he has certainly earned some kind of reprise jane, but really, what about his dinner emails?
and what about his leterally asking the president to bail him out of testimony with a claim of executive priviledge?
to his credit he admitted he had personal failures, and to his credit he correctly shoulders some of the blame, but he came clean after he was hung out to dry.
I would like to know why he was hung out to dry, did the administration think he had nothing damaging to say?
anyway, he's regained a little sef esteme for himself, but he would have been entirely redeemed had he not requested the guidance from the administration before his testimony
me to me |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 6:09 pm | #
I'm so suspicious of the enemy of my enemy is my friend aspect of this. Beware is all I can say Let's not forget the Baton Rouge fine dining incident. Let's not take too much comfort in post hoc mea cultpas. Let's await the day that one, just one person in a positon of power NOW speak out.
From O'Neil to Wilkerson to Brown too late speaking out is... , well obviously too late.
rapier |
03.03.06 - 6:11 pm | #
Another patriot desperately trying to "speak openly and honestly" is Sibel Edmonds . . and Bradblog has created a petition to have her testify...
PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION to help another whistleblower get to the truth.
When I saw Michael Brown rehabilitating himself on Countdown tonight, I said, "This is why Bush never fires anyone."
People who call for Rumsfeld's firing don't realize what these guys know about Bush as a leader: inadequate, petty, inept, shallow, mad. Brown is trying to tell us something and we should listen: when this President is not engaged, things go wrong. When this President engages, things get worse.
-
TeddySanFran |
03.03.06 - 6:15 pm | #
I have a hard time sympathizing with anyone who accepts a job in the Bush Administration.
I forgot a couple adjectives from my last post.
I'm beginning to tire of the aggressive, shortsighted, fast-talking, evil, insecure, stupid, idiotic, assholes on the right.
Everythingseemssoneat |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 6:15 pm | #
Bravo Jane, it shows true character to apologize when someone is trying to make ammends.
Good for Michael Brown for not taking the fall.
NJ Flamingo |
03.03.06 - 6:16 pm | #
Michael Browne's failures during Katrina were horrible, and may have cost the lives of more than a few citizens of New Orleans.
But the fact is, even if James Lee Witt, George Marshall, George Patton, or Jesus Christ himself would have been in charge of FEMA, those people would have died -- because George W Bush did not give a damn.
.. and Jane you aren't withdrawing your fine Michael Brown snark, are you? That snark is part of my early lurking memory here, like a childhood recollection. Please don't take back that snark -- it'll feel as if my parents' marriage was annulled, you'll be stealing my fond FDL childhood from me.
-
*G*
-
TeddySanFran |
03.03.06 - 6:20 pm | #
Is this what they mean by the intent of the law?
They don't try to hide it now Sammy:
Well I just saw the news 3-3-06 and there was the S Dakota legislator saying it might be ok for a girl to have an abortion if she was " savaged really brutally raped and beaten, if she was a virgin, a christian, and if she was really totally destroyed by it". So you see if she ever had sex, enjoyed it didn't go to church and was not beat to a pulp, she does not deserve to get off the hook with an abortion.
orion |
03.03.06 - 6:21 pm | #
Browmie is a much better person than I thought.
But he ain't that great.
colleen military mom |
03.03.06 - 6:22 pm | #
me to me -- he's certainly not without flaw, didn't mean to imply that any point that he was, just that he wasn't guilty of all the things he was accused of at the time.
And of course holding out some hope to those who might be thinking of doing likewise is always a good thing.
jane hamsher |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 6:22 pm | #
Last revision:
I'm beginning to tire of the aggressive, shortsighted, fast-talking, evil, insecure, stupid- assholes on the right.
Everythingseemssoneat |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 6:22 pm | #
Certainly the failures started at the top. But no apologies due to Brown, a man who couldn't be bothered because he was having dinner, and who bothered about whether to roll up his sleeves for a photo op while people were dying.
Tara |
03.03.06 - 6:23 pm | #
When this President is not engaged, things go wrong. When this President engages, things get worse.
-
TeddySanFran | 03.03.06 - 6:15 pm |
"It is to Brown's credit that he's being honest about it now and refusing to be the BushCo. goat. I offer my apologies and hope that others are encouraged to follow in his footsteps."
Bravo, I couldn't agree more.
Cozumel |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 6:27 pm | #
Let's face it. Brownie has exhibited what no other official in the Bush administration has exhibited in four years: Remorse and character. Certainly, no Republican in Congress has done so to include the MSM dubbed maverick: McCain.
BTW, have we captured for all time Klein's comments tonight on Lou Dobbs. According to Klein, Bush won because Dems put up a couple of "stiffs" presumably Gore and Kerry. Personally, I don't think that Klein is worthly to lick eithers' boots.
nlacey |
03.03.06 - 6:27 pm | #
hard to fault someone that can admit their mistakes, except....
that he knew he wasn't qualified to do the job, and failed miserably to do anything at all as people were dying..... He broke the public trust by even accepting a position that he had no qualifications for. never forget mass murder. governmentacide
oldtree |
03.03.06 - 6:28 pm | #
orion | 03.03.06 - 6:21 pm |
I saw the segment on the Newshour to which you refer. The legislator was mindlessly simple minded. He was so far out in left field he might as well be in South Dakota, . . . oh.
Hugh |
03.03.06 - 6:30 pm | #
"When this President is not engaged, things go wrong. When this President engages, things get worse."
TeddySanFran | 03.03.06 - 6:15 pm
Well said Teddy, this is a keeper.
Shez |
03.03.06 - 6:32 pm | #
This is something I work hard to teach my kids.
Admit your mistakes. Come clean and move on.
The truth shall set you free.
jharp |
03.03.06 - 6:33 pm | #
He did not deserve to be made a national joke and a scapegoat. He may have been over his head. He may not have had the resources needed at his disposal.
That said. He did fail. And to his credit he has, at least, taken partial responsibility for it. Bush and Co. however, has treated this as they they treat all problems. As a political problem to be spun. I listened to Chris Matthews today who again defended Bush as a nice guy and personally attacked the Clintons (again). But you know what? You can't take away competence. You cannot take away that Clinton knew what he was doing and the American people prospered for it. And Chris and the other right-wing pundits won't be able to escape that they propped up an incompetent who harmed the republic, and needlessly put over 2000 of our brave soldiers in the ground.
narexbyrnes |
03.03.06 - 6:34 pm | #
Dear Jane:
I have religiously avoided responding to any of the blogs, but feel compelled to respond to you. Apology accepted. And thank you, too, for the apology.
I have stated on numerous occasions the mistakes that I made and accepted responsibility for those mistakes. And, I hope now that the public, Congress, and especially the Administration, will heed the warnings I wrote to them in 2003, 2004 and 2005, that this kind of disaster was inevitable because of the way the Department of Homeland Security was functioning. I would be glad to provide you copies of those memos if you're interested.
In January, 2005, I came to the conclusion that FEMA was doomed to failure. But rather than quit immediately (which my wife reminds me constantly was a huge mistake for our family) I commissioned an internal study (the "Mitre Report") in order to leave a legacy of how FEMA could make things work that were broken - logistics, supply chains, communications. We were never able to finish that study because of a lack of funding and of course, impending disasters.
