Just Hearing This On The News Now The Head of FEMA

[Minimor]

I knew he was head of the Arabian association, but that's about all I knew about that part of it. A friend at work today told me that he was president of the Arabian association, and she was making fun of how that could qualify him to head FEMA. Frankly, I didn't see what that had to do with anything...just because he was doing the Arabian horse thing doesn't, to me, mean he doesn't have other qualifications. I know several people who are qualified for one thing, yet are currently working in a different field.

I find it quite amazing how the media can suck people in; the media feeds us a little bit, gives us a few nudges in the direction they want us to go....and we oh so agreeable head off down that path!

I also like the way everyone is so anxious to point fingers & blame someone for the mess Katrina left behind. It's all the fault of FEMA (or at least its leader)....or it's all the fault of the President...the governor....the mayor. As someone else said (don't remember which board it was on!)....have you researched to find out who caused Katrina in the first place? I'm sure some can even pin that on George W.!!

I think maybe--don't know for sure--that the mess...the apparent slow response to get aid to the people along the gulf coast...can be blamed a little bit on every level of government, even on many of the people themselves. More could have gotten out ahead of the storm, but didn't--they thought it wouldn't be that bad, that the storm might turn & miss them--for those that couldn't get out because of no money, no transport....there should have been buses available to get them out of the city. Maybe they wouldn't have gone anyway, but some might have. There'd have been fewer to rescue. There's been criticism that the food & water should have been on hand before the storm hit. Someone please tell me--how would you stockpile enough food in the Superdome to feed 30000 people for 4 or 5 days? That's an awful lot of food....and how do you go about distributing that food to those 30000 people. Even lining them all up for one meal a day would be a huge undertaking--I'm personally unsure if it could be done. And besides, who expected there to be 30000 people there, and for so long? Remember, no one thought it would be this bad...apparently everyone forgot about the levees. The money didn't come specifically for the levees, and the money that did come didn't get directed to the levees. Whose fault is that? I don't know--I don't think it's all the presidents, nor all the mayors, and certainly not FEMA's.

I also think that this would be one horrific mess, no matter who was head of what. It's easy for all of us to sit back & criticize what's been done & say what should have been done. If any one of us was in charge of rescue operations...and I don't mean "us" as in just here, I mean the population in general, there is criticism everywhere these days!...well, sorry, I think there'd be just as much criticism (& cause for it!) as there is now.

I'd like to think that if I were in charge I'd have had more rescuers, more boats, and pets as well as humans would be rescued. Is that at all feasable? I honestly don't know; I'd like to think it is, but I don't know.

I do believe that America will be better prepared "next time", regardless if it's a Cat. 5 hurricane, a very bad earthquake, a tsunami or whatever...at least I hope that FEMA & all levels of government will learn from this mess, so that things next time can work more efficiently to save more lives.

 

[Triggy&Blue&Daisy Too]

Shminifancier, what are ya doing?

You are so bad sometimes

And what's with the other post about animals used as weapons with a link to PETA homepage? Hmmm, thought you hated PETA.

I think you all are being had for entertainment purposes

 

[Pepipony]

True, just because it is reported doesnt make it true, BUT, when it is on FEMAs website and it blatently shows his ONLY REAL disaster knowledge came AFTER he got into FEMA, and ONLY in the last few years! Come on people, dont blame the media for what they report, go to the source and see if what they report is fact.

That is what I HATE about political parties, when you align yourself with one, you refuse to see their bad sides, if anything negative is reported then it has to be false, and anything they say then it has to be true. Voting and sticking with one party, no matter the politician, is rather communist. No one party, no one person can be all to you. Wish we could rid ourselves of political parties and start paying attention to what the candidates actually say and actually do. Far too often things are a payback, like Brown and FEMA, and sad to say, that isnt the only bad appointment made.

