http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/09/katrina.brown.reut/index.html

Brown, a lawyer, was appointed as FEMA's general counsel in 2001 and became head of the agency in 2003. The work in Edmond is the only previous disaster-related experience cited in the biographies. Brown served as commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association before taking the FEMA job.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Top U.S. disaster official Michael Brown, under fire over the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, cited prior emergency-management experience in an official biography but his duties were "more like an intern," Time magazine reported.


WTF! It appears he's been sent back to DC.

Here's (http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1103003,00.html) the Time magazine article that broke the story.

Bush is doing the smart thing, getting Brown out of the spotlight in favor of Chertoff (who angrily rebuffed a Brown resume oriented question while talking to the press) and Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen, who will now manage Katrina relief efforts. It's like firing Brown without actually firing him.

In other news, Mexican army troops are in the states (Mississippi I think it was) to help relief efforts, and some guardsmen are back from Iraq to do the same.

Retirement inspiring quote of the day:
Rep. Baker of Baton Rouge is overheard telling lobbyists: “We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn’t do it, but God did.”

Baker explains later he didn’t intend flippancy but has long wanted to improve low-income housing.
That'll come back to haunt ya.

oooh I think I caught wind of that Chertoff press thing last night. I wasn't paying full attention as I was deep in EQ2 but I heard him and a reporter go at it. Was this the guy who was saying "you're trying to start the blame game?" and the reporter was like "no, I asked you a direct question and you dodged it" ... ? That was intense if this is the same thing.

Different Q&A session where Chertoff was speaking (Brown by his side). The reporter asked about the resume, and Chertoff replied (paraphrasing), "I'm answering the questions here. I laid the ground rules here...in as plain English as I thought possible. Next question."

What you describe, though, is the kind of scenario the usually torporous White House press corps has been experiencing with McLellan.

ahhh ok. The one from last night seemed rather heated, I didn't look at the TV just heard it in the background. But yeah it was the Press Secretary answering questions I believe.

Somone has to take the fall, and Brown fits the bill perfectly. Just another reason to dismantle FEMA and keep putting all the funds into the new Dept. Of Homeland Security.

That's essentially already happened, Nekko. FEMA was a cabinet level post under Clinton. Under Bush, it became part of DHS (a move I support, as there's a lot of overlap between their functions). A problem is that DHS focussed so closely on terrorism response that natural disaster response suffered. FEMA fits well as a division of DHS; it really needs proper and proactive leadership.

I think (a) he realizes that and that (b) your sarcasm detector has the squelch set too high :)

The biggest thing that killed Brown, besides his actual performance, of course, but Bush doesnt seem to worry about little things like actual results (/wave Rummy), was on FRIDAY when he told Ted Koppel that FEMA had no idea people were at the Convention Center and Koppel had at him like a Viagra addled poodle in heat on a leg.

The biggest thing that killed Brown, besides his actual performance, of course, but Bush doesnt seem to worry about little things like actual results (/wave Rummy), was on FRIDAY when he told Ted Koppel that FEMA had no idea people were at the Convention Center and Koppel had at him like a Viagra addled poodle in heat on a leg.


I like how it was described on the Daily Show by the guest (NBC news guy Brian something), 'Ted Koppel went at him like a pinata'(sp).