The Mitre Report is now in the hands of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and I hope they make good use of its initial findings and recommendations.
Best regards,
Michael D. Brown |
03.03.06 - 6:34 pm | #
I have been wondering about the many people who have been humiliated and diminished by the neocons, especially in the media.
There are so many of them, that if they ever had the opportunity to avenge their humiliation, it would be a powerful force for the good.
OT but our dinner table conversation was that Judas Sheep/Goat question -- made more difficult because it's so hard to remember when we WEREN'T betrayed by the Dems.
And we ended up agreeing that, of all people, Jimmy Carter is the one we blame the most. I find it hard to say this, too, because I've always had a real soft spot for the guy, feel he was set up, etc.
But he opened the damned door -- not just to the de-regulation-privatization orgy/Free Market worship from which we now suffer so deeply, but also, essentially, to the Reagan/wingnut combo that's done us all so much harm.
I never will understand why he did it, but it's certainly paved the way for all of the excesses we're groaning about today.
dannyboy |
03.03.06 - 6:36 pm | #
I certainly wouldn't want to be a target of a Rovian-smear campaign and the fact that Brown managed to (to a certain extent) do the right thing by speaking up definately has made me change my opinion of him.
Now, if others are willing to come forward and speak out against the administration's fuckups as a result of this, then yeah,
I also apologize to him for believing the worse.
moi |
03.03.06 - 6:37 pm | #
Am I reading this right?
[checking glasses, and remaining brain cells]
Is that a posting from Michael Brown of FEMA?????????
For real????????
egregious |
03.03.06 - 6:37 pm | #
The lesson here is that people are not purely black or white but are a reflection of what they do. Some good, some bad. He'll always have to live with the results and his e-mails, but it does seem he tried to do the job he was appointed to do, to the best of his abilities. He seems to have more virtue than almost anyone else who has been or is in the Bush administration. God save us all.
Joe Scordato |
03.03.06 - 6:38 pm | #
Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job NOW.
metricpenny |
03.03.06 - 6:39 pm | #
un-EPUing myself from the last thread:
Sorry for the long post. This made me spittin' mad; NewsHour on the radio, almost drove off the Bay Bridge.
this segment about the new abortion law in South Dakota:
...
STATE REP. CLAYTON HALVERSON (D): In my opinion, the middle is: Allow the amendments we offered, which would include, in the case of rape, the option of abortion should be available; in the case of incest, the same thing goes; and when the mother's health or the health of the fetus, those are exceptions that I don't think should be ignored. And I believe that's the middle. That's where I think most of the people in our state fall.
:::::::
this is the middle ground?
::::::::
FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Napoli says most abortions are performed for what he calls "convenience." He insists that exceptions can be made for rape or incest under the provision that protects the mother's life. I asked him for a scenario in which an exception may be invoked.
BILL NAPOLI: A real-life description to me would be a rape victim, brutally raped, savaged. The girl was a virgin. She was religious. She planned on saving her virginity until she was married. She was brutalized and raped, sodomized as bad as you can possibly make it, and is impregnated. I mean, that girl could be so messed up, physically and psychologically, that carrying that child could very well threaten her life.
:::::
I'm telling you, this sadistic f**k took pleasure in reciting that scenario. Sick. Sorry I can't be pithy or eleoquent on this with blood boiling...
punaise | 03.03.06 - 5:56 pm | #
punaise |
03.03.06 - 6:42 pm | #
Too little to late....how many people have died? how many are missing? how many still do not have a home? He sounds like some nazi war criminal...I was just following orders.
jerri |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 6:45 pm | #
Sorry, I feel no admiration for Mr. Brown. FEMA was doomed to failure by the evil cowards now occupying the White House, the scum that he and his fellow Republicans put into office. They all belong in prison, Mr. Brown included. They are destroying America.
Michael |
03.03.06 - 6:46 pm | #
OT - It looks like Mike Stark might need a little help staying afloat. I just threw a $10 his way. Well worth the Olberman entertainment tonight and I'm sure we'll see more!
The story I want to see told his how many bodies they managed to hide, burn, bury, etc.
Blackwater operating down there almost immediately?
The body collection company was sued criminally in Fla for illegally disposing of bodies.
What was the count? Hell, in the Tsunami, we got a count every day, climbing. Here, we never really got one.
But good piece, Jane. It is an amazing story -- the crony comes clean. Really, he is being transformed into a hero.
tom -- chicago |
03.03.06 - 6:48 pm | #
On "Hardball" Brownie gives himself a "5" (on a 1 - 10 ordinal).
While it's nice to see his push-back mea culpa, I know what would happen to ME in short order were MY job performance rated at 50%.
Moreover, his rating Bush a "5" is utter crap. Bush gets a "1" AT BEST, fucking clueless dilettante.
_
BobbyG |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 6:49 pm | #
Yeah, you heard it, I saw it--the man was positively drooling at the vision he was drawing. I wonder if he has daughters or granddaughters who might be just slightly raped and impregnated. Would he feel the same then? And what does sodomy have to do with impregnation, or does Bill Napoli know something I don't?
PA woman |
03.03.06 - 6:49 pm | #
I have been wondering about the many people who have been humiliated and diminished by the neocons, especially in the media.
There are so many of them, that if they ever had the opportunity to avenge their humiliation, it would be a powerful force for the good.
Hope so.
egregious | 03.03.06 - 6:34 pm |
Michael Brown
Paul Bremer
George Tenet
Colin Powell
John Ashcroft
Tommy Franks
Christine Todd Whitman
Wilkerson
Richard Clarke
Paul O'Neill
These are some who have left for one reason or another. There are probably many more I'm forgetting. It would be good to hear them tell the truth but most begin with records that are too put it mildly "mixed".
Hugh |
03.03.06 - 6:50 pm | #
Brown is nobody. Who cares if he's to blame. Let Bush take the heat. He hired Brown, and the buck should stop with him anyway. Give 'em hell, Brownie
BullGoose |
03.03.06 - 6:50 pm | #
Re the alleged Michael Brown posting in the comments here, that appears to be just the alleged MB posting quoted in the article, with "Jane" substituted for "Joe".
Waiting for Fitz-O |
03.03.06 - 6:51 pm | #
Michael Brown is showing some character. Props to him.
=
Dan Robinson |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 6:52 pm | #
From what I can see in the news and from that tape, Brown seems to be doing close to his best. He shouldn't have been hired to do a job he isn't qualified for (Bush's fault) and he shouldn't have accepted it when offered (his fault). But he's not such as ass as I thought he was, so I also feel inclined to say I'm sorry, Mr. Brown, that I thought you were an ass, and I'm sorry you were made a scapegoat, when so many other people were equally or more to blame.
sozzy |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 6:52 pm | #
Brown's response above in this thread reads word-for-word like the letter your friend Joe got. So did a clever fdl-er cut and paste from Jane's post, or does Michael D. Brown have a blogger form letter?
Jane, I see that you've updated the post that Michael Brown has responded. Does that mean you have reason to believe that the response posted here is legit?
-
TeddySanFran |
03.03.06 - 6:53 pm | #
What a weird day.
