'Average' past trails troubled FEMA chief

[DoYouEverWonder]

September 10, 2005

WASHINGTON - In 2002, a pair of FBI agents showed up at a small, well-known law firm near Oklahoma City, asking questions about Mike Brown, a former employee being considered for a job at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

There, Stephen Jones, a lawyer best known for defending bomber Timothy McVeigh, recalled how he hired Brown fresh from law school two decades earlier. He'd been impressed by Brown's stint on a nearby city council.

But just a few years later, Jones and the other four partners decided to split the firm. To minimize job loss, they unanimously agreed to keep 35 of their 37 employees. Brown was not one of them.

"He did not develop the way we wanted," Jones said this week. "He was average. Maybe that's the best way to put it."

Brown was pleasant enough, if a bit opportunistic, Jones said, but he did not put enough time and energy into his job. "He would have been better suited to be a small city or county lawyer," he said. Jones was surprised Brown was being considered for job at FEMA but figured it wasn't impossible he could have risen high enough in local and state government to be considered for a job directing FEMA operations in Oklahoma.

The agents quickly corrected him. This was a national post in Washington, deputy director of FEMA, the arm of the federal government that prepares for and responds to disasters around the United States.

Jones looked at the agents, "You're surely kidding?"

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/09/10/Worldandnation/_Average__past_trails.shtml


Yes, they were kidding. Too bad it wasn't a joke and a lot of people died has a result of this idiot's incompetence.

[nine23]

1. The parallels to "cooked intelligence" re: Iraq are shocking.

If the FBI can investigate a potential employee this deeply, yet that same "(below) average" candidate still gets the gig, it speaks volumes about how this administration conducts it's business. Truly shocking.

[0007]

2. .....it also speaks volumes about how weak the Security System

is on checking out people in sensitive positions that this country has come to trust.

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. When you install a dual-citizen to head Homeland Security

then apparently security is not what these people are interested in.

[Divernan]

4. Should have put "My law firm defended a terrorist" on resume

What a great qualification (NOT) to lead an agency tasked with counter-terrorism! ! !

[mahatmakanejeeves]

10. beg to differ

Presumed innocence, and all that. Everyone entitled to a vigorous defense, and so forth.

I recall Stephen Jones. He struck me as remarkably competent. I though McVeigh really lucked out when he got Jones for a defense attorney.

We should all do so well, should the time come.

[matcom]

5. Holy Joe and company fucked up too

<snip>

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat who led the hearings, called Brown's time as an assistant city manager in Edmond a "particularly useful experience" because he had responsibility for local emergency services. But Edmond officials reached this week say he was an assistant to the city manager and did not supervise employees.

fucking Senate should have NEVER confirmed this clown

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. You would think that to head a Government Agency

Someone would at least check your references?

[matcom]

8. remember the old saying: "The President has the right to appoint.....

who he wants"

we have heard that over and over and over.

the founding father's touted this form of government as "The Great Experiment"

guess what. it has failed.

i don't know what the vote was for Brown but my GUESS is that it was pretty unanimous. everyone here is to blame. every single person that voted for him. again, my guess is that 100% of the Dems didn't care either.

time for a third party

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

6. In Bushworld, competence is not a requirement

I'd bet background checks are just to make sure the applicant is scandal-free, a registered Repub with lots of money that has made big donations, goes to church, and is not (shudder shudder) gay. Competence is not required, why would it be? If it's not required by the Repub dogs of their president, why would it be a requirement of the underlings?

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. Oh, you can be gay

as long as you are a certain type of gay. 8" cut preferably.

[Betty]

11. Why should he be any more qualified than bush

whose resume is the very definition of mediocracy. Actually, that would be going up a few levels, to call him mediocre.

[DoYouEverWonder]

13. Because he is not an Elected Official

The citizens can elect whomever they want, but we expect our elected leaders to hire competent, experienced people for top positions of leadership, especially when they deal with matters of National Security.

[kskiska]

19. Yeah, like when Boy Wonder was bounced from Carlyle

But when we were putting the board together, somebody came to me and said, look there is a guy who would like to be on the board. He's kind of down on his luck a bit. Needs a job. Needs a board position. Needs some board positions. Could you put him on the board? Pay him a salary and he'll be a good board member and be a loyal vote for the management and so forth.

