Former FEMA director Michael Brown in congressional probe.....

doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. The Democrats who didn't get exactly what they wanted (an independent commission, not a congressional panel) refused to participate. Representative William Jefferson from Louisiana being the only exception.

Brown told the committee:

"that state and local governments have the primary responsibility for responding to emergencies because FEMA does not have its own police force, firefighters or search and rescue equipment.
``Emergency management begins at the local level,'' Brown said. ``FEMA is a coordinating agency.'' via Bloomberg.com

Well, I'm finally glad we finally got THAT straight. He also said he just couldn't get Blanco and Nagin to get their act together. (another startling revelation!)

One interesting thing I noted however is that Brown said that there was no state FEMA director and that the last one must have not been replaced. When asked what happened to the last one, Brown replied, "he was indicted."

Which tells you just about all you need to know about Louisiana politics.