OH MY GOD.

[helderheid]

McCain Says He Would Have Responded Differently to Hurricane Katrina

By Elisabeth Bumiller

NEW ORLEANS — ­Senator John McCain took direct aim at the Bush administration on Thursday as he stood in the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, the area hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and declared that “never again will a disaster of this nature be handled in the terrible and disgraceful way that it was handled.’’

Mr. McCain, who was on the fourth day of a tour of America’s “forgotten places” to try to prove that he is a kinder, gentler Republican, ticked off a long list of mistakes: “There was unqualified people in charge, there was a total misreading of the dimensions of the disaster, there was a failure of communications.’’

Asked at an outdoor news conference if he traced the failure of leadership straight to the top, Mr. McCain, who has vowed to campaign with President Bush, said, emphatically, “yes.’’

Before his news conference, Mr. McCain spent about a half hour on a walking tour of rubble and still-dilapidated houses in the Ninth Ward, all recorded by two packed, slow-moving flatbed trucks of reporters and camera crews who rumbled just ahead of the candidate and his wife, Cindy.

At least one citizen was disturbed by all the media attention, particularly by the lack of seats for local citizens at Mr. McCain’s 20-minute news conference. “We need to have an opportunity to have a meaningful dialogue,’’ said Mary Fontenot, who is with All Congregations Together, a church group working to rebuilding New Orleans. “Twenty minutes out on the lawn does not suffice, with a designated seating for traveling journalists.’’

More >>>>

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/mccain-says-he-would-have-responded-differently-to-hurricane-katrina/?hp

The same McCain who was EATING CAKE WITH * WHILE NEW ORLEANS DROWNED!!!!!!





:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

[tekisui]

1. The internets, and internets' memory will befuddle the Old One.

[roguevalley]

8. there is nothing they can do to undo their shame. what a sad thing,

abusing the people and this region once more with their posturing and lies.

[Coexist]

15. well put.

[Patriot Abroad]

109. What? It's just a bunch of tubes!

[Pawel K]

2. What a shameless asshole.

[helderheid]

36. absolutely shameless.

[uponit7771]

3. Let McSame keep talking, he looks more like an out of touch ass than anyone could make him out to be

[LakeSamish706]

4. Yep, two low life's pictured together.... Whoever the Democratic nominee is...

I sure hope they will dredge some of this stuff up when the time is right.

[AtomicKitten]

5. Speaking of cake, eviscerating these a-holes on their crap governing will be a piece of cake.

[LSparkle]

6. That's fodder for a 527 ad if ever there was ...

Split screen ... What he SAYS he would have done with what HE DID.

And this isn't the first time Grampy has FLIP-FLOPPED on supporting
RatBastard. Paint him as the two-faced fraud he is.

[helderheid]

10. Send it to Move On!

[redqueen]

11. Thank goodness for MoveOn!

:bounce:

[helderheid]

22. I just dropped them a note

[greiner3]

102. Careful;

They support Obama! :rofl:

[LSK]

13. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE USE THIS!!!

[Leopolds Ghost]

80. If there's no 527 ad for Hagee, why would there be for this?

:shrug:

It seems to me that the fix is in for this election. Just look at how the media continues to hammer on Wright.

i just found out today that my own mother, a white, upper-middle class very highly educated former researcher, has NO IDEA who Hagee is and wasn't competely sold on his relevance when I had to direct her personally to the Youtube vid... other than him being "another one of these crazy religious figures like Wright." And she is an Obama fan who dislikes Clinton!!! The media isn't just at fault -- you guys (blogosphere Dems) have internalized the style of campaigning you continue to blame Kerry and Gore for, when it is in fact a systemic weakness of party elites who don't seem to know how to cope with fighting and going on the offensive to defend the working man. Tweety is apparently right.

[Emit]

7. We should all spread that photo of him and Bush eating cake far and wide!

Now is the time to get on this -- and the accompanying story of the two celebrating while NO drowned.

