Michael Brown says in FEMA email: 'I'm a fashion god'

[quaoar]

Incredible.
This is from an AP story that just moved (so I don't have the link yet) about a House hearing on Katrina contracts. the excerpt below quotes new emails on brown's obsession with looking good for TV:


The e-mails show that Brown, who had been planning to step down from his post when the storm hit, was preoccupied with his image on television even as one of the first FEMA officials to arrive in New Orleans, Marty Bahamonde, was reporting a crisis situation of increasing chaos to FEMA officials.

“My eyes must certainly be deceiving me. You look fabulous — and I’m not talking the makeup,” writes Cindy Taylor, FEMA’s deputy director of public affairs to Brown on 7:10 a.m. local time on Aug. 29.

“I got it at Nordstroms,” Brown writes back. “Are you proud of me? Can I quit now? Can I go home?” An hour later, Brown adds: “If you’ll look at my lovely FEMA attire, you’ll really vomit. I am a fashion god.”

A week later, Brown’s aide, Sharon Worthy, reminds him to pay heed to his image on TV. “In this crises and on TV you just need to look more hardworking ... ROLL UP THE SLEEVES!” Worthy wrote, noting that even President Bush “rolled his sleeves to just below the elbow.”

Update to add link:
http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=4065565

[MichiganVote]

1. Is this fucking asshole off the taxpayer payroll yet?

[Richard Steele]

6. Nope, he gets a new month-long "consultant" contract every month.

[MichiganVote]

12. What the hell is wrong with us in America? Have we totally lost our minds?

[quaoar]

13. Umm. Yes.

[Richard Steele]

17. Enough of us to constitute a "voting bloc", anyway....

[Bark Bark Bark]

70. Shhhhh! I'm watching "Lost!" (n/t)

[ClintonTyree]

46. He has to pass on his invaluable experience....

in disaster relief. :eyes: I know, unbelievable, isn't it? :banghead:

[emrenz]

68. Or his valuable inexperience....

[Surya Gayatri]

47. I say keep the asshat on the FEMA payroll...

He'll just go on giving BushCo the kind of negative publicity we couldn't even pay for. He's too good to get rid of! SG

:evilgrin:

[Marie26]

57. Did he get one for November? n/t

[sarcasmo]

2. This guy should be thrown in Jail along with MR Danger, Cheney, Frist

Rove, and Libby.

[TootsieToots]

69. Agreed!

At the very least, wouldn't this be an act of negligent homicide? Oh, if only we lived in a perfect world....

[sarcasmo]

73. Welcome to D/U Tootsie.

[Broken_Hero]

75. yeah, no doubt about that.

This idiot has caused death by his inaction, and bravdo. This man should be put on trial for murder, no joke, he should be on trial for murder. His inept decision making cost people their lives, he should stand trial. I am very upset over this moron, and if i were effected personally in Katrina, man, i would probably start hunting this man down, to make him accountable.

[WI_DEM]

3. and for pete's sake, Don't bother him while he's eating!

[thebigidea]

4. so for Republicans, "hard work" translates into rolling up their sleeves

well, that explains a lot.

[leesa]

48. Hey. It's hard work to get it to stay "just below the elbow".

[DanCa]

5. So Brownie has a messiah complex :)

No wonder why he and chimpo get along so well.

[tanyev]

7. I hope they measured the exact point where the rolled up sleeves

looked really, really convincing. Have to be able to do it the same way over and over again, you know.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

8. All image.....No substance. Seems to be a common theme these days of W

:dunce:

[SillyGoose]

9. What the f* is wrong with this guy?

Commenting on his dopey outfit while people were dying!! OMFG. Why is this scum still on the payroll and why isn't he behind bars somewhere? And what's up with the his little penpals - you look fabulous --- roll up your sleeves??

:grr:

[quaoar]

10. reminded me of the old SNL skit

with Billy Krystal: "You look mah-velous!"

[SillyGoose]

11. LOL! (nt)

[MisterP]

15. BROWNIE says "fabulous" all the time too?

I thought it was only the West-Texas-Girl Mince President?

[Tesla]

27. Is he married???

Fabulous is a undercover term for Gay Male.

[tanyev]

14. I'm too sexy for my shirt too sexy for my shirt

So sexy it hurts
And I'm too sexy for Milan too sexy for Milan
New York and Japan

I'm a model you know what I mean
And I do my little turn on the catwalk
Yeah on the catwalk on the catwalk yeah
I do my little turn on the catwalk

Work it now, Brownie. You go, boy!


:grr:

[Mad_Dem_X]

32. LOL! Thanks for the earworm. Reminds me of

RuPaul's song "Supermodel."

Work, you better work it, girl
Do your thing, on the runway
Work, you better work it girl
Wet your lips and make love to the camera

Turn to left! Now turn to the right!

