MEMO TO BUSH: FIRE MICHAEL BROWN

MichelleMalkin.com ^ | September 4, 2005 | Michelle Malkin

[wildwood]

MEMO TO BUSH: FIRE MICHAEL BROWN

By Michelle Malkin · September 04, 2005 08:17 AM During his visit to Mobile, Ala., on Friday, President Bush singled out Michael D. Brown, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for praise:

"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."

Really? "Brownie's" job is to direct the federal response to natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. Let's review his public statements during the past week:

- He admitted that he didn't act more aggressively because as late as last Sunday he expected Katrina to be a "standard hurricane" even though the National Weather Service in New Orleans was already predicting "human suffering incredible by modern standards."

- He proved himself utterly clueless about the disaster unfolding in New Orleans. He claimed that the federal relief effort was "going relatively well" and that the security situation in New Orleans was "pretty darn good."

- He blamed the flood victims in New Orleans for failing to evacuate on time, even though local authorities failed to make municipal vehicles available to residents who could not drive or did not own their own cars.

READ MORE!!

[latina4dubya]

Yeah right. Malkin is nothing but a shrill for the anti-Bush crowd.

huh? you don't know who she is, obviously...

for those who do, remember when Chris Matthews kicked her off his show last year over the John Kerry/Vietnam record thing?

[WOSG]

"Mistakes were made all around--but the biggest, most glaring mistakes are on the level of the mayor and the governor of the state."

RIGHT! The boneheads who let 150 city busses and over 200 city school busses get waterlogged and *then* complained about "America abandoning us ... send us Greyhounds busses" etc. THAT IS THE GUY WHO NEEDS TO GET FIRED!

[oceanview]

I don't know what to say. You see coverage from Leventhal in MS - private people are driving in from Florida with 55 gallon gas gans in pickups, selling fuel off the them to people. I don't see FEMA confiscating it.

[inquest]

I dont care who it is, now's not the time nor place, when we have a disaster to confront, to go about canning people. Let's deal with the situation and fix it.

I'm curious if this is also your response to the many fingers here on FR that are being pointed at the state and city governments.

See post #67 for the REAL STORY.

#67 doesn't address the points that Malkin raised. It's interesting how everyone likes to talk around that for some reason.

New Orleans got chaotic not because the Federal Govt was slow, but because state and local govt was lax about security and law and order.

I guess that answers the question I asked at the top of the post.

[inquest]

Why criticize the President when he has been one of the most PRAISEWORTHY of the public officials in all of this???

The criticisms here have mainly been directed at the head of FEMA. While it's true that that reflects on the President to a certain degree, you're right in that things need to be kept in perspective.

[oceanview]

a little info from the live thread about Mr Broussard:

"
UPDATED: 6:28 am CDT August 18, 2005 WDSU

NEW ORLEANS -- Two more Jefferson Parish officials are being drawn into the corruption probe dubbed Operation Wrinkled Robe, according to a newspaper report.

The Times-Picayune reports that investigators have issued subpoenas to Parish President Aaron Broussard and 24th District Judge Kernan "Skip" Hand.

The story says the subpoenas are related to political donations made by Bail Bonds Unlimited to Hand's campaigns.

Last month, Judge Alan Green was convicted of mail fraud as a result of the ongoing investigation.

He was caught by FBI video surveillance taking an envelope stuffed with money from a Bail Bonds Unlimited employee.
"

[George W. Bush]

You see coverage from Leventhal in MS - private people are driving in from Florida with 55 gallon gas gans in pickups, selling fuel off the them to people. I don't see FEMA confiscating it.

That's MS. Not NOLA. Those are private parties, probably operating where FEMA can't interfere or isn't around. I would doubt FEMA would cut phone lines or seize fuel in front of the cameras. Usually, people avoid criminal acts when the news cameras are watching them.

We'll find out more when the hearings start. There are plenty of witnesses to what FEMA has and hasn't done. So far, the list of senators holding hearings is: Frist, Snowe, Lieberman, Hagel, Nelson, Landrieu. These are just the ones already announced.

[WOSG]

"Just to review, you were the one insisting that it's inappropriate to criticize the administration at this time. I responded that it's not inappropriate, if indeed there is something to criticize it over."

There is nothing worth criticizing at the Federal level at this point. For many reasons: the real incompetents are at the state and local levels, as anyone looking at real situation can observe; the chaos in New Orleans was induced by the humans on the ground not by any Federal action; and the main reason for bashing Bush admin is for Liberal Democrats to politicize what should not be politicized and agitate for inappropriate responses to the tregedy, ie, give the Democrats some payoff.

Same old game. Don't play it.

[oceanview]

before you can get a vehicle loaded with fuel into the affected area, there are checkpoints everywhere. I don't hear any other reports about FEMA seizing everything in MS and AL.

[George W. Bush]

And how about the $30 million of fraudulent payments made to non-existing victims in Florida?

They're still trying to pretend that people who died weeks or months after the last hurricane there were killed by it.

