Official Homeland Security Committee Brownie Bake Thread

[Viva_La_Revolution]

ON CAPITOL HILL
Brown's 1st Post-FEMA Hearing
Michael Brown, former FEMA Director, appears before the Senate Homeland Security Cmte. for the first time since resigning his position. During the hearing on hurricane preparedness, Mr. Brown is expected to reveal his corre-
spondence with Pres. Bush, unless advised otherwise by the White House.

Yumm. Brownies…



10 minute countdown...

[LiberalAndProud]

1. Which CSpan?

pins & needles...

[malaise]

3. C-Span 1

at 9.30am

[havocmom]

2. Brownie... it's what's for breakfast!

off to turn on the tube...

Hoping the second course will be fried bush and scrambled Halliburton a` la cheney

[Ivote]

6. Brownie Bake Off

www.c-span.org
9:30 am est
:kick:

[LeftNYC]

21. wake and bake dude...nt

[Sydnie]

4. Good Morning!

Can't wait!

[Catchawave]

5. I'm so here, thanks Viva !

I hope they swear him in :hi:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

7. cast of characters....

Brown, Michael D., Director (2003-2005), Federal Emergency Management Agency

Stephan, Robert B., Assistant Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, Infrastructure Protection

Rhode, Patrick L., Deputy Director (Act., 2005), Federal Emergency Management Agency

Broderick, Matthew, Director, Department of Homeland Security, Office of Operations Coordination

[LeftNYC]

8. Cant wait to see this...

Heres a primer...

As Michael Brown prepared to testify Friday over his handling of Hurricane Katrina efforts while head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a timeline of e-mails and reports was circulating that Senate Democrats said showed the White House didn’t act quickly enough to help victims of the New Orleans flooding.

The earliest official report of a New Orleans levee breach came at 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 29, hours after Hurricane Katrina roared ashore, the timeline indicated. Word of the possible breach surfaced at the White House less than three hours later, at 11:13 a.m.

-snip-snip-

Brown is widely considered the public face of the government’s sluggish response to Katrina. But he signaled earlier this week that he was prepared to discuss his storm communications with President Bush and other top White House officials — a possible signal that his testimony would assign blame elsewhere

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11255379/

[The Witch]

9. oh, viva!

:loveya: Knew you'd be on this. I am very hopeful I can follow y'all while trying to do my work AND listen to Stephanie Miller. And I wonder why my attention span is going... :)

[npincus]

10. tee-hee! That's a heckuva brownie!

[mtnester]

11. Here we go!

[The Witch]

15. feed the cube rats!

Squeak!!

[Skidmore]

12. I like mine with a good frosting.

[0007]

126. Chocolate or Vanilla?

[herbbrown]

13. Did Brownie just mouth towards the camera

I'm taking you down Bushco?

[LeftNYC]

14. Anyone else's CSPAN feed very dark to the point of annoyance? nt

[SoCalDem]

22. Time for a new tv for you! It's perfect here

:)

[LeftNYC]

25. IM watching at work on my computer...maybe i can get a new computer this

way...hmmmmmmmmmmmm...

[Skidmore]

24. I finally figured out how to adjust the video on my Windows

Media player. Are you using one.

[LeftNYC]

34. yeah how do you do it? nt

[Skidmore]

59. Here goes:

Go to "View" menu and select "Enhancementst", and from that menu, select "Video Settings". Your player media should change to drop down a section which allows you to adjust the brightness, contrast, saturation, and color of your picture.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

16. here we go... Brownie up first!

cool

[ThomWV]

17. Has The White House Intervened?

He said he will spill all if the White House doesn't cover his ass. Did anything happen last night at the White House to indicate they would get him off the hook?

[herbbrown]

23. I think they'll just bring in

his brother from Sicily, oh wait that was another crime family, nevermind.

[hang a left]

18. Got Milk?

[SoCalDem]

19. Looks like your brownies have nuts.. Wonder if the WH took HIS overnight

We shall know soon :evilgrin:

the last I heard, Aunt Harriet said.. No Help for YOU!

[schmuls]

71. Hope Mr. Brownie has the nuts that the brownie in the pic does! n/t

[LeftNYC]

20. Well there is your problem right off the bat...Matthew Broderick

is the eyes and ears of DHS...

[Viva_La_Revolution]

26. ?

I always liked his movies... :shrug:


:rofl:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

30. Collins still droning her opening statement....

yada yada. I wanna hear from brownie boy!

