After the Revolution

Miss Lady is Here

2007-11-19T22:18:00.000-05:00

Stupid or Lying?

2005-11-14T09:51:00.000-05:00

This week's "This Modern World" cartoon with Tom Tomorrow is titled "Stupid or Lying." It deals with the current spinning by GOP officials and pundits.

In general, I think the GOP-Bush crowd is a mix of stupid and dishonest. Some are one or the other, but some manage to combine the two--David Brooks, for example.

Or perhaps "delusional, toady-ass-kisser is the best description for Brooks.

Get "This Modern World" here.

Read "The Rude Pundit"

2005-11-10T21:57:00.000-05:00

Love, love, love this guy. I check out The Rude Pundit every day in hopes he has posted a blog. He doesn't blog every day, but often enough to give me another reason to live.

His motto: Proudly lowering the level of political discourse

Seriously, this guy can write and he has a vicious, dark and nasty sense of humor--just perfect for the totally bizarre political-governmental times in which we live. Why do I like his writings? Because we live in a time of great vulgarity in our public life and in our government. Of what do I speak? What do I consider vulgar in America today? Well, gosh, let's see:

The entire Bush family
Tom DeLay
Rush Limbaugh
Bill Frist
The so-called "Christian" Right believers who are just pawns in the game
Suburban sprawl
America's health care system
Obesity - a country and a culture that wants to eat itself to death
America's dependence on foreign oil
Hummer SUVs
Homophobia
Immigrant bashing
Karl Rove
Elizabeth Miller
Fox News
Lack of critical thinking skills on the part of 50% of Americans

There--is that enough vulgarity for you? So, no, in the context of all this vulgarity, I do not consider The Rude Pundit to be vulgar.

Be sure to scroll down and read earlier postings at The Rude Pundit. Here are titles of some of my favories (check out the Archives on the lower right-hand side of his page):

Harbingers of Republican Death
George Bush's Addiction To Himself
Dick Cheney Will Destroy Us All
Karl Rove Contemplates His Leather Slave ("Oh, my")
Patrick Fitzgerald: The Grown-Up in the Room
Feeding the Right-Wing Monster With Harriet Miers' Corpse (another "Oh, my")
Neverending Tales of the Christ Weary
The Republican In Fall

I am posting the first paragraph from the Pundit's blog today:

11/10/2005

A Warning To Democrats: Beware of Large, Cornered Weasels

The wolverine is the largest land-dwelling member of the weasel family. It's a crazed, vicious little fucker that can carry a carcass three times its size. Shit, it can bring down a caribou or a small bear, if it wants to. And its jaws can crush bones. Typically, all a wolverine has to do to drive away other predatory animals is growl, raise the hair on its back, and bare its teeth; that'll scare cougars and wolves shitless. And if you corner it, you better watch out: those bastards'll fight until they tear their way through your body, leaving you stunned and staring at your own viscera steaming on the snow below you. It's better to kill it than try to fight it. Or, if you're all scientific or protective of endangered species, put it into a deep sleep and cage the sharp-toothed weasel. Read entire posting

More Silly Yammering On Obesity

2005-11-10T21:41:00.000-05:00

I swear. How stupid can people be. Always looking for new excuses for OBESITY.

Yes, yes. We are the victims-beneficiaries of our genes. No doubt about it.

But as for obestity, I thought we had figured out the main cause: junk-food eating American suburbanites driving madly around highways in large vehicles and then returning to the cul-de-saced homes in neighborhoods with no sidewalks.

Years ago, a friend said, "They can take away my health insurance because I smoke and have HIV on the same day they take away health insurance from the fat-assed Americans who eat themselves to death."

Indeed.

From The New York Times...

In Study, Hormone Reduced Appetite in Mice

By DENISE GRADY

Published: November 11, 2005

Hungry or full, fat or thin: it is mostly a matter of hormones, dozens of them, carrying messages between the digestive tract, the fat cells and the brain. Eat. Don't eat. Burn calories. Store fat.

Today, researchers at Stanford University are reporting that they have found a previously unknown member of this chemical cascade, a hormone with a much coveted power: it sharply reduces the desire to eat.

The new substance, which the scientists named obestatin (OHB-statin), is made in the stomach and small intestine, and it seems to prompt the brain to send out a signal that says "eat less."

Mice given the hormone for eight days ate half as much as usual and lost weight, the researchers are reporting today in the journal Science. The hormone seems to reduce hunger in part by slowing the passage of food through the stomach and small intestine. Read entire story

Your Country Needs You

2005-11-10T21:33:00.000-05:00

It would be the utlimate-ugly-job, but someone has to do it. No idea who created this piece; a friend sent it to me.

Yes, such are the priorities of many Americans: sex is worse than violence-death.

Can You Spot The Drag Queen?

2005-10-28T15:26:00.000-04:00

Quick! Pick out the drag queen in this picture and win a Cracker Jack Tierra!

Ricky Martin's New Look

2005-10-12T22:17:00.000-04:00

I have always loved Ricky Martin--regardless of what he will or won't own up to about... well, you know.

Anyway, The Washington Post totally and completely dissed his new album. But, who cares about his music. That new look, I just don't know. We call it Thug Bottom.

Photo: Sony

Weekly Roundup Of Church-Related Crime

2005-10-12T21:50:00.000-04:00

Having grown up around substantial numbers of "Good Chris-chuns" and small-town hypocrites, I learned decades ago that it is a good idea to keep a close eye on the self-appointed enforcers of morality, paricularly in small towns. When you aren't looking, these a-holes are probably robbing your garage or fornicating with high-school girls down by the creek.

So, it is in this spirit of communitarianism (see, I use big words, too), I bring you this blog: Bobo's World: Dispatches from the Heartland. Bobo covers weekly church-related crime.

Enjoy! And may Jesus bless you--have a nice day.

The Harriet Letters: Make Her Stop!

2005-10-12T20:50:00.000-04:00

Do you ever wonder, Has the Republican Party become one big affirmative action program for stupid white people? (Hey, I'm white, very white, so don't dis me.)

The gushing letters and cards that Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers wrote to El Presidete El Jefe Jorge Bush over the years are... embarrassing. It's sort of the same as those situations where someone at work, in school or at a party just makes such an ass of themselves in a group. The person lacks social skills, or says something completely inappropriate.

You can feel it. You want to run away... to hide... you just want the person embarrassing themselves to stop--now.

That's pretty much the way Poor Harriet's letters to Dubya (and sometimes Laura) read. Oooohhh... stop! You fool! You are making everyone uncomfortable.

Here is some coverage of Letters from Poor Harriet:

The Rude Pundit (raunchy and wonderful, very funny)
Sun-Herald (South Mississippi)
Times of London
The Smoking Gun
Buffalo News

Oh, dear Lord... get me out of here. This is so... humiliating. But, I think I will read what The Rude Pundit has to say before I go.

Jew-Baiting Is Alive And Well In 2005

2005-10-12T20:25:00.000-04:00

Ever read any of the scary B.S. over at Agape Press ? It's "Reliable News from a Christian Source."

Well, if you are familiar with the content on the Web sites of the some of the other wacko right-wing "Christian" organizations, then don't bother. Nothing much new.

However, it is refreshing to see the clarity and honesty in this news relesase on Agape Press today. These folks don't even pretend to hide their Jew-baiting. Shucks, they do it in the first sentence. In fact, the the second word of the first sentence is "Jewish." While not Jewish, I tend to shift uncomfortably in my chair when someone begins a sentence with "A Jew or "A Jewish man..." I just figure the rest of it won't be... pleasant.

Oh, well, why should gay people get all the attention? Yes, Jew-baiting is alive and well in America's fundamentalist right-wing. I know that these people profess to love Israel, but I suspect it stops there--they probably hate the Jews who populate Israel.

Oh, yeah, the news release takes to task "the Jewis man" (they might as well have added "dirty" between "a" and "Jewish man") because he is filing suit against the Air Force for not keeping the relibious wackos out of people's personal religious life.

Lawsuit Seeks Stop to Chaplains' Faith-Sharing in Air Force
Report Says the Military Branch May Accommodate Plaintiff's Wishes

By Jody Brown
October 12, 2005

(AgapePress) - If a Jewish man in New Mexico has his way, Christian chaplains in the U.S. Air Force could be prohibited from evangelizing among the ranks. And apparently the Air Force is willing to consider the man's suggestion.

According to an Associated Press report, Mikey Weinstein of Albuquerque -- a 1977 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and father of two Air Force cadets -- has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that senior officers and cadets at the Academy illegally impose Christianity on others at the elite school. Now comes word that the Air Force has withdrawn from use by its chaplains a code of ethics that endorsed the evangelizing of troops who are unaffiliated with any religion.

The code, which was issued by the Air Force Chaplain Service in January, states: "I will not actively proselytize from other religious bodies. However, I retain the right to instruct and/or evangelize those who are not affiliated." An Air Force spokeswoman says the code of ethics has since been withdrawn "for further review." Read entire wacko screed by clicking here.

Is Dubya Close To A Mental Meltdown?

2005-10-11T22:26:00.000-04:00

Is El Presidente El Jefe Jorge Bush close to having a complete-total-screaming nervous breakdown? I am seeing more stories and columns in the blogosphere like this one today from Doug Thompson at Capitol Hill Blue. (Note: Thompson has been around -- press secretary to two congressman as well as a chief of staff, and a long-time journalist.)

Scary stuff, but not surprising. Let me again remind those people who voted for Bush what they voted for: a guy who has messed everything in his life, with the exception of his marriage. Dubya has ruined every business his dad's business partners ever bought for him, he destroyed America's reputation around the world... and on and on. Where would I stop? The list is endless.

Somehow you thought this violent, two-bit redneck drunk-of-a-clown had more "character" than Al Gore or John Kerry. Well, you know the old saying, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

We tried to tell you. Shame on you--you fools who voted for Bush.

God help the republic.

Here is Thompson's column...

Government by Temper Tantrum
By DOUG THOMPSON
Oct 11, 2005, 06:53

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President George W. Bush’s temper tantrums are on the rise with White House insiders reporting increasing tongue-lashing of staffers, obscenity-filled outbursts and a leader driven to the edge by what he sees as party disloyalty and a country that no longer trusts him.

Conservative backlash over his latest Supreme Court nominee may, in fact, have pushed the President over the edge.

“He’s out of control,” one White House aide says privately. “There’s no other way to put it. His anger spills over in meetings. He berates anyone who brings him bad news but there's not a lot of good news we can bring the President right now. He calls other Republicans 'motherfucking traitors' and it is becoming more and more of a challenge to keep that anger from showing in public.” Read entire column

October 11, 1962

2005-10-11T21:20:00.000-04:00

But which one was it? From Capitol Hill Blue's "Today in History."

1962 - 1st appearance of a Gabor sister on Merv Griffin Show

Farming Ain't Green Acres Anymore

2005-10-10T19:32:00.000-04:00

Supposedly the Bush Administration will cut back on our system of massive farm subsidies in order to get a new World Trade Organization agreement.

When pigs fly.

This is total bullshit. Large farming operations are a part of the Big-Government-Right-Wing Republication-Coalition. They get tons of handouts, just like other sectors of corporate America. Don't weep for the small, family-owned farms: they don't exist anymore. This is big business, and the "farmers" who get subsidies are ones who spend the winters in Miami in their condos.

Farming in America in 2005 doesn't look anyting like "Green Acres." It more closely resembles the Chicago Board of Trade.

This article from Bloomberg News:

Those Red State Values

2005-10-10T17:21:00.000-04:00

This is from John Aravosis' AmericaBlog... I won't even comment. Why bother. Anyway, here is Lou Beres' statement at the Web site of the Christian Coalition of Oregon.

Christian Coalition leader molested his 3 daughters
by John in DC - 10/10/2005 12:48:00 PM

There ought to be a constitutional amendment to stop Christian conservative activists from getting married, adopting kids, or at the very least can we please ban heterosexual men from the priesthood?

From Editor & Publisher:

After news broke that local law enforcement officials were investigating complaints that Louis Beres, longtime chairman of the Christian Coalition of Oregon, had molested three female family members when they were pre-teens, The Oregonian in Portland went out and interviewed Beres' family members.

Two told reporters that Beres, indeed, had molested them. All three said they have been interviewed for several hours by detectives.

"I was molested," said one of the women, now in her early 50s. "I was victimized, and I've suffered all my life for it. I'm still afraid to be in the same room with [Beres]."

The coalition led by Beres, 70, champions socially conservative candidates and causes. Its Web site describes the group as "Oregon's leading grassroots organization defending our Godly heritage." The group opposes abortion, gay rights, and stem cell research. It is affiliated with the national Christian Coalition, which was founded in 1989 by television evangelist Pat Robertson.

Gore In 2008?

2005-10-09T19:45:00.000-04:00

Fine by me. I always thought Al Gore would have made a great president. And I love the Obama as VP rumor to go with it. This is from U.S. News & World Report.com:

They See Al Gore by a Nose in 2008
Is Al Gore coming back? If allies we talked to have their way, the former veep will be the next president. "It's Gore Time," says a political strategist and fundraiser who is opening a bid to get Gore into the race. Gore friends see his recent political and business moves as proof he's preparing to run. Allies say that in speeches, Gore has found his voice to address domestic and world issues. And in raising money for his Current TV network, which targets the critical youth market, Big Al has built an issue base and donor network that's competitive with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 's. Our source--a top aide in the previous Bush administration--is planning meetings with Gore's team to push an early entry while Clinton runs for re-election in New York. It doesn't end there: The Gorebots want him to pick Sen. Barack Obama, the youthful Illinois African-American, as his No. 2.

From Mark Fiore: "G.O.P.S."

2005-10-08T19:42:00.000-04:00

Mark Fiore is very talented -- his comics and animation clips are always amusing and creative.