 

[CountryHaven]

Okay, okay... how many people here had EXPERIENCE in their jobs BEFORE they started working in their fields?????? How the heck do you get experience for something without DOING it? How could ANYBODY have had THIS type of experience? It's NEVER happened before!

Jeez Louise.

If anybody is to blame it's the media, and yes, the government IN GENERAL for perpetuating a belief that nothing they say can be believed. They do this by slowly chipping away at our belief structure every day, in tiny little ways, and in big ones... so that when they really mean something, every one says, yeah sure. I'm not just talking about the FEMA situation here, I'm also talking about the thousands of people who STAYED BEHIND in Louisanna because they didn't BELIEVE that it would be as bad as it was being said it was going to be. Of course, it had never happened before. They've had hurricanes, but by the time it hit land, it wasn't like this.

Yes, many people simply could not leave. They didn't have the means, etc... but many have reported that they simply thought it wouldn't turn out to be bad enough to leave, in spite of being warned repeatedly to evacuate.

Mostly though, all this nonsense about Brown's experience is just mud slinging, and digging up anything at all possible to bury SOMEBODY for this. The old saying, 'somebody's head is going to roll' comes to mind. They have to find someone to blame. If you're not up to blaming the media, or government for it's erosion of the public's belief... then blame good ole' Mother Nature. She sure kicked our butts (maybe she used to be the head of the AQHA).

 

[user 488]

Tami I could not agree with you more. And Pepipony, I see your point too as I am sure there was somebody out there better qualified. BUT to end the BS..........and it's total BS that Mike was FIRED and not capable I am quoting this release from AHA's

Barbara Burck, executive vice president and chief administrator of the association.

This man came into an association with more to handle then I can even begin to explain. I had personal dealings with him myself and he was ALWAYS there for the members. I cannot say enough good things about him. And I feel that ANYONE who was thrown in his position would have been a target. SO PLEASE READ IF YOU WANT FACT.....which to many of you don't as you would rather pursue DRAMA.

Again, I also do not condone the way many things were handled but there is much more than this one person to throw stones at.

Former International Arabian Horse Association Judges & Stewards Commissioner, Michael BrownThe International Arabian Horse Association (IAHA) was merged in 2003 with the Arabian Horse Registry of America to form what is now the Arabian Horse Association, the largest single breed affiliate of the United States Equestrian Federation, the national governing body for equestrian sport from the grassroots up through Olympic Competition. The Arabian Horse Association’s operations include an Arabian horse Registry, the Office of Judges and Stewards Commissioner, the production of six National Championship events, breed promotion and diverse membership programs for its 45,000 members in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

DENVER, COLORADO --- The Arabian Horse Association, based in Denver, is responding to inquiries concerning a former employee of the association, Michael Brown. From September 1991 through January 2001, Mr. Brown served as Judges & Stewards Commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association which is now the Arabian Horse Association.

"As Commissioner, he was charged with responsibilities including managing the education, appointment and evaluation of judges and stewards for competitions that come under the jurisdiction of the IAHA," stated Myron Krause, current president of the Arabian Horse Association. "He was also responsible for the investigation of complaints related to rule adherence in those competitions, recommending action based on complaint investigations, and taking action consistent with association rules. He also coordinated and supervised the activities of the association’s Education-Evaluation Commission, Judges and Stewards Steering Committee, and the Judges and Stewards Selection Committee."

Barbara Burck, executive vice president and chief administrator of the association added that "Mr. Brown had a long and successful career with IAHA and was regarded as upholding the highest standards of integrity and demanding excellence in all areas under his jurisdiction. His legal background and management skills enabled him to accomplish the rigors of the job with professionalism."

"He dealt with issues related to enforcement of rules and regulations that often generated passionate dispute by advocates on both sides of his decisions,†she added. “Several of those enforcement issues resulted in litigation. Due to the nature of Mr. Brown’s duties as commissioner, he set up his own Legal Defense Fund Trust to supplement the IAHA Legal Defense Fund. Following his departure from the IAHA, the entire sum in the Michael D. Brown Legal Defense Fund Trust was transferred to the IAHA Legal Defense Fund."