I said well we're not usually in that business. But okay, let me meet the guy. I met the guy. I said I don't think he adds that much value. We'll put him on the board because - you know - we'll do a favor for this guy; he's done a favor for us.

We put him on the board and spent three years. Came to all the meetings. Told a lot of jokes. Not that many clean ones. And after a while I kind of said to him, after about three years - you know, I'm not sure this is really for you. Maybe you should do something else. Because I don't think you're adding that much value to the board. You don't know that much about the company.

He said, well I think I'm getting out of this business anyway. And I don't really like it that much. So I'm probably going to resign from the board.

And I said, thanks - didn't think I'd ever see him again. His name is George W. Bush. He became President of the United States. So you know if you said to me, name 25 million people who would maybe be President of the United States, he wouldn't have been in that category. So you never know. Anyway, I haven't been invited to the White House for any things.

http://prorev.com/bushcarlyle.htm

[Gyre]

12. He's as mediocre as *. No suprises there! n/t

[riverwalker]

14. compare to Thad Allen's credentials

http://www.rh.edu/news/news03/commencement03/vadmbio.html

Vice Admiral Thad W. Allen assumed duties as Chief of Staff, U.S. Coast Guard and Commanding Officer, Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC in May 2002. Vice Admiral Allen is third in command of the Coast Guard and is responsible for all planning, budget, and personnel functions of the service.

Prior to this assignment he served as Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area, Fifth Coast Guard District; and U.S. maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic where he was the operational commander for all Coast Guard activities in an area of responsibility spanning five Coast Guard Districts, over 14 million square miles, involving 26,000 military and civilian employees, and 27,900 auxiliarists. He served concurrently as Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District, and Commander U.S. Maritime Defense Zone Atlantic. In response to terrorist events in September 2001, VADM Allen lead the effort to divert numerous assets to support local port commanders and establish critical command and control capability through the Atlantic Area. He served as the Executive agent for the Coast Guard in operations in support of Commander Fleet Forces Command, Joint Forces Command and NORAD; developing the interim Homeland Security campaign plan and joint Anti-terrorism and Force Protection procedures.

In his previous assignment as the Commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District, Vice Admiral Allen directed all Coast Guard operations in South Carolina, Georgia, most of Florida and throughout the Caribbean. These operations included cocaine seizures exceeding 50 tons, 15,000 search and rescue cases, the salvage of Russian cement carrier SERGO ZAKARIADZE and extensive alien migrant interdiction operations. Prior to 1997, Vice Admiral Allen was the Coast Guard's Director of Resources, where he was responsible for formulating the Coast Guard's budget, developing long range plans, and managing the Coast Guard's performance plan.

A specialist in operations both in the coastal and offshore environments, Vice Admiral Allen has served in three Coast Guard cutters ANDROSCOGGIN and GALLATIN, and command of the medium endurance cutter CITRUS. His coastal operations command assignments include Captain of the Port / Group Long Island Sound, CT; Group Atlantic City, NJ, and LORAN Station Lampang, Thailand. Vice Admiral Allen's other assignments included a tour as search and rescue controller in the Greater Antilles Section, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Intelligence Watch Officer at DEA/INS El Paso Intelligence Center, El Paso, TX; Chief Budget Officer, Maintenance and Logistics Command, Atlantic, Governors Island, NY; Deputy Project Manager, Fleet Modernization and Rehabilitation (FRAM) Project, and Assistant Division Chief, Programs Division, Office of the Chief of Staff, Coast Guard Headquarters.
Vice Admiral Allen is a native of Tucson, AZ. He graduated from the U. S. Coast Guard Academy in 1971. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the George Washington University and received the 2000 Distinguished Alumni Award. He also holds a Master of Science degree from the Sloan School of Management of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

[Sgent]

15. I agree

This guy would be better qualified to be Sec. Homeland Sec. than the current iditot -- much less merely Katrina Op Head for FEMA.

[truthisfreedom]

16. impeach.

impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach. impeach.

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. Impeach them all

because the President can't pardon anyone whose been impeached.

[DavidDvorkin]

18. Clearly Brown is not average

Or mediocre. Clearly he's below both.

[SoCalDem]

20. Too bad "Jones" did not write some letters to key people

in congress, alerting them to the "average" guy who would soon be rubber-stamped into a position where lives would depend on his judgement:grr:

The silence is deafening when it comes to intra-party cronyism. They gladly get rid of THEIR deadwood by passing them off to a different branch of their "family-tree"..