Guess whose having a party?

[DCJenn]

Yup- our friends at FEMA. (the HQ is directly on our way to and from the Mall.)

Balloons, the various firetrucks/EMS/Hazmat teams, the S & R dogs, etc.

Guess after they paid for a sex change operation, girls gone wild dvds and a vacation to an all inclusive resort, they figured they needed a diversion???

Jenn

[alison]

i am having difficulty trying to imagine what exactly they're celebrating...

:thud:

[MissCrabette]

Heh, maybe they'll have a party after each hurricane or tropical storm.

gee, nothing like discretion. i sure hope there are some t.v. cameras there.

Well, I guess I see it a bit differently. On it's face, it seems kind of ironic that they're having a celebration or party but this is how I see it (bullet points because I'm lazy):

* From the AP article I read about the "purchases" / fraud, it seemed most (if not all) of the disgusting stuff was done by non-FEMA employees. These criminals found a way to exploit the system, and I hope they will be punished vigorously. For instance, if the sex change involved gaining a male member, that the phalloplasty be undone, financial restitution made and him/her sent to jail.

* The gaming of the system was certainly done by despicable, sub-human types. It's disgusting on so many levels, but not particularly suprising that "gaming" was possible. The government's intention was to get money to the people truly in need as quick as possible. The situation was so extraordinary on so many levels, that it would be more amazing if the money was able to get to needy folks that quickly without a few scoundrels cashing in.

* There were numerous mistakes / fault / blame to go around and FEMA certainly deserves to be criticized for numerous things.

* But, FEMA -- like any human organization is going to have problems -- and like any organization is made up of a lot of people who worked really hard to respond to the crisis -- i.e. probably a lot of those folks who might be enjoying some hotdogs on a spring day after (hypothetical since I don't really know who's there) spending months away from home trying hard to make other folks' lives better -- e.g. rank and file emergency personnel -- hell even skippy the belgian shepherd rescue dog ought to be able to get a lick of the ice cream cones at the party.

* So, in short, just because "Brownie" didn't do a great job and some criminals gamed the system, I don't think that means that these other FEMA and related rescue types shouldn't have a picnic or that there aren't a lot of folks who deserve kudos for their work -- and many of them are FEMA employees.

[DCJenn]

Actually Kevin I agree with a few of your points. But if there EVER was an organization with horrible timing, it's FEMA.

Jenn

[Laker]

Katrina was Bush's fault. If Kerry was elected, it would have never happened.

[DCJenn]

No, if GORE had been elected (oh, wait...) Katrina wouldn't have happened. Kerry? all the Ketchup in Pittsburgh probably couldn't have prevented it.

Jenn

[Laker]

Gore invented hurricanes and Kerry was for FEMA before he was against it.

[PrincessFiona]

Gore invented hurricanes and Kerry was for FEMA before he was against it.