(no subject)

From CNN:

Defending the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Katrina, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff argued Saturday that government planners did not predict such a disaster ever could occur.

But in fact, government officials, scientists and journalists have warned of such a scenario for years.

Chertoff, fielding questions from reporters, said government officials did not expect both a powerful hurricane and a breach of levees that would flood the city of New Orleans.

"That 'perfect storm' of a combination of catastrophes exceeded the foresight of the planners, and maybe anybody's foresight," Chertoff said.

He called the disaster "breathtaking in its surprise."

But engineers say the levees preventing this below-sea-level city from being turned into a swamp were built to withstand only Category 3 hurricanes. And officials have warned for years that a Category 4 could cause the levees to fail.


Could someone please fire him and the FEMA head for gross incompetence. They couldn't run a chook raffle.

***

On a different matter, everything I've read says that Rehnquist was extremely conservative and actually helped shift the Supreme Court to the right. Yet many on my flist are despairing. Is Bush even more conservative than that in terms of the replacements he wants to announce?

(no subject)

From CNN:

Defending the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Katrina, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff argued Saturday that government planners did not predict such a disaster ever could occur.

But in fact, government officials, scientists and journalists have warned of such a scenario for years.

Chertoff, fielding questions from reporters, said government officials did not expect both a powerful hurricane and a breach of levees that would flood the city of New Orleans.

"That 'perfect storm' of a combination of catastrophes exceeded the foresight of the planners, and maybe anybody's foresight," Chertoff said.

He called the disaster "breathtaking in its surprise."

But engineers say the levees preventing this below-sea-level city from being turned into a swamp were built to withstand only Category 3 hurricanes. And officials have warned for years that a Category 4 could cause the levees to fail.


Could someone please fire him and the FEMA head for gross incompetence. They couldn't run a chook raffle.

***

On a different matter, everything I've read says that Rehnquist was extremely conservative and actually helped shift the Supreme Court to the right. Yet many on my flist are despairing. Is Bush even more conservative than that in terms of the replacements he wants to announce?