National Guard forces into the area before he was asked, but they had trouble navigating through a modern-day Atlantis.

I bet they had trouble! And this trouble was compounded by the looting shootists!

Unbelievable! Gov BlancLook "believed she had...asked for the maximum possible help..." I guess she had a senior moment? (Correction: One of many of such!)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9286534/page/7/

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But assistance that was available was often blocked. In the Gulf, not 100 miles away from New Orleans, sat the 844-foot USS Bataan, equipped with six operating rooms and beds for 600 patients. Starting Wednesday, Amtrak offered to run a twice-a-day shuttle for as many as 600 evacuees from a rail yard west of New Orleans to Lafayette, La. The first run was not organized until Saturday. Officials then told Amtrak they would not require any more trains.

So, once again, officials refused help from Amtrak. The citizens of the state of LA should rise up and tar and feather both Tweedelee Dee and Tweedelee Dumb and send both of them of town on that Amtrak rail!

In the next post, we'll briefly examine an official government document that deals with "emergency preparedness" and who is responsible for what.


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Like muttering to yourself?

I'm not suprised that you would find something as mundane as someone "muttering to himself" to be "interesting". Hopefully, my little act of charity in helping to make your day will serve to encourage you to move on to more challenging exercises, such as playing with blocks.

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What follows are excerpts taken from a local government document that all towns and cities have. This particular document is called: City of New Orleans Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. I will post excerpts from this document and then comment after each quoted portion.

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PART 2: EVACUATION

I. GENERAL

The safe evacuation of threatened populations when endangered by a major catastrophic event is one of the principle reasons for developing a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. The thorough identification of at-risk populations, transportation and sheltering resources, evacuation routes and potential bottlenecks and choke points, and the establishment of the management team that will coordinate not only the evacuation but which will monitor and direct the sheltering and return of affected populations, are the primary tasks of evacuation planning.

Notice: it does not say that the primary responsibility or task for evacuation (even when a threat of catastrophic event is imminent) lies with federal authorities or with FEMA or with DHL. Since this is an official city-generated document, I think it's safe to conclude that the primary responsibility lies with the city.

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Due to the geography of New Orleans and the varying scales of potential disasters and their resulting emergency evacuations, different plans are in place for small-scale evacuations and for citywide relocations of whole populations.

In other words, there's room in this "plan" for some creative/original thinking -- a/k/a "personal judgment". Disasters occur on diffeent scales.

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Authority to issue evacuations of elements of the population is vested in the Mayor. By Executive Order, the chief elected official, the Mayor of the City of New Orleans, has the authority to order the evacuation of residents threatened by an approaching hurricane.

Interesting...so the president of the U.S. doesn't have the legal authority to issue a city-wide evac order -- unless, of course, in extreme situations he has to invoke the Insurrection Act. But this was never the case with this natural disaster.

QUOTE
5. Localized Evacuations: Localized Evacuations may be ordered or recommended when an emergency occurs, which affects a relatively small area, such as a Hazardous Materials release or a large fire. Localized Evacuation would also include river or lake flooding caused by strong, sustained easterly winds in low lying areas outside the levee protection system.

So, even this official city document recognizes that if the eyewall of a major hurricane were to pass east of the city, this would put that large lake between it and the city with a potential for catastrophic consequences. So, the city didn't even need some weatherman to tell them this, did it?


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The Hurricane Emergency Evacuation Standard Operating Procedure is designed to deal with all case scenarios of an evacuation in response to the approach of a major hurricane towards New Orleans. It is designed to deal with the anticipation of a direct hit from a major hurricane. This includes identifying the city's present population, its projected population, identification of at-risk populations (those living outside levee protection or in storm-surge areas, floodplains, mobile homes, etc.), in order to understand the evacuation requirements. It includes identifying the transportation network, especially the carrying-capacity of proposed evacuation routes and existing or potential traffic bottlenecks or blockages, caused either by traffic congestion or natural occurrences such as rising waters. Identification of sheltering resources and the establishment of shelters and the training of shelter staff is important, as is the provision for food and other necessities to the sheltered. This preparation function is the responsibility of the Office of Emergency Preparedness.

The language is plain, clear and easy to understand. No rocket science here.

QUOTE
3. Sheltering: Formulates a comprehensive system of accessible shelters of adequate size.

The SOP is limited as it is not designed to address the protection of personal and real property, yet is developed to cover the total New Orleans geographic area. The timely issuance of evacuation orders critically impacts upon the successful evacuation of all citizens from high-risk areas. In determining the proper time to issue evacuation orders, there is no substitute for human judgement based upon all known circumstances surrounding local conditions and storm characteristics.

