# Brown's gotta get fired right? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 9, 2005, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796 "2005-09-09T11:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/101 "2005-09-09T22:43:57Z")
After the phony resume stuff today, the man is toast. I thought they wanted to wait, and he still hasn’t been really fired, but now they really can’t put this off. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/102 "2005-09-09T22:49:13Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > After the phony resume stuff today, the man is toast. I thought they wanted to wait, and he still hasn’t been really fired, but now they really can’t put this off. If they do it, they’ll do it tonight to keep it low key. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/103 "2005-09-09T22:56:40Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > If they do it, they’ll do it tonight to keep it low key. Good point. Little news cycle trick there. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/104 "2005-09-09T23:08:13Z")
> [@JonScribe](#): > > I have this image in my mind of Michael Brown sitting in his D.C. office, playing solitaire on his computer. Hey, maybe he goofs off on the SDMB! [waves] Hi Michael! ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/105 "2005-09-09T23:14:37Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > After the phony resume stuff today, the man is toast. I thought they wanted to wait, and he still hasn’t been really fired, but now they really can’t put this off. Was this widely reported in the medias? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/106 "2005-09-09T23:46:00Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Was this widely reported in the medias? Time Magazine [first reported it](http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1103003,00.html) > [@](#): > > How Reliable Is Brown’s Resume? > A TIME investigation reveals discrepancies in the FEMA chief’s official biographies > By DAREN FONDA AND RITA HEALY > > Posted Thursday, Sep. 08, 2005 > When President Bush nominated Michael Brown to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 2003, Brown’s boss at the time, Joe Allbaugh, declared, “the President couldn’t have chosen a better man to help…prepare and protect the nation.”… Brown’s shot at “Man of the Year” is probably history now. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/107 "2005-09-09T23:54:47Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > Hey, maybe he goofs off on the SDMB! [waves] Hi Michael! If so, the good news is he’ll be posting a lot more from now on. Of course, he’d better stay out of the Pit. And GD. And probably IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/108 "2005-09-10T00:08:58Z")
and he’d better stay out of GQ. Sometimes, they ask _real_ legal questions there, that actually deal with _reality_. Of course I’d like to see his attempts to answer questions about integral calculus. Yours Truly, Outstanding Astrophysics Professor, wolf\_meister DeVry University School of Hotel and Motel Management ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/109 "2005-09-10T01:07:33Z")
I have a conspiracy theory that the White House leaked Brown’s resume padding so they could fire him for that instead of having to admit he’s incompetent. Whaddya think? ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/110 "2005-09-10T01:10:34Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > I have a conspiracy theory that the White House leaked Brown’s resume padding so they could fire him for that instead of having to admit he’s incompetent. Whaddya think? I think that resume padding getting past high levels of govt like that speaks of just as much incompetance as anything else. ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/111 "2005-09-10T01:13:33Z")
Excuse me while I publicly flaunt my ignorance. How does one get to be the head of FEMA? I must admit that I was’nt paying attention at the time, but isn’t there some sort of vetting process? Are there confirmation hearings? If so, how come all of this hadn’t come to light before? I don’t think I can stomach another one of **Stephe96** claims that it was Hillary Clinton or Ted Kennedy’s fault for allowing Brown to be confirmed in the first place. Also, if Brown is being kicked uptairs, as it were, how come his replacement isn’t coming from the ranks but from left field, in the form of the Coast Guard guy (_Fabulous_ choice, IMHO…could there still be a feeble light of integrity burning in the White House)? ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/112 "2005-09-10T01:35:01Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I don’t suppose there’s any chance that there’s some kind of government regulation that makes lying about qualifications for a high-level position like this against the law, like fraud perhaps? That would be sweet. Yep. See [here](http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00001001----000-.html). It’s a felony, punishable by fine or up to 5 years in prison. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/113 "2005-09-10T01:37:08Z")
