HULK SMASHED
This is just getting silly now.
secondses?
Okay, my guy -- Joseph F. Picciano -- has been w/FEMA since 1979. Before FEMA, he actually worked in floodplain management. He's even got a civil engineering degree!
She's mine too so I'm glad she's qualified, but given the crowd of incompetents she'd have to fight to get anything done, I'm not encouraged.
Jeez, the Boston guy went to Harvard and has actually had disaster experience since 1983. How'd he sneak in there? Massachusetts abounds with ineffective Republican politicians who would gladly step up to the plate.
I hope mine's not bald.
Caffeine? A new diet? Cats keeping you up all night? Tell us the secret of nonstop posting, Atrios.
My FEMA person, Karen D. Armes, is an acting director. She's also been with the agency since the Clinton reorganization. Her bio makes her sound like a bean counter.
my regional director is acting as well
former professional firefighter, it would appear
Don't be so quick to believe your FEMA Flunky's bio and resume.
On paper, Brown looked fairly good too. Course, he lied on paper about his qualifications.
Can't find a bio or resume on my FEMA Flunky.
res- yeah, he sounds competent. makes me feel a little safer. And he must be pissed at having his agency trashed the past five years.
The press wants to show bodies from Katrina. It didn't want to show bodies, or jumpers, on 9/11, for fear that doing so would inflame the public.
I can only conclude that this time around, the press thinks it's a good thing to inflame the public. What could the difference be?
First of all, morning, nice clear day, got the telescope out and looking at a MASSIVE sun spot on the limb of the Sun.
So we's all gonna die.
Region VII: My guys seems qualified:
Mr. Hainje was an elected member of the South Dakota state legislature and a 24-year veteran of the Sioux Falls Fire Rescue Department
Spinoza, I'm looking at the Sun at this moment...well not just this moment.
The one for TN was actually a firefighter for 22 years--then promoted thru the ranks. Burris, I think his name is.
Cinn-a-bons and Mountain Dew
EarthMerm,
I found my guys name and then did a google search...perhaps some cleansing has been done on the site
attaturk,
i hope you're wearing protective eyewear, dear.
oh, and did you see this on the sun?
(just pic)
spinoza ... Where are you? NJ?
Not quite sure why my Region includes NY State and . . . Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, but the guy's been with FEMA since '79.
Attaturk- Check out NOAA's real time solar wind dynamic displays.. Here is one of them. Things look a little more active than usual:
http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ace/EPAM...e/
EPAMp_7d.html
OT ... Whatever happened to Kos' plan to "bury the DLC for good?" He said he was going to be announcing it right about now.
I'm doomed - I've got the same FEMA flunky as the people of NOLA have.
I'm a dead girl walking.
watertiger ... That pic of Fredo with the baby is just wrong.
Region V couldn't find a bio on my FEMA Flunky but he isn't an acting so I guess he's a political appointee.
My area is the same as for La. In its history page it has this little nugget...
2005 09/02 Hurricane Katrina 3215
Seems FEMA may not have been notified untill 9/2/ 05?
Highly doubtful.
define 'diploma mill'
attaturk,
i hope you're wearing protective eyewear, dear.
Yes, I invested in a nice solar filter that goes right over my 8-inch Celestron.
That sounds so dirty.
I'll take Region I for 1000 quatloos, Alex:
Kenneth L. Horak was appointed Acting Regional Director of FEMA's Region I in October 2003. As Regional Director, Mr. Horak's responsibilities include FEMA prevention, preparedness, training and response and recovery activities in six states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island.
Mr. Horak joined FEMA in 1983 as a Disaster Assistance Employee and has held subsequent positions that included responsibilities for public affairs, congressional relations and program analysis. His disaster duty assignments have included numerous regional disasters as well as national assignments for Hurricane Andrew in Louisiana, the Northridge Earthquake in California and the Midwest Floods in 1993.
Prior to joining FEMA, Mr. Horak served as an officer in the United States Navy with duty assignments in Washington D.C., Norfolk, Va., and London, England. His private sector professional experience includes business retailing and public relations consulting.
A Massachusetts native, Mr. Horak holds a BA degree in American Government from Harvard College.
The whole 9/11 commemoration series is wrong. Posted a couple of pix.
What is with Bush grabbing strangers behind the head when he hugs 'em?
Like he's going to play tonsil hockey or something.
Our Region IV (georgia, carolinas, etc) was a firefighter for 22 years, fire chief, COO of US Fire Association (advisor to FEMA director), and a FEMA veteran. I feel like we're in good hands here.
