FEMA SUCKS!!!!!

Adding fuel to recent and growing criticism of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, a recently revealed government memo shows that the federal agency tasked with handling emergency relief efforts waited until after Katrina struck the Gulf Coast before seeking additional authority to deploy thousands of Department of Homeland Security personnel to the area. The August 29 memo from Federal Emergency Management Agency head Michael D. Brown to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, which was obtained by the Associated Press, asks for 1,000 workers within 48 hours and 2,000 more within seven days.The category four hurricane hit land around 6 a.m. on Monday, August 29. Later that day, President George W. Bush declared Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana disaster areas. FEMA had already positioned some teams in the area, but waited until after the hurricane struck to ask the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA's umbrella agency, for additional help. The letter from Brown to Chertoff is polite and deferential. It does not sound urgent. "It is beneficial to use DHS employees as it allows us to be more efficient responding to the needs of this disaster and it reinforces the Department's All-Hazard's Capabilities," wrote Brown. "Thank you for your consideration in helping us meet our responsibilities in this near catastrophic event."The letter says that training will be provided for the requested personnel and that their responsibilities would be to "establish and maintain positive working relationships with disaster-affected communities and the citizens of those communities" and to "convey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials, community organizations and the general public."