Brownie, You're Doing A Heck Of Etc...

The fun never ends with Michael Brown. New emails released paint an ever more disturbing picture of the FEMA leadership. And the picture was already fucking scary. Keep in mind as you read these that Mr. Brown is still on the FEMA payroll, being paid by your tax dollars to explain to FEMA the details of how he screwed up, resulting in the loss of countless lives.

Before we begin, let us resist the urge to paint Brown as the scapegoat for the Katrina disaster. He is absolutely the poster boy for the post-Katrina failures and deserves everything the system will throw at him (which will likely not be enough)... But let us not forget who was this guy's boss- George W. Bush.

Yes, it was President Bush (the man whose entire reelection pitch was national security) who appointed Mr. Brown to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency after his failed stint at the Arabian Horse Association. It was President Bush who (still on vacation) failed to properly coordinate a federal response to the Gulf Coast situation. And it was President Bush who (once he got down to the region) told Brownie that he was "doing a heck of a job" and told reporters that "The FEMA Director is... working 24 hours a day". And it was President Bush who refused to fire Brown, leaving him to take the fall and resign in disgrace.

The President is now so bogged down in his other scandals (Libby, Rove, Supreme Court troubles, etc) that people have, for the most part, forgotten how badly he botched the post-Katrina efforts.

On September 13, President Bush took "responsibility" for the Katrina failures. As if it wasn't obvious then, we know now it was a hollow and empty gesture. What does taking responsibility mean for the President? Is merely saying it (which was likely tough for Bush) enough? Or are we crazy to have expected it meant a serious rethinking of the disastrous way that the President has governed since he took office? Turns out we were crazy. The media moved on to other stories. Bush is off the hook.

With that said, here are excerpts from Brown's emails:

-Regarding the emails sent by FEMA official Marty Bahamonde (in which he pleaded for help, stating 'the situation is past critical'), Brown responded only with:
"Thanks for the update. Anything specific I need to do or tweak?"

-More:
"Can I quit now? Can I come home?" (the morning of the hurricane)

"I'm trapped now, please rescue me." (a few days after the storm)

-Emails on August 29 about his fashion:
"If you'll look at my lovely FEMA attire, you'll really vomit. I am a fashion god"

"Tie or not for tonight? Button-down blue shirt?"

"I got it at Nordstroms. ... Are you proud of me?"

-In response to an email that available was '42-foot trailer full of beds, wheelchairs, oxygen concentrators, etc':
"Can we use these people?"

This is how government operates in George W. Bush's America.

Republicans were right- Government IS the problem, not the solution.

CNN.com: 'Can I quit now?' FEMA chief wrote as Katrina raged-
E-mails give insight into Brown's leadership, attitude