There is obviously no shortage of qualified, experienced people who could have been promoted to the positions at the top now occupied by flunkies.
Yes, I invested in a nice solar filter that goes right over my 8-inch Celestron.
That's cut, right? Heh.
Yes, I invested in a nice solar filter that goes right over my 8-inch Celestron.
Is that a Schmidt-Cassegrain?
res-Dutchess County, NY. I need to brush up on how emergency management is going here. The county badly fumbled on getting 911 operational a few years ago. Even though FDR was from here, it is a hotbed of corrupt republican politicans. The county clerk and Poughkeepsie city inspector have been jailed in the last few years for corruption.
What could the difference be?
It surely could'nt be thaqt the feds want to fudge the numbers. Now could it?
Wanker.
Attaturk- Check out NOAA's real time solar wind dynamic displays.. Here is one of them. Things look a little more active than usual:
Another good Sun watching site. Bookmark it!
http://www.spaceweather.com/
.
Kenneth O. Burris is mine. So what did I find when I googled him?
This:
"One of the problems that's risen since Sept. 11 is the belief that you have to respond differently to a hurricane than you do a terrorist attack," said Burris, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Southeast region. "There's not much unique about a terrorist attack vs. a hurricane."
And in that same article:
But James Lee Witt, FEMA's director for eight years during the Clinton administration, doesn't believe the Department of Homeland Defense should swallow the entire agency.
"It's going to be bogged down in red tape and too much bureaucracy," said Witt, now a disaster-preparedness consultant.
Among his concerns is that the process for tapping federal resources after a disaster would be stalled. After a hurricane or other catastrophe, a governor and the president must declare a state of disaster in devastated counties for federal aid to begin.
Added bureaucracy could slow the process, Witt said. "When you take in an independent agency like FEMA and you put it in an agency of that magnitude and that large, then I think you lose some of the direct partnerships that FEMA has developed over the years with local and state governments."
.....
'Nuff said.
Seems mine is a David Maurstad.
A quick Google comes up with this.
I sleep better knowing that investors in insurance companies are secure.
I'm a dead girl walking.
Yes, but you have Hecate to protect you!
spinoza,
can we say "Indian Point"?
Yes, I invested in a nice solar filter that goes right over my 8-inch Celestron.
That's cut, right? Heh.
watertiger
Polished actually.
It's actually a wonderful hobby, when you are on a roll finding stuff at night its inspiring. Especially this time a year when the mosquitos are gone.
I'd really love to have the money for an h-filter which allows you to see things like solar flares. But those cost more than my telescope, twice as much actually. But Spinoza would like it I bet.
watertiger ...
Are they doing the "Tribute in Light" thingy tomorrow night?
That memorial is the only good thing to come out of 9/11. It's really beautiful.
The Republicans are in charge of the Federal government and it sucks from one bureau to another.
define 'diploma mill'
A diploma ordered over the internet.
Celestron.
Is that a Schmidt-Cassegrain?
NTodd
Yes. Good solid scope. Bought it just before "go-to" computerized scopes became the rage. So I have to figure out Right Ascension and Declination using just the primative Attaturk brain.
There is obviously no shortage of qualified, experienced people who could have been promoted to the positions at the top now occupied by flunkies.
eradicator-That is a crucial point. There is a well-established national network for emergency management training and communication.
Polished actually.
Even funnier!!!
My brother and I watched Skylab crash way back when the east end of Long Island wasn't NYC East, and people didn't feel compelled to treat their houses like some kind of light show tribute to their wealth.
Yes. Good solid scope. Bought it just before "go-to" computerized scopes became the rage. So I have to figure out Right Ascension and Declination using just the primative Attaturk brain.
NTodd want one with computer. Need permission--not getting it.
This is what I am seeing right now actually
res,
I hope so. I nearly got run over on Seventh Avenue, because I was so transfixed by it.
from kos
bush held NOLA hostage
Delay was deliberate....while they stragetized (4.00 / 
Last week my suspicions were aroused because uncompetence couldn't explain it all. Even allowing for the usual lassitude of the Bush adm nothing jived in the sequence of events or reports on the lack of them.
For one thing there were too many reports of help and aid amassed outside of NO early and waiting for the purpose of receiving victims or going into NO. They never received the go ahead from FEMA or the La. NG.
I posted my suspicions here last Tuesday:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/20...9/6/31022/
75072
Then another Kos'er added the transcript from CNN with their interview of Mayor Nagin who mentioned the "two options" given to Blanco.
