BUSINESS: "Brownie" Starts Disaster Consulting Business

Michael Brown, former head of FEMA, who was relieved of his command during the Katrina disaster has started his own business of providing advice to clients on how to best prepare for catastrophes. Brown admits that he made mistakes during Katrina and believes that he is in a good position to provide help to those who find themselves in similar positions of responsibility. Brown will be operating out of Boulder, Colorado.



It's always a shame to see someone's career go down the tubes in an instant when they have had success in the past. The hurricane season of 2004 was a record breaker in many ways and Brown and FEMA got through that one pretty well. Katrina was a disaster of such magnitude that I don't believe anyone or any agency could have responded in the way that many believe that they should have. Still, we always want scapegoats and agency heads, CEOs, baseball managers and football coaches all get their day to be the one whose head rolls. I wish the best for "Brownie." I think he's a decent man

Related News Links:
www.katrina.com
en.wikipedia.org
www.bushclintonkatrinafund.org
www.wmcstations.com

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
More Than 1,000 Katrina Children Still Missing
President Bush & FEMA Bashed In Song Regarding Katrina Disaster
More FEMA/Brown emails released
www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 2005/11/24 by GradyPhilpott]

It's always a shame when we surrender an entire US city to the snakes and the ocean, while this guy was eating dinner and color coordinating his clothes. It was an unmitigating disaster - from top to bottom, and this guy should not only have been fired, but shunned as well. Shunned, as the citizens of New Orleans pelted him with rocks and stones.

Rocks and stones.

Clueless, inept, addle minded and a blight on every civil service employee who works hard at their jobs. He presided over one of the most wasteful, and shameless, mismanagement of federal emergency funds I can ever recall seeing - and he did so with a glib, glazed over look in his eyes.

Michael Brown singe-handedly destroyed the public's trust in our government to handle emergencies. Not politics - no, nothing so sordid. A single man made the American Public distrust the Government's ability to cope with any kind of emergency, or even bake a potatoe properly.

I just sincerly hope that anybody who thinks this lunatic did a good job, will also be kind enough to allow him to plan disaster relief for THEIR AREA - God forbid, if it's ever hit.

Yeah good luck with that "Brownie".
If he can make a success of this then there's hope for Bush running a 'how to give a speach' consulting business when he retires in 2008.

Anyway, good post, you presented it well but as for the content i wouldn't take advice from Brownie or anyone related to this administration unless it was how to rob from the blind or how to change law to favor corporate profits - that type of stuff they are great at - humanity type things, not their strong point.

Well although he may have been a royal disaster during Katrina, I would be amazed if he didn't learn something from that. Sure he could've done a lot better, but being in that position whether or not you do good will most certainly teach you a thing or two. I figure he's probably smart enough to at least learn from his mistakes, so I'll bet he'll do quite well in his disaster consulting business. Although he might not get business in New Orleans due to some hard feelings.

You're kidding right???? You actually feel sorry for this straight-up loser for losing his job???

Unbelievable...the tax payers should get a refund on that man's salary.

In his own e-mails during the height of the crisis, the man was more concerned about his stupid wardrobe than what was going on. Even his PR lady told him to roll up his sleeves like Bush and act like he's doing something.

Bush made himself look out of touch for sticking up for that guy.

There is no defense for Brown, but since you're such a cheerleader, you hire him. I wouldn't even let that guy greet people at Wal-Mart.

Press conferences and clothing purchases are not what I want to see the director of a NATIONAL EMERGENCY do when my house is blown away or god forbid flooded with water while I sit on the roof of my home.

I agree with one thing, the situation was beyond standard national disasters. As a police officer and fire lieutenant with 20+ years of emergency MANAGEMENT. This DIRECTOR with a six figure income displayed a total Lack of competence.

