more of this, please

Thank you Lord!

FEMA's broken; fix it, don't throw it away Abolishing FEMA and leaving it inside Homeland Security is a pathetic shell game that wastes time, money and, as hurricane season approaches, could waste lives. Rather than fix what is broken, the Senate is suggesting disposing FEMA and setting up something that sounds remarkably similar to what was there before.

What should be dismantled is not FEMA, but the Department of Homeland Security. Americans have watched the ridiculous -- color-coded terror alerts that became fodder for late-night TV pundits -- transform into epic tragedy -- refugees from Katrina huddled in the Superdome and the Convention Center in New Orleans without food, supplies or a glimmer of hope. Congress threw money at relief, and surprise of surprises, the money has been siphoned off to pad the pockets of people not affected by Katrina. America does not need another bureaucratic blunder.

The Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress should return to a basic tenet of the modern GOP: Less government is better. If FEMA was returned to a Cabinet-level agency answerable to the president and led by competent administrators hired for their expertise, not their political connections, there would be no repeat of the Katrina debacle. ~ Hurricanes are a natural occurrence. Even hurricanes as devastating as Katrina are not unprecedented. Local, state and federal agencies knew it was coming and failed to react appropriately. Congress and the president should hold Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff responsible for FEMA's gross failure. FEMA should be extracted from Homeland Security; it does not need to be abolished.

If the Senate is still intent on throwing bureaucrats at a problem, they should volunteer for rebuilding efforts in New Orleans. The paperwork alone they generate could help plug a levee.