Then Fred adressed it with a good run down on the Insurection Act and what was at stake here:
http://www.dailykos.com/comments...129/07517/
59#59
Yes, they did delay help because back in DC they were working the politics of how they could get absolute Federal Military control. If Blanco had given in it would be the first time in modern history that a State ceded all it's authority to the Federal government.
by Cal45 on Sat Sep 10th, 2005 at 00:52:37 PDT
[ Parent ]
Is there a reason why LA and MS are in different FEMA regional commands?
Not meaning to imply anything, but the Piccianos are a big crime family upstate. They're in bottled beverages and funded a Boy's and Girl's Club near here.
spinoza,
can we say "Indian Point"?
If the airflow is towards me, my cat, and laptop are off to visit Moe in the Maritimes.
I like the green lasers, much more fun than computer guided
If not posted above --
Boston and New England have an "acting" guy too -- Ken Horak, who has been with FEMA since '83 and actually has a degree from Harvard in American government!
I love those competent elitists...
Democrats, MSM, liberals, the left etc = hypocrites
yoo-hoo, oh boys, lookee what I have heee-yah [/gene wilder]
Astronomers Find Infant Version of our Solar System
Robert Roy Britt
New observations of a young star and its surroundings are like a snapshot of our own solar system when it was forming, astronomers announced Friday.
Edward G. Buikema- Region V.
Well Qualified, Acting.
Former Dir. Emergency Management Division of the Michigan State Police. Graduate of the FBI National Academy.
With Michigan State Police for 26 years. Served as governor's authorized rep for 9 presidentially declared disasters.
Another qualified guy who is acting. What is the deal with that?
Not meaning to imply anything, but the Piccianos are a big crime family upstate. They're in bottled beverages and funded a Boy's and Girl's Club near here.
You rubbing the side of your nose while you type that?
Why do they all seem to be "acting" directors ...
I hope so. I nearly got run over on Seventh Avenue, because I was so transfixed by it.
Hope you don't mean that!
My brother and I watched Skylab crash way back when the east end of Long Island wasn't NYC East
Ahem...not to be a dick, but from LI NY are you sure it was Skylab?
From today's Times article on Brown being withdrawn from NOLA (but not from FEMA itself):
One prominent African-American supporter of Mr. Bush who is close to Karl Rove, the White House political chief, said the president did not go into the heart of New Orleans and meet with black victims on his first trip there, last Friday, because he knew that White House officials were "scared to death" of the reaction.
"If I'm Karl, do I want the visual of black people hollering at the president as if we're living in Rwanda?" said the supporter, who spoke only anonymously because he did not want to antagonize Mr. Rove.
It's too early for me to be completely lucid, but aside from the fact that a) Bush still has some black supporters, which I will never understand, b) the Times is obviously not having a problem getting people to talk to them anonymously, which throws one of their objections to Judy's incarceration rightout the window, there's c) these people are scared shit of Karl Rove.
Now tell me again who's running the country?
Oh, and that little dig at Rwanda should go over real well, too.
Why do they all seem to be "acting" directors ...
Better than the patronage appointees, who are all "acting like" directors.
Ahem...not to be a dick, but from LI NY are you sure it was Skylab?
Dude, I wasn't being literal. We watched it streak across the sky.
What exactly is the "MSM?" I mean, really. Corporate Media? For-Profit Media? Media viewed by more than X number of people?
Or just stuff that right wing fucktards disagree with?
ProfWombat -- sorry about the double info., I see you caught it above....
I thought Kos banned "conspiracy" discussions.
Has he backed off that position? After all, we are dealing with an administration that does not discuss and share rationales, but deliberates, conspires, behind closed doors.
That it is difficult to learn what they are up to leaves us outsiders with only theories.
Thus, any discussion of the Bush administration's motives are de facto conspiracy theories.
MY flunky in Region 9 (including earthquake-prone California!) is Karen Armes, and SHE has a BA in RECREATION.
She is also unable to answer a simple question like "how would you get water bottles to the Staples Center if needed?
Listen:
http://www.johnandkenshow.com/au...t=0&
per_page=15
My Region I FEMA flunky is a navy vet and has been working for FEMA since 1983.
http://www.fema.gov/regions/i/horak.shtm
Oh, wait, he's an exception.
NYMary:
I just got an e-mail from Moe
Berg, who was the frontman for
The Pursuit of Happiness ("I'm
an Adult Now").
He said a review I did
of their second album was his
favorite thing anybody had ever
written
about the band, and asked me to
contribute some notes for a Best-of
that's coming out next year.
I couldn't be more flattered.....
