The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders on April 1, 1979. The agency's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. The governor of the state in which the disaster occurs must declare a state of emergency and formally request from the President that FEMA and the federal government respond to the disaster. The only exception to the state's gubernatorial declaration requirement occurs when an emergency or disaster takes place on federal property or to a federal asset—for example, the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, or the Space Shuttle Columbia in the 2003 return-flight disaster.
Little Green Footballs (LGF) is an American political blog run by web designer Charles Foster Johnson. In its beginning years, the site had a right-wing orientation and known for its advocacy of the War on Terrorism and the Iraq War, as well its strident criticism of political Islam. The blog moved away from the right around 2009.
Aaron Brown is an American broadcast journalist most recognized for his coverage of the September 11 attacks on CNN. He was a longtime reporter for ABC, the founding host of ABC's World News Now, weekend anchor of World News Tonight and the host of CNN's flagship evening program NewsNight with Aaron Brown. He was the anchor of the PBS documentary series Wide Angle from 2008 to 2009. He was a professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University from 2007 to 2014.
Timothy Donald Eyman is an anti-tax activist, businessman and unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate from Washington. Eyman has been variously described as a populist and a "conservative provocateur".
Dave Ross is a talk show host on Seattle's KIRO-FM radio station. He joined KIRO as a news anchor in 1978 and was given his own talk show in 1987. He has sometimes broadcast his show while on assignment in other locations, including overseas, such as Baghdad, Iraq in April 2004. Ross is also heard on the CBS Radio Network, where he provides daily political commentary.
Seattle Hempfest is an annual event in the city of Seattle, Washington advocating the legalization of cannabis. Vivian McPeak serves as the organization's executive director. Founded in 1991 as the Washington Hemp Expo, a self-described "humble gathering of stoners" attended by only 500 people, and renamed the following year as Hempfest, it has grown into a three-day annual political rally, concert, and arts and crafts fair with attendance typically over 100,000. Speakers have included Seattle city council member Nick Licata, actor/activist Woody Harrelson (2004), travel writer and TV host Rick Steves (2007), (2010), 2012 Green Party speaker Jill Stein, Dallas Cowboys center Mark Stepnoski (2003), and former chief of the Seattle Police Department Norm Stamper (2006). Hempfest has also in recent years attracted such well-known performers as Fishbone (2002), The Kottonmouth Kings (2004), Rehab (2006), and Pato Banton (2007) to its five stages spread throughout Myrtle Edwards Park and Elliott Bay Park, on Seattle's waterfront.
Michael DeWayne Brown is an American attorney and former government official who served as the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from 2003 to 2005. He joined FEMA as general counsel in 2001 and became deputy director the same year. Appointed in January 2003 by President George W. Bush to lead FEMA, Brown resigned in September 2005 following his controversial handling of Hurricane Katrina. Brown currently hosts a radio talk show on 850 KOA in Denver, Colorado.
Joe M. Allbaugh is an American political figure in the Republican Party. After spending most of his career in Oklahoma and Texas, Allbaugh came to national prominence working for Texas governor George W. Bush and helping manage his 2000 presidential election campaign. Allbaugh then became Bush's Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) beginning in February 2001. He served until FEMA's transfer into the newly created Department of Homeland Security, after which he resigned in March 2003. He was appointed as the interim Director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections by the state Board of Corrections, effective January 11, 2016. On July 6, 2016 the Oklahoma Board of Corrections voted unanimously to make his appointment permanent and set his salary at $185,000. Allbaugh has pointed out his department "is not a listing ship, it is a sinking ship."
Criticism of the government response to Hurricane Katrina consisted primarily of condemnations of mismanagement and lack of preparation in the relief effort in response to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Specifically, there was a delayed response to the flooding of New Orleans, Louisiana.
Hurricane Katrina struck the United States on August 29, 2005, causing over a thousand deaths and extreme property damage, particularly in New Orleans. The incident affected numerous areas of governance, including disaster preparedness and environmental policy.
The 2006 United States Senate election in Washington was held November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell won reelection to a second term.
The 2008 gubernatorial election in Washington was held on November 4, 2008. Republican Dino Rossi and incumbent Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire emerged from the August 19 primary. This made the 2008 election a rematch between the candidates from the 2004 election, the closest gubernatorial election in the state's history. In contrast to the recounts and months of legal challenges in their previous contest, Gregoire was the clear winner on November 5, earning 53 percent of the vote. With a margin of 6.45%, this election was the second-closest race of the 2008 gubernatorial election cycle, behind only the election in North Carolina.
Jing Zhao, also known by his pen name Michael Anti, is a Chinese journalist and political blogger, recognized for his posts about freedom of the press in China. He has been described in mid-2000s as "at one time perhaps the most famous political blogger on China's Internet.".
John Eric Carlson is an American politician and talk radio host on KVI-AM by Fisher Broadcasting from the state of Washington. He also co-hosted a show from 12:00PM to 2:00PM Pacific Time called The Commentators, with John Carlson and Ken Schram.The Commentators was discontinued in September, 2010, and starting September 20, 2010, Carlson and Schram each began hosting separate, new shows on the same station. Carlson currently hosts a morning show on KVI called The Commute with Carlson from 6-9AM.
The Washington State Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national United States Republican Party, headquartered in Bellevue.
KIRO-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Tacoma, Washington, and serving the Seattle-Tacoma radio market. It airs a news/talk radio format and is owned by Bonneville International, a broadcasting company owned by of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The studios and offices are located on Eastlake Avenue East in Seattle's Eastlake district.
The Northwest Progressive Institute (NPI) is a liberal think tank based in Redmond, Washington, founded in 2003 and incorporated in 2005. It uses technology, public policy research, and political advocacy to advance progressive causes in the Pacific Northwest region as well as across the United States. It describes itself as "a netroots powered strategy center working to raise America's quality of life through innovative research and imaginative advocacy."
Reuven Michael Carlyle is a Democratic member of the Washington State Senate representing the Washington's 36th legislative district since 2009. The district spans the Seattle neighborhoods of South Lake Union, Belltown, Queen Anne, Magnolia, Greenwood, Ballard, Crown Hill, Blue Ridge. It is home of the Space Needle in the Seattle Center, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and PATH as well as global companies including Amazon, F5 Networks, Expedia, Trident Seafoods, Juno Therapeutics and more. Carlyle is a technology entrepreneur and business development consultant in the wireless, software and clean energy sectors.
Fuse Washington is a progressive advocacy organization in Washington state and a member of the ProgressNow network. Fuse, a 501(c)(4) organization, along with its sister organization the Fuse Innovation Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization, claims to be the state's largest progressive organization because of its email list of more than 100,000 people.
