Comments on: Heck of a Job, Brownie

Heck of a Job, Brownie

me3dia — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:14:36 -0800

Michael Brown resigns from FEMA

By: caddis

caddis — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:15:18 -0800

Brownie, your doing a heck of a job.

By: caddis

caddis — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:15:46 -0800

"you're"

By: reklaw

reklaw — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:16:03 -0800

Welcome to three days ago.

By: H. Roark

H. Roark — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:16:35 -0800

1 down, several hundred more administration officals to go...

By: ghastlyfop

ghastlyfop — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:17:16 -0800

reklaw, this IS news. He was reassigned last week.

By: scody

scody — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:18:13 -0800

Welcome to three days ago. Reklaw, he didn't resign three days ago -- he was just recalled from New Orleans. He resigned today.

By: afx114

afx114 — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:18:44 -0800

SKAPEGOAT.

By: machaus

machaus — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:21:08 -0800

Best interest of the President? If that doesn't tell you everything you need to know about administration priorities I don't know what will.

By: Sticherbeast

Sticherbeast — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:21:29 -0800

Brown's a scapegoat, but at least he deserves to be one. I'm also sure his parachute is quite golden.

By: afroblanca

afroblanca — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:22:14 -0800

In a day and age when a man like Tenet gets the Medal of Freedom, and Rumsfeld is still employed, my first response was, "Well, at least they gave us a scapegoat this time." Sad what we have been reduced to.

By: teece

teece — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:22:21 -0800

I always wonder how many people believe in these transparently fake "resignations." They set this one up with the supposed leak of the supposedly personal email saying it was all the media's fault and that his family was suffering. But everyone knows what's up: Brown was fired.

By: jperkins

jperkins — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:22:44 -0800

They said that even before Katrina, Brown had been planning on leaving the administration late this fall to go into the private sector. cough! Halliburton. cough!

By: hackly_fracture

hackly_fracture — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:22:51 -0800

We have our ninth Supreme Court Justice!

By: fire&wings

fire&wings — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:22:58 -0800

I hear Haliburton have been commissioned to build an android replacement!1

By: the sobsister

the sobsister — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:24:28 -0800

Brownie having been scraped off the administration's figurative shoe like the week-old dog turd that he was, we turn our attention to Michael "the undertaker" Chertoff...

By: mullingitover

mullingitover — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:24:36 -0800

Hopefully the end result of the debacle will be a new emphasis on actual qualifications for appointees. I'm not going to hold out for all the republicants to be run out of town on a rail. However, we should all stand up and demand that when public officials appoint people to critically important positions, nepotism and quid pro quo is never allowed to be a factor again. There are so many people that could fill the FEMA director position and actually bring something to the table, other than how to play with horseys.

By: cavalier

cavalier — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:24:42 -0800

Scapegoat 1 down. Now what about putting competent people in charge of FEMA beyond the current situation? My understanding is the Coast Guard gentleman is a Katrina-only situation.

By: ericb

ericb — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:25:38 -0800

I'm also sure his parachute is quite golden. At the very least his margarita is a Golden Margarita!

By: mr_roboto

mr_roboto — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:29:58 -0800

machaus writes "Best interest of the President? If that doesn't tell you everything you need to know about administration priorities I don't know what will." Does it ever. It's incredible that he said that.

By: bashos_frog

bashos_frog — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:30:01 -0800

Resigning is too good for him. A real leader would've fired him outright, and on live TV. But a real leader would've known that he wasn't doing "a heck of a job" to begin with.

By: Talanvor

Talanvor — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:31:52 -0800

Hopefully the end result of the debacle will be a new emphasis on actual qualifications for appointees. Ahahahahahahahahahaha (breathes) ahahahahahahahaha! You know damn well all of these positions are filled with people that donated to the campaign of whoever's in charge. A few thousand dead poor people doesn't mean jackshit to Bush, you might as well be talking about Iraqi civilians. Bad press that isn't easy to dismiss as liberal whining or obfuscated to the point of confusion, now that's more of a problem. I fully expect Brown to get a medal of some sort, as sad as that idea is. Hell in a world where Ollie North hosts a television show, what else can you expect?

