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FEMA Director's Credentials in Question
WZZM ( Grand Rapids) ^ | 9 Sept 2005 | Staff

Posted on 09/09/2005 7:41:04 AM PDT by Our_Man_In_Gough_Island

Washington - The criticism of FEMA Director Michael Brown continues. Now his credentials are facing new questions.

Time Magazine reports his official bio and online legal profile have discrepancies. Brown's bio on the FEMA Web site said he oversaw emergency services in Edmond, Oklahoma. But a spokeswoman for the city tells Time that Brown's position was "more like an intern."

A FEMA official says Brown did start as an intern, but became an assistant city manager and had a distinguished record.

The magazine also reports Brown's profile on the Web site FindLaw-dot-com lists him as an "outstanding Political Science Professor" at Central State University. The school says he was a student.

In New Orleans, police say just about everyone willing to leave the city is gone. Now officers say they're prepared to carry out the mayor's order to forcibly remove the estimated 5,000 to 10,000 people who remain in their homes.

The residents are being forced out because of sanitary conditions, a lack of utilities and the inability to effectly protect them from harm.

Meantime, President Bush says the federal government will stand by Hurricane Katrina's victims as they rebuild. But he says more money will be needed. Yesterday, Bush signed a 52 billion dollar relief package, pushing federal funding to more than 62 billion dollars.


TOPICS: Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; US: Louisiana
KEYWORDS: disasterrelief; fema; michaelbrown; neworleans
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Based on what's in his resume, I have a better background in federal disaster planning, and no one ever called me an expert in the field.
1 posted on 09/09/2005 7:41:05 AM PDT by Our_Man_In_Gough_Island
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To: Our_Man_In_Gough_Island

He's the deputy of FEMA for a year and a half.


2 posted on 09/09/2005 7:42:41 AM PDT by Perdogg
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Comment #3 Removed by Moderator

To: Baynative

Fema and Brown handled all the huricans in florida perfectly last year. No one complained.

The dems just want heads - Rove, Rumsfeld, Rice, Cheney


This is just more leftist head-hunting.


4 posted on 09/09/2005 7:46:19 AM PDT by edcoil (Reality doesn't say much - doesn't need too)
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To: Our_Man_In_Gough_Island

I venture that most, if not all, of the elected officials in Washington are not qualified to fill their job either. They do not listen to their constiutents ( which is the main job description ) they do not keep the country's best interest at heart, and they accomplish very little outside of beltway balls, golf and junkets.

I wish I had a job that paid over $135,000 a year, got great retirement and beneifts and I only had to work 5-6 months a year and produce only about 20% of the time and the product was worthless and all my expenses were paid.

Nagin worked at the cable company before becoming mayor. What was he qualified for, plugging in stolen tv's?

Landrieu and Blanco ( and others ) couldn't even run a household and got elected to run a state and country.


5 posted on 09/09/2005 7:48:31 AM PDT by One Proud Dad
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To: Our_Man_In_Gough_Island
Well they were good enough for Congress to approve him.

The notion that Congress is just a bystander to all that happens has got to end.
6 posted on 09/09/2005 7:48:46 AM PDT by Tarpon
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To: Our_Man_In_Gough_Island

This guy's toast. He'll be the first resignation coming from this debacle. This time next week, he's gone.


7 posted on 09/09/2005 7:51:25 AM PDT by Mad_Tom_Rackham (Hate yourself? Hate everybody else, too? You'll be at home with the Democrats!)
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To: Our_Man_In_Gough_Island

He's got an impressive resume. He has exellent, recent experience with the hurricanes in Florida. Katrina was ntothe first disaster he dealt with.

The press is going back to when he was an intern to try and find, or as it looks in this case fabricate, things to make him look unqualified.


8 posted on 09/09/2005 7:51:31 AM PDT by untrained skeptic
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To: untrained skeptic

To a certain extent, that's right, but it is also an objectively important news item to report. When TIME goes around digging into backgrounds on resumes, that is an critical point in the threshold of public criticism, and when they find something that isn't 100% accurate, that's another threshold. Personally, I don't think " wagon training" is going to make the issue go away at this point.


