Five of eight top Federal Emergency Management Agency officials came to their posts with virtually no experience in handling disasters and now lead an agency whose ranks of seasoned crisis managers have thinned dramatically since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

FEMA's top three leaders -- Director Michael D. Brown, Chief of Staff Patrick J. Rhode and Deputy Chief of Staff Brooks D. Altshuler -- arrived with ties to President Bush's 2000 campaign or to the White House advance operation, according to the agency. Two other senior operational jobs are filled by a former Republican lieutenant governor of Nebraska and a U.S. Chamber of Commerce official who was once a political operative.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9261552/

I knew the director was a joke but I didn't know about the others, this is rather appalling. I also heard a portion of a speech GWB made during the 2000 presidential campaign on NPR on the way home, where he talks about how it really tests the metal of the government to have to respond to disasters, and how important it is to do a good job for the people whose lives have been turned upside down.

Is anyone at all surprised by this?

When are the people of this country going to learn that we can't trust politicians and beurocrats to solve any of our problems??


By contrast, American Red Cross President and CEO Marsha J. Evans has years of experience managing emergencies.

I agree. The big lesson here is don't trust the federal government to do anything good for you. All they can do is take more resources from you, and chip away at your civil rights.