[snowbear]

71. LOL... roll em up Brownie!

[fearnobush]

16. Burn down all Corporate Media plaza's if they bury this story.

Burn them down. Yes, I'm pissed.

[quaoar]

31. CNN was all over this today

They even brought in James Lee Witt to comment on the emails.

[struggle4progress]

18. "Well, damn! The big flood comes, and I've got nothing to wear!"

[Tsiyu]

19. Image over substance

Gotta "look like you're working hard" when you're actually living like Billy Madison on the public dole.

[DUBYASCREWEDUS]

36. "It's Hard Work"

Weren't those Moron's words in the first debate last year? Being pResident is "Hard Work"!!!

[Glenmar]

42. Yes!!!

I counted at least a half a dozen times he said it during the debate!

[Tsiyu]

63. It appears that Repukes wouldn't know hard work if it bit them

in the ass.

Funny how they are "all about the bible" and what Gawd wants, but they never seemed to notice that, after Adam and Eve sinned, Adam was ordered to work his ass off to survive - meaning ALL men must work their asses off to survive.

Oh, wait. Only WOMEN should be punished according to the "good book." Which makes their supposed "faith" worthless and empty. They prove by their actions that there cannot be a Gawd.

If there was one, he or she would kick their lazy, elitest welfare asses.

[otohara]

20. If He Was Planning to Step Down Anyway?

why is he still being paid?

[No Exit]

21. I hope the gang at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop beat him up....

[Dr Fate]

22. The Republicans really know how to pick 'em.

n/t

[Hekate]

23. It's their bone-deep contempt for the actual functions of government

My latest theory. I keep trying to somehow wrap my mind around some explanation for their behavior, and that's my latest. The whole Grover Norquist/Xian Reconstructionist thing has me believing that this cabal really intends to destroy our government out of sheer contempt for its essential functions.

Hekate

[tanyev]

41. Yes. And they are confident they will have plenty of money to

pay private companies for any of those functions they need.

[slor]

24. He learned his vanity...

from his boss, who is all image, no substance.

[ElectroPrincess]

25. Exactly!

All we get from this Executive Branch is HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! NO Delivery! :P

[cassiepriam]

26. Notice how the female aides are always massaging egos??

[Tesla]

28. It wouldn't look good to have the REAL stylist with them....

they stay back and look for "Fabulous Ties".

[Catfight]

29. The puppet presidency keeps going lower and lower. KICKED

[The Backlash Cometh]

30. Oh my God! The country has been overtaken by fraternity row.

[IronLionZion]

33. Republicans always tell you the government won't help you

then they get elected to office and prove it.

:mad:

[yellowcanine]

34. I am sick of hearing about Michael Brown. Not saying this news should not

be reported, just that I am sick of hearing about him. At the least, I wish we could just refer to him as "that FEMA TURD". Then every item about him would at least be mildly entertaining.

[Delphinus]

35. AOL's "news",

don't know if it's all "news" outlets or not, says all this was to boost the morale of the employees. Yeah, right.

[Javaman]

37. Call me kooky, but...

This comes off like it's, "Queer eye for the FEMA guy".

[peekaloo]

38. How many years did he spend staring at horse asses? nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

39. "just below the elbow": Are they hiding needle marks? . . . :)

:)

[RaleighNCDUer]

40. I could almost accept that these emails were stress-induced black

humor if the guy had been actually doing his fucking job at the time - but hearing about these, and then the other emails coming from the dome saying PEOPLE ARE DYING HERE, and those emails being ignored and forwarded past him ...

I'm speechless.

[Chorophyll]

43. Sociopaths...

I'm convinced that the people at the top levels of this administration are all sociopaths. This story pretty well proves it. They lack the capacity to understand human suffering. I mean, Bush can't even FAKE a sympathetic facial expression. It would be funny if it wasn't scary.

[Griffy]

52. DING DING DING.. correct!! welcome to DU! you are right on...

my wife is a social worker and she said the same thing... its obvious.. and I am outraged! He feels no responsiblity for the deaths his inaction caused! I say he should be left to die in an attic up to his shoulders in water, like those that died waiting for him to finish dinner and dress up nice for the cameras! ..and anyone that supports his behavior.. any one that cant see the evil in his heart, the complete lack of compassion, can join him in the attic!

THIS is the scourge we face, the hidden sociopaths smiling at us everyday, and cutting our throats when we look away, still smiling!

grr.. I am so angry about this.. could it be any clearer.. what do Americans need to see!

BE the MEDIA.. get this info out there!!!!

[Chorophyll]

55. Thanks for the welcome, Griffy.

My sister's a social worker, too. :)

[newyawker99]

60. Hi Chorophyll!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Borgnine]

44. There should be laws against being a douchebag.

If only it were so... Brownie would be serving a life sentence.

[maxrandb]

45. "Let Them Shop at Wal-mart"

"I got mine at Nordstrom's"

What Would Jesus Wear?

