It's just too sad (NOLU)

AMERICAblog: Because a great nation deserves the truth

Ted Koppel Rips, Rips RIPS Michael Brown of FEMA on "Nightlin
by Michael in New York - 9/02/2005 12:08:00 AM



Some choice highlights.

Koppel (on the number of people at the convention center -- the mayor says 15,000 to 25,000 and FEMA said only 5000): One of you is wrong. It's either 5000 or 15,000. Do you know?

Brown of FEMA: Blah blah blah. 25,000.... We just learned of the convention center -- we being the federal government -- today.

Koppel: I've heard you say during the course of a number of interviews that you found out about the convention center today. Don't you guys watch television? Don't you guys listen to the radio? Our reporters have been reporting on it for more than just today.

Brown of FEMA: We learned about (the convention center) FACTUALLY today that that's what existed.

(Brown responds to another question by saying troops are going to be moving in soon.)

Koppel: Here we are essentially FIVE DAYS after the storm hit and you're talking about what's going to happen in the next couple of days.... You didn't make preparations for what was going to happen in the event that [a category four storm hit]. Why didn't you?

(Brown then complains that poor people who don't own cars and can't afford hotel rooms didn't jump into their SUVs and head to the Hyatt in Atlanta. He then sidesteps Koppel by implying it was the city's fault for not having buses available for the very poor.)

Koppel: I'm not asking you why the city didn't have buses available. I'm asking you why you didn't have National Guards with trucks to get them out of there. Why you didn't have people with flatbed trailers if that's what you needed. Why you didn't simply get as many Greyhound buses from surrounding states as you could lay your hands on to get those people out of there. Why you haven't done it TO THIS DAY.

Transcript and video coming soon.

Thank God Koppel is there to ask the common sense questions we've been talking about all day. And how soon before Brown gets his Medal of Freedom?

NOTE: One quote caught my ear but I didn't quite focus on it. I've played it again and Brown is laying the groundwork for putting the blame on LA's governor. (It must be a Fox News talking point; my dad made the same argument earlier.)

Brown of FEMA: We work closely with the state government. The federal government didn not just come in here and tell the state governor how or what to do. We came in here and said, 'What do you want us to do? We will help you.' We are now taking it upon ourselves to do what we think needs to be done. And we will continue to do that.

Translation: LA's Democratic governnor screwed things up royally and now we're cleaning up her mess and taking charge.