Check out "G.O.P.S.," which is set to the tune of "Bad Boys" from the trashy TV show, "COPS." Fiore explains the scandals of DeLay, Abramoff, Frist, Rove and Libby.

In Pic, that's Jack Abramoff, a real piece of work.

The End Of Suburbia

2005-10-08T18:34:00.000-04:00

The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of The American Dream

"We're literally stuck up a cul-de-sac in a cement SUV without a fill-up" - James Howard Kunstler

Check it out. Click here. Who needs enemies such as Osama bin Laden when we have ourselves to destroy our country?

Heresy! Immigrants Often Don't Like Dishwashers

2005-10-08T13:30:00.000-04:00

Gosh! No wonder some American denizens of the cul de sac don't like immigrants in their tidy little neighborhoods: many immigrants don't like or use dishwashers. Well, we know what that means! Those hords of foreigners are obviously out to destroy the American Way of Life. (Actually, I think we native-born Americans are doing that all on our own.)

Nice article in today's Washington Post on how immigrants often do not use dishwashers for years after immigrating to the United States--long after they use microwaves, all sorts of computer systems, handhelds, DVD players, etc. It doesn't seem to matter whether the immigrants are from Bolivia or China, poor or middle class--they avoid one of America's greatest gifts to the world: the electric, automatic dishwasher.

I am not surprised at all. My partner is a Venezuelan immigrant, of middle-class upbringing. At first, he rarely used the dishwasher, especially if another Venezuelan friend was here to help clean up after a meal. Now, he does use it, but still handwashes some things that I automatically stick in the machine.

One point made in the article, I agree with: the social interaction involved with washing dishes by hand. I have seen among immigrant friends.

Still, the dishwasher is, I am afraid, a necessity to me. Read story here.

This is VERY Funny

2005-10-08T13:16:00.000-04:00

Check out this humorous little video that spoofs presidential speech writing--and the speeches of our Glorious Leader, El Presidente El Jefe Jorge Bush; with a "cameo" appearance by Arianna Huffington. Click here to watch.

Source: BadMash

What is American Exceptionalsim?

2005-10-08T12:25:00.000-04:00

If you want to know what I think of the theory of American Exceptionalism, see the post following this one. Here is a definition from Wikipedia.org.

American exceptionalism is the idea that the United States and the American people hold a special place in the world, by offering opportunity and hope for humanity, derived from a unique balance of public and private interests governed by constitutional ideals that are focused on personal and economic freedom. Political science defines it as presence of unique traits in the United States, such as high levels of religiosity and the failure of socialist parties, that do not correlate with national characteristics in communist countries .

Some interpret the term to indicate a moral superiority of Americans, while others use it to refer to the American concept as itself an exceptional ideal, which may or may not always be upheld by the actual people and government of the nation. Dissenters claim "American exceptionalism" is little more than crude propaganda, that in essence is a justification for a America-centered view of the world that is inherently chauvinistic and jingoistic in nature. Historians and political scientists may use the term to simply refer to some case of American uniqueness without implying that an innate superiority of Americans resulted in the development of that uniqueness.

This is a great entry at Wikipedia.org. Be sure to read the sections following the above definition. The sections are:

In Historical Context
Land
The American Revolution
Arguments for American Exceptionalism
Arguments Against American Exceptionalsim

I love America with all my heart. But American Exceptionalism--especially in the hands of neo-cons and fundamentalist Protestants--is dangerous and explosive. It may very well lead to the downfall of this great country.

Pride Goeth Before A Fall: Proverbs

2005-10-08T12:09:00.000-04:00

I love America. This is a truly wonderful country. My country has also been very lucky: natural resources stretching across a continent, isolation from Europe during its hideous 19th and 20th Century wars, and millions of immigrants who were the cream of their countryies--because they were risk-takers and entrepreneurs.

I do not, however, subscribe to the belief that we, America, are God's chosen people. God does not love one country or group of people any more than another group.

Period.

Hence, I cannot--I will not--subscribe to the belief that is deeply embedded in American culture and politics that America is God's chosen land and people. Bullshit.

Furthermore, this is an extremely dangerous concept. It leads to agression, conceit and hubris: all the things that lead to a country's downfall.

At the beginning of the 21st Century, the Republican Party--particularly the right-wing--has grabbed on to the idea of American Exceptionalism and is it to using to justify just about anything at home and abroad: religious intolerance, crony-oligarchical capitalism, environmental degradation, rampant consumersism, a sense of entitlement to the world's resources, gas-guzzling SUVs, McMansions, and first-strike wars. It is the neo-cons and the fundamentalist Protestants who use this belief to propogate their own versions of stupidity and bigotry.

We live in dangerous times. It does not shock or amaze me in the least that many nations are terrified of the Bush Administration. I specifically say the Bush Administration because I hope they are not terrified of me and the 50% of Americans who don't buy this line of crap.

Please read what leaders in the Church of England said recently (from The Times of London):

Last month, senior figures in the Church of England questioned America’s sense of "moral righteousness" in its foreign policy.

The bishops of Bath and Wells, Oxford, Coventry, and Worcester, said in their report on countering terrorism: "There is no uniquely righteous nation. No country should see itself as the redeemer nation, singled out by God as part of his providential plan."

There you have it. Amen. As a bumpersticker reads: "God Bless the Whole World. No Exceptions."

Please, Dubya, Start Drinking Again

2005-10-07T22:48:00.000-04:00

I have to believe the "messages from God" will go away once El Presidente El Jefe Jorge Bush is swilling bourbon again and has head stuck in a toilet bowl.

Yes, friends, this is our country at the dawn of the 21st Century: totally screwed. And we--well, not ME--did it to ourselves.

From The Times of London:

The truth about God and George
By Simon Freeman

A senior Palestinian who said that George W Bush claimed to be on first-name terms with God stood by his comments today but conceded that President was using a figure of speech.

Nabil Shaath told the BBC that in June 2003 he heard Mr Bush tell Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Prime Minister: "God would tell me, ‘George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan’, and I did, and then God would tell me, ‘George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq’, and I did."

The White House quickly issued a terse denial last night dismissing the Palestinians Information Minister's comments as: "absurd." Scott McClellan, a spokesman, said that Mr Bush, although a devout Christian, "never said that".

Mr Shaath, whose interview was recorded for Israel and the Arabs: Elusive Peace to be broadcast this month, today stood by his recollection of the meeting but accepted that the statement had not been meant literally.

"It was really a figure of speech (by Bush). We felt he was saying that he had a mission, a commitment, his faith in God would inspire him ... rather than a metaphysical whisper in his ear," he said.

Mr Bush, once quoted as saying: "I believe that God wants me to be president", is a devout Christian and makes no secret of appealing to God for strength, but denies using God to justify his decisions.

Mr Abbas also recalled today how the President told him: "’I have a moral and religious obligation... so I will get you a Palestinian state.’"

Mr Bush launched an impassioned attack on Islamic militants during a speech in Washington yesterday, accusing them of seeking to "enslave whole nations" in an empire stretching from Spain to Indonesia.

Mr Bush's alleged comments have provoked anger among religious groups.

Andrew Blackstock, director of the Christian Socialist Movement, said: "If Bush really wants to obey God during his time as President he should start with what is blindingly obvious from the Bible rather than perceived supernatural messages.

"That would lead him to the rather less glamorous business of prioritising the needs of the poor, the downtrodden and the marginalised."

A BBC spokesman said the content of the programme had been put to the White House but it had refused to comment on a private conversation.

Last month, senior figures in the Church of England questioned America’s sense of "moral righteousness" in its foreign policy.

Bush: Raging Crazed Nutcase

2005-10-03T21:40:00.000-04:00

Maybe some day you will listen to me. From Capitol Hill Blue:

Bush's Obscene Tirades Rattle White House Aides
By DOUG THOMPSON
Aug 25, 2005, 06:19

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While President George W. Bush travels around the country in a last-ditch effort to sell his Iraq war, White House aides scramble frantically behind the scenes to hide the dark mood of an increasingly angry leader who unleashes obscenity-filled outbursts at anyone who dares disagree with him.

“I’m not meeting again with that goddamned bitch,” Bush screamed at aides who suggested he meet again with Cindy Sheehan, the war-protesting mother whose son died in Iraq. “She can go to hell as far as I’m concerned!” Read entire story

Oh, My God! Carson Is A Communist!

2005-10-03T21:18:00.000-04:00

Those fun folks over at the Traditional Values Coalition just keep the laughs coming. Apparently, gay liberation has its roots in MARXISM!

Aaaaaahhhhh! Ssscccrrreeeaaammm!

Good Lord. Have these people never watched "Queer Eye For The Straight Guy?" As a gay man, I can assure you, there are few groups of Americans who are bigger capitalist-hoes than gay men. Never, ever stand between Girlfriend and that sale at Nordstrom's.

Look at the photo above: Can you spot the Trotskyite? Me neither.

As for lesbians, well... okay, some of them are Socialists. You know, the potluck dinners and the food co-ops and all.

Traditional Values Coalition has published a number of other fact-based reports on the dangers of homosexuals and homosexual behavior to children and to our society. The following Special Reports are available for downloading from our web site:

NEW "Homosexuality 101: A Primer" provides a brief history of the homosexual movement in the U.S. and its roots in Marxist ideology. This paper describes how homosexuals terrorized the psychiatric community and have created a marketing strategy to vilify their opponents.
Homosexuals Recruit Public School Children;
Homosexual Behavior Fuels AIDS and STD Epidemic;
A Gender Identity Goes Mainstream;
Homosexual Propaganda Campaign Based on Hitler’s “Big Lie” Technique;
Homosexual Sex = Death from HIV Infection;
Traditional Values Coalition Exposes Homosexual Agenda,

and much more. Access our web site at: http://www.traditionalvalues.org

Say It: Gay, Gay, Gay, Gay, Gay, Gay, Gay, Gay

2005-10-03T21:08:00.000-04:00

In addition to their frightening tendency toward religious fascism and frightening ultra-nationalism, one thing about the weirdos on the far "Christian" right is that they just CANNOT bring themselves to use the word "gay" to describe homosexuals.

Get a load of this story at the Traditional Values Coalition Web site:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Vetoes Homosexual Marriage Bill.

TVC Chairman & Lobbyist Applaud Governor’s Brave Veto.

For Immediate Release
September 29, 2005
Contact: Benjamin Lopez
(714) 520-0300—Office

Anaheim, California —“Today Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger bravely stood with 4.6 million Californians that supported marriage for one man and one woman with his veto of AB 849,” said TVC Chairman & Founder Rev. Louis Sheldon. “Mark Leno’s attempt to implement homosexual marriages has failed yet again. Reason finally prevailed thanks to Governor Schwarzenegger.” Read More...

This reminds me of those descriptions of openly-gay people as "avowed homosexuals." LOL, LOL, LOL.

Harriet Miers: Fag Hag?

2005-10-03T20:58:00.000-04:00

Is Harriet Miers a fag hag? Well, let's hope so. John Aravosis at AmericaBlog has reported that he received information from Human Rights Campaign about Miers when she ran for Dallas City Council in 1989. Here is the story. And, this one, too--Miss Harriet may not have a problem with gays adopting children.

That hissing sound you hear? The right-wing Christian-fascists losing their shit.

P.S. to Miss Harriet: Girl, get a new do.

DeLay: Another Step Toward Prison Bitch

2005-10-03T20:47:00.000-04:00

Maybe I can blog about this tomorrow, after I have stopped laughing so hard...

From The Washington Post:

DeLay Faces New Charges in Texas

Second Grand Jury Indictment for Money Laundering Follows Conspiracy Charges

April Castro

The Associated Press
Monday, October 3, 2005; 7:57 PM

AUSTIN, Texas -- A Texas grand jury on Monday re-indicted Rep. Tom DeLay on charges of conspiring to launder money and money laundering after the former majority leader attacked last week's indictment on technical grounds.

The new indictment, handed up by a grand jury seated Monday, contains two counts: conspiring to launder money and money laundering. The latter charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison. Last week, DeLay was charged with conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws. Read entire story

This is my favorite part from the Post story:

The new indictment from District Attorney Ronnie Earle, coming just hours after the new grand jurors were sworn in, outraged DeLay.

"Ronnie Earle has stooped to a new low with his brand of prosecutorial abuse," DeLay said in a statement. "He is trying to pull the legal equivalent of a 'do-over' since he knows very well that the charges he brought against me last week are totally manufactured and illegitimate. This is an abomination of justice."

Girfriend is MAJORLY pissed.

No, not THAT Exodus...

2005-10-03T10:26:00.000-04:00

Slipped-in toward the end of W's speech this morning a little tidbit was inserted. Seems Harriet Miers has done pro bono work for Exodus Ministries, no, not the discredited Exodus International that seeks to 'cure' homosexuality. Apparently, the similarly named E.M. is a Christian group not affiliated with Exodus International. Exodus Ministries works with youth, mostly within the Asian-American community.

Will Bush Freak Out? What Will He Do?

2005-10-02T18:32:00.000-04:00

You don't have to read much about El Presidente El Jefe Jorge Bush to be extremely afraid of the man. Living anywhere on the Planet Earth for the past 5 years, 8 months and 10 days tells you about all you need to know.

But, if you decide to read anything about the Dubya and the Family Bush, definitely pick "American Dynasty" by Kevin Phillips, a conservative Republican. The Bush clan is a money-grubbing, immoral lot, who despise the "little people" and feel that they DESERVE to run the country and maybe the world. Politics and high office are merely a means of making easy money.

Yes, the U.S. of A. is definitely on track to join other corruption-filled governments around the world. I hesitate to use the term "Banana Republic" because I love Latin American cultures and peoples. But, that accurately describes this bunch. Public Service for the commong good? Nope. Get elected to high office so that you can make big bucks outside of office.

The presidency is a cash register for the Bush clan which, again, feels that it DESERVES to run things.