President Myron Krause stated, "Brown’s contract was not terminated by IAHA, he resigned. Furthermore, there was no due cause to terminate his contract. An amicable separation agreement was reached in 2001when he left the employment of IAHA. Following his departure, Brown was retained for a time as a consultant to assist IAHA on an as-needed basis."

 

[Pepipony]

Ohhh good googly moogly!! It is one thing to not have background in oh, running a store, but to head an agency when lives are at stake is completely different!!! There are people that have been working years in disaster relief that should have had the Head job, not him. I understand that Presidents appoint friends/those who got him where he is, to 'official' positions, but good grief, make sure its either an inane job or one that they are experienced at.

 

[justaboutgeese]

The head of the company I used to work for BR (thats before retirement) knew absolutly nothing about the business and was great at the job. What he was was an excellent manager and a detail man like I have never met before. He used to say I do not need to know the details of the business, thats what we have a staff for. I need to know how to run the staff, that part I am good at. Same with FEMA and most major corperations. The head of Exxon made 34.7 million dollars last year but knew nothing about the oil business until he started in it.

 

[Miniv]

I take all the stuff I hear from the media with a grain of salt.....I always try to get "back up".....

As far as the head of FEMA goes......I agree with Justaboutgeese. Looking at it from a BUSINESS stand-point, it's all about how he DELEGATES. As long as the man is smart about who is working immediately under him, who cares how much "disaster experience" he has?!!!

In other words, if he knows how to handle the people who know what THEY are doing, then he's doing his job.

MA

 

[Sunseri Farms]

Do you all know Bush declared Louisiana & Missi. a disaster area on Aug 26th days before the hurricane hit. Then two days after the Hurricane, FEMA decided to act. Help was on the way. Five Days later when help was to be on the way and it still had not arrive. Do you know other areas Called upon FEMA and was totaly ignored. Just 2days ago Washington parish first saw a FEMA truck and personal. WHAT THE H---l is really going on.

Yes, some one really screwed up. I believe they all did. But Why did it that 5-7 days. Why was help turned down locally, Volunteers turned down, There was no organzatuoin at all.

Now they still need help and someone to care.

 

[shminifancier]

Do you all know Bush declared Louisiana & Missi. a disaster area on Aug 26th days before the hurricane hit. Then two days after the Hurricane,  FEMA decided to act. Help was on the way. Five Days later when help was to be on the way and it still had not arrive. Do you know other areas Called upon FEMA and was totally ignored. Just 2 days ago Washington parish first saw a FEMA truck and personal. WHAT THE H---l is really going on. Yes, some one really screwed up. I believe they all did. But Why did it that 5-7 days. Why was help turned down locally, Volunteers turned down, There was no organization at all.   

Now they still need help and someone to care.

464121[/snapback]

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This is true the Governing bodies of the different States have to act first and ask for help ask FEMA to come in The Feds can not come in without the State asking then to. That is States Rights So the Local Government dropped the ball. And How about this,,, Over a hundred EMPTY busses sat in parking lots Unused in New Orleans~! Those should have been used to get the people out But nope Now they are under water..What a shame this has been for sure for all this to go on in the USA... Busses that could have had Hundreds of people on them Before the waters came in and now even those busses are destroyed~! Man what a piece of work this has been from ALL Governing Officials arrrggg

 

[justaboutgeese]

It was estimated those buses had they been used could have moved over ten thousand people to a safe area in the twenty four hours before the levy brake. This is all just more finger pointing.

 

[Pepipony]

So, Brown has been sent back to Washington to paper push and keep his hands out of the ground ops. And here I thought he was doing such a wonderfull job, at least that is what Bush said the other day.

I DO however hope that his removal was warranted and not just some scapgoat thing. I bet it was warranted though, since Bush will staunchly defend his appointees no matter what ( Rove ).