Yo, FEMA raps!

More insight on the well-oiled machine known as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Published September 9, 2005 4:39PM (EDT)

Salon editorial fellow rhymes along with FEMA.

Hey, kids! Worried about a disaster? Don't worry, because the Federal Emergency Management Agency has a comforting bulletin just for you:

"Disaster ... it can happen anywhere,
But we've got a few tips, so you can be prepared
For floods, tornadoes, or even a 'quake,
You've got to be ready -- so your heart don't break."

That's the beginning of the "FEMA Rap for Kidz," available for a listen on FEMA's Web site, and it's totally fresh! OK, the meter is shaky, and we're not sure that taxpayer dollars ought to be going to faulty grammar, but it's the message that counts.

In other FEMA news, it turns out that director Michael Brown's experience as an assistant city manager with "emergency services oversight" in Edmond, Okla., was even less impressive than we'd imagined, according to the latest report from Time magazine. Claudia Deakins, public relations director for the city of Edmond, told Time that Brown was really an assistant to the city manager, "more like an intern," during his stint there, which took place from 1977 to 1980 while Brown was a student at Central State University.

Bill Dashner, the city manager at the time, told the magazine that Brown helped with details and wrote the occasional speech. "He was very loyal," Dashner said. "He was always on time. He always had on a suit and a starched white shirt."


By Aaron Kinney

Aaron Kinney is a writer in San Francisco. He has a blog.

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