Since this started, I just recieved a text tsunami alert on my cellphone. A 5.0 south of Coachella (in Mexico).

Living on a boat at the head of a large deep submarine canyon, I DO pay attention to these alerts.

FYI to anyone interested -

The former head of FEMA that tech is talking about (Joe Allbaugh) was appointed to run FEMA in 2/01 and quit in 3/03. He'd previously been Bush's campaign manager for the Texas gubenatorial race and the 2000 Presidential race. He quit when FEMA was absorbed into the Dept of Homeland Security. He now is a lobbyist for Halliburton, heads a consulting company that helps companies get contracts in Iraq, and has his own strategy and consulting business in D.C. In other words, Joe Allbaugh is cashing in.

Google has lots of links but here's one: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Joe_M._Allbaugh

...well 'e does 'ave an awfully big nose!

nottn wrong with that. all good race horses have 'em :D

My bad. that's the guy who was in charge when they took away the 'disaster preparedness' function. Did they ever actually assign it to another agency? Last I heard it was somewhere under Homeland Security in a new yet-to-be formed agency.

I think the NO situation is indicative of our government's ability to respond quickly to a terrorist attack. IOW, poor.

Tech,
You need to read more Scifi/end of the world stuff. This event is playing out just like "Lucifers Hammer" as a for instance. Civilization is a [very] fragile structure/compact, and people get uncivilized really quickly. Any terrorist act which would be of this magnitude, would have the same results no matter who was in office. One simply cannot bring that much force to bear quickly in a situation like this.

Peter, please do not confuse Tech with things like this. He feels deeply in his pointed little heart that W is doing this on purpose and that a good Democrat Prez would have had it all taken care of the next morning.

We need to send some oxygen to Tech but not sure if it would revive him...

JoeA

Peter: although I think Jerry Pournelle is a nasty archconservative drunk, the one book I did read by him was "Lucifer's Hammer.'

I also have a screenplay I've written on the same subject. It's fascinating to me. I recommend a '60s movie called "Panic in the Year Zero" with Ray Milland.

The point I was trying to make was that we've had XXX years to work up how the Feds and states and localities would work together to address likely disasters -- and this one was #3 on FEMA's list in 2001, so no surprise.

There should have been more/better/quicker response than there was.

Certainly some of the blame lies with the NO mayor. And I've said from the beginning that LA fell down on the job. But the real point here is that every government authority performed poorly/slowly in this tragedy. And we've paid hundreds of millions in taxes to get a better result.

Gawd, I love it when Tech spools up.

I agree, shameful way this has been handled. Homestead (as bad as that was handled) was better than this.

I would hate to think what would happen out here if SoCal had the same kind of thing. I have always said it was going to be a dirty bomb in a container on a baro switch set to go off at 300' MSL in Long Beach / LA Harbor, making most of SoCal uninhabitable for 65 years.

Should solve the freeway gridlock problem tho.

COME ONTO THE LORD AND REPENT YOUR SINS...FOR THE END IS NIGH AT HAND....TURN AWAY FROM THE HOMOSEXUAL DEPRAVITY THAT INFESTS OUR FAIR LAND...TURN AWAY FROM THE ARROGANCE OF POWER AND LEAVE THE LAND OF MOHAMED....TURN AWAY FROM YOUR GODLESS DEPENDENCE ON MATERIAL THINGS, TURN AWAY FROM DENYING THE LORD IN YOUR LIFE AND COME ONTO THE LORD AS A SHEEP WOULD ONTO A SHEPARD....

So if you wrote a screenplay, how quick did the gubmint get there? If you look at this sort of stuff dispassionately, I think it's fairly obvious what people are like & what that results in during a disaster. And you don't have to be a "archconservative drunk" to see that that's the case every time that mob mentality gets to work. How come so many sporting events are followed by vandalism & looting and the police never can nip it in the bud? Reality, tech, bites.

Tabs, are you channeling Pat Robertson or Malcolm X?

I think tabs has been browsing the Westborough Baptist Church website

Either that or huffing sterno from the buffet tables again.