Barbara Bush is so Right!

These people are better off!

You May Know These People

As members of the party that doesn't follow polls...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 - As New Orleans descended into chaos last week and Louisiana's governor asked for 40,000 soldiers, President Bush's senior advisers debated whether the president should speed the arrival of active-duty troops by seizing control of the hurricane relief mission from the governor.

For reasons of practicality and politics, officials at the Justice Department and the Pentagon, and then at the White House, decided not to urge Mr. Bush to take command of the effort. Instead, the Washington officials decided to rely on the growing number of National Guard personnel flowing into Louisiana, who were under Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco's control.

The debate began after officials realized that Hurricane Katrina had exposed a critical flaw in the national disaster response plans created after the Sept. 11 attacks. According to the administration's senior domestic security officials, the plan failed to recognize that local police, fire and medical personnel might be incapacitated.

As criticism of the response to Hurricane Katrina has mounted, one of the most pointed questions has been why more troops were not available more quickly to restore order and offer aid. Interviews with officials in Washington and Louisiana show that as the situation grew worse, they were wrangling with questions of federal/state authority, weighing the realities of military logistics and perhaps talking past each other in the crisis.

To seize control of the mission, Mr. Bush would have had to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows the president in times of unrest to command active-duty forces into the states to perform law enforcement duties. But decision makers in Washington felt certain that Ms. Blanco would have resisted surrendering control, as Bush administration officials believe would have been required to deploy active-duty combat forces before law and order had been re-established.

While combat troops can conduct relief missions without the legal authority of the Insurrection Act, Pentagon and military officials say that no active-duty forces could have been sent into the chaos of New Orleans on Wednesday or Thursday without confronting law-and-order challenges.

But just as important to the administration were worries about the message that would have been sent by a president ousting a Southern governor of another party from command of her National Guard, according to administration, Pentagon and Justice Department officials.

"Can you imagine how it would have been perceived if a president of the United States of one party had pre-emptively taken from the female governor of another party the command and control of her forces, unless the security situation made it completely clear that she was unable to effectively execute her command authority and that lawlessness was the inevitable result?" asked one senior administration official, who spoke anonymously because the talks were confidential.

Why are people playing politics? Republicans never let politics guide their actions...

I heard Tom Delay blame Mayor Gavin and Governor Blanco last week when he said something to the effect, "The system worked...it goes from the bottom up...mayors make requests of Governors and Governors, if they need help, request help form the Federal Government..." Well Fat Ass, they did.

Dear Huge Douchebag,

I just want to thank you for being the coolest guy at the advertising agency, and for coming up with "Phantasies" as the new song for the latest SEARS commercial. That's right, I said it, SEARS!

It's one thing when I see a HUMMER commercial with The Who blaring in the background, and the use of a song which is either relevant to the add, or meant to capture an audience that likes The Who and is now in position to buy a HUMMER (which I'm sure makes The Who proud). But to use an obscure Stephen Malkmus song is a whole other thing.

I'm sure the head of your team who agreed to use the song was just bouncing around to the great melody. I'm equally sure that you felt like the guy not only in the know, but also like the guy breaking new ground. Someone should be breaking your face, and that includes your ears, so this way you can't go around pushing indie rock songs on commercials for huge stores, and brand new products.

I'd love to know what Malkmus thinks of his song being used for Sears. Maybe he agreed to it. I have no idea, but somehow I doubt it.

SM, if you did, you too are the DB...

Sears, the store I can trust...to be playing music the store itself would never sell.

Thanks,

Guy Who Thinks You're a Huge Douchebag

A Slave in Belarus, or a Mat in Japan!!!

Hey!

Who said I had to cut my vacation short???

 

Links to Links

Andy Sullivan linked to this guy's site, and here's this guy's comments:

Thanks for linking my timeline.

Your analysis is correct. The timeline highlights what federal officials - and state and local leaders also - said they were doing in response to the disaster. Why there was a Grand-Canyon-like chasm between what they said and what actually arrived is for whatever blue ribbon Commission or Congressional inquiry to decide.

Unless one is willing to posit the notion that the feds were simply lying through their teeth and had no intention of assisting those desperate, hungry people stranded in New Orleans then one must assume that what they said they were going to do, they had every intention of doing. Hence, the nature of the timeline.

