c9 | Classy.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As Hurricane Katrina ripped into the Gulf Coast, the government's emergency management chief was making flippant remarks about his responsibilities, e-mails show.

"Can I quit now? Can I come home?" former Federal Emergency Management Director Michael Brown wrote to Cindy Taylor, FEMA's deputy director of public affairs, the morning of the hurricane.

A few days later, Brown wrote to an acquaintance, "I'm trapped now, please rescue me."

I don't claim that I wouldn't send silly emails if I were in a crisis, but Michael Brown (and a dozen others) all showed their true colours during the Hurricane Katrina aftermath. Very nice work, Brownie.