| ok, it's time for me to update. i'm sure most of you know by now, but ava caite was born on august 1st, at 5:01 pm. she was 7 pounds 1 ounces, 20 inches long. she is now over 9 pounds 2 ounces and 22 inches long. pictures should come soon, i've just been putting off updating this for a long time. we love our baby!
about hurricane katrina, since everyone's talking about it, it sucks that it happened and that thousands have died. i'm glad that they got the national guard in there, even if it was really late. i don't see how people can blame bush for this though, except for them not knowing how disaster relief works. it starts at the local level, then through the state, then to the federal government (FEMA and dept of homeland security). the federal government can do nothing until the state requests it, and when the state does request it, it takes a while for the federal government to mobilize the national guard and relief necessary. please check out this article for more information on who is responsible for this atrocity. there are more out there, but that one puts very well what the problems were. while i don't think the federal government was entirely to blame, i do put some blame on FEMA and Homeland Security, but i put the majority of the blame on the mayor of new orleans and the governor of new orleans. check out this excerpt of that article:
At the state level, according to a CNN timeline of the Katrina Crisis, Governor Blanco called for 40,000 National Guard troops, but not until Thursday, September 1, three days after Katrina struck.
and keep in mind, that once national guard troops are requested, it's generally 72 hours before they are ready to go. they should have been requested prior to the hurricane even touching shore. anyway, i have to go home and see my beautiful baby daughter! |