Pachacutec |
03.03.06 - 6:54 pm | #
I believe in redemption
immanentize |
03.03.06 - 6:54 pm | #
Woof?
Hugh | 03.03.06 - 6:53 pm |
Is that Hugh Laurie?
Sharon |
03.03.06 - 6:55 pm | #
We owe Michael Brown a thank-you for being a whistle blower of sorts. He's admitted mistakes, but he's not going to be their fall guy. "Heckofajob" was going to be an easy out for the bushies...guess "heckofajob" decided he wasn't going to be their patsy. Wish more would speak out, b/c we know you're there.
noshrub |
03.03.06 - 6:55 pm | #
Waiting for Fitz-O and...
Surely you don't think Jane is gullible enough to post Brown's comment as an "update" without knowing it's for real. Do ya? I don't.
Cozumel |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 6:56 pm | #
john at americablog sums it up perfectly:
You know things are bad when Brownie starts looking good.
bkny |
03.03.06 - 6:57 pm | #
what struck me during the Katrina mess was how often Brownie was on TV. I expected him to be on the phone haranguing folk to make things happen -- not sitting answering questions from Rita Crosby or Soledad OBrien. Why didnt he have a spokesperson to do TV interviews while he was actually leading the disaster recovery?
Wilson46201 |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 6:58 pm | #
"You know things are bad when Brownie starts looking good."
bkny
***
I had that exact thought while watching the news showing the Brownie/Bush video.
_
BobbyG |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 6:59 pm | #
TeddySanFran | 03.03.06 - 6:15 pm
*g*
Brown has acknowledged it was a disaster and he had a starring role in it - I don't think you squeeze more blood from that stone. Unlike our DOJ that is still arguing away for torture rights - without much shame. *s*
But while we're on the political appointments front - the new story out. CIA OIG's office - investigating #3 at CIA in connection with Cunningham.
The CIA Inspector General has opened an investigation into the spy agency's executive director, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, and his connections to two defense contractors accused of bribing a member of Congress and Pentagon officials
In keeping with the themes, he's a Goss appointee.
As executive director of the CIA, Foggo oversees the administration of the giant spy agency. He was appointed to the post by CIA Director Porter Goss after working as a midlevel procurement supervisor, according to former CIA officials.
But don't get too excited. It's just an investigation. Besides, it is very hard to say if anything was REALLY done wrong. Because, you see, (prepare for shock and surprise), the contracts being investigated are S*E*C*R*E*T
Officials say they could not describe the CIA contracts in question because some of them were classified secret.
Mary |
03.03.06 - 7:00 pm | #
colleen military mom @ 03.03.06 - 6:22 pm -- Browmie is a much better person than I thought. But he ain't that great.
He may not have been as craven as I thought, but he was still very unqualified for his job. He didn't communicate clearly, even in the video I saw, the potential problem. The words said he was worried, but his voice didn't. I'm wondering if his lack of experience in such matters made him emotionally unable to believe what he was saying. He certainly didn't sound like he believed it.
I'm listenging to Devid Brooks tapdancing about Katrina on The News Hour right now. He just said that, while he thought Bush was engaged (destroying any cred he might have with me), the promises of support that Bush gave on the tape weren't delivered on. This, he said, was a habit of this Administration. It's gotten to the point where even the Bush Administration's apologists are starting to bail.
Cujo359 |
03.03.06 - 7:01 pm | #
Hughs are few and far between. So I have to admit I had to google Hugh Laurie. He was in Blackadder. I'm so proud.
Hugh |
03.03.06 - 7:02 pm | #
The thing that bothers me about Mr. Brown is I recall not too many weeks ago he said unless the Bush guys protect him with legal assistance and whatever, then he was going to tell all. If that's the case, it seems to me that Brown would still be silent if the payoff had come through. Redemption is fine and I am all for it, providing it's for the right motivations. If Michael Brown is legit and his intentions are righteous and he is not just attempting self protection or vengeance, then I wish him well. Time will tell. Perhaps he will become our Martha Mitchell.
sunflower |
03.03.06 - 7:04 pm | #
Can someone ask them to define the evidences of "engagement" or engagatude or what ever it is that they are seeing?
Can you be engaged without ever asking a question?
Was he down on one knee?
Just what is it that defines engaging to them?
I want to give the benefit of the doubt on this one, but I sure don't see what they see.
Mary |
03.03.06 - 7:04 pm | #
Y'know, it was a weird day, Pach, you are right.
W is in a parallel universe, being filmed in Bollywood, and there's these images of him floating in on the ether, while all the stories at home are about him but he's not here. Flying into Pakistan under cover of darkness -- maybe now he knows what it's like to be a "woman of cover," sort of. And watching him go from the plane to the caravan, and all among him are hurrying, and W is turned sideways to the camera, like he's making himself a target for the cameras, slowing down and turning sideways as the others rush by him.
And clinking orange juice glasses with the Indian President, as he bargains away all the tenuous gains made by non-proliferators, endangering everything responsible leaders have worked for since the first a-bomb was dropped.
And huge crowds burning the US flag and Bush in effigy in cities all over Pakistan. How will we ever separate ourselves from him in the hearts and minds of the world?
first of all, I have no problem with a person accepting a job that they might yet be qualified
we all think we can learn and probably do a better job then anyone before us
so there is no fault in him accepting the position, and I can see that he actually had more ability then was known;
from what michael has posted, he knew fema was tragically under resourced, he knew why it was happening, and he knew who was causing it to happen, he even documented the events
this shows he had more capability then we presumed
but michael, those emails are damning, the events, the timelines, the turn backs and the turn arounds of resources at your disposal
I know you've admitted some failings on your part, that's fine, but the emails are more then a failing of ability.
and please explain why you asked the whitehouse for guidance before your testimony before congress.
if you really wanted to redeem the events you needed to volunteer the testimony you only gave after the white house showed you abandonment
all said, you have certainly earned more respect then we gave you prior.
Ps
please don't cut and paste into every blog, it would be nice if you offered a unique response for blogs as important as firedoglake
keep the path toward responsibility, make sure not only yourself, but those that caused the issues you talk about are brought to accept the responsiblity of their actions
me to me |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 7:05 pm | #
And when Brownie was being crucified, who left him out to hang?
There is plenty of blame to go around. But what has changed? If nothing that is the main "blaim" issue now.
tryggth |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 7:05 pm | #
punaise | 03.03.06 - 6:42 pm -- I didn't notice any drooling. I was just wondering why someone would have to be a virgin in order for a rape-induced pregnancy to be life-threatening.
Cujo359 |
03.03.06 - 7:05 pm | #
I'll say this. . .
Back in the day, the code was, you take a bullet for the GOP boss, you're a made man. The company will take care of you. Just shut the fuck up.
For some reason, that didn't happen here. No Oliver North future for Mr. Brown. He's mad as hell and he's not gonna take it anymore.
So what went wrong? Was the company to incompetent to guarantee his future? Too willing to heap blame on him, in a way they never did with North, who became a cult hero?
Whatever the case, this is a sure sign of the company cracking up.