The requirement for "human judgment" in the above paragraph was really the downfall of NO! It was the beginning of the end. And I'm dead serious, sadly. Liberals are loathe to exercise personal judgment, for many critically important "assets" attend to personal judgment, such as individualism, creativity, originality, improvasation, resourcefulness, self-reliance, etc. Liberalism, however, stifles all these assets -- discourages adherents' use of them. One of the primary goals to Liberalism is to inculcate into each of us a sense of dependancy and reliance. We don't need to think for ourselves. We have Nanny Fed for our "good shepherd", and Nanny, who is wiser and smarter, will protect us from all of life's advesities -- but most especially from ourselves!

This is why I don't believe it's a mere coincidence that liberal officials have responded poorly to major catastrophic events. To their minds, "somethng greater than them exists out there" and that "something" is the Federal Govement. The Federal Government is bigger, badder, better and whole lot wealthier than any local or state government. Such people have been conditioned to trust in Nanny Fed, and when trouble strikes, they are not capable of thinking outside the box of Liberalism. They're just not able to overcome their "handicap".

QUOTE
Information received from the National Hurricane Center concerning the storm's tract will allow the focusing on either a landfall, paralleling or exiting storm scenario. Information involving local conditions such as pre-hurricane rainfall, tide schedules, and the amount of pre-storm publicity, must be taken into account, as are the various known circumstances that are explained in the information summary portion of the Hurricane Evacuation Plan, in determining when an evacuation order should be issued. Any assumption regarding where and how the storm will likely make landfall involves clear and constant communication with the National Hurricane Center, the local office of the National Weather Service, State OEP and various local agencies that are monitoring either the storm's progress or other elements of the city's preparedness to weather the storm's passage.

Obviously, there is an awful lot of data to be assimilated , processed and reckoned with when trying to determine the time and methods of an evacuation. It's evident to me that the Gov and Mayor did not respond well to pressure and were in way over their heads.

QUOTE
The City of New Orleans will utilize all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas. Those evacuated will be directed to temporary sheltering and feeding facilities as needed. When specific routes of progress are required, evacuees will be directed to those routes. Special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves or who require specific life saving assistance. Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedures as needed.

Some here have pooh-poohed the idea of utilizing the school buses to evacuate the people to safety But why? The city's own plan is broad enough and flexible enough to have allowed for it! Did the Mayor "utilize all available resources"? No!

Were any additional personnel recruited to drive all those buses and to "assist in evactuation procedures"? Not hardly!

QUOTE
III. EVACUATION ORDER

A. Authority

As established by the City of New Orleans Charter, the government has jurisdiction and responsibility in disaster response. City government shall coordinate its efforts through the Office of Emergency Preparedness

The authority to order the evacuation of residents threatened by an approaching hurricane is conferred to the Governor by Louisiana Statute. The Governor is granted the power to direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from a stricken or threatened area within the State, if he deems this action necessary for the preservation of life or other disaster mitigation, response or recovery. The same power to order an evacuation conferred upon the Governor is also delegated to each political subdivision of the State by Executive Order. This authority empowers the chief elected official of New Orleans, the Mayor of New Orleans, to order the evacuation of the parish residents threatened by an approaching hurricane.

And what took Mayor Tweedelee Dee so long to issue the mandatory evac order after Gov Tweedelee Dumb finally got around to declaring a "state of emergency" on the evening of 8/26? Especially knowing that the 72-hour evac window began ticking at the moment she declared it!? In fact, after she declared it, the hurricane made landfall 66 hours later!

QUOTE
IV: HURRICANE EVACUATION PROCEDURES

It must be understood that this Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan is an all-hazard response plan, and is applicable to events of all sizes, affecting even the smallest segments of the community. Evacuation procedures for small scale and localized evacuations are conducted per the SOPs of the New Orleans Fire Department and the New Orleans Police Department.

IOW, these evac procedures are supposed to cover all contingencies. And in the case of Katrina, it did! Everyone in the world knew that the "city in the bowl" was just a disaster waiting to happen. And the people closest to the situation knew best!

QUOTE
However, due to the sheer size and number of persons to be evacuated, should a major tropical weather system or other catastrophic event threaten or impact the area, specifically directed long range planning and coordination of resources and responsibilities efforts must be undertaken

There was no "long range" planning at the state or local level. No leadership at either level. And there certainly wasn't any "coordination of resources and responsibilities...". Both Dumb and Dumber were flying by the seat of their pants. "The plan" to stick people in the Dome and Convention Center was an expedient bandaid solution at best.

