Hell of a job President Bush. This guy is a friggin idiot. Just cause you guys used to snort coke off strippers tits in college doesn't mean he can run FEMA. What the fuck is wrong with you????

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/images/11/03/brown.emails.pdf
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/03/brown.fema.emails/index.html

Quote :

"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Louisiana congressman says e-mails written by the government's emergency response chief as Hurricane Katrina raged show a lack of concern for the unfolding tragedy and a failure in leadership. Rep. Charlie Melancon, whose district south of New Orleans was devastated by the hurricane, posted a sampling of e-mails written by Federal Emergency Management chief Michael Brown on his Web site on Wednesday. The Democratic lawmaker cited several e-mails that he said show Brown's failures. In one, as employees looked for direction and support on the ravaged Gulf Coast, Brown offered to "tweak" the federal response. Two days after Katrina hit, Marty Bahamonde, one of the only FEMA employees in New Orleans, wrote to Brown that "the situation is past critical" and listed problems including many people near death and food and water running out at the Superdome. Brown's entire response was: "Thanks for the update. Anything specific I need to do or tweak?" (Copies of e-mails posted by critic -- PDF) On September 12 Brown resigned, 10 days after President Bush told him, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." Brown is still on the federal payroll at his $148,000 annual salary. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, saying Brown's expertise was needed as he investigated what went wrong, agreed to a 30-day extension when Brown resigned. Chertoff renewed that extension in mid-October. Brown took over FEMA in 2003 with little experience in emergency management. He joined the agency in 2001 as legal counsel to his college friend, then-FEMA director Joe Allbaugh, who was Bush's 2000 campaign manager. When Allbaugh left FEMA in 2003 Brown assumed the top job. Before joining the Bush administration, Brown spent a decade as the stewards and judges commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association. The e-mails Melancon posted, a sampling of more than 1,000 provided to the House committee now assessing responses to Katrina by all levels of government, also show Brown making flippant remarks about his responsibilities. (Read how office e-mails can come back to haunt) "Can I quit now? Can I come home?" Brown wrote to Cindy Taylor, FEMA's deputy director of public affairs, the morning of the hurricane. A few days later, Brown wrote to an acquaintance, "I'm trapped now, please rescue me." "In the midst of the overwhelming damage caused by the hurricane and enormous problems faced by FEMA, Mr. Brown found time to exchange e-mails about superfluous topics," including "problems finding a dog-sitter," Melancon said. Melancon said that on August 26, just days before Katrina made landfall, Brown e-mailed his press secretary, Sharon Worthy, about his attire, asking: "Tie or not for tonight? Button-down blue shirt?" A few days later, Worthy advised Brown: "Please roll up the sleeves of your shirt, all shirts. Even the president rolled his sleeves to just below the elbow. In this [crisis] and on TV you just need to look more hard-working." On August 29, the day of the storm, Brown exchanged e-mails about his attire with Taylor, Melancon said. She told him, "You look fabulous," and Brown replied, "I got it at Nordstroms. ... Are you proud of me?" An hour later, Brown added: "If you'll look at my lovely FEMA attire, you'll really vomit. I am a fashion god," according to the congressman. The e-mails came from Chertoff, who oversees FEMA, following a request by Melancon and Rep. Tom Davis, R-Virginia, chairman of a House committee appointed to investigate what went wrong during Katrina, Melancon said. Brown resigned amid accusations that FEMA acted too slowly after Katrina hammered Louisiana and Mississippi, killing more than 1,200 people. He defended the government's response and blamed leaders in Louisiana for failing to act quickly as the hurricane approached. He acknowledged he made some mistakes as FEMA's director, but he stressed that the agency "is not a first responder," insisting that role belonged to state and local officials. Brown could not be reached for comment Wednesday night on the e-mails and Melancon's charges. Although Chertoff has not turned over all the documents requested by the committee, Melancon charged that the material received so far contradicts testimony by Brown before the committee in which he described himself as an effective leader. (Melancon's analysis of e-mails -- PDF) Melancon used an e-mail sent September 2, four days after the hurricane hit, to illustrate his point. On that day, Brown received a message with the subject "medical help." At the time, thousands of patients were being transported to the New Orleans airport, which had been converted to a makeshift hospital. Because of a lack of ventilators, medical personnel had to ventilate patients by hand for as long as 35 hours, according to Melancon. The text of the e-mail reads: "Mike, Mickey and other medical equipment people have a 42-foot trailer full of beds, wheelchairs, oxygen concentrators, etc. They are wanting to take them where they can be used but need direction. "Mickey specializes in ventilator patients so can be very helpful with acute care patients. If you could have someone contact him and let him know if he can be of service, he would appreciate it. Know you are busy but they really want to help." Melancon said Brown didn't respond for four days, when he forwarded the original e-mail to FEMA Deputy Chief of Staff Brooks Altshuler and Deputy Director of Response Michael Lowder. The text of Brown's e-mail to them read: "Can we use these people?" Melancon also charged that few of the e-mails from Brown show him assigning specific tasks to employees or responding to pressing problems. On September 1, FEMA officials exchanged e-mails reporting severe shortages of ice and water in Mississippi. They were to receive 60 trucks of ice and 26 trucks of water the next day, even though they needed 450 trucks of each. Robert Fenton, a FEMA regional response official, predicted "serious riots" if insufficient supplies arrive. Brown was forwarded the series of e-mails about the problem, but no response from him is shown in the e-mails provided to the committee, Melancon said. Katrina came ashore along the Louisiana-Mississippi state line, after being downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 4 storm. It flooded 80 percent of New Orleans. It was followed about a month later by Hurricane Rita, which caused more damage and flooding. Melancon and several other Democrats from districts directly affected by Katrina were invited to participate as a ex-officio members of the Katrina investigative committee, though they have no formal role. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi refused to appoint any Democrats to the panel after GOP leaders rebuffed Democratic demands for an independent probe. This is the second time a congressional committee had dealt with e-mails relating to FEMA's Katrina response. A complete transcript of Brown's e-mail traffic during the Katrina crisis has not been released by the Department of Homeland Security. "