By: spacewrench

spacewrench — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:32:16 -0800

I wonder if you can get the terms of his separation via the FOIA? Anybody know how to begin?

By: xmutex

xmutex — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:32:26 -0800

Thanks for posting this rare exclusive item that's only on every freaking news site on the internet. Top notch effort.

By: any major dude

any major dude — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:34:07 -0800

Hopefully the end result of the debacle will be a new emphasis on actual qualifications for appointees. We don't even ask for our President to be qualified, why would we ask that his underlings be?

By: caddis

caddis — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:35:41 -0800

FEMA was certainly the gang that couldn't shoot straight. TV viewers seemed to have a better handle on what was happening than Brownie and Chertoff. The LA Times has a great article on the mess here. I was also surprised to learn that the levees broke Monday morning. Of course FEMA didn't seem to know until Tuesday. On Thursday after being told of the conditions at the Convention Center he avowed any knowledge. They looked like Keystone Cops.

By: VulcanMike

VulcanMike — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:39:16 -0800

Thanks for posting this rare exclusive item that's only on every freaking news site on the internet. It seems to be in these sorts of threads that the discussion is the Best of the Web(TM).

By: bshort

bshort — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:39:24 -0800

It takes a disaster of this magnitude for this administration to fire someone. Loyalty to minions over loyalty to the masses.

By: SweetJesus

SweetJesus — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:40:04 -0800

So, who is now director of FEMA? Is it this guy? Patrick Rhode, former Alabama television personality, and deputy director of National Advance Operations for Bush's 2000 presidential campaign. If not Rhodes, how about Acting Deputy Chief of Staff Brooks Altshuler, former White House travel agent? Hmm, still no good. How about long-term recovery director Scott Morris? He used to produce radio commercials for Bush as the head of Maverick Media. Oh, fuck, I feel much better.

By: Optimus Chyme

Optimus Chyme — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:41:09 -0800

Thanks for posting this rare exclusive item that's only on every freaking news site on the internet. Top notch effort. posted by xmutex at 12:32 PM PST on September 12 You should have flagged it or posted a MeTa thread about it, then. But since you haven't, do you have any opinion on Brown's performance or how unusual this resignation is, historically speaking? How does this resignation jive with the President's assertion that Mr. Brown was "doing a heck of a job"? In short: do you have anything worthwhile to contribute?

By: John of Michigan

John of Michigan — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:42:31 -0800

VulcanMike: Spot on. The discussion is the best part of Metafilter. I can get news anywhere; insight and snark, not so much.

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:43:24 -0800

Good riddance.

By: reklaw

reklaw — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:49:43 -0800

Ah, my mistake... so he was reassigned (ie. relieved of duty) before but now he resigned? Seems odd that he wasn't just forced to resign (ie. fired) to begin with, in that case. And, of course, given that he'll just land in some other cushy job, I don't see why his resignation is really worth caring about, since he wasn't in charge of FEMA any more anyway.

By: NewBornHippy

NewBornHippy — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:49:47 -0800

Wow, being blatantly incompetent can get you fired in this administration? Some are probably getting a little nervous as of now...

By: fingers_of_fire

fingers_of_fire — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:50:01 -0800

What VulcanMike and John of Michigan said.

By: fenriq

fenriq — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:54:07 -0800

His resignation had better not mean that he's immune from prosecution for his negligence that resulted in the deaths of alot more people than had to die. I wonder what private sector pursuits he means? Anybody want to guess he winds at Halliburton? And nice to know he was concerned with protecting Bush and not because he was woefully incompetent. Good that he's still loyal to his party, they will remember that and he will be rewarded quietly for his obedience.

By: caddis

caddis — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:55:35 -0800

Chertoff: "It was on Tuesday that the levee -- may have been overnight Monday to Tuesday -- that the levee started to break." Metafilter: The NWS reports a levee breach at the Industrial Canal at Tennessee street. This is very close to where the levee was breached curing Hurricane Betsy, which caused flooding and destruction of the Arabi and Ninth Ward neighborhoods. ... posted by suckerpunch at 9:28 AM EST on August 29 [!]

