Detroit $14 billion in debt

The fiscal crisis plaguing Detroit is now in the hands of Michigan's governor after a state-appointed review team determined the city was in a financial emergency with "no satisfactory plan" to resolve it. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has 30 days to decide if Detroit needs an emergency manager to take charge of its finances and spending, and come up with a new plan to get the city out of its financial mess.

After spending weeks looking at the city's books, the independent review team released a report Tuesday saying Detroit's deficit could have reached $900 million last fiscal year had it not borrowed enormous amounts of money. The city's long-term liabilities, including underfunded pensions, are more than $14 billion.

The report also said the city's bureaucratic structure makes it difficult to solve the financial problems. Some fiscal experts believe the city's only way out may be municipal bankruptcy, but state Treasurer Andy Dillon said answers could be found if the city and state work together. Read more >>

Governors resist Pentagon efforts to seize state control

Rumors of impending martial law can no longer be relegated to the tin foil ramblings of dirty bearded men who direct traffic in the streets. The public got their first official clue last October when Congressman Brad Sherman disclosed that House members were told there would be martial law in America if they voted "no" on the bailout.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency conducted National Level Exercises on U.S. soil in late July 2009.

So it comes as no surprise to read in The Hill that two governors, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R), and West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D), oppose a new Defense Department proposal to seize control of state autonomy and command in an emergency. The governors wrote a letter to the Pentagon and told them to shove it where the sun don't shine.

"Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R), chairman of the National Governors Association, and Vice Chairman Gov. Joe Manchin (D) of West Virginia penned a letter opposing the Pentagon proposal, which they said would hinder a state's effort to respond to a disaster."

The letter comes as the Pentagon proposes a "legislative fix that would give the secretary of Defense the authority to assist in response to domestic disasters and, consequently, control over units stationed in an affected state" -- Orwellian double-talk for federally sanctioned martial law.

"We are concerned that the legislative proposal you discuss in your letter would invite confusion on critical command and control issues, complicate interagency planning, establish stove-piped response efforts, and interfere with governors’ constitutional responsibilities to ensure the safety and security of their citizens," Douglas and Manchin wrote to Paul Stockton, assistant secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and America's Security Affairs.

What Is FEMA Planning For Our Children?

I can understand government suggested guidelines to unite children with their parents in the event of an emergency or disaster, but why create an entire "Children's Working Group"? This bulletin was posted on FEMA's website, and smacks of a Nazi-like induction of our children into an Owellian structured, federally controlled clearinghousel.

The plan calls for FEMA to supervise "incorporation of children into national planning scenarios and exercises". Any guidance and support of our children during an emergency can be coordinated locally, without FEMA supervision and federal control.

FEMA Announces Creation Of Children's Working Group

Release Date: August 4, 2009
Release Number: HQ-09-094

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- While testifying before the Senate Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery today, the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate announced the creation of a "Children's Working Group."

The working group will allow FEMA and its partners to explore and implement planning and response strategies specific to children throughout the agency and ensure that during a disaster the unique needs of children are not only considered, but fully integrated into how FEMA administers this support to states and the public.

"It is time for special needs populations, whether children or any other segment of our communities who have traditionally been underserved, to be more fully and consistently integrated into preparedness and planning efforts at every level of government," Administer Fugate said. "Children are a part of every community. We must understand and address their needs from the outset, recognizing that they are not simply small adults. That means not putting the considerations specific to children in a separate box, but incorporating them into our planning on the front end."

The Children's Working Group will be composed of FEMA employees across multiple directorates and offices to ensure coordination and action, and will report directly to the Office of the Administrator. The working group will be chaired by Tracy Wareing, counselor to Secretary Napolitano for FEMA.

Areas of focus of the Children's Working Group will include:

* Child-specific guidance as to evacuation, sheltering, and relocation;
* Tracking and reunification of families;
* Coordinated case management supports;
* Enhanced preparedness for child care centers and schools as well as for children in child welfare and juvenile justice systems;
* Enhanced national planning, including incorporation of children into national planning scenarios and exercises;
* Incorporation of children's needs into grant guidance;
* Improved recovery coordination across the federal family and with state and local partners in support of children's education, health and housing;
* Consideration as to how the federal family can help ensure child care centers are able rebuild and restore services more quickly following a disaster, and;
* Increased public awareness efforts to educate families and protect children during disasters.

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=49221