Damn!! You just can't make this shit up. If this is not an indictment of this narcissistic regime and their "image over everything" mis-administration...I don't know what is.

Any sane American that votes for ANY EFFFING REPUBLIKKKAN in 2006 or 2008 should be charged with "high crimes and misdemeanors", and treason. Voting for ANY EFFING REPUBLIKKAN is leading to the destruction of our country.

and Yeah Tommy, I did just say that voting Republican should be criminal!!!! Because IT IS!!!!!!!!

[SOS]

49. A new definition

for the expression "empty suit".

[Initech]

50. Where's the exploding head GIF?

Really, that's what I felt like when I read this article.

Wow, what a total douchebag. :puke:

[Patchuli]

51. "Fashion god?!"

You're FIRED 'Brownie!' Geez louise!

[progressivebydesign]

53. Hate to be the voice of reason, but he's not the one obsessed.

He is being sarcastic about being forced to dress a part and having to have some sort of image. You can tell he's tired of being handled. Now that I see his personality thru these, he just seems over his head. He's being sarcastic about the "fashion god" thing. I know that many are so blinded by partisan rage that they can't see the nuances in these things, but he sounds pretty much disgusted by all of the fakery in the job at that point. "can I quit now?" "Can I go home?". He fucked up in a major way, but he was a TOTAL scapegoat for Bush and Company. He was put into that job and left to flounder. I'm not slamming the guy based upon those emails, he's a fellow that will write a book at some point and it'll be very revealing.

[Chorophyll]

58. No doubt he knew he was over his head

...but then he didn't *have* to take the job, did he. Did he expect there to just not be any hurricanes until 2008? If you read the entire story, the emails that he didn't bother to answer are pretty telling.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

54. I have got to use that as my sig. line. n/t

[Marie26]

56. The Smoking Gun has all the emails

Smoking Gun went ahead and put up all the emails. My favorite? Brownie's email on Sept. 2 (you have to imagine the whine here): "Last hurrah (in Gulf Coast) was supposed to have been Labor Day. Am trapped now, please rescue me!" This is the same day that Mayor Nagin sent out his "desperate SOS" about the people of New Orleans who were still trapped in the Superdome & Convention Center. But Brownie isn't thinking of them. He's feeling sorry for himself because this means he can't go back to DC that day. He has the gall to say that HE'S trapped, that HE needs rescued, because he has to actually do his job!
I'd like to think he was being sarcastic or something, but the Congressional hearing confirmed to me just what a self-absorbed jerk Brown really is. He simply didn't care.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1103051fema1.html

[stevietheman]

59. These people are downright creepy. Where do these people come from?

And how in the heck do these kind of people get into public service?

[maxrandb]

62. They Come From Freaker Republic

and some of them are now elected to your local school boards.

If that doesn't scare the majority of the American people into action...I don't know what will.

Bottom line is this. The pretzledent may be at 35% approval, but if that 35% represents 51% of those casting votes...we're screwed.

We need to get off our asses and vote.

[rucky]

74. Psychos addicted to power.

it's not that they hate America persay. They just hate people.

[NVMojo]

61. sheer evil!!! Why is that bastard still on the FEMA payroll!!????

they just said that on CNN!!!

[TootsieToots]

72. The COMPLETELY logical answer...

According to the latest ish of TIME...

"We don't want to sacrifice that ability simply in order to make an image point," said Skeletor (AKA Chertoff).

And just to make you a little more sick -- his annual salary? $148,000. But then again, proper sleeve rolling is HARD WORK!

[tbolt]

64. Insanity

Evidently there are more assholes out there than decent people because these assholes keep electing these assholes that give these assholes these jobs. Did I leave anything out?

[BattyDem]

65. I thought this was from The Onion!

:rofl:

Yes folks, we have officially crossed over into The Twilight Zone, where truth is stranger than fiction! :crazy:

[Carolab]

66. Another report on MSNBC.com

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9912186/

[spooky3]

67. Vote it up at Yahoo.com!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051103/ap_on_go_co/fema_brown

[Mr_Spock]

76. Actually, he's an unemployable buffoon...

:rofl:

[FourStarDemocrat]

77. Check this out...

A photoshop special..made by a friend :)

[quaoar]

78. That definitely rates 4 stars

LOL

[MojoXN]

79. Fuck you, Brownie!

You may be a fashion "God", but I have a feeling that the real God doesn't take kindly to your obsession with fashion, especially since your concern with your appearence took precedence over helping your fellow man. God is coming, and she is PISSED!

MojoXN

[Porcupine]

80. Oh! Uh, I just thought he was to illiterate to read dispatches.....

turns out that he was behaving like a hollywood camera queen.

If anyone can think of anything more embarrassing to the US than to admit our director of emergency management was shopping for outfits to wear while US citizens were dieing on camera. Welll, just shut the effing hell up for a few weeks.


I miss the old republic.