Sometimes
"What could the difference be?
pitterpatter"
Because it's unseemly to show dead white upperclass Americans.
Just stopped by to sse if the fellow that saw 17,000 bodies at a NOL airport is here. Just checking. Guess it was a rumor. How could that be in a reality based community?
Pretty clear tho why FEMA has been sending so many folks to Arkansas:
Gary Jones
Acting Regional Director, Region VI
Gary E. Jones was appointed acting regional director of FEMA's Region VI in December 2004. Mr. Jones is responsible for administration of emergency management programs in the five-state region that includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. He is also responsible for oversight and implementation of response and recovery operations for presidentially declared disasters in Region VI.
In 1993, Mr. Jones was designated deputy regional director and has served as acting regional director on four other separate occasions. From 1983 until 1993, Mr. Jones worked in the FEMA Region VI Technological Hazards Branch, serving as branch chief and regional assistance committee chairman. The branch program responsibilities included Radiological Emergency Preparedness, Radiological Defense, Hazardous Materials, Earthquake Preparedness, Hurricane Preparedness, Dam Safety and the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program.
Mr. Jones has 41 years of government experience at the federal and state level. Prior to joining FEMA, Mr. Jones worked for the Arkansas Department of Health in a variety of emergency medical services positions and later served three years as the director of Arkansas’ Emergency Medical Services Program. Following his 13 years with the Arkansas Department of Health, Mr. Jones served as the Arkansas state coordinator for physician recruitment with the U.S. Public Health Service.
Mr. Jones holds a master's degree in public health administration from Tulane University and a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Arkansas.
WHY ARE YOU WASTING TIME WITH FEMA WHEN THERES A PLOT TO SUBERVT AMERICAN VALUES IN THE FIELDS OF PENNSYLVANIA????
THEY PLAN TO DECRESATE THE MEMORY OF FLIGHT 93 WITH A MUSLIMINAL MESSAGE TOM SEAVER SAID "LETS ROLL" NOT "CRESCENT ROLL" DAMMIT BUT NOBODYS SAYING ANYTHING - I SMELL A CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE
It's too early for me to be completely lucid, but aside from the fact that a) Bush
still has some black supporters, which I will never understand,
You'll notice though that none of
them are out publically defending
Bush....
Steve,
You are so cool. I am green with envy.... Do you get to hang with the lot of them? Or just Moe?
A MUSLIMINAL MESSAGE
God Bless Merkin!
Dude, I wasn't being literal. We watched it streak across the sky.
watertiger
Well Skylab did ultimately "crash" off the coast of Austrailia. The ISS (Space Station) is now significantly brighter than Skylab ever was. Here's the best site to view it and all satellites from your "backyard"
http://science.nasa.gov/Realtime...ltime/JPass/20/
Just stopped by to sse if the fellow that saw 17,000 bodies at a NOL airport is
here. Just checking. Guess it was a rumor. How could that be in a reality based
community?
Wycliffe | 09.10.05 - 10:21 am | #
Just stopped by to see if you're still
a disingenuous dickweed.
Yup -- you still are.
Post again and prove it anew.
Karen E. Armes, Region IX acting director, is a longtime civil servant who worked in what appears to be accounting of some sort (business management) for the Navy prior to joining FEMA.
Her degree is in recreation administration, however.
She has no background in disaster management other than her OJT at FEMA, where she appears to have risen quickly. On the face of it, she seems unqualified for the job. Then again, maybe she is a dynamite manager who can get things done. On the other hand, she was promoted to her present position by the gang that couldn't shoot straight and may owe her rapid rise to an ability to kiss up. All this is speculation, of course, but the available information does not exactly overwhelm me with confidence about her qualifications and competence on the job.
Wycliffe, check whitehouse.gov. That's where all the liars congrgate. You'll be welcomed with open flies.
"Crescent Roll..." Oh my.
MERKIN PATRIOT: still the best parody troll ever.
Immanentize:
I've never met any of them, and
they live in Canada, so I doubt
I will.
Too bad, actually....as I recall
there were two major babes in the
group.
Merkin Patriot:
Were you secretly at Eschacon?
Just to point out, within agencies like FEMA and SBA, Regional Directors are very often administrators and beancounters because one of their primary jobs tend to involve the regional budget. Regional offices have taken big hits in the last five years, because of various re-organisations - for example the Regional Offices in SBA went from being around 20-30 people to as few as three or four, with tasks being delegated to the Districts or absorbed at the Central Office level.
Or in the case of FEMA, sent to their CO and then ignored by the various unqualified people appointed by the Shrubbery.