I for one am sending a copy of your post to all my relatives and friends in NO and Houston.

[livetohike]

9. Thanks helderheid!! Now we need to see this picture on MSM

Let it run while talking about McCain's visit to N.O.

[TomInTib]

12. Wanta see just how much he effing cares?

Besides today's article in the NYTimes, everything else is about McCain, Haggis, and Haggis' comments on Katrina....

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22%22senator+john+mccain%22%2C%22hurricane+katrina%22%22&btnG=Google+Search

[LSK]

14. SEND THIS TO KEITH!!!!

[e-mail]

[helderheid]

21. Sent!

[hisownpetard]

29. Thanks for doing that, helderheid.

:hi:

[FlyingSquirrel]

16. Let them eat cake!!!

Great photo. Perfect.

[helderheid]

26. Exactly!

[progressoid]

17. Meanwhile, America discusses American Idol and the Miley Cyrus memoir.

K/R

[helderheid]

27. Thank God for the Internets.

[Window]

18. K/R.

:kick:

[rox63]

19. I see a great anti-McCain ad here

What was Senator McCain doing while New Orleans drowned? Having birthday cake with Bush. Cue images here...

[hisownpetard]

30. McCain himself is the best anti-McCain ad I can think of!

[Jackpine Radical]

108. ...Let them eat cake.

Marie Antoinette rides again.

[newmajority]

20. Goddamn it, this is EXACTLY why Hillary needs to go fuck herself.

Her insistence on dividing this party is what allows Grandpa McLoony to peddle his lies, unchallenged, in the whore media.

Obama needs to nail his ass on this kind of bullshit, bigtime, without any interference from the DLC corporatist clowns.

[Weevlitz]

23. Amen!

[helderheid]

24. Any chance we can get as many (if not more) recs on this one as the other really popular thread?

[hisownpetard]

28. K&R. This just proves they can have their yellowcake and eat it, too.

Hope they both choke on it.

[helderheid]

69. Not even close

[Kurovski]

25. K&R. (nt)

[liberaldem4ever]

31. I hope this gets MSM recognition

He must have been having another "Senior Moment" again. How insulting to New Orleans and the people who suffered so much for him to say that now when he did nothing but eat cake and laugh with Bush while they suffered. Rat bastard! :mad:

[helderheid]

32. Well, let's atleast make sure it has legs on the internet!

[Ian David]

33. It's RAINING, McCain!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3202454&mesg_id=3202463

[helderheid]

34. Oh THANK YOU

[GeorgeGist]

35. Given the nature of the american nation ...

is it really a surprise that it's next president will be a conceited fool?; NO MATTER WHO WINS.

[Uncle Joe]

37. Do we have any photos of what a real President would be doing during a catastrophe such as this?

Thanks for the thread, helderheid.

[helderheid]

39. No photos, but check THIS out

http://thinkonthesethings.wordpress.com/2007/08/29/when-the-cameras-are-off-barack-obamas-hurricane-katrina-record/

When The Cameras Are Off: Barack Obama’s Hurricane Katrina Record

It is nice that everyone is giving speeches and putting out ten-point plans to commemorate Hurricane Katrina. However, I’m more interested in knowing what people have been doing when the cameras were off. What is your record on this issue?

Here is Barack Obama’s record on rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.

