Laughing stock of Katrina (Brownie) makes disaster his business (Guardian)

[Up2Late]

(Michael Brown: "Laughing stock", "man-made calamity", "a national joke," God, I love The Guardian!)

Laughing stock of Katrina makes disaster his business

Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Saturday November 26, 2005
The Guardian

Michael Brown, the bureaucrat who headed America's response to Hurricane Katrina and himself became a symbol of man-made calamity, is going into the disaster management business. He is setting up as a consultant, marketing his expertise on coping with catastrophe - natural and self-made.

"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," Mr Brown told the Rocky Mountain News. "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 plans to base his business in the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado, which is unlikely to suffer a hurricane in the near future, and claims to have already signed up clients for his new venture. As director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he became a national joke soon after Katrina made landfall. As stories emerged of hellish conditions at evacuee shelters, and images of poor, mostly black citizens of New Orleans begging for food hit television screens, Mr Brown seemed eerily detached.

In television interviews the Fema director said he was unaware that hundreds of people were marooned at the New Orleans convention centre. "Don't you guys watch television?" the exasperated anchor asked

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/hurricanes2005/story/0,16546,1651332,00.html?gusrc=rss>
(more at link above)

[ashling]

1. Brownie's Business card

CODE BROWN: DISASTER
"Disaster is my business - my only business"

[Fridays Child]

2. Among the services he will offer...

Dressing for Disaster: fresh-off-the-runway fashions for style-savvy preparedness professionals

/sarcasm

[Octafish]

3. Here's the REAL laughing stock of Katrina...

A crazy monkey strums along while his fellow Americans drown in their homes.

[Swamp Rat]

4. Negligent homicide

edit: En masse.

[Octafish]

5. Hey-ya, Swamp Rat!

That's some great art you're creating, Compay! It marks the age. Your work serves as an indictment of the principals.

A story: My niece the True do-gooder and I were discussing politics with family and friends over turkey and for some reason the topic turned to the BFEE. At that moment, I put a couple of fingers under my nose to let her know what I thought of these fascists. She burst out laughing and said that someone in her office speaks in sign language and said pointing two fingers under one's nose and brushing down is the sign for both Hitler and ass-hole. Gee. I didn't know that. And to think all I had to do was add Bushler for inspiration to make a real trifecta.

[Swamp Rat]

6. Speaking of 'ages', I wish Time would use my cover idea...

... but I doubt they will. :)

Dat's a funny story 'bout sign language and Arsloch Hitler. :D

[Erika]

7. W's the real criminal of Katrina

He partied while people died, Just like in Vietnam.

[Up2Late]

8. That pictures has always scared me...

...the way it looks like a snake tongue is coming out of his mouth, or maybe it WAS his tongue!

[Up2Late]

9. kick n/t

:kick: