You know, if people read my e-mail I’m sure I’d come off as an enormous schmuck. Then again, my electronic fodder has never been slung while overseeing the relief effort to an entire coast of displaced hurricane victims. Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, we get a sneak peek at, former FEMA director, MIchael Brown’s inbox.

Melancon said that on August 26, just days before Katrina made landfall, Brown e-mailed his press secretary, Sharon Worthy, about his attire, asking: “Tie or not for tonight? Button-down blue shirt?”



A few days later, Worthy advised Brown: “Please roll up the sleeves of your shirt, all shirts. Even the president rolled his sleeves to just below the elbow. In this [crisis] and on TV you just need to look more hard-working.”