Thus, we get to Dubya and his ascension to the presidency. The Bush clan, combined with a strain of modern ultra-conservatism that does not take government seriosly--hates all government, in fact--put this psychopath, Dubya, in office.

The Bush II presidency is not going well at the moment: Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, gas prices, a jitterish economy, a religous right-wing that is giving moderate Americans a reason to re-think things, and the scandals. Not just the Congressional scandals of Frist and DeLay, but the potentially big one: Plamegate.

It looks worse every day for Karl Rove and Scooter Libby (Cheney's chief of staff). Could this affair, the outing of CIA Officer Valerie Plame to get revenge on her husband go all the way to the top? Even if Bush and Cheney are not implicated, what if Rove and other high-level White House staff are charge by Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald?

What if then Bush's poll numbers tumble further? What if Republican members of Congress abandon him?

What next indeed. Dubya is an unrecovered alcoholic and grabbed fundamentalist Protestant religion as a crutch. But what now? Does this man have the mental strength to get throught it? Does his moral compass point any direction besides his own safety and welfare?

How far would Dubya go to save his own skin?

Read this post over at DailyKos by a psychoanalyst. The blogger analyzes Bush from afar, obviously. But, the bogger, artebella, raises some interesting and terrifying questions about Bush's psyche. Bottom line is that Bush is a sadist who will do just about anything to save his skin--but only if he thinks he can get away with it. In other words, he's a chickenshit. A sadist, too, but a chickenshit. What a dangerous combination.

Rosebud says: Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Can't I Just Pray For America?

2005-09-28T23:02:00.000-04:00

Be afraid. Be VERY afraid. The text is the most frightening part.

Gosh, I just HATE To Be Cynical About It

2005-09-28T21:28:00.000-04:00

I mean, really. Cynicism is so bad for democracy and politics. I mean, the Republicans and our El Presidente, El Jefe Jorge Bush are "uniters not dividers." Everything they do is for the good of the country.

So, no, indeed! This liberal Democrat, Rosebud, will NOT-- I say will NOT-- hope that Tom DeLay hangs in the wind through the 2006 congressional elections. Heavens, no! A speedy trial! Justice now! Read the article at Slate Magazine.

Pic: Today's Slate Magazine.

Salon.com: "Stench" of Corruption in GOP

2005-09-28T21:18:00.000-04:00

Great little article at Salon.com. You have to pay for their service, but I find it worth the bucks. Here is the opening to a post today about the rampant, nationwide corruption in the Republican Party, which is permeating the upper levels of state and federal government:

"A stench of corruption"

Over the course of the summer, Howard Dean worked hard to get voters to associate the Republican Party with a "culture of corruption" in Washington. The message didn't get much traction then -- in part because Democrats in Congress didn't push it out of fear that it would come back to bite them, and in part because voters had bigger concerns about George W. Bush and the party he leads.

The message is getting through today.

Just after news of Tom DeLay's indictment broke this afternoon, White House press secretary Scott McClellan appeared for his daily press briefing, where a reporter asked him on live television if a "stench of corruption" now swirls around the president and his party. McClellan dismissed the question as relying on a "broad characterization" but acknowledged that there are "instances" and "individual situations" where "the legal process" will need to proceed.

That's certainly fair to say.

From Texas to Florida to Ohio, from K Street to Congress to the inner circles of the Bush administration itself, the Republican Party is suddenly -- or maybe not so -- looking like the party of scandal. You can't keep up without a scorecard. Here's ours.

Click here to read the entire article, complete with the laundry list of greedy GOP pols.

Oh, Missy! Don't You Fret None!

2005-09-28T21:06:00.000-04:00

Poor Missy Dreier--a.ka., Congressman David Dreier, R-California. She was passed over today for the post of acting Majority Leader in the U.S. House (after Tom Delay was INDICTED on CONSPIRACY charges in Texas). Seems many people thought Missy D. would be named to the post by Speaker Dennis Hastert.

However, it is being the-o-rized that Missy D. was passed over due to some long-standing rumors, which we won't repeat here. But, you can click here, here, here, and here if you want to know more. Oh, yeah: type in a few key words in your Google search bar and see what turns up.

Tom Tomorrow's Latest Cartoon

2005-09-28T21:02:00.000-04:00

Always good for a laugh. Here's what Tom Tomorrow has to say about Karl Rove being in charge of the Gulf Coast reconstruction effort. Click here for the archive, located at Working for Change.

He'll Make A Good Bitch

2005-09-28T20:43:00.000-04:00

Is there any doubt that Congressman Tom "The Hammer" DeLay has one of the most sarcastic, nasty, mouths in Washington? Could there be a more cynical politican in America today? Is he not the perfect Republican majority leader in the House? He stands for all of the excesses of the modern conservatism--greed, cynical manipulation of extremist Christian religion, a thirst for political power... and on and on.

So, with such fabulous Bitch qualities, Rosebud says that DeLay will make the perfect prison bitch if he is convicted and sent to jail.

Yes, today's indictment of DeLay in Travis County, Texas, is just too much fun. As a friend of mine once said to a judge when called for jury duty: "Your honor, I cannot serve as an impartial juror. I look at that little SOB and I am just SURE he is guilty of something."

Same thing for DeLay. Except in his case, he is guilty of a boatload of things.

And the icing on the cake, for now: Delay has to do the perp walk. Read today's article in The Washington Post:

DeLay Must Appear in Austin on Charge
By SUZANNE GAMBOA
The Associated Press
Wednesday, September 28, 2005; 7:52 PM

AUSTIN, Texas -- The next step in the criminal proceedings against Republican leader Tom DeLay is a trip to Austin to be fingerprinted and photographed.

DeLay was indicted Wednesday on one count of criminal conspiracy for his alleged role in a campaign finance scheme that helped give Republicans power in the Texas House and in Congress. Read entire story.

Note to DeLay: Don't use cheap liptstick; it's bad for the complexion.

Tony Soprano Advising Karl Rove?

2005-09-27T19:07:00.000-04:00

Some things make me scream with laugher. Some things make me scream with frustration. Some things make me scream with anger or fear. Some things simply leave me speechless.

This afternoon's headline in The Washington Post online left me speechless:

Arrests Made in Case Connected to Abramoff
Three Men Allegedly Killed 'Gus' Boulis, Who Sold A Casino Cruise Line to the Embattled Washington Lobbyist

I am still so stunned that I can hardly blog. You must read the story. In a nutshell, indicted lobbyist and Washington bagman Jack Abramoff -- close friend of Tom Delay, Karl Rove and many other high-level Republicans--just may be tied to the mob. Well, it looks like that might be the case.

Yes, the mafia. It smells like that. Okay, it looks suspcious. Guilt by association. Or something. It looks funny.

But, as much as I want this crazed, incompetent, far-right government to fall of its own corruption and ignorance, not even I want this story to be true. Well, mostly not. Read story here.

I don't know if Dubya is drinking again, but I sure am.

Were Dinosaurs On Noah's Ark?

2005-09-27T18:51:00.000-04:00

Yes, friends. This is what our beloved country, the U.S. of A. has come to: pure, bull-headed ignorance.

We have 50 percent of a population that willingly votes for Elmer Gantry for president.

Good Lord. As with most things, the devil is in the details. El Presidente Jorge Bush playing the role of U.S. Preacher-in-Chief, ala "Elmer Gantry" is bad enough.

But the fallout down the line is worse. Parents in Dover, Pennsylvania, have been forced to sue to keep their public school district from classifying and teaching "Intelligent Design" as science comparable to the theory of evolution. Yes, the wingnuts on the far right simply don't want to teach "ID" for what it is--another name for religion-based creationism. They want to call it SCIENCE.

Why, didn't you kow that Noah had dinosaurs on the Ark?

So, feeling good about America's future? Yes, I am sure that the future of science in America is just dandy.

This is from an article in The Times of London. This paper does a great job of covering this kind of crap--their editors aren't afraid of the right-wing crazies the way too many American newspaper editors now are.

An excerpt:

Parents take stand on Darwin versus God in school
From James Bone in New York

PARENTS in a rural Pennsylvania town are mounting the first legal test of the controversial theory of the origin of life known as intelligent design.

Eleven parents are suing the Dover school board for requiring teachers to cast doubt on Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and to offer intelligent design as an alternative.

The landmark case, dubbed Scopes II, comes eight decades after the infamous Scopes “monkey trial” in which a teacher named John Scopes was convicted of illegally teaching evolution in a Tennessee school, rather than sticking to the biblical version of the creation. Lawyers on both sides expect the case to go all the way to the US Supreme Court.

Conservative Christians are pushing intelligent design to bypass the 1987 ban on creationism in schools. It argues that Darwin’s theory of natural selection cannot explain the emergence of highly-complex life forms, and that a higher intelligence must have created them.

The parents’ lawyers told the court in the nearby city of Harrisburg that intelligent design was merely “a 21st-century version of creationism”.

Read the entire article in The Times of London World section.

Good luck to the parents in Pennsylvania who are standing up to the religious wingnuts.

[Fundamentalist] Religion Bad For America

2005-09-27T17:57:00.000-04:00

Is the research legitimate? I don't know. I don't know if religion per se contributes to societal ills--poverty, suicide, STDs, violence, murder, etc. But, I do know that fundamentalist religion--closed-minded, ignorant, intolerant, devoid of respect for facts and reality--is extremely dangerous for plurastic democracies. Frankly, I believe that intolerant fundamentalist religion is danger for religion in general!

Nevertheless, an interesting study was summarized today in this article in The Times of London. Here are a few paragraphs:

The paper, published in the Journal of Religion and Society, a US academic journal, reports: “Many Americans agree that their churchgoing nation is an exceptional, God-blessed, shining city on the hill that stands as an impressive example for an increasingly sceptical world.

“In general, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortion in the prosperous democracies.

“The United States is almost always the most dysfunctional of the developing democracies, sometimes spectacularly so.”

Gregory Paul, the author of the study and a social scientist, used data from the International Social Survey Programme, Gallup and other research bodies to reach his conclusions.

He compared social indicators such as murder rates, abortion, suicide and teenage pregnancy.

I personally suspect that they key here is fundamentalist relgion--not religion itself. Speaking of fundamentalist wing-nuts, this is sure to make them crazy. Furthermore, look what fundamentalist religion has done to Dubya--took a fun-loving, basically harmless partyboy who lived off his family's fame and made him into a dangerous, idiotic, ideologue of a president. Read entire article

P.S. - Check out The Anti-Pat Robertson/Christian Coalition Site.

Friday Funnies

2005-09-23T10:06:00.000-04:00

Total mad props to www.borowitzreport. The truth is this: where in the hell is the Democractic Party?????????

Breaking News
SCIENTISTS DOUBT EXISTENCE OF DEMOCRATS
Opposition Party Could Be Black Hole, Experts SaysWith President George W. Bush's approval ratings plummeting in recent weeks, the inability on the part of Democrats to capitalize on the president's waning fortunes has caused some leading scientists to postulate that the Democratic Party may not exist at all.

Dr. Marisa Drazin, a leading scientist who for years has been questioning the existence of Democrats, said today that what many have thought to be the Democratic Party may in fact be nothing more than a black hole.

"When the president loses ten or twelve approval points, one would normally expect those approval points to go to the opposition party," Dr. Drazin said. "But instead, those points have vanished into thin air, leading one to conclude that the so-called Democratic Party does not exist."

Theories about the nonexistence of the Democratic Party are nothing new, said Dr. Drazin, who pointed out that scientists first developed them during the 1988 presidential campaign of then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.

While the silence of the Democratic Party in recent weeks seems to bolster theories of the party's nonexistence, she said, there are still some nagging pieces of evidence to the contrary, such as the perpetually outspoken DNC chairman, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.

"I've discussed the Howard Dean phenomenon with my colleagues," Dr. Drazin said. "And it's the consensus of the scientific community that there is no logical explanation for Howard Dean."

Elsewhere, the World Health Organization attempted to dial back concerns about possible cases of avian flu in Indonesia, saying that the avian flu could just be an avian cold.

[Don't] Stop George!

2005-09-22T22:34:00.000-04:00

I still believe America and the World would better off if El Presidente Bush was boozing again. After all, could we be in worse shape with him addicted to his voodoo religion?

The National Enquirer has a hot new story about El Presidente El Jefe Jorge Bush hitting the booze again. Before you laugh about this posting based on The National Enquirer, ask yourself this: "How much real news do I get these days from the so-called respectable news media?"

That's what I thought: not much.

Salon.com even picked up on piece in The National Enquirer. Here's an excerpt:

What does it all mean? Who knows? The National Enquirer ain't exactly the New York Times, but it isn't the Weekly World News, either. As Slate's Jack Shafer wrote last year in a piece titled "I Believe the National Enquirer," the tabloid usually gets its facts straight, even if it teases them into the most sensational story possible. But even Shafer warned against reading too much into Enquirer stories built around anonymous quotes, as this one is.

There's only one named source in the Enquirer piece, and it's Justin Frank, the Washington psychiatrist who wrote "Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President." The Enquirer quotes Frank as saying, "I do think Bush is drinking again." But Frank has no firsthand knowledge of the matter, only supposition based on his own long-distance diagnosis and the same news the rest of us have seen. His conclusions lend a kind of "it makes sense to me" plausibility to the Bush-on-the-bottle story, but they're nothing that you could call proof. "Alcoholics who are not in any program, like the president, have a hard time when stress gets to be great," Frank says. "I think it's a concern that Bush disappears during times of stress. He spends so much time on his ranch [sic]. It's very frightening."

Please. WHO is surprised that Dubya may be hitting the sauce again? His daughters and his brother's children are all a bunch of sloppy drunks. (You have to wonder about the mother, The Evil-Bar-Dog, don't you?) And who would be shocked if it is true. Yes, I know, the right-winger "Christians" will profess shock and I suppose many of them will be dumbfounded (emphasis here on "dumb").

