Plenty of incompetence to go around

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Meanwhile, news on the other BushCorp™ debacle:

Series of Baghdad Attacks Kill At Least 160

BAGHDAD, Sept. 14 -- Insurgents killed at least 160 people Wednesday in more than a dozen separate bombings and rocket attacks that made for one of Baghdad's deadliest days.

Targets included crowds of Iraqi civilians and at least three U.S. military convoys. The deadliest attack, in a northwest Baghdad neighborhood, exploded among crowds of Shiite Muslim day laborers gathered to look for work. Iraq's Interior Ministry spokesman, Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman, said 90 people were killed.

Good to see the insurgency in its "last throes" ain't it?

Yes indeedy, I'll give it to the folks at BushCorp™, they're incompetent, but at least they're consistent.

And speaking of consistent incompetence, it seems that FEMA director Michael Brown wasn't alone in his snail-like reaction time to New Orlean's pending destruction. DHS head Michael Chertoff has some 'splainin' to do as well:

WASHINGTON - The federal official with the power to mobilize a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina was Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, not the former FEMA chief who was relieved of his duties and resigned earlier this week, federal documents reviewed by Knight Ridder show.

Even before the storm struck the Gulf Coast, Chertoff could have ordered federal agencies into action without any request from state or local officials. Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown had only limited authority to do so until about 36 hours after the storm hit, when Chertoff designated him as the "principal federal official" in charge of the storm.

As thousands of hurricane victims went without food, water and shelter in the days after Katrina's early morning Aug. 29 landfall, critics assailed Brown for being responsible for delays that might have cost hundreds of lives.

But Chertoff - not Brown - was in charge of managing the national response to a catastrophic disaster, according to the National Response Plan, the federal government's blueprint for how agencies will handle major natural disasters or terrorist incidents. An order issued by President Bush in 2003 also assigned that responsibility to the homeland security director.

But according to a memo obtained by Knight Ridder, Chertoff didn't shift that power to Brown until late afternoon or evening on Aug. 30, about 36 hours after Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi. That same memo suggests that Chertoff may have been confused about his lead role in disaster response and that of his department. [Emphases mine-CK]

So, let's get this straight, the guy who has the real power doesn't use it, while his underling is reassigned and resigns in disgrace. If it walks like a scapegoat and quacks like a scapegoat...

Now I'm certainly not defending Michael Brown, a hack who got what he deserved. I'm just wondering when Chertoff and the other BushCorp™ hacks, including the hack-in-chief will get their just rewards?