'Brownie' seeks fresh start as consultant in Colorado

[kskiska]

WASHINGTON -- He learned his lessons, and now they're for sale.

Ousted FEMA director Michael Brown, who was vilified over his handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, plans to make a fresh start in Colorado, selling his expertise about how emergency planning can go right or so very wrong.

"You have to do it with candor. To do it otherwise gives you no credibility," Brown said Wednesday. "I think people are curious: 'My gosh, what was it like? The media just really beat you up. You made mistakes. I don't want to be in that situation. How do I avoid that?' "

(snip)

Critics portrayed him as the ultimate political crony, since his emergency experience was brief, as a low-level government employee and city councilman, in Edmond, Okla., and he had more recently spent a decade as commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association, based in Colorado.

As FEMA counsel, he played a role in the response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, was promoted to deputy director and later replaced Allbaugh in the top job. He describes that advancement as "the American Way."

By the time Katrina hit, he said, he had handled more than 160 disasters, including four hurricanes in Florida.

"You come in, and you work your way up through an organization," he said. "You learn the organization. You gain your experience."

more…
http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=BROWNIE-11-23-05

[hatrack]

1. I thought he'd be returning to the exacting and exciting world of . . .

equine entertainment!!! :evilgrin:

[Canuckistanian]

3. I think he's more of an expert on equine anuses...

Or maybe "Disaster Fashion Tips"

[MichiganVote]

8. Goat rodeo is more like it

[Gregorian]

13. Haha. I was thinking more along the lines of midget mud wrestling.

In the nude, of course.

[Rick Myers]

2. So he's making money telling other ASSHATS how to fuck up and cash in!!!

Kill me!!

[Canuckistanian]

6. "How I screwed a major federal agency.."

".. and made a million dollars. You, too can learn the secrets!"

[MuseRider]

4. How is it that these people

fuck up so badly and so publicly and still manage to fall up? My guess is he will make a ton of money off this. Probably find himself hired by government officials for his expertise.

[stevedeshazer]

5. What an insult to the people of New Orleans.

And to underemployed and overqualified workers everywher in America.

[PassingFair]

7. He was "vilified"!

:puke:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

19. My reaction precisely...

How dare they make him out to be the victim!

[spindrifter]

9. Consultant is just another word for unemployed. n/t

[Yavin4]

10. Good People of Colorado, RUN!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!

Brownie is coming. Run!!!!

[librechik]

35. Colorado will chew him up

we may be red, but we don't take to uppity greenhorns like Brownie.

He'll make a living off the abundant Texans living in Vail, no doubt. He is the ultimate crony, after all...

[AspenRose]

39. Don't even get me started....

The pockets of red you see in western states are often (not always, but often) due to Texas transplants. (I know, I was raised in TX and live in NM now.) I'm amazed at the number of conservative Texans who have descended in Colorado. Almost like the California exodus to Colorado years back. The Focus on the Family juggernaut in Colorado Springs doesn't help.

We really need to fight to keep CO and NM blue.....

[uppityperson]

11. What is it that Catbert said? I like to con and I like to insult

I'll be a consultant?

"He compared his ascension at FEMA to a classic rags-to-riches story: "How many people come into a company in the mail room and work their way up to become president of the company?" he said."

[Skittles]

14. being a bush donor/whore sure helped, didn't it

:puke:

[cliss]

12. What a god-damned crony.

"You come in, and you work your way up through an organization".

Since WHEN did Heckuva job Brownie ever work his way up through an organization? He started at the top of FEMA. What a jerk.

Here's another one: "To do it otherwise gives you no credibility".

Since WHEN did Brownie have any credibility. I heard that at his last job, he was in charge of horses, and they died under his "care". The man is incorrigible.

[ShockediSay]

15. cronyism is just another word for corruption n/t

[Kagemusha]

16. He was confirmed as deputy director.

Then his boss quit and resurfaced as a consultant during the Katrina aftermath, making a killing.

[Eugene]

17. The only "expertise" Brown has to peddle is any remaining

connections he has withing FEMA or BushCo in general.
He's just another crony turned lobbyist.

[Catrina]

18. They have no shame!!!

:cry: for all those who lost their lives because of their total and complete negligence and incompetence.