Dubya was a boozer extraordinaire, but he "just quit" at age 40 or so. Yeah, right. No counseling, no therapy, just that Old-Time-Religion. Apparently, El Presidente doesn't believe in therapy. Not surpirsing, considering what a bunch of white trash he has for family. (Money does not alleviate white trash tendencies.) And besides, well, you know... only LIBERALS believe in that-there-therapy-stuff.

At any rate, the story in The National Enquirer says Laura found Dubya downing a shot at the Texas ranch and screamed, "Stop, George!"

Rosebud says, "Have another one, George!" I still believe that the country would be better off if Dubya began drinking again. It might wean him off his crazed-fanatical-voodo-religion.

And don't just take my word for it... here is a 2001 article from Salon.com that includes the observations of a recovered alcoholic.

Do I care? Am I putting down alcoholics and people with other substance abuse problems? No. Substance abuse is a horrible affliction. I am pissed off because this crowd--the oh-so-perfect moralizers--lie to us. These people would hang a poor black man who is addicted to crack because he stole a bottle of beer. Dubya, on the other hand, geta free pass--on everything.

America could not possibly be in any more danger than it is at present. Drink up, George!

From The National Enquirer:

BUSH'S BOOZE CRISIS

By JENNIFER LUCE and DON GENTILE

Faced with the biggest crisis of his political life, President Bush has hit the bottle again, The National Enquirer can reveal.

Bush, who said he quit drinking the morning after his 40th birthday, has started boozing amid the Katrina catastrophe.

Family sources have told how the 59-year-old president was caught by First Lady Laura downing a shot of booze at their family ranch in Crawford, Texas, when he learned of the hurricane disaster.

His worried wife yelled at him: "Stop, George."

Photo: Dubya's World (you must check out this blog)

Okay, who didn't see this coming?

2005-09-22T09:23:00.000-04:00

Vatican document reaffirms policy on gays
Homosexuals shouldn't be ordained as priests, Catholic Church says
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9436430/

Rick Santorum must be dancing a jig this morning. Okay, this move should stun no one. In fact, this may bolster evidence in favor of evolution. After all, evolution posits that a species will evolve and adapt over time, and only the most fit will survive. If there were such a thing as Intelligent Design, I would have to ask the designer why the hell they would create a species to self-destruct upon contact with reality. This is the Catholic Church's Waterloo. The Church will either be dead or irrelavant within 100 years.

Bye bye church....

John Kerry: Administration screw-ups? Let me count the ways...

2005-09-21T17:58:00.000-04:00

Administration Screw-Ups? Let Me Count The Ways...

"Brownie is to Katrina what Paul Bremer is to peace in Iraq, what George Tenet is to slam-dunk intelligence, what Paul Wolfowitz is to parades paved with flowers in Baghdad, what Dick Cheney is to visionary energy policy, what Donald Rumsfeld is to basic war planning, what Tom DeLay is to ethics and what George Bush is to 'Mission Accomplished' and 'Wanted Dead or Alive.'"

—John Kerry, Sept. 19, 2005

This should be our Battle Cry:

2005-09-21T09:44:00.000-04:00

"We are against terrorism. We are against violence. We are against ugliness."

An amazing article on culture clashes between east & west...a must read!

Turkish politics play out in underwear drama
Battle on Istanbul beaches reflects class warfare in a changing land

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9419683/

From Star To Perp: Will The Bush Family Follow?

2005-09-20T22:55:00.000-04:00

Here's a New York Times headline today: "A Flourish and Lil' Kim Goes From Star To Inmate."

Please, dear Lord. PLEASE. May the whole Bush clan follow in Lil' Kim's footsteps. Every night when I say my prayers, I say, "Dear Lord, before I die I want to see Barbara Bush in a prison jump suit--with those damned pearls around her neck."

Tom Tomorrow Is My Hero

2005-09-20T22:36:00.000-04:00

Are you familiar with Tom Tomorrow and This Modern World?

You should be--his cartoons are always great; they are available at Salon.com (paid) and Working for Change.

This week's cartoon is partuclarly relevant--it asks the question:

How much insane, stupid shit does Bush have to do before the faitful minions in the Republican Party, the little people (as Bar Bush would say) get a clue?

It's true that Democrats often run in circles, but the Republicans are frightening: they have a real desire for order at any price, which includes following orders from some truly frightening, incompetent people. What other explanation can there be?

If Only The Uncle Were Drinking Again

2005-09-20T21:09:00.000-04:00

Surely I am not the only person on this planet who has asked, "Perhaps we would be better off of George W. Bush started drinking to excess again?" It would be better if he went back to drinking and gave up the cooky right-wing religious vodoo. And it might make Dubya less inclinded to go along with the neo-cons advice to invade Middle Eastern countries.

I mean, we all know that El Presidente El Jefe Jorge Bush doesn't really run the country, so what's a bottle a day of Wild Turkey for the Dub-ster?

But it seems we can always count on a Bush spawn to keep up the family tradition of public drunkeness. No, no, silly! The latest incident was not the well-oiled Bush Twins, Jenna and Barbara. This time it was El Presidente's nephew, John Ellis Bush. He is the brother of that poor Noel Bush, the Xanax queen, and son of Florida Governor Jeb Bush (the election stealer).

It seems that the hairy-chested little Latin stud, JEB, had a bit too much to drink in Austin the other night. Well, based on this picture, I imagine there were quite a few regulars in the local jail who tried to get his phone number.

Do we live in great times or what? Any bunch of inbred drunken twits can run an empire, provided they have a few ill-gotten bucks and the right friends.

When you are in a hole: STOP DIGGING

2005-09-20T15:19:00.000-04:00

The fat woman is singing, and the song aint pretty...

According to the lates Gallup poll: W's job approval rating = 40 percent
W's handling of Hurricane Katrina = 41 percent approval rating.
W's handling of foreign affairs = 38 percent approval rating.
W's handling of the economy = 35 percent approval rating.
W's handling of the situation in Iraq= 32 percent approval rating.
The number of people who say that Bush is honest and trustworthy = 47 percent
The number who say he is a strong and decisive leader = 49 percent (these 49 % represent those who are obviously consistantly drunk before breakfast on any given day).
And the Kicker: Gallup asked respondents, "Just your best guess, do you think George W. Bush has taken steps to help victims of Hurricane Katrina -- mostly because he sincerely cares about the victims, or mostly for political reasons?" Fifty-six percent said Bush acted mostly for political reasons, while while 42 percent said he sincerely cares about the victims.

Who of us would not be fired by now if we perfromed this poorly??

You're Doing What? Who Will Be Priests?

2005-09-15T20:18:00.000-04:00

Lord knows this one does not pass the laugh-test.

The Vatican says it will begin a campaign of rootin' out the ho-mo-sex-u-als from it seminaries. Well, by the time they are done, we will have space travel to distant galaxies. And we will all be long dead.

I don't know about you, dear reader, but if I had a dollar for every gay priest or every former seminarian who is gay, I could buy Halliburton.

Besides, who will be left?

Photo: Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Web site

Hell Froze Over This Week

2005-09-15T20:02:00.000-04:00

Read this piece by Doug Thompson, founder and publisher of Capitol Hill Blue. He says hell must have frozen over this past week because El Presidente Jorge Bush actually accepted responsibility for something--the shameful, incompetent response to Hurricanbe Katrina by FEMA.

Health Care Or Gay Bashing?

2005-09-15T19:54:00.000-04:00

A Note to Bush Voters and Republicans:

You had a choice last November. You could vote for Kerry and the Democrats who would have at least tried to do something about health care coverage--or lack of it--in the United States. But, no, you wouldn't do that. You freaked out and swallowed a pack of lies from a bunch of incompetent thugs--you know, the ones about how only El President, El Gran Jefe, Jorge Bush, could keep you safe. Among the other lies you swallowed were that gay people were COMING TO GET YOU AND YOUR KIDDIES! Gay marriage would destroy YOUR MARRIAGE!

Aaaaahhhh. Sssscccrrrreeeaaammmm. Nooooooo! Not homosexuals in my cul-de-sac!

Well, this article about the health care coverage crisis in America--and it IS rapidly becoming a crisis--makes me scream.

You had your choice. Happy? Learned anything.

Today's White-Trash-Pic

2005-09-15T19:44:00.000-04:00

What else can I say? Okay, the news is Britney-land is that she spawned. The Britney-child is here. Where does the madness stop? You have to pass a test and get a license to drive a car. This trollop, on the other hand, is free to drive her reproductive system around the galaxy at will.

Photo: Getty Images

Katrina: Ellen Degeneres Made God Do It

2005-09-15T19:27:00.000-04:00

This is the level to which our beloved country, the United States of America has sunk. The "Reverend" Pat Robertson--snake oil salesman par excellence--says New Orleans was destroyed because comedian and TV star Ellen DeGeneres is a New Orleans native. Yes, God destroyed New Orleans because Degeneres, a lesbian, was selected by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences to host this year's Emmy Awards.

[sigh] Actually, I [sigh] again. Some days, I just can't take it.

Robertson notes that the last time, 2001, that Degeneres was selected to host the Emmys the United States suffered the 9-11 attacks on New York and Washington.

“Is it any surprise that the Almighty chose to strike at Miss Degeneres’ hometown?” Robertson asked on his television show.

Where to begin? I could blog all night. I will say, though, that the US of A is in big trouble. This guy has millions of followers who believe every word out of Robertson's mouth. He has lots of political power in the Republican Party. We are in big trouble in this country, kids.

At some point foreign governments, and their citizens, will stop being horrified at what is going on in the United States and simply start laughing, and then ignoring us.

So... with people like this either running the country, or influencing those who do, what kind of future do we have?

Photo: Dateline Hollywood

At Least He Didn't Pee His Pants

2005-09-15T11:14:00.000-04:00

Remember when Old Man Bush, fighting stomach flu, threw up on the prime minister of Japan? Well, at least Dubya didn't pee his pants yesterday at the United Nations.

If you have not seen the Reuters photo of Dubya penning a note to Condi Rice, well, you must (pic at left). Dubya was telling Condi that he was going to need a bathroom break. Yes, it's all very human. But, still...

Editor and Publisher has more information.

Perhaps the wrath of the Gods has finally begun to turn on El President, El Jefe Bush. This seems to be the type of thing that happens to elected officials when luck has turned against them. Old Man Bush lost to Clinton after the puking incident. And, remember when the rabbit attacked Jimmy Carter, who was in a boat fishing in Georgia? He lost to Reagan.

The universe has a funny way of letting us know when it has decided "enough."

Here is the caption for the pic: REUTERS/Rick Wilking

U.S. President George W. Bush writes a note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a Security Council meeting at the 2005 World Summit and 60th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York September 14, 2005. World leaders are exploring ways to revitalize the United Nations at a summit on Wednesday but their blueprint falls short of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's vision of freedom from want, persecution and war.

A tale of two tragedies

2005-09-14T21:28:00.000-04:00

"I can do more than one thing at one time" -George W. Bush

It's like he is channeling Lincoln after Gettysburg. Yes, George, your frenetic desire to destroy Iraq and your melevolant insousiance about the destruction of New Orleans prove that. 3 more year of this ignorant twit. Thank you, each of you, who voted for this idiot. SIGH.

Here is the article that has me in fits and starts...

"It's August in Crawford, Texas, and President Bush is on vacation. His poll ratings are slumping. He hears warnings of a looming crisis that will soon change the course of his presidency.

Is this August 2001? Or August 2005?" Read the rest here.

Deep Thoughts...

2005-09-14T16:24:00.000-04:00

Q: What is George W. Bush's position on Roe vs. Wade?

A: He really doesn't care how people got out of New Orleans.

I know, I know...it's like picking on the french; too damned easy. TheEvil-Bar-Dog made me do it!!!

What Would Evil Bar-Dog Do?

2005-09-12T18:44:00.000-04:00

Using the Evil Bar-Dogs logic, if a man in a wheelchair can hijack an airplane, he must be doing all right.

How does a this shit still happen 4 years after 9/11/01; aren't we winning the war on terror?

This guy is not a terrorist? Then this must be a hate crime, cuz according to W's logic, all crimes are hate crimes. Like Mother, like Son.

I really think I am going mad

Passengers Freed on Hijacked Colombian Jet
By ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press Writer

BOGOTA, Colombia - A father in a wheelchair and his son hijacked an airliner Monday, claiming to be armed with grenades, but they freed all the passengers more than four hours after landing in Bogota, authorities said. The crew was reported still on the plane.

The Aires plane, believed to be carrying 20 passengers and five crew, had left the southern city of Florencia when it was commandeered, air force Gen. Edgar Lesmez said. The plane landed in Bogota, its original destination, but at a military airfield next to the civilian El Dorado Airport.

The hijackers demanded a meeting with representatives of the Catholic Church, the attorney general's office and a human rights organization, officials said, and government negotiators and a priest spoke with them while the twin-propeller plane stood on the tarmac.

It was not known if the men made any other demands.

Live television broadcasts later showed people filing off the plane. A negotiator confirmed to The Associated Press by phone from inside the plane that the passengers had been let go, but that the crew remained on board.

The hijackers earlier allowed five women and two babies to leave the plane, Bogota's police chief, Gen. Luis Alberto Gomez, said.

Martin Gonzalez, spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, identified the hijackers as Luis Ramirez, about 42, and his son Linsen Ramirez, about 22.

They did not appear to belong to any of Colombia's illegal armed groups, said Gen. Alberto Ruiz, chief of operations for the National Police. "They seem to be common citizens," he told reporters.

The drama riveted Colombians, who tuned to radios and TV sets. They listened to one hostage, while still on the plane, describe the scene in a furtive cell phone conversation with local RCN radio.

"They have indicated to us they have explosives," Reinaldo Duque, the hostage, said in a hushed voice.

