We’ve all done things we’re ashamed of, including lying on our resumes. But when you’re in a top position like Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the shame is magnified.
According to TIME, Brown padded his resume big time:
Before joining FEMA, his only previous stint in emergency management, according to his bio posted on FEMA’s website, was “serving as an assistant city manager with emergency services oversight.” The White House press release from 2001 stated that Brown worked for the city of Edmond, Okla., from 1975 to 1978 “overseeing the emergency services division.” In fact, according to Claudia Deakins, head of public relations for the city of Edmond, Brown was an “assistant to the city manager” from 1977 to 1980, not a manager himself, and had no authority over other employees. “The assistant is more like an intern,” she told TIME. “Department heads did not report to him.” Brown did do a good job at his humble position, however, according to his boss. “Yes. Mike Brown worked for me. He was my administrative assistant.
That’s not the worst, only the first. Read on.
A bit of good news: Clinton cronie Sandy Berger fined $50,000 and must surrender his security clearance for three years for stealing classified documents. He should count his lucky stars…
Related: Pants-Stuffing Clinton Crony To Plead Guilty, Samuel “Sandy†Berger Won’t Go To Jail…, Austin Bay…
Update (1:46 p.m.): Michael Brown is “relieved” of Hurricane Katrina duty. In my opinion, it had to do with FEMA’s response and not his padded resume. Also see this link, Wizbang, and The Galvin Opinion.
From the WP: “Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen, the Coast Guard’s chief of staff, was assigned on Monday to be Brown’s deputy and to take over operational control of the search-and-rescue and recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast.”
Scrappleface: “…Michael Brown is headed back to Washington D.C. where he has been offered a new position as ‘Assistant President of the United States for Outplacement.’”
Another Update: No link yet, but I just saw on FOX that FEMA decided to scrap their hare-brained, 2K debit cards scheme. The bureaucrats probably realized that non-evacuees were lining up for cards. I’m sure hundreds received them already. I can run things better than this. Where do they find these government clowns?
Wait a second…got a link. Here it is. FEMA will do direct deposits instead. Big improvement! How about giving out vouchers instead of CASH? Money down the proverbial drain…
Because of the disaster, coupled with the existing handout mentality, the governement just got exponentially bigger. Thanks, Mr. Bush.
7:07 p.m.: Now I’m hearing the AP got it wrong. The White House says the program has not been scrapped. And according to reports, people are getting in to fights in the lines. Classy.
TV off. Computer off. See you Monday.
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I don’t condone padding one’s resume, if it turns out that Brown did pad it. However, I heard on one report that Brown’s performance in the Florida hurricanes last year was so good that he was considered for the post that Chertoff now holds, so it is still very possible that he is a competent guy, and some of the delays that happened were not his fault. He should definitely be investigated, but we don’t know enough now to fry him just based on the pictures on television. Something definitely went wrong, but that doesn’t mean he is at fault.
Padded his resume? What for? He received his appointment through an old college buddy – who received his appointment through “somebuddy.” The resume is for AFTER the appointment.
These useless hacks hand out and receive appointments and power like candy. It is a disgusting and immoral practice. It is only when these goofballs are actually called to do their jobs that their incompetence becomes evident. He will go on to prostitute his time in office just like all the rest.
What the he**, he is no more incompetent than those who appointed him. Just WTF were THEY thinking about?
The only thing on his resume that really matters is FOG–Friend of George.
Brown’s appointment was so monumentally political and brain dead that you’d think a Chicago Democrat was behind it. Bush screwed up on this one. Sad but true. This is not Bush’s finest hour but he is still a better man than most that are in office.
Still, Bush and the Federal response and all of their clumsiness connot compare to the sheer incompetance and agregious politicization of the local officials in New Orleans and Louisiana. Not to mention all the democratic race pimps like Jesse Jackson and Kanye West who are exploiting the death and suffering of THOUSANDS in an effort to score political points. That is just shameful.
I’m a realist. GWB grew up with a silver-spoon. He’s a trust fund baby. A good ‘ol boy from Texas. And good ‘ol boys from Texas appoint their friends to commissions. That’s how it’s done in the ‘ol boy system.
However, it didn’t start with GWB. Nobody is really hired for their skills and experience any more, in any sector of the workplace. Hiring is based on “Personality” and “Fit”. A good match. Do you “click” with the company.
