From Bloomberg News:
Michael Brown, the former head of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, defended the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina before a congressional committee, saying some of the criticism was “not valid.’’
“You can’t always believe everything you read in the newspapers or see on television,’’ Brown told the House Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation and Response to Hurricane Katrina.
Brown resigned from FEMA on Sept. 12 after widespread criticism of the government’s response to Katrina, which swept ashore Aug. 29, devastating parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, killing more than 1,000 people.
Brown told the committee that state and local governments have the primary responsibility for responding to emergencies because FEMA does not have its own police force, firefighters or search and rescue equipment.
“Emergency management begins at the local level,’’ Brown said. “FEMA is a coordinating agency.’’
Brown singled out two things he would have done differently in the storm’s aftermath: setting up regular media briefings so he could spend less time responding to interview requests and persuading New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco “to sit down, get over their differences and work together.’’
“I just couldn’t pull that off,’’ he said.
This last bit is fascinating, in that it highlights just how big a role our 24-hour news cycle is beginning to play in these stories—not simply as chroniclers but as active participants who demand, and command, resources.
As I wrote yesterday, the media did an absolutely awful job on the Katrina story (Dan Rather’s assessment to the contrary notwithstanding), at times literally driving the nature of the response by sensationalizing parts of the story at the expense of researching just who was to be doing what in way of providing relief, etc.
And now, it seems, they were taking up too much of Brown’s time, as well.
Of course, the press certainly has a right, even an obligation, to cover the story; but when that coverage becomes more about assigning blame or “finding the lessons” in a natural disaster response by plumbing for the “truth” beneath an avalanche of fact—well, then the perhaps the role of the press is actually forcing changes in planning, based on the natural tendency for the accused and beleaguered to become defensive and begin circling the wagons.
Committee Chairman Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican, said that “fair or not, FEMA in general and Mr. Brown in particular have become the symbol of what went wrong with the government’s response to Katrina.’’
The House of Representatives last week approved the creation of a special joint committee to probe the government’s response, over the objections of House Democrats who say an independent commission, not a congressional panel, should conduct the probe. Democrats refused to participate in the House panel, which is holding its second meeting today.
In the Senate, Democratic opposition blocked approval of a joint panel, so Republican leaders turned the job of coordinating with the House investigation over to the Homeland Security Committee.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California called the hearings a “sham’’ as other Democrats introduced a petition to have the full House vote on creation of an independent commission.
“Questioning one Republican crony will not get to the truth of the disastrous federal response to Hurricane Katrina and prevent it from happening again,’’ Pelosi said in a statement.
One Democrat, Representative William Jefferson from Louisiana, attended today’s hearing.
[My emphasis]
Well, Ms Pelosi, excuse me for saying so, but what good, exactly, could possibly come from an “investigative committee” comprised of people like you who have already concluded—in advance of said investigation—that the federal response was “disastrous”?
Sadly, Chairman Davis has it about right. The narrative has been written. Shep Smith, Brian Williams, Anderson Cooper, the hysterics at the Corner, the “moderates” so willing to allow for blame to be evenly spread in order to prove just how fair they are—all of these people conspired to condemn the Federal response in advance of all the facts (and in many cases, without having the first clue what FEMA’s real responsibilities were), until such time as Brown was forced out, the President promised billions of dollars to rebuild a region below sea level, and the federal government is making overtures about power grabs that will expand its power, alter Posse Comitatus, and weaken the sovereign power of the states.
Quite a week’s work for a few “passionate” reporters who set out simply to tell us a story…
(h/t Allah, Mike C, Terry H)
****
update: Jesus weeps.
Nothing to add, except amen.
Excuse me, did you say “tell us a story” or ”sell us a story”? My monitor is a bit fuzzy and I can’t quite make out that word.
I tried to explain this to the Bush hating “its all the government’s fault” crowd. FEMA is managers and beancounters – my father worked for the Nat. Flood Insurance Program for years, so I’ve been to plenty disaster sites and heard plenty of stories from him re: FEMA. They are not first responders, they are not the on the ground rescuers, they are not political. They rely on the local and state governments for the first 36 hours, because (duh) state and local governments, should, if they’re half way competent, have a valid plan for evacuating, handling emergency responses, etc. I do not dispute that FEMA, as a bureacracy, is prone to waste and sloth- however, the moonbat contingency has consistently overestimated what FEMA’s job is.
