National Hurricane Center Director gets letter of reprimand - White House pissed at his complaints

[Herman Munster]

http://www.miamiherald.com/416/story/141783.html

One of his main concerns has been the imminent demise of a key weather satellite called QuikScat, launched in 1999 and long past its designed lifetime. No replacement currently is in development and the loss of QuikScat could diminish the accuracy of some hurricane forecasts by up to 16 percent, Proenza and other experts have said. Glackin's letter, obtained by The Miami Herald, charges that Proenza made statements that ``may have caused some unnecessary confusion about NOAA's ability to accurately predict tropical storms.''

In the letter, Glackin also told Proenza that his actions had been ``requiring me to spend a disproportionate amount of time to correct any confusion; causing undue concern and misunderstanding among your staff; and taking valuable time away from your public role . . ..'' Several forecasters and other staffers at the hurricane center have told The Miami Herald that they fully support Proenza, and his comments have earned compliments from many emergency managers and others.

Proenza said he shared the letter with members of his staff Friday. ''I felt like I could not have any secrets from my staff,'' he said. ``They were simply outraged.'' It was not the first time he has been disciplined since taking over the center.

Proenza said that on April 13, he was told by Louis Uccellini, a high-ranking weather service official: ``You better stop these QuikScat complaints. I'm warning you. You have NOAA, DOC and the White House pissed off.'' Asked about his next move, Proenza said Friday night: ``I'm not going to be silenced. I know my responsibilities and I know what I have to do.''

[whistle]

1. Fuck the White House, this is for the safety and security of Americans

...what bullshit, Bush pisses away $550 billion on his war so his fat oil buddies at ExxonMobile can have a sweetheart deal to steal Iraq's oil and these greedy bastards can't provide a few hundred million dollars to upgrade our weather forecasting capabilities.

[EST]

2. I can only suppose he knows what he is into.

Truth-telling has always been a punishable offense.
And, far too many times throughout history, that punishment has been death for the unfortunate proponent of truth.

[avrdream]

3. "I'm not going to be silenced."

Mate, don't fly in any small planes anytime soon.

[nascar55]

4. Oh no-no

don't worry bout it....we haver it under control.....nothing to see here folks move on. NEXT!!!!!!!!!!!!
When are the leaders in congress going to step up and do something about the incompetency of this administration. Did I spell that right? LOL. Maybe I could get a job in the adm.

[MADem]

5. You better stop these QuikScat complaints. I'm warning you. You have NOAA, DOC and the White House

pissed off!

Well, he can stop now--the Miami Herald, and all of us, will take up the griping FOR him!!!!!

LOUIS UCCELINI...WORST...PERSON....IN THE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. I see now why Bush liked "Good Job Brownie," well, until divine intervention

exposed him for the inept person he was.

I think Bush likes to surround himself by inept people so that nobody upstages him.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

7. Time to bring in a "loyal booshy", presumably a new graduate with no talent... n/t

[tbyg52]

8. They don't care if we get accurate predictions

Another hit like Katrina is just another chance to funnel money into their buddies' pockets, with nothing actually done. And they certainly don't care about the casualties amongst the peons.

[Ford Prefect]

9. That's only HALF the story

Here's the other half: On Friday, June 15, an Atlas rocket was launched from Canaveral AFS, carrying "an intelligence-gathering payload." See yesterday's article from the AP about how that rocket developed technical problems post launch: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20070616-1100-rocketlaunch.html

The article goes on to describe this particular satellite's mission: "the payload will monitor the globe 'for early warning of potential trouble spots, compliance with international agreements of all kinds, and changing environmental conditions.' "

So, if I understand the juxtaposition of these news stories, saving American lives by replacing QuikScat is a much lower priority than jump-starting another cold war, complying with some international treaties (but not others such as the Geneva Conventions), and -- clearly added as an afterthought -- watching the environment change. Because the orbit of this newest spy-in-the-sky is a closely-guarded secret of the National Reconnaissance Office, a division of the Department of Defense, I'm guessing it will be watching North Korea, Iran and our favorite quagmire, Iraq. But I could be wrong: it could be used to monitor potential domestic trouble spots just as easily. Places like Paris Hilton's jail cell, for instance.

Don't you just love the oxymoron "intelligence-gathering" given our current administration?