* Sept. 2, 2005: Obama holds press conference urging Illinoisans to contribute to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
* Sept. 5, 2005: Obama goes to Houston to visit evacuees with Presidents Clinton and Bush.
* Sept. 7, 2005: Obama introduces bill to create a national emergency family locator system
* Sept. 8, 2005: Obama introduces bill to create a National Emergency Volunteers Corps.
* Sept. 8, 2005: Obama co-sponsors the Katrina Emergency Relief Act of 2005 introduced by Senator Harry Reid
* Sept. 8, 2005: Obama co-sponsors the Hurricane Katrina Bankruptcy Relief and Community Protection Act of 2005 introduced by Senator Russ Feingold
* Sept. 12, 2005: Obama introduces legislation requiring states to create an emergency evacuation plan for society’s most vulnerable
* Sept. 15, 2005: Obama issues public response to President Bush’s speech about Gulf Coast rebuilding.
* Sept. 21, 2005: Obama co-sponsors bill to establish a Katrina commission to investigate response to the disaster introduced by Hillary Clinton
* Sept. 21, 2005: Obama appears on NPR to discuss the role of poverty in Hurricane Katrina.
* Sept. 22, 2005: Obama and Coburn’s Hurricane Katrina financial oversight bill unanimously passes Senate committee.
* Sept. 22, 2005: Obama’s amendment requiring evacuation plans unanimously passes Senate committee.
* Sept. 28, 2005: Obama and Coburn issue statement about the need for a Chief Financial Officer to oversee the financial mismanagement and suspicious contracts occurring in the reconstruction process
* Sept. 29, 2005: Obama and Coburn investigate possible FEMA refusal of free cruise ship offer
* Oct. 6, 2005: Obama and Coburn issue statement on FEMA Decision to re-bid Katrina contracts
* Oct. 6, 2005: Obama co-sponsors Gulf Coast Infrastructure Redevelopment and Recovery Act of 2005.
* Oct. 21, 2005: Obama releases statement decrying the extension of FEMA director, Michael “Brownie” Brown’s contract. Obama calls Brown’s contract extension, “unconscionable.”
* Nov. 17, 2005: Obama and Coburn introduce legislation asking FEMA to immediately re-bid all Katrina reconstruction contracts.
* Feb. 1, 2006: Obama gives Senate floor speech on his legislation to help children affected by Hurricane Katrina
* Feb. 2, 2006: Obama introduces legislation to help low-income children affected by Hurricane Katrina
* Feb. 23, 2006: Obama issues statement responding to a White House report on Hurricane Katrina. Obama noted that the top two recommendations that the report had for the federal government were initiatives he had been working on since immediately after the storm hit. Obama called the administration’s response “delinquent.”
* May 2, 2006: Obama gives speech about no-bid contracts in Hurricane Katrina reconstruction
* May 4, 2006: Obama’s legislation to end no-bid contracts for Hurricane Katrina reconstruction passed the Senate.
* June 15, 2006: Obama and Coburn announce legislation to require amendment to create competitive bidding for Hurricane Katrina reconstruction for federal contracts over $500,000. Although it passed previously, the language was stripped in conference.
* June 15, 2006: Obama releases podcast about his pending Katrina reconstruction legislation in the Senate.
* June 16, 2006: Obama and Coburn get no-bid Hurricane Katrina reconstruction amendment into Department of Defense authorization bill.
* July 14, 2006: Obama and Coburn’s legislation to end abuse of no-bid contracts passes senate as amendment to Department of Defense authorization bill.
* August 11, 2006: Obama visits Xavier University in New Orleans to give Commencement address
* August 14, 2006: Obama and Coburn ask FEMA to address ballooning no-bid contracts for Gulf Coast reconstruction
* Sept. 29, 2006: Obama and Coburn legislation to prevent abuse of no-bid contracts in the wake of disaster passes Senate to be sent to President’s desk to become law.
* Feb. 2007-Present: As Obama begins his Presidential campaign he references Katrina as a part of his stump speech as he travels around the country in his familiar line, “That we are not a country which preaches compassion and justice to others while we allow bodies to float down the streets of a major American city. That is not who we are.”
* June 20, 2007: Obama co-sponsors Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007 introduced by Senator Chris Dodd.
* July 27, 2007: Obama and colleagues get a measure in the Homeland Security bill that will investigate FEMA trailers that may contain the toxic chemical, formaldehyde.
* Aug. 26, 2007: Obama outlines a detailed Hurricane Katrina recovery plan.
* December 18, 2007: Obama calls on President Bush to protect affordable housing in New Orleans
* February 16, 2008: Obama releases statement on toxic Gulf Coast trailers

[Uncle Joe]

43. Most impressive, thanks for the list and link, helderheid.

:thumbsup:

[helderheid]

75. would be great in an anti mcinsane ad , no?