The dangerous cronyism of this administration has resulted in the loss of so many lives, and Browie, who admittedly is not the only one responsible although he has become the face of this administration's complete disdain for human life, still seems blissfully unaware of what he is responsible for.

The fact that he still shows his face in public, while the disastrous results of his incompetence are still being uncovered, with over 6,000 victims still unaccounted for and more than 1,000 confirmed dead, says to me, that he is pathological ~ insane, might be a better word.

I will give up on America altogether, I think, if anyone takes this latest display of insanity seriously. When hard-working Americans are struggling to pay for their greed, to heat their homes, feed their families, while this greedy, creep still thinks he can cash in on his FAILURE, (didn't we used to cash in on SUCCESS?) and he is not run out of wherever he dares to appear in public, I have to give up and admit that we are lost.

Remember New Orleans and demand that the dead be given the respect the deserve. Their bodies are still lying in a morgue, unidentified because there is no money to properly do the job ~ while Browie was still on the payroll, there was money for that!! Thousands more have not yet been found. He should have the decency to hide in shame for his role in this disaster. But the word decency is not in the vocabulary of these monsters ~

[MissMarple]

20. God save, Colorado. God save us all.

These people don't know how stupid they are.

"The original plan was to be gone before the start of hurricane season," he said. "It couldn't quite get done in time, and so . . . my leaving was delayed slightly. And the rest is history."

"I came out with a couple of goals in mind, to tell the truth, to admit to the mistakes that were made. . . . If people want to take shots at me, fine, but let's figure out a way to make this thing work better next time."


Ah huh....

[ThePopulist]

21. I don't know what fucking idiot would hire this turd but.....

hey, it's their money. They want to waste it on an incompetent buffoon - have fun and be my guest.

[Vidar]

22. Bush cronies become consulatants on how not to do the job. Figures.

[buddysmellgood]

23. I was once mistaken for a doctor. I performed emergency surgery on a

pregnant woman. She and the child died. Oh well. Now, I'm offering my services to others who want to know the ups and downs of emergency surgery.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

60. LOL, that's darkly funny. Thanks for the laugh. n/t

MKJ

[cassiepriam]

24. No hurricanes in Colorado, thank god.

[AspenRose]

40. Just forest fires, avalanches....and the occasional controversial

Court TV or murder exclusive (Jon Benet, Kobe, Columbine, etc.)

[cassiepriam]

47. oh oh you're doomed.... brownie cannot handle this.

[KarenS]

25. Longmont-Boulder area??

If the article meant Boulder, it would have said it,,,, If the article meant Longmont, it would have said Longmont-Boulder,,,,
*sigh*

I live in Longmont.

[lovelaureng]

26. What a dill hole!

Who is actually going to pay for his "expertise"?

[truthisfreedom]

27. follow this MF to the end of the world and expose his fakeness.

he's the fakest fake ever.

[shadowknows69]

28. Good luck Brownie!!!

Here's hoping you get caught in a storm and stranded at The Overlook Hotel with Jack Torrance.

[lakeguy]

29. "you come in and you work your way to the top"...

i don't blowjobs count as work, "brownie".

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[area51]

31. "I don't want to be in that situation. How do I avoid that?"

Well, Drownie, you start by being qualified, you sick POS.

[are_we_united_yet]

32. Lands 'Heck of a job'

:eyes:

[leesa]

33. Why isn't he on trial for the murder of thousands by negligence?

[progressivebydesign]

34. He doesn't know enough about WHY he fucked up to sell his expertise.

You know, you have to actually KNOW what you did wrong, and how to do it the right way, in order to be of any help. Now, if anyone needs crisis wardrobe advice, he's your guy. How much of that Homeland Security money given to local agencies do you think Brownie will be taking in??? Yeah, you can bet he'll be on the approved vendor list.

[0007]

36. The lives that may have been different.......Now Brownie sez this;

"Look, 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. "So 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."

[Ernesto]

37. But when does he get the Medal of Freedom?

[Demeter]

38. Well, There Goes The Continental Divide

Isn't much else one can mess up in Colorado, that isn't already messed up, that is.

[EndElectoral]

41. I didn't know there were hurricanes in Colorado!

[Harper_is_Bush]

42. What he's saying in this quote is "it wasn't my fault!!!"

"Look, 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. "So 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."

