One of the signature moments of the Bush administration came when the federal government failed to immediately react to the carnage caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. As you'll remember, President Bush seemed lethargic about the death and destruction, and the media buried him because of his lackluster posture.
But we now know that the president could not have seized control of the situation because he was not asked in by then-Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco. Bush could have appeared more engaged in his public pronouncements, to be sure, but legally, he could not exert federal authority unless state authorities officially asked him to do so. Now we have the great blizzard screw-up of 2010 in New York. The day after Christmas, a storm dropped about 20 inches of snow on the nation's largest city. That's spring break for places like Moscow, but in NYC, chaos almost immediately broke out. Based on solid reporting by The New York Post and other media, it now appears that members of the city's sanitation union may have sabotaged snow removal because of anger about budget cuts and layoffs. More than 10 percent of sanitation workers called in sick the night they were most needed. Two adults died, and a baby was born in a vestibule and later died because emergency workers could not get through the snow. -- When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross. Sinclair Lewis -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