By: me3dia

me3dia — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:56:05 -0800

xmutex, it wasn't everywhere yet when I posted it. Wasn't even registering in a Google News search, in fact. reklaw, it's typical ~~Bush~~ political procedure not to fire people but rather to strongly encourage their resignation.

By: notmydesk

notmydesk — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:58:04 -0800

I'm also sure his parachute is quite golden. Yep. Finally, a successful airdrop for Brownie!

By: Aknaton

Aknaton — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:59:52 -0800

In a day and age when a man like Tenet gets the Medal of Freedom, and Rumsfeld is still employed, and Kissinger is a Nobel Peace Prizewinner rather than prosecuted as a war criminal,

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:35:20 -0800

Resigned, or fell on his sword? "Sign right here, Brownie."

By: docpops

docpops — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:36:05 -0800

Feeb.

By: Skygazer

Skygazer — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:37:29 -0800

The discussion is the best part of Metafilter. I can get news anywhere; insight and snark, not so much. Insight: This implicates the administration of cronyism and fatal incompetence. If there's ONE THING they told the American people over and over after 911 and before the election, it's that they (Bush and Co.) would be there if something terrible happened and that they were ready and and willing to keep Americans safe. Snark: Instead we got the freakin' Thurston Howell III of FEMA directors. Happy trails to Mr. Brown, a true horses ass, may he find himself behind an Arabian horse soon and here's hoping that lovely creature will know what to do.

By: 31d1

31d1 — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:39:51 -0800

sweet - but now the problem is that his immediate underlings seem to be even more unqualified. sigh.

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:42:05 -0800

Here's a sword; fall on it. "Maybe you know something I don't know. I've been working," said Bush when asked about the resignation. Yeah, well, you didn't know about the hurricane either, didja ace? In fact, this administration having no clue has kinda been the problem since the giddyup, hasn't it?

By: caddis

caddis — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:43:13 -0800

Someone should tell Bush that Brownie has resigned.

By: SweetJesus

SweetJesus — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:44:03 -0800

"Maybe you know something I don't know. I've been working," said Bush when asked about the resignation. All hat, no cattle...

By: madamjujujive

madamjujujive — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:45:49 -0800

Too late for these poor folks. 45 bodies found in N.O. hospital.

By: nonmerci

nonmerci — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:46:04 -0800

What VulcanMike said. Yeah, maybe this is on every news site on the internet, but do I really want to engage in discussion the members of Fark?

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:46:28 -0800

My Pet Scapegoat

By: ericb

ericb — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:47:09 -0800

Someone should tell Bush that Brownie has resigned. He'll learn about it in, give-or-take, five days -- and then only after Dan Bartlett prepares a DVD summary of television news reports about the resignation.

By: Dukebloo

Dukebloo — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:49:12 -0800

Back to Arabian horses!

By: slf

slf — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:49:15 -0800

Scapegoat or not, Brownie wasn't very competent, was he? Back to the horses I say!

By: tommasz

tommasz — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:50:00 -0800

The politics of cronyism only work for the cronies, not for the rest of us. Brown's usefulness as the head of FEMA has come to an end but his loyalty to his patrons will do him well in the coming years. His replacement isn't likely to have any more emergency services experience than he did but it only matters when there's an actual emergency. If Brownie v2.0 can manage not to be in charge when the next disaster strikes, he'll have nothing to worry about.

By: horsewithnoname

horsewithnoname — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:50:19 -0800

We don't want him.

By: tpl1212

tpl1212 — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:55:19 -0800

The latest issue of the Economist goes, at length, into the international head-scratching taking place as the US Gov't sat on its twiddling thumbs (eew). There are also plenty of calls for much-needed accountability...that goes well beyond the ex-FEMA horse-whisperer...

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:57:41 -0800

What? He's out of a job? I coulda sworn the early word was "Brownie dodged the bullet."

By: teece

teece — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:59:48 -0800

This article should dispel the notion that Bush has any clue what he's doing, for those few that still entertain the notion that Bush is competent. So I'm not in the least bit surprised that Bush doesn't know Brown quit. Bush is not a leader. It's not clear, at many times, who is the leader in any given situation. Often times, as in the NOLA aftermath, there seem to be no leaders at all in the White House. The only competent one there seems to be Rove, and he cares only about politics and PR.

