Michael Gaynor
Uncover any Katrina cover-up!
By Michael Gaynor
Former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael D. Brown "is widely considered the public face of the government's sluggish response to Katrina. But he signaled earlier this week that he was prepared to discuss his storm communications with President Bush and other top White House officials — a possible signal that his testimony would assign blame elsewhere." So said the Associated Press.
Finally, major media hinting that Mr. Brown was scapegoated.
Mr. Brown's duty is to tell the whole truth, not to serve meekly as a scapegoat. It is a duty he owes to God, country and family (wife, son, daughter, grandchild). No longer on the federal payroll, Mr. Brown is free to speak the whole truth.
A scapegoat is "a goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after which he is sent into the wilderness in the biblical ceremony for Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement." Also, 'one that bears the blame for others" and "one that is the object of irrational hostility."
Ironically, Jews created the scapegoat and became Hitler's scapegoats. In order to seize power in Germany, Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany's failure to win the First World War and anything else he could think of. Tragically, it worked.
As a result of Hurricane Katrina, a scapegoat was needed for what was mostly a Democrat disaster that was readily foreseeable and long in the making. Since the end of Reconstruction, Louisiana has been a Democrat stronghold. It was not until 1956 that a Republican President (General Dwight D. Eisenhower) carried Louisiana. The next Republican President to cary it was Richard M. Nixon, in 1972, when he carried virtually every state.
President Reagans and the Presidents Bush also carried Lousiana, but otherwise, and especially at the state level, Democrats dominated. Since Reconstruction, one Republican won one United States Senate seat from Louisiana once: David Vitter, in 2004. Republican governors could be counted on two fingers. And no Republican has been Mayor of New Orleans since Reconstruction.
Was it obvious that New Orleans, most of which is below sea level, would be devastated if struck by a ferocious hurricane?
Of course.
Did Louisiana's state officials and federal representatives prepare properly for that eventuality?
No.
Did Louisiana Governor Katheleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin either prepare adequately or fully cooperate either with President Bush, or FEMA Director Michael Brown, or even each other, to minimize the death and destruction from Hurricane Katrina?
No.
Did President Bush offer to have the federal government take control of the response to Hurricane Katrina, only to have Governor Blanco (apparently more afraid of appearing weak than being incompetent) reply that she needed 24 hours to ponder the offer?
Yes.
Did President Bush urge Mayor Nagin to order an immediate mandatory evacuation of New Orleans, only to have Mayor Nagin wait 24 hours?
Yes.
Did FEMA Director Brown "lean far forward on Hurricane Katrina"?
Yes.
Did President Bush issue an emergency declaration even before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana?
Yes.
Did Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu use her Senate clout to secure the levees that were vital to New Orleans?
No.
Did Louisiana's United States Senators do what needed to be done to avert or at least blunt that readily foreseeable catastrophe now remembered as Hurricane Katrina?
No.
Did government reorganization (putting FEMA under the Homeland Security Department) rob FEMA of its independence and diminish its effectiveness in managing federal emergencies?
Yes.
Did FEMA Director Brown vigorously oppose this government reorganization pushed relentlessly by Congressional Democrats?
Yes.
Did FEMA Director Brown have plenty of experience managing hurricanes before Huricane Katrina?
Yes.
When four hurricanes struck Florida in 2004, did FEMA and FEMA Director Brown earn rave reviews for planning ahead and responding ahead, thereby putting Florida in the Bush column on Election Day 2004 and permitting President Bush's reelection?
Yes.
Did FEMA Director Brown head the International Arabian Horse Association before joining FEMA as counsel?
Yes.
Did he try to conceal that fact?
NO! In fact, at the hearing on Mr. Brown's nomination to be Deputy Director of FEMA, Mr. Brown was introduced by Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Republican of Colorado, and Senator Campbell not only lauded Mr. Brown for serving FEMA "steadfastly and tenaciously," but also highlighted Mr. Brown's accomplishments for the International Arabian Horse Association: "Prior to his current job, from 1991 to 2000, Mr. Brown was the Commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association, an international subsidiary of the National Governing Organization of the U.S. Olympic Committee. In his position there, he created ethical programs, enforcement policies and procedures, conducted investigations, and prosecuted fraud and corruption cases."
