"Frustrating" Is One Word...

Julian Sanchez | September 8, 2005

to describe this:

Five West Virginia Air National Guard C-130 transport aircraft sent to pick up displaced victims from Hurricane Katrina returned home empty early Wednesday, following a series of frustrating bureaucratic snafus.

"We met with obstacles everywhere we turned," said Lara Ramsburg, communications director for Gov. Joe Manchin. "It's been a frustrating experience."

"To bring five planes back empty is a crying shame," Manchin told The Associated Press. Ramsburg said Manchin and state emergency services personnel worked with federal officials and their counterparts in states affected by the hurricane throughout the night on Sept. 1 before sending the C-130s southward.

"We weren't going to let the planes leave here without being certain everything was in order," she said. "But as soon as they landed in Louisiana there was chaos, and things just got more confusing. We had five aircraft on the ground Tuesday that could have been used to bring people to safety here, but they all came home empty. Not being able to help those people has been frustrating for everybody."

I expect you can think of a few others. Via Andrew Sullivan, for whom "Fire Michael Brown" is becoming what "Courage" was to Dan Rather.

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|9.8.05 @ 6:07PM|#

Wait, they want to take the refugees .. err... evacuees back to whatever state they came from? Does this not strike anyone else as plain dumb? Hospitable, yes. Logical, not so much.

Maybe South Korea and Germany could take some back with their planes, as well! New Orleans victims, while they're hot! They'll be the next wishing trolls!!!

|9.8.05 @ 6:12PM|#

The D.C. convoy was originally ten buses. After a day or two of wandering around and not finding anybody who wanted to go to the D.C. Armory, two or three drivers just quit and went back. In the end it was 7 buses, bunch of volunteers and an accompanying journalist or two to escort the one woman to D.C.

On the upside they were carrying supplies there and delivered them in MS, I think.

|9.9.05 @ 10:30AM|#

Dynamist,

I'm hoping it is simply that someone was wise enough to tell the evacuees that their $2k wouldn't get them very far in DC. There have to be a hundred places in the US that are better places to find a new start.

Unless, of course, you are hoping to nab one of those new fancy DHS jobs that are coming up :)

|9.8.05 @ 4:57PM|#

"Frustrating" is One Word...

...to describe your RETARDED SERVER!

|9.8.05 @ 4:59PM|#

You're telling me? We're working on it.

|9.8.05 @ 5:23PM|#

Did you cover the bus convoy from DC that did WV better by exactly one evacuee? Something like 5 buses, 60 volunteers, and they returned with one woman who seemed more than a bit embarrassed by the implicit spotlight.

|9.8.05 @ 7:28PM|#

Yet some insist that a lack of buses was the problem. I'm sticking with a lack of interest in escape was the bigger problem.

Or, if you're from New Orleans, and DC is not good enough for you, then DC must be a rough place, indeed.

|9.9.05 @ 6:59AM|#

I would think that Las Vegas would be the perfect location to place evacuees. With the $2000 FEMA card they can parley that for millions.

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