By: ericb

ericb — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:00:17 -0800

Bush appoints R. David Paulison, head of FEMA's emergency preparedness force as new FEMA director.

By: ericb

ericb — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:01:11 -0800

R. David Paulison profile.

By: ericb

ericb — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:03:44 -0800

"R. David Paulison, head of FEMA's emergency preparedness force, will lead the beleaguered agency, according to two senior administration sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made. Paulison is a career firefighter from Miami who was among emergency workers responding to Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the crash of ValuJet Flight 592 in the Florida Everglades in 1996, according to a biography posted on FEMA's Web site. He also has led the U.S. Fire Administration since December 2001, according to the site. As chief of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department, Paulison led 1,900 personnel under a $200 million operating budget. He was also in charge of Dade County's emergency management office, according to his biography." [The Associated Press | September 12, 2005]

By: sonofsamiam

sonofsamiam — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:04:55 -0800

ericb, I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate the amount of work you've been putting in with these many news updates over the last week or so. At least one person is reading them.

By: mr_roboto

mr_roboto — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:08:34 -0800

Ex-firefighter. Fire chief before coming to FEMA. Good choice, Karl.

By: afroblanca

afroblanca — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:09:47 -0800

and Kissinger is a Nobel Peace Prizewinner rather than prosecuted as a war criminal, touche

By: RakDaddy

RakDaddy — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:12:25 -0800

My sources tell me he's already taken a job at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

By: slf

slf — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:15:18 -0800

R. David Paulison Director, Preparedness Division/U.S. Fire Administrator ...He began his career as a rescue firefighter and rose through the ranks to rescue lieutenant, battalion commander, district chief of operations, division chief, assistant chief and then deputy director for administration before becoming chief. His emergency management experience includes Hurricane Andrew and the crash of ValuJet Flight 592. Sounds way better than Brownie already.

By: SweetJesus

SweetJesus — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:15:49 -0800

So I'm not in the least bit surprised that Bush doesn't know Brown quit. Bush knows Brown quit. Politically, he said that to make it seem as if he's above it all. He's not about "blame", he's about "moving forward". The message is, Bush only deals with the important things. It's a quip for the networks to run, and a dig at reporters who are spending all their time playing "the blame game", in Scotty McClean's words. But you're crazy if you think Brown just up and resigned, without letting Bush know. In fact, we all know he was handed his walking papers by the Bush administration. Nothing goes on in this administration without Rove, Card and Libby, and by extention the President, knowing.

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:20:04 -0800

Maybe he wasn't on the extension this time.

By: teece

teece — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:23:27 -0800

Bush knows Brown quit. Politically, he said that to make it seem as if he's above it all. You're probably right, SweetJesus.

By: slf

slf — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:25:33 -0800

I'd go with SweetJesus. Bush was definitely in the know. But that's the funny part. When Bush isn't actually out-of-touch, he is acting it.

By: squirrel

squirrel — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:46:48 -0800

That darned Bush! What a nutty guy!

By: ericb

ericb — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:48:13 -0800

CNN just reported that Scott McLellan issued a clarification that Bush did know that Brown was resigning, but thought that the announcement would be made later in the day. McLellan said that when Bush responded to the reporter's question with "Maybe you know something I don't know." he was referring to the announcement having been made and not the fact that he didn't know about the impending resignation.

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:57:17 -0800

Oh, that clarifies a lot, then. So when Bush says he "doesn't know" something, what he really means is that his handlers forgot to tell him it's okay to talk about it now.

By: ericb

ericb — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 15:01:49 -0800

"You spin me right round, baby right round like a record, baby right round round round ..."

By: tommasz

tommasz — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 15:20:17 -0800

I stand corrected.

By: fungible

fungible — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 15:37:27 -0800

From the Newsweek article: With each tale, "the president just shook his head, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing," says Jindal, a conservative Republican and Bush appointee who lost a close race to Blanco. Repeatedly, the president turned to his aides and said, "Fix it." Way to lead there, dickwad.