[Uncle Joe]

100. No, I mean yes

:)

[helderheid]

115. :)

[bdamomma]

99. that detailed list should go to those who question

what has Obama done.

[Born_A_Truman]

38. The cake photo

was on the Whitehouse web site in the August 2005 archives. Yep, we know how concerned McCain was while Katrina was bringing death and destruction to the gulf coast.

[helderheid]

42. Hubris.

[Born_A_Truman]

40. Another one

President George W. Bush and Laura Bush are greeted by Arizona Senator John McCain after arriving Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, at Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix. The President later addressed 400 guests at the Pueblo El Mirage RV Resort and Country Club, highlighting benefits of the new Medicare Prescription Drug coverage. White House photo by Paul Morse

[helderheid]

41. God, that picture is DRIPPING with concern!!

:sarcasm:

[Born_A_Truman]

47. No words...

[helderheid]

54. All that rage from that time is burning in me again.

[Kajsa]

91. This would make a great ad!

Caption,

Where was our "president" ?

There are no words to describe this---

:(

[midnight]

107. You are forgetting the second part. It would then have to include

where was the future president of this country? The presidential candidate that says he would of done things differently?

[Kajsa]

120. Right you are!

n/t

[guyanakoolaid]

83. I think the lady in green is pointing to McCain as if saying "He baked it."

I bet he was up all night after punching through the first cake when he messed up on the icing.

:rofl:

[SalmonChantedEvening]

44. Yeah, next time it'll be his birthday and someone else will make the cake.

Lying sack of republican.

Hiya helderheid

:hug: :loveya:

[helderheid]

51. Hey you!

:hug: and :loveya: BACKATCHA!!

[SalmonChantedEvening]

55. Sitting down to play

YouTube behind me, and I owe smokey_nj a playing of Freebird.

But I think I'm gonna warm up to some Shining Star :evilgrin:

[helderheid]

59. :D

:yourock:

[renate]

92. OMG I love it!

"Lying sack of republican"

:rofl:

[AzDar]

45. He is a loathsome reptile.

:puke:

[Alexander]

46. This should be THE question against McCain in 2008.

"Senator McCain, you vowed 'never again' would the horrible mismanagement of Hurricane Katrina be repeated. Why didn't you do something differently then, besides having a birthday cake on an airport tarmac?"

Seriously, who has a birthday celebration at an airport, anyway?

:rofl:

[windbreeze]

48. is there any doubt now that there is something wrong with his brain???

I find this unbelievable..or should I say, totally believable...he might want to be careful about pissing * off...wb

[CK dexter]

49. And doesn't regret endorsements from preachers who say God took out N.O.

[KamaAina]

56. Regret, hell. He actively sought Hagee's endorsement.

That a political candidate should actively seek the endorsement of any preacher alone should give one pause. But that McClown chose a knuckle-dragger like Hagee, whose god apparently has no problem with drowning thousands of (mostly straight) people because a gay party (not "rally") was coming up, well...

:banghead: :nuke:

[BayjanDem]

50. I believe him...

I also had to file a restraining order against Alicia Keys for stalking me, and Warren Buffett calls me for financial advice.

[helderheid]

52. Please keep this kick. I am so curious if KO will report on this tonight

[LiberalLovinLug]

53. Don't forget Kindasleezy Rice

and her important shoe hunt.

[helderheid]

57. That's RIGHT!

Criminals.

[KamaAina]

62. Maybe she wanted to join the Krewe of Muses

One of the newer parading krewes at Mardi Gras is the all-female Krewe of Muses. Their signature throws (well, drops) are -- you guessed it -- shoes, each hand-decorated by the individual members. Condi would've been a perfect "fit"! :sarcasm:

[helderheid]

58. kick

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

60. what, would he have had chocolate cake instead?

this is so close to "let them eat cake", that its horrific.