His position allowed him to deploy unlimited resources and PRE-DEPLOY resources. It was not speculation of the magnitude of this hurricane the size of Texas was approaching and EXPECTED TO HAVE CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES. Further, if the resources were beyond his scope, he could have picked up the phone and spoke to Homeland Security Director Michael Cheartoff and requested more resources.

For Brown to say he did not know about the 20 - 30,000 people in the sports stadium that took refuge was a total crock. Every news agency including CNN, FOX and every other agency reported these displaced americans for three days prior to any action by this clown.

I'm sure Mr. Brown never attended very many classes on how to do HIS JOB. I cannot base this on fact, however I would bet odds on this.

When people need help, and your starving, desparate for water, lack basic medical needs. Would you want this person responding to YOUR aid. Would you want your child trapped on the roof of your house and waiting for Mr. Brown to be calling the shots to affect your childs rescue.

I drove down to the Gulf Region with $30,000 in cash and supplies donated by residence of your Michigan Community. This group of police and firefighters went thru government roadblocks with the badges and identification cards from our local jurisdictions. We gave away cash, cleaning supplies and food, water, baby food, diapers, etc.

Mr. Brown had FEMA put up roadblocks and ban any additional aid from entering certain regions do to "security concerns". The security issues were a farce, people needed food, water, medical aid. They did not require any more security, people needed basic necessities, not gun carrying authorities. I speak this since I was in the trenches delivering aid that Mr. Brown tryed to deny. If not for my local goverment ID. Our 10 hour trip for humanity would have been for not.

1,000s needed the food, water and basic necessities in the early stages of the emergency. Aid for basic necessities for starving, thirsty, medical deprived people did not require roadblocks........Truckloads of Aid were stopped in their tracks at checkpoints without FEMA APPROVAL, thanks to Mr. Brown. WHAT AN IDIOT.

I believed the American Red Cross had overpaid there managers prior to this incident. I will say that most every small parish, town, city, community I had contact with had an American Red Cross vehicle supplying food and water to the most remote regions of the gulf. I have a new respect for the ARC, the point is, if the ARC can mobilize such resources as a private sector organization. Why can't Michael Brown with the Government Budget at his disposal.........

Maybe he should take a training class by the CEO of the American Red Cross.

I wouldn't hire this guy to protect or council my family, friends, neighbors or any corporation.

OUT OF TOUCH IS WHAT MICHAEL BROWN IS....He was ignorant(Lack of Knowledge Before) now lets pad his pockets as a consultant for his ignorance. GOD BLESS AMERICA

Lets give him a second chance!, I'm outraged!!!!!, lets take your youngest child and put him or her in this situation. Put Mr. Brown in Washington again in charge of their rescue and lets see how happy you are with his performance.




[edit on 25-11-2005 by waroftheworlds]

[edit on 25-11-2005 by waroftheworlds]

[edit on 25-11-2005 by waroftheworlds]

[edit on 25-11-2005 by waroftheworlds]

Brown's advice: "when the going gets tough, quit"

Anyway, at least he's in the private sector now and anyone using him will be paying with their own money, not the taxpayers'. Unfortunately the Governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans are still in their cushy jobs.

What's his new company's catch phrase? "Hire Me at Your Own Risk."

Isn't that a little like Michael Jackson opening a daycare center.

I don't understand why Brownie would go into the one business at which he was a public and complete failure. Unless of course, he knows something that I don't...

Boulder, Colorado, huh? Well, I'll be staying away from there for a good long while...

i guess i am in the camp of cutting the guy a break....
It's the administrations fault for cutting 2 of the 3 'battalions of Fema' incorporating it into HOmeland Scurvy, and hiring cronies and inept people for government agencies they don't want to fund or keep active anymore.
I hope Brownie succeeds. I hope Scrubbie suffers. I hope we, as Americans don't get the rug pulled out from under our feet without a fight.

I laughed like crazy when I first read this online, but then I thought...I bet he makes real good money, cuz he's going to get government contracts. At least that's what I think...

