Operation Sierra Storm

Josh Marshall, among others, are aghast that Michael Brown, the late, unlamented director of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will be the keynote speaker at Operation Sierra Storm (OSS), up at Lake Tahoe.

Just looking at the conference description, it seems Operation Sierra Storm is aimed at television meteorologists. OSS seems a little light in the science department, and so most professional meteorologists would pass it up, but there is no question that the visuals in the snowy Sierra Nevada would be exceptional. It's all about weather as theater, not as science, and it may be that Michael Brown is as well-qualified as anyone, given his recent experience, to be the keynote speaker at such a conference.