11/3/2005 11:28:49 PM

ummmm, yeah. every single one of those emails can be rationally explained. Unless, of course, you just want to believe that dubya and all his cronies are 100% incompetent and stupid and can't do anything right.

I'll admit that most of them look odd on the surface, even downright disturbing, but they all lack one crucial element: context. I don't know how many emails the man sends a day, but I'm willing to bet that whatever is shown is not representative of what he normally sends, nor are they helpful in deducing how he he actually uses email or what he did that didn't get sent via email.

11/3/2005 11:34:36 PM

did you even read though the 34 pages of emails or was that a standard response?

Quote :

"Thanks for the update, anything specific I need to do or tweak?"

please, for the love of god, give me some context that can explain that email. He fired that off just a couple of minutes after receiving a "worst case scenario has happened" email from a DHS official. Just a couple minutes...awesome.

The man wasn't right for the job, not by a long shot. People suffered much more than they should have because he was there. That much is blatantly obvious now...just as it was before these emails were released.

[Edited on November 3, 2005 at 11:49 PM. Reason : ]

11/3/2005 11:49:09 PM

That's my favorite too

Quote :

"Two days after Katrina hit, Marty Bahamonde, one of the only FEMA employees in New Orleans, wrote to Brown that "the situation is past critical" and listed problems including many people near death and food and water running out at the Superdome. Brown's entire response was: "Thanks for the update. Anything specific I need to do or tweak?" "

Umm...yea, there is. The near death problem, we need you to fix that.

11/3/2005 11:57:51 PM

Quote :

"The man wasn't right for the job, not by a long shot. People suffered much more than they should have because he was there. That much is blatantly obvious now...just as it was before these emails were released."

This is true.

Anyone who doesn't agree with this hasn't been paying attention, or probably belongs in this thread:

http://www.brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=362434

11/3/2005 11:58:20 PM

Quote :

"People suffered much more than they should have because he was there."

incorrect. People suffered much more than they should have because of poor planning and execution on the local level.

I'm not saying that the man did everything 100% right, but I don't think it is as bad as all the libies make it out to be. However, lets also not assume that we know 100% what he was supposed to do. It is entirely possible that normally the local leadership should have handled many of the things that are being blamed on him. As such, he might not know that it was time for him to get totally and directly involved and micromanage everything. We don't see his planning emails before Katrina that say "hey, here is how we will respond. Everyone got it?" and we don't see the responses to such a possible email, at least not in this article. Thus, from the standpoint of his prior plan, maybe there were other people who were supposed to step up below him before he got involved. Lets remember, the hurricane didn't just hit New Orleans. He was also dealing with other areas. Thats why delegation occurs. So that one person doesn't have to micromanage every single thing in a large complez organization.

