Michael Brown Leaving Town

[ka5s]

The Associated Press article (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1155&slug=Katrina%20Brown) in the Seattle Post Intelligencer says:

Embattled FEMA Director Mike Brown resigns

excerpt:
Federal Emergency Management Agency director Mike Brown said Monday he has resigned "in the best interest of the agency and best interest of the president..."

Will this help anything? Anyone? Now? Next November?


Cortland
KA5S

[K6BBC]

That's too bad. #He will be missed -- like the flu. #I guess he is in line for a medal now.

[n8yx]

Quote[/b] (ka5s @ Sep. 12 2005,12:51)]Embattled FEMA Director Mike Brown resigns
Buh-bye...

[WA5KRP]

As FEMA's actions are reviewed, we'll find out if Brown deserved to fall on his sword. Yes or no, he had been neutored and could in no way be effective as director. He had to go, voluntarily or otherwise.


WA5KRP
Texas

[w0aew]

I smell another Medal of Freedom on its way.

[KC9ECI]

And this is a surprise? He should have been canned before being allowed to resign.

[al2i]

Quote[/b] (WA5OES @ Sep. 12 2005,13:22)]I smell another Medal of Freedom on its way.
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[KC9ECI]

That's not the smell of the Medal of Freedom, that's the smell of what comes out the rear end of the male bovine.

[n9zxk]

I think the state and the mayor are the ones who dropped the ball before all of this started. Why didnt they bus the people out before the storm. The schools had what 250 of them that are now under water. Someone had to take the fall to bad it wasnt everyone that is to blame

[KC9ECI]

I have no doubt that more heads will roll. The lawsuits will be abundant soon.

[ab8ma]

Quote[/b] (WA5KRP @ Sep. 12 2005,13:17)]As FEMA's actions are reviewed, we'll find out if Brown deserved to fall on his sword. #Yes or no, he had been neutored and could in no way be effective as director. #He had to go, voluntarily or otherwise.


WA5KRP
Texas
I agree with Danny. It seems to me that the first to fall are the excuse (scapegoats) for those others who cannot accept responsibility or consequences.


I will say that I am sorry for all concerned, and many decent people with potentially promising careers will probably suffer.

The only thing I would like to see is information relating to anybody who knowingly prevented aid or any other resources for personal reasons.

AB8MA - Bob from Royal Oak.

[W5MJL]

I think Brown did an excellent job saying fema was doing an excellent job. I know he convinced at least one person.

[KG4CGC]

Quote[/b] (n9zxk @ Sep. 12 2005,17:15)]I think the state and the mayor are the ones who dropped the ball before all of this started. Why didnt they bus the people out before the storm. The schools had what 250 of them that are now under water. Someone had to take the fall to bad it wasnt everyone that is to blame
EXACTLY!
It should be mentioned that all the agencies that did get down there refused to communicate with each other because they were more interested in empire building than coordinating with each other. So much for all the homeland security. Multi-agency interoperability is more nonexsistant now than it was before 9/11. What a waste of money and lives.
Hocus Pocus Smoke and Mirrors. That should be the tag-line for our state of "Homeland Security". It's all a big lie.

[W5HTW]

Since September 11, 2001, US society has become one that instantly turns to the "feds" for help. If the fit hits the shan, the Feds have to hop in there and fix it, ASAP.

With that view, we could eliminate state, local and regional governments, could we not? We do not need local Emergency Managers, or even politicians. Put it all at the doorstep of the feds. Which would certainly eliminate states and states' right, but at least it would give us a scapegoat.

The case with New Orleans, and to some extent the rest of the Gulf Coast, was locals decided to instantly defer to federal emergency response. "Oh, Big Daddy, what do I do ...uh, wait, what are you going to do for me?"

Local emergency response was basically non-existent. The first and only response was "Call Washington." What in the world happened to local emergency response teams? They grabbed the phone and called Uncle Sam.

The locals were there, on the scene, and the equipment was there. But no one used it. Instead, when they finally awoke to the fact they had an emergency (something they should have been reacting to on Saturday before the storm hit) they had missed the opportunity to do preventive medicine. They were in disaster recovery mode, and totally unprepared.

I think the federal government expected the locals to be the first line of defense. That is the way the game of disaster has always been played, until we decided, on 9-11, that everything is Uncle's fault, so make Uncle pay AND take the blame.