Education, skills, and experience are completely irrelevant in today’s workplace. It’s all about hwo the job candidate makes me “feel”. Like-ability. That’s how most Human Resources hiring decisions are made—hiring decisions are emotional ones, based on like-ability.
Is “padding” a resume the same thing as lying?
Berger will get his security clearance back just it time to work for President Hillary, I see.
Whew! It looks like a nest full of newborns has just discovered that “who you know” has meaning. Bush didn’t invent relying on the advice of people he trusts (think Guliani and Kerik.) Louisiana seems to be the birthplace of political patronage.
I value the civilian power over the military, but I know that there are many jobs the military does best. For my money, FEMA should have a military commander and it should be structured on the military model. It is the military precision and structure that will get the job done, particularly when the “battle plan” is shattered in the opening moments.
By the way, Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago are each cauldrons of seething welfare dissonance and poverty pimp politics that will blow just as big as New Orleans if disaster befalls any of them.
My comments were meant to be completely apolitical. No party has an edge when it comes to the corrupt system of political appointments. It, unfortunately for America, is just the way things are done.
In my opinion, the only way this will every change, is when we can begin to break away from the two party system. Think about this: out of almost three hundred million people, the best we can do is George Bush and John Kerry? You have got to be kidding. The only thing more ridiculous than that will be the two bozos trotted out in 2008.
Until then, the never ending finger pointing to score cheap political points will go on while good Americans suffer.
Good point about Berger. That SOB should have had his toenails pulled out until he told exactly what he stole and destroyed and why he did it.
But he will go on to a quietly successful Washington gig, and nobody will EVER ask the tough questions.
Just musing here: Are the welfare patrons of New Orleans wedded to the “Big Easy” or would they just as soon suck the welfare teat elsewhere?
Should states and cities approach them with an Emma Lazarus type siren song: Give us the tired, the poor, yearning for ever greater state benefits.
Or should the states insist that the New Orleans welfare population be sent back to whence they came? Would that be racism?
“Because of the disaster, coupled with the existing handout mentality, the governement just got exponentially bigger. Thanks, Mr. Bush.”
‘handout mentality’? No one doubts the displaced refugees need aid.
“Just musing here: Are the welfare patrons of New Orleans wedded to the “Big Easy†or would they just as soon suck the welfare teat elsewhere?”
maybe they should be given the same sort of ‘welfare’ that was given to the 9/11 survivors.
As of last week, Governor Blanco had hired Bill Clinton’s former FEMA director, yet her response to this tragedy has been awful–except to blame the Feds and the mayor of NO. What would be sad is if this was a case of Bush Derangement Syndrome gone even madder. Clinton knew that one way he made his ratings go up was to take his “I feel your pain” show on the road during a disaster. Wouldn’t you love to see the phone records of of top Louisiana officials and people in the Clinton camp? They were more fixated on making Bush look bad than in saving lives.
This is a terrible disaster and it happened in a city which has tolerated corruption for decades.
About a third of the police force deserted their comrades and the populace. I don’t care how bad things are, that is a terrible thing to do. I’m sure there were plenty of mistakes made at all levels.
Years ago I used to listen to a radio show about Sgt. Preston of the RCMP and his dog King. At the end of each episode, Sgt. Preston would say to his dog, King, “Our work here is done.” [or something pretty close]
When I was active in feminist groups we used to say that we will have achieved equality when a mediocre woman can go as far as a mediocre man. What with Landreau, Blanco, Boxer, Patty Murray, et. al., the feminists’ work is done.
By the way, ineffective government response to a major disaster is nothing new. According to a Readers Digest article, when an earthquake hit Kobe, Japan in 1995, the government was paralyzed–except to turn down the offer of a US hospital ship. The Japanese Mafia sent help before the government did. The people were on their own for quite a while. As usually happens, many “ordinary” people performed heroically.
La Shawn, I think we should be careful on this Michael Brown resume-padding story until there is independent confirmation. Right now the MSM is in Big Lie mode when it comes to Hurricane Katrina coverage. The coverup of the Louisiana governor’s and New Orleans mayor’s blunderings is Exhibit “A”.
You are right, Tomas, no one denies that the people who have lost everything need some type of aid. The beef, if you read the ENTIRE post, is with what type of aid is being distributed. We as taxpayers have a right to demand accountability with how our dollars are being spent. This is one such case. It matters not who the money is for. Bad spending is bad spending. There are much better ways to spend money, give the people the aid they need, and avoid waste and corruption. Asking the government to do that, however, is just too much.