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 15:40:04 -0800

Mr. Paulison is also known for recommending plastic sheeting and duct tape as protection against terrorist attacks. [via] Rumsfeld supposedly offered to resign twice. I wonder why his resignation wasn't accepted but Mr. Brown's was.

By: SweetJesus

SweetJesus — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 15:46:00 -0800

Rumsfeld supposedly offered to resign twice. I wonder why his resignation wasn't accepted but Mr. Brown's was. Because Bush fired him. Important, high-status people are never fired, they're given an opportunity to resign.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 16:04:54 -0800

I hear Haliburton have been commissioned to build an android replacement!1 great Futureworld ref, at least. Can we prosecute yet? now? now can we? how about now?

By: clevershark

clevershark — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 16:13:00 -0800

He'll probably get the Medal of Freedom(tm), just like George Tenet.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 16:45:04 -0800

'bout time.

By: zarah

zarah — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 17:03:20 -0800

He's being replaced by the bonehead who suggested you all buy duct tape to protect yourself from terrorists?! I guess that's a step up.

By: HyperBlue

HyperBlue — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 18:45:09 -0800

Mr. Brown, Please don't come back to Edmond, OK. We already have an Ass to the City Manager. Regards, Citizens of Edmond

By: tsarfan

tsarfan — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 20:45:27 -0800

DuctTape Man? are we being punk'd?

By: Balisong

Balisong — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 21:06:13 -0800

The shareholders of Home Depot have nothing but praise for the duct tape and plastic sheeting guy.

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 22:29:27 -0800

Nothing goes on in this administration without Rove, Card and Libby, and by extention the President, knowing. Except, you know, live national coverage of a city of a half-million people drowning in filthy water and suffocating heat for three days.

By: ericb

ericb — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 22:31:48 -0800

Bush's Fluctuating Degree of Ability

"Bush at 3:39 pm EST:
Question: Have you accepted the resignation of Michael Brown or have you heard about it? Bush: No, I have not talked to Michael Brown or Mike Chertoff – that's who I talk to. As you know, I've been working.
Bush at 3:42 pm EST:
I can do more than one thing at one time. By the time I'm finished president, I hope you will realize that the government can do more than one thing at one time, and individuals in the government can."

Walk and chew gum much?

By: ericb

ericb — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 22:37:45 -0800

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN White House Correspondent:

"Well, Wolf, we just got some new information. Of course, coming off of Air Force 1. A full report essentially saying Scott McClellan the Press Secretary coming back to the plane. Reporters saying that the president appreciates Mike Brown's service. The president was asked about whether or not he was aware, in fact, that he was resigning. Earlier today the president has said that maybe you know some new that I don't know. Scott McClellan clarifying that saying well the president actually did know. He was aware of his resignation early in the day, but he wasn't aware that it had actually been made public and that Mike Brown came out himself and said so."

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 06:09:24 -0800

Eric: "Yeah, yeah, that's what I meant! I meant that I wasn't aware of the announcement! That totally makes sense!"

By: michaelbrown

michaelbrown — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 06:43:26 -0800

Look I thought FEMA stood for Fredericksburg Equine Management Association. That's why I took the job in the first place. No one told me I was supposed to help people. So screw that, I quit. I'm going back to my ponies.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 07:04:36 -0800

I can do more than one thing at one time. By the time I'm finished president, I hope you will realize that the government can do more than one thing at one time, and individuals in the government can." Too bad everything he does he fails at.

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 08:22:49 -0800

michaelbrown wins.

By: caddis

caddis — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 08:42:54 -0800

~~What a way to put five more bucks into Matt's pocket.~~ Oh my, user number 1713.

By: whatnot

whatnot — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 13:03:33 -0800

yippee!

By: SweetJesus

SweetJesus — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 23:05:33 -0800

Except, you know, live national coverage of a city of a half-million people drowning in filthy water and suffocating heat for three days. I said knowing, not caring. They knew, they just didn't care.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 09:24:18 -0800

It's now looking like Chertoff is equally -- if not more -- to blame. Knightridder report.