http://rense.com/general67/scm.htmMike Brown Advises
'Take The Scenic
Route In Life'
By Judith Moriarty
noahshouse@adelphia.net9-12-5
Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, and Michael Brown Director of FEMA, finally showed up days late, and a dollar short, to the worst natural catastrophe this country. Rumsfeld, who calls those shredded in Iraq, "collateral damage", and "not counted", can hardly be counted on to elicit heartfelt compassion; for hundreds of thousands of victims, dead, homeless, jobless, or left behind to die in flooded nursing homes, charity hospitals, the Convention Center, the Superdome, and ramshackle housing - without food or water. While the media feigned outrage, and officials called for harsh measures; for those caught looting stores, of foodstuffs, shoes, diapers, clothing and, yikes, plasma TVs - all of it junk from China slave labor factories, there was little outrage over the vans that pulled up to Iraq's museum, and systematically looted the place of tens of thousands, of irreplaceable artifacts - Baghdad being the Cradle of Civilization. Apparently 'collectors' knew exactly what they wanted, as those doing the looting knew what was of value. Vaults holding the most valuable of items - had their doors blown off. Meantime U.S. soldiers sat on tanks and guarded the Ministry of Oil. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, when confronted with this mayhem, benignly shrugged and said, "Democracy is a messy business. Stuff happens." There's looting and then there's looting, it all depends on the circumstances, the color of one's skin, and the message wished conveyed to the mind - numbed populous.
Michael Brown's credentials for running the country's number one disaster agency; was his stint directing the International Arabian Horse Association, from which he was fired. But in the good ol' boys, in-crowd, Brown replaced Joe Allbaugh of FEMA, his old college roommate. Allbaugh went on to bigger bucks in the lobbying field for corporate interests in Iraq.
But hey, they needed a fall guy, a stooge, for when the proverbial crap hit the fan, and Brown is perfect for the job. Everyone seems SHOCKED, that Brown proved so inept and out - to - lunch! Please! Nobody in Congress or the media paid any attention when Brown replaced his buddy Allbaugh. Heck lap - dog Senator Lieberman who's not sure what party he belongs to, remarked at confirmation hearings, that Brown had "particularly useful" qualifications because he had worked in Edmond, Oklahoma, 30 years ago as an assistant city manager. Hey, I worked at an A&P to earn money for my hospital training; I wonder what cushy job I can get?
Out here in the real world try getting a job today without pissing in a bottle for suspected drugs, taking a lie detector test - lest you be tempted to steal some piece of imported trash, and a background search, that takes you back to the night you were conceived! Chances are, in this self - righteous - holier - than - thou environment; you better hope it was in a proper bedroom, between dutifully married people, and not in a car, on the beach, or some sleazy motel room. All of this for a job a wigget factory, stocking shelves, a flagman on a highway job, or collecting carts in some asphalt parking lot.
Now none of this is applicable if your aspirations are higher; like becoming President, running a Savings and Loan Bank, becoming a TV evangelist, running Amtrak, an airline company, or a corporation; responsible for billions, and the job security/ pensions of thousands of employees. Here you get a pass and go directly to Park Place. One might think that a person entrusted with the nation's welfare in times of catastrophe, might need a background in organizational skills? With no Arabian horses - reported as floating dead and bloated, in the muck and mire of the sewage, of New Orleans - maybe Brown thought that was his assignment? No wonder the President said he was doing a "heck of a job".
It's been reported, that Mr. Brown's job as assistant city manager in Edmond, was nothing more than an "internship". The best that his boss could say about Mike was that he was on time and always wore a "suit and a starched white shirt". That's good enough for me. I know that if I were sitting out in the 100% humidity of 100 degree Louisiana swamp heat; with dead bodies, rats, water moccasins, and alligators waiting to chomp on me, as soon as I keeled over; that Mike in his suit and starched shirt just might look like the second coming of Christ . But then Mike wouldn't have appeared out of the scorching, blistering haze; because by his own admission, he was totally unaware of the tens of thousands of citizens left stranded at the convention center for days - although that's all that was on TV hour after hour after hour.
