Marty ignored. Did he forget to make a reservation?
Marty Bahamonde is a FEMA official from Boston who was caught in New Orleans when Katrina hit. The NY Times just printed a record of the emails exchanged between Bahamonde and various other FEMA officials.
They can be read at http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20051022_FEMA2.pdf
and are also posted at the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's website at: http://hsgac.senate.gov/_files/102005HrgExhibits.pdf
The specific exchange that is making the most noise right now is this one:
From: Bahamonde, Marty
To: 'michael.d.brown~dhs.gav'
Sent: Aug. 31, 11:20 am [Katrina hit New Orleans on 8/29 at 7am]
Subject: New orleans
Sir, I know that you know the situation is past critical. Here some things you might not know.
Hotels are kicking people out, thousands gathering in the streets with no food or water. Hundreds still being rescued from homes.
The dying patients at the DMAT tent being medivac. Estimates are many will die within hours. Evacuation in process. Plans developing for dome evacuation but hotel situation adding to problem. We are out of food and running out of water at the dome, plans in works to address the critical need.
FEMA staff is OK and holding own. DMAT staff working in deplorable conditions. The sooner we can get the medical patients out, the sooner we can get them out.
Phone connectivity impossible.
More later
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld
-------------
[Note: DMAT=Disaster Medical Assistance Team]
No response from Brown is recorded. The next email is from Cindy Taylor, another FEMA official who has been communicating with Bahamonde and sharing his frustration, and who sarcastically comments on the email she forwards from Sharon Worthy who is Michael Brown's press secretary.
From: Taylor, Cindy
TO: Bahamonde, Marly; Widomski, Michael
Sent: Wednesday, August 31,2005 227 PM
Subject: FW: Scarborough
Let me preface by saying I know he needs downtime, but ummm... how much time do each of you need for dinner, including travel time to the restaurants of your choice?
From: Sharon Worthy (Brown's press secretary)
Cc: Cindy Taylor (FEMA deputy director of public affairs)
Sent: Aug. 31, 2:00 p.m.
Subject: FW: Scarborough
To: 'Valerie.Smith@DHS.GOV'
Cc :'natalie.rule@dhs.gov';Andrews, Nicol D - Public Affairs;'cindy.taylor@dhs.gov'
Subject: Scarborough
Please schedule Joe Scarborough this eveninq for 9pmCST period. Spoke with his producer and told him to call you. Mr. Brown wants to do this one.
Also, it is very important that time is allowed for Mr. Brown to eat dinner.
Gievn that Baton Rouge is back to normal, restaurants are getting busy. He needs much more that 20 or 30 minutes. We now have traffic to encounter to get to and from a location of his choise, followed by wait service from the restaurant staff, eating, etc. Thank you.
Sharon Worthy
Press Secretary
----------------------------
[Note: Joe Scarborough is a former right-wing Florida Congressman forced to resign, now turned arch right-wing radio talk show host and MSNBC commentator -- who has preached for years for huge cuts in Federal programs and services. But that incongruity hasn't stopped him from lately criticizing the White House and FEMA as incompetent.]
To which Bahamonde responds to Taylor:
From: Bahamonde, Marty
To: Taylor, Cindy; Widomski,Michael
Sent: Aug. 31, 2:44 p.m.
Subject: Re: Scarborough
"OH MY GOD!!!!!!!! No won't go any further, too easy of a target. Just tell her that I just ate an MRE and crapped in the hallway of the Superdome along with 30,000 other close friends so I understand her concern about busy restaurants. Maybe tonight I will have time to move my pebbles on the parking garage floor so they don't stab me in the back while I try to sleep, but instaed I will hope her wait at Ruth Christ is short. But I know she is stressed so I won't make a big deal about it and you shouldn't either.
----------------------------
[Notes: MRE=Made Ready to Eat, an emergency ration, Ruth's Chris is a steakhouse chain]
They can be read at http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20051022_FEMA2.pdf
and are also posted at the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's website at: http://hsgac.senate.gov/_files/102005HrgExhibits.pdf
The specific exchange that is making the most noise right now is this one:
From: Bahamonde, Marty
To: 'michael.d.brown~dhs.gav'
Sent: Aug. 31, 11:20 am [Katrina hit New Orleans on 8/29 at 7am]
Subject: New orleans
Sir, I know that you know the situation is past critical. Here some things you might not know.
Hotels are kicking people out, thousands gathering in the streets with no food or water. Hundreds still being rescued from homes.
The dying patients at the DMAT tent being medivac. Estimates are many will die within hours. Evacuation in process. Plans developing for dome evacuation but hotel situation adding to problem. We are out of food and running out of water at the dome, plans in works to address the critical need.
FEMA staff is OK and holding own. DMAT staff working in deplorable conditions. The sooner we can get the medical patients out, the sooner we can get them out.
Phone connectivity impossible.
More later
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld
-------------
[Note: DMAT=Disaster Medical Assistance Team]
No response from Brown is recorded. The next email is from Cindy Taylor, another FEMA official who has been communicating with Bahamonde and sharing his frustration, and who sarcastically comments on the email she forwards from Sharon Worthy who is Michael Brown's press secretary.
From: Taylor, Cindy
TO: Bahamonde, Marly; Widomski, Michael
Sent: Wednesday, August 31,2005 227 PM
Subject: FW: Scarborough
Let me preface by saying I know he needs downtime, but ummm... how much time do each of you need for dinner, including travel time to the restaurants of your choice?
From: Sharon Worthy (Brown's press secretary)
Cc: Cindy Taylor (FEMA deputy director of public affairs)
Sent: Aug. 31, 2:00 p.m.
Subject: FW: Scarborough
To: 'Valerie.Smith@DHS.GOV'
Cc :'natalie.rule@dhs.gov';Andrews, Nicol D - Public Affairs;'cindy.taylor@dhs.gov'
Subject: Scarborough
Please schedule Joe Scarborough this eveninq for 9pmCST period. Spoke with his producer and told him to call you. Mr. Brown wants to do this one.
Also, it is very important that time is allowed for Mr. Brown to eat dinner.
Gievn that Baton Rouge is back to normal, restaurants are getting busy. He needs much more that 20 or 30 minutes. We now have traffic to encounter to get to and from a location of his choise, followed by wait service from the restaurant staff, eating, etc. Thank you.
Sharon Worthy
Press Secretary
----------------------------
[Note: Joe Scarborough is a former right-wing Florida Congressman forced to resign, now turned arch right-wing radio talk show host and MSNBC commentator -- who has preached for years for huge cuts in Federal programs and services. But that incongruity hasn't stopped him from lately criticizing the White House and FEMA as incompetent.]
To which Bahamonde responds to Taylor:
From: Bahamonde, Marty
To: Taylor, Cindy; Widomski,Michael
Sent: Aug. 31, 2:44 p.m.
Subject: Re: Scarborough
"OH MY GOD!!!!!!!! No won't go any further, too easy of a target. Just tell her that I just ate an MRE and crapped in the hallway of the Superdome along with 30,000 other close friends so I understand her concern about busy restaurants. Maybe tonight I will have time to move my pebbles on the parking garage floor so they don't stab me in the back while I try to sleep, but instaed I will hope her wait at Ruth Christ is short. But I know she is stressed so I won't make a big deal about it and you shouldn't either.
----------------------------
[Notes: MRE=Made Ready to Eat, an emergency ration, Ruth's Chris is a steakhouse chain]
posted by mike252 at 12:40 PM
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