> [@bizzwire](#): > > How does one get to be the head of FEMA? I must admit that I was’nt paying attention at the time, but isn’t there some sort of vetting process? [NOMINATION OF MICHAEL D. BROWN TO BE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY](http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_senate_hearings&docid=f:81311.wais) > [@](#): > > Chairman Lieberman. Mr. Brown, I thank you very much. I will certainly support your nomination. I will do my best to move it through the Committee as soon as possible so we can have you fully and legally at work in your new position. Tony Hillerman, in Skeleton Man (2004): > [@](#): > > Captain Pinto speaking: “Well you know how it’s been since the politicians invented that Homeland Security Agency. They laid a fat new level of political patronage bureaucrats on top of everything we already had to deal with.” ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/114 "2005-09-10T02:09:14Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > [NOMINATION OF MICHAEL D. BROWN TO BE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY](http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_senate_hearings&docid=f:81311.wais) Thanks much!!! Interesting reading: One thing that I found creepy are the comments/testimony from two senators which are eerily similar: > [@Senator Ben Nighthorse Cambpell](#): > > …Prior to his current job, from 1991 to 2000, Mr. Brown was > the Commissioner of the International Arabian Horse > Association, an international subsidiary of the National > Governing Organization of the U.S. Olympic Committee. In his > position there, **he created ethical programs, enforcement > policies and procedures, conducted investigations, and > prosecuted fraud and corruption cases**. > [@Senator Wayne Allard](#): > > He also served as commissioner for an > international sports and trade federation, during which time\*\* he > created ethical programs, enforcement policies, and conducted > investigations and prosecuted fraud and corruption cases.\*\* Bolding mine. Weird, eh? ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/115 "2005-09-10T02:28:01Z")
> [@An Arky](#): > > Yeah, I heard him talking about the things that need to be done and the situation on the ground and stuff, and while I know that’s not enough basis for judgement, he definitely sounds like he has his feces assembled and will get something done. Too bad he (or someone like him) wasn’t there in the first place. It’s my understanding that the Coast Guard had helicopters assisting in New Orleans from the very beginning (granted, they only have a handful of helos on the Gulf Coast). I don’t know what their Chief of Staff had to do with that, but he does seem to have been running something more capable of managing emergencies than the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Why it took a week and a half of incompetence to figure out who got things right from the start and who didn’t, and do something about it is a whole other issue. Perhaps they had to verify that Allen would toe the party line before letting him have such authority. They certainly do seem to treat dissent far more harshly than incompetence. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/116 "2005-09-10T03:17:42Z")
> [@bizzwire](#): > > Bolding mine. Weird, eh? They were both reading the same memo. I wonder where it came from? It is also interesting to note that they were both Republican Senators from Colorado, where Brown allegedly performed all those wonderful acts while managing the horse association. (Were - because Campbell did not run in 2004.) ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/117 "2005-09-10T03:23:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Hey, maybe he goofs off on the SDMB! [waves] Hi Michael! Not any more. We banned KyleRaner1. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/118 "2005-09-10T13:50:07Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Not any more. We banned KyleRaner1. Boy, talk about adding insult to injury! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/119 "2005-09-10T14:03:55Z")
As a verging on Ex-republican can I ask a question to Staunch Republicans. I thought the Republicans were about smaller goverment? Why is Bush increasing spending and causing a growth in the federal Government? Why has he declared unfunded mandatory initiatives like “No Child Left behind”? Why does anyone defend this administration? Why isn’t Cheney called out daily for all the corrupt connections he has? Bush does not serve the interest of this country. I have bumped heads with many on this board for defending Reagan. This president’s administration is a frightnening nightmare!!! ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796/120 "2005-09-10T14:24:21Z")
[Link.](http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/09/katrina.impact/index.html) > [@](#): > > Brown, under fire over his qualifications and what critics call a bungled response to Katrina, will return to his duties in Washington as overall FEMA chief, Chertoff said. > [@](#): > > “I’m anxious to get back to D.C. to correct all the inaccuracies and lies,” Brown told the AP. Hey butthead: How about if you go back to D.C. and try to do something relating to the job you’re still being paid to do? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/browns-gotta-get-fired-right/320796.md?page=7)