LIVE Hearing on Katrina (Michael Brown on hotseat)

C-Span ^ | 09/27/05 | SE Mom

[BigSkyFreeper]

Brown was forced into a command position where he lacked the authority/capacity to act.

BS! He was not forced, and I don't see any of these same damn Democrats raking Brown over the red hot coals for his leadership in MS (which got hit harder than LA), AL, or FL (both 2005 and 2004).

He "lacked the authority/capacity to act" because the Democrats and the MSM said so. Gene Taylor can go pound mud. Gene Taylor has never been a leader, leaders don't whine, and he's using this opportunity to rake Brown over the coals just so he can become a household name.

[PhilipFreneau]

>>>Brown was forced into a command position where he lacked the authority/capacity to act.<<<

Exactly. The MSM claimed FEMA had responsibilities it did not have (and they still do). Yet FEMA did not have those responsibilites; nor did Brown have the authority or capacity to perform them.

[BigSkyFreeper]

What's even more galling is Nagin rewarded these cops with a trip to Vegas.

[mlc9852]

I was watching that guy and kept waiting for Brown to just call him a moron. It looked like something out of a bad movie! LOL The guy was just preening for the camera and obviously had no idea (and didn't care) what he was talking about! Who elects these idiots?

[Peach]

Thanks for looking that up. Time magazine called that bio a lie and had specific questions. Brown backed it all up on Tuesday.

[slightlyovertaxed]

If you didn't get the goods you felt you needed, that's too bad; however, even before 9/11 and especially thereafter, we've been told numerous times to have a MINIMUM of 3 days worth of food, water, medicines, etc.

The problem is that people were stuck in place for more than three days, up to a week in some places. Plus, storing these things takes space, which is hard to come by if you're living in a small apartment. You also have to remember that much of where they stored their food and water was in their houses...which quickly flooded. It's hard to eat and cook things when you're on your roof.

And, with the advance warning by the hurricane center and the weather folks on all the stations, I don't understand why people didn't evacuate. Did you not have transportation? Isn't there someone you could have called?Did you not have a friend that could help? Did MO not provide transportation for those who didn't have it? If you had transportation, did you try to help someone out who didn't? I really feel for the poor people and devastation down there, but, if it had been me and my family, if we were told to evacuate, we would have been out of there whatever it took.

I've read the numerous stories of people without cars trying to get on overfilled buses, staying behind because someone in their family was infirm/elderly, or who just figured it out too late. I don't own a car. If my city is hit badly, I'll need to walk. That said, I can get pretty damn far...

[RobbyS]

Forced by circumstances to act beyond his authority. He prepositioned stuff in Orleans parish, even though the governor did not include that in her request for help. Saw there was a disconnect between the Guard general in charge and FEMA. Someone in the Guard chain of command misinformed FEMA about the degree of danger. Must have been watching Shep get hysterical like a woman.

[RobbyS]

One guy walked from NOLA to Baton Rouge along the Mississippi River levee. To coin a phrase, where there's a will, there's a way.

[Thombo2]

For what it's worth,sounds like the problem was more a lack of cooperation from state and local officials in La.Let's see how the msm spins this.

[floriduh voter]

Yep, it appears Brown needed a media watcher so he could see what we were all seeing. I know I would not have wanted to be stuck at the Convention Center and we'll likely never know who told 20k people to go there in the first place.

[floriduh voter]

Bureaucrats need a media watcher on their team. Perception is everything.

[ladyinred]

These hearings are nothing more than an opportunity once again to bash all things conservative in this nation. That is the sole objective in my opinion.

[RobbyS]

Attempting to perceive, the media often deceives without intending to. The reporter is often no better situated than a soldier in the foxhole, but his view is treated as global.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

"I don't own a car. If my city is hit badly, I'll need to walk. That said, I can get pretty damn far..."

Hannity [my top prez pick for 2008] mentioned a Vietnam vet in that very situation in NOLA. That danger sensing he had from Vietnam kicked in, and he realized, he had to get as far from the shoreline as possible.

The man put on a rain coat, a bunch of socks on each foot, and walked. Nobody bothered to pick him up, so he just kept walking, all the way out. He covered quite a bit of territory. I forget the number of miles. Not everyone is physically capabable of course. But it was a moving testamant nonetheless. FRegards....