Bingo! Guys (and gal), this is exactly what I've been saying! Katrina had nothing to do with evil Republicans like me trying to kill off the poor, down-trodden Democratic voters. It was the text-book example of a complete communications melt-down. Anyone with even modest equipment on HF (Kirsten, that's the formal term for shortwave), VHF, and UHF could witness the total failure to communicate effectively (hell, most of the chaos was even available on the Web)! Politicians were using the media to talk AT each other instead of communicating. The official Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness evacuation plan for SE Louisiana is available online. Considering that it was written by bureaucrats, it is an amazingly succinct document that, among other things, states clearly that evacuation coordination is a local job. FEMA is basically a huge fire hose of resources; fire hoses flop around until someone down at the business end stands up and starts directing the flow. Katrina is also a stark case of what I've been riding local Amateur Radio Operators about lately. Their sacred cow, 100+-old Morse Code technology, was rendered largely moot by solar conditions (and we're STILL enduring a major flare). If "hams" want their hobby to retain its federally-protected status, they urgently need to step up with robust modern communication modes. A modern ham should be prepared to pass along terabytes of radio traffic while dog-paddling through 20 feet of water and braving 200-mph winds. Yes, I'm exaggerating, but just modestly. Most of the required technology already exists, but our laws heavily restrict what the military can do within local jurisdictions. Hams need to remember that Congress specifically created their "service" to maintain a pool of skilled radio operators ready to dive into disasters on their own and set up emergency communications. This is something hams used to do reasonably well, (Kirsten, please show the web page below to Justin. Perhaps it will make him rethink his rant. :) ) The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments: Shortcut to: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9286534/ Note: To protect against computer viruses, e-mail programs may prevent sending or receiving certain types of file attachments. Check your e-mail security settings to determine how attachments are handled.
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