[helderheid]

61. My jaw dropped when I saw that headline today. I was flabbergasted.

[helderheid]

63. Not on KO :(

[garthranzz]

64. THAT'S MY CITY!!! DAMN HYPOCRITES!

McCain - forget it, I won't say it.

[helderheid]

65. I'm so sorry

:cry:

[Kajsa]

90. Shows how much he REALLY cared, doesn't it?

for that matter- BOTH of them! :(

I'm so sorry, garthranzz!

:cry:

[LaStrega]

66. k&r n/t

[KingFlorez]

67. Right, sure he would have

This man will say anything, because he knows he doesn't have prayer of winning in November.

[GetTheRightVote]

68. it was party due to racism that the response was not more from the locals

After listening to my co-worders go on and on about the dirty, ugly, crime ridden streets of NOand the type of people ( I will not use their words describing them here ) I just had to jump into my truck, drove down to NO and when we got close enough filled it with supplies, I had to sneak into the area beyond the National Guard who were letting no one in ( a kind local police officer allowed me in ) and then drove thru an area that looked like a war zone to leave the supplies with churches and the police to pass out.

I made several trips and it was so difficult to gas up to keep going back and living with the fear of running out of it, gas, and being stopped in the middle of no where. The lines I sat in until I got my 20 gallons that were ration to us while listening to the radio which was our only form of communication to the outside world. We had no cell phones, no ATM's, no food or water for miles and miles around,k no nothing but the voices coming over the wires.

Only to reach other areas which were very normal in their daily activities and appeared to have not notice that NO was in a very sorry state of affairs. I cry every time I think of it again, relive the little part I played and experienced and I can only imaged the suffering of those who lived and dead thru the event of those days. I saw truck after truck, car after car, vehicle after vehicle with no supplies which were allowed in due to them being residences of the area near NO.

Those days I learned of the good and bad in this country, of the right and wrong actions of so many Americans. I will never forget my reaction to these people who would not or did not reach out in some way for their close neighbors in end. I too do not wish to see NO Katrina used for political appeals for selfish purposes. This event holds to many memories, to many miseries but also to many true acts of heroes, real everyday heroes for them to by used by those who were not there, who did not answer the call of mercy.

They were not there on the dirt so they do not deserve to speak of it as if they were.

[Jamastiene]

70. So, Democrats are running against Democrats and

Republicans are running against lame duck "your two terms are up, Chimpy" Republicans. McCain seems confused. Bush is not even running.

Still, McCain can claim all the bullshit he wants. He's still a stinky Republican who did NOTHING to help those people who were in agony and dying. Who the hell does he think he is fooling?

[helderheid]

71. k

[quantass]

72. Of course McLame will say that...he's running for President --say the opposite to Bush

to win votes is always the best stratgey regardless of repeating the same old when in the office

[lastliberalintexas]

73. What a creep

They really do think that people are stupid. (I won't get into a discussion of whether they actually are for now.)


And I love that we have a thread on DU which attacks republicans! Yay. :)

[helderheid]

74. 2008 recommends

[varelse]

76. Straight Talk Express, indeed

derailed by pictures worth more than all the words he will ever say.

[helderheid]

77. 2008 recs

[concerned canadian]

78. ""never again will a disaster of this nature be handled

in the terrible and disgraceful way it was handled".

So he admits that the RESPONSE to the human disaster was disgraceful (the disaster was terrible, the absence of caring

appalling). How could they smile and do a photo op of an extremely tacky birthday celebration at that time??? So that 3

years later, the evidence is in.

[cboy4]

79. He's such a liar

:puke:

[davidpdx]

81. A kinder gentler Republican

isn't that the same shit people bought in 2000?

The Democrats need to start running ads to set the record straight on McCain's statements about Katrina.