Of course, it also entirely possible that the head of FEMA is supposed to micromanage every last part of every single disaster that happens, irrespective of what else is going on or however many other disasters are occurring.

Is he ultimately responsible? As the leader, yes. However, lets also understand that the man had NO say in who the elected leadership of New Orleans and Louisiana were, so if they were incompetent, yet gave him no reason to suspect so, how can we really place 100% of the blame on him?

It all boils down to this: If you hate bush, then you think that everyone in Bush's administration is incompetent and no one on the local level in this scenario bears any responsibility. If you love Bush, then you'll blame everyone on the local level and exonerate everyone related to Bush. If you are in the middle, like me, then you'll probably weigh the facts.

11/4/2005 12:23:44 AM

It boils down to this: The Republican-led congressional committee investigating the Katrina fiasco has incessantly ripped on Michael Brown for the last few weeks, and rightfully so. Following that ongoing investigation can lead you to no other conclusion except that Michael Brown was woefully unprepared and ineffective as leader of FEMA during this crisis.

11/4/2005 12:28:53 AM

Quote :

"The Republican-led congressional committee investigating the Katrina fiasco has incessantly ripped on Michael Brown for the last few weeks, and rightfully so."

you ever heard of a "whipping boy?" The media got the whole public worked up into a fucking fervor over this that someone had to take the blame. You can damned well bet it wasn't going to be dubya, and the republicans were hopefully smart enough to know better than to accuse a black person of any wrongdoing (AKA, the mayor of NO), so guess who got the blame? Little old Michael Brown. Welcome to politics, Fuel. I hope you enjoy your stay.

11/4/2005 12:36:06 AM

The proof is right there in front of you, in 34 pages of e-mails. You ask for context? There is PLENTY of context there.

11/4/2005 12:41:19 AM

Quote :

"Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, saying Brown's expertise was needed as he investigated what went wrong,"

Here's what you do. Get a mirror, and put him in front of it. Case closed.

11/4/2005 7:46:35 AM

Quote :

"Easily Disprovable Lies About Hurricane Katrina Response Over the last several days many of us have noticed quite a few “talking points” being disseminated by various people associated with the White House. I understand that spin is just a part of life in political circles. Even so, there are three points which are particularly egregious. These three points are all designed to deflect blame from the federal level to the state and local level, and they are all easily proven to be false. The GOP is using this strategy to dishonestly assign blame while also saying, “Now is not the time to play the blame game.” Meanwhile, the DNC has suspended political fund raising and given its staff time off to assist relief efforts for the victims of Katrina. Decent people of all political philosophies need to support those who put aside politics in this time of crisis, and condemn those who merely pay lip service to unity as they fan the flames of divisiveness with their deceitful rhetoric. The three dishonest talking points being spread by the GOP are these: 1) The Mayor of New Orleans did not follow the portion of the New Orleans Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, which specifies “Special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to evacuate themselves.” If this quote is taken in context, it is clear that it is referring to evacuating people to an emergency shelter within the city, not evacuating people to points outside the city. The Mayor did implement an emergency bussing system that evacuated the city's poor and disabled to the Superdome. This can be verified by reading the plan at http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal=46&tabid=26 2) The Governor of Louisiana failed to request federal help in a timely manner. The Governor requested help on August 28, 2005 as can be easily seen by viewing her official request at http://gov.louisiana.gov/Disaster%20Relief%20Request.pdf The official White House response to this request is in the press release at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050829-2.html In fact, the President declared a State of Emergency in Louisiana on August 26, 2005 that technically made the Governor’s request unnecessary. This can be seen from the official White House press release at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html 3) Federal Agencies were unable to respond in a timely manner because the Governor did not request their help. Actually, once the President declared the State of Emergency on August 26, 2005, it triggered something called “An Incident of National Significance.” According to the United States National Response Plan, this has quite a few consequences, all of which are designed to put the Federal Government in charge, eliminate delays based on paperwork, and eliminate any need for local officials to ask for help. Here are some quotes: “The President leads the Nation in responding efficiently and ensuring the necessary resources are applied quickly and effectively to all Incidents of National Significance.” "Standard procedures regarding requests for assistance may be expedited, or under extreme circumstances, suspended in the immediate aftermath of an event of catastrophic magnitude." The US National Response Plan can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interweb/assetlibrary/NRP_FullText.pdf There is quite a bit more, but those two quotes cover the major points. By declaring a State of Emergency, the President officially took charge of the situation, whether he realized it or not. And once it was clear that Hurricane Katrina was an event of “catastrophic magnitude” there should have been no need for FEMA, nor any other Federal agencies to wait until state or local government requested help from them. These blatant lies are an attempt to discredit the people who are still busy with their heroic attempts to save even more lives in the affected states. Anyone who would knowingly spread these lies (particularly while there are still people trapped in their homes, praying for rescue) has clearly sold their soul to pay for their political agenda. Bearing false witness against someone who is struggling to save the lives of our most helpless citizens is clearly beyond any sin previously committed by either party. "