As I say, we can save one heck of a lot of money if we simply eliminate local and state emergency services, and turn it all over to the feds. No more duplication, and in even the tiniest incident, we get immediate response from Washington. Why would we pay local taxes to fund a local emergency organization that is simply going to, as its one and only reaction to a disaster or event, grab the phone and call Washington? And then say, "but you didn't react fast enough?" Want faster response? Get rid of the locals and do it all through Washington as the FIRST step, not the third or fourth.

Or, easier still, sit on your butt and say, "Well, NOW I know what SHOULD have happened. Guess I should have told them three days before the storm, so they'd be as smart as I am."

Ed

[KG4CGC]

Quote[/b] (W5HTW @ Sep. 12 2005,18:00)]Since September 11, 2001, US society has become one that instantly turns to the "feds" for help. #If the fit hits the shan, the Feds have to hop in there and fix it, ASAP. #



The case with New Orleans, and to some extent the rest of the Gulf Coast, was locals decided to instantly defer to federal emergency response. #"Oh, Big Daddy, what do I do ...uh, wait, what are you going to do for me?"

Local emergency response was basically non-existent. #The first and only response was "Call Washington." #What in the world happened to local emergency response teams? #They grabbed the phone and called Uncle Sam. #

The locals were there, on the scene, and the equipment was there. #But no one used it. #Instead, when they finally awoke to the fact they had an emergency (something they should have been reacting to on Saturday before the storm hit) they had missed the opportunity to do preventive medicine. #They were in disaster recovery mode, and totally unprepared. #

I think the federal government expected the locals to be the first line of defense. #That is the way the game of disaster has always been played, until we decided, on 9-11, that everything is Uncle's fault, so make Uncle pay AND take the blame. #

Ed
As far as the first paragraph, that was Bush's doing. He took it upon himself with that set up.

As for the rest of what I quoted you on, I agree 100%.
The Mayor and the Governor both dropped the ball from the "get go".

[KF0RT]

Quote[/b] (W5HTW @ Sep. 12 2005,16:00)]Since September 11, 2001, US society has become one that instantly turns to the "feds" for help. If the fit hits the shan, the Feds have to hop in there and fix it, ASAP.
But, but... On 9/11 it WAS the locals who provided the first line of defense! Remember FDNY? By the time the feds got involved, the real disaster was pretty much over and the feds were left with figuring out the terrorist aspects and how to deal with that.

United Airlines was grounding their fleet before the federal order was even given. In fact, later FAA analysis indicated that even with no real plan in place, things worked very well. Well enough that the FAA decided that any plan would just hinder those "in the trenches" who were making the second-by-second decisions (of course, many of these decision makers were FAA employees).

Guess I'm not seeing the reliance on the feds post- 9/11, Ed. Yeah, they played a huge role after the fact, but they didn't play a huge role that first day.

Please elaborate.

73, Rob

[k4kyv]

Quote[/b] (al2i @ Sep. 12 2005,13:58)]Quote[/b] (WA5OES @ Sep. 12 2005,13:22)]I smell another Medal of Freedom on its way.
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Maybe Supreme Court nominee.

[WA5KRP]

Quote[/b] (KF0RT @ Sep. 12 2005,22:17)]On 9/11 it WAS the locals who provided the first line of defense! #Remember FDNY?
Careful. NYC had done an ENORMOUS amount of training and they had in place superbly trained teams to deal with wildly varied disaster contingencies.

It would seem to me an insult to compare New York City's response to 911 and New Orlean's response to Katrina. The degree and quality of response exhibited by NYC's first responders is light years above NO's.




WA5KRP
Texas

[n2nh]

Quote[/b] (k4kyv @ Sep. 13 2005,00:07)]Quote[/b] (al2i @ Sep. 12 2005,13:58)]Quote[/b] (WA5OES @ Sep. 12 2005,13:22)]I smell another Medal of Freedom on its way.
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Maybe Supreme Court nominee.
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[AC0H]

Quote[/b] ]It would seem to me an insult to compare New York City's response to 911 and New Orlean's response to Katrina. #The degree and quality of response exhibited by NYC's first responders is light years above NO's.

Excellent and dead on.
Saw a TV blurb the other night from the soon to be former mayor of N.O.. To paraphrase, when asked what he would have done differently his answer was "scream louder", when IMHO it should have been "started moving immobile people out of the city on busses 2 days earlier when the NHC called me and told me it was going to be bad".

Of course running whats left of his city is a little tough from DALLAS, TX!!!

Both he and the gubner have that "deer in the headlights" look about them on the tube.