Cheney, tan and rested, from fly fishing in the pristine waters of Jackson Hole, Wyoming; absent fecal matter, bodies, dead animals, oil and poisonous vermin, remarked when he finally showed up, " I think the performance in general at least in terms of the information I've received from locals is definitely very impressive". One has to wonder at times, if the lot of these guys didn't arrive here on some asteroid called Oz. I live in backwater NH, and I know more, than the well paid Vice - President of the United State and the Director of FEMA. What's wrong with this picture and me receiving no paycheck - obscene pension plan - or out shopping for a multi - million estate, like Lynn Cheney is on Chesapeake Bay. What with Halliburton getting contracts for the cleanup down there - God know how many more homes they'll be able to buy while citizens live at rest stops or in Barbara Scarlet O' Bush's - Astrodome, "I think they're doing quite well".
One would imagine, that the President would have been more selective ( maybe not ), in this political patronage appointment, that was responsible for the lives of so many, who naively believe that government has their best interests at heart, and will be there in an emergency. In fact, none of these clowns at FEMA are qualified except in spin.
With a 47 billion dollar Homeland (American) Defense Agency it's obvious that the real defense and response came from ordinary citizens, who didn't show up in suits, or call a press conference, to state how much they cared. They were there from the very beginning and were hindered in many respects by officials.
Take Boss - Hog, Police Chief, Arthur Lawson; of the City of Gretna that is across the bridge from New Orleans and remained dry. When citizens tried to escape to some semblance of normalcy, this bozo had the audacious gall (not surprising down there) to close the bridge to foot traffic. Two paramedics, the Bradshaw couple, visiting New Orleans, joined a group of people who had been turned out by the hotels they were staying at. When they tried to reach the Superdome they were turned back by National Guards.
Ms. Bradshaw stated that she asked, "What's our alternative?" The guards told her that was their problem and that no, they did not have extra water to give them. As they made their way to the bridge in order to leave the city, armed Gretna (bedroom community to New Orleans) police formed a line across the foot of the bridge. Ms. Bradshaw stated on MSNBC Sept 10-05, that they began firing their weapons over their heads. When they asked police why they couldn't cross the bridge, they said that the West Bank wasn't going to become New Orleans. The Bradshaw's said that there was no doubt in their minds, that because there were few whites in their group, with the majority being Black, that's why they were refused help. When the Bradshaw's then set up a camp for the some 90 people, the police came and took their food and water. This Hog - Boss Police Chief, Lawson, said on MSNBC, that Grenta, had no food or places for people to stay; that they were keeping people from crossing for their own protection! If you visit the website of Gretna; you'll note that there are numerous schools, churches, and hotels. The police were allowing cars to pass. This is probably very alien to those who've never lived in the South or in a large city. When I lived in CT, there were these bedroom communities outside the large city where I lived. There were no Blacks, unless they were the maids or groundskeepers. When a veteran I knew, went back to visit the exclusive town, where he grew up, he told me a police cruiser followed him every bit of the way. Back from war and bedraggled and ill, there was no longer the pretense of flags - ribbons - or supporting the troops.
New Orleans will come back, but it will be absent the multitudes of poor folks and Black residents. They'll have themselves a Mardi Gras theme town, complete with hotels and corporate businesses and we'll be picking up the tab. It'll be Disney World Times Square. We'll be made to pick up the tab for decades of ineptness and incompetence; from the derelict levee system, to the barrier islands and marshes - all destroyed from years of oil and gas drilling, and 8000 miles of canals, dug through wetlands, by the Army Corps of Engineers. This disaster was made and created by man and allowed to happen - much like the Everglades, that we're now being billed billions to restore. Hey, but Representative Baker of Baton Rouge was overheard telling lobbyists: "We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did." Yep - good old God, decided to flood ONLY the poor sections of New Orleans, and protect the French Quarter - and exclusive/business parts of town. It's just like these hypocritical - self -righteous prigs, to shrug and tell the folks, "Obviously you were the sinners in town - the ner' do wells, and God kicked you all to the curb. Got problems go to Him about it."
