Ultimate Response

Ultimately, the little, uncoordinated responses of nearby community groups had the least controversy. In disasters, large isn’t much better. But, the political will appears to be moving towards giving much more energy to each the federal government (FEMA, military) and also the State’s (particularly the National Guard), leading to much more centralized command and control.

As to the Red Cross, like any large outfit, when in doubt, fire somebody to give an look of solving the issues – with out diving deep into the root issues. The large board, the heavy involvement of the Federal government, along with other problems have produced a confused, extremely bureaucratic organization, that believes it can manage disasters in a leading down fashion. But the departure of the CEO won’t result in solutions – however it certain resulted within the media offering nearly no meaningful coverage of the Congressional testimony. Sneaky, huh? Or just company as usual.

American Red Cross President Resigns. Once more.

Note quotes at finish of story concerning the 50 member board of directors. I had some comments on that subject back in September.

Their response to problems raised within the wake of Katrina would be to fire somebody. It doesn’t appear they’ll address any root causes of the identified problems:“The organization will preserve its present technique, direction and programs and will continue to make sure the continuity and stability of ongoing Red Cross operations”. An NYU professor comes to the exact same conclusion.