Pachacutec |
03.03.06 - 7:06 pm | #
Lesson I'm relearning: The Bush Admin has gotten away for a long time in redirecting the blame away from themselves. Michael Brown has stood up and accepted his share of blame. We've all been played by masters and wasted energy and intellect on chasing Michael Brown while the real culprits are BBQ'ing in the WH.
mainsailset |
03.03.06 - 7:08 pm | #
Wow, I hope that really is the same Michael Brown. How refreshing it is for one of this neo-con bunch to take responsibility for his/her actions. I doubt the trend will catch on, however.
My dream is that one day the neo-cons will actually start to (accidentally or otherwise) nominate people qualified for the positions in question.
Terry |
03.03.06 - 7:08 pm | #
It's possible Mr. Brown has engaged some people to help him campaign to revive his career and image. Any blog monitoring may be done by his designees, authorized to send a form letter to anyone who will "flip" for him.
Pachacutec |
03.03.06 - 7:09 pm | #
Teddy -- I don't have any more reason to think it's actually Michael Brown than Joe Gandelman does, so it's offered up "for what it's worth."
jane hamsher |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 7:10 pm | #
Pach,
"Was the company to incompetent to guarantee his future?"
[David Brooks said] the promises of support that Bush gave on the tape weren't delivered on. This, he said, was a habit of this Administration. It's gotten to the point where even the Bush Administration's apologists are starting to bail.
Cujo359 | 03.03.06 - 7:01 pm |
First, David Brooks is an idiot. He keeps saying that Bush will either be a great or a terrible President because he dares great things --as if this nation is his experiment in ego enhancement. (Hint to David: Bush is a terrible President. No need to hold back on that judgment.)
Second, he probably thinks he is still defending the Administration in that insufferable bland way of his.
Hugh |
03.03.06 - 7:12 pm | #
me to me @ 03.03.06 - 7:05 pm -- first of all, I have no problem with a person accepting a job that they might [not] yet be qualified
Neither do I. What I have a problem with is accepting a job that has to be done right or people will die. If you don't believe that, just call me when you need major surgery. I don't have any medical experience, but I have a recent copy of Gray's Anatomy and I can bring my own tools.
Cujo359 |
03.03.06 - 7:12 pm | #
You're right Imman - you go with the Friday you got, not necessarily the Friday you want.
A wise man (without a camel) once said that -or something like it.
Besides - we get a story about a "Dusty" to replace the aching void left by the Brownie stories we will now have to "foggo". I may not deserve a better Friday than that. *g*
Mary |
03.03.06 - 7:12 pm | #
Even in his condescending apology acceptance speech to Joe there is still an aloof air of disconnection, a reek of deception. Hand picked by Bushco for his resume of past pony pursing, a man incapable of coming clean if it were not to polish his own rep. These guys have a mountain of evil and greed impossible for us to imagine.
ppp |
03.03.06 - 7:15 pm | #
Cozumel --
If it really is Michael Brown, then he's publicly sent the same word-for-word apology to two different people, which hugely devaluates said apology. So we have two possibilities:
1. It really is MB (or his image team) posting on the blogs. In which case they're still incompetent--you have to vary or personalize the apology to avoid sounding like a flack.
2. It's some wagster having fun with us by reposting the apology, this time to Jane.
I think it's case 2, because even Brownie ain't that dumb.
Waiting for Fitz-O |
03.03.06 - 7:16 pm | #
dannyboy you're a damn fool...blaming Carter for today's republican horrors, you've got to be kidding. Whatever Carter's competence or outcome of events in his control and out of his control, Carter is as honest and as ernest as it comes and ever will come.
In terms of personal virtue, Carter is the complete opposite of reagan, bush, and ANY other republican you can name and most democrats including Clinton, who was exceptionally competent politically and many was in wonkery, but also is a shallow and self-centered person.
The core component of success starts with the person. A good person can miss acheiving their goals but is still a good person. Good (honety, integrity) can not create bad, but bad people can fool the ignorant into thinking that good made bad.
That most Americans are shallow dullards that place little or no value on honesty and integrity, instead getting a charge out the thrill of the superficial game of politics and lying, deceptive infotainment, regardless of how many innocent lives are needlessly ruined is what is wrong with America - not anything any honest person did including Carter.
If America was half the country that arrogant self-absorbed Americans think it is, it would honor honesty and integrity such as Carter has above all else. But since honesty and integrity are not even on the American scale of important values, except in the most superficial non-practicing ways, we have the cesspool of repug nation.
.
pluege |
03.03.06 - 7:17 pm | #
"Update: FWIS "Michael Brown" responds in the comments."
Hugh | 03.03.06 - 7:12 pm -- Second, he probably thinks he is still defending the Administration in that insufferable bland way of his.
If he does, you're correct about his mental abilities. Not coming through in such situations isn't just a little mistake.
Meanwhile, I just think of him as a fool.
Cujo359 |
03.03.06 - 7:18 pm | #
I'm rather a little more than surprised that some have forgotten Brown's appearance on inNational Television when he didn't even know there were survivors at the convention center.....I mean, everyone knew it! Where was Brown when the money for the levee was cut off.
I think Brown's wife should further force him to come all the way clean and not half-assed.
Her embarrassment is so much smaller than what those people went through.
And, when asked on Olberman if he would hire Bush, he said yes, of course.
Don't ask yourself how many died the day of the storm.....ask yourselves how many died 5 days after the storm up in their attics while people were not allowed in and fire fighters were turned away and other organizations were not allowed in.....the time to talk was when Brown and Bush were doing the phoo-op in that hangar.......if I remember correctly, the map on the table showed the hurricane map and not an evacuation map. How many days after the storm was the Bush visit and yes, on the table in the hangar, was the Katrina charting map....I mean, WTF? When Prez flew away, the tanks all left. There was no flooding by the convention center. Why doesn't someone ask why people weren't allowed to walk out of town over the bridge? I mean, really, they could not leave on foot from an emergency situation!!!!!
This is all to save face with his family. Until he is ready to really speak out, I am of the opinion that he still owes a lot of explaining. I for one am not ready to give him a free pass.
and view the interactive essay entitled Ghost Town. If you haven't seen it, do not miss it.
Ghost Town
by Thomas Dworzak
Thomas Dworzak’s poignant essay on New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina provides an eyewitness account of one of America’s most horrific natural disasters.
.
ccmask |
03.03.06 - 7:21 pm | #
Mary,
I think the Foggo target is Goss. Foggo is a corrupt incompetent nincompoop and the men and women who are really serious about the security of this country (real patriots regardless how myopic or overzealous?) will not let Goss totally fuck up the company.
Or the country.
immanentize |
03.03.06 - 7:21 pm | #
Waiting for Fitz-O,
All of that's possible. I'm reasonably certain Jane and Redd can see the commenter's email address here. Could someone make one up, for example, michaelbrown@earthlink.com? Sure.
Cozumel |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 7:21 pm | #
PS: Looks like I coined a new term..phoo-op
ccmask |
03.03.06 - 7:22 pm | #
punaise | 03.03.06 - 6:42 pm -- I didn't notice any drooling. I was just wondering why someone would have to be a virgin in order for a rape-induced pregnancy to be life-threatening.
Cujo359 | 03.03.06 - 7:05 pm | #
actually, I'm not alone in that impression:
Yeah, you heard it, I saw it--the man was positively drooling at the vision he was drawing. I wonder if he has daughters or granddaughters who might be just slightly raped and impregnated. Would he feel the same then? And what does sodomy have to do with impregnation, or does Bill Napoli know something I don't?