Did that fraud and corruption pall before the fraud and corruption of Louisiana and New Orleans?
Sadly, yes.
Was Mr. Brown in the process of resigning as FEMA Director as Hurricane Katrina approached Louisiana?
Yes.
Did the anti-Bush major media immediately make Mr. Brown the scapegoat and give the real culprits — Louisiana's Democrat politicians for scores of years generally and Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin particularly?
Yes.
If the Bush administration had taken control of the situation without Governor Blanco's permission, would Democrats and their many media allies have lauded him for acting decisively in a crisis when "that woman in the Statehouse" looked like "a deer in the headlights"?
OF COURSE NOT. The Dem strategy is to damn President Bush if he does and damn him if he doesn't. Under America's federal system, the state was in charge and the federal government needed permission to take control. If President Bush had not respected Governor Blanco's authority, the Dems would have raved that he was out of control and ripe for impeachment, conviction and removal from office, and a sexist too! If President Bush had not respected Mayor Nagin's authority, the Dems would have raved that he was out of control and ripe for impeachment, conviction and removal from office, and a racist too!
Should you doubt that?
NO! The Dems blamed President Bush for the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, even though he had been in office less than nine months and that "wall" between domestic and foreign intelligence kept the dots from being connected. And, as soon as The New York Times shamelessly helped the terrorists by disclosing America's secret terrorist surveillance program, the Democrats raved about President Bush behaving as though he is above the law and harassing political opponents instead of a wartime President using every bit of his inherent constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief and statutory authority since September 11, 2001 to protect the American people from more and worse terrorist attacks.
Is this a new Democrat strategy?
No. Democrats know that intelligence services around the world all concluded that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, and that the last Democrat president (Bill Clinton) believed that too. But they think that their path back to political control lies in depicting President Bush as a dictatorial deceiver who wanted to be a wartime President.
What does Mr. Brown want?
"[T]hat all facts be made public."
Isn't that what all Americans should want?
Absolutely!
Will all the facts show that Mr. Brown was scapegoated?
Yes.
Will all the facts show that the people of Louisiana need much better than Governor Blanco, Mayor Nagin and Senator Landrieu?
Yes.
Will the people of Louisiana get much better than Governor Blanco, Mayor Nagin and Senator Landrieu?
That depends upon the people of Louisiana?
Is Mr. Brown the latest Ray Donovan?
Yes. Ray Donovan, President Bush's first Secretary of Labor, was adjudged guilty of corruption by Democrats and their media allies. But he was innocent and acquitted in court. Whereupon he poignantly asked: "Where do I go to get my reputation back?"
Where does a scapegoat go to get his or her reputation back?
To the American people, who prefer the whole truth to major media misinformation.
Senator Joseph Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, commented that he expected Mr. Brown "to answer every question the committee puts to him truthfully." "I see no basis for him to refuse to answer any of our questions, and I hope the White House will not try to direct him not to answer our questions," the Senator elaborated
Andrew W. Lester, Mr. Brown's private attorney, declared: "Mr. Brown is going to testify before Congress. If he receives no guidance to the contrary, we'll do as any citizen should do — and that is to answer all questions fully, completely and accurately," Lester said.
Mr. Brown advised the White House by letter of his intention and the White House did not reply before the 5 PM, February 9, 2001, deadline set in the letter.
Mr. Brown's testimony should be riveting. During a staff interview in January, Mr. Brown reportedly told investigators he was aware of management problems at the agency that were highlighted in a consultant's report months before Katrina and attributed some of the problems to FEMA's merger with the Homeland Security Department in 2003.
With the benefit of hindsight, Mr. Brown reportedly lamented: "What I wish I had done was, frankly, just either quit earlier or whatever and gone to certain friends that I can't talk about and said we got to fix this — I mean, what's going on is nuts."
