Ex FEMA Head Michael Brown is starting a disaster planning consulting firm. - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

ubertuber · 11-25-2005, 09:32 AM

Ex-FEMA Head Starts Disaster Planning Firm

Quote:

Originally Posted by New York Times

DENVER (AP) -- Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, heavily criticized for his agency's slow response to Hurricane Katrina, is starting a disaster preparedness consulting firm to help clients avoid the sort of errors that cost him his job.

''If I can help people focus on preparedness, how to be better prepared in their homes and better prepared in their businesses -- because that goes straight to the bottom line -- then I hope I can help the country in some way,'' Brown told the Rocky Mountain News for its Thursday editions.

Brown said officials need to ''take inventory'' of what's going on in a disaster to be able to answer questions to avoid appearing unaware of how serious a situation is.

In the aftermath of the hurricane, critics complained about Brown's lack of formal emergency management experience and e-mails that later surfaced showed him as out of touch with the extent of the devastation.

The lawyer admits that while he was head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency mistakes were made in the response to Katrina. He also said he had been planning to quit before the hurricane hit.

''Hurricane Katrina showed how bad disasters can be, and there's an incredible need for individuals and businesses to understand how important preparedness is,'' he said.

Brown said companies already have expressed interested in his consulting business, Michael D. Brown LLC. He plans to run it from the Boulder area, where he lived before joining the Bush administration in 2001.

''I'm doing a lot of good work with some great clients,'' Brown said. ''My wife, children and my grandchild still love me. My parents are still proud of me.''

I have to give Brownie credit for a staggering helping of optimism.

This mirrors something I've noticed several times in recent political history - the urge to play straight to one's own weaknesses, pretending they are strengths. This may work well in terms of putting your critics on the defensive, but stories like this make me want to shake our nation's leaders and remind them that their jobs aren't games.

The two most depressing elements of the NY Times article above:

1) "Brown said companies already have expressed interested in his consulting business" which I'm sure is true... WTF???!!? It's too bad Al Capone died before opening a rehab center - I'm sure he would have had clients in a line down the block. People can be so stupid.

2) ''My wife, children and my grandchild still love me. My parents are still proud of me.'' That this even appears in a NY Times article is sad. Last I heard, the Times was still making an effort to pretend to be a NEWS agency. That Brownie would say something like this (as if it has anything to do with his ability to run his new company) is only surpassed in lameness by the fact that the paper ran it. *Guess what, Brownie?? ubertuber thinks you didn't do a heck of a job. In fact, you SUCK!*

I'm starting to think that Chomsky is right in claiming that news organizations do their reporting by perusing PR releases.

Charlatan · 11-25-2005, 09:36 AM

Hey if I ever want to plan a disaster I now know just who to call!

Major balls on this guy.

Quote:

I'm starting to think that Chomsky is right in claiming that news organizations do their reporting by perusing PR releases.

What gave you the idea they didn't? I'll try to find the link but there is a website that collects the days PR releases... you will find tomorrow's news items (if not headlines) right there...

pan6467 · 11-25-2005, 09:37 AM

Quote:

''Hurricane Katrina showed how bad disasters can be, and there's an incredible need for individuals and businesses to understand how important preparedness is,'' he said.

You mean like you and the agency that you headed were, Mr. Brown?

ubertuber · 11-25-2005, 09:39 AM

Nice catch Charlatan. Maybe there was some unconscious honesty on the part of the Times after all.

Paq · 11-25-2005, 11:40 AM

i heard this on cnn or fox, can't remember, and i honestly, HONESTLY, thought it was april already. I seriously just shook my head not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Why doesn't he just open a horse farm, last i heard, no arabian horses were injured during katrina....

alansmithee · 11-25-2005, 12:01 PM

This might be the funniest news story of the year. I can see it now, Baghdad Bob as his head of PR, Kenneth Lay in charge of pension plans, sending their accounting to Arthur Anderson.

Or maybe his consulting will be more of the negative example type. You could pay for Brown's advice, and just do the opposite! Disaster coverage would then be perfect.

Charlatan · 11-25-2005, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alansmithee

Or maybe his consulting will be more of the negative example type. You could pay for Brown's advice, and just do the opposite! Disaster coverage would then be perfect.

Now that's a plan...

host · 11-25-2005, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alansmithee

This might be the funniest news story of the year. I can see it now, Baghdad Bob as his head of PR, Kenneth Lay in charge of pension plans, sending their accounting to Arthur Anderson.

Or maybe his consulting will be more of the negative example type. You could pay for Brown's advice, and just do the opposite! Disaster coverage would then be perfect.

And.....they all live in a country that still has the swagger of a superpower, even though Bush is it's president, Cheny is it's vice-president, Rumsfeld is it's secretary of defense, and Jack Abramoff is it's most successful congressional lobbyist! Too funny! If... it wasn't such a travesty and a tragedy!