[SoCalDem]

36. They love top hear their own voice.. I wish they would just ask questions

and then insert their own opinions into the "record". They have 10 minutes at their disposal, and they spend 7 of it "opining", and then the guest wheedles and swerves, and ..there's 10 minutes wasted..

They have a golden opportunity with Brownie there, and they're gonna lecture him and not hear what he has to say..

He's got nothing to lose here..so let him talk..

[LeftNYC]

33. Its some other dude named Matthew Broderick...I was just making a joke..

harharharhar!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

64. me too

;)

[Catchawave]

35. Broderick certainly could play Brownie in the movie version!

[Sydnie]

37. No, I want that role to go to Nathan Lane!

He would just bring such a wonderful twist to the whole "what to wear wardrobe issues" wouldn't he? :rofl:

[Catchawave]

41. LOL....Lane can play BUSH :))))

[LeftNYC]

53. HAHAH! nt

[Connie_Corleone]

31. He must of took that day off when the hurricane hit.

[KoKo]

27. I'm going to have to "mute" Collins...her voice is so grating I can't

deal. And, then Lieberman...OMG. What is this?

[Skidmore]

28. Just thank your luck stars that Sessions and DeWine aren't there too.

[Catchawave]

29. she is using the word "failure" alot !

opening comments, she's doing a heckuva job !

[herbbrown]

32. What to do when Norm Coleman comes on?

Throw a brick through the TV, yea this group will get to the bottom of the issues, sure it will.

[KoKo]

43. Well...(I had to listen) so far both seem to say it was a "total failure"

breakdown, and Feds were not able to overcome challenges in this predictable disaster.

[KoKo]

49. Lieberman "hopes FEMA can do better.." What about Fireing the Lot of

Them! Hopes they can do BETTER?????

[Catchawave]

38. JOeMENTUM ! is up now...

[LeftNYC]

39. Lieberman...god I hate this guy...nt

[dubyaD40web]

46. I can't stand his voice.

He sounds dopey.

[Catchawave]

47. DHS committee - annoying voices a req'ment ????..LOL

[LeftNYC]

51. If him and Specter were having a conversation, I would have to

leave the room...

[Viva_La_Revolution]

40. Lieberman opening statement now

I'd transcribe... but really, it's not worth it.

[Norquist Nemesis]

45. LOL! I have it on mute until the Qs start

...developing

[burythehatchet]

42. looks like Brownie has had a zit breakout

he oughta try some proactiv

[pdxmom]

44. This should be fun. Brownie is so arrogant and refuses to

accept any responsibility. After these opening statements laying so much blame at his feet, he's bound to lash back. Refilling my coffee and waiting for the entertainment.

[LeftNYC]

50. According to some, he is going to place blame in other lap and

talk about his communication with Dubya...we shall see...

[Catchawave]

52. I feel sorry for him....cronyism = this buck stops w/Bush :(

[EFerrari]

48. The fix is in. Joementum said Brownie responded

"simply and directly".

He's gonna skate and Bush is gonna skate.

:(

[SoCalDem]

54. Thank god for "mute"

I want to hear what Brownie has to say.. Too bad the Katrina survivors aren't asking the questions.. Pay per view would make a dent in the deficit for that one..

[LeftNYC]

55. Oust Lieberman...support Lamont...

http://www.nedlamont.com/

[Catchawave]

58. He's nailing Chertoff now...good job Joe!

[xultar]

56. Brownie LOOKIE LIKE SHEEEIIIITTTTT.

[KoKo]

63. His "porch light" isn't always on....so I think he will just come off as

clueless. He wasn't qualified for the job...he will say he was going to resign anyway. Will he throw Bush under the bus? Or, just say "I dunno much."

[Sydnie]

91. DING DING DING

Just said he was going to leave anyway! Good call Koko!

[LeftNYC]

57. By the way, George Washington couldnt stop

a hurricane in New Orleans when he was President, so how are we supposed to do it...:sarcasm:

[Sydnie]

61. Well, if he had just tapped the wind, warrant or not, he would have

known what it was up to. :rofl:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

72. good one!

:rofl:

[LeftNYC]

76. hey im here all week, twice Mon-Fri...lol...nt

[Stephanie]

60. STFU Joementum.

So sick of your voice already. Get off the stage.

