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Bush's "Brownie": Former FEMA Head Michael Brown
Said He Warned Bush Directly Before Hurricane Struck
Homeland Security Chief Chertoff, Not Brown, Was Responsible
For Federal Response To Huricane Katrina
Lott's Bad Bet: Fomer Senate Majority Leader Blocked Moves
to Protect Mississippi Coast
William Arkin on the Increasing Military Role in Emergency
Response
St. Patrick's Four Acquitted of Federal Conspiracy Charges
Bush's "Brownie": Former FEMA Head Michael
Brown Said He Warned Bush Directly Before Hurricane Struck
The ousted director of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, Michael Brown, appeared before a special congressional
panel set up by House Republican leaders to investigate the
disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina. [includes rush
transcript]
Brown defended FEMA's actions and proceeded to blame local
and state officials for the subsequent catasatrophe in New
Orleans which killed at least 1000 people and caused hundreds
of billions of dollars in damage. Brown blamed Louisiana governor
Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on what he
called a “dysfunctional” local response. Both
officials are Democrats. In contrast, Brown praised state
officials in Alabama and Mississippi, saying their response
to the disaster was effective. Governors of those states are
Republican.
Brown also defended himself against what he called “false,
defamatory statements” reported by the news media about
his qualifications. Apparently, Brown was referring to news
reports that came out in the days after Katrina hit, showing
that his previous job was as a commissioner for an Arabian
horse association and that he had minimal experience in disaster
management before he was appointed head of FEMA.
Democrats have protested the GOP congressional leadership's
decision to lead House and Senate inquiries into the government's
failed Katrina response. They charge that the president's
party cannot be impartial in investigating the administration.
Democrats initially boycotted the hearing, calling it a whitewash.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi slammed the hearing as
a sham "photo opportunity" orchestrated by republican
leadership in lieu of stringent congressional oversight of
the administration. However, Democratic congressmember William
Jefferson from Louisiana and Gene Taylor from Mississippi
did participate in the hearings.
Homeland Security Chief Chertoff, Not Brown, Was
Responsible For Federal Response To Huricane Katrina
We speak Knight Ridder reporter Alison Young about the Homeland
Security Chief Michael Chertoff's responsibilities and the
shift of blame to former FEMA head Michael Brown. [includes
rush
transcript]
- Alison Young, Reporter with Knight Ridder who co-wrote
a recent article called “Chertoff Delayed Federal
Response, Memo Shows” about how Homeland Security
Secretary Michael Chertoff actually had more authority to
respond to the Hurricane Katrina disaster than did Michael
Brown.
Lott's Bad Bet: Fomer Senate Majority Leader Blocked
Moves to Protect Mississippi Coast
Backed by the gambling industry, Republican Senator Trent
Lott of Mississippi outmuscled army officials who tried to
impose a moratorium on casino projects along the coast. We
speak with Washington Post reporter Michael Grunwald. [includes
rush
transcript]
- Michael Grunwald, Reporter from the Washington Post, wrote
a recent article looking at Senator Trent Lott's successful
efforts to stop a ban from casinos being built on the Mississippi
coast.
William Arkin on the Increasing Military Role in
Emergency Response
President Bush wants to use the hurricane to wipe out Posse
Comitatus, which bans the military from engaging in domestic
law enforcement. Former intelligence analyst William Arkin
talks about the apparently growing role of the military in
responding to natural disasters and other domestic crises.
[includes rush
transcript]
After the disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina, the role
of the military in mitigating the disaster has been under
question. William Arkin alleges that Michael Brown is being
scapegoated for the governement's mistakes, saying Brown is
the most convenient and available person to be held accountable.
- William Arkin, Former intelligence analyst and consultant,
writes a blog called Early Warning on the Washingtonpost.com
website.
St. Patrick's Four Acquitted of Federal Conspiracy
Charges
Four Catholic peace activists have just been acquitted of
felony conspiracy charges – the first case of this kind
since the Vietnam War. We speak with two of the four activists
whose charges stem from an antiwar action on the eve of the
US invasion of Iraq. [includes rush
transcript]
On Monday, a federal jury in Binghamton, New York acquitted
four Catholic peace activists of felony conspiracy charges
stemming from an antiwar action on the eve of the US invasion
of Iraq. The St. Patrick's Four, as the defendants were known,
were convicted on lesser charges of damage to government property
and entering a military station for an unlawful purpose. But
the ruling on the felony charge represents a setback for the
Bush administration's attempts to crack down on dissent, as
this was the first federal conspiracy case against antiwar
activists since the Vietnam war.
The prosecutor in the case was assistant US attorney Miroslav
Lovric. He characterized the four activists as violent, saying
"It's dead wrong to say this was civil disobedience.
It was not...I found it disgusting that they were comparing
themselves to all these people in history who were nonviolent."
The prosecutor also compared the St. Patrick's Four to Timothy
McVeigh, saying he felt justified when he blew up the Oklahoma
City federal building in 1995. The prosecutor said "If
people are allowed to destroy property...it's a slippery slope."
The St. Patrick's Four carried out their action in March
2003, when they entered a recruiting center in suburban Ithaca,
poured their own blood on the walls, in the foyer and on a
US flag and then refused to leave.
- Daniel Burns, One of the St. Patrick's Four
- Teresa Grady, One of the St. Patrick's Four
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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