MEMO TO BUSH: FIRE MICHAEL BROWN

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

[WOSG]

Maybe you're are right. I'd guess he *was* quite busy but those were probably deliberate statements.

My point is that mis-statements are a different class of error as negligence. I've seen examples of negiligence by local Govt in New Orleans and LA state govt. We've talked about waterlogged busses when their use is part of the disaster recovery, failure to order evacuations when warned by Federal officials including the President(!), lax attitude towards looting until it got out of control, poor local planning at the superdome, a LA Governor that needs a day to decide something when every minute counts, etc.

I've not seen any large examples of FEMA not doing what they are chartered to do. (Small examples will happen in *any* disaster.) That's my point.

[inquest]

Well, I agree that the fault lies mostly at the state and local levels, as does the responsibility for handling the situation in the first place. The federal government is not obligated to get involved at all. So keeping all that in perspective, whatever Brown might have done wrong is of a lesser level of seriousness. The only remaining issue for me is that if there's going to be federal involvement in situations like this, the federal agency handling it should have a good handle on the situation. Brown's statements, if they're accurate, would indicate a less-than-good handle on the situation that may very well have cost lives. And I'm not prepared at this point to say that they're not accurate. If they're not, I'd like to hear that from him.

There is one more thing I'd like to say in defense of Ms. Malkin: She didn't reserve all, or even the bulk, of her anger for Michael Brown. That was just one of many articles on her blog. In the most recent one (and you can click on the link at the top of the thread to see all of them), she quotes from the local New Orleans paper expressing anger at the administration in its editorial, and she responds,

"Be angry. Most of the death and mayhem was entirely preventable. That's worth a whole lot of righteous fury. But be angry at the people who failed your city. Their names are Nagin and Ebbert and Blanco, not Bush and Chertoff."

[cgk]

Malkin ping!

[Gimme]

"Once again, the inimitable Michelle Malkin has excellent research, commentary and links on her blog."


Obviously she forgot that "Brownie" and any Federal agency is only as good as the Governor of LA will allow them to be in emergencies.
First Responders Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin should be searching their souls right now instead of CYA time.

[MEG33]

The governor is still in charge of the National Guard.

[Saundra Duffy]

FEMA screwed up . . . but then so did a pile of other bureaucratic agencies from all levels. But FEMA did really screw up big time.

[wildwood]

i don't think the FIRST one you say to have screwed up is fema, since they are not first responders.

my primary argument is that i do not believe michael brown is effective in front of the press. i think he does a disservice to the administration by not being verbally adroit.

[Milligan]

I think it was a power struggle going on with the democrats and republicans. Maybe the Governor was being a snot and didn't let Brown know what is going on? Don't call him to tell him about the Superdome problems? Maybe he couldn't contact her...no emergency phone system. Funds were used to build a new casino.

Was Brown multitasking? Could he be taking care of New Orleans, Alabama and Mississippi.

But once the military reached the Superdome everything started to move! What happen?

[wildwood]

to a degree, you are right.

but how do you read that disaster planning document for the city of new orleans and think the culpability rests equally with the feds?

how do you look at the pictures of the drowned school buses, and not see primary culpability with local authorities?

they can use this excuse of the locals being too emotional to do the job right, but that is crap. you HIRE these people, not just to look good in front of the cameras and write good evac directions, but to FOLLOW THROUGH!

the first three items, particularly, rest with local authorities first.

you know--the ones that were holed up in the hyatt and muscled to the head of the line to take the first bus out.

[satan]

As I said when all this started, an Incident of National Significance will be declared and FEMA will save everybody.

Next we'll see a report telling us what a splendid job DHS and FEMA did, and other than a few minor glitches the National Response Plan rivals the Constitution in long-lasting content.

Washington DC is a love fest.

[montag813]

Malkin is dead wrong. Stop blaming Bush and Brown. 99% of the blame on Nagin and Blanco.

[maggief]

Fire Scott McLellan, instead.

I agree, never been impressed with him.

[petercooper]

[ajolympian2004]

Yes, so were a lot of people. That what makes it interesting how it is that anyone who criticizes the President is instantly labeled a "Bush-hater" by certain folks around here, despite the fact that it's more likely than not that the person raising the criticism supported Bush's reelection.

I'd be curious to know how many of the folks being critical of Michelle Malkin are the same ones that criticize President Bush for his non-existent immigration policy. ??? Oh, I get it, you either agree with 'me' on 100% of the issues or your a RINO and/or should be kicked out of the 'conservative' movement in this country.

The Malkin bashers here at FR are the same as the Sean Hannity bashers. None of you are real conservatives in the mold of Ronald Reagan. You are more like anarchists who want everything to go their way or else. There's a wacko left and wacko right in this country. The Malkin and Hannity bashers fall into the category of the wacko right.

Take 9% of the Democrats in this country and 89% of the Republicans (allowing 2% for the independent party fair minded patriotic folks) and let the rest wallow in their hatred, wishy washy, whiny, wimpy assed whatever you call it.

[inquest]

Oh, I get it, you either agree with 'me' on 100% of the issues or your a RINO and/or should be kicked out of the 'conservative' movement in this country.

It gets even better, though. Most (though not all) of the people slamming Malkin on this thread will be the first to accuse you of being "unappeasable", should you ever criticize the President or his administration for anything.