I WOULDNT BE COUGHT DEAD AT COMMIECON
they live in Canada, so I doubt
I will.
Yeah, the band was like 10 or 12 people wasn't it? Wonder how many are still alive.... Aren't there any travel budgets with these gigs? I think you and, well, you need to organize and make that part of the contract....
Good luck and have fun.
OK, I'm looking -- Pere Ubu, Carl Perkins -- "WHERE IS MY PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS ALBUM?!"
"Never heard of it" -- Mrs. Imm.
QUESTION!
I got the name for region V -- but how'd you get the resume??
Also: WaPo had an article pointing out that all the FEMA staffers with "acting" in front of their title were the disaster professionals -- not the political appointees.
Which -- you guessed it -- means two things:
1. They hold temporary jobs, until Bush can appoint a political hack.
2. They are able to "ACT" in a time of crisis. 'Acting Director' being a verb paired with a noun, not merely a noun.
QUESTION!
I got the name for region V -- but how'd you get the resume??
Also: WaPo had an article pointing out that all the FEMA staffers with "acting" in front of their title were the disaster professionals -- not the political appointees.
Which -- you guessed it -- means two things:
1. They hold temporary jobs, until Bush can appoint a political hack.
2. They are able to "ACT" in a time of crisis. 'Acting Director' being a verb paired with a noun, not merely a noun.
Here's My FEMA flunkie!
And if you live in Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands or Micronesia, she's yours too!
Ms. Armes certainly does sound qualified....
...to be an IT person or accountant.
whew -- thank god i live in ny. mr.
picciano is the man:
Mr. Picciano has been with FEMA since the Agency's inception in 1979, assigned to the New York Regional Office. During his employment with the Agency he has served in a multitude of positions supporting and managing programs including, offsite preparedness for nuclear power facilities; the administration of the National Flood Insurance Program, HAZMAT, national preparedness and state and local emergency management.
...Prior to his service with FEMA, Mr. Picciano worked with engineering consultants in the fields of floodplain management, environmental planning and engineering. Mr. Picciano graduated from Newark College of Engineering in 1971 with a BS in Civil Engineering, and received a Masters Degree in Environmental Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1976. Mr. Picciano was honored as a distinguished Alumnus for 2002. Mr. Picciano is a licensed professional engineer and resident of Bergen County, New Jersey.
what is a "diploma mill"?
are you saying that the school from which you graduate indicates your value in the world?
you'd better rethink your nonsensical implications there, as Dubya Boosh went to Yale, which most "intellectuals" laud because it's in the "ivy league".
my thought is that a TRUE intellectual is self-made, without influence from a "respected school". creating a lifelong learner who's inquisitive and skeptical surely isn't the goal of the Ivy League or Seven Sisters either.
Got it!
Edward G. Buikema is an FBI grad, Director of the Emergency
Management Division of the Michigan State Police.
You will be relieved to know that:
"He has been involved in several high profile events including the 2004 Democratic National Convention and the Top Officials series of exercises.
Who knew the 2004 Democratic National Convention was a disaster at the time?
I ask you.
It's too early for me to be completely lucid, but aside from the fact that a) Bush
still has some black supporters, which I will never understand,
You'll notice though that none of
them are out publically defending
Bush....
steve simels
True, and that raises a couple of questions: why the fuck are they still supporting him at all? And why are they so afraid of Rove? The answer to that one is obvious, unfortunately ...
Damn, I really, really hope that Fitzgerald indicts the fat fuck.
we're listed as a FEMA disaster stae... must be the 6,000 plus refugees...
The folks who have come here were mostly older, near retirement, very genteel.
Of course they have only been here a while. Local charities already put out 3,000 meals(300 people).
We'll see with the second wave. Needless to say there is a lot of forensic work that needed to be done in NOLA at the SUperdowm and COnvetion center to build a DNA library and find some violent perptrators.
Our regional man the same as LA. Grounds enough for dismissal. Has background in the dams/transfer of nuclear materials. Sounds like a TVA-Arkansas man. Most likely Lake Dardaneelle. Not certain if they're TVA, but they are nukyualr!
Several Damns and huge lakes built in state's center.
Oh, we did have an Army truck jack-knife on the approach ramp at memphis on their side of the old bridge at I-40. The bridge the bioweapons scientist jumped off...
But I digress.
Wonder if the Army truck was transporting nukyular material? All they need is one dirty bomb and your state becomes the new Nawlins...
Guns to face- leave your home or else! Amerikkka is here to stay!
