Guess who just got a job as a FEMA consultant?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by shawnmmcc
I've stated that this is the most corrupt administration since the Taft administration. I am now beginning to wonder if they have even exceeded that - I do not believe the term "shame" is in their lexicon.

You surely mean the Harding administration. I've become something of a Taft fan ever since moving to the Philippines (he was our first colonial governor here), and won't hear his good name sullied or his massive girth defamed, sir!

But, yes, this is cronyism on a Harding-esque scale.

[Ted Striker]

I was doing a search on "Taft administration corruption" when I came across this post:

Bring Back Monica Lewinsky.
Submitted by shellyamber on Thu, 2005-08-18 00:06.

Don't you miss the old days when the worst thing you could do in the white house is get blown? These days there are x-alcholics who can't fly planes in Tx National Guard cause he was coked out of his mind...Dick Cheney who frankly is the scariest person alive next to Christopher Walken...Rummy who I am pretty sure is on the juice....Then you have Condi who i think is a fem bot from those Austin Powers movie. And then there is Karl Rove. Don't you picture him as "the great and powerfull oz"? Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain of corruption.

http://crawfordpeace.nfshost.com/node/691

[Rufus T. Firefly]

You know, the other day in Slate I came across this Clinton quotation from 1999:

This compassionate conservatism has a great ring to it, you know. It sounds sooo good. And near as I can tell, here's what it means: It means, "I like you. I do. And I would like to be for the patients' bill of rights, and I'd like to be for closing the gun show loophole, and I'd like not to squander the surplus and, you know, save Social Security and Medicare for the next generation. I'd like to raise the minimum wage. I'd like to do these things. But I just can't. And I feel terrible about it."

God help me, I really miss the guy. Clinton nostalgia.

[Mr. Harley]

Rufus - I transposed administrations. Yes I meant the Harding administration and Teapot Dome. I once lost a debate for transposing him and Coolidge, for some reason I've always had trouble keeping his name straight.

Of course we could go further back and look at the scandals concerning the US Post Office and the Indian Bureau, but I don't think it reached corruption on our current scale though I would have to check out the Grant administration. That was awfully corrupt although Grant himself was not.

[germanos]

points and laughs

Originally posted by Pekka
This can be only topped if he gets paid more now than before.

I'm pretty sure his hourly wage as a consultant is much higher then when he was in public service.

[Drake Tungsten]

Originally posted by Theben
Not that I don't enjoy U.S. politicans ability to adapt and survive in the D.C.verse at the expense of normal citizens, but didn't Brown do a good job handling the Florida hurricanes last year? And wasn't he hampered with FEMA being subordinated to Homeland Security wrt Katrina?

I was thinking the same thing.

[Darkstar]

What? The man has the experience now. That's how it works. It's completely whacked, but that's the realm of politics.

Of course, we will blame everything on Bush and his admin. And not on the fact that it wasn't until Wednesday that the LA Governor even asked for Federal help, and before she did that, no federal help could be dispatched. Let's overlook the fact that we have documented proof that Bush and the Mayor of NO was on her behind trying to get her to request (authorize) federal help the thursday before the storm... nope. It's all Bush's fault.

The government took 3 days to get in, once requested by the only authority that could do it. That's what kept them out, having to wait on that to make it legal. That's what Bush and Congress want to overturn... so that we won't ever have NO flooded and in serious chaos for days before being allowed to legally go in. Of course, if the President could dispatch federal troops anywhere for anything with only his say so inside the US borders, well, that's really scary.

[Ted Striker]

I'm sure you were.

[Ted Striker]

Originally posted by Darkstar
It's all Bush's fault.

I agree.

[vomitus]

Re: Guess who just got a job as a FEMA consultant?

Originally posted by Boris Godunov

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240/

Un****ingbelievable.

Nah, it's believable. It's sort of like the former captain of the Exxon Valdez was teaching classes on how to pilot of tanker ship.

[Az]

Originally posted by Theben
Not that I don't enjoy U.S. politicans ability to adapt and survive in the D.C.verse at the expense of normal citizens, but didn't Brown do a good job handling the Florida hurricanes last year? And wasn't he hampered with FEMA being subordinated to Homeland Security wrt Katrina?

Shed more light, plz.

[Sava]

is anyone here really surprised?

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Darkstar
What? The man has the experience now. That's how it works. It's completely whacked, but that's the realm of politics.

Of course, we will blame everything on Bush and his admin. And not on the fact that it wasn't until Wednesday that the LA Governor even asked for Federal help, and before she did that, no federal help could be dispatched. Let's overlook the fact that we have documented proof that Bush and the Mayor of NO was on her behind trying to get her to request (authorize) federal help the thursday before the storm... nope. It's all Bush's fault.

The government took 3 days to get in, once requested by the only authority that could do it. That's what kept them out, having to wait on that to make it legal. That's what Bush and Congress want to overturn... so that we won't ever have NO flooded and in serious chaos for days before being allowed to legally go in. Of course, if the President could dispatch federal troops anywhere for anything with only his say so inside the US borders, well, that's really scary.

This, of course, is all bull****, since the Governor declared a state of emergency the Friday before Katrina hit, which gives the federal government the authority to take over relief/rescue operations as they see fit (excepting control of the LA National Guard). Blanco also personally told Bush she needed "every thing" he could give her before the storm hit.

The fact that the administration is hiding behing red tape over a a request in writing from the governor is smoke and mirrors. They had the authority to move in regardless. Oh, and it shouldn't have taken 3 days to move anything in, since FEMA was claiming before hand they were ready to move in right away. Even once the orders had cleared, Brownie gave his people 3 days to get down there. Why weren't they ready to go immediately?

[Theben]

Originally posted by Darkstar
Of course, if the President could dispatch federal troops anywhere for anything with only his say so outside the US borders, well, that's really scary.

Fixed.

[Sava]

Theben