Duque, who works in Colombia's Congress, said all the passengers were herded to the rear of the Dash-8 plane while a priest spoke with the hijackers in the front. Duque said the older hijacker boarded the plane in a wheelchair.

The wheelchair was too large to pass through a metal detector at the Florencia airport, and the man was not patted down by security agents, Luis Octavio Rojas, the airport's director, told AP.

"But they did give him and the chair a visual inspection," Rojas said.

Among those on the plane was congressman Antonio Serrano, his assistant, Consuelo Barragan, told RCN television.

It was the second time an Aires flight has been hijacked on the same route.

In February 2002, members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia hijacked an Aires plane flying from Florencia to Bogota, forced it to land on a rural highway and kidnapped a Colombian senator who was aboard. Other passengers and the crew were left alone.

That hijacking led the government to cancel peace talks with the rebel group, which has been waging war in this Andean nation for four decades. The senator, Jorge Gechen Turbay, president of the Senate's peace commission, remains a hostage.

Cartoon On The Evil-Bar-Dog

2005-09-11T14:19:00.000-04:00

From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Mike Lukovich).

Gay Cowboy Movie Wins Prize in Venice

2005-09-11T11:24:00.000-04:00

Ang Lee's move, "Brokeback Mountain," won top prize at Venice Flm Festival (story from International Herald Tribune). It stars Heath Ledger. Other Ange Lee movies include "The Ice Storm," "Sense and Sensibility," and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

Click here for movie trailers.

Get Ready To Hear "9-11, 9-11, 9-11, 9-11, 9-11"

2005-09-11T11:18:00.000-04:00

So, Karl Rove is sending in Laura Bush to do damage control, in an attempt to save Dubya's ass. But, read down in the story from the News-Telegraph (UK). In a nutshell: get ready to be bombarded with "9-11, 9-11, 9-11."

If this strategy works, someone please turn out the lights. This country is done.

Photo: Reuters.

"Whoopsi Gras" Sometimes Funny, Mostly Damning

2005-09-11T11:09:00.000-04:00

Mark Fiore has a new animated cartoon, "Whoopsi Gras." While sometimes funny, it is mostly damning, in its own way, of the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Click here (you will need a Flash plug-in, and remember to turn up your sound).

Today's Spanish Tennis Player

2005-09-10T15:59:00.000-04:00

Just because: Carlos Moya.

Environmental Disaster on Gulf of Mexico

2005-09-10T15:41:00.000-04:00

Caption, above: Oil-slicked water floods a New Orleans neighborhood. (Salon.com)

Good Lord. This article is from Salon.com. You have to be a member to read the whole thing. However, I think there are going to be plenty of similar articles in the weeks and months to come.

This is unreal. Are Americans ready to wake up? Will parts of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast ever be inhabitable during our lifetimes?

Here is the beginning of the article at Salon.com.

"The entire community is now a toxic waste dump"
The Gulf Coast is drowning in a poisonous stew, people are dying from waterborne bacteria, and federal funds have been drained by years of pro-industry policies. Katrina is one of the worst environmental catastrophes in U.S. history.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Rebecca Clarren

Sept. 9, 2005 | From 500 feet in the air, Chris Wells, a geographer with the U.S. Geological Survey, looked with dismay on the landscape pounded and then abandoned by Hurricane Katrina. As Wells flew on Wednesday above the Louisiana coastline, across New Orleans, the marshlands south of the city, and over Mississippi, nearly every tree was snapped, their limbs twisted around in a braid, the bark shredded right off the trunk. The marshland below looked as though somebody had taken a spatula and scraped away the marsh grasses, leaving a sea of mud. Aside from a number of shorebirds, and one 8-foot alligator swimming about 20 miles offshore, Wells saw no wildlife. What he did see were streaks of oil, some miles long and 200 yards wide.

"It was on any body of water of any significance," he says. Hundreds of thousands of inland acres are covered with a spotty sheen of oil. "The landscape right now is absolutely bizarre and unreal," Wells says, from his home in Lafayette, La. "It's emotionally draining. Even if nobody was hurt, it's heartbreaking to see what has happened to the environment."

Wells suspects that much of the oil has drained from thousands of boats lying at the bottom of countless bayous, canals, and the ocean. Within the impacted area are at least 2,200 underground fuel tanks, many potentially ruptured, says Rodney Mallett, spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. Officials also predict that thousands of cars, lawn mowers and weed-eaters are also submerged, leaking gas and oil into the waterways.

In addition, tens of thousands of barrels of oil have spilled from refineries and drilling rigs in at least 13 sites between Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico. Along the coast, Katrina damaged 58 drilling rigs and platforms in the Gulf, according to Rigzone.com, an oil and gas industry Web site. At least one rig has sunk and another was swept 66 miles through the gulf before washing up on Dauphin Island. It remains unclear how badly the hundreds of underwater pipelines connecting the oil to shore have been damaged.

Yet the destruction that Wells witnessed from the sky is only the most visible element of a poisonous stew bubbling in Katrina's wake. On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that bacteria in the water flooding Gulf Coast areas are at 10 times the agency's standard for human health, and already four people have died from waterborne bacteria. Read entire story

Appoint A Drag Queen to the Court

2005-09-10T15:18:00.000-04:00

El Presidente, El Jefe Jorge Bush, is always yammering that he is a "uniter not a divider." Furthermore, El Jefe wants to appoint a minority to the Supreme Court, in the Sandra Day O'Conner seat.

Rosebud says, apoint a drag queen--the one in the pic at right. She's not a Latina, but she is from Florida.

Don't Hold Back

2005-09-10T15:14:00.000-04:00

Catty comments and posts always welcome here at "After the Revolution." - Rosebud

Where Goeth The Evil-Bar-Dog?

2005-09-10T15:04:00.000-04:00

Where IS Barbara Bush? Has she been sited? More importantly, has anyone heard The Evil-Bar-Dog run her obnoxious old yapper in the past few days?

Rosebud posits that The Evil-Bar-Dog has taken her natural form, and will only reappear in human form when there is more suffering in America.

Yankee Carpet Baggers Stay Home!

2005-09-10T11:39:00.000-04:00

I can't make this shit up...i don't begrudge the rich, but when the poor are dying in fetid, toxic water just feet away from your home, it's not the time to be pulling a Marie Antionette.

Watchmen stand vigil in city’s wealthiest homes Residents stay behind to protect mansions, luxury cars, other possessions

By Ariana Eunjung Cha
The Washington Post
Updated: 10:55 a.m. ET Sept. 10, 2005

NEW ORLEANS - Just blocks from a smoldering fire and walking distance from bodies floating in the floodwaters, John Crouch and Andy Guzman debated what to make for dinner.

As the sun set, the men had hurriedly chained up the cast-iron fence and locked themselves into the 10,000-square-foot, gray-green Greek Revival mansion for the night. Three dogs, three handguns and five shotguns kept them company.

Earlier in the week, the men feasted on Cornish hens and jumbo shrimp. Now they had exhausted their supply of meat and seafood, but there was a bit of good news: There was plenty of champagne in the ice chest.
"It's like luxury camping," said Crouch, 42, founder of an architectural restoration company. His own multimillion-dollar home was nearby, but he set up operations in this even fancier mansion because it still had running water and functioning phones.

Crouch and his friend Guzman, a high-end housing contractor and a neighbor, have been living here for the past 10 days, among the few thousand people who have refused to leave the city despite a mandatory evacuation order. They are standing guard in one of New Orleans's wealthiest areas over their own homes and those of about 30 neighbors who fled town. The lights from their generator cast an eerie glow on a part of the city that is otherwise pitch black after dusk.

Rich New Orleans spared a blowNight in New Orleans brings into focus the unfairness of Hurricane Katrina's wrath. This has always been a city of the very rich and the very poor, and the storm, which has changed so much, has done nothing to change that.

While many of the poorest parts of the city became a toxic swamp of unspeakable things, its wealthiest areas -- including the central business district, the French Quarter and the area around St. Charles Street that includes the Garden District, the predominantly white neighborhood where Crouch and Guzman are staying -- escaped almost damage-free.

There's more to this article, but you'll have to read it after the jump...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9261560

But Are All Brains Still Evolving?

2005-09-10T11:11:00.000-04:00

An intersting article in the New York Times talks about a new study on the human brain that was published in Science magazine. It is sure to cause controversy from a number of angles because "New versions of the genes, or alleles as geneticists call them, appear to have spread because they enhanced brain function in some way, the report suggests, and they are more common in some populations than others." (Emphasis added.)

Scientits have long thought that the human brain stoped evolving 50,000 years ago--along with human evolution. Here are my questions:

Will the Religious Right jump all over the study? After all, there is no such thing as evolution. God created the world in 6 days. Anyone who says otherwise is a Godless-liberal and an enemy of the Christian People's Republica of America.

Exactly what populations do the authors theorize have this brain-evolving gene more than others (read the whole article)? Rosebud prays that this cannot and will not be wrongly and ignorantly exploited by white supremacists (not to mention the Republican Party).

Are Republicans' brains evolving at the same pace as other human beings? Does holding the following beliefs slow down the evolution of the human brain? (1) God created the world in 6 days, (2) there is no global warming, (3) the internal combustine engine is the greatest creation ever and cannot be replaced, (4) souless exurbs full of strip malls and fast food are good for living creatures and (5) you can have all the government you want and NEVER pay taxes?

Hey, just asking.

Remember: this is a theory. We live in the reality-based community here.

Brain May Still Be Evolving, Studies Hint
By NICHOLAS WADE
Published: September 9, 2005

Two genes involved in determining the size of the human brain have undergone substantial evolution in the last 60,000 years, researchers say, leading to the surprising suggestion that the brain is still undergoing rapid evolution.

The discovery adds weight to the view that human evolution is still a work in progress, since previous instances of recent genetic change have come to light in genes that defend against disease and confer the ability to digest milk in adulthood.

It had been widely assumed until recently that human evolution more or less stopped 50,000 years ago.

The new finding, reported in today's issue of Science by Bruce T. Lahn of the University of Chicago, and colleagues, could raise controversy because of the genes' role in determining brain size. New versions of the genes, or alleles as geneticists call them, appear to have spread because they enhanced brain function in some way, the report suggests, and they are more common in some populations than others. Read entire story

Great New T-Shirts at AmericaBlog

2005-09-10T11:01:00.000-04:00

I will say it again, especially for readers who are new to blogs: John Aravosis of AmericaBlog has one of the best liberal-oriented blogs around. And, he has some new T-Shirts for sale.

Gore airlifts victims from New Orleans

2005-09-10T08:25:00.000-04:00

Now this is what I'M talking about! It's like a YING to W's EVIL YANG.

Some of you may recall that in the wake of the devestation of 9/11, when all of our planes were grounded, W was able to muster up this same courage to spirit Bin Laden's family, and other unnamed middle eastern patriots, to the safety of thier homes in Saudia Arabia.

I was wondering WTF the OTHER rich liberals are with their planes!! Streisand? Newman? Redford?? Fonda??

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/09/katrina.gore.ap/index.html

Former vice president chartered two private aircraft

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- Al Gore helped airlift some 270 Katrina evacuees on two private charters from New Orleans, acting at the urging of a doctor who saved the life of the former vice president's son.
Gore criticized the Bush administration's slow response to Katrina in a speech Friday in San Francisco, but refused to be interviewed about the mercy missions he financed and flew on September 3 and 4.

However, Dr. Anderson Spickard, who is Gore's personal physician and accompanied him on the flights, said: "Gore told me he wanted to do this because like all of us he wanted to seize the opportunity to do what one guy can do, given the assets that he has."

An account of the flights was posted this week on a Democratic Party Web page.
It was written by Greg Simon, president of the Washington-based activist group FasterCures. Simon, who helped put together the mission, also declined an interview.

On September 1, three days after Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, Simon learned that Dr. David Kline, a neurosurgeon who operated on Gore's son, Albert, after a life-threatening auto accident in 1989, was trying to get in touch with Gore. Kline was stranded with patients at Charity Hospital in New Orleans.

"The situation was dire and becoming worse by the minute -- food and water running out, no power, 4 feet of water surrounding the hospital and ... corpses outside," Simon wrote.
Gore responded immediately, telephoning Kline and agreeing to underwrite the $50,000 each for the two flights, although Larry Flax, founder of California Pizza Kitchens, later pledged to pay for one of them.

"None of the airlines involved required a contract or any written guarantee of payment before sending their planes and volunteer crews," Simon wrote of the American Airlines flights. "One official said if Gore promised to pay, that was good enough for them."
He also recruited two doctors, Spickard and Gore's cousin, retired Col. Dar LaFon, a specialist in internal medicine who once ran the military hospital in Baghdad.
Most critically, Gore worked to cut through government red tape, personally calling Gov. Phil Bredesen to get Tennessee's support and U.S. Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta to secure landing rights in New Orleans.

About 140 people, many of them sick, landed in Knoxville on September 3. The second flight, with 130 evacuees, landed the next day in Chattanooga.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Interesting Piece About Internet's "Father"

2005-09-09T19:54:00.000-04:00

From the Times of London.

Father of the internet joins the Google family
By Philippe Naughton, Times Online

Google, the ever-ambitious search group, has hired one of the founding fathers of the internet as its "Chief Internet Evangelist". Vinton Cerf, 62, was one of the group that created the internet's predecessor, the Arpanet, and then co-developed the basic TCP-IP protocols that allowed remote networks to connect with each other. Read entire story

Photo: Kevin Wolfe, AP

Gone Fishin'

2005-09-09T15:05:00.000-04:00

This one made me laugh. It captures the cluelessness of that clan, especially the eldest spawn of Bar and H.W., "Dubya."

Source unknown.