11/4/2005 8:55:46 AM

Quote :

"The proof is right there in front of you, in 34 pages of e-mails. You ask for context? There is PLENTY of context there."

really? you are telling me that the entire history of the head FEMA is contained in just 34 pages of emails? Man, if thats the case, then I'd say we can do some budget trimming right there...

11/4/2005 9:27:09 AM

Quote :

"you are telling me that the entire history of the head FEMA"

oh, so that's the definition of "context" now? You have to understand Brownie of a best-friends level before you can pass judgment on whether things he says may or may not be idiotic at worst, or extrememly insensitive at best?

11/4/2005 9:46:56 AM

actually, no. I'm saying you have to understand the POSITION, and what it does and doesn't do.

11/4/2005 9:54:38 AM

so basically if he came out and said his position was there simply to put a pretty-face on the FEMA by wearing classy Nordstrom clothes, while rolling his sleeves up and pretending to get dirty just like the President does in times of crisis (all the while seeminly flirting with all the females in his office), instead of actually directing, calling shots, allocating resources, and making sure shit is getting done, then we'd be cool?

11/4/2005 10:03:35 AM

Quote :

"really? you are telling me that the entire history of the head FEMA is contained in just 34 pages of emails? Man, if thats the case, then I'd say we can do some budget trimming right there..."

No. Brown's response to a crises is contained within those emails. The entire history of FEMA is irrelevant as is the city and state response. Those failures are a different matter and deserve their own thread. What is in question here is Mr. Brown's competence. I find it funny that you, a person so frustrated with a football program that embarressed our team on nation television, would not find fault with a man who replies to "the sooner we can get medical patients out, the sooner we can get them[DMT Staff] out" with "Anything specific I need to do or tweak."

11/4/2005 11:24:41 AM

Quote :

"It all boils down to this: If you hate bush, then you think that everyone in Bush's administration is incompetent and no one on the local level in this scenario bears any responsibility. If you love Bush, then you'll blame everyone on the local level and exonerate everyone related to Bush. If you are in the middle, like me, then you'll probably weigh the facts."

I'm not a fan of Bush, though I feel he has placed many competent and brilliant people in his administration...Michael Brown is just not one of them.

You, on the other hand, love Bush...you're not in the middle as you state. Therefore your response to this issue, and this thread (as you state above), has been blame it all on the local officials with not a single mention of the possibility that Michael Brown was not right for the job.

If you were to actually "weigh facts" as you put it, then you would at least entertain the thought that this guy was way out of his element as the Director of FEMA instead of blaming everything on black people and the media.

[Edited on November 4, 2005 at 12:44 PM. Reason : ]

11/4/2005 12:43:14 PM

Quote :

"If you are in the middle, like me, then you'll probably weigh the facts"

and really, who the hell is in the middle?

we all like to think we're totally unbiased, and our political and personal prejudices play no role in which side of a particular issue we fall down on but come on...who is really like that? Nobody.

Everyone has feelings towards certain issues and certain people...and those feelings play a role. Being in the middle is bullshit.

No one sits there and evaluates each issue solely based on the facts and pure logic.

Anyone who claims to be in the middle is full of shit..its that simple.