Here's what I imagine:

Voice over: "Where was John McCain when Katrina hit?" (image of McCain and then of the floods)
"He was with George Bush. People starving, dying and neighborhoods flooded" (image of GW and McCain and then images of dead bodies and people begging for help)
"Do you really believe John McCain is a compassionate Republican" (back to image of McCain)

[jonnyra]

84. Yep...same shit david...

That was my thought..."oh shit here comes the compassionate conservative bullshit that was so effective in brainwashin' dumb fuck Americans in 2000." Watch it work again as the fascist media spins it perfectly. God I hate what this nation has become...so fucking shameful.

[TragedyandHope]

82. America, Open Your Eyes

and ears. Don't even consider this McSame BS.

[Perry Logan]

85. He's already running against Bush. How embarrassing for the Republicans.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

86. Well presented.

K & R & x(

[electropop]

87. He has handed us another perfect TV commercial.

What a fool.

[helderheid]

88. absolutely - I hope MoveOn pounces

[SwampG8r]

89. as a baker

that cake offends me
it looks like it has a low spot

[Sentath]

94. Hmm, looking at the pics again

I'd say that was just the decorative edge sliding down the side.

Otoh it does look like the whole thing it thicker on one side than the other...

[SwampG8r]

118. the piping is not

supposed to migrate
friggin amatuers

[Norrin Radd]

93. kr

[applegrove]

95. Thank god for the cake picture. Hope most Americans have seen it.

[JBShakes]

96. A simple request.

Everyone:

Obama supporters, and Clinton supporters..."kool-aid drinkers", "Clintonistas", and all the rest...

Take a look at these pictures.
Burn them into your brain.

REMEMBER THEM the next time you start threatening to "vote for the other guy" or "sit this one out" if your preferred candidate is not the Democratic nominee.
REMEMBER THEM the next time you start calling names.
REMEMBER THEM the next time you make broad generalizations about the supporters on the other side.
REMEMBER THEM the next time you put your personal preference for one candidate over doing what's right for this country.

Because THIS is what's at stake.
Because THIS is the alternative to not getting one of the two candidates we're fighting like idiot schoolchildren over EVERY SINGLE DAY elected come November.

We are blessed to have two very good candidates on our side - and as far as I can see, we're pissing it away right now.

So remember what's at stake.

[Kool Kitty]

98. I wish I could recommend a post instead of a thread.

This would make a great thread. Bravo! :applause: I could not agree more. And welcome to DU!

[JBShakes]

106. THX...

Just tired of the nonsense. I think we've all been getting bashed by the 'Pubs for so long that we jumped the gun in getting nasty.

SAVE IT FOR THE GENERAL!!

[Born_A_Truman]

111. Must.Vote.Democratic.

Life depends on it.

[Major Hogwash]

97. The cake was made by FEMA, it's already falling apart!

Did you notice in the first 2 pictures that the side of the cake is already falling off of the cake before they cut it?

Probably tasted like shit, too.

I hope they both had 2 big pieces.

LoL

[DaveJ]

116. Even more interesting, I think it was made that way!

The sides taper down on the side but it doesn't look like they broke off. It looks like the cake was made to look like a levy actually designed to flood out its people, while those two are giggling like schoolgirls.

[jeff30997]

101. That cake picture was screaming for Photoshoping:

[ladywnch]

103. and that quote with these pics needs to be run heavily during the GE

along with his several other flip flops and his wage discrimination against women vote. Show him for what he is..

a senile, dottering, flip-flopping hack who needs LIEberman to keep his message straight and correct him every 5 minutes.

[wryter2000]

104. OMG is right

I'd forgotten about that.

I swear, whoever our candidate is ought to be able to knock this bastard on his ass.

[Dyllyn]

105. F*CK YOU MCCAIN

YOU didn't do anything ..........Woulda shoulda ...........The Repukes are too busy looking for new countries to attack and remain in for 50,000 years

[Daphne08]

110. McCain's words and the "Let them eat cake" with photo

would make a great ad after Obama becomes the nominee.

[EFerrari]

112. Put that "reporter's" name in your back pocket.

She's a big shill.

