[vTLWqa1l]

This is atrocious ... but becoming all too typical in modern politics. Doing what is right has become secondary to doing what will advance a political agenda... former FEMA boss (and good friend of the President) has publicly stated that the Katrina response was deliberately slowed as a means of damaging Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat. Whatever happened to just doing what it right? And people want to talk about morals....


Brown: Party politics played role in Katrina response - CNN.com
NEW YORK (AP) -- Party politics played a role in decisions over whether to take federal control of Louisiana and other areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, former FEMA director Michael Brown said Friday.

Some in the White House suggested only Louisiana should be federalized because it was run by a Democrat, Gov. Kathleen Blanco, Brown told a group of graduate students at a lecture on politics and emergency management at Metropolitan College of New York.

Brown said he had recommended to President Bush that all 90,000 square miles along the Gulf Coast affected by the hurricane be federalized, making the federal government in charge of all agencies responding to the disaster.

"Unbeknownst to me, certain people in the White House were thinking we had to federalize Louisiana because she's a white, female Democratic governor and we have a chance to rub her nose in it," he said.

Brown declined to say who in the White House had argued for only taking control of Louisiana, but said that he'd later learned of the situation through Blanco's office and from other officials on the federal level.

Blanco reacted sharply on hearing what Brown had said.

"This is exactly what we were living but could not bring ourselves to believe. Karl Rove was playing politics while our people were dying," Blanco said through a spokeswoman, referring to President Bush's top political strategist. "The federal effort was delayed, and now the public knows why. It's disgusting."

Eryn Witcher, a White House spokeswoman, denied Brown's claims.

"It is unfortunate that Mike Brown is still hurling false statements about the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina," she said. "The only consideration made by the administration at the time of this tragedy and since are those in the best interests of the citizens of the Gulf region."

Brown, 52, was ousted from FEMA after the agency's much-criticized response to Hurricane Katrina. He also was ridiculed after Bush publicly praised him, saying he did a "a heck of a job," while thousands desperately waited for help.

Brown now directs Emergency Management Programs for the Resilient Corp., a consulting firm.

[primaveraloler]

Has anyone been able to find the transcript of Brown's speech? This article by itself does not validate anything, unfortunately.

[vTLWqa1l]

I haven't been able to find a copy of his speech as yet, but the cloest I've found thus far is an extract:

Mercury Rising
"Unbeknownst to me, certain people in the White House were thinking, 'We had to federalize Louisiana because she's a white, female Democratic governor, and we have a chance to rub her nose in it,'" he said, without naming names. "'We can't do it to Haley (Barbour) because Haley's a white male Republican governor. And we can't do a thing to him. So we're just gonna federalize Louisiana.'" All of the major news sites are now carrying the story though.

[Thifiadardivy]

I'll have to wait until I get home to see the news or until more information becomes available but I hope this isn't true.

[Eromereorybig]

Or Brownie is just pissed that everyone blames him, and he is trying to blame everyone else.

WASHINGTON – As the day wore on, Michael Chertoff became increasingly irate. He just couldn't get Michael Brown on the phone.
Mr. Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was off in the air somewhere, flying around the crescent of Gulf Coast that had been ravaged the day before by hurricane Katrina and preparing to appear on television that evening. Apparently this meant he had no time for Mr. Chertoff - who was secretary of Homeland Security and Brown's boss.

In hindsight this may have been a mistake. Chertoff - a disciplined former prosecutor - let loose when he finally got Brown on the line. Forget TV. Brown would stay put.

"Job 1 is to get this thing done," Chertoff recalled during a Senate hearing last week. "Sit in the operations center. Get with the relevant managers. Make sure you are taking care of all [necessary] issues."

Five months after hurricane Katrina roared ashore, one cause of the stumbling response to possibly the biggest natural disaster in US history is becoming increasingly apparent: Two of the most important officials involved, Chertoff and Brown, did not get along. Dueling officials slowed storm response | csmonitor.com

Or Chertoff is sick of being blamed and is trying to push all the blame on Brownie because he doesn't like him.

House Republican investigators today released a scathing 520-page report listing hundreds of mistakes and misjudgments in the government's response to Hurricane Katrina. The report, called "A Failure of Initiative," follows a five-month inquiry, and places blame at all levels of government. Several Democrats who participated in the inquiry have concurred with the main results.

8

[ahagotyou]

This is atrocious ... but becoming all too typical in modern politics. Doing what is right has become secondary to doing what will advance a political agenda... former FEMA boss (and good friend of the President) has publicly stated that the Katrina response was deliberately slowed as a means of damaging Kathleen Blanco, a Democrat. Whatever happened to just doing what it right? And people want to talk about morals....