PA woman | 03.03.06 - 6:49 pm | #
punaise |
03.03.06 - 7:23 pm | #
PS: Looks like I coined a new term..phoo-op
ccmask | 03.03.06 - 7:22 pm | #
Meanwhile, I just think of him as a fool.
Cujo359 | 03.03.06 - 7:18 pm |
Agreed.
pluege | 03.03.06 - 7:17 pm |
Carter is a great man but he was a terrible President. He had no luck at all. In contrast, Reagan despite all his faults was lucky as hell.
Hugh |
03.03.06 - 7:26 pm | #
punaise @ 03.03.06 - 7:23 pm -- actually, I'm not alone in that impression:
Maybe I need a bigger TV :)
I saw PAwoman's post, but you had the quote.
Cujo359 |
03.03.06 - 7:30 pm | #
I believe in redemption
immanentize | 03.03.06 - 6:54 pm
Me too. Real change is very messy, involving moderate Republicans slowly speaking out and government employees very tentatively saying they might have done something wrong. Folks, this IS the face of change. We need to honor it. It's really hard to say you have believed in or done something wrong.
And imman, per earlier thread, please feel free to use the word egregious at will. That is WHY I chose this nom de plume, to get across the idea that the government has crossed a line here.
[well, not -here- at fdl :)]
egregious |
03.03.06 - 7:30 pm | #
By the prickling in my thumbs,
A new thread thread this way comes.
Hugh |
03.03.06 - 7:34 pm | #
I have to give Brown credit for showing a willingness to admit his failure, something nobody else in the Bush government has ever done. You can criticize him for working for the Bush government, or for taking a job he wasn't qualified for. But let's not forget that Brown had to go through a confirmation process, so his lack of qualifications should have been exposed there. As it turns out, our special senator Joe Lieberman was chair of the committee that gave Brown a pass, in what has been dubbed 42 Minutes of Shame. Joe Lieberman failed in his job, failed the victims of Katrina and failed the American People.
puppethead |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 7:36 pm | #
Every chemical laboratory I've ever seen has an emergency eye-wash station. Should anyone suffer an accident with acid or alkali a rescue eye-wash is always nearby.
Michael Brown is rinsing our eyes from the burning chemical assault of a Rovian personal attack launched for the purpose of diverting the Katrina blame away from Chimpy to Brownie, it seems to me, now in retrospect.
We were had bad, folks, once again. And we were all too eager to lay blame on the Rovian selected scape-goat-Brown.
Shame on us.
And now that we've acknowledged that uncomfortable fact, let's resolve not to let it happen again.
I still don't think Mike Brown was the man for the job but after seeing him on the tapes, I gotta say he was a godamn rocket scientist compared to the rest of the Chimps in the Bush League Coconut Tree.
I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment of his recent honesty. I too feel like I owe the guy an apology.
In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is King.
I hope he remains save and sound.
Gentleman Jim |
03.03.06 - 7:37 pm | #
me to me | Homepage | 03.03.06 - 6:09 pm |
Yeah what about those dinner emails? Brownie needs a little down time, & it's really hard to find a restaurant in Baton Rouge & then there's the traffic & he needs time to eat, so could you please not bother him . . .
Even though medical workers are separating the critically ill from the dying and setting the dying aside, because there's no help anymore and there's pee on the floor . . .
Mui |
03.03.06 - 7:38 pm | #
While we're waiting for an explanation about FWIS, I'd just like to say that anyone who calls a report for the Federal Government "The Mitre Report" hasn't been there very long. It's a bit like saying "The Hurricane" - really only meaningful in a narrow context.
Mitre is a non-profit that cranks out reports almost weekly.
Cujo359 |
03.03.06 - 7:38 pm | #
FWIS --
my guess is that the explanation is simply that "s" is really close to "w" on the qwerty board.
immanentize |
03.03.06 - 7:45 pm | #
Well you know, Joe Wilson wrote in his book that he realized he might be in some kind of danger , and decided to remain as high profile as possible. If that is Brown's strategy, I hope it saves him, because he is key.
Mui |
03.03.06 - 7:46 pm | #
OK can we just stop this right now? Michael Brown was the worst administrator in FEMA history Katrina or no Katrina. Read my Kos diary Drag FEMA and DHS Before Congress?--Been There, Done That and get up to speed on the MILLIONS in fraudulent damage claims that Mr. Brown rather happily presided over, most of those claims going to Republican leaning districts in southern states that weren't so much as touched by hurricanes. Lieberman and Collins run the Senate Subcommittee on Homeland Security, and they were WELL aware of the shady dealings over there and the lack of transparancy and candor. For Brown to come around now and claim to be some kind of disaster relief expert who, Cassandra -like, was not listened to, is bogus at best. If he is indeed participating in blog commentary I hope he reads my summary of his apparantly unethical dealings while at FEMA, prior to Katrina, and that he'll see that he attempts to set the record straight.
He should be in pajamas behind bars. He was handpicked to facilitate the displacement of government resources into private pockets. Had his baldfaced incompetence in the storms leading up to Katrina been acknowledged prior to the death of New Orleans , who's to say how many lives might have been spared? He gets no love from me, or as Mel Brooks once stated famously, "that kid gets NO TIP!!"
Mr. Blifil |
03.03.06 - 7:47 pm | #
If true, this will surely please Brown:
"In the aftermath of the public revelation of the presidential "teleconference" and mounting criticism of the performance of Michael Chertoff, Administration sources told HUMAN EVENTS today that the secretary of Homeland Security has "only a few days left" in the Bush Cabinet."
"As one source acquainted with the former federal prosecutor and U.S. appellate judge said under promise of anonymity, "They will give [Chertoff] a little time so it won't hurt his reputation too much, but he's probably got only a few days left."
Mr. Blifil | 03.03.06 - 7:47 pm | #
You're right. And then there were the dinner emails.
Collins & Lieberman again, blech. Grotesque.
Mui |
03.03.06 - 7:53 pm | #
punaise | 03.03.06 - 6:42 pm | #
I agree it was a shameful display but the line he threw out at the end really stunned me - He "didn't think it was to late to turn things back to the way they once were." What is that suppose to mean? That back then religious virgins saving themselves for marriage who were brutally beaten, savagely raped and sodimized were sent away to give birth and return and go bravely on with there lives? This is one sick, sick man without an ounce of empathy.
Rubber Soul |
03.03.06 - 7:54 pm | #
"The CIA Inspector General has opened an investigation into the spy agency's executive director, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, and his connections to two defense contractors accused of bribing a member of Congress and Pentagon officials"
You're doin a heckuva job, Dusty.
George W. Bush |
03.03.06 - 7:57 pm | #
Bill Maher just came on...
talking about Bush's trip landing with darkened windows, saying Osama released a video saying he can run but he can't hide. Also said he will have to fly home the same way.
He was greeted by thousands waving American flags......they were burning, but still!
ccmask |
03.03.06 - 8:13 pm | #
Oh, shoot, Mike Brown is on Maher and four people applauded.....
ccmask |
03.03.06 - 8:14 pm | #
Brown says he's glad the truth is coming out. Maher says he understands not wanting to knock bush because most people who do get killed by Ninja turtles or something. Brown says he saw incompetence......won't knock Bush.
