You, too, can be a major TV network news producer!

Transcript from Paula Zahn Show during Katrina:

MICHAEL BROWN, Director, FEMA: Paula, I think it's so important for the American public to understand exactly how catastrophic this disaster is.

I mean, we have a major American city, a major urban area that has been totally demolished. And what we're finding is, is that, as we continue to do the evacuation and get people out, people who have completely lost everything, they have no place to go, they have nothing, that we're finding other people who are literally coming out of second stories of homes, that are suddenly appearing on bridges that are not under water, that people who were unable or chose not to evacuate are suddenly appearing.

And so, this -- this catastrophic disaster continues to grow. I will tell you this, though. Every person in that Convention Center, we just learned about that today. And so, I have directed that we have all available resources to get to that Convention Center to make certain that they have the food and water, the medical care that they need...

ZAHN: Sir, you aren't telling me...

BROWN: ... and that we take care of those bodies that are there.

ZAHN: Sir, you aren't just telling me you just learned that the folks at the Convention Center didn't have food and water until today, are you? You had no idea they were completely cut off?

BROWN: Paula, the federal government did not even know about the Convention Center people until today.

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More from Wikipedia:

On September 2, 2005, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley stated that he pledged firefighters, police officers, health department workers, and other resources on behalf of the city, but was only asked to send one tank truck.^[25]

Controversy arose in November of 2005 as a House committee investigating the response to Katrina released about 1,000 e-mail messages between Brown, staff and acquaintances. On the day Katrina struck, Brown jokingly wrote "Can I quit now? Can I go home?" He later quipped to a friend on September 2 that he could not meet her because he was "trapped [as FEMA head] ... please rescue me." On August 29th (the day the hurricane hit), Brown also quipped in e-mail to a co-worker, "I am a fashion god" because he shopped at North American fashion chain Nordstrom's [26]. In another e-mail, Brown's press secretary, Sharon Worthy, advised him to roll up his sleeves, "to look more hard-working." "Even the president rolled his sleeves to just below the elbow."[27] An e-mail offering critical medical equipment went unanswered for four days.

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Did anyone else get as sick as I this past weekend at the one year anniversary of Katrina as we had to listen to former FEMA director, Michael Brown, share his "expertise" with us on what the fuck went wrong with his agency's response to people left stranded and dying in the wake of this storm?

These days, when "Brownie" is not traveling around the country, speaking before groups in his apparently successful self-redemption effort as evidenced by his appearance on TV News shows, he runs a consulting firm for--of all things--disaster preparation and response!

I don't give a damn who seeks his services. That's their business. But the record is clear, people drowned, died of dehydration, died for lack of food or medications, or were simply left stranded in flood waters to fend for themselves under Brown's watch.

What I do care about is the media flooding the airwaves with Brownie's "expertise" based on his Katrina experience which is inexcusable. The news networks casting him in the role of a resurrected disaster expert is totally irresponsible. Perhaps the media are using Brownie to trash the Bush administration's response to Katrina. But Brownie was part of the problem. He has no credentials to criticize, much less lead in disaster preparation.

Anyone out there similarly outraged by airing such an "expert" in disaster response as Brown just might have a future as a TV network news producer. Certainly, if without better credentials for the job, you definitely have better judgment.