11/4/2005 12:58:36 PM

I haven't read the whole packet of emails but please explain the problems with the response given in the first email. Without the original message, as quoted in the article, it is out of context. In the context of the original message it's quite clear that it is a somewhat appropriate response, if worded badly. You're note the original message speaks of plans in development to solve the problems presented, this is a status update to Brown. Browns response is asking if there is anything specific they would like him to work on. They're the ones on the ground with a better idea of what exactly is needed.

11/4/2005 1:34:46 PM

[Edited on November 7, 2005 at 8:33 PM. Reason : ]

11/7/2005 8:32:37 PM

Quote :

"so basically if he came out and said his position was there simply to put a pretty-face on the FEMA by wearing classy Nordstrom clothes, while rolling his sleeves up and pretending to get dirty just like the President does in times of crisis (all the while seeminly flirting with all the females in his office), instead of actually directing, calling shots, allocating resources, and making sure shit is getting done, then we'd be cool?"

i suppose so. But then I'd be calling for the eradication of the position, as well

Quote :

"No. Brown's response to a crises is contained within those emails."

But what we don't get in those emails is what his prior plans were. AKA, what did he already have in place. What things does he expect are actually happening on the ground? You clearly want him to micromanage everything, and I don't think that is humanly possible, especially given the scope of Katrina and other recent hurricanes.

Quote :

"I find it funny that you, a person so frustrated with a football program that embarressed our team on nation television"

irrelevence much?

Quote :

"You, on the other hand, love Bush"

oh, that's rich. I actually can't stand him. But, I also can't stand the throngs of rabid liberals who hate bush simply because there is an 'R' next to his name or the throngs of rabid bush haters who would ridicule dubya for coming out tomorrow and saying "the sky is blue" and demand a thorough investigation into the matter.

Quote :

"Therefore your response to this issue, and this thread (as you state above), has been blame it all on the local officials with not a single mention of the possibility that Michael Brown was not right for the job."

well, we must agree that the local officials do bear a lot of blame. I mean, emergency shelters with no fucking food, water, or electricity? pretty fucking stupid if you ask me... All-in-all, I've seen no conclusive evidence, either way, to determine how well Brown performed in this matter.

Quote :

"Everyone has feelings towards certain issues and certain people...and those feelings play a role."

this is true. being what one would historically classify as a "conservative," I am likely to be quick to defend anyone labeled as a conservative. Then again, its also likely there's a lot of conservative bashing going on these days, just like there was a lot of liberal bashing going on back during the Clinton days. I do, however, try to weigh the facts, and I accept that I am persuaded by simply being conservative, and as such consider that fact, as well.

11/8/2005 10:35:58 AM

Quote :

"oh, that's rich. I actually can't stand him"

you're threads would indicate otherwise

http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=346176
http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=352788
http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=330841

defend a man at almost every turn and people will get idea you like them. people are funny that way.

Quote :

" also can't stand the throngs of rabid liberals"

Quote :

"as bad as all the libies make it out to be."

now that’s rich. anytime liberal is used as name-calling, IQ estimate goes down ten points. Talk about a polarized political landscape, its people like you who fuel that shit.
Not to mention you saying you're not ideological and how you always weight the facts does not agree with your libie name-calling.

Quote :

"I mean, emergency shelters with no fucking food, water, or electricity? pretty fucking stupid if you ask me... All-in-all, I've seen no conclusive evidence, either way, to determine how well Brown performed in this matter. "

so based on this post, you're saying you've seen conclusive evidence that local officials are partly to blame, but none that FEMA Michael Brown director performed below average?

Quote :

"I accept that I am persuaded by simply being conservative, and as such consider that fact, as well."

wow, so you're the worlds first impartial person? Seriously though, there's absolutely no way you can truly "consider that fact," and acutely judge its influence in relation to the other facts. To purport that you can is lying to yourself.

11/9/2005 9:57:02 PM

bttt

11/14/2005 6:09:38 PM

Quote :

"you're threads"

11/14/2005 9:59:39 PM

Quote :

"bttt "

Quote :

"I haven't read the whole packet of emails but please explain the problems with the response given in the first email. Without the original message, as quoted in the article, it is out of context. In the context of the original message it's quite clear that it is a somewhat appropriate response, if worded badly. You're note the original message speaks of plans in development to solve the problems presented, this is a status update to Brown. Browns response is asking if there is anything specific they would like him to work on. They're the ones on the ground with a better idea of what exactly is needed."