You imply Blanco was trying to damage Blanco for political reasons?

that's just fucking ignorant.

[vTLWqa1l]

You imply Blanco was trying to damage Blanco for political reasons?

that's just fucking ignorant.

What's ignorant is you making a judgement without even reading the post. I didn't make any assertion at all, Brown himself said it. Take it up with him.

[Assentesy]

If true, I'm not surprised, but I'm dubious about taking Brown seriously. Cold hard evidence is whats needed, which I seriously doubt we'll ever see. I mean, think about it, this Adminstration has pretty much done as much damage as needed to themselves. There is nothing to be gained here except the motive to shift blame (Unless there is evidence, but I doubt it), this is nothing more than a attempt on Brown's part to come out as a victim instead of the idiot that he is. I'd be the first to call for justice, but don't hold your breath (still waiting for justice to come around, impartial my ass!).

[ahagotyou]

...)I didn't make any assertion at all(.....

Yes you did.

Clearly, you asserted that the "FEMA Katrina response was politically influened" right in the title of this thread. Can you back up that assertion or not?

The AP article you linked to certainly does not support your assertion.

That said...

--------------------

I shall now indulge myself in a game of "let's destroy another AP (Asinine Pinko) article".

In typical AP fashion, the anonymous AP "reporter" tells a big fat one in the first paragraph.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Party politics played a role in decisions over whether to take federal control of Louisiana and other areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, former FEMA director Michael Brown said Friday.

Brown didn't say that.

This is what he is quoted as saying...

"Unbeknownst to me, certain people in the White House were thinking we had to federalize Louisiana because she's a white, female Democratic governor and we have a chance to rub her nose in it," Ahh, So is Brown a mind reader that used his powers of mental telepathy to know what "certain people" (that he doesn't specify) were thinking?

Or perhaps those "certain people" Brown alludes to is actually "me, myself and I". A simple case of projection.

[sarcasm]Hmmm. Perhaps we could take Brownie's quote out of context, mix it with some lies in a huge bowl of New Orleans floodwater and make a batch grape kool-aid out of it. Then serve it up to the ignorant masses. They will drink it up like the thirsty little ignorant fuckers that they are.[/sarcasm]

[MzTT]

Or Brownie is just pissed that everyone blames him, and he is trying to blame everyone else.



Dueling officials slowed storm response | csmonitor.com

Or Chertoff is sick of being blamed and is trying to push all the blame on Brownie because he doesn't like him.



NPR : House Report Cites Failures on Katrina Response

But here is forbes.com with same story as in the OP's blogger link.

Brown: Politics Played Role in Katrina - Forbes.com

Who are you and what did you do with Samantha?

There's no way you and I can agree on anything...so you MUST be an imposter.

[Itrtuawh]

What bullshit. It was the dems trying to keep president Bush from looking like a hero. He literally was told to quit bugging them that the levies had merely overflowed.
Keeping him out while allowing all those people to die for political advantage deserves a little nose rubbing.

[dittygari]

Either way, it's pretty awful. Politicians are such scum, imo.

[Seiblybiozy]

Either way, it's pretty awful. Politicians are such scum, imo.

They are below scum....They are dung beetles..

No, I take that back, even dung beetles have a purpose !

[Qesomud]

Who are you and what did you do with Samantha?

There's no way you and I can agree on anything...so you MUST be an imposter.

Funny, that's the same thing I was going to say when I read her post.

[Eromereorybig]

Who are you and what did you do with Samantha?

There's no way you and I can agree on anything...so you MUST be an imposter.

HAHA! I don't know what came over me! Seriously though, I don't believe a word Brownie says. He's a huge loser.

[tmobmobfil]

Everything about Hurrican Katrina is just retarded.

The way some idiots in New Orleans did not evacuate.

The way that Idiot Mayor Nagin said "New Orleans will be a chocolate city and he actually got re-elected"

The way the morons in FEMA got scammed out of a billion dollars because people on TV far removed from the situation called them racist because they saw black people suffering on TV.

The way those morons in FEMA bought 300 million dollars in mobile homes that just sit unused in some field somewhere.

The way that douche bag Kanye West said Bush does not like black people.

The way idiots endlessly discuss the politics of Hurricane Katrina like it would have made any difference.

FYI- A Hurricane is one of the most destructive forces on Earth and that is exactly what we saw happen. A hurricane destroyed New Orleans.

There is nothing else to say. So everybody, please shut the fuck up.