My favorite line is that FEMA is at fault for not moving emergency workers into NO before the hurricane- yes, thats right, lets send relief workers in to ride out the storm.
The lack of logic involved in blaming the entire debacle on FEMA is mind boggling. Brown may have not been the best qualified candidate but he’s become the scapegoat.
Brown made mistakes, and is admitting most – better than most do. But two biggies show he does not belong in management:
1. at least try to ensure that those under you are passing up information: Brown was often clueless because his people were not telling him what was going on – this would not pass muster at a McD franchise.
2. when someone was assigned something to do in a meeting, he assumed they would do it. Nope. Take notes and names, check back.
.
People are upset that he is working out the month before his resignation takes effect as a “consultant” – not me. It may not be all that useful in this particular case, but in normal circumstances I wonder why it is not done more often. The new person coming in can get info on current status of work, find out who will work unsupervised and who needs an occasional kick-start, which outside contacts must be updated because they will not ask vs those who will call in on their own… Lots of stuff that can save literally months of learning.
So FEMA now needs to spend vast amounts of treasure and personnel on creating a structured PR plan to grab the media by the horns when the next disaster strikes, instead of spending their time and energy planning to, you know, actually help people.
Our sensationalist corporate news media is a disaster …. I don’t see anything that can rein it in, short of people simply refusing to watch, or advertisers refusing to place ads to pay for it. I don’t see that happening anytime soon, unfortunately.
It would be wrong to stop at the Superdome and not move onto further investigations at the Astrodome. I’ve heard a first-hand report from one who worked the “Dome” 12 hours a day, volunteering under the direction of a savvy health official who knew the obstacles they were facing. It didn’t take my friend but a few hours to realize for herself that all that money, all those offers of homes, all those airline miles, had no way out of the hands it was in.
There’s literally thousands of websites, phone numbers, and places to donate INTO, but if you’re trying to help someone, you may as well call on your own friends and contacts to do something in the “first person” because the Red Cross didn’t and still doesn’t have a clue how to coordinate all the good intentions.
Meanwhile, families are still trying to reunite, get information, and move forward. But, on the ground in various shelters, there is little information, few phones, fewer computers, and even fewer folks who know how to even USE a computer.
The Internet response has outgrown the well-meaning agencies and volunteers. It has certainly outgrown government agencies and their so-called support specialists. The best help is coming from individuals not associated in any way with a government organization.
I am trying to get my friend’s important testimony to the congressional hearings. Any ideas how to do that?
About ten years ago some folks noticed how much our foreign policy had become influenced by reports on CNN. Pictures and emotional stories delivered by the likes of Christiane Amanpour suddenly became the driving force behind such actions as our intervention in Bosnia. Maybe we could call it the shutterfly effect
All that has happened now is that the shutterfly effect has taken hold in domestic tragedies. Why should we take the time to await solid information, or worse, try to determine what the best short term and long term courses of action are when Anderson Cooper feels there are thousands of bodies floating in New Orleans! Why do the hard work of understanding and relaying the challenges of logistics in a disaster when you can be the host and face of the world’s most televised reality show?
Remember William Randolph Hearst’s statement, “You furnish the pictures, and I’ll furnish the war”? Oh yes, Big Media has found itself again. But I wonder if Ben Parker’s aphorism, “great power brings great responsibility,” applies to Big Media in these cases. If Big Media wants the authority to dictate policy, shouldn’t they accept the commensurate responsibility for their sins of commission and for their sins of omission? Where were the pictures of the genocide in Rwanda? Why is the dominant narrrative from Big Media in Iraq and Afghanistan so relentlessly anti-American?
Alas, the way Big Media cirlced the wagons around Dan Rather and today celebrates belligerance as the proper way to try and deal with the president leaves me with little hope that they will accept the responsibility for acting in accordance with the power they now wield.
Turing word: living, as in Ayn Rand’s We the Living.
Davis pushed Brown on what he and the agency he led should have done to evacuate New Orleans, restore order in the city and improve communication among law enforcement agencies.
Brown said: “Those are not FEMA roles. FEMA doesn’t evacuate communities. FEMA does not do law enforcement. FEMA does not do communications.”
