Why is This Man Still on FEMA's Payroll?
Even as subordinates warned him that the flooding of New Orleans was a matter of life or death, Michael Brown, the now-dismissed head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, remained strangely detached from the crisis, e-mails made public Wednesday show.
He mused about his future, joked about a new shirt and wondered how he looked on TV.
On Aug. 31, two days after the storm flooded the city, a FEMA regional director sent Brown an urgent e-mail about patients dying "within hours," a lack of food and water, hundreds of rescues and a situation "past critical."
Brown's response? "Thanks for update. Anything specific I need to do or tweak?" ...
On the morning that the storm hit, Cindy Taylor, FEMA's deputy director of public affairs, told Brown he looked "fabulous" during a TV appearance and complimented him on his shirt.
Brown joked that he was a "fashion god" and responded: "I got it at Nordstrom's. ... Are you proud of me? Can I quit now? Can I come home now?"
Yes. Please.