11/15/2005 2:37:49 AM

Quote :

"Before joining the Bush administration, Brown spent a decade as the stewards and judges commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association'."

/ end thread.


what a sad country we live in

11/15/2005 3:00:29 AM

And before becoming president Reagan was an actor

Quote :

"what a sad country we live in"

I dunno, I think it's nice that we live in a country where you don't have to come from some elite group of junior politicians to get into government work.

11/15/2005 4:19:50 AM

Quote :

"Hell of a job President Bush. This guy is a friggin idiot. Just cause you guys used to snort coke off strippers tits in college doesn't mean he can run FEMA. What the fuck is wrong with you????"

..quite an intelligent and mature statement

11/15/2005 5:58:20 AM

Quote :

"And before becoming president Reagan was an actor "

no, he was an actor, then GOVERNOR, then president

just like ahnold will be

11/15/2005 7:05:08 AM

Quote :

"You're note the original message speaks of plans in development to solve the problems presented, this is a status update to Brown. Browns response is asking if there is anything specific they would like him to work on. They're the ones on the ground with a better idea of what exactly is needed"

so you're saying the "plans in works to address critical needs" line explains the lack of a resonse from Brown? That line doesn't even apply to all the problems presented, just the lack of food and water in the superdome. And it doesn't even sounds Brown was involved in that planning process, so he would have no idea on whats being done on the ground.

11/15/2005 9:08:02 AM

Quote :

"so you're saying the "plans in works to address critical needs" line explains the lack of a resonse from Brown?"

What lack of response? His response was more or less "Is there anything specific you need from me?" which is an entirely appropriate response. He's asking the people on the ground, the people with direct knowledge of the specifics what they need from him which is exactly what he should be doing. Surely the people in FEMA who are not the head of FEMA are capable and indeed charged with the task of making and executing plans for doing their jobs in a given area without the head of FEMA actively micromanaging every aspect. When you're working on a project at work, does your department head or the CEO of the company manage the project for you or do you do most of the management with your team and then give updates and feedback to the dept head and ceo (assuming it ever reaches the CEO)?

Quote :

"And it doesn't even sounds Brown was involved in that planning process, so he would have no idea on whats being done on the ground."

Again, why would brown be directly involved in the planning process for solving the issues on the ground? Presumeably it would work something like this. Leaders on the ground figure out what they need, get together to make a plan and then send said plan to the higher ups to get what they need from the higher ups.

11/15/2005 1:49:20 PM

Typical republican, "pass the buck" response. Fema's handling of Katrina was the disaster following a disaster.

11/15/2005 2:30:02 PM

I'm not passing the buck, I'm presuming that FEMA like most other organizations does not work on a micromanagement level. What is it with some of you people and your insistance that the heads of organizations must be involved with every single aspect of every single operation of the day? Here's a little hint for you, the government and most comercial organizations don't work that way. FEMA did not just serve NO after Katrina, it served many other cities and states, it would be impossible for the head of FEMA to personaly manage and oversee each one of those independent operations, something that has been known for a long time. I know this is suprising and shocking to you but a large portion of government operations happen almost autonimously from their respective heads of departments. Why? Because it's more efficient. Again, I'm not passing the buck, I'm observing how 99% of the worlds large organizations work.

11/15/2005 2:39:56 PM

What are you talking about.

He's the head of FEMA and an entire state just got leveled.

You think he's supposed to tell his intern to take care of it?

Jesus Christ what does it take for some of you people to hold government responsible?

11/15/2005 3:38:50 PM

yes, i blame the government for natural destruction

oh yea, which administration caused the mount st. helens disaster

11/15/2005 6:36:38 PM

Quote :

"What are you talking about. He's the head of FEMA and an entire state just got leveled. You think he's supposed to tell his intern to take care of it? "

Yes, he is the HEAD of FEMA and yes an entire state and major sections of other states just got leveled, that's my point. He kind of has other things to worry about than one city in one state. No, I don't expect him to tell his intern to take care of it, I expect him to tell his employees who are trained in disaster management, who have direct access to the field and who's job it is, to take care of it. And I expect him to keep tabs on them, and be responsive to what they need from him as HEAD of FEMA.

