This Is Bad...

I'm just going to be blunt about it; if I post it tonight, it came from one of these three sources:
Talking Points Memo
Atrios' Eschaton
Daily Kos

DMORT (Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team) is saying they have been told to prepare for up to 40,000 dead. Hat tip goes to Talking Points Memo.

FEMA Director Michael Brown waited until five hours AFTER Katrina hit to order FEMA employees to the scene. He also gave them two days to get there. Their job? Convey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials, community organizations and the general public. So their primary purpose was PR.

What would you do with 1,000 trained volunteer firefighters in a national disaster? Well, if you're FEMA, you give them sexual harrassment training! But wait! Fifty of the firefighters were rushed to Louisiana! Did they get to help anyone? Why yes they did! They helped President Bush:

But as specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.
Salt Lake Tribune: Frustrated: Fire crews to hand out fliers for FEMA

See those guys in the background?

Speaking of FEMA, remember the Director of FEMA's primary qualification for the job was that he worked on the Bush campaign. Well, guess how his two deputies got their jobs?

The Chief of Staff is a guy named Patrick Rhode. He planned events for President Bush’s campaign. Rhode has no emergency management experience whatsoever. From Rhode’s official bio:

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.

The Deputy Chief of Staff is Scott Morris. He was a press flak for Bush’s presidential campaign. Previously, he worked for the company that produced Bush’s campaign commercials. He also has no emergency management experience. From Morris’s official bio:

Mr. Morris was also the marketing director for the world’s leading provider of e-business applications software in California, and worked for Maverick Media in Austin, Texas as a media strategist for the George W. Bush for President primary campaign and the Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign.

Via ThinkProgress.

UnFUCKINGbelievable.

Worst. Administration. Ever.