"Qualifications? We don' got to show you no stinkin' qualifications..."
From David Corn:
"In recent days, there have been calls for firing Michael Brown, the FEMA director--who got his job because he was a college chum of George W. Bush's 2000 campaign manager. ..
Let's consider an obvious comparison: Michael Brown and James Lee Witt, who Bill Clinton appointed head of FEMA.
... before joining FEMA, Brown was a lawyer for the International Arabian Horse Association.*
Before Witt was tapped as FEMA chief, he had served for four years as director of the Arkansas Office of Emergency Services.
Bush placed a crony--Brown was also an attorney for the Oklahoma Republican Party--in charge of FEMA (and permitted the agency's disaster work to be downgraded).
Clinton gave the job to a fellow with years of experience in disaster management and maintained a close connection to Witt and FEMA, which then had Cabinet-level status."
... FEMA's lack of readiness was predicted. By Witt, it turns out. In March 2004, he testified at a hearing conducted by two House subcommittees. The issue at hand was DHS's plan to consolidate--that is, reduce the number of--FEMA's regional and field offices. Witt's comments were all-too perceptive. He practically predicted the mess to come in New Orleans.
Read the rest here.
* He was available for the FEMA job because he'd been asked to resign from the Arabian Horse Association.
"In recent days, there have been calls for firing Michael Brown, the FEMA director--who got his job because he was a college chum of George W. Bush's 2000 campaign manager. ..
Let's consider an obvious comparison: Michael Brown and James Lee Witt, who Bill Clinton appointed head of FEMA.
... before joining FEMA, Brown was a lawyer for the International Arabian Horse Association.*
Before Witt was tapped as FEMA chief, he had served for four years as director of the Arkansas Office of Emergency Services.
Bush placed a crony--Brown was also an attorney for the Oklahoma Republican Party--in charge of FEMA (and permitted the agency's disaster work to be downgraded).
Clinton gave the job to a fellow with years of experience in disaster management and maintained a close connection to Witt and FEMA, which then had Cabinet-level status."
... FEMA's lack of readiness was predicted. By Witt, it turns out. In March 2004, he testified at a hearing conducted by two House subcommittees. The issue at hand was DHS's plan to consolidate--that is, reduce the number of--FEMA's regional and field offices. Witt's comments were all-too perceptive. He practically predicted the mess to come in New Orleans.
Read the rest here.
* He was available for the FEMA job because he'd been asked to resign from the Arabian Horse Association.
posted by Saintperle at
6:18 PM