Bill says that Brown was the cronyism posterboy. He admits he got the job because of Joe but also because he was qualified.
Bill says New Orleans looks the same today......Brown says the DHS is too blame.
Me---Brown better watch out for an Arabian horse head in his bed.
ccmask |
03.03.06 - 8:19 pm | #
This is one kiss-and-tell book I would be interested in reading. I'd like to know the history of what went wrong with the Bush admin's PR response after their failure with Katrina became a nightmare for them.
I figured they would offer this deal to Brown: be the fall guy, and we'll make sure that Richard Mellon Scaife or someone takes care of you.
For whatever reason, that didn't happen, and now Bush is fucked.
I'd really like to know what happened here.
tom |
03.03.06 - 8:19 pm | #
Let's keep things in perspective. Brown's not as bad as we thought he was.
That's worth an apology considering that he has taken the brunt of the blame for the whole debacle.
However, "not as bad as we thought he was" does NOT equal good.
Instead of being the devil's spawn who didn't see it coming and didn't care, Brown was in fact the pathetic loser who saw it coming and still couldn't a thing to stop it.
He may not be evil, and we were wrong to think he was, but that doesn't mean we were well served by having Brownie going to bat for us.
Sean |
03.03.06 - 8:43 pm | #
One thing that I remember is Florida, just before the election in 2004. They had multiple hurricanes and w was down there handing out water and ice. The checks were in the mail even to people in places that had no damage. If Brown wants the facts known, I think he should talk about that.
Me Again |
03.03.06 - 8:47 pm | #
When Michael Brown was finally a "civilian" and was free to speak, I could see he was telling the truth. There's just something about a person when they're sincere - they radiate and he certainly did that day. And when these tapes surfaced the other day, I almost did a dance; I at least felt proud - as though Brown was a family member.
I won't be one who's so fast to say he was in over his head. I wasn't there and can't judge. But I've worked for both the government and large corporations and I know if he wasn't getting the support and funds he requested, it must have been a nightmare. If the man realized the situation was going to be so bad months ahead and asked for help in enough time to address these issues, why dump on him because he didn't get the help he needed?
By doing that, you're buying into the Bush/Rove and Chertoff agenda. I applaud Blitzer and Maher for having the decency to allow Brown to tell his side of the story -his credencials, etc.- without attacking him. There's been too much of that on his side.
Janet |
03.03.06 - 9:00 pm | #
Everybody deserves a chance to redeem themselves and start again.
Isn't that the American way?
Republic of Palau |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 9:12 pm | #
Me again: What hurricane are you talking about in Florida? Katrina?
ccmask |
03.03.06 - 9:17 pm | #
Brown is only guilty of accepting a job that was beyond his capabilities. The real sins were committed by the White House. They hired Brown and under-funded FEMA. It was intentional and a set-up. Too bad Brown thinks that Bush is a pal-he ain't.
Bush and his worms keep making the same mistake: You can't lie and expect to get away with it, if even 1 other person knows the truth.
goodasgold |
03.03.06 - 9:19 pm | #
I'm also prepared to give props to Blitzer for having Jeanne Meserve do the questioning, rather than do the Tweety ego-boo thing. Made it much more pointed.
Brown was in over his head, but it's now obvious that he was in a dysfunctional shop. The Peter Principle doesn't negate the idea that you try to be competent when promoted to your level of incompetence.
pseudonymous in nc |
03.03.06 - 9:19 pm | #
If its the one that hit Miami area, they had to give the .gov the $ back right after the ballots were miscounted. And also, Jeb's in charge of the neighborhoods that get the checks. It's the Jebbymandering.
ccmask |
03.03.06 - 9:20 pm | #
What's interesting is that there hasn't been the pushback against Brown that there was against O'Neill, Clarke, et al.
Which might suggest that he's actually being generous to BushCo, by heaping the blame on Skeletor.
pseudonymous in nc |
03.03.06 - 9:22 pm | #
My opinion of Brownie changed when I saw him on that tape saying "this is the big one". I still have issues, but I'd buy him a beer.
johno |
03.03.06 - 9:24 pm | #
"Brown's" letter may have been sent by the new PR firm he hired, which could have told him, apologize & move one...or maybe someone said apologize & here's a 7 figure advance for a book of yr. experiences. We'll supply the ghost writer... Just thinkin'...
EnoughAlready |
03.03.06 - 9:35 pm | #
Michael Brown is okay -- anyone who takes responsibility for their screw ups, and calls on their (still employed) superiors in the Bush administration to resign, has character . . .
For that, Michael Brown deserves our respect . . .
ck |
03.03.06 - 9:59 pm | #
Okay, now we know that Bush was (is) in over his head. Where do we go from here?
Brian Boru |
03.03.06 - 10:03 pm | #
I'm not the first to point this out, but I find it interesting that Mike Brown sent identical apologies to Joe Gandelman and you.
By trade, I'm a press operator, and the print shop I work for does a lot of work for firms based in Washington. We print a great deal of form letters with politicians' and political operatives' "signatures" on them. Tho I doubt many recipients fall for this ploy, these letters are meant to convey the impression that the sender has personally signed the letter. Actually, I'm the one who "signs" them -- one "signer" among thousands.
Granted, my line of work is not the most ethical one. That's my cross to bear. But every letter I write myself is unique, and I sign each and every one -- I don't hire some bullshit firm to stamp my "official" signature to a slew of xeroxed form letters. If Brown is sincere, the least he could do is assume a more active -- and personal -- role in responding to those willing to accept his apology. As things stand, his apology lacks verity...
Mimus Pauly |
Homepage |
03.03.06 - 10:08 pm | #
Come on, people! Has our national attention span reached into the liberal blogosphere as well. Please! That is not an apology letter from Brown. It is almost exactly like the one to the other blogger. Remember way back to that time when we were reading the post? Or do most of y'all just skip the posts and go straight to comments?
Nobody, not even someone as incompetent as Brown would have a form letter that starts off with "I have religiously avoided responding to any of the blogs, but I feel compelled to respond to you..." This is called mim
anon |
03.03.06 - 10:35 pm | #
Jane: Quoting you, "the government...deserve[s] to absorb every bit of scorn that was heaped on Brown at the time." Sorry but, phoenix-like rehab notwithstanding, Brown himself deserves every bit of scorn that was heaped on him. His pathetic resume (which he falsely amplified once again on Maher tonight), his fashion-god priorities, his complete absence of character. Why the stampede (Olbermann, Maher and now you) to recast this third-rate functionary simply because he was videotaped making a few boilerplate statements in a meeting? I'm always with you, but you've lost me on this one.
isabella beam |
03.03.06 - 10:38 pm | #
The selective leak of these videos shows that Brown took his patronage job more seriously than the selective leak of his emails suggested.
Cronies need not be complete idiots.
In the end, we now know that Brown could speak in complete, coherent sentences. So obviously he had no job security in the Bush administration.
ralphbon |
03.03.06 - 10:39 pm | #
Brownie, you've shown yourself to be more of a man than the rest of this administration. Thanks for coming forward.
doug r |
03.03.06 - 10:41 pm | #
Anybody think that, maybe, Mr. Brown has been reading a little vintage Johnny Dean?
