Stonewalling Congress Again

An article in today's NY Times, the head of the committee investigating the botched federal response to hurricane Katrina has threatened to force the White House to release documents requested by the Committee. Chairman Thomas M. Davis III (R-VA) "threatened to issue subpoenas to compel administration officials to release the documents if they did not comply with the committee's request.". He complained of the Bush Administration that "We are not going to be stonewalled here. I will continue to press the administration for full compliance with our requests as soon as possible". It highlights another area in which the Bush Administration seeks to erode the investigative role mandated to Congress by the Constitution, and largely rests on the fear that the documents will make Micheal Brown, the deposed head of Fema during the hurricane, look even worse than he already does. The article provides several exerpts from emails he wrote during the disaster:

A deputy in Fema, Cindy Taylor, emailed him that "My eyes must be deceiving me. You look fabulous [in your public appearances] - and I'm not talking about the makeup," to which Brown responded "I got it at Nordstroms...Are you proud of me?" to which he added "If you look at my lovely FEMA attire you'll really vomit. I am a fashion god"

He was also concerned about his dog and expressed desires to leave his position. He wrote:

"Do you know of anyone who dog-sits...If you know of any responsible kids, let me know. They can have the house to themselves Th-Su."

"Can I quit now...Can I come home?"

"I am trapped now, please rescue me"