Defying the MSM, Ex-FEMA Head Brown Fights Back

Michael Brown, the former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is harshly criticizing Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

From the Associated Press via Yahoo! News:

"My biggest mistake was not recognizing by Saturday that Louisiana was dysfunctional," two days before the storm hit, Brown told a special congressional panel set up by House Republican leaders to investigate the catastrophe.

"I've overseen over 150 presidentially declared disasters. I know what I'm doing, and I think I do a pretty darn good job of it,"

"I very strongly personally regret that I was unable to persuade Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin to sit down, get over their differences, and work together. I just couldn't pull that off."

Brown's words drew criticism from Louisiana Representative William Jefferson, who is himself under investigation for political corruption, and misappropriation of resources during the disaster.

Brown admitted to specific mistakes during Hurricane Katrina. The most grievous was not having enough press briefings. This left the major television networks free to characterize the disaster as a Bush administration failure. NBC, in particular, grossly distorted events as part of their ongoing campaign against the Bush administration.

NBC's technique was basic, yet effective. Whenever forced to report on local or state incompetence, the correspondent always ended the report with a mention of FEMA in order to associate any failures with the federal government. When Brown resigned, NBC and the rest of the mainstream media moved quickly to cement the "FEMA failed" meme in the public consciousness.

It's heartening to see Michael Brown refusing to go quietly. It would be more heartening still to hear him call out the MSM for their blatant propagandizing.