Oh goodie, Seattle should pray Mount Saint Helens doesn't start smoking again... And Oregon doesn't get hit with a Tsunami or another bio terror attack. 
Ed Buikema, director for Region V (Midwest) wad head of emergency response for the state of Michigan before taking over at FEMA. Sounds pretty well-qualified.
It's worth noting that the Region VI acting director -- whose territory includes Louisiana -- is a longtime emergency response professional from within FEMA. If Jones has been the lead designate on Katrina response in Louisiana, then he's going to come under some deserved scrutiny. But I haven't heard anything about him reported since the emergency operations began, so I don't know what his role has been.
Sittenpretty @10:12am: Tavis Smiley had a NO filmmaker on his show last night, Royce Osborn(e)?, who went to a hotel with his wife and cat, Babette. His tale of being moved from place to place, having rifles aimed at his head, being forced to walk through the flooded streets in water up to the knees (tall guy), cat carrier on head, told to go for busses, then told there would be no busses, told to go to the Superdome, refusing, going back to the hotel to try to spend the night in their car in the parking garage, now walking in water up to their chests, being ignored by uniformed guys in trucks and other high wheeled vehicles, being ordered back/forth, their group growing, ending up with 3 cats!
Finally, seen in the septic soup by an employee from their hotel going by in an SUV, who was actually out looking for the displaced guests, told the NG driver to call and order the last bus to wait for this group, being told they couldn't get on the bus, then driver relenting. They were all in the back, fearful they would be ordered off, when it went to the Superdome and filled up.
Note to pet lovers: All 3 cats got out safely.
Gripping!
My write up is jumbled; his tale was so well told. He does have video, and was worried his camera would be confiscated, so was a very good little camper with authority figures.
One of the advantages of living in Flyover Land is that not many of Bush's political appointees want gigs here. For some strange reason, they resist the bucolic heartland in favor of decadent places like New York City and California.
That's probably why our Chicago Region FEMA guy, acting though he is, is a local who actually knows how to do his job.
This American Life is all about Katrina and NO. First person stories.
Check for your local stations for times.
Damn, I really, really hope that Fitzgerald indicts the fat fuck.
Yup. Take down Rove, who is semi-competent in his evil scheming, and Bush just has Cheney, who is totally incompetent (and thus transparent) in his evil scheming.
Notice that we haven't heard much about Karen Hughes lately? I suspect that she wants to be able to say, once the trials at The Hague start, that she turned from BushCo once she realized how evil they were (or once she realized that they were going down, actually)...
Typical leftists. Avoid answering. Why would you loons be blaring on about high death counts and are quiet and...seemingly dissappointed when that's not the case? I can only surmise that your hatred for Bush runs so deep that you'd hope for more to be dead. You folks are sick. And Steve....bite me
Hey, me an' Atrios got something in common!
pitterpatter
maybe some people in the press are tired of being played for saps. like in 09/11/2001 (yes, the year is important) when they were played, and iraq, and, and, and.
-J.T.
Mine 
I wents to kommunity kollege fer a coupla years and took a coupla CRP from the ARC. Wonder if'un I could git one of them tasty FEMA jobs?
sniff-sniff.
who spilled trool all over the thread?
-J.T.
anyways no searches show jones to be a partisan neocon...
longstanding holdover
a blame it on Clenis profile
as for seperate searches on the i-40 bridge... some Israelies were 'delivering furniture' across the country to a destination known as a nuclear materials staging point in NM.
Madsen stuff- really foil hat stuff...
but there's a certain day tomorrow where the foil fits...
GTG have a relative to attend today.
Doug Brinkley when he was on CSPAN. talking about watching Katrina roll the Mississipi backwards.
Fishing wandering schizophrenics out of the water and stranded old folks.
Righteous indignation time folks.
PBS Washington Weekly had Gwen Ifill's guest say she saw two refrigerated trucks filled with bodies leaving NOLA already.
Coverup time.
SCI is running the show, they're Busah's number four lifetime contributor going into '04 and the world's largest funeral corp.
They were fraud billing FEMA in FLA in the '04 race.
Longstanding company. Many of the original AIDS deaths were in proximity to the company... possible bioengineering profiles there.
And the Band played on...
My acting regional director (Reg. VI) also appears to be quite qualified - but then I live in Dallas, not far from one of the proposed sites for the "Dubya Prez. Libary"
We can't let the commemorative copy of "My Pet Goat" get any water stains now, can we?
