PUBLIC MARKS with tags government & hurricane

Federal, state and local officials all failed to anticipate the devastation threatened by Hurricane Katrina and then were slow to react when the storm overwhelmed New Orleans levees, said a draft report by a special House committee investigating Katrina.

Perhaps you've heard the one about the 700 firefighters from a variety of states who volunteered to do rescue work following Hurricane Katrina? They sat in a hotel room in Atlanta for days getting sexual harassment training from FEMA officials. No joke. Note to Republicans eager to shovel new money at federal agencies: This is the way government works.

A black conservative leader says don't blame racism or President Bush for what happened to thousands of black people during and after Hurricane Katrina. "The truth is black people died, not because of President Bush or racism, they died because of their unhealthy dependence on the government and the incompetence of Mayor Ray Nagin and Governor Kathleen Blanco."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says Republicans failed hurricane victims in their time of need, and she is calling for quick action to get displaced people the government assistance that "they are owed." <p><img src="http://www.trommetter.org/smilies/twocents.gif">I'm sorry Nancy, the government doesn't owe those people anything. That mentality is why the federal budget deficit continues to balloon.