One more poke at the cat before I'm shot at: When Michael Brown of Katrina renown was lauded for the wonderful job he did by then-president George W Bush, the fact is that 50 SAR specialists from British Columbia were IN New Orleans before Mr Brown was aware a problem existed. Are FEMA leaders political appointments?

I do not give a rat's ass who has a degree in fire management. When I was on the sharp end I wanted a scene commander who

1) knew and understood the situation
2) knew the capabilities of the people under his/her command
3) knew that civilians were priority one, and we were priority one just after the civilians

What did FEMA do in this 'disaster'?