I agree with the thought, “Now is the time to help, not lay blame.” However, I have been angrier than hell the citizens of Louisiana had to sit waiting for help that seemed to never come. I have been as guilty as the next person of pointing out how that happened. That being said, I wanted to share something with you I came across yesterday.
Here is a great timeline of the events as they occured complete with irrefutable evidence of the federal govt. dropping the ball. (the evidence is links to The White House, DOD and Office of the Governor websites that show the original memorandums)
http://www.thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline
You can see where the Governor requested Federal assistance on August 27, two days before the hurricane made landfall.
Here is an excerpt from the letter to President Bush from Kathleen Blanco. You can read the whole request here:
http://www.gov.state.la.us/Press_Release_detail.asp?id=976
“I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster.”
Here is an excerpt of the President’s response:
You can read the complete memorandum here:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html
“Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.”
Now here’s my question: If the president knew the gravity of the situation and ordered federal assistance, why, when it was known by Tuesday FEMA was not responding the way they had been ordered, did he not mobilize another course of action by the military or Homeland Security? Our military is trained to be extremely efficient in the event of disaster. The U.S.S. Bataan was even waiting off the coast with doctors, a full shelter, food, and water, yet they waited for the president to give the order to assist. Did Fema drop the ball? Yes. Did Homeland Security drop the ball? Yes. Did the president drop the ball? Yes.
Should all of these people be held accountable for the lack of assistance Louisiana received that was requested?
Definitely.
If nothing else the president is guilty of resting on his laurels and inattentiveness. Whatever happened to “The buck stops here?”
Gosh “m” the FEDERAL nature of our government is that the community and its elected leaders know best. If Mayor Nagin was in over his head (and he was) all he had to do was call the governor. If Governor Blanco was in over her head (which she was) all she had to do was to sign off for the FEDS to take over and run the show in Louisiana.
However, if any president, in this case Bush, decided the mayor or the governor was incompetent and came rolling in over their authority to govern, we would call it a coup.
Maybe that is an unnecessary nicety to the uninitiated, but is should be no mystery to an elected official.
The fact is that local politics shunned Federal help when it was appropriate and needed. Now there is a great blame game afoot and only the ignorant can not see and understand the purpose. Are you hearing protestations from the national government? No! It is the Mayor and the Governor who are casting aspersions to cover their sorry administrative behinds.
And just why are you NOT hearing Mississippi and Alabama echoing the complaints of New Orleans? Remember that Katrina hit other areas with a more deadly force and that it devastated an area the size of England. Unfortunately, the Press is stuck on New Orleans.
Hey Chris,
Those “refugees”? Were ALSO taxpayers.
It is AMAZING how sanctimonius and self-righteous people are. Not surprising, though.
Oh…and Heliotope?
They DID call the feds. On AUGUST 26.
This was the memo sent to the White House.
Okay, I get it. Because those folks were also taxpayers, that entitles to Feds to have a $2K a person giveaway. People can spend their earned money however they want, but the point of the federal assistance is to provide for basic needs. Keep tabs and see how much money is WASTED on things other than essentials. It is possible to be compassionate and fiscally prudent at the same time.
No one denies that they deserve help. But I and others are well within our rights to disgree on HOW that help is delivered.
m
President Bush did respond to Gov. Blanco’s request by declaring Louisiana a disaster area. If I can believe a report on the news Saturday, he even offered help in evacuating NO. Blanco refused to turn over authority to him which is what he would need to take action.
Somehow, now, people seem to believe that FEMA is supposed to be a “first responder.” Under our federal system of government, that isn’t how it works. First local, then the state are responders. FEMA isn’t supposed to get there until later 72 to 96 hours later and sometimes even much later.
Many people seem to believe that Blanco’s letter absolves her of all responsibility and meant that she and local authorities could just sit back and watch the Federal government take care of everything and then criticize whatever they disapproved of.
She was indecisive with the resources she did have at her disposal and her indecision cost lives. Not only that, people under her command prevented the Red Cross and Salvation Army from delivering food, water and other supplies to the people in the Superdome and convention center.
#23 Jamie:
You have a basic misunderstanding of federalism. The governor asked the president to declare the area a disaster zone, which he did well before the hurricane hit. And, the President contacted the governor to have her take that action.
Both the governor and the President acted appropriately. The governor requested that federal help be made available. The President authorized it. That is what the letter you have linked to is all about. Nothing more. The governor did not cede any of her authority to the federal government.
