So do we get furious or is it just another yawner. Michael Brown in his second round of testimony on Feb 10 to the Senate Panel investigating the government's response to Katrina said he told the White House and DHS on the day of the storm that the levees had breached.

Just why the President and Michael Chertoff didn't seem to get the message until 12 hours later on Tuesday the 30th doesn't seem to make much sense nor does it seem to greatly matter, now. They were too late to stop the levees from breaching and the Corps couldn't stop the flooding. The Coast Guard was running rescues and there were MRE's, water and other supplies everywhere but the convention center. Whether Bush and Chertoff could round up 500 buses or get the Army to secure the city quicker is debatable. DHS HSOC Director admitted it was his responsibility to brief Chertoff and he didn't do so until Tuesday when he was sure of the "truth on the ground."

Brown's more significant testimony revolved around the fact that DHS budgets stripped FEMA of its preparation role. Specifically he testified that after the Hurricane Pam simulation which identified urgent shortcomings in preparation, FEMA was not authorized by DHS to proceed with those preparations. Whether those steps would have been effective we will never know.

We now know that an effective evacuation plan including buses in advance to evacuate those who require assistance and buses after the fact for those who didn't leave, a plan to introduce troops to secure the area (let the lawyers debate posse comitatus on their own time) and viable communications need to be added to current preparations.