2005 Year in Review

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FEMA head - his experience

It is no wonder the Katrina recovery is going so poorly. The head of FEMA's experience is with an Arabian horse association. And he was fired from that job! President Bush has defended FEMA director Mike Brown as doing a good job, but that is a bit hard to understand.

This morning it is reported, for instance, that New Mexico Governor Richardson offered help early for Louisiana, but FEMA didn't fill out the paperwork required:

Several states ready and willing to send National Guard troops to the rescue in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans didn't get the go-ahead until days after the storm struck — a delay nearly certain to be investigated by Congress.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson offered Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco help from his state's National Guard on Sunday, the day before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. Blanco accepted, but paperwork needed to get the troops en route didn't come from Washington until late Thursday.

According to a Boston Herald column:

"I look at FEMA and I shake my head," said a furious Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday, calling the response "an embarrassment."

The Boston Herald goes on to say:

Brown - formerly an estates and family lawyer - this week has has made several shocking public admissions, including interviews where he suggested FEMA was unaware of the misery and desperation of refugees stranded at the New Orleans convention center.
Before joining the Bush administration in 2001, Brown spent 11 years as the commissioner of judges and stewards for the International Arabian Horse Association, a breeders' and horse-show organization based in Colorado.

And he was fired from that position:

Brown was forced out of the position after a spate of lawsuits over alleged supervision failures.
"He was asked to resign," Bill Pennington, president of the IAHA at the time, confirmed last night.

It is difficult to listen to President Bush make excuses all week for the problems with Katrina and rising gas prices, while praising incompetent officials. Appointing an obviously unqualified person to the position of managing national emergencies, is the height of irresponsibility.

It is time for elected officials in Washington to take some responsibility for their actions and to take action to put the country back in order.

by John Legler, Guest Columnist
September 3, 2005