James Lee Witt (the best fully empowered and supported FEMA Secretary my emergency responder and disaster planning friends could describe), asked for a year to see if he could straighten out that "Turkey Farm" as Senator Fritz Hollings had described it at https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/storm/interviews/witt.html
He had the advantage of succeeding as a Cabinet level agency, so we may never know how others could have done as well after the Republicans threw it under the Department of Homeland Security bus after 9/11
Some of the text from the link above:
"...Sen. Fritz Hollings said it best. … He said FEMA was a political dumping ground, a turkey farm, and the only agency he knew that "could mess up a two-car parade." That was his quote. … [And] that's what I found.
When you briefed Joe Allbaugh [George W. Bush's presidential campaign director in 2000] when he came to take over, what did you tell him?
I told him: "Joe, I'll help you any way I can behind the scene, because if I can help you and you are successful, then I know the people are going to be taken care of, and I know FEMA will be successful. It's extremely important, Joe, that the president maintains that position as a Cabinet-level position."
What did he say?
He said, "He's going to do that."
He didn't.
No. I think his management style was a lot different than mine, because I had an open-door policy. Any employee in the agency or any of the 10 regions could make an appointment to talk to me on Tuesday -- any employee. [Did not] make any difference who you were or what position you had. And it was amazing. On Tuesday, of course, they'd call up and start making appointments..."
Seems perhaps slightly more “legitimate” than the Norwegian Quisling Nazi backed government since we seem to have had more voters signing off on ending democracy as we know it. I do hope it will be even less “powerful” over the people than the Quislings were.
No one else may care but I had a Paper Clip on my backpack in memory of the Norwegian Teachers that all went to prison camps rather than teach the fascist curriculum the Quislings demanded.
This reads like a fairytale. Thanks for posting the link. I knew the word quisling but had no idea where it came from. OTOH I’ve been thinking we need the Yuppies of my youth to lambast what Dumpsters and Maggats are doing grab headlines and galvanize some sort of overt resistance to what’s reigning (pun intentional) down here. If people knew this history I’d say paper clip jewelry could be a thing. Any resistance ideas to show solidarity of opposition with a (Midas) touch of humor more than welcome.
Get your bucket ready, then read this:
https://www.the-reframe.com/the-moon-is-down/?ref=the-reframe-newsletter
Not certain which Reich we're in now, but make no mistake: we're in it.
Preschoolers could run the government better than these turkeys.
James Lee Witt (the best fully empowered and supported FEMA Secretary my emergency responder and disaster planning friends could describe), asked for a year to see if he could straighten out that "Turkey Farm" as Senator Fritz Hollings had described it at https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/storm/interviews/witt.html
He had the advantage of succeeding as a Cabinet level agency, so we may never know how others could have done as well after the Republicans threw it under the Department of Homeland Security bus after 9/11
Some of the text from the link above:
"...Sen. Fritz Hollings said it best. … He said FEMA was a political dumping ground, a turkey farm, and the only agency he knew that "could mess up a two-car parade." That was his quote. … [And] that's what I found.
When you briefed Joe Allbaugh [George W. Bush's presidential campaign director in 2000] when he came to take over, what did you tell him?
I told him: "Joe, I'll help you any way I can behind the scene, because if I can help you and you are successful, then I know the people are going to be taken care of, and I know FEMA will be successful. It's extremely important, Joe, that the president maintains that position as a Cabinet-level position."
What did he say?
He said, "He's going to do that."
He didn't.
No. I think his management style was a lot different than mine, because I had an open-door policy. Any employee in the agency or any of the 10 regions could make an appointment to talk to me on Tuesday -- any employee. [Did not] make any difference who you were or what position you had. And it was amazing. On Tuesday, of course, they'd call up and start making appointments..."
Only if their parents done gave 'em a proper fetchins up.
Seems perhaps slightly more “legitimate” than the Norwegian Quisling Nazi backed government since we seem to have had more voters signing off on ending democracy as we know it. I do hope it will be even less “powerful” over the people than the Quislings were.
No one else may care but I had a Paper Clip on my backpack in memory of the Norwegian Teachers that all went to prison camps rather than teach the fascist curriculum the Quislings demanded.
See: https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/norwegian-teachers-prevent-nazi-takeover-education-1942
This reads like a fairytale. Thanks for posting the link. I knew the word quisling but had no idea where it came from. OTOH I’ve been thinking we need the Yuppies of my youth to lambast what Dumpsters and Maggats are doing grab headlines and galvanize some sort of overt resistance to what’s reigning (pun intentional) down here. If people knew this history I’d say paper clip jewelry could be a thing. Any resistance ideas to show solidarity of opposition with a (Midas) touch of humor more than welcome.