BARBARA BUSH RELOCATED

2005-09-09T09:06:00.000-04:00

Okay kids...total mad props to www.borowitzreport.com

Former First Lady Moved to New Location Away From Cameras, Microphones

Just days after former First Lady Barbara Bush made widely publicized remarks about people made homeless by Hurricane Katrina, the White House said today that Mrs. Bush had been moved to “a new location away from television cameras and microphones.”

Mrs. Bush, who in talking about Katrina refugees said that “This is working very well for them” and that many of them “were underprivileged anyway,” was transported to a facility where she will have plenty of food and water but no more media appearances, the White House confirmed. “She will be much more comfortable in this new location, surrounded by armed guards on a 24-hour basis, than she was at her compound in Kennebunkport,” said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. “This is working very well for her.” Responding to a reporter who questioned whether Mrs. Bush would be happy being uprooted from her estate, Mr. McClellan said, “She was overprivileged anyway.”

While the White House took credit for its success in relocating Mrs. Bush, some congressional critics argued that it did not act quickly enough to relocate the outspoken former First Lady.

“This was an emergency situation,” said Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del). “They should have relocated her the minute she opened her piehole,” For her part, the former First Lady remained out of view, but released the following official statement: “I am doing well, but I remain envious of those who were relocated after Hurricane Katrina – boy, do those folks have a sweet deal.”

Elsewhere, President Bush mourned the passing of actor Bob Denver, calling the “Gilligan’s Island” star “a great American and a role model for me personally.”

Just Because

2005-09-08T23:05:00.000-04:00

Rafael Nadal, jugador de tennis espanol.

FEMA'UP: A New Term for American English

2005-09-08T22:51:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you just have to love the New York Post--even if Rupert Murdoch owns it.

SITUATION NORMAL, ALL FEMA'D UP

September 8, 2005 -- The demands to fire FEMA director Michael Brown for his exceptionally poor performance in overseeing the federal government's emergency response to Katrina should be heeded ("Catastrophic Failure," Sept. 3).

Unfortunately, however, Brown need not worry too much.

Surely, his poor performance should earn him the same reward as did the poor performance of Paul Bremer, who oversaw deteriorating conditions throughout post-war Iraq, and George Tenet, who oversaw the "slam dunk" search for missing weapons of mass destruction.

Brown is now eminently qualified to...

A Katrina Timeline: Your B.S. Protector

2005-09-08T19:29:00.000-04:00

Here is a Katrina Timeline for your reference. Print it out and keep it handy--next to your TV or computer... have the Timeline nearby when you read the morning paper and sip coffee.

Refer to the Timeline whenver the White House -- or FEMA or Homeland Security -- tries to "explain" to you about "what really happened and when" along the Gulf Coast before and after Hurricane Katrina.

The Timeline was sent to Rosebud by a Los Angeles correspondent--who we hope we soon be posting her own blogs on "After the Revolution."

KATRINA TIMELINE

Comment on the timeline here.

Friday, August 26

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: [Office of the Governor]

GULF COAST STATES REQUEST TROOP ASSISTANCE FROM PENTAGON: At a 9/1 press conference, Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, commander, Joint Task Force Katrina, said that the Gulf States began the process of requesting additional forces on Friday, 8/26. [DOD]

Saturday, August 27

5AM — KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE [CNN]

GOV. BLANCO ASKS BUSH TO DECLARE FEDERAL STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: “I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster.” [Office of the Governor]

FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARED, DHS AND FEMA GIVEN FULL AUTHORITY TO RESPOND TO KATRINA: “Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.” [White House]

Sunday, August 28

2AM – KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]

7AM – KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE [CNN]

MORNING — LOUISIANA NEWSPAPER SIGNALS LEVEES MAY GIVE: “Forecasters Fear Levees Won’t Hold Katrina”: “Forecasters feared Sunday afternoon that storm driven waters will lap over the New Orleans levees when monster Hurricane Katrina pushes past the Crescent City tomorrow.” [Lafayette Daily Advertiser]

9:30AM — MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES FIRST EVER MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NEW ORLEANS: “We’re facing the storm most of us have feared,” said Nagin. “This is going to be an unprecedented event.” [Times-Picayune]

4PM – NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES SPECIAL HURRICANE WARNING: In the event of a category 4 or 5 hit, “Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer. … At least one-half of well-constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail, leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed. … Power outages will last for weeks. … Water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards.” [National Weather Service]

AFTERNOON — BUSH, BROWN, CHERTOFF WARNED OF LEVEE FAILURE BY NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER DIRECTOR: Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center: “‘We were briefing them way before landfall. … It’s not like this was a surprise. We had in the advisories that the levee could be topped.’” [Times-Picayune; St. Petersburg Times]

LATE PM – REPORTS OF WATER TOPPLING OVER LEVEE: “Waves crashed atop the exercise path on the Lake Pontchartrain levee in Kenner early Monday as Katrina churned closer.” [Times-Picayune]

APPROXIMATELY 30,000 EVACUEES GATHER AT SUPERDOME WITH ROUGHLY 36 HOURS WORTH OF FOOD [Times-Picayune]

Monday, August 29

7AM – KATRINA MAKES LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]

8AM – MAYOR NAGIN REPORTS THAT WATER IS FLOWING OVER LEVEE: “I’ve gotten reports this morning that there is already water coming over some of the levee systems. In the lower ninth ward, we’ve had one of our pumping stations to stop operating, so we will have significant flooding, it is just a matter of how much.” [NBC’s “Today Show”]

MORNING — BUSH CALLS SECRETARY CHERTOFF TO DISCUSS IMMIGRATION: “I spoke to Mike Chertoff today — he’s the head of the Department of Homeland Security. I knew people would want me to discuss this issue [immigration], so we got us an airplane on — a telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. I said, are you working with the governor? He said, you bet we are.” [White House]

MORNING – BUSH SHARES BIRTHDAY CAKE PHOTO-OP WITH SEN. JOHN MCCAIN [White House]

11AM — BUSH VISITS ARIZONA RESORT TO PROMOTE MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: “This new bill I signed says, if you’re a senior and you like the way things are today, you’re in good shape, don’t change. But, by the way, there’s a lot of different options for you. And we’re here to talk about what that means to our seniors.” [White House]

LATE MORNING – LEVEE BREACHED: “A large section of the vital 17th Street Canal levee, where it connects to the brand new ‘hurricane proof’ Old Hammond Highway bridge, gave way late Monday morning in Bucktown after Katrina’s fiercest winds were well north.” [Times-Picayune]

11:30AM — MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY REQUESTS THAT DHS DISPATCH 1,000 EMPLOYEES TO REGION, GIVES THEM TWO DAYS TO ARRIVE: “Brown’s memo to Chertoff described Katrina as ‘this near catastrophic event’ but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, ‘Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities.’” [AP]

2PM — BUSH TRAVELS TO CALIFORNIA SENIOR CENTER TO DISCUSS MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: “We’ve got some folks up here who are concerned about their Social Security or Medicare. Joan Geist is with us. … I could tell — she was looking at me when I first walked in the room to meet her, she was wondering whether or not old George W. is going to take away her Social Security check.” [White House]

9PM — RUMSFELD ATTENDS SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL GAME: Rumsfeld “joined Padres President John Moores in the owner’s box…at Petco Park.” [Editor & Publisher]

Tuesday, August 30

9AM – BUSH SPEAKS ON IRAQ AT NAVAL BASE CORONADO [White House]

MIDDAY – CHERTOFF FINALLY BECOMES AWARE THAT LEVEE HAS FAILED: “It was on Tuesday that the levee–may have been overnight Monday to Tuesday–that the levee started to break. And it was midday Tuesday that I became aware of the fact that there was no possibility of plugging the gap and that essentially the lake was going to start to drain into the city.” [Meet the Press, 9/4/05]

PENTAGON CLAIMS THERE ARE ENOUGH NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS IN REGION: “Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said the states have adequate National Guard units to handle the hurricane needs.” [WWL-TV]

MASS LOOTING REPORTED, SECURITY SHORTAGE CITED: “The looting is out of control. The French Quarter has been attacked,” Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson said. “We’re using exhausted, scarce police to control looting when they should be used for search and rescue while we still have people on rooftops.” [AP]

U.S.S. BATAAN SITS OFF SHORE, VIRTUALLY UNUSED: “The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious assaults, has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water. It also can make its own water, up to 100,000 gallons a day. And it just happened to be in the Gulf of Mexico when Katrina came roaring ashore. The Bataan rode out the storm and then followed it toward shore, awaiting relief orders. Helicopter pilots flying from its deck were some of the first to begin plucking stranded New Orleans residents. But now the Bataan’s hospital facilities, including six operating rooms and beds for 600 patients, are empty.” [Chicago Tribune]

3PM – PRESIDENT BUSH PLAYS GUITAR WITH COUNTRY SINGER MARK WILLIS [AP]

BUSH RETURNS TO CRAWFORD FOR FINAL NIGHT OF VACATION [AP]

Wednesday, August 31

TENS OF THOUSANDS TRAPPED IN SUPERDOME; CONDITIONS DETERIORATE: “A 2-year-old girl slept in a pool of urine. Crack vials littered a restroom. Blood stained the walls next to vending machines smashed by teenagers. ‘We pee on the floor. We are like animals,’ said Taffany Smith, 25, as she cradled her 3-week-old son, Terry. … By Wednesday, it had degenerated into horror. … At least two people, including a child, have been raped. At least three people have died, including one man who jumped 50 feet to his death, saying he had nothing left to live for. There is no sanitation. The stench is overwhelming.”" [Los Angeles Times, 9/1/05]

PRESIDENT BUSH FINALLY ORGANIZES TASK FORCE TO COORDINATE FEDERAL RESPONSE: Bush says on Tuesday he will “fly to Washington to begin work…with a task force that will coordinate the work of 14 federal agencies involved in the relief effort.” [http:/www.nytimes.com/2005/08/31/

national/nationalspecial/31response.html?pagewanted=1">

New York Times, 8/31/05]

JEFFERSON PARISH EMERGENCY DIRECTOR SAYS FOOD AND WATER SUPPLY GONE: “Director Walter Maestri: FEMA and national agencies not delivering the help nearly as fast as it is needed.” [WWL-TV]

80,000 BELIEVED STRANDED IN NEW ORLEANS: Former Mayor Sidney Barthelemy “estimated 80,000 were trapped in the flooded city and urged President Bush to send more troops.” [Reuters]

3,000 STRANDED AT CONVENTION CENTER WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER: “With 3,000 or more evacuees stranded at the convention center — and with no apparent contingency plan or authority to deal with them — collecting a body was no one’s priority. … Some had been at the convention center since Tuesday morning but had received no food, water or instructions.” [Times-Picayune]

5PM — BUSH GIVES FIRST MAJOR ADDRESS ON KATRINA: “Nothing about the president’s demeanor… — which seemed casual to the point of carelessness — suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis.” [New York Times]

8PM – CONDOLEEZZA RICE TAKES IN A BROADWAY SHOW: “On Wednesday night, Secretary Rice was booed by some audience members at ‘Spamalot!, the Monty Python musical at the Shubert, when the lights went up after the performance.” [New York Post, 9/2/05]

9PM — FEMA DIRECTOR BROWN CLAIMS SURPRISE OVER SIZE OF STORM: “I must say, this storm is much much bigger than anyone expected.” [CNN]

Thursday, September 1

8AM — BUSH CLAIMS NO ONE EXPECTED LEVEES TO BREAK: “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.” [Washington Post]

CONDOLEEZZA RICE VISITS U.S. OPEN: “Rice, [in New York] on three days’ vacation to shop and see the U.S. Open, hitting some balls with retired champ Monica Seles at the Indoor Tennis Club at Grand Central.” [New York Post]

STILL NO COMMAND AND CONTROL ESTABLISHED: Terry Ebbert, New Orleans Homeland Security Director: “This is a national emergency. This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can’t bail out the city of New Orleans.” [Fox News]

2PM — MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES “DESPERATE SOS” TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: “This is a desperate SOS. Right now we are out of resources at the convention centre and don’t anticipate enough buses. We need buses. Currently the convention centre is unsanitary and unsafe and we’re running out of supplies.” [Guardian, 9/2/05]

2PM — MICHAEL BROWN CLAIMS NOT TO HAVE HEARD OF REPORTS OF VIOLENCE: “I’ve had no reports of unrest, if the connotation of the word unrest means that people are beginning to riot, or you know, they’re banging on walls and screaming and hollering or burning tires or whatever. I’ve had no reports of that.” [CNN]

NEW ORLEANS “DESCEND[S] INTO ANARCHY”: “Storm victims were raped and beaten, fights and fires broke out, corpses lay out in the open, and rescue helicopters and law enforcement officers were shot at as flooded-out New Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday. ‘This is a desperate SOS,’ the mayor said.” [AP]

CONDOLEEZZA RICE GOES SHOE SHOPPING: “Just moments ago at the Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes (we’ve confirmed this, so her new heels will surely get coverage from the WaPo’s Robin Givhan). A fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice’s timing, went up to the Secretary and reportedly shouted, ‘How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!’” [Gawker]

MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY LEARNS OF EVACUEES IN CONVENTION CENTER: “We learned about that (Thursday), so I have directed that we have all available resources to get that convention center to make sure that they have the food and water and medical care that they need.” [CNN]

Friday, September 2

ROVE-LED CAMPAIGN TO BLAME LOCAL OFFICIALS BEGINS: “Under the command of President Bush’s two senior political advisers, the White House rolled out a plan…to contain the political damage from the administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina.” President Bush’s comments from the Rose Garden Friday morning formed “the start of this campaign.” [New York Times, 9/5/05]

9:35AM — BUSH PRAISES MICHAEL BROWN: “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.” [White House, 9/2/05]

10 AM — PRESIDENT BUSH STAGES PHOTO-OP “BRIEFING”: Coast Guard helicopters and crew diverted to act as backdrop for President Bush’s photo-op.