Dunno if this has been said, but any tendency to get overly sympathetic to Brown should be tempered by a gentle reminder, such as I saw at Talking Points Memo: that Brown was all too eager to lead the administration's cowardly finger-pointing at the locals. He'd still be stonewalling if they hadn't thrown him over the side.
fourmorewars |
03.03.06 - 11:09 pm | #
Mr. Brown, you are certainly rehabilitated in my eyes.
For a while there I thought you were a moron, because that is the way the media, including the blogs, spun your responsibility.
Please accept my apologies. I have watched you speak for a good 20 minutes now on various TV shows, and I will take my chances on your side in, "M. Brown v. Bureaucracy." I've worked in Corporate Amercia for 21 years.
You're not all the way off the hook, but you've admitted that, too. That makes you a rare political being these days.
What you didn't understand (or are being disengenous about) is that all you had to do was go to the press right away, and they would have defended you from the start.
Just had to weigh in on this one before I retire to bed.
All the comments are great. I think it is very generous of many to give Brown props for coming forward. However, we don't know who actually leaked the video. Perhaps it was someone else with any number of motives. Perhaps Brown is taking this opportunity to put a bright new fancy image on his performance.
Didn't I read that he has recently started a PR company to consult with people on how to manage PR. What better way to get PR credibility than to rehabilitate your image "overnight" on national television. Once he has the cred...well the bucks are going to roll on in. Cha Ching!
Oh and bonus: got to get revenge for being thrown under that bus.
MsAnnaNOLA |
03.04.06 - 1:03 am | #
"Sorry, I feel no admiration for Mr. Brown. FEMA was doomed to failure by the evil cowards now occupying the White House, the scum that he and his fellow Republicans put into office. They all belong in prison, Mr. Brown included. They are destroying America."
Destroying America?????
They have already FUCKING DESTROYED IT!!!!!
Susan |
03.04.06 - 1:06 am | #
I think Mr. Brown is to be respected for stepping up like a man and attempting to take responsibility with some degree of honesty. I hope he will become even more honest and outspoken as a critic. I think this would require becoming more conscious of what the GOP ideology of weak government and "limited social responsibility" actually means in the real world. Therapy might help in all honesty.
I can fully believe that FEMA was destroyed by BushCo and the GOP Congress. I can fully believe that no one--NO ONE--could make FEMA work without Congress and the Executive being on their side. Imagining FEMA as the Titanic--nobody could have saved it once Bush/GOP had rammed it against their ideology. And when all is said and done, power in Washington is very concentrated in a few hands, and I doubt Mr. Brown's was one of them--his power didn't match his responsibilities.
I can also fully believe that Mr. Brown was in a state of near insanity, frustration and panic as the magnitude of the disaster became obvious--and the limits of his power came into focus. Even the crazy dinner/wardrobe e-mails can be read with some sympathy if the context was one of a man drowning in chaos trying to attend to some details: at least he could control his dinner plans and wardrobe, if nothing else. That is desperation personified.
I think Michael Brown has the capacity to be an important figure in American history if he so chooses. It will take serious balls to accept becoming the "face of failure" so that the mistakes will not be repeated, and the public understands what actually happened. It will take much more private honesty about his own participation in a culture of corruption--and greater public honesty to educate the public about how dysfunctional the system truly is.
But if he steps up to the plate, I think his conscience will be rewarded. Does he have much more to lose? Do the right thing, Mr. Brown, do the right thing.
I am also reminded of Arriana Huffington back when she was married to Michael Huffington. She has been on a long road from the GOP to Liberalism. While I once found her repellent, at least she saw the light and then took seriously her responsibility to spread those insights. I truly believe that Michael Brown has that potential.
Tim B. |
03.04.06 - 1:35 am | #
omg, after five years of Bush, is this what it's come to? Have we forgotten that telling the truth and taking responsibility should be the price of admission for public service? While I will give Brown brownie points for not dummying up like a good little patsy, I am getting a tad fed up with all of the thirteenth hour conversions of late. Where was everybody BEFORE everything went all to hell? Powell, Dickerson, WaPo, NYT, on and on. . . being a whistleblower means speaking up when you see wrongdoing first--not after it's plain as day for everyone else to see. If you kept mum till after November 2004, then you didn't help fix things--you helped re-elect Bush.
So, while I will applaud Brown's honesty, forgive me if my ovation is not a standing one.
guy2k |
Homepage |
03.04.06 - 4:08 am | #
I see it as Brown "gave up trying" once he knew BushCo wasn't going to do anything. That makes Brown a quitter as well as incompetent.
Sleestak |
Homepage |
03.04.06 - 4:20 am | #
He's O.K.
Guess playing the scapegoat for preznit did not sit too well.
If Cheney invites him bird hunting, I would not go.
Now you're doing a great job, Brownie!
al |
03.04.06 - 4:31 am | #
I never understood how the Brown who was so praised for his alacrity in handling the 2004 Florida hurricanes could be tranformed over the course of a year into a total fuckup.
bob h |
03.04.06 - 5:45 am | #
The administration's response to Brown, that it was his fault because he didn't stay in channels and talked directly to Bush rather than to Chertoff, is one of the most bizarre "excuses" to hit the trail even in this death march of incompetence and stupidity we're all on.
Beel |
03.04.06 - 6:22 am | #
I was wondering,watching Brown on Real Time last night,if he is the one who had that tape and gave it to the press.Would he have had the means or access to do that?And the press still sat on this tape for too damned long.
I'm glad he's speaking out now,but I don't forgive so easily.This could be a first step towards trying to do the right thing,if it is,then good.If it's just laying the groundwork for a book deal or something of that nature,I'm less than impressed.
Seems to me that Mr Brown's behind needs to be in NOLA helping clean debris and maybe getting Habitat for Humanity(or something like that)down there to rebuild some homes.If I had fucked up that badly,I'd have to do something actually physically helpful(without it being a photo op)to try and right some wrongs.But that's just me.
An Angry Old Broad |
Homepage |
03.04.06 - 6:38 am | #
nothing has changed: Brown was an incompetent crony in a position way beyond his capability. This never made him a malicious person, just a regular old self-centered person lacking in the wisdom necessary to not get into a situation where he could be responsible to cause people harm. There are a lot ignorant egocentric people in the world. For them, and incompetent cronies dangerously occupying responsible positions, Brownie remains the poster boy.
For those who accused Brown of malicious intent, you owe an apology. For those who heap scorn on him for the death and devastation he is responsible for, you should continue to hold him accountable. To get all sentimental because Brown is human and not necessarily the evil bogey man under your bed is ridiculous.
.
gak |
03.04.06 - 6:43 am | #
"Carter is a great man but he was a terrible President. He had no luck at all. In contrast, Reagan despite all his faults was lucky as hell.
Hugh | 03.03.06 - 7:26 pm | "
Carter presided over an oil embargo and a hostage crisis, neither of his making. Until 9/11, the combination of these two events are far and away the most challenging situations any president has faced since the Cuban missile crisis (Vietnam was of our own doing).
