[Cross-posted over at DEMbloggers.com]
Yesterday was the beginning of the end for "Brownie". Chertoff held a press conference to relieve Mike Brown of his duties as head of the Katrina relief effort and he should be back in Washington doing whatever it is he does...
Katrina has shown the lack of preparedness within the Bush administration and it has also revealed the uselessness of Michael Brown. This man has bungled the operation from the beginning and not surprisingly the man still holds his job as director of FEMA. This man can safely be called a do-nothing director but be careful what you say about him because in a few months he will be the newest recipient of the medal of freedom which has already been awarded to other <strike>failures</strike> leaders like Paul Bremer and George Tenant.
As I have mentioned in the past, the photo-journalists covering Katrina have, for the most part done an outstanding job. The photos coming out of the gulf are each an editorial and deserve a closer look. This Reuters photo taken on September 9th, 2005 shows America the real Mike Brown.
Analysis on the flip...
(For those that don't know, the man on the far right is Brown's replacement)
First let's look at this photo holistically. The two men on the right are both leaders in the Katrina relief effort. They both appear to be very casually dressed which is necessary when you are working in the hot southern sun. Both are wearing short sleeves and look like they have been outdoors. On the other hand, Mike Brown on the far left is dressed in much more formal attire and doesn't look like he has done shit outdoors. Another point of interest is the fact that both Chertoff and Brown's replacement are both wearing darker colors while Brown himself is wearing a brighter blue. To me, Chertoff and the other guy look ready to get their hands dirty while Brown looks ready to get on his plane and head back to Washington to play a few holes of golf.
Now look at Brown's facial features. As Chertoff is talking and the other guy looks on, Mike Brown looks as lost as ever. Chertoff appears to be passionately gesturing while speaking but Mike Brown couldn't care less about what Chertoff is saying. I bet Brown is thinking about the great time he will have once he can leave the gulf and head back to his warm home while the people he failed in NOLA burn for decades to come.
Alright, now this is the biggie that shows us much more than we ever wanted to know about Mike Brown. As he idly stands there waiting for the conference to end he stares off into space but does something which makes everything much worse. The bastard sticks his hands in his pockets and waits there like a little kid for the conference to end. To me, sticking his hands in his pockets shows a complete lack of care and symbolizes much, much more. When the hurricane hit Mike Brown failed his citizens and for all intensive purposes he stuck his hands in his pockets for two days and waited for the catastrophe to get worse. When Mike Brown finally took his hands out of his pockets, two days after the hurricane hit it was too late and the damage had already been done. Now I'm not really faulting Brownie for putting his hands in his pockets in the literal sense but it shows so much about his character and his approach to serious problems. This man doesn't care about you, he doesn't care about me and he certainly doesn't care about the people down in the gulf that have lost everything.
These pictures coming out of the gulf reveal so much about our government, our leaders and our people but they all need a closer look to decipher the editorial within each photo.