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/09/27/D8CSM5800.html
>> Now if only those who are supposed to know this knew this…..
I think the Feds taking over first response is a great idea. Reminds of back in the 50’s and 60’s when the education system was under local control. Some of them weren’t so good so the Feds slowly took over. And now just look at the education…. ummm….. never mind.
OK – I don’t know why, but reading this post and the links has made me angry. I might be a little cranky to start, since I got pulled away from home (after being back for only 5 months from my tour in Afghanistan). I come down here to New Orleans to help patch all this up…and now I see this and wonder if I will ever watch TV news or read anything beyond my local paper again. I hope I don’t find myself flinging something at my TV when I get home…maybe I just need some rest.
*”If the dome and Convention Center had harbored large numbers of middle class white people,” Amoss said, “it would not have been a fertile ground for this kind of rumor-mongering.*
Good lord. Even writing this response, I have to tip toe around the issue so I don’t come across as racist.The issue is, nobody was really surprised of the rumors coming out of the Superdome, given the situation and the folks being forced to take shelter there. If it had been a bunch of middle class white people (or middle class black people or asian people etc), we WOULD be surprised. I’m sorry if thats just reality.
Its just as much about socieoeconomic (sp) status as it is color, imho.
I just wandered by Michelle Malkin’s site. She’s standing by her hatchet job. I don’t agree with her, but I sort of respect her for it. That’s more than the folks at the Corner are willing to do. It must hurt talking out of both sides of their mouths like that.
It should be noted that the lone Democrat at the hearing was the Lousiana Congressman William Jefferson who was invited to “grill” Brown. This is the same pillar of community responsibility and compassion that side-lined some National Guardsmen to help empty his house of his precious possessions – http://abcnews.go.com/US/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1123495&page=1. I’m beginning to think Louisiana is the standard bearer for SNAFU style government.
I’ve been thinking all day about the Dems problem with an in house investigation, and I have come up with the answer.
The Dems want a 9/11 style commission so that Nagin and Blanco can be on it, and sit in judgement of those wascawy Wepubwicans and FEMA.
I mean, it’s only fair…
How was Mike Brown’s performance any worse than the media’s? I’m normally not much into moral equivalence, but I’m going to make an exception this once. Maybe the folks at the Corner or Michelle Malkin or some other memeber of the punditocracy (left, right or center) could explain that to me.
This evening NBC ran a clip of Nagin being asked if maybe he’d exaggerated some stuff, like 10,000 dead, and he said—wait for it—“I don’t know man. Like, I was in the moment.”
Nagin became a hero because he said what the press has been wishing they could say about Bush for years now.
Of course, others would see the irony in lionizing a man (Nagin) that is refusing to take the blame because he is blaming the man(Bush) that the press says refuses to take any blame.
Okay Mr. Brown, here is a test question. What do the leadership styles of Rudy Juliani and Norman Schwartzkoph have in common? Anyone? Anyone?
Here’s a hint. Daily media briefings! Here’s a project template for your next job.
1. Set up communications
2. Gather intelligence
3. Develop a plan
4. Delegate the execution of the plan while you keep the public informed of what is really going on so they don’t just believe every single rumor and conspiracy theory that they hear.
I heard some of Brown’s time and am becoming more sympathetic to him.
Nagin and Blanco are despicable cowardly little incompetent shits.
If Brown’s gotten such an unfair rap, why did he perjure himself in front of Congress today by stating that Gov. Blanco never requested federal aid for the parishes around New Orleans?
I await a post on this blog calling for him to be prosecuted. *coughIOKIYARcough*
Got a transcript? I’d like to see the remark and the context. Not that I don’t trust you, Geek *coughTINFOILTOOTIGHTcough*, just want to come prepared.
Meanwhile, more striking to me is that the proceedings were opened by a Repub who didn’t seem to know that FEMA doesn’t do evacuations.
Maybe the committee needs to follow my lead and try to get all the facts first.
<a href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/27/national/nationalspecial/27text-brown.html?pagewanted=all” target=”_blank”>Transcript from today’s hearing.</a>
Now, wait, you might say. It strains credibility to suggest that the governor would request help for every parish except those around New Orleans.
Rolll the tape.