He sickens me.

And his comment about candor is out of the Bush playbook. He's basically saying it doesn't matter what you do or say...just use candor and you'll have credibility.

What an evil little bushbot.

[antonialee839]

43. I swear this bunch has no shame.

[sabra]

44. The man should be in jail, this so sad :-(

[VolcanoJen]

45. Well, My Gosh, Brownie!!

What was it like, going through Katrina?

You'd be the one to ask. You really seemed to be suffering. Fashion God. Yuppie foodie snob. Crony.

To this day, Brownie, you have no humility, no shame, no sense of dignity. A horrific tragedy left a permanent scar on the psyche of a nation, and this nation entrusted you to manage the crisis. And to this day, it's all about you, and you only.

After Katrina, some people asked themselves, "How? What country is this?" Brownie looked in the mirror and said, "What's in it for me?"

You're a sniveling whore, Brownie. Anyone who would purchase your advice is a fool and deserves to suffer you.

/end rant

[opihimoimoi]

46. From my view....he has NOT LEARNED SHIT...Everything I saw and heard

confirms the Worst...he is the Brownie they keep mentioning over the Years....

[CRK7376]

48. So what fool would

hire this idiot to help with their pre-disaster training/planning or post-disaster cleanup ?

[BiggJawn]

49. Using that rationale, I should become a Marriage Counselor...

Since I can't seem to do THAT right.

Ah well, them's what can't DO, CONSULT!

I'd like to say I hope he starves, but Municpalities will only remember that he was FEMA director, not that he was a TOTAL fuck-up at it....

[OKNancy]

50. kick

:kick:

[annabanana]

51. Ex-FEMA Head Starts Disaster Planning Firm

"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."

"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.

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'm so glad he still has his parents "on board")



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051125/ap_on_re_us/brown_disasters

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

52. I'm sure his consulting company will be deluged with new clients

who were impressed with his stellar performance as the director of FEMA. I know that if I were a mayor or a governor, and was worried about my community's ability to respond to a disaster, the first person I would call for advice is Mr. Brown. I could get crucial information from him, like: What should I wear during press conferences after the disaster strikes? And where should I go for dinner?

[jilln]

53. I can tell you exactly who the new clients will be

US.

Govt. contracts. No bid, of course. Surely you didn't think that just because he was unqualified and incompetent, this administration would quit PAYING him?!?

[OregonBlue]

57. That's exactly what I thought. Hope someone in Colorado

will be keeping track of who he contracts with. If it's FEMA, the state needs to make a huge fuss. This guy should not be allowed government no-bid contracts and to make his fortune off taxpayer dollars!!

Did this get posted on "State" forum and was it forwarded to Dem reps from Colorado?

[UpInArms]

54. ...

do these guys practice their comedic routines or does it just come naturally?

[flyingfysh]

55. "disaster planning firm"??

Let me guess - he's going to create more disasters?

[spanone]

56. I'm sure he'll do a hekuva job. Shameless fool.

[truthInCO]

58. Absurd!

I don't how he thinks he is going to be successfull, us Coloradans have fully-functioning bullsh*t detectors. I wouldn't say he worked his way up through anything, as he worked his way out. He might as well go into selling flood insurance in LA!

[madmark]

59. When you write that first consulting fee check how do you stop your

head from exploding?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

61. Isn't it wonderful

He gets to make big bucks for fucking up.

[CTyankee]

62. God's punishment to red states

Each red state should get its own Brownie (but I feel sorry for the kids and the Dems who tried so hard!).

[Pharlo]

63. Well, if I lived in CA

I'd keep an eye on this incompetent buffoon. Because, based upon past GOP performances, I wouldn't put it past the Gropenator to hire Brownie's firm to plan for THE QUAKE.

[Fovea]

64. Finally, as a fashion consultant Brown finds his calling...

You say he's not going to be a fashion consultant, but a Emergency Management consultant????

Oh, how sad for him.

[thebigidea]

65. there is no "fresh start" - "heckuva job brownie" will be on his tombstone

that fool will never escape his failure.

[banana republican]

66. Influence For Sale; Influence For Sale; Only $1000 per hour;

Influence Anyone; Get it while it's hot.....