Given the malicious politic cudgel and utter human horror that the bushcriminal regime has turned 9/11 into, and that Carter could have done similarly with his challenges, but did not, I'd say Carter was a pretty great president. He did what we would like all presidents to do: try to solve the problems they face honestly to the best of their ability using the considerable resources at their disposal.
That Carter did not win release of the hostages as quickly as we would have liked or miraculously find gasoline where none was available is a pretty poor standard to hold him to. He brought the hostages home alive without invoking a major military event - something you'd be pretty hard pressed to imagine the bushcriminal regime or any republican regime doing. That the rescue operation he ordered failed is not his fault, it was the military's failure. And lets not forget the insidious, traitorous republican reagan administration negotiating with the Iranians to delay until after the election the hostage's release.
Furthermore, let us recall the implementation of CAFE standards and 55 mph speed limits that bought more than a decade of no increase in oil imports. And the strategic oil reserve; and tax breaks for installation of energy conservation devices like home insulation. Compare that to today's tax breaks for SUV purchases, supply-side only approach to further enrich obscenely rich oil barons, and spineless politicians unable to do anything about US oil addiction that has us embroiled in the middle east where we shouldn’t be at all.
yea, Carter was a terrible President alright - maybe you should grow up, and wake up.
.
pluege |
03.04.06 - 7:19 am | #
Thank you Mr. Brown for being honest with us. That's all we ask.
The storm hit, the levees gave way and people died. We might have been more resigned to the fates of those who died if we knew what was really happening. Just remember, it was Bushco that did this to you, not the bloggers.
Welcome to the real world.
Che's Lounge |
03.04.06 - 7:24 am | #
Aside from his role and actions under the FEMA banner, his recent public admissions seem earnest, and jibe with the facts as we know them.
Even assuming the worst motives for Brown himself, this act of contrition will hopefully serve as a soul-cleansing exercise.
Because not only is it a story of public responsibility, it's also a story of personal redemption.
I think we're seeing from Brown how good it feels to tell the truth. He most assuredly sleeps better at night.
MasonMcD |
Homepage |
03.04.06 - 7:28 am | #
Me again: What hurricane are you talking about in Florida? Katrina?
ccmask | 03.03.06 - 9:17 pm | #
ccmask: In 2004, right before the election, Florida was hit by 3 hurricanes. The difference between the FEMA response to Florida and the response to the Katrina disaster is like night and day. w was out in front of the cameras passing out water and ice and lots of sympathy. Immediately, checks were sent to victims and non-victims. When Katrina hit, Bush was running as fast and far as he could from Cindy Sheehan. I'd be willing to bet that she is what he was thinking about while he was being briefed about Katrina. But if Brown handled FEMA response to both states, I'd really like to hear his version of why the disaster in Florida was handled so much better than Katrina. I have my own ideas about this, of course.
Me Again |
03.04.06 - 7:33 am | #
Apparently Patriot Daily (via TalkLeft) did a blog back in September titled: "Chertoff was the official in charge of Katrina crisis since August 27th or 2 days before hurricane hit: Is he now trying to set Brown up as scapegoat?"
Blog says: Brown continued to place calls all week that “state and local authorities were overwhelmed and that the overall response was going badly,” but neither the White House nor Chertoff took any action until Bush visited the area on Friday September 2nd.
I tried to figure out how to add url, but am, I guess, not that savvy.
amber |
03.04.06 - 8:14 am | #
Mr. Brown,
If you are reading this, let me tell you I have been in a position in a software development organization where I had what seemed like a rather crushing responsibility and few resources (of course, no lives were at stake, so it was nothing compared to dealing with Katrina). Management took the view that the software development and test groups were useless and could be outsourced. (Never mind that this was a very complex telecommunictations platform that had millions of lines of code.) Management over-promised on changes to the product, could not deliver, and conveniently scapegoated the development organization (the very people without whom they would be up sh__ creek. ) There are many of us who have this experience but we do not have our reputations destroyed on TV.
Leslie |
03.04.06 - 9:45 am | #
My Pet Scapegoat
George |
Homepage |
03.04.06 - 10:36 am | #
What has Brown really apoligized about? Didn't he claim his biggest mistake was not getting mean enough with local governments?
He now is making claims that I haven't seen verified yet. Let's see his memos complaining about the lack of funding. Publish "the Mitre Report." Where's his memo challenging Chertoff's order to sit his butt down in Baton Rouge.
IIRC, Brown's initial claims were that FEMA wasn't a doer organization, but a coordinating organization. That FEMA wasn't designed to respond any earlier than 72hrs after a disaster. Mr Brown, please tell us what actions you took after calling Katrina possibly "the Big One" two days before it hit.
Brown claims he bypassed Chertoff to talk to the President cause that's the way all FEMA operations worked, tell us, when did you ask Bush for military support and what was his response?
This looks like a PR CYA effort by Brown. "Asked my wife if she remembered a flat topped guy sleeping in bed with us," repeated in every TV appeareance, is just too cute. And too flippant.
fracas_futile |
03.04.06 - 12:19 pm | #
This is an offshoot of the false premise that there exists a “good” conservative. There are none or they would have NEVER supported this bunch of treasonous SOBs. There is no “Good Old Uncle Ernie” the conservative. Uncle Ernie shouldn’t be honored for finally figuring out Bush and all are taking the world to hell. He should be thanked and then told he is in quarantine until after the next few elections until we see how he VOTES.
Not long ago the conservative savior’s propaganda rag, the Washington Times posted an anti-Bush article and the left went nuts with joy. One blogger even used the words “Thank God” in describing an article written in that disgusting rag which has been kicking liberals in the nuts for 20 years. Forget the nausea which comes with thanking “God” for something which comes from Moon, but the idea that the only way we can get our nation back is to have them throw us bone is quite troubling.
When the NYT writes a pro Bush piece the right just laughs says "see we told you so" and hates them more. Ever notice that?
Point is these are all people who, when the 2006 elections and especially ’08 come around, they will jump right back on the theocratic fascist bandwagon like the trained cult they are.
They will throw lipstick on another freak and the cult will be told that he is a “real conservative” not that nasty old imposter Bush – the cult will fall for it and we will find ourselves putting another bullet in the head of our once great nation…
Michael Brown can go to hell.
Passing Through |
Homepage |
03.04.06 - 12:39 pm | #
In this day and age, there is no such thing as a "conservative" or "conservatism" anymore.
They've been taken over by the extremist fringe of the radical right, a group that likes to claim it is "conservative" but wants to destroy all institutions supporting democracy.
Susan Nunes |
Homepage |
03.04.06 - 3:24 pm | #
Micheal Brown says and rightly so that he felt like a wounded solder left behind in the battle field. Could he have then be silenced if BushCo had stood by him? I recall George Tenet, Tommy Franks and Paul Bremmer getting the Presidential medal of freedom even after screw ups, Could this have been an acceptable price for Micheal Brown?...... I guess we will never know - He was left behind.
Sammy |
03.04.06 - 10:27 pm | #
LOL. Grovelling is not pretty, Ms. Hamsher. But then I guess that's part of what makes you a federal prosecutor.
rogilman |
03.05.06 - 7:00 am | #
