Katrina Coverage

Jeb Bush: Let Locals Lead Disaster Relief
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush delivered a stern message to Congress on Wednesday: State and local officials, not the federal government or the U.S. military, should have the primary responsibility for handling natural disasters.
President Bush and other top officials have suggested that the military could take over disaster response in […]

Joint Task Force-Katrina has been shut down and Lt. Gen. Russel Honore has returned to his previous assignment as commander of the 1st Army.
And:
[Paul McHale, the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense] denied that President Bush ever proposed to Gov. Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana or Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi that Honore take charge […]

The grab for power continues:
President Bush yesterday sought to federalize hurricane-relief efforts, removing governors from the decision-making process.
"It wouldn't be necessary to get a request from the governor or take other action," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said yesterday.
"This would be," he added, "more of an automatic trigger."
Mr. McClellan was referring to a new, […]

Investor's Business Daily says:
…Calls for reform of America's disaster-response system are inevitable and proper after a tragedy on the scale of Katrina. But this is no time to act in haste or to just do more of the same and expand the federal role even further. Not only might this increase a false sense of […]

Always keep a watchful eye out for those "some" people:
…National plans developed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks rest on the notion that police, fire and other emergency groups are best positioned to serve as first responders. Federal agencies are supposed to function as backup to state and local ones, and military forces are […]