So, how did "Brownie" do?

[CatWoman]

what do you guys think?

I must admit that I missed most of it.

[savemefromdumbya]

1. saw a couple of minutes of it

He seemed to be blaming Homeland security's red tape

[eve_was_framed]

2. it's HLS's fault...question...

why do they swear in the people testifying for this hearing but wouldn't for the hearing on illegal wire tapping?

[Canuckistanian]

7. Brown's on the outside now, a private citizen

There's no use sucking up to him.

[gimama]

10. it's a secret

[Just Me]

3. I was pretty impressed. He separated out his responsibility,...

,...from Chertoff's and the administration, pretty well. He also didn't stand down when that asshole, Coleman, went after him.

From a 1 to 10, I'd rate his testimony a 7.5

[0007]

4. I thought he did a good job. Much different from the last time

he was put on the spot. I think he was honest and sincere.

Michael Brown's Katrina Story: Do you believe him? * 6303 responses
Yes
64%

No
36%

:hi:

Vote here

[FreedomAngel82]

5. Perhaps he's just really pissed off and now trying

to do some damage. Anyway I hope he was honest and telling the truth.

[eek]

8. I missed everthing. My big question is:

What is the sub rosa strategery here?
I just assume that letting Brownie get so much attention and to speak so bluntly that this must be just another Rathergate thingie.

What do y'all think kkarl really intends by allowing this testimony?

[Atman]

9. Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.

He knows he's in the crosshairs. This was his last chance to salvage his "good" name. I liked how he snarked on Bush for calling him "Brownie." "Thanks alot, Mr. Bush." LOL!

[0007]

14. Caught that one and did a chuckle, cuz I'm more than sure

junior or Karl is paying attention this morning.

[lapfog_1]

6. I wonder if they (the repukes) understand...

The repukes on the committee are trying like hell to make Brown look like it was all his fault...

But I wonder if they understand something... If Brown was the complete incompetent that would absolve the white house (and bush) from responsibility for the failed response, they WHY was Brown put into that position in the first place, and why did Bush tell the world that "you are doin a hack of a job, Brownie" days after it was evident to anyone with at least two neurons and a TV set that FEMA (and the Feds) had failed to do anything like "a heck of a job".

So, either the White House screwed up because Brown was asking for all kinds of help and not getting it (Bush's fault).
OR
The White House screwed up because Brown was such a obvious wrong choice for the job
OR
Both.

Some Dem or other (plus OUR radio talking heads, and/or TDS or KO) have got to make this point clear. No matter how you slice this one up...bushco screwed the pooch.

[watercolors]

11. Qutie impressed by him

I certainly saw a different persona, I belive he was honest and put his case well before the committee. It was a royal FU by homeland security!

[TahitiNut]

12. Interestingly. Here're my observations ...

(1) Brownie is clearly NOT qualified in organization or strategy.

(2) Brownie clearly has very limited operational skills.

(3) The comprehension and resolution of exactly WHO has responsibility for WHAT is abysmally incomplete - deliberately vague for CYA purposes. IOW, they're PREPARED FOR FAILURE ... and the inevitable blame-mongering that follows.

(4) Authority does not match responsibility. It is a fundamanetal requirement that authority exists in the same degree and at the same level as the responsibility that necessitates it. Authority is not gratis - it's only granted to the degree needed to fulfill responsibilities. When responsibility is delegated and authority withheld, we've got autocracy, not just bureaucracy. An autocratic bureaucracy is the worst kind of bureaucracy - it's one which is designed to serve the goals of bossism, not chartered roles.

(5) The primary reason there's a Federal level of disaster preparation, mitigation, and response is because a disaster - by definition - incapacitates the local level of operational response, and overwhelms the state level.

(6) The secondary reason there's a Federal level of disaster preparation, mitigation, and response is because it makes sense to have a nationally shared "excess capacity" for disaster recovery instead of isolated and replicated "excess capacity" at all state and local levels.

(7) Neither (5) nor (6) are reason nor rationale for depriving the local and federal officials of the management authority regarding disaster preparation, mitigation, and recovery. While those officials are deprived of the operational capacity by the very disaster being addressed, they DO NOT lose political authority or expertise in the needs and logistics of the area. This has been the major issue in responding to Katrina because, at the federal level, their PRIMARY GOAL was gaining AUTHORITY, not actually responding.

(8) Because of the above, Brownie is merely a visible symptom and fall-guy ... NOT THE PROBLEM ITSELF!

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

15. "Authority does not match responsibility". Agree-this is why I say that,

in the case of Katrina, "the thing speaks for itself" ("Res ipsa loquitur" the Latin legal expression).

In other words, they can blame Nagin, Blanco, Clinton, Brownie, and every Dem that ever existed.

But even the most ardent shrub-bot knows, in his heart of hearts, whether he admits it even to himself, that the federal government has the biggest responsibility when something like the destruction of a major American city is the occurrence.

What if it was a nuclear or other terrorist attack, with the same number of people killed and property destroyed? Also not their fault? More Nagin flooded schoolbus photos on Drudge?

[TahitiNut]

16. It's tragic that we lose sight of the REASON for granting any authority.

There is one and only one legitimate reason for granting anyone authority - it's a necessary tool for carrying out a responsibility. It's NOT a perquisite! Parents often lose sight of this, thinking that it's some "natural" entitlement (or "right"). It's not. Parents have a duty, not a 'right,' to nurture and care for their children until those children are increasingly able to take custody of their own rights and liberties. In order to fulfill that duty to their children, parents are granted limited authority over the behavior (and freedoms) of those children ... only to the degree necessary and no more.

Likewise, government officials are granted/delegated certain authority solely to the degree necessary to fulfill their duties and responsibilities. When, in any organization, senior officials delegate the responsibilities and withhold the authority, then they're tacitly committing a fraud - assuring that the responsibilities will not and cannot be met. This is the Bush/Cheney administration in spades. Authority is coveted and responsibility is abdicated.

[Dunvegan]

13. I voted, and then it kicked me to a response form...

So I wrote a response:

The story of Katrina rolled out before all of us in the national news. I watched news and checked NOAA warnings for days before Katrina landfall, and day and night afterwards.

It was obvious prior to landfall that the NWS/NOAA warnings were the most profound ever to be released by that agency. Quoting from NWS Hurricane Advisory Number 24 or Sunday, August 28th, 2005, 4 p.m. CDT:

"POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC HURRICANE KATRINA HEADED FOR THE NORTHERN GULF COAST. KATRINA IS EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL AT CATEGORY FOUR OR FIVE INTENSITY. COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 18 TO 22 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS...LOCALLY AS HIGH AS 28 FEET. SOME LEVEES IN THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS AREA COULD BE OVERTOPPED."

Everyone in government should have that information in hand. Everyone. And I believe that they did.

If blame runs downhill, responsibility runs uphill.

The Chief Executive is called that because, ultimately, he must be in charge and capable of measured response or even intervention in the case of a national emergency. Everyone below the executive yields to that authority, and there are times that authority is required for the good of the nation.

Although Brown was head of FEMA, as Sen. Akaka said in reference to the sign that Harry Truman had on his desk, "The Buck Stops Here."

Someone should find that noble plaque, dust it off, and place it back in it's place in the Oval Office.

[dweller]

17. nice reply

:kick:

dp