© Michael Gaynor
Former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael D. Brown "is widely considered the public face of the government's sluggish response to Katrina. But he signaled earlier this week that he was prepared to discuss his storm communications with President Bush and other top White House officials — a possible signal that his testimony would assign blame elsewhere." So said the Associated Press.
Finally, major media hinting that Mr. Brown was scapegoated.
Mr. Brown's duty is to tell the whole truth, not to serve meekly as a scapegoat. It is a duty he owes to God, country and family (wife, son, daughter, grandchild). No longer on the federal payroll, Mr. Brown is free to speak the whole truth.
A scapegoat is "a goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after which he is sent into the wilderness in the biblical ceremony for Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement." Also, 'one that bears the blame for others" and "one that is the object of irrational hostility."
Ironically, Jews created the scapegoat and became Hitler's scapegoats. In order to seize power in Germany, Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany's failure to win the First World War and anything else he could think of. Tragically, it worked.
As a result of Hurricane Katrina, a scapegoat was needed for what was mostly a Democrat disaster that was readily foreseeable and long in the making. Since the end of Reconstruction, Louisiana has been a Democrat stronghold. It was not until 1956 that a Republican President (General Dwight D. Eisenhower) carried Louisiana. The next Republican President to cary it was Richard M. Nixon, in 1972, when he carried virtually every state.
President Reagans and the Presidents Bush also carried Lousiana, but otherwise, and especially at the state level, Democrats dominated. Since Reconstruction, one Republican won one United States Senate seat from Louisiana once: David Vitter, in 2004. Republican governors could be counted on two fingers. And no Republican has been Mayor of New Orleans since Reconstruction.
Was it obvious that New Orleans, most of which is below sea level, would be devastated if struck by a ferocious hurricane?
Of course.
Did Louisiana's state officials and federal representatives prepare properly for that eventuality?
No.
Did Louisiana Governor Katheleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin either prepare adequately or fully cooperate either with President Bush, or FEMA Director Michael Brown, or even each other, to minimize the death and destruction from Hurricane Katrina?
No.
Did President Bush offer to have the federal government take control of the response to Hurricane Katrina, only to have Governor Blanco (apparently more afraid of appearing weak than being incompetent) reply that she needed 24 hours to ponder the offer?
Yes.
Did President Bush urge Mayor Nagin to order an immediate mandatory evacuation of New Orleans, only to have Mayor Nagin wait 24 hours?
Yes.
Did FEMA Director Brown "lean far forward on Hurricane Katrina"?
Yes.
Did President Bush issue an emergency declaration even before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana?
Yes.
Did Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu use her Senate clout to secure the levees that were vital to New Orleans?
No.
Did Louisiana's United States Senators do what needed to be done to avert or at least blunt that readily foreseeable catastrophe now remembered as Hurricane Katrina?
No.
Did government reorganization (putting FEMA under the Homeland Security Department) rob FEMA of its independence and diminish its effectiveness in managing federal emergencies?
Yes.
Did FEMA Director Brown vigorously oppose this government reorganization pushed relentlessly by Congressional Democrats?
Yes.
Did FEMA Director Brown have plenty of experience managing hurricanes before Huricane Katrina?
Yes.
When four hurricanes struck Florida in 2004, did FEMA and FEMA Director Brown earn rave reviews for planning ahead and responding ahead, thereby putting Florida in the Bush column on Election Day 2004 and permitting President Bush's reelection?
Yes.
Did FEMA Director Brown head the International Arabian Horse Association before joining FEMA as counsel?
Yes.
Did he try to conceal that fact?
NO! In fact, at the hearing on Mr. Brown's nomination to be Deputy Director of FEMA, Mr. Brown was introduced by Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Republican of Colorado, and Senator Campbell not only lauded Mr. Brown for serving FEMA "steadfastly and tenaciously," but also highlighted Mr. Brown's accomplishments for the International Arabian Horse Association: "Prior to his current job, from 1991 to 2000, Mr. Brown was the Commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association, an international subsidiary of the National Governing Organization of the U.S. Olympic Committee. In his position there, he created ethical programs, enforcement policies and procedures, conducted investigations, and prosecuted fraud and corruption cases."
