Saturday, September 10, 2005
Salon editorial fellow J.J. Helland surveys the political patronage that crippled FEMA.
Salon.com - War Room
Brownie and the gang
Salon editorial fellow J.J. Helland surveys the political patronage that crippled FEMA.
War Room reported yesterday on FEMA Director Michael Brown's dubious professional credentials -- specifically his record as a failed lawyer; a fallout with his previous employer, the International Arabian Horse Association, over charges of impropriety; and the patronage that landed him his plum assignments with FEMA. A new report on the Time magazine Web site delves deeper into Brown's lack of qualifications for his post.
Brown isn't the only senior official at the federal agency with little experience in dealing with natural disasters, and more evidence has emerged indicating that the agency's ability to adequately respond to disasters like Katrina has been totally undermined by political cronyism. The Los Angeles Times reports that Brown "is just one of at least five senior FEMA officials appointed under President Bush whose backgrounds showed few qualifications."
For example, Brown's acting deputy director, Patrick James Rhode, got his start in the television news industry before moving on to public relations work in Texas. After working as the deputy director of national advance operations for Bush's 2000 campaign and later as a special assistant to the president, Rhode was tapped for FEMA in 2003.
Meanwhile, before becoming director of FEMA's Recovery Division, Daniel Craig worked for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he "was responsible for Chamber-related legislative, political, and media initiatives in New England and the Atlantic Coast." Craig's professional experience also includes previous work as a lobbyist, campaign advisor and political fundraiser.
The Times article goes on to note that as recently as a year ago, the "head of a labor union representing FEMA workers sent a letter to members of Congress charging that 'emergency managers at FEMA have been supplanted on the job by politically connected contractors and by novice employees with little background or knowledge' of disaster management."
The letter offered the prescient warning that "as ... professionalism diminishes, FEMA is gradually losing its ability to function and to help disaster victims."
That sentiment was echoed in a report today in the Washington Post, in which experts referred to a "brain drain" when discussing FEMA's lack of experienced managers familiar with emergency management. According to I.M. "Mac" Destler, a professor from the University of Maryland, FEMA "has gone downhill within the department, drained of its resources and leadership ... The crippling of FEMA was one important reason why it [the federal response to Katrina] failed."
Considering the Bush administration's woefully inept response to the devastation wrought by Katrina, it's clear that Bush administration patronage has hobbled FEMA -- with fatal consequences for the people affected by the hurricane.
But of course you wouldn't know that from listening to Vice President Dick Cheney. He defended Bush's FEMA appointees yesterday, saying, "You've got to have people at the top who respond to and are selected by presidents, and you pick the best people you can to do the jobs that need to be done ... We've also got some great career professionals, an absolute and vital part of the operation — couldn't do it without them."
Of course we couldn't have done it without them. That's the problem.
Brownie and the gang
Salon editorial fellow J.J. Helland surveys the political patronage that crippled FEMA.
War Room reported yesterday on FEMA Director Michael Brown's dubious professional credentials -- specifically his record as a failed lawyer; a fallout with his previous employer, the International Arabian Horse Association, over charges of impropriety; and the patronage that landed him his plum assignments with FEMA. A new report on the Time magazine Web site delves deeper into Brown's lack of qualifications for his post.
Brown isn't the only senior official at the federal agency with little experience in dealing with natural disasters, and more evidence has emerged indicating that the agency's ability to adequately respond to disasters like Katrina has been totally undermined by political cronyism. The Los Angeles Times reports that Brown "is just one of at least five senior FEMA officials appointed under President Bush whose backgrounds showed few qualifications."
For example, Brown's acting deputy director, Patrick James Rhode, got his start in the television news industry before moving on to public relations work in Texas. After working as the deputy director of national advance operations for Bush's 2000 campaign and later as a special assistant to the president, Rhode was tapped for FEMA in 2003.
Meanwhile, before becoming director of FEMA's Recovery Division, Daniel Craig worked for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he "was responsible for Chamber-related legislative, political, and media initiatives in New England and the Atlantic Coast." Craig's professional experience also includes previous work as a lobbyist, campaign advisor and political fundraiser.
The Times article goes on to note that as recently as a year ago, the "head of a labor union representing FEMA workers sent a letter to members of Congress charging that 'emergency managers at FEMA have been supplanted on the job by politically connected contractors and by novice employees with little background or knowledge' of disaster management."
The letter offered the prescient warning that "as ... professionalism diminishes, FEMA is gradually losing its ability to function and to help disaster victims."
That sentiment was echoed in a report today in the Washington Post, in which experts referred to a "brain drain" when discussing FEMA's lack of experienced managers familiar with emergency management. According to I.M. "Mac" Destler, a professor from the University of Maryland, FEMA "has gone downhill within the department, drained of its resources and leadership ... The crippling of FEMA was one important reason why it [the federal response to Katrina] failed."
Considering the Bush administration's woefully inept response to the devastation wrought by Katrina, it's clear that Bush administration patronage has hobbled FEMA -- with fatal consequences for the people affected by the hurricane.
But of course you wouldn't know that from listening to Vice President Dick Cheney. He defended Bush's FEMA appointees yesterday, saying, "You've got to have people at the top who respond to and are selected by presidents, and you pick the best people you can to do the jobs that need to be done ... We've also got some great career professionals, an absolute and vital part of the operation — couldn't do it without them."
Of course we couldn't have done it without them. That's the problem.
Confusion on Debit Card Aid - New York Times
Confusion on Debit Card Aid - New York Times
The New York Times
September 9, 2005
Confusion on Debit Card Aid
By SHAILA DEWAN
BATON ROUGE, La., Sept. 8 - After a day of confusion and complaints, officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday that the agency would not expand a trial program to distribute debit cards worth $2,000 to victims of Hurricane Katrina for immediate living expenses.