What, do you think that Brown was the only person in the entire FEMA organization with any capability, intelligence or authority to act? Do you honestly believe that FEMA is structured so that the head of FEMA makes all the ground level decisions in every disaster area and is directly involved in all the planning for every problem and that no one has any authority or ability to act without him? What kind of disaster management would that be?

11/15/2005 6:45:32 PM

Do you honestly believe an International Arabian Horse official would be qualified to run FEMA?

[Edited on November 15, 2005 at 7:05 PM. Reason : e]

11/15/2005 7:05:08 PM

^^

follow up: do you honestly believe it was the pressure from the big-bad media who got Michael Brown fired, or is his ousting due to in some respect his poor job performance?

Quote :

"He's asking the people on the ground, the people with direct knowledge of the specifics what they need from him which is exactly what he should be doing."

Now this is just a wild and crazy idea...but bear with me...if the Director of FEMA was just notified that there are thousands of people without food and water, i would think his response would at least refer to some plans in action (at best) to get food and water to the starving citizens of that city. Sure there were plans in motion to get supplies down there, but obviously they weren't producing anything if nothing was there yet. If truckloads were scheduled to arrive the following day, I would think someone would mention it.

Given the gravity of that email, I’m truly amazed the director of FEMA would take only a few minutes to take that information in and fire off an empty response like that.

11/16/2005 12:04:19 AM

Quote :

"He kind of has other things to worry about than one city in one state."

YEA GOOD POINT.

"Tie or not for tonight? Button-down blue shirt?"

"I got it at Nordstroms. ... Are you proud of me?"

"If you'll look at my lovely FEMA attire, you'll really vomit. I am a fashion god"

11/16/2005 1:45:07 PM

Quote :

"Do you honestly believe an International Arabian Horse official would be qualified to run FEMA? "

Do you think an actor would be qualified to run a country?

Is a college drop out dead beat dad with no engineering / design experience at all qualified to run a fortune 500 computer company?

People come from all sorts of backgrounds and are very successful in what they do.

Quote :

"follow up: do you honestly believe it was the pressure from the big-bad media who got Michael Brown fired, or is his ousting due to in some respect his poor job performance? "

Media + public + internal preassure sure. Poor job performance? NO seems to be the only place that had major problems, that seems indicative of a problem outside of FEMA.

Quote :

"Now this is just a wild and crazy idea...but bear with me...if the Director of FEMA was just notified that there are thousands of people without food and water, i would think his response would at least refer to some plans in action (at best) to get food and water to the starving citizens of that city. Sure there were plans in motion to get supplies down there, but obviously they weren't producing anything if nothing was there yet. If truckloads were scheduled to arrive the following day, I would think someone would mention it. "

And how would they like their food? By air? Truck? Where does it need to go? What routes into the city are clear to get that food in? Oh, you know who knows all that? The guys on the ground who are already making the plans. Gee, so what should Brown do now? Personaly jump in a bread truck and drive in to save the day? HE FUCKING ASKED THEM IF THERE WAS ANYTHING SPECIFIC THEY NEEDED FROM HIM! I don't know about you, but that seems like the appropriate response when someone tells me "We're having problem A and working on a plan to fix that right now."

Quote :

"YEA GOOD POINT. [ranting like a moron who just watched the point pass over his head] "

You think being the HEAD OF FEMA he might have been concerned with the other FEMA actions going on?

11/16/2005 4:15:44 PM

WHAT OTHER ACTIONS ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE GOT DISPLACED

AND WERE SUFFERING IN THE SUPERDOME WITH NO SUPPLIES

AND THIS MOTHERFUCKER IS WORRIED ABOUT HIS CLOTHES

WHAT THE IS YOUR ISSUE DUDE?

ARE YOU SO STUPID AS TO SUGGEST THE HEAD OF THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY HAS NO BUSINESS HANDLING EMERGENCIES? ESPECIALLY ONE WHERE AN ENTIRE FUCKING STATE(S) GETS DESTROYED? ONE WHERE THE ENTIRE NATION WORLD IS WATCHING PEOPLE SUFFERING IN THE SUPERDOME AND US OFFICIALS GOING UNNNNDURRRRRRR ON TELEVISION?