10 posted on 09/09/2005 7:57:59 AM PDT by Our_Man_In_Gough_Island
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To: Our_Man_In_Gough_Island

The DUmocrats know they can't take Brown down for legitimate reasons, so they are digging for anything. Also changes the focus of who is really to blame.


11 posted on 09/09/2005 8:05:08 AM PDT by RasterMaster (Saddam's family were WMD's - He's behind bars & his sons are DEAD!)
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To: Our_Man_In_Gough_Island

Did he say he was a Cherokee Indian?


12 posted on 09/09/2005 8:05:26 AM PDT by massgopguy (massgopguy)
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To: Perdogg

He's the deputy of FEMA for a year and a half.

What's your point? Are you saying discrepancies in credentials shouldn't matter if a person lied to get a job? If so, are what you are really saying is that YOU have lied on your resume too, and its no big deal?


13 posted on 09/09/2005 8:06:55 AM PDT by Tulsa Ramjet (home of the free because of the brave.)
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To: Tulsa Ramjet

I just noticed this is also on my AOL opening screen, reaching a couple zillion more potential critics. Looks like Brown has some problems.


14 posted on 09/09/2005 8:11:23 AM PDT by Our_Man_In_Gough_Island
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To: Our_Man_In_Gough_Island

To me an upper eschelon former military ground commander
with plenty of combat time would have the best background
for such a position..

Tommy Franks-Gen Honore type of guy


15 posted on 09/09/2005 8:12:18 AM PDT by joesnuffy
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To: Tired_of_the_nonsense

Here’s some links, found easily on the web...


Wow. Your defense can only come from someone who knows him directly, or works for him. Which is it?

The previous bloggers were correct. The FEMA head is historically a place for people that helped on campaigns. I would expect a little more credibility and vetting in this job. I did a paper on this while in graduate school.

Even so, I do not think the response was primarily a FEMA problem. At least not yet. FEMA has people that have worked there for years. They can give advice. What I want to see is what that advice was, and what did Brown do with it.


16 posted on 09/09/2005 8:13:13 AM PDT by Tulsa Ramjet (home of the free because of the brave.)
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To: Our_Man_In_Gough_Island

They could have brought all of this up during the Florida hurricanes, why now? The timing of this is suspicious.


17 posted on 09/09/2005 8:15:19 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: joesnuffy

To me an upper eschelon former military ground commander.

I like Franks. However, don't discount individuals that have ran organizations like the RED CROSS, except those that falsely ran the campaign for 9/11 and the donations went elsewhere. That was a marketing mess. That person got booted.

Both former military and disaster organization heads are good candidates for this.


18 posted on 09/09/2005 8:16:41 AM PDT by Tulsa Ramjet (home of the free because of the brave.)
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To: Tulsa Ramjet
If he seriously lied on his resume, then he should leave.

But NOT NOW. Why? Because we're still in the middle of a disaster, and to date, I haven't seen any evidence of significant screw-ups that are Mike Brown's fault;

and he did a fine job as a deputy FEMA official in last year's Florida hurricanes. I believe he's as well qualified as practically else to discharge FEMA's duties.

Brown's in trouble IMO solely because the media decided, in concert, to target him as this week's Bush surrogate (Rove's getting a short break).

Those who demand Brown's head, please show me specifically what HE has done wrong. And while you're doing that, keep in mind that...

- FEMA has no police power to quell public disturbances;
- FEMA has no police force to protect its personnel from being shot at;
- FEMA is NOT empowered to be a first responder;
- FEMA must wait for state officials to first call them in, and then direct them to the sites where their aid is most needed.

Clearly, the state and local authorities who were legally charged with the above four functions, totally failed. So what did you expect Brown to do? Wave a magic wand?

And while we're at it, if the media are going to do an anal exam of Brown's resume, I want to see them do the same for the resumes of:

"Governor" Blank-0
Mayor Naggin'
Jesse Jackson
Nancy Pelosi
and Mary "Punch" Landrieu

19 posted on 09/09/2005 8:30:09 AM PDT by shhrubbery! (The 'right to choose' = The right to choose death --for somebody else.)
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Comment #20 Removed by Moderator


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