If you are curious about how this all could happen, click on my avatar for the big picture!

America's voters....yer doin' a helluva job!

Seaver · 11-25-2005, 01:40 PM

Dont you love it when Democracy works?

I think this is laughable but depressing. I dont know who would grab this man to help them manage emergency management.

Katrina was not only on him, EVERYONE screwed up (local to federal). But when it comes down to it, he screwed up the biggest relief effort in a century for Americans. And now is trying to use that on his resume.

jorgelito · 11-25-2005, 03:58 PM

Finally!! A thread where everyone agrees! Hahaha!

fresnelly · 11-25-2005, 04:20 PM

I actually would like to hear him give a lecture on the mistakes made during his Katrina relief effort. He could call it "What we did wrong" and we could learn from it. Maybe he does have value as a consultant . Of course, that would depend on his level of honesty and humility.

I'd like to be a fly on the wall at one of those companies expressing interest in him.

"I'm only away for 2 weeks and you hired who?"

"We're going to pay him what?!?"

cyrnel · 11-25-2005, 04:38 PM

The guy's brilliant. He's also considering offers from several publishers to tell his story.

Working titles for the book: (okay, the book he's putting his smudge on.)

"Put the best face on disaster: Dress like you care."
"It's Showtime! The light, the camera, the door."
"How high is too high? Cushy jobs and visibility."
"Underqualified and underwater: Drowning in success." (heh. that one works)

sailor · 11-26-2005, 01:11 AM

HAHAHAHA! Are you shitting me? After one of the biggest fuckups of the decade, the man that dropped the ball in the biggest way after falsifying his resume and being a political lackey boy, wants to consult other people on how to do it the right way? Man, that's just funny

Quote:

"Underqualified and underwater: Drowning in success."

I like that one

Elphaba · 11-26-2005, 12:37 PM

Hubby suggested that Scott McClellan's recent disaster recovery work would make him an excellent candidate for Brown's new enterprise.

11-25-2005, 09:39 AM	#4 (permalink)
ubertuber spudly Location: Ellay	Nice catch Charlatan. Maybe there was some unconscious honesty on the part of the Times after all. __________________ Cogito ergo spud -- I think, therefore I yam

11-25-2005, 11:40 AM	#5 (permalink)
Paq Junkie Location: South Carolina	i heard this on cnn or fox, can't remember, and i honestly, HONESTLY, thought it was april already. I seriously just shook my head not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Why doesn't he just open a horse farm, last i heard, no arabian horses were injured during katrina.... __________________ Live. Chris

11-25-2005, 04:20 PM	#11 (permalink)
fresnelly Functionally Appropriate Location: Toronto	I actually would like to hear him give a lecture on the mistakes made during his Katrina relief effort. He could call it "What we did wrong" and we could learn from it. Maybe he does have value as a consultant . Of course, that would depend on his level of honesty and humility. I'd like to be a fly on the wall at one of those companies expressing interest in him. <i>"I'm only away for 2 weeks and you hired who?" "We're going to pay him what?!?"</i> __________________ Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life

11-25-2005, 04:38 PM	#12 (permalink)
cyrnel Adequate Location: In my angry-dome.	The guy's brilliant. He's also considering offers from several publishers to tell his story. Working titles for the book: (okay, the book he's putting his smudge on.) "Put the best face on disaster: Dress like you care." "It's Showtime! The light, the camera, the door." "How high is too high? Cushy jobs and visibility." "Underqualified and underwater: Drowning in success." (heh. that one works) __________________ There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195

11-25-2005, 12:01 PM	#6 (permalink)
alansmithee Junkie	This might be the funniest news story of the year. I can see it now, Baghdad Bob as his head of PR, Kenneth Lay in charge of pension plans, sending their accounting to Arthur Anderson. Or maybe his consulting will be more of the negative example type. You could pay for Brown's advice, and just do the opposite! Disaster coverage would then be perfect.

11-25-2005, 01:40 PM	#9 (permalink)
Seaver Junkie Location: Fort Worth, TX	Dont you love it when Democracy works? I think this is laughable but depressing. I dont know who would grab this man to help them manage emergency management. Katrina was not only on him, EVERYONE screwed up (local to federal). But when it comes down to it, he screwed up the biggest relief effort in a century for Americans. And now is trying to use that on his resume.

11-25-2005, 03:58 PM	#10 (permalink)
jorgelito All important elusive independent swing voter... Location: People's Republic of KKKalifornia	Finally!! A thread where everyone agrees! Hahaha!

11-26-2005, 12:37 PM	#14 (permalink)
Elphaba Deja Moo Location: Olympic Peninsula, WA	Hubby suggested that Scott McClellan's recent disaster recovery work would make him an excellent candidate for Brown's new enterprise.