[Twist_U_Up]

62. Joes filibustering

the more he talks the less brownie has to say. Dont we have any other Senators other than the usually DINOS that appear on every panel or talk show ? WTF

[malaise]

66. Here comes Brownie

This should be good

[Norquist Nemesis]

67. Finally! He shut up!

Collins calls his comments "generous". :rofl:

[KoKo]

68. He did get it it was a "massive failure of Government at ALL LEVELS."

I'll give him that. His quavering voice does emit some emotion ...now onto
Collins...

[Sydnie]

He reminds me of that Eric Idle character --

the one that talks about traveling - "and he drones on and on and throws up on the few believers" ... The kind of guy you want to choke so he will shut up!

[TheModernTerrorist]

65. to be fair

that brownie shouldn't have any nuts...

[Viva_La_Revolution]

75. I googled and googled!

for one with out nuts.... :( they all had nuts.

[LeftNYC]

69. Was Brownie sworn in? Does he have to be in this case?

Collins sounds like a librarian...

[ThomWV]

70. Brown Smiles!

When Liberman thanks him for what he expects to be his truthful answers Brown smiles. It was the smile of a conspirator who is about to spill the beans ... I am sure of it.

[Catchawave]

73. Brownie's been SWORN in !

[vanboggie]

74. Sworn in witnesses

It's a miracle! Under oath!

[Nordmadr]

77. Swearing in...what a novel idea. N/T

[mtnester]

78. Chertoff and Ridge - Brownie blames DHS!

har har...no rolling on his buddies in the WH

[speedoo]

87. Brownie says merger of FEMA into DHS was the problem.

I think that's what he said, anyway.

This guy Rohde is a total flunkie. I'll never forget his proclamations that everything was going just fine in the early days of the disaster. Fucking liar, and it was so obvious.

[LeftNYC]

79. How did Brownie's mom let him leave the house looking like that...

comb your hair buddy...

[SoCalDem]

81. Too bad Wolfowitz isn;t there. He could spit on a comb and fix it

:)

[The Witch]

85. His dogs probably mauled him before he left.

His dogs have the scariest bark. (Yes... I know where he lives...)

Tasteless joke: once I was going by his house and his dogs were barking like crazy... I turned to my fiance and said "What's that, boy? New Orleans fell in the well?"

:rofl: :rofl:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

108. bad witch!

:spank:


:rofl:

[Sydnie]

80. A cultural clash that didn't understand the science of responding

to a disaster ... WTF is that suppose to be? A cultural clash? The Washington Administration Elite didn't know how to deal with this kind of problem ... because they always had someone else to deal with this type of detail in their own life ... is that what cultural clash means here?

I'm serious, I don't get that statement.

[Twist_U_Up]

84. Cultural Clash

Black vs White

[Catchawave]

86. Racism was the first thing that popped into my mind

[Norquist Nemesis]

82. Ah yes...it's going to be the panel of

"disgruntled employees". I can hear the dismissals of what they say already in an attempt to discredit them.

[mopinko]

83. i don't usually eat brownies with nuts.

but, this once, i will have a nutty brownie for breakfast. mmmmm.

[CornField]

88. Patrick Rhode also unqualified for job

The FEMA page on him was scrubbed, but I found a cached version:

Patrick James Rhode
Chief of Staff

Patrick Rhode was appointed chief of staff for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, part of the new Department of Homeland Security, by President Bush in April 2003. As chief of staff, he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the agency and for directing the implementation of Acting Director R. David Paulison's priorities and policies. FEMA coordinates federal disaster relief activities, including the response and recovery operations of 26 federal agencies and departments and the American Red Cross. FEMA's responsibilities also include initiating proactive mitigation activities, training first responders and overseeing the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the Department of Homeland Security in March 2003.

Before joining FEMA, Mr. Rhode was associate administrator at the U.S. Small Business Administration and White House liaison for the Department of Commerce. His first position with the Bush Administration was as special assistant to the President and deputy director of National Advance Operations, a position he assumed in January 2001.

Previously, Mr. Rhode served as deputy director of National Advance Operations for the George W. Bush Presidential Campaign, in Austin, Texas. His other professional credits include serving in communications and public affairs roles in the Texas Department of Agriculture, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, and Entergy Corporation. Earlier in his career, Mr. Rhode was an anchor/reporter with network affiliated television stations in Alabama and Arkansas.

A native of Hot Springs, Ark., Mr. Rhode holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Arkansas, in Fayetteville.

[SoCalDem]

89. SHUT UP SUSAN

Now she's rehashing her opening statement that she JUST made..# minutes into it, she finally asks a question..

They should have asked HIM to make a statement and let his opening statement guide them on questioning.

