Deadly Indefference: The Perfect (Political) Storm: Hurricane Katrina, The Bush White House, and Beyond provides Michael D. Brown's rebuttal to criticisms of his performance as head of FEMA during the Hurricane Katrina crisis.
Brown (better known by the George W. Bush anointed nickname of "Brownie") hurls blame anywhere where it may stick. Yes, there is plenty of blame to toss around, but what Brown completely fails to do is to take accountability for his lack of leadership during the crisis.
And, even worse, Michael D. Brown sinks so low as to blame the "welfare state" for allowing people in poverty to become dependent on resources within their own community. (I kid you not!) instead of them driving around and knowing how to navigate the city and its outlying suburbs like well heeled suburbanites. The "welfare state" people who did not have the resources to evacuate themselves because... um... Mr. Brown... they live in poverty and they are usually one financial misstep away from ruin. Oh, and they usually do not have the luxury of owning a car, let alone financing the fueling, paperwork, and maintenance of such a car. No, they have to take those stupid public transportation vehicles... like buses. I guess if an author is going to blame everyone, but himself... he might as well blame the victims who were hardest hit.
FEMA was responsible for planning prior to a disaster. FEMA under the guidance of Michael D. Brown did fail to plan for the rescue and after care of the neediest members of society.
In this book Brown proves to be as flippant and out of touch with the realities of the needs of the survivors of Hurricane Katrina as his critics purported. His use of adjectives like "sexy" in the context of this book shows a serious lack of gravitas towards the reality that he is writing about the worst natural disaster in the United States and the fact that some people may very well have died due to his lack of leadership.
Deadly Indifference does successfully reveal the flaws in combining Homeland Security with FEMA. Financial resources were drained from FEMA during the Bush administration's "War on Terror". This flaw in planning was plain to see during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
What is not acknowledged in this book is that in November 2005, the United States House of Representatives determined that Michael D. Brown lacked the leadership skills necessary for his government position.( http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/images/11/03/brown.emails.analysis.pdf ) This determination was based on Brown's much publicized e-mails during the crisis. Deadly Indifference does not even mention these now infamous e-mails.
I highly recommend this book as a cautionary warning to all of us regarding the lack of servitude of many of those entrusted as public servants.
2.5 out of 5 stars
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2 comments:
Apparently you didn't read the book because Brown does mention the emails, tells what he failed to do, and explained why the poor and elderly weren't able to evacuate. Maybe you should actually read the book before posting a review like this.
Curtis
I did read the book, cover to cover and took notes throughout. Brown never mentioned the content of those e-mails, and yes, he does blame the "welfare state" and criticizes those living in poverty for their reliance on public transportation and staying within their own neighborhoods.
Refer back to pages 136 through 137.
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