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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: i-node who wrote (252678)	9/25/2005 10:57:46 PM
From: bentway	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1571200

"FEMA, along with the federal government in general, has done a fantastic job on both storms." Your constant apologies should embarrass even a suck-up like YOU. Even the chimp apologized and took responsibility for the completely LOUSY job the Feds did with Katrina. Brownie was first "sat down" and then forced to RESIGN from a FEMA run by patronage appointees with NO experience. The chimp has lost the 9/11 teflon. We know he blew it in New Orleans, and now even his base is wondering if we've been hearing the truth about Iraq, which we haven't. TIME Sunday: How many Mike Browns did Bush appoint? rawstory.com 09/25/2005 @ 2:01 pm A TIME inquiry finds that at top positions in some vital government agencies, the Bush Administration is putting connections before experience ________________________________ FROM SUNDAY'S TIME -- EXCERPTS: "Historically, the U.S. public has never paid much attention to the people the President chooses to sit behind those thousands of desks. A benign cronyism is more or less presumed, with old friends and big donors getting comfortable positions and impressive titles, and with few real consequences for the nation. But then came Michael Brown. When President Bush's former point man on disasters was discovered to have more expertise about the rules of Arabian horse competition than about the management of a catastrophe, it was a reminder that the competence of government officials who are not household names can have a life or death impact. THE FDA: His official FDA biography notes that Gottlieb, 33, who got his medical degree at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, did a previous stint providing policy advice at the agency, as well as at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and was a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. What the bio omits is that his most recent job was as editor of a popular Wall Street newsletter, the Forbes/Gottlieb Medical Technology Investor, in which he offered such tips as "Three Biotech Stocks to Buy Now." In declaring Gottlieb a "noted authority" who had written more than 300 policy and medical articles, the biography neglects the fact that many of those articles criticized the FDA for being too slow to approve new drugs and too quick to issue warning letters when it suspects ones already on the market might be unsafe. FEDERAL PROCUREMENT: David Safavian didn't have much hands-on experience in government contracting when the Bush Administration tapped him in 2003 to be its chief procurement officer. A law-school internship helping the Pentagon buy helicopters was about the extent of it. Yet as administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Safavian, 38, was placed in charge of the $300 billion the government spends each year on everything from paper clips to nuclear submarines, as well as the $62 billion already earmarked for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. It was his job to ensure that the government got the most for its money and that competition for federal contracts—among companies as well as between government workers and private contractors—was fair. It was his job until he resigned on Sept. 16 and was subsequently arrested and charged with lying and obstructing a criminal investigation into Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff's dealings with the Federal Government. A dozen procurement experts interviewed by Time said he was the most unqualified person to hold the job since its creation in 1974. Nevertheless, Safavian's April 2004 confirmation hearing before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee (attended by only five of the panel's 17 members) lasted just 67 minutes, and not a single question was asked about his qualifications. IMMIGRATION: The Administration nominated Myers, 36, currently a special assistant handling personnel issues for Bush. She has experience in law-enforcement management, including jobs in the White House and the Commerce, Justice and Treasury departments, but she barely meets the five-year minimum required by law. Her most significant responsibility has been as Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at the Commerce Department, where, she told Senators, she supervised 170 employees and a $25 million budget. Myers may appear short on qualifications, but she has plenty of connections. She worked briefly for Chertoff as his chief of staff at the Justice Department's criminal division, and two days after her hearing, she married Chertoff's current chief of staff, John Wood. Her uncle is Air Force General Richard Myers, the outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

To: i-node who wrote (252678)	9/26/2005 12:17:56 AM
From: combjelly	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1571200

"FEMA, along with the federal government in general, has done a fantastic job on both storms." Umm, right. We responded to Katrina much worse than we responded to the tsunami, but that was a fantastic response in your estimation. Our response to Rita was much better, but that probably is because they felt their feet were being held to the fire. Which is often the case when you publicly screw the pooch in front of the whole world. Hurricanes aren't earthquakes. We can see them coming and have some idea of where they will make landfall. Positioning equipment, materials and people isn't rocket science, it is merely and exercise in emergency management, FEMA's middle name. Pulling the trigger on that stuff also isn't rocket science, we've been doing that for a while. FEMA is supposed to be staffed with professionals, something that can't necessarily be expected of the locals. In addition, FEMA can also override the locals if they think the disaster can affect national security. That is explicitly spelled out in the NRP. Not that seemed to make any difference, both Chertoff and "Brownie" seemed to be clueless with respect to the details of the NRP, which they were responsible for. Frankly, I don't think the American people are nearly as stupid as you paint them. Especially the ones who experience these storms on a semi-regular basis. They know what kind of response they have seen in the past, and they have seen the response we got during Katrina. Now true, you can pretend that no one could have predicted a hurricane landing close to NOLA and the levees breaching like Bush did. Heck, let us even assume that is true, despite the fact that at least some universities were teaching that scenario 30 years ago. It is still irrelevant because FEMA still didn't respond to NOLA, much less the other affected areas, like they should to a hurricane sans a breach. Even without a levee breach, NOLA was in dire need of food, ice and some form of shelter, as was the other affected areas. Yet none of that was provided, despite the press releases claiming it was positioned. Look, I was a kid in Beaumont when Carla blew through. Carla was a strong Cat. 4, maybe Cat. 5, and the response was better than what was experienced during Katrina. It was only a couple of days before there was a government presence providing aid. And Carla tore up a lot, roads were out through much of the Texas Gulf coast and power was down for days. But even 44 years ago, with a more primitive communication and transportation infrastructure, we could respond better.

To: i-node who wrote (252678)	9/26/2005 12:55:19 AM
From: TigerPaw	Respond to of 1571200

FEMA, along with the federal government in general, has done a fantastic job on both storms Yeah, Brownie did a great job, ... outstanding!.... Junior said so. TP