Thursday, November 03, 2005

My name is Michael Brown, and I am a piece of shit

Maggie says:
Besides the obvious reasons to be anxiously looking forward to next Tuesday, otherwise known as The Day I Am Done With My Thesis, I'm also relishing the opportunity to have the time and mental capacity to get back to writing m-pyre-worthy analysis. Not that cute little quips about Winning's Coffee aren't worthy, but they're not exactly hard-hitting. This story, though, caused even me - overstressed, barely reading newspapers these days me - to erupt in a fit of outrage.

Seems that former FEMA head Michael Brown has been properly busted for being the complete piece of shit that he is. About damn time.

In what is nothing short of a remarkable public reckoning featuring some very private e-mails, Brown is exposed at his core - as a spineless, spoiled, heartless, out-of-touch bureaucrat. You know, a classic unqualified political appointee (in BushWorld, breeding Arabian horses somehow qualifies you to be FEMA director) absolutely unable to handle the real responsibilities of his job. In the midst of the House proceedings gauging the federal response to Katrina, Rep. Charlie Melancon (from a district just south of New Orleans) decided to expose Brown in all his glory, and expose him straight from the horse's mouth: by posting personal e-mails written by Brownie during the Katrina tragedy. Check them out - they're truly breathtaking.

Here's what we learn:

  • Brownie's compassion and responsiblity about his role in the hurricane relief effort include the questions, "Can I quit now?," "Can I come home?," "Is there anything specific I need to do?," and the heartfelt, "I'm trapped now, please rescue me." Never mind that he was the one in charge of rescuing people really in need of help.
  • In the midst of thousands of people losing their lives - and tens of thousands losing their homes - Brownie's real concern was, you know... fashion. "Tie or not for tonight? Button-down blue shirt?" A few days later, a staffer advised Brown to "Please roll up the sleeves of your shirt, all shirts. Even the president rolled his sleeves to just below the elbow. In this [crisis] and on TV you just need to look more hard-working." And when Brown was later complimented for looking "fabulous" on television, he responded, "I got it at Nordstroms. ... Are you proud of me? If you'll look at my lovely FEMA attire, you'll really vomit. I am a fashion god." Brings a whole new perspective to "heck of a job, Brownie..."
  • These comments, of course, need to be considered against the deadly serious e-mails he was receiving but choosing not to respond to: e-mails with subject headings like "Medical Help" and detailing water and food shortages, the situation in the Superdome and Convention Center, and how to get relief to trapped residents. No comment on those e-mails from Brownie... must have been too busy shopping online at Nordstrom's for the appropriate Katrina relief attire.
To me, what's most appalling about these e-mails is the clear evidence as to Brownie's utter lack of leadership, qualifications for his job, and just plain human compassion. I remember watching the Congressional hearings a month or so when Brownie proudly proclaimed, "I'm no hero." At that moment, all I could think of were his children, who must have also been watching their gutless father tell all of America he's not a hero. Well, duh. Shame on him and everything he stands for.

It's easy sometimes to talk about leadership with a grand 'ol sweeping gesture, as if our only real heroes are all dead. I think what Katrina showed us - and continues to show us, as these e-mails reveal - is our modern dilemma of having real heros at work in our schools, or in hospitals, or in rescue efforts while juxtaposed with the absolutely worthless individuals placed in positions of power. In the context of the newest Supreme Court nomination, this lesson rings all too clear.

How did we sink this low? And more importantly, how do we find a way to rise above the criminal mediocrity of this administration?

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