Today a variety of e-mails from the desk of Michael Brown, ex-FEMA director, were released and I'm pissed. It's difficult not to get angry when so many lives are affected by this sniveling piece of crap. Not only does he completely ignore many critical details, he still has the time to worry about his appearance, his reputation, and finding a dog sitter. I have a dog, and I understand the importance of man's best friend, but when you are the most important official responsible for the support of hundreds of thousands of victims of a the largest natural disaster in US history, I'd imagine that maybe someone else can worry about it. I felt extremely skeptical of his capabilities to begin with, especially as I found out more about his background and lack of experience. These e-mails just seal the deal. He did not respond to information about the breach and also instead of acting on the information he did have, he chose to assume it was faulty. I nearly laughed out loud at his remarks regarding his choice of tie. My question is, if this guy was such an inept choice for FEMA director, should Bush be held responsible? There are suggestions that Brown got the post because he was friends with the president in the first place. And still, the slow release of documents continues to impede congresses investigation of the post-hurricane response. When will the country wise up and stop giving the president so much slack in these significant situations? Does having the most power in the free world excuse you from any culpability? I personally believe that this is unacceptable. If anything, he should be scrutinized intensely and constantly. The flooding of my house may have been averted had the government acted quicker qith the information they were provided. Under President Clinton, FEMA had a position in the cabinet and plenty more funding. When Bush came into the White House, much of the funding was cut and the organization became a joke, bogged down by bueracracy. For these reasons I find that I am more partial to the cause of both Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco. They should not be exonerated either, but I find more fault with the federal level. Their contributions were delayed and inefficient. The tragedy is that many more lives could potentially have been saved. On a brief tangent, this president has resided over one major aspect of the future of America. He has been given the power to deliver the nominations for not one, but two supreme court justices. Does this scare anyone else besides me? And yet we live in a democracy that chose to vote him into office not once, but twice. I did my part in trying to deny his entrance, but that was all I could do. I also wonder if Michael Brown personally has a gulty conscience regarding the scenario or does he have his morning cappucino without a glimmer of remorse for his actions? This may seem harsh, but I hope he goes to bed crying every single night. Somehow I doubt it. If you get a chance, check out the emails over on cnn.com.
On a completely unrelated note, I've been joining the girls volleyball team for practice the last two days. It's been so satisfying to get out on that court. Not only is it great excercise, but it brings back great memories. I remember spending the summer after my sophmore year of High School on Venice Beach in LA playing beach volleyball for hours on end. It also makes me realize that I need to get back on the tennis court before I turn forty. My dad was a tennis player in college and actually played professionally for about two weeks. He travelled to Europe and was in a tournament where if he had won one more match, he would have played John McEnroe. Unfortuantely he lost and now his great story is how he almost played John. Come to think of it though, he hasn't told that story in a long time. Another fun random tidbit of info, his father Gil Sussman, was a professional ping pong player. He was ranked number two in the country, but made his name playing doubles with the number one player. I never met him, but I wish he could have taught me a thing or two about ping pong. I always wondered if that was something my dad just made up, but I'm pretty sure it's true. I just haven't taken the time to look it up on my own. I'll let the mystery and intrigue simmer for a few more years and then check it out.
Fuck Michael Brown. Goodnight.
