From a
horse fancier forum, on the subject of former International Arabian Horse Association Judges & Stewards Commissioner -- and current FEMA director -- Mike Brown:
He's not even a horseman. He was hired by IAHA because, as a non-horseperson, he had no dog in the fight, so to speak
So Brown went from a horse show commissioner who knew nothing about horses to a Federal Emergency Management Agency director who knew nothing about managing emergencies. At least he's consistent.
So, what the hell am I doing reading horse fancier forums? Well, after
breaking the story on our stunningly unqualified FEMA chief, I suddenly found myself in the middle of row between angry horse breeders, emailing me comments, links and press releases, from both sides of the Brown debate. For example I just received a copy of a
press release from the IAHA's successor, the Arabian Horse Association, attempting to rehabilitate Brown's reputation:
Barbara Burck, executive vice president and chief administrator of the association added that "Mr. Brown had a long and successful career with IAHA and was regarded as upholding the highest standards of integrity and demanding excellence in all areas under his jurisdiction. His legal background and management skills enabled him to accomplish the rigors of the job with professionalism."
"He dealt with issues related to enforcement of rules and regulations that often generated passionate dispute by advocates on both sides of his decisions," she added. "Several of those enforcement issues resulted in litigation. Due to the nature of Mr. Brown's duties as commissioner, he set up his own Legal Defense Fund Trust to supplement the IAHA Legal Defense Fund. Following his departure from the IAHA, the entire sum in the Michael D. Brown Legal Defense Fund Trust was transferred to the IAHA Legal Defense Fund."
President Myron Krause stated, "Brown's contract was not terminated by IAHA, he resigned. Furthermore, there was no due cause to terminate his contract.
Yeah... well... sure... that's somewhat how some of my sources remember it, but certainly not the majority, and it's contrary to how it was reported at the time. In a November 2000 newsletter, the president of the New Hampshire Arabian Horse Association specifically reported back from the national convention that Brown was "requested to resign." And several IAHA board members, including its former president, have confirmed this account in the MSM. (Here and here.)
And according to an interview with IAHA Secretary Gary Dearth in the Nov. 2000 issue of Arabian Horse World magazine, it was apparently Brown himself who originally complained that the Executive Committee was forcing him out.
Q: Why do you feel that prior to his resignation, Mr. Brown repeatedly stated that he does "not have the support of the Executive Committee"?
A: This talk of lack of support for Mike Brown has become rather tiresome. The Executive Committee, approximately a year and a half ago, gave Mike Brown a three-year contract rather than annual contract extensions which had been the tradition in the past. When you look at concrete support and not just talk, there is no stronger support than a three-year contract. However, information that came to light at the August Board meeting -- the revelation that Brown had set up his own legal defense fund -- severely eroded that support. This revelation created the appearance of impropriety, especially when he'd been saying that he had commitments of a great deal of money for IAHA's Legal Defense Fund which never materialized, and then it turned out he'd been out soliciting funds for his own, personal, legal defense fund.
Mr. Brown has been defended by IAHA to the fullest degree all the way along. At the August Board Meeting when this all came to light, he said that he felt the need to set up his own legal defense fund to protect the assets of his family. Yet IAHA has been paying all of his legal bills. We have paid for the attorney he chose to use, and he's never been refused coverage, so we don't know why he felt he needed further protection. Furthermore, IAHA indemnified him, meaning that we hold him harmless for whatever he does as he functions in his job.
Mike Brown experienced a huge, rapid erosion of support that day. When this came to light at the Board Meeting, he strongly, clearly, and repeatedly stated that he wished to resign and this statement was addressed to the full Board, not to the Executive Committee. Therefore, I resent the characterization that the Executive Committee forced Mike Brown out, when in fact, the catalyst that led to his resignation was a very embarrassing situation caused by Mike Brown himself that came to light at the Board Meeting.
Okay... so maybe Brown wasn't asked to resign after all... he beat the IAHA to the punch after embarrassing himself before the board. So I suppose this is what the AHA press release means when it talks about Brown "upholding the highest standards of integrity"...?
Back on the horsey boards the debate continues to rage, with more details coming out everyday about the "depressing mess" that ended Brown's tenure. And while I appreciate the loyalty of his handful of defenders, their efforts are futile, for this story has moved way beyond the ability of any one press release or blog entry to change the headlines. Today I got a phone call from the National Enquirer, and a scandal can't get any more grounded in the mainstream, middle-American media than that.
The story is cronyism, and how it may have cost lives in the wake of the greatest natural disaster in US history. And any attempt to defend Brown now will only raise unflattering comparisons, like David Corn's latest in The Nation:
Let's consider an obvious comparison: Michael Brown and James Lee Witt, who Bill Clinton appointed head of FEMA. As has been widely noted, before joining FEMA, Brown was a lawyer for the International Arabian Horse Association. Before Witt was tapped as FEMA chief, he had served for four years as director of the Arkansas Office of Emergency Services. Bush placed a crony--Brown was also an attorney for the Oklahoma Republican Party--in charge of FEMA (and permitted the agency's disaster work to be downgraded). Clinton gave the job to a fellow with years of experience in disaster management and maintained a close connection to Witt and FEMA, which then had Cabinet-level status.
That is the moral of this story... a moral that will continue to inform headlines and editorials, regardless of the "he said" / "she said" horsey-board debate over Brown's resignation. For the only resignation that matters now is the one Brown should be tendering from his job at FEMA in the wake of the most disastrous disaster relief effort in our nation's history.
[Cross-posted at HorsesAss.org]