[crimsonblue]

113. McDumbfuck voted to confirm Brown?

Brown was elected via voice vote in the Senate, meaning that there was NO serious opposition to Brown's nomination. As we all know, before he was letting black people die, Brown was involved with the Horse racing and breeding circuit.. Oh, not to mention, JOE LIEBERMAN was (and is still) chairman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs (which does the preliminary hearings for presidential nominations) and gave Brown a rousing endorsement.
I quote:

Chairman Lieberman. I appreciate that, obviously, from the
point of view of Connecticut (talking about evacuation plans for a NY nuke power plant).
I am not asking for what your
response will be, but do you have any sense of how you will
handle this petition from New York about a review of the Indian
Point plant?

Mr. Brown. In all honesty, I do not. I just received it
yesterday----

Chairman Lieberman. You did?

Mr. Brown (continuing). When I got back into the States and
I just looked at it for the first time yesterday.

Chairman Lieberman. Understood. We will continue to want to
be in dialogue with you on this, as well, and I appreciate the
commitment that you made to be involved in ongoing review of
these plans because it is obviously critical.
--------------------------------------------

Let me get this straight, Brown does jack shit except cram at the very last minute (not unlike an irresponsible college student-- no offense fellow collegians) and Joe decides to bend over for Brown? You can mark this down as the moment of Lieberman's abandonment of democracy.

What can Brown do for you?

[crimsonblue]

114. I have some doozies of quotes from Brown...

Sen Bennett:The concern I have with respect to the creation of this new de-
partment is what happens to your other missions. FEMA has mis-
sions other than security missions. If the primary focus of the new
department is homeland security and that becomes the primary
focus of FEMA, what happens to your other responses in situations
that have nothing to do with homeland security and homeland de-
fense? Have you given any thought to that as you have looked to
your new home?

Mr. BROWN. I have given considerable thought to it, Senator, and
I am honestly convinced that it really has no detrimental effect to
our all-hazards approach that we currently have.I sincerely believe
it will enhance our ability to convince all of our partners, State,
local, and Federal partners, that the whole concept of having an
all-hazards approach is the best way to secure the homeland.
If we are prepared against, and again, I give the example, an-
other example of the all-hazards approach is if we are prepared for
responding to the breaking of a dam, regardless of the cause of the
breaking of that dam, we have secured the homeland. If we are
prepared to respond to wildfires occurring in Colorado, then we
have secured the homeland regardless of the cause of those
wildfires.


Here's Brown arrogantly claiming that the transition to DHS will not impede FEMA at all:

Senator BENNETT. The reason for my concern, and the Chairman
has heard me on this subject before, I was present at the creation
of the Department of Transportation, where we did pretty much
the same thing, brought a number of agencies in from a number
of different places, and frankly, the Department did not function
for years as it should have functioned because the Coast Guard and
the FAA and the Urban Mass Transit Administration and the high-
way people all had very different cultures and different attitudes
and they were not used to thinking in terms of a single Depart-
ment focused on transportation and it took years for the cultures
to change.
I am concerned about that happening here. I am delighted with
your answer, which does demonstrate that you have given some
thought to it, and my only counsel to you is continue to look in that
direction because putting together this new department is going to
be very difficult.
Mr. BROWN. If I can be so bold as to offer a little further insight
into my thinking, FEMA is in essence being taken lock, stock, and
barrel and placed into the new organization, and I think because,
again—I know I am repeating myself—but because of our partner-
ship relationships, it is my belief that our culture, building partner-
ships and working together, will probably, in my way of thinking,
permeate the new organization.
Senator BENNETT. Well, let us hope.

source: Senate Hearing 107–616

[Historic NY]

117. That means he would have had his cake after seeing all.......

them poor black folks begging for food and help.

[Major Hogwash]

119. Thanks helderheid. This was on Olbermann's program last night!! Woo-hoo!

It was McCain's birthday. I guess that was more important than Bush going to New Orleans to see how bad things really were there.