QUOTE
D. Regional Transit Authority

* Supply transportation as needed in accordance with the current Standard Operating Procedures.

* Place special vehicles on alert to be utilized if needed.

* Position supervisors and dispatch evacuation buses.

This speaks for itself.

QUOTE
PART 3: SHELTERING

(See ESF-6, Mass Care)

Emergency shelter operations are the responsibility of the Office of Emergency Preparedness Shelter Coordinator. Shelters are provided by the Orleans Parish School Board, while manager training and support activities and supplies are provided by the Office of Emergency Preparedness.

Reassessment of facilities is an on-going process conducted jointly by the School Board, and Emergency Preparedness Division. The shelter activation list is updated yearly, and takes into consideration new school construction, school closings and renovations.

Notice the conspicuous absence of any mention of FEMA? Notice carefully what government entity is to supply the "support activities and supplies".

A. Shelter Demand

Shelter demand is currently under review by the Shelter Coordinator. Approximately 100,000 Citizens of New Orleans do not have means of personal transportation. Shelter assessment is an ongoing project of the Office of Emergency Preparedness through the Shelter Coordinator.

No secrets here, were there? City and state officials knew in this "plan" how many people lacked any "personal transportation"? It was incumbent upon these elected officials, who "serve the people" to get these residents out of harm's way by utilzing all the resources at hand and by recruiting the personnel needed.

QUOTE
NEX I: HURRICANES

RECOVERY (PHASE III)

City of New Orleans Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan

I. GENERAL

Following a disaster, once the principal threat has passed and the primary concern of protection of citizens from harm has been addressed, it becomes critical to public safety to ensure the speedy yet orderly recovery of the community. Recovery functions include continued, potentially long?term response operations (such as debris removal and disposal, infrastructure repair, etc.), liaison with State and Federal response and recovery agencies, damage assessment, response to basic needs of citizens whom may have lost their homes, possessions, businesses, or jobs. Emergency management has to be prepared to address the long?term operations needed to return the community to normalcy.

See the "chain of command" here? The city liaisons with State and Federal response agencies -- in this order? Why this order? Because the Mayor answers to the Gov who is the CEO of the state. And these two can approach Washington and make formal requests of the federal government.

II. CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS

The lead agency responsible for coordinating recovery operations following a natural or man made disaster is the Office of Emergency Preparedness. The Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness shall serve as the initial contact with the Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness for the coordination of recovery efforts. In the event of a major or catastrophic event, the activated ESFs within the EOC shall provide
liaison services to their corresponding State and Federal ESFs and related agencies. Following the establishment of a local Disaster Field Office (DFO), the Director of Emergency Preparedness shall designate the person(s) to serve as local liaison with the DFO. For certain hazard or incident specific incidents, the lead response agency may continue to be the City's principle coordinating representative.

Once again, note carefully, Libs, the "chain of command". Note this: The "lead agency" responsible for recovery operations is NOT FEMA! It's not the DHS either. It's not the Pentagon. It's not the Office of the President of the U.S.

So, when assigning "blame", start where the blame begins, not where it ends. Starrt with the "lead" government, which in this case, is NO. Then the state is next in line. And when the local and.state governments (in this case) faltered very badly at virutally every step of the way, then the final office of the President cannot and should not be blamed for their incompetnece, negligence or any derelictions of duty at the local and/or state level; for their missteps just compounded an already difficult situation.

http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal=46&tabid=26

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This is real cute. On the day BlancLook declared a state of emergency, the ciy of NO placed the city on a "low level alert"!

New Orleans City Hall spokeswoman Tami Frazier said officials were watching the storm, and had activated what she called the lowest alert level -- monitoring storm movements.

I wonder what storm they "were watching"? Maybe it was one in the Bogie classic Key Largo. :rolleyes:

Mayor Tweedelee Dee lacked all sense of urgency.

http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWL082605blanco.b15272b7.html

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The emphases are mine.

FROM THE LOUISIANA MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION OFFICIAL 2004 MUNICIPAL POLICY STATEMENTS... http://www.lamunis.org/POLICY2004.pdf

"Louisiana municipalities have become overly dependent upon the multitude of federal programs which provide financial assistance to local governments."

AND...

1.00 HOME RULE

"Every municipality should be allowed the broadest possible freedom of action in order to fulfill the purposes of self-government. The concept of home rule enables citizens to exercise control at the level of government which is most responsive to their wants and needs. The extension of home rule to municipal governments places the primary responsibility for governance upon the local governing body, which is composed of those persons most directly concerned with the welfare of the community. At the same time, the concept of home rule gives the Legislature greater freedom to focus their attention upon matters of statewide concern."

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