A FEMA official in Washington said the cards would be distributed at the Astrodome in Houston beginning on Friday.
Reports that the debit cards would be distributed on Thursday morning at the Astrodome, a temporary shelter, brought several hours of mayhem to the complex, attracting a crush of cars and pedestrians that caused the police to shut the gates, locking out thousands of residents in the 90-degree heat.
Meanwhile, in Baton Rouge,David G. Passey, a FEMA spokesman, said he did not know why the program had been discontinued.
But Mr. Passey said, "As we've looked at the logistics of expanding the debit card, we believe that our normal methods of delivery, checks and electronic funds transfer, will suffice."
Under questioning by reporters, he said he could not explain why traditional conduits of aid, which take from 10 days to two weeks to reach victims, provided they have addresses or working bank accounts, had been deemed more appropriate than the immediate relief offered by the debit cards.
He said "program specialists" had made the decision.
Announcing the debit card program on Wednesday, Michael D. Brown, the FEMA director, said it was designed to "empower" evacuees "to make their own decisions about what they need to have to restart their lives." But he did not say when and where the cards would be distributed.
In Baton Rouge, The Associated Press reported, people went to a Red Cross office believing they could get the debit cards there.
Callers to a Baton Rouge radio station from as far away as Atlanta and Houston complained that they did not know how to get the cards. One person said she had called the FEMA office in New York, only to be told that the cards were in Atlanta.
But Mr. Passey said the cards had been intended for distribution only at the Astrodome, where the highest concentration of evacuees was housed.
After the police lockdown at the complex, the order that had characterized the temporary housing situation there so far threatened to collapse, as people fainted, pushed and shoved, and complained loudly.
"It's just a hassle to get assistance," said Sparkle Stanwood, 25, an evacuee from downtown New Orleans, as she stood outside an Astrodome gate, sweat glistening on her face. "They gave us an appointment for 10 a.m. today - now they won't let us in. Some people broke a gate open. It's a lot of people, and it's hot."
Another evacuee, Eric Robertson, said: "We're very angry. We don't really know what's going on. It's so unorganized out here. There's nobody to even answer a question about why the place is on lockdown."
The Red Cross in Houston began handing out debit cards Thursday loaded with $650 to $1,600 in purchasing power.
The relief organization issued 7,000 cards at the Reliant complex around the Astrodome and will issue more Friday at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Tennessee has distributed 1,550 "electronic benefit cards."
The New York Times
September 9, 2005
Confusion on Debit Card Aid
By SHAILA DEWAN
BATON ROUGE, La., Sept. 8 - After a day of confusion and complaints, officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday that the agency would not expand a trial program to distribute debit cards worth $2,000 to victims of Hurricane Katrina for immediate living expenses.
A FEMA official in Washington said the cards would be distributed at the Astrodome in Houston beginning on Friday.
Reports that the debit cards would be distributed on Thursday morning at the Astrodome, a temporary shelter, brought several hours of mayhem to the complex, attracting a crush of cars and pedestrians that caused the police to shut the gates, locking out thousands of residents in the 90-degree heat.
Meanwhile, in Baton Rouge,David G. Passey, a FEMA spokesman, said he did not know why the program had been discontinued.
But Mr. Passey said, "As we've looked at the logistics of expanding the debit card, we believe that our normal methods of delivery, checks and electronic funds transfer, will suffice."
Under questioning by reporters, he said he could not explain why traditional conduits of aid, which take from 10 days to two weeks to reach victims, provided they have addresses or working bank accounts, had been deemed more appropriate than the immediate relief offered by the debit cards.
He said "program specialists" had made the decision.
Announcing the debit card program on Wednesday, Michael D. Brown, the FEMA director, said it was designed to "empower" evacuees "to make their own decisions about what they need to have to restart their lives." But he did not say when and where the cards would be distributed.
In Baton Rouge, The Associated Press reported, people went to a Red Cross office believing they could get the debit cards there.
Callers to a Baton Rouge radio station from as far away as Atlanta and Houston complained that they did not know how to get the cards. One person said she had called the FEMA office in New York, only to be told that the cards were in Atlanta.
But Mr. Passey said the cards had been intended for distribution only at the Astrodome, where the highest concentration of evacuees was housed.
After the police lockdown at the complex, the order that had characterized the temporary housing situation there so far threatened to collapse, as people fainted, pushed and shoved, and complained loudly.
"It's just a hassle to get assistance," said Sparkle Stanwood, 25, an evacuee from downtown New Orleans, as she stood outside an Astrodome gate, sweat glistening on her face. "They gave us an appointment for 10 a.m. today - now they won't let us in. Some people broke a gate open. It's a lot of people, and it's hot."
Another evacuee, Eric Robertson, said: "We're very angry. We don't really know what's going on. It's so unorganized out here. There's nobody to even answer a question about why the place is on lockdown."
The Red Cross in Houston began handing out debit cards Thursday loaded with $650 to $1,600 in purchasing power.
The relief organization issued 7,000 cards at the Reliant complex around the Astrodome and will issue more Friday at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Tennessee has distributed 1,550 "electronic benefit cards."
Feministe � African-Americans are the Dumbest People on the Planet
Feministe � African-Americans are the Dumbest People on the Planet
Blogger Thoughts: Click the Link....
Blogger Thoughts: Click the Link....
Appeals court reverses lower court ruling in �dirty bomb� suspect case
Appeals court reverses lower court ruling in �dirty bomb� suspect case
Blogger Thought: This is a post 9/11 world we are living in.... civil libertarians have to understand that... right....
Blogger Thought: This is a post 9/11 world we are living in.... civil libertarians have to understand that... right....
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