BUSH VISIT GROUNDS FOOD AID: “Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted because of President Bush’s visit to New Orleans, officials said.” [Times-Picayune]

LEVEE REPAIR WORK ORCHESTRATED FOR PRESIDENT’S VISIT: Sen. Mary Landrieu, 9/3: “Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment.” [Sen. Mary Landrieu]

BUSH USES 50 FIREFIGHTERS AS PROPS IN DISASTER AREA PHOTO-OP: A group of 1,000 firefighters convened in Atlanta to volunteer with the Katrina relief efforts. Of those, “a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew’s first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.” [Salt Lake Tribune; Reuters]

3PM — BUSH “SATISFIED WITH THE RESPONSE”: “I am satisfied with the response. I am not satisfied with all the results.” [AP]

Saturday, September 3

SENIOR BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL LIES TO WASHINGTON POST, CLAIMS GOV. BLANCO NEVER DECLARED STATE OF EMERGENCY: The Post reported in their Sunday edition “As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.” They were forced to issue a correction hours later. [Washington Post, 9/4/05]

9AM — BUSH BLAMES STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS: “[T]he magnitude of responding to a crisis over a disaster area that is larger than the size of Great Britain has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities. The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need.” [White House, 9/3/05]

Why Half Of America Is Angry All The Time

2005-09-08T18:36:00.000-04:00

If my memory is correct, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has been far too much a cheerleader for the Iraq War and a fan of the neo-cons who think America can--and should--remake the world in its own image in 80 days. But today's column is 90% on-the-mark. Read the entire piece before the NYT archives it.

Here is the money-quote from Friedman:

Bush got a mandate, almost a blank check, to rule from 9/11 that he never really earned at the polls. Unfortunately, he used that mandate not simply to confront the terrorists but to take a radically uncompassionate conservative agenda - on taxes, stem cells, the environment and foreign treaties - that was going nowhere before 9/11, and drive it into a post-9/11 world. In that sense, 9/11 distorted our politics and society.

No kidding. Throw in gay-baiting, bowing to the anti-tax-at-any-price-crowd, the religious (Christian) extremists, and there you have it. Has it ever occured to the Bush people that no one takes HIS calls for action in Iraq seriously because it is obvious that everything Bush and the right-wing do is mean to consolidate power? Has it occured to Bush that about half the American people (hopefully more now) have figured out that they use American's legitimate fear of terror not to protect the country, but to gain total power and push through an extremist agenda? If we are engaged in a titanic world struggle, do you hand over the keys of government to Pat Robertson?

Another exceprt from Friedman:

If the Bush-Cheney team seemed to be the right guys to deal with Osama, they seem exactly the wrong guys to deal with Katrina - and all the rot and misplaced priorities it's exposed here at home.These are people so much better at inflicting pain than feeling it, so much better at taking things apart than putting them together, so much better at defending "intelligent design" as a theology than practicing it as a policy.

You mean a permanent underclass? Racism? A rotting infrastructure? And I love this excerpt:

An administration whose tax policy has been dominated by the toweringly selfish Grover Norquist - who has been quoted as saying: "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub" - doesn't have the instincts for this moment. Mr. Norquist is the only person about whom I would say this: I hope he owns property around the New Orleans levee that was never properly finished because of a lack of tax dollars. I hope his basement got flooded. And I hope that he was busy drowning government in his bathtub when the levee broke and that he had to wait for a U.S. Army helicopter to get out of town.

And two more for the road (yeah, I'm getting into this):

Besides ripping away the roofs of New Orleans, Katrina ripped away the argument that we can cut taxes, properly educate our kids, compete with India and China, succeed in Iraq, keep improving the U.S. infrastructure, and take care of a catastrophic emergency - without putting ourselves totally into the debt of Beijing.

As my Democratic entrepreneur friend Joel Hyatt once remarked, the Bush team's philosophy since 9/11 has been: "We're at war. Let's party."

Breaking News: Rick Santorum Is An Asshole

2005-09-08T18:27:00.000-04:00

What an asshole.

From The Huffington Post:

Senator Rick Santorum is criticizing the government's emergency response to hurricane Katrina victims. But he's also criticizing the ones who chose to ride out the storm. "I mean, you have people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings. There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving."

Know Any Good Levee-Building Seminars?

2005-09-08T18:08:00.000-04:00

The White House (and a few of its nutcase allies--think Senator Santorum) tried for a couple of days this week to put out the following message points to deflecting criticism from the fed's handling of Hurricane Katrina relief. The attempt seems to have subsided. But, here are the three points I heard from El Presidente's defenders:

Those who stayed behind and those who died? It's their owned damned fault.
What problems? Everything went fine. The only people criticizing the United States of America and its heroic president are Godless-liberals / Democrats.
Americans shouldn't rely on government for anything (except Pat Robertson looking in your bedroom window). They should do for themselves--just like John Wayne always did!

So, now I just need to figure out how to build a levee around my house and to construct a bio-decontamination suit. Can anyone recommend some good seminars? I bet Halliburton offers something.

Montezuma's Revenge: Mexican Army in Texas

2005-09-08T17:32:00.000-04:00

Perhaps this would better be called Santa Ana's revenge? The Mexican government has sent an army convoy with food, water and medicine to help Hurricane Katrina victims.

According to a press report, the convoy qot quite a send-off as it made its way to the U.S. border: "People cheered, waved, honked car horns and rang bells in villages as the convoy snaked up to the border this week."

I suspect the reaction in Texas today may be different. I imagine there are quite a few pairs of dirty panties among the redneck Anglos in Texas today. So maybe this is Montezuma's revenge.

Note to Americans who have forgotten their history: Mexico lost 50% of its territory to the U.S. after the Mexican-American War. And, yes, the Mexicans remember. Duh.

Photo: Getty Images, Houston Chronicle

Heads turn as Mexican troops roll into US with aid

Thu Sep 8, 2005 4:31 PM ET

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico, Sept 8 (Reuters) - A Mexican army convoy rolled into the United States on Thursday with food, water and medicine for Hurricane Katrina victims, the first Mexican military operation on U.S. soil in 90 years.

Part of an aid package that includes ships and rescue teams, the convoy of 45 olive-green vehicles and some 200 troops went over the Rio Grande into Texas from the city of Nuevo Laredo, witnesses said.

Mexicans, who often have a love-hate relationship with their northern neighbor, are surprised and proud at being able to help in the hurricane aftermath. Mexico has often been the recipient of foreign aid for earthquakes and other natural disasters.

People cheered, waved, honked car horns and rang bells in villages as the convoy snaked up to the border this week.

While millions of Mexicans have trekked north in pursuit of the American dream, many at home are still sore at having lost half their territory to the United States in the 19th century. Read entire story

$2K Debit Cards: Barbara's Comment Will Be?

2005-09-08T17:12:00.000-04:00

FEMA is going to give survirors of Hurricane Katrina $2,000 debit cards, one per household, apparently. Hmmm.......the math doesn't sound right. A one-person household gets $2K and a seven-person household also gets $2K?

I await Barbara Bush's comment on this. I imagine it will be something along the lines, "Well, those poor people shouldn't have so many children."

(Photo: Reuters)

Who's Protecting You and Your Family?

2005-09-06T19:43:00.000-04:00

Who over at FEMA is helping protect you and your family from bioterrorism, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and such? Why, event planners and media flacks! Who else? You thought that FEMA Director Michael Brown was incompetent? Perhaps the next-in-commands were crack chaps? Guess again.

The post, below, is from the blog, My Due Dillegence or MyDD--a great bog that will give you more indepth coverage of the news and national politics than just about any newspaper. Following post is from today and it is on who is running the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after the incompetent horsey-head, Michael Brown. Hold on to your hat because THIS is who is looking after your welfare.

From MyDD:

Bush's FEMA Cronies

by Chris Bowers

Bush prepared FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to deal with emergencies by hiring people who worked on his election campaigns but who have no emergency management experience at all. Think Progress has the details:

  The [FEMA] Chief of Staff is a guy named Patrick Rhode. He planned events for President Bush's campaign. Rhode has no emergency management experience whatsoever.(...) The [FEMA] Deputy Chief of Staff is Scott Morris. He was a press flak for Bush's presidential campaign. Previously, he worked for the company that produced Bush's campaign commercials. He also has no emergency management experience.
 For the Bush administration, in order to get a job running FEMA, experience working to help elect Bush is more relevant than experience in actually managing emergencies. One of the reasons for the largely ineffective response to Katrina on the part of the federal government is that Republicans primarily govern in order to benefit their campaign contributors and to improve their chances in future campaigns. This is just one example of that.

Republicans ::  Tue Sep 6th, 2005 at 02:45:14 PM EDT      :: 3 Comments

Note to the so-called Average Swing Voter: Is the competence and protection you voted for on November 4? Happy with those tax cuts? Is that extra $13 you get each month worth it?

Barbara Bush Updates Her Resume

2005-09-06T16:57:00.000-04:00

We've know for ages that Ma Bush was one of the meanest public figures in town. She is known as "The Enforcer" inside the family, and apparently everyone is afraid of her. Not suprisingly, it is often said that Dubya takes after his mother--not the Old Man.

So, while Barbara's resume has always included "tough" and "mean," it was short on "stupid" and maybe short on "evil" (we emphasize "maybe" here). So, it's niice to see she has updated her resume with her Monday comments on the victims of Hurricane Katrina in Houston.

The transcript from Editor & Publisher is below. But, I highly recommend the audio from NPR's "Marketplace"--it's just a scream.

Barbara Bush: Things Working Out 'Very Well' for Poor Evacuees from New Orleans By E&P Staff Published: September 05, 2005 7:25 PM ET updated 8:00 PM NEW YORK Accompanying her husband, former President George H.W.Bush, on a tour of hurricane relief centers in Houston, Barbara Bush said today, referring to the poor who had lost everything back home and evacuated, "This is working very well for them." The former First Lady's remarks were aired this evening on American Public Media's "Marketplace" program. She was part of a group in Houston today at the Astrodome that included her husband and former President Bill Clinton, who were chosen by her son, the current president, to head fundraising efforts for the recovery. Sen. Hilary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama were also present. In a segment at the top of the show on the surge of evacuees to the Texas city, Barbara Bush said: "Almost everyone I’ve talked to says we're going to move to Houston." Then she added: "What I’m hearing which is sort of scary is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them."

Maybe she has just lost her mind? Or does that family just not care?

A special P.S. to Republican National Commitee Chair Ken Mehlman: How's that outreach to African-American voters going?

Bumperstickers!

2005-09-05T19:03:00.000-04:00

Bumperstickers on cars near Poodle Beach in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

DC Armory: Nobody Knows Much

2005-09-05T18:25:00.000-04:00

I went with a friend today to the DC Armory to see if the Katrina evacuees have arrived. According to today's Washington Post, 400 people were coming today. We got there a little after noon, but there were no evacuees. We talked to a number of volunteers and the Red Cross. The bottom line is this: no one knows when the evacuees will leave Arkansas, no one knows when they will arrive, or how many people there will be.

However, we did find out this important bit of information: No one knows who the lead agency is on this operation. FEMA? Don't know? No one knows who is in charge.

Note to the so-called Swing Voters who voted Bush in the 2004 election: Is the government you wanted? Happy? Do you feel safer knowing that you voted for tax cuts and the demonization of gay people? Was it worth it? You swallowed the line of B.S. from the GOP. I would tell you to "just live with it," but there is one problem: those of us, the 48.5% of voters who voted for John Kerry, have to live with this nightmare, too.

Interesting editorial in the Sunday Herald

2005-09-05T12:48:00.000-04:00

A thoughtful and critical editorial in the [Glasgow, Scotland] Sunday Herald about lessons the Administration needs to learn from Katrina. You can read it here.

The US as viewed from Scotland: "Why the American dream is one of the biggest lies"

2005-09-05T12:18:00.000-04:00

I just ran into this article that seeks to expose the "American Dream"

So what are those lessons to be learned from a destroyed city with thousands dead, little or no relief for survivors, and lawlessness taking over from wind and water as the greatest threat to life? Not very nice lessons unfortunately. As the bodies of the poor, black, disenfranchised southerners bob to the surface of the rat-infested and sewage-infused waters, we’re reminded that America’s position as a big, safe, morally decent democracy with opportunity for all is one of the world’s biggest lies. The American dream that is being held up as the cause worth dying for in the Middle East is as rotten to the core as its demonic administration.

When Bush is temporarily propped up on two legs by his people, out of his natural position on all fours with knuckles resting gently on the White House carpet, to tell the world that his country’s values and people are worth fighting for, he omits to mention that he doesn’t mean poor people or black people. Not only is this huge slice of the American public kept largely invisible, in case it ruins the image of the culture which Bush’s administration demands countries in “the axis of terror” adopt, but even when such poverty is exposed to the world the US elite has little shame in publicly holding these stricken citizens in contempt.

Yup, we sure look good around the world now. After Brown blames the victims for not evacuating, the article continues with:

So when those with cars left the city, leaving behind those with no transport, did that mean that every available coach, truck and helicopter was made available to get them out? Apparently not. Some of those who didn’t “heed the warnings” because they had no means of exit, included charity care homes for the elderly, hospitals, whole housing schemes of poor black residents, a children’s care home, and countless thousands of dispersed penniless people living on state benefits who were trapped and killed, not because they were wilful irresponsible risk takers, but because they were poor, powerless and vulnerable.

It's a very interesting piece. You can read the entire article here.

Where Is Gen. Honore? Did Rove Yank Him Off TV?

2005-09-05T11:17:00.000-04:00

Remember Lt. General Russel Honore, the "Rajun Cajun" who appeared on Saturday in New Orleans? Has anyone seen him since he was all over the news (at least on CNN) on Saturday? We referred to him here at this site as El Jefe because it appeared he could get things done... a no-nonsense Regular Army guy... native of South Louisiana... well-respected... knows New Orleans.