However, under federalism, the governor remained in total control (except for the coast which is under the control of the Coast Guard.) It was up to the governor to make specific requests. When she wanted national guard, she got them immediately. When she authorized FEMA and the Red Cross to distribute aid, it was immediately delivered. However, she blocked distribution of water, food and hygiene kits because she did not want the Convention Center, the interstate overpass and the Superdome to become magnets where more desperate people would be drawn. That is a judgment call that bears scrutiny.
Governor Blanco dawdled twice for 24 hours while help sat idle waiting for her to make decisions. This did not occur in Mississippi and Alabama where the governors were not fighting with their mayors and protecting their turf. Unfortunately, all this took place on national TV because the media has pretty much ignored the less famous places where the devastation was much worse.
Yo Chris, Helio, Evon and friends! I’m ‘chilling’ here in Balad, Iraq. Good commenting to set the record straight on how the chain of command/authority is supposed to work.
Here’s another thot that points to the true culprits what don’t value the lives of the poor, be they black, yellow, white or purple and certainly less important than the creepy crawlies and flora that live in the surrounding wetlands. Yes, I’m talking about the Greenies that filed suit back in the late 70’s to prevent NO from implementing Force 5 protection.
Michael P. Tremoglie has written a series called “Compassionate Liberalism – Environmentalists Partly Responsible for Flood”.
Certainly puts lie to the notion that it’s all POTUS’ fault (be it Clinton or Bush), but definitely from unelected lobbyist who presume to know better than us lowly unedumacated peopjns.
Start with this link:
http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/archive/t/tremoglie/2005/tremoglie090805.htm
I see now that estimates for NO have shot up to 300 billion USD. Seems to me that simply giving every adult $50K (50K X 1 million people = 50 Billion) to rebuild their lives would go a lot farther than throwing good money after bad.
To wit, I saw John Edwards, aka ‘BreckBoy’ solemnly declaring yesterday that Bush’s decision to suspend Davis-Bacon act was a serious mistake! What? So unions and other high-priced vultures can get a piece of the action and shorten our tax-dollars’ reach?
Anyhoo, I’m out. Til next time. Cheers.
It’s about time that Bush got rid of him. That man has been nothing short of an embarrassment to this country through this whole thing. Of course, the Governor of the state was far worse, but sacking her would have been harder for her peers in the state to do than for Bush to let heads roll immediately for their failure.
Last night I saw something on TV where one of the people testifying before the 9-11 commission said that it was a failure of imagination above all else. Isn’t that precisely what THIS was too? Chertoff said that no one saw it coming, well no one saw 9-11 coming either. Why do we pay for these imaginationless incompetent bureaucrats?
Instead of the $2K “solution,” I wonder why we don’t just go straight to CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) type camps. Here, the people would be housed, schooled, fed, medically cared for and they could be employed to clean up the hurricane mess, and learn building trades that are in demand all across the country.
Every military base is a model for such a camp.
This type of hand-up welfare is the best type of welfare. But it does require motivation and a desire to take your fate into your own hands. It would work for those who praise God that they are alive. It would not work for the losers who got all fussy when the AC in the public housing went out and nobody did enough for them in a timely fashion.
Of course, the ACLU would be right there protecting the rights and needs of child molesters, alcoholics and the drug addicted.
Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that FEMA is totally incompetent and completely unable to handle this disaster. Why is anyone surprised that a federal agency is incompetent? That’s just par for the course, and a prime reason for reducing, not increasing, the reliance on the feds to solve all our problems.
RedBeard
What you say is true. Why do I have the sinking feeling that Congress will try to “solve” the problem by removing FEMA from DHS and making it bigger than ever?
La Shawn, rather than vouchers, following up on Franklin Grahams idea of putting the newly unemployed inhabitants to work, paying them well, I suggested a program similar to the CCC-Civilian Conservation Corps of the Depression era, which put many to work who had no other work, building bridges, clearing timber, building roads, etc.
Hire the New Orleans inhabitants, pay them in scrip, as in military scrip, to the tune of $30.00 per hour. Set up/build housing first, with stores which will accept the scrip only for food, nessesities.
Make 2/3 of the wage untouchable, kept in escrow so to speak, until the job is done-then the Gov will exchange the scrip nest egg for a monetary nest egg for people to begin their lives again.
The workers will have earned it themselves, and will take pride in rebuilding their city. What do you think?
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