Did that fraud and corruption pall before the fraud and corruption of Louisiana and New Orleans?
Sadly, yes.
Was Mr. Brown in the process of resigning as FEMA Director as Hurricane Katrina approached Louisiana?
Yes.
Did the anti-Bush major media immediately make Mr. Brown the scapegoat and give the real culprits — Louisiana's Democrat politicians for scores of years generally and Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin particularly?
Yes.
If the Bush administration had taken control of the situation without Governor Blanco's permission, would Democrats and their many media allies have lauded him for acting decisively in a crisis when "that woman in the Statehouse" looked like "a deer in the headlights"?
OF COURSE NOT. The Dem strategy is to damn President Bush if he does and damn him if he doesn't. Under America's federal system, the state was in charge and the federal government needed permission to take control. If President Bush had not respected Governor Blanco's authority, the Dems would have raved that he was out of control and ripe for impeachment, conviction and removal from office, and a sexist too! If President Bush had not respected Mayor Nagin's authority, the Dems would have raved that he was out of control and ripe for impeachment, conviction and removal from office, and a racist too!
Should you doubt that?
NO! The Dems blamed President Bush for the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, even though he had been in office less than nine months and that "wall" between domestic and foreign intelligence kept the dots from being connected. And, as soon as The New York Times shamelessly helped the terrorists by disclosing America's secret terrorist surveillance program, the Democrats raved about President Bush behaving as though he is above the law and harassing political opponents instead of a wartime President using every bit of his inherent constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief and statutory authority since September 11, 2001 to protect the American people from more and worse terrorist attacks.
Is this a new Democrat strategy?
No. Democrats know that intelligence services around the world all concluded that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, and that the last Democrat president (Bill Clinton) believed that too. But they think that their path back to political control lies in depicting President Bush as a dictatorial deceiver who wanted to be a wartime President.
What does Mr. Brown want?
"[T]hat all facts be made public."
Isn't that what all Americans should want?
Absolutely!
Will all the facts show that Mr. Brown was scapegoated?
Yes.
Will all the facts show that the people of Louisiana need much better than Governor Blanco, Mayor Nagin and Senator Landrieu?
Yes.
Will the people of Louisiana get much better than Governor Blanco, Mayor Nagin and Senator Landrieu?
That depends upon the people of Louisiana?
Is Mr. Brown the latest Ray Donovan?
Yes. Ray Donovan, President Bush's first Secretary of Labor, was adjudged guilty of corruption by Democrats and their media allies. But he was innocent and acquitted in court. Whereupon he poignantly asked: "Where do I go to get my reputation back?"
Where does a scapegoat go to get his or her reputation back?
To the American people, who prefer the whole truth to major media misinformation.
Senator Joseph Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, commented that he expected Mr. Brown "to answer every question the committee puts to him truthfully." "I see no basis for him to refuse to answer any of our questions, and I hope the White House will not try to direct him not to answer our questions," the Senator elaborated
Andrew W. Lester, Mr. Brown's private attorney, declared: "Mr. Brown is going to testify before Congress. If he receives no guidance to the contrary, we'll do as any citizen should do — and that is to answer all questions fully, completely and accurately," Lester said.
Mr. Brown advised the White House by letter of his intention and the White House did not reply before the 5 PM, February 9, 2001, deadline set in the letter.
Mr. Brown's testimony should be riveting. During a staff interview in January, Mr. Brown reportedly told investigators he was aware of management problems at the agency that were highlighted in a consultant's report months before Katrina and attributed some of the problems to FEMA's merger with the Homeland Security Department in 2003.
With the benefit of hindsight, Mr. Brown reportedly lamented: "What I wish I had done was, frankly, just either quit earlier or whatever and gone to certain friends that I can't talk about and said we got to fix this — I mean, what's going on is nuts."
© Michael Gaynor
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