Why do I get the feeling that Karl Rove saw Honore on TV and screamed, "Get that guy off of there. Only El Presidente, our All-Knowing Jefe Jorge can be the Hero of New Orleans!"

FEMA Director: Failed Member of Horsey Set

2005-09-05T11:06:00.000-04:00

FEMA Director Michael Brown was the failed head (he was forced out) of the International Arabian Horse Association. Sure sounds like good preparation for heading a disaster and recovery agency! I guess being a part of the Middleburg horsey set will get you almost any important job in the Bush Administration. Here is a story from Yahoo! News.

WASHINGTON - From failed Republican congressional candidate to ousted "czar" of an Arabian horse association, there was little in Michael D. Brown's background to prepare him for the fury of Hurricane Katrina. Read entire story

Note to those Swing Voters who ended up voting for Bush over Kerry last November: Here's what you got. Happy?

88-Y.O. Veteran Told to Drive Car from MS to DC

2005-09-05T10:51:00.000-04:00

Saturday evening, my partner and I were talking to a neighbor on our front steps. We will call her "Betty." She had done emergency volunteer work Saturday at the D.C. Veterans home on North Capitol Street.

“Betty” said that 400 veterans have been transferred there from the home in Mississippi on the Gulf Coast (now destroyed). This has been all over the news. What Betty told us next is not in the news. Betty said that she spent quite a bit of time with an 88-year-old veteran—who DROVE HIS CAR from Mississippi to Washington behind a caravan of buses!

Yes, you read correctly.

On the Sunday before Katrina struck, the veterans with cars were told to take them from the home to a more-secure parking garage. They did so. Then, a few hours later, management told the veterans that they should go get their cars because they would need them. Somehow they got the cars back to the veterans home.

When buses full of veterans departed for Washington, D.C., the veterans with cars were told to follow the buses because there were not enough buses. This old guy--and quite a few others--all drove their cars from Veterans Home in Mississippi to D.C.!

Is this true? Does anyone know?

Why not blame France?

2005-09-05T09:58:00.000-04:00

Finally the White House is responding to the damage caused by Katrina --no, not the damage to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast but to the political damage as a result of the dismally slow response to that damage.

Right now on CNN, they're showing Air Force 1 arriving in Baton Rouge. The President, this time with the First Lady, is back in Louisiana. Yup, it's definitely a category 5 political crisis!

So, the White House strategy is no secret: place the blame elsewhere. When blaming the victims fell flat, they quickly regrouped and are blaming city and state governments. Well, we'll see what happens, there's one senator who says she won't take it! Sen. Landrieu will "punch" the President if he blames local officials again!

Wow! This Guy Can Really Rant

2005-09-03T20:02:00.000-04:00

This is from a blogger named Steve at The News Blog. Here is the introduction--keep reading because he is just getting warmed up in these few paragraphs. Needless to say, I agree with everything he says about Bush and his lap dogs on the right.

Isn't anyone else out there pissed off? Aren't you tired of letting these people shout us down? Are you ashamed to be an American who is also a proud liberal and loyal Democrat? If not, speak up. The next time so right-wing idiot starts making derogatory comments about minorities, gays, liberals--at your business, church, wherever--speak up!

Hold on to your hat--here comes Steve.

A note to our conservative friends:

WE TOLD YOU SO

Ever wonder why New Yorkers detest George Bush?

Because we experienced his incompetence up close and person. We knew this guy was full of shit, absolutely full of fucking shit, after they started to play games with the funding and gave Wyoming terrorism money. We knew he was an assclown then.

We thought DC 9/11 was a comedy, because the Bush we saw hid in AF One like the scared bitch that he is.

But did you listen?

Fuck no. Until last week, Ann Coulter was calling New Yorkers cowards for not endorsing Bush's folly in Iraq.

We have been screaming for two years that Bush and his team sucked. That they had no clue. They sent soldiers to be wounded in Iraq without armored anything. And you idiots cheered him on from the safety of your keyboards. We told you he was fucking up Iraq. But no, we supported Saddam, we were racist, we blamed America.

You say this isn't about politics? Fuck you, this IS politics, real time, real life politics, where the insanity of all your ideas are exposed to the world for the fraud that they are. Tax cuts kill. Ask the relatives of the dead of the Gulf Coast. Read entire post

Perspective: The Gulf's Challenges

2005-09-03T11:19:00.000-04:00

Editor's Note: This post is from Armando in Mobile, Alabama, who rode out the hurricane in his house in north Mobile. Armando has spent much of his life on the Gulf Coast, and knows a great deal about the region's economic importance to America and the world.

At left: Port of Mobile.

Hurricane Katrina

A week ago, Hurricane "KATRINA" was announced, heading toward Florida. But later, it bypassed Florida, and on Monday, Aug 29/05, finally hit NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA and most gulf cities of Mississippi, causing heavy damages to homes, businesses and people, ravaging and completely destroying some areas, with untold losses for everyone.

In Alabama, especially in Mobile, damages were caused to homes and businesses in the gulf areas, with fallen trees, high water levels, and loss of power and services, and only now most utilities and services are working again.

No one could have predicted the immense damages caused by KATRINA, until a few days ago, when scenes blared on television of water covering up to 90% of NEW ORLEANS, and other areas in Mississippi. Chaos and violence ruled, as the death toll kept increasing, as more bodies seemed to have drown in the avalanche of water, that encircled most of New Orleans, where thousands lost their homes.

Official estimates now put the death toll to over 2,000 people. There is panic all over, as both rich and poor suffered. President Bush visited the damaged areas, and said it will take years to bring New Orleans back to its old "Big Easy" status.

NEW ORLEANS, which is to the whole World, the Center for Mardi Gras, The French Quarter, the Superdome, the Dixie Land Jazz and Louis Armstrong and other great artists, is no more. Besides New Orleans has been a major Gulf Seaport, up to the Mississippi River. This is land acquired by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Also the Battle of New Orleans was the last battle of the War of 1812.

MISSISSIPPI: Indications are that over 200 people so far have lost their lives, including loss of businesses and services in the major gulf coast towns and cities, including Gulfport, Biloxi, Pass Christian and others. The Casinos are gone, and the State will suffer tremendous losses of income and employment.

MOBILE, Alabama: As mentioned earlier, did suffer, but not as much as the immense damages in New Orleans and Mississippi. Most of the utilities and power are back. But there is a tremendous shortage of gasoline and cars line up three blocks to try to be served by a gasoline station.

Having grown in the Tropics(Belize), and having lived several years in Mobile, I have witnessed various hurricanes, but do not recall anything like KATRINA. Incidentally KATRINA means "PURITY". You might now want to call it, THE MONSTER KILLER HURRICANE KATRINA.

A CHALLENGING IDEA FOR THE FUTURE: Some residents of New Orleans and Mississippi headed to Mobile, to avoid KATRINA. They are still watching developing losses. Officials say it will take several months to get back to normal, possibly years.

A CHALLENGE for politicians of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana would be to get together and consider developing the port of MOBILE, as a major gulf port, to serve as an alternative to New Orleans. Offficials say there are around 86 cargo ships from different countries at the port of New Orleans waiting to be loaded or unloaded. New Orleans has been a major port for Grains and foodstuff, almost 60% of products from the gulf.

It would also serve to give employment to those people who are now unemployed, and allow the gulf to continue as a major international outpost. Even the Casinos and other businesses lost in both New Orleans and Mississipi could be re-instated in Mobile.

LET us all hope for the best, especially for those who suffered the most, or lost their lives, and completely "Put trust in the Lord(Ps: 4:5).

-- Armando in Mobile

Katrina By The Numbers

2005-09-03T10:46:00.000-04:00

From DailyKos.

P.S. - Here is the thing many of us are thinking, but no one wants to ask: What happens if another powerful hurricane strikes this part of the Gulf?

Katrina by the Numbersby ilona  Sat Sep 3rd, 2005 at 03:49:09 PDT   (From the diaries -- Plutonium Page.  This is the magnitude of the tragedy.)
  
A collection of raw numbers that offer another glimpse on the magnitude of the events of the past week.
  
 # of days since hurricane Katrina slammed into the US Gulf Coast: 5
     
 # of days before US federal government response: 4     
 # of months in average hurricane season: 6 [ends Nov. 30]
     
 # in line of named tropical storms/hurricanes for Katrina: 11
     
 # of current tropical storms/hurricanes in Atlantic basin: 13
     
 # of tropical depressions formed in Atlantic basin: 15
     
 Area covered by federal disaster declarations: 90,000 sq. miles
     
 Wind speed of Katrina as she struck LA on Monday: 140 mph
     
 # of Kristina's hurricane category at landfall: 4     
 Combined length of NOLA hurricane levees: 350 miles
     
 Size of gap in NOLA's 17th Street Canal levee breach: 300 feet
     
 Depth of water covering parts of NOLA: 20 feet
     
 % of NOLA under water: 80%
     
 # of days engineers and crews expect to need to dry out NOLA: 36-80
      
Much more below the fold...ilona's diary ::  Permalink  :: 
There's more...    (68 comments)

Gen. Honore: El Jefe Takes Charge on Gulf Coast

2005-09-03T10:19:00.000-04:00

Finally, El Jefe has arrived.

He isn't riding a white horse, but a Humvee--it matters not. Lt. General Russel Honore of the U.S. Army is now in charge in the Katrina-devastated Gulf Coast region. This guy is regular Army, a 3-star general and, apparently, a real son-of-a-bitch.

Thank God. It's time someone with some balls showed up down there.

All I know is what I read in Honore's bio, and from what I have seen on CNN--barking orders to everyone in sight, and going street-to-street in New Orleans with the troops.

Even better, Honore is a Louisiana Cajun, a native of south Lousiana who knows New Orleans and the situtation he is dealing with.

P.S. - Mayor Nagin is around, but what has happened to Governor Blanco? Have aliens snatched her?

Bad Move, Bill

2005-09-03T09:55:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately, I pretty much agree with Arianna Huffington: What the hell was Bill Clinton thinking? Why is he giving cover to Dubya? I have read theories over the past year that Bill is sucking up to the Bush family--especially the Old Man--as a way of semi-neutralizing the Bush family if/when Hillary decides to run for president. Apparently, Bill's thinking might be that he can take some of the edge off of them, that they might not attack Hillary as hard. The Bush family is a vicious bunch, espcially during campaigns, so I think this might be wishful thinking. Still, Bill is a smart one. But, giving Dubya cover over the Katrina disaster stinks.

From The Huffington Post -- Arianna Huffington's blog.

Bill Clinton, Suck-Up-in-Chief (63 comments )

What the hell was Bill Clinton thinking, standing there next to President Bush and providing verbal cover for the administration's ludicrous claims that the problems plaguing New Orleans were unforeseeable?

He even defended the administration's catastrophic response to Katrina. When asked on CNN whether the federal response was fast enough, Clinton bobbed, weaved, and fell back on this utterly absurd claim: "You and I are not in a position to make any judgment because we weren't there." C'mon, Bill, "...we weren't there"? I know this sucking up business is hard, but you've got to do better than that. Read entire post

LA Death Toll: 10,000 Plus?

2005-09-03T09:47:00.000-04:00

Good Lord. What else can be said. This story posted at Yahoo! News. Photo from Salon.com.

Fri Sep 2, 1:02 PM ET

BATON ROUGE, United States (AFP) - US Senator David Vitter said that the death toll from Hurricane Katrina could top 10,000 in Louisiana alone.

"My guess is that it will start at 10,000, but that is only a guess," Vitter said, adding that he was not basing his remarks on any official death toll or body count.

Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, also called for the immediate deployment of regular US combat troops in New Orleans, saying the build-up of National Guard troops was too slow to quickly restore order. Read entire story

Michael Moore's Letter to Dubya

2005-09-02T21:50:00.000-04:00

Friday, September 2nd, 2005

Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,
Michael Moore

Times-Picayune Reporters Still Working

2005-09-02T20:25:00.000-04:00

The staff of the New Orleans Times-Picayune (what DOES that mean?) had to evacuate their building. But, reporters and staffers are still publishing an online version through the city of New Orleans Web site.

Breaking news is located here and many photos from New Orleans.

Help Coming From Other Countries

2005-09-02T20:15:00.000-04:00

If you think I am one of those people who constantly bitches about how America is the most generous country in the world and that no one appreciates us, you have come to the wrong blog site. (We are NOT the most generous country on a per capita basis.) I am heartened to see that other countries are sending expertise, special equipment and, oh yes, fuel.

This may come as a shock to those insular Americans who think other countries know nothing about anyting, but--SHOCK--a number of countries have specialized equipment and trained personnel who can help us during the Hurricane Katrina crisis.

Why did I pick a map of France to post? Why because it will infuriate some idiotic right-winger who might happen upon this post!

Note to Condi Rice: Miss Thing -- So nice of you to interupt your Ferragamo shoe-buying spree in Manhattan to take time to talk to foreign governments about their aid offers.

Send Help Through McCormick Tribune Foundation

2005-09-02T15:08:00.000-04:00

If you are warm-blooded, you are stunned by what is happening in New Orleans. Sitting here in drought-stricken Illinois, I can't fathom streets filled with water. I can't fathom sitting on my roof with my children, praying for a helicopter rescue. I cannot imagine watching my kids cry from hunger. I can, however, make a difference--and so can you.

The McCormick Tribune Foundation Hurricane Katrina Relief Campaign has offered to match donations up to $2,000,000 at 50 cents on the dollar. If you are able to contribute $5, they turn it into $7.50 - and on and on. They are also covering all administrative costs, so your contribution will be spent only on relief efforts.

Click here to make a donation through the McCormick Tribune Foundation Hurricane Relief Campaign--if you can possibly pitch in.