When was your first conversation with President Bush regarding Hurricane Katrina, and what did you talk about?

Please describe time and topic(s) of all other conversations with President Bush regarding Hurricane Katrina.

Repeat, for Vice-President Cheney.

Please describe your conversations Michael Chertoff and White House officials, including timelines and warnings regarding the leadup, and three days following, Hurricane Katrina.

What discussion did you have with local officials, including timelines, regarding Federal support plans prior to the Hurricane hitting the coast?

Did Michael Chertoff respond quickly to all requests for action from both your office and those from Lousiana? 

I don't have a question for Brownie, but I do have a link to a Time story about how Brownie is just the tip of the iceberg.  My question is how can Bush look himself in the mirror, after he has repeatedly put political favoritism ahead of expertise and the interests of the American people?

Politicalsports has it. Brown should be asked what he tried to do in the days before the storm hit NO, who he tried to contact, and what their responses were.  

In the writeup of the story, Blanco and Nagin's answers to similiar questions should be compared.

It may be that all three of them are afraid to make people mad, but those are the questions that will count. Maybe one or all of them will refuse to be a scapegoat.

I have four simple questions:

1. How does it feel now to be the lightning rod and fall guy for your ex-boss Judge Chertoff and the rest of your fellow malefactors in this administration?

2. Were you upset that your August vacation and Labor Day weekend were interrupted?

3. Where  can I pick up an a nice Arabian? 

4. Have you ever gone fishing with the "Duke" ??

These questions are about as pertinent as the rest of the questions that this dog and pony show investigating body will be asking. 

You seem like a nice enough fellow with a knack for making well connected friends. But events revealed you to be completely out of your depth.

However, the same was true of President Bush himself, on Katrina and 9/11 before that.

It seems to me your greatest sin was to represent the President accurately. Were you fired unfairly?

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Why did FEMA refuse the offer of Mammoet, a Dutch company that specializes in transporting heavy machinery on shore and off-shore, to bring in slabs of concrete and repair the breeches in the NO levees?  They VOLUNTEERED  to do this and were turned down with the message "we'll do it ourselves."  We were using sandbags which takes a huge amount of time--they could have done it in a few days.

I'd ask him what sort of background check his original appointment to FEMA was given, and if those advancing him as an appropriate Deputy Director of FEMA were aware of the circumstances surrounding his departure from the Arabian horse association.  His tenure there was not only completely unconnected from anything having to do with disaster management, but also an utter fiasco.  Did the Bush administration know about his track record of floundering imcompetence, and if not, why not?

http://cluefactory.blogspot.com/

How many days can a human being survive without water?

Two questions for Mr. Brown:
1. Who at FEMA said, "Americans don't live in tents?"
2. Why did FEMA prevent Red Cross from delivering aid to stranded, deydrating New Orleanians?

Questions for Brownie…

I would first ask him to describe the mission of FEMA.

I would then get a list of the FEMA pros that have resigned in frustration during his tenure and ask him to describe their qualifications, their duties and to characterize their reasons for their departure.

Then… working from a list of the political hacks that have been hired during his time at FEMA I would ask him to describe their qualifications, their duties and then describe why they were hired.

And lastly I would ask him to connect the dots between these personnel decisions and the mission of FEMA.

Sir, on the Thursday after Katrina had hit Louisiana and Mississippi, the President said you had been doing a heck of a job.  Would you please share with the committee your notes on the briefing you had with the President to warrant such a comment?

If there was no briefing with the President, do have any idea what you had told the President to warrant this praise? 

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Of course, I think Brown should be praised for demonstrating there is truth in the Peter Principle.  It doesn't look like he will get the usual Bush medal for screwing up, so I propose that he be awaded the Exceptional Medal of Proving the Peter Principle.  

Maureen - your question here is very good:

First of all, it is now common knowledge that you were granted your position, now former position, as head of FEMA because of your relationship with Joe Albaugh, along with your support in getting George W. Bush elected President. As a result and reward of those relationships you were awarded a position that now is very, very clear you have absolutely no qualified experience, education or moral rational in accepting. Here are few questions I’d like you to answer:

- Which of the people closest in your life were intellectually honest enough, for example; your wife, parents, pastor or close friend to sit down and discuss with you that the position you were accepting was obviously well beyond your skill sets and could have disastrous consequences if mishandled or mismanaged by you?

- What was YOUR rational to them for accepting a position that you must have known you were not remotely qualified?

- Now witnessing the catastrophic results of your actions, lack thereof and because of your gross negligence, that you are partially to blame in the deaths of American Citizens from the states of New Orleans and Mississippi, the questions is, how are you going to make amends for your selfish and misguided actions from this point until the time you leave this earth?

- Do you believe in God? And what do think he would say to your regarding your actions?

The Mayor of Chicago has said he contacted FEMA on August 28 to offer aid including "36 members of Chicago Fire Department rescue teams, eight Fire Department emergency medical technicians and "extensive" search and rescue equipment,  More than 100 Chicago police officers as well as two police boats and a number of vans and other vehicles, 29 clinical and 117 non-clinical staff from the Chicago Department of Public Health, A mobile clinic and eight trained personnel from the Department of Human Services, 140 personnel and 29 trucks from the Department of Streets & Sanitation." These resources were expert, self-sufficient, and at the ready.

Why were they resources refused? 

ask him why he thinks he got his job.  ask him if he thinks there wasn't anyone more qualified than him for the position and ask him why they weren't considerd, or if they were, why they weren't hired.  why were two other stooges his next in command?  the dems ask him if they should dare to eat a peach. 

Mr. Brown, did you ever consider not accepting the post of FEMA director? If not, did you ever think to yourself that this position may be a little over your head?

What qualified you to be appointed head of FEMA?

Is it your belief that private industry and charities do a better job at solving problems? If so, how did that apply to FEMA while you were running it?

Define "compassion."

What was it that you were doing "A heck of a job" at?

What are the six stages of disaster life cycle as defined by FEMA and that inform everything that FEMA does? Rate yourself, and the support you got from the administration and congress, on each of those stages.

[stages are here.] 

I ask you again, what qualified you to be appointed head of FEMA? 

I would ask him who drafted the list of parishes covered in President Bush's August 27 emergency declaration, and what the precise, practical effect of that curious choice of parishes was on the ensuing relief and rescue effort.