The Wall Street Journal reports, Sept 8 -05, that "The mostly African - American neighborhoods of New Orleans are largely underwater, and the people who lived there are scattered across the country. But in many of the predominantly white (isn't God good - JM) and more affluent areas streets are dry and passable. Gracious homes are mostly intact and powered by generators."
"The green expanse of Audubon Park, in the city's Uptown area has doubled in recent days as a heliport for the city's rich - and a terminus for the armies of private security guards who have been dispatched to keep the homes there safe. Ashton O' Dwyer who lives on the city's grandest street, has cell phone service and ice cubes to cool off his highballs in the evening. By yesterday the city's water service sprang to life. A pair of oil - company engineers, dispatched by his son - in - law, delivered four cases of water, a box of delicacies including herring with mustard sauce and 15 gallons of generator gasoline. . Despite the disaster, the city's moneyed, mostly white elite is hanging on and maneuvering to play a role in the recovery. 'New Orleans is ready to be rebuilt. Let's start right here, 'says Ashton, standing in his expansive kitchen, next to a counter covered with a jumble of weaponry and electric wires."
"High society is still dominated by these old - line families, represented by prominent figures such as former New Orleans Board of Trade President Thomas Westfeldt; Richard Freeman, scion of the family that long owned the city's Coca - Cola bottling plant; and William Boatner Reily, owner of a Louisiana coffee company. Their social pecking order is dictated by the mysterious hierarchy of 'knewes', groups with hereditary membership that participate in the annual carnival leading up to Mardi - Gras. A few blocks from Mr. O'Dwyer, in an exclusive gated community know as Audubon Place, is the home of Jams Reiss, descendent of an old - line Uptown family. When New Orleans descended into a spiral of looting and anarchy Mr. Reiss helicoptered in an Israeli security company to guard his home and that of his neighbors."
"The power elite of New Orleans - insist that the city won't restore the old order. New Orleans before the flood was burdened by a teeming underclass, substandard schools and a high - crime rate. The new city must be something very different, Mr. Reiss says, with better services and few poor people. 'Those who want to see this city rebuilt want to see it done in a completely different way; demographically, geographically and politically, ' he says, 'I'm not just speaking for myself here. The way we've been living is not going to happen again, or we're out'."
The article goes on of about their plans for the rebirth of New Orleans, taking place now in Dallas, to get the place - their part, up and running in time for Mardi - Gras. With the billions being thrown around by Congress and the President ( 60 billion thus far ) it's heartening to see that tax dollars will be rebuilding an exclusive - Mardi - Gras haven; for these arrogant - elitist jerks . As one can see, the TV media showed none of this hardship in the exclusive sections of town - well guarded and suffering no deprivations. Why one would think that all of New Orleans was a stew of jonsing crack heads, pimps, whores, drug dealers, and white trash. All of them looting and rampaging through the town. That's what you were supposed to see. It's called managed news. Nah, these folks will be scattered from Oklahoma to Maine. You won't see any settled in Jackson Hole, Kennebunkport, Chesapeake Bay, Georgetown, the Hamptons, Rye, N.Y, Greenwich, CT, etc.
Gentrification by Disaster - and it worked out perfectly for the elites in New Orleans, who didn't move off their lazy asses to help anyone (except themselves) while thousands of citizens from across the nation collected water - gas - food - and clothing! But then they don't do 'scut - work ', and darn, all the help was drowning or dying of thirst at the Convention Center, or Superdome.
But our buddy Michael Brown of FEMA wraps it up nicely, "I believe each of you has the world at your beckoning call, but I also believe that you should take advantage of the 'scenic route' when the opportunity arises. Remember to have passion for life and all that it brings you on the scenic route, and continue to make those memories" M. Brown, Commencement Address - Florida Institute of Technology University, Dec 18, 04. Gosh, Mike sure gave the folks in New Orleans and the entire Gulf some memories these past two weeks. As for the 'scenic route' well that's debatable.
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