[BlueEyedSon]

90. Extra CRISP, please!

[malaise]

106. Time for my popcorn

breakfast.

Susan Collins says answer the questions Brownie:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

[burythehatchet]

92. Brownie about to finger the white house

hang on!!!

[The Witch]

103. tuning in hoping to hear a bombshell

if it's boring for 10 minutes i'm going home (to steffi)

[Viva_La_Revolution]

93. discussed issues with "presidents senior staff"

but before I answer your question madamn chairman, may I spew forth some excuses for myself and the pres?

[Catchawave]

96. Harriet Myers mentioned

[Viva_La_Revolution]

97. THREAD 2 IS UP

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x378593

[Sydnie]

94. Does it appear to anyone else that they are reading a script?

both are looking down like they are reading the material instead of just asking a question and hearing an answer?

[Catchawave]

107. now that you mention it...

susan is reading her questions...unless she was making notes during his response?

[deminks]

95. Here it comes.

Several members of pretzeldentes senior staff. Sent a letter to Maggie Miers.

[deminks]

104. Well, Brownie, when in doubt, tell the truth, heh? It's what we do

[vanboggie]

105. Brownie pissed about being left out to dry n/t

[tgnyc]

98. He says Miers' answer to his question was too vague, gave no direction.

[buzzard]

109. From what he read it was vague, I actually feel sorry for him.n/t

[Stephanie]

99. Brownie's about to spill the beans!

He wants Collins to tell him he has to answer the question!

[stop the bleeding]

100. I'm on board -

:popcorn:

[Greeby]

101. Come on Brownie

Are you gonna name names or what?

[Twist_U_Up]

102. Has Collins got the DTs ?

shes awfully shakey

[herbbrown]

113. This is BS

she sounds like a WH point woman. Oh wait theres the real point man Stevens

[Lex]

110. The White House fumbles BIG TIME. Miers screwed it up.

They assert no Executive Privilege.

[stop the bleeding]

116. yep - YEs YES YES, here we go - Stevens is shittin his pants n/t

[Atman]

122. Maybe Miers has her own reasons to hang the man who humiliated her?

I mean, her lifelong work has been reduced to a joke. Her good name is now sullied forever as a result of Bush's cavalier attitude toward the constitution. Maybe she is just being passively aggressive. Very aggressive!

[Connie_Corleone]

111. Here we go!!

[stop the bleeding]

112. yes - she says he needs to respond to the questions - YES YES n/t

[speedoo]

114. Here we go, Brownie getting into the Executive Provilege..

thing. He is talking about his letter to Harriet. Says he was requesting guidance and he says he received letter from Myers yesterday, which was nonresponsive to his guidance request.

So now he's asking Collins for guidance. Unbelievable.

Collins handles it well, asking Brownie if he has received direction from WH re, Exec. Privilege, Brownie says no. Collins says that since WH has chosen not to assert EP, she directs Brownie to answer questions directly.

Gonna get good, maybe!!

Ted Stevens objecting.

[Twist_U_Up]

115. Another fucking dog and pony show

[Connie_Corleone]

119. Stevens is an idiot!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

124. actually, by getting that point out, it tells brownie to tell all

not so dumb of a point.
I like where this is going - not that it means anything. Brownie was award several months of bribes to prepare his "response" here. What else was he being paid for after he resigned? I can only imagine the video'd question and answer practices.

"NO, Mr. Brown, do NOT smirk with that answer. Nod slowly, as though you are thinking, then memorize the following:"

[woodsprite]

117. OMG! You guys. I just jumped in here and I'm eating a brownie - Ewww! n/t

[RB TexLa]

118. Sounds like Collins gave the WH every chance

Sounds like Brownie can say whatever he wants to.

[stop the bleeding]

120. yep - that is what I hear n/t

[jayfish]

121. WTF! Are They Looking For A Way To Get Him To...

not testify? I'm looking for someone from the Whitehouse to run in (while they stall) and assert executive privilege.

Jay

[Lex]

125. The Repubs are trying to figure out how to assert it FOR the White House

Jeeez. What a bunch of crooks.

I have to give Joe-mentum some props for speaking up and saying what he said (essentially, let's get on with it).

[speedoo]

123. Collins brushes Stevens off. Brown talks about budget.

Brownie says he had conversations with Card, Bolton, Townsend, others re. budget problems. That's pretty high level.

[Lex]

127. Locking. See Thread #2 here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=378593&mesg_id=378593

Thanks,
Lex
DU Moderator