Here's the work exoerience if Karen Armes, acting dir. of region IX, which includes "Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada, as well as American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Federated States of Micronesia":
Before joining FEMA, Ms. Armes was director of the Business Management Department of the Navy Finance Center in San Francisco, a position assigned to her after the capitalization of the data automation centers by the Defense Information System Agency in 1994. Prior to that, she had served more than 10 years with that organization being promoted from budget analyst to the director of the Budget and Accounting Division and then director of the Management Support Division. She began there in 1982 as a NAVCOMPT financial management trainee.
I'd bet the biggest disaster she's ever handled is a hard-drive failure.
She's a Bush appointee, of course; but since there are never natural disasters in Calif. or the Southwest or the Pacific, it doesn't matter.
Damned, hope they don't trigger the fault line with some offshore drilling or up in Alaska...
...fracturing seismic fault lines is people too!
The Region V guy sounds qualified-- many years with the MI state police and emergency management experience, which is probably why he's only the ACTING director.
They'll probably bring in some political flunky while he does the work, but that's okay. As long as someone does the work.
Insurance fraud, anyone?
'pears Mike Brown is already being sued by tropical storm Isabel and insurance fraud victims from 2003. link:
http://www.insurancejournal.com/...06/09/
55854.htm
"FEMA, Insurers, Adjusters Charged in Md. Lawsuit by Isabel Flood Victims"
June 9, 2005
"More than 140 victims of the 2003 tropical storm Isabel are suing Homeland Security Undersecretary Michael Brown, David Maurstad, who runs the National Flood Insurance Program, 17 insurance companies and others charging that these officials conspired and knowingly paid claimants far less they deserved to repair their flooded homes and properties."
Insult to Injury: Insurance, Fraud and the Big Business of Bad Faith
by Ray Bourhis
This American Life:
So far two first person descriptions of Gretna police barring bridge to people from NO (tourists, in these cases). One said I thought I would never get out of NO and if I did I would be dead. One's husband had firefighter's badge and approached police, hands up, walking backwards! (May be the couple whose write-up has been posted?)
Other witness heard police say if you advance we will shoot you, this after the shots fired over their heads.
Some guy STOLE a water truck (bottled) and delivered water to people! Then he filled his truck with as many people as possible. An Army truck had turned over a ways away on the freeway, so they got food. Safe place for kids; used the big water 5 gal. containers to create "rest rooms." Hung garbage bags to keep things clean.
Gretna sheriff came up with "crazy" look on his face, waving gun at them, telling them to the bleep off the freeway! Had to leave their place of safety.
2nd witness saying police helicopter flew very low so as to blow all their "camp" stuff away! Found bus and went in, making sure heads down. Heard gunshots and police and other people walking. Night of terror.
Contacted someone in their union, got FEMA to let 8 of them through Gretna barricade.
But Gretna police still shooting at others.
~~~~
This is not what we think of as This American Life.
This is Bush's America.
BushCo Land.
TIME TO POINT FINGERS.
Insurance fraud, anyone?
'pears Mike Brown is already being sued by tropical storm Isabel and insurance fraud victims from 2003. link:
http://www.insurancejournal.com/...l.com/...06/09/
55854.htm
"FEMA, Insurers, Adjusters Charged in Md. Lawsuit by Isabel Flood Victims"
June 9, 2005
"More than 140 victims of the 2003 tropical storm Isabel are suing Homeland Security Undersecretary Michael Brown, David Maurstad, who runs the National Flood Insurance Program, 17 insurance companies and others charging that these officials conspired and knowingly paid claimants far less they deserved to repair their flooded homes and properties."
Great book on insurance fraud & in the wake of natural disaster...
Insult to Injury: Insurance, Fraud and the Big Business of Bad Faith
by Ray Bourhis
an wrote:
The Region V guy sounds qualified . . which is probably why he's only the ACTING director.
Acting director, see, means they're able to actually, you know. act -- in the case of emergency.
an | Email | 09.10.05 - 11:40 am | #
If anyone thought racism has disappeared, this horrible situation highlights it (if than can happen with no electricity--oh,yeah, there were lights on across the bridge).
NewsHour had some video of a young white woman jogging in Baton Rouge, saying that she didn't feel safe in her city anymore because of all "those people" who were brought there from NO. It was so uncomfortable to watch her.
Then I read what Atrios posted, the Amenpour interview.
This is terrible, folks.
You people missed the best part about Karen Armes, Acting Regional Director, Region IX of FEMA:
Ms. Armes holds a bachelor of science degree in recreation administration from Radford University, Va. She has also completed graduate courses in business administration at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Hey - at least she can distract us with a rousing game of kickball if we have a disaster!