FEMA certainly has its own fraud trail.

[ScreamingFist]

There is nothing worth criticizing at the Federal level at this point.

You have a blog in your tag, and I'm noting this statement for posterity.....good luck with that.

[bert]

....speaking of.....

Is this you???

"I will twine, I will mingle my raven black hair
With the roses so red and the lilies so fair
And the myrtle so bright with it's emerald hue
The pale emanita and the hyssop so blue

I will dance, I will sing and my laugh shall be gay
I will charm every heart, in his crown I will sway
I woke from my dreaming, my idol was clay
All portions of loving had all flown away

But he taught me to love him and promised to love
And to cherish me over all others above
My poor heart is wondering no misery can tell
He left with no warning, no word of farewell

Well you told me you love me and called me your flower
That was blooming to cheer you through life's dreary hour
I live to see him regret life's dark hour
He's gone and neglected this pale wildwood flower

[bert]

oooops....speaking of.....

Is this you???

"I will twine, I will mingle my raven black hair
With the roses so red and the lilies so fair
And the myrtle so bright with it's emerald hue
The pale emanita and the hyssop so blue

I will dance, I will sing and my laugh shall be gay
I will charm every heart, in his crown I will sway
I woke from my dreaming, my idol was clay
All portions of loving had all flown away

But he taught me to love him and promised to love
And to cherish me over all others above
My poor heart is wondering no misery can tell
He left with no warning, no word of farewell

Well you told me you love me and called me your flower
That was blooming to cheer you through life's dreary hour
I live to see him regret life's dark hour
He's gone and neglected this pale wildwood flower

[oceanview]

who committed that fraud? who got the money? FEMA officials themselves, or fraudulent applicants?

I posted that to simply point out the Broussard is part of the corrupt political machine down there, his credibility is suspect.

[SuziQ]

Michael Brown was not responsible for the lack of communication between city and state officials and the FEMA folks. FEMA had assets sitting ready to go in, but were not told where to take them. What were they supposed to do, just blunder on in to the city and get caught in the flood? What good would that have done anyone?

Just imagine for a minute if the 'worst case scenario' had occured. FEMA is ready to go, but the city is completely flooded, and there is NO way to get into the city at ALL. What was New Orleans' plan? All the other towns along the coast in MS had emergency plans; what were the city officials of NO planning to do? They certainly didn't have any sort of communications plan set up because no one was able to talk to anyone else!

Michael Brown was telling the media what he was being told by local officials. Of course he could just look at Fox or CNN to see what was really happening. I was appalled that the city had no contingency plans for those who might be stranded without food and water. Again, if the place had completely flooded and NO Federal help could get into the city for a couple of days, what had the Mayor planned to tell those cut off in their homes?

[George W. Bush]

before you can get a vehicle loaded with fuel into the affected area, there are checkpoints everywhere. I don't hear any other reports about FEMA seizing everything in MS and AL.

I haven't seen those reports. I'm talking about a single instance that has been reported. One that will have witnesses and records including those of the Coast Guard. And there'll be hearings. The real question is why they commandeered any local fuel. Or why they cut emergency phone lines. And who gave such orders? And they did this (if they did) while they keep telling us they can't do anything because they don't have permission from the governor?

We'll find out within a month. There are going to be witnesses on these assertions about FEMA.

[George W. Bush]

I posted that to simply point out the Broussard is part of the corrupt political machine down there, his credibility is suspect.

I think if you're waiting to find the nice squeaky-clean politician of your dreams, you'll die an old maid.

You can always find allegations of fraud surrounding any public official. Merely because the man was subpoenaed does not indict or convict him even though you seem to think so. Certainly, I'm not suggesting that FEMA is filled with fraud despite the $30 million that were defrauded or that Mike Brown was involved in it. What I am saying is there are public allegations of wrongdoing by FEMA workers. And those workers were under someone's direct orders when they seized the fuel and when they cut the phone lines.

It will come out soon enough.

[inquest]

There is nothing worth criticizing at the Federal level at this point. For many reasons: the real incompetents are at the state and local levels, as anyone looking at real situation can observe; the chaos in New Orleans was induced by the humans on the ground not by any Federal action; and the main reason for bashing Bush admin is for Liberal Democrats to politicize what should not be politicized and agitate for inappropriate responses to the tregedy, ie, give the Democrats some payoff.

The facts that there are others to blame as well, and that there are critics of the President who have less-than-pure motives, do not exonerate the administration. The only thing that can, is to actually address the facts that have been raised. 300+ posts, and Malkins critics are still dancing around those facts.

[ScreamingFist]

The only thing that can, is to actually address the facts that have been raised. 300+ posts, and Malkins critics are still dancing around those facts.

LOL, you and I have been beating down brush fires for hours. Perhaps the original article can be addressed now......?

[Cardhu]

Having spent your time counting the busses did you think where all these bus drivers live. Would you abandon your family to take strangers to some place not yet agreed upon.

When a large percentage of the police force stayed home to look after their own families do you expect that the bus drivers to do more.