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
I wish the best for "Brownie." I think he's a decent man

"Decent men" don't exchange frivolous emails about their fashion sense in the midst of overwhelming mayhem at their job while in a position of responsibility. Making it even worse, the mayhem was one of the most significant natural disasters in the past 100 years, and coordinating help was his responsibility.

Decent men do make mistakes. The worst errors of judgement were really made by the media who were saying on TV that the city had "dodged a bullet," when I was seeing pictures on the internet of the 9th Ward completely under water.

I still don't think Brown is a bad man based on his getting caught up in such an enormous disaster. One cannot negate his full tenure as FEMA director because of one mistake, even such a major one.


[edit on 2005/11/25 by GradyPhilpott]

Hey this is good news. Now that he's in the private sector, we the taxpayers don't have to pay him anymore. Plus it means he won't be shuffled to another goverment job. Now that he's private sector it means thanks to capatalism, he can legally be run into the ground.

But like I said earlier, I'll be shocked if he didn't learn a thing from his expirience. Not that I'd ever hire him for anything.

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
One cannot negate his full tenure as FEMA director because of one mistake

(Big mistake, and that single email is not the only indication of his indifference.)

Anyway... so then exactly what did he accomplish in his tenure as Director of FEMA that warrents our favorable attention?

Brown was FEMA chief through the hurricane seasons of 2003 and 2004. During the 2004, four hurricanes hit Florida.

Florida took an unprecedented hit during the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season: Four hurricanes and a tropical storm made landfall in the state. Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne hit the East Coast and followed a nearly identical path across the state while Charley came ashore on the Gulf Coast and Ivan slammed the Panhandle.

www.palmbeachpost.com...

FEMA did a very good job during these two seasons. There has never been a storm to hit the US that I know of that was the magnitude of Katrina. No one was prepared. Brown was responsible, but he really is not to blame. He could have done better, but I doubt that his performance could have speeded up the response substantially. He's paid his price. Now, he's going on with his life. I don't know what else he could do.

en.wikipedia.org...

I have close relatives who experienced the hurricanes in Florida first hand, and have exceptionally unkind things to say about FEMA... but don't take my word for it:



There's lots more available from simple Google searches. In fact, it's nearly impossible to find a favorable story about FEMA's response to the Florida hurricanes outside of the FEMA or White House websites.

Well, I never said that government was perfect. In fact, the problems cited with FEMA in 2004 are exactly the same kinds of problems that have plagued every government aid project in history from welfare to social security to Pell grants to veterans' benefits.

Regardless, I see no reason to cast Brown as evil incarnate. He's just a unfortunate functionary.

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
Regardless, I see no reason to cast Brown as evil incarnate. He's just a unfortunate functionary.

Dude... really...






There's a great deal more. It's really hard to find something positive about Brown in relation to his FEMA tenure. It certainly looks like he made for more than "one mistake" as you suggest. Instead, there seems to be a history of corrupt governance of FEMA.

I'm sorry, I just can't understand the desire to shed some positive spin on this man.

I'm sure that there is plenty of press out there to skewer Brown and I'm not here to say that he's a saint. To call a man decent is not allowing for greatness. It is only to say that he is not a psychopath.

Under any circumstances, I think we can find that he is not the only bureaucrat who fusses over his public image and when faced with such a disaster, every diversion into silliness with colleagues or expression of exasperation with the calls for his head is fodder for critics.

But, we shall see in time if Brown is truly the anti-christ. I rather thought that ephemeral distinction had been awarded to GW.

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
But, we shall see in time if Brown is truly the anti-christ.

I'm not implying he is.

However, your statement in the initial ATSNN post seems to be way off; "It's always a shame to see someone's career go down the tubes in an instant when they have had success in the past. The hurricane season of 2004 was a record breaker in many ways and Brown and FEMA got through that one pretty well."

I can't see how there's been any "success in the past" for Brown, nor how FEMA responded "pretty well" to the 2004 hurricanes in Florida.