Heck of a job, Brownie.
P.S. Apologies for the first link–not sure why it isn’t showing up correctly.
Guess I’m not following this: Brown is saying Blanco didn’t request aid for Orleans Parrish but that he went ahead and included aid anyway, assuming it was a mistake on her part, but it was really a mistake on his to suggest she didn’t request it?
Well, then I submit he was mistaken, but that the aid was provided regardless. But if he’s lying rather than mistaken, then he’s lying rather than mistaken.
I don’t know, honestly, but the important part seems to be that the aid was readied.
Brown is clearly the scapegoat in this. Bush would have stood by him if the resume fluffing hadn’t come up.
Michelle Milkin did him a disservice in my opinion and that has lowered my opinion of her.
Brown was in no way unexperienced. He had managed FEMA’s response on four prior hurricanes and did a fine job. NO ONE had more pertinent experience or demonstated better competence.
The real issue is, how does a competent man respond when those he is legal bound to work with fumble so badly?
As to MSM? I turned them off long ago. Five minutes of watching their Katrina coverage was enough to convince me they where worse than completely useless.
What about NBC? Aren’t they part of a bigger company that prides itself on 6 Sigma Quality? Their news coverage certainly is not!
Here’s how it breaks down.
The White House issued this disaster declaration on 8/27.
To spare people the trouble of reading, this declaration doesn’t include the NO metro parishes. It includes practically all of Louisiana but those parishes.
Now, that seems rather idiotic. And that is what the Congressional committee asked–why the hell weren’t Orleans, Plaquamines, etc on that list?
Brownie tried to play “Pin the Blame on the Democrat.” But, he couldn’t do so without perjuring himself.
I assume Brown perjured himself the same way Bush lied and people died. The same way hundreds of children were raped at the Superdome and the same way Joe Wilson told the truth, eh? Or is it that you desparately wanted hearings when you thought Administration blood was in the water, but have decided now that the hearing has started that you had rather scream and hold your breath and play pretend there’s a crime. I’m sorry the hearings aren’t going the way you hoped they would. But Brown’s not Al Capone. Pretendingh he is only makes you more transparent.
Face it Jeff, the Fed failed, and its all Bush’s fault…
Jeb Bush… as preface, think back to the last major storm to hit outside Florida. The current Admin has been lulled into a false sense of accomplishment by one Governor who knows how to deal with massive natural disasters. The Fed was understandably but none-the-less tragically wrong. Not only Jeb’s brother but the rest of the federal government assumed that other regional jurisdictions would be, if not equally, at least marginally competent.
Brown’s main failing is that he failed to react to the local authoritative implosion soon enough.
as a footnote, I’m curious if Gov. Blanco talked with Gov. Bush prior to Katrina to gleen any first-hand insight. Politics would indicate that would be… beneath her.
Can you read, Corvan?
Brown is not only a proven liar, but a pathetically clumsy one as well.
I’m sorry, I missed the part where it was proven (much less, where you proved it). You being an Esquire and all, I assume you understand what “burden of proof” means ? My understanding follows Jeff’s – the aid was sent anyway.
So your point (assuming you have a point- I’m missing it) is that Brown did his job but lied about in front of Congress ? Maybe its just me but that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Perhaps you have some “proof” that the aid wasn’t send where Brown claims it was sent ?
The web you tinfoil hat folks are trying to weave over this entire situation is about as pathetic as it is a waste of time.
We MUST get Bush at all costs. Its our mission, our pledge, our solemn vow.
“We MUST get Bush at all costs. Its our mission, our pledge, our solemn vow.”
Interesting.
The truth be damned. The creed of the left.
Malkin has a bug up her ass about this, but until Brown had to deal with those imbecilic state officials he was a good man. The failure of the state leadership made Brown incompetent. Of course, it was only the one state, and not the others. This disaster was politicized from minute one by the left and it continues to this day. There is no bottom of denigration for the left to plumb.
“Well, Ms Pelosi, excuse me for saying so, but what good, exactly, could possibly come from an “investigative committee†comprised of people like you who have already concludedâ€â€in advance of said investigationâ€â€that the federal response was “disastrousâ€Â?
Hell, why stop there?
Why conclude in advance of said investigation that there was any federal response at all?