AND SINCE YOU WANT TO QUOTE BOMB,YOU MONGREL MOTHERFUCKER, LETS GO AHEAD AND DO IT

Quote :

"Gee, so what should Brown do now?...HE FUCKING ASKED THEM IF THERE WAS ANYTHING SPECIFIC THEY NEEDED FROM HIM!"

JEE I DON'T KNOW. THIS ONE'S VERY TOUGH. LEMME SEE..HMMM. HOW BOUT A FUCKING CLUE? YOU KNOW, A LITTLE DIRECTION? SOME SORT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT? SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF JESUS FUCKING CHRIST GET THOSE PEOPLE OUT OF THERE

Quote :

"[ranting like a moron who just watched the point pass over his head]"

RANTING LIKE A MORON EH? GLAD WE AGREE. THOSE ARE QUOTES FROM YOUR BOY MICHAEL BROWN.

[Edited on November 16, 2005 at 4:31 PM. Reason : >.<]

11/16/2005 4:30:44 PM

>.<

i once new a michael brown

didn't have enough sense to come in out of the rain

11/16/2005 4:33:37 PM

Quote :

"WHAT OTHER ACTIONS ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE GOT DISPLACED AND WERE SUFFERING IN THE SUPERDOME WITH NO SUPPLIES"

Gee I don't fucking know. How about everyone else who got flattened by the god damn hurricane. You do know that more than just NO was hit right? You do know that FEMA was in other places than just NO right?

Quote :

"ARE YOU SO STUPID AS TO SUGGEST THE HEAD OF THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY HAS NO BUSINESS HANDLING EMERGENCIES? ESPECIALLY ONE WHERE AN ENTIRE FUCKING STATE(S) GETS DESTROYED? ONE WHERE THE ENTIRE NATION WORLD IS WATCHING PEOPLE SUFFERING IN THE SUPERDOME AND US OFFICIALS GOING UNNNNDURRRRRRR ON TELEVISION?"

No, he has no business directly managing the ground level plans unless the people on the ground WHO WERE PUT IN PLACE TO MANAGE THE PROBLEMS ON THE GROUND are proving incompetent. What the fuck is so hard to grasp here? Does your boss manage every little thing you do during the course of your day? His job is to coordinate all of FEMA and coordinate FEMA with the rest of the government.

Quote :

"AND SINCE YOU WANT TO QUOTE BOMB,YOU MONGREL MOTHERFUCKER, LETS GO AHEAD AND DO IT"

Quote :

"JEE I DON'T KNOW. THIS ONE'S VERY TOUGH. LEMME SEE..HMMM. HOW BOUT A FUCKING CLUE? YOU KNOW, A LITTLE DIRECTION? SOME SORT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT? SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF JESUS FUCKING CHRIST GET THOSE PEOPLE OUT OF THERE "

So, then in response to the email, brown should have immediately comandeered a helicopter and personaly airlifted the refugees out of the superdome?

Or are you saying he should have said "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST GET THOSE PEOPLE OUT OF THERE", to which I ask what purpose that would have served given that I'm sure the people on the ground were thinking the same.

Quote :

"RANTING LIKE A MORON EH? GLAD WE AGREE. THOSE ARE QUOTES FROM YOUR BOY MICHAEL BROWN."

point<---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->you. I can ignore context too.

11/16/2005 5:10:52 PM

i love how you cocksuckers rationalise this faggot's shortcomings and pass the buck so quick

11/16/2005 5:50:54 PM

its like there is some uber-conservative need to protect this guy because protecting him must indirectly be like protecting Bush

11/16/2005 6:28:47 PM

^,^^

yeah I'm done with this guy...there are only two reason to defend brown so rigorously:

1) trolling, because its just that obvious that he was over his head
2) blind adherence to ideology

whichever it is, no ones statements will have any effect.

if someone came back with another valid point his response would be: damn, what the fuck do you people want him to do? drive out to kansas, harvest the grain, drive it to the mill, process the flour, bake the loaf of bread and drive it down to the superdome all by himself???????????
yeah buddy, thats exactly what we're saying.

11/16/2005 10:00:48 PM

all i knows is

the coast guard is running shit now when shit goes wrong

and i'm a fan of that

11/16/2005 10:45:04 PM