You folks are sick. And Steve....bite me
Wycliffe |
That's nice, dear!
But I don't think you've had your rabies shots and we don't want Steve catching anything.
New England guy looks real. A 23 year FEMA vet with a BS from Harvard.
The director for region 4 was a fire chief and holds two relevant degrees. It seems he's actually qualified, which means he'll hold the post until some major donor wants the job.
Club Gitmo | 09.10.05 - 10:14 am | #
Er, that's nice, dear!
The whole 9/11 commemoration series is wrong. Posted a couple of pix.
What is with Bush grabbing strangers behind the head when he hugs 'em?
Like he's going to play tonsil hockey or something.
watertiger
so much easier to spit in his moron face?
Ours in Chicago is a former member of the Michigan State Police, with what appears to be ample relevant experience and qualifications, although in light of FEMA's tendency to resort to biographical excess, I suppose we can't be certain of this. He's also designated as "Acting". -MLH
Very enlightening. I live in Indiana and, although I don't recall who our flunky was, I was relieved to see that Frank O'Bannon is still our Governor. This despite the fact that O'Bannon passed away 2 years ago this September 13th...
NM is in the same region division as LA and TX, and I gotta wonder why, we don't suffer from hurricanes, earthquakes are minor, the local volcanoes haven't burped in several thousand years.
It would make more sense to have an inter-mountain western region, where the focus would be on the natural disasters - fire, flash floods, blizzards are the ones we face the most - and the man-made dangers like chemical and nuclear spills/explosions and the like.
Jones' bio looks ok, but if he is involved in this chaotic failure, he ain't long for the FEMA.
My FEMA rep
Looks like mine isn't a flunky and has actual emergency experience! I'm astounded!
The guy from New York actually sounds quite awesome:
Mr. Picciano has been with FEMA since the Agency's inception in 1979, assigned to the New York Regional Office. During his employment with the Agency he has served in a multitude of positions supporting and managing programs including, offsite preparedness for nuclear power facilities; the administration of the National Flood Insurance Program, HAZMAT, national preparedness and state and local emergency management.
He has served as a Federal Coordinating Officer in Presidentially-declared Major Disasters and Emergency operations, appointed by the President and responsible for the coordination of all Federal assets deployed for response and recovery. Additionally, he has supported flooding disasters in Texas, California, New York and New Jersey; hurricanes in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and Hurricane Andrew in Florida. He was the recipient of a Meritorious Service Award for his service during the Virgin Islands Hurricane Hugo recovery operation.
...
Prior to his service with FEMA, Mr. Picciano worked with engineering consultants in the fields of floodplain management, environmental planning and engineering. Mr. Picciano graduated from Newark College of Engineering in 1971 with a BS in Civil Engineering, and received a Masters Degree in Environmental Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1976. Mr. Picciano was honored as a distinguished Alumnus for 2002. Mr. Picciano is a licensed professional engineer and resident of Bergen County, New Jersey.
And this guy isn't ahead of Brownie, uh, why?
Note to Agent Orange--thanks for them there spaceweather.com links. Never heard of them before, very nice stuff.
Of course adding solar flares to the current mix o' events has me thinking of Mr. Heinlein's happiest, jolliest story ever, Year of the Jackpot..
Re: Region 1 (New England) acting flunky Kenneth Horak, as others have noted, he started at FEMA in 1983, and seems to have decent references.
On the flip side, he donated to the GWB campaigns in 2000 and 2004. Thank you, Opensecrets:
HORAK, K L MR
COHASSET,MA 02025
FEMA/FEDERAL EMPLOYEE
11/16/2000 - $250 - Bush, George W
HORAK, KENNETH L
HUMAROCK,MA 02047
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MGT AGENCY
6/4/1999 - $1,000 - Bush, George W
HORAK, KENNETH L MR
COHASSET,MA 02025
FED. EMERGENCY MGMT. AGENCY/FEDERAL
3/23/2004 - $1,500 - Bush, George W
HORAK, KENNETH L MR
COHASSET,MA 02025
FED. EMERGENCY MGMT. AGENCY/FEDERAL
12/31/2003 - $500 - Bush, George W
HORAK, KENNETH MR
COHASSET,MA 02025
FED. EMERGENCY MGMT. AGENCY/FERDERA
12/31/2003 - $250 - Republican National Cmte
It's certainly his right to donate to his candidate of choice, but what other equally (or more) qualified candidates were turned down based on alternate allegiances? Ah well, it's politics. I do hope he's legitimately more qualified than Brownie.