If one were to do a proper timeline of events, then it would have been appropriate to include the dog that didn't bark items. Maybe one could even slip in Condi's shopping spree or Bush's guitar strumming photo-op. But that was not my intent.
And if I left the impression of absolving the President of any "blame" then let me make it a little clearer. Anyone who would hire as Director of FEMA a Michael Brown has made a ghastly, unconscionable mistake. Bush wouldn't be the first President to make a mistake of such magnitude nor will he be the last. I suspect when all is said and done, the American people will make the appropriate judgement and the Republican party will suffer for their leader's shortsightedness at the polls.

Now my thoughts.

I noticed Bush was referring to Michael Brown as "Brownie" the other day. Now, people may say Bush isn't responsible, and of course that's wrong on many levels. But lets just take this little situation as proof that he is responsible.

As has been repeated over and over in the press and by Democrats, and not really by Republicans (of course), is that Michael Brown had ZERO business being the head of FEMA. Bush appointed this guy because cronyism is the only way over there.

So here's Bush, calling some guy "Brownie," and we're to assume Bush doesn't have ties with this guy? I'm not sure about you folks, but when you have a nickname for someone that means you've spent more than 5 minutes with that person. In fact, you've probably spent quite a bit of time with that particular person. For anyone to say that Bush isn't to blame, or that Brown is, just remember, Bush knows the guy well enough to slap him on the back, smile, and call him the nickname the President himself gave him.

Now I know the President is an utter idiot who throws nicknames around left and right, but it usually takes some getting to know ya before anyone comes up with one. Apparently, Bush knew this guy, and this guy has been a disaster within the disaster.

The buck stops where?

Disaster, Part One

Let us not forget our other not-so-natural disaster.

I recall when 4 contractors were killed in Iraq at the beginning of this joke of a war, it was the biggest issue in the news. Now they can clipped off without even a thought.

A roadside bomb exploded Wednesday near a passing convoy of American security guards in the southern city of Basra, killing four contractors, a U.S. Embassy spokesman said.

Three of the men were killed instantly and a fourth died after British troops took him to a military hospital, embassy spokesman Peter Mitchell said.

"All four individuals worked for a private security firm supporting the regional U.S. Embassy office in Basra," Mitchell said in a statement.

Initial reports had indicated that the target of the attack was a British diplomatic convoy, but officials in London said no British personnel were involved.

I'm Sure You've Seen It

But I really needed it to be up on the site:

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..."

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."

See, This Was Like Pre-Wesley Snipes

Oh, this is great stuff.

Thanks Narm.

Why is a $200 Million Bridge Being Built

...in Alaska to connect an island of island of 50 people to an area that has 1,000 people, yet FEMA struggles for $20 Million? This is what my oldest buddy wonders.

That's right, Don Young, Congressman of Alaska, and of course the Head Douchebag in Charge, is why:

Alaska's Gravina Island is home to 50 people and more than 350 Sitka black-tailed deer. Under the U.S. highway bill passed last month, this group will get a $223 million bridge taller than the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.

The funding is among $1.04 billion that Alaska lawmakers secured for transportation projects, making the state the envy of its neighbors in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The states of Washington and Oregon, with a combined population 15 times that of Alaska's 650,000, each received about $500 million sought by lawmakers for transportation projects in their home states under the bill signed by President George W. Bush on Aug. 10.

Alaska owes its bounty to Congressman Donald Young, a Republican who heads the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation Committee and has told voters he used his position to enhance Alaska's share. A second bridge, spanning 2 miles in Anchorage, to be called ``Don Young's Way,'' got $229 million.

Yet we can't blame Republicans for not funding FEMA, environmental projects, or a host of things, can we? CAN WE???

It's all about priorities, and a bridge to the middle of fucking nowhere is apparently more important than, oh, I don't know, ANYTHING!

Mr. One-Trick-Pony

Take a guess who said this:

"And the reason it's important is, is that we still live in an unsettled world. We want to make sure that we can respond properly if there's a WMD (weapons of mass destruction) attack or another major storm. And so I'm going to find out over time what went right and what went wrong," he added.

BALANCE!

I love how, as this article points out, the media calls this hurricane, "unimaginable!" Riiiiight.

Even better, look who did imagine it: the liberal press!

So if NPR had been underminded by the Bush crew in 2004 we could have heard a commentator call the columnists from the Times Picayune "pesismists" or "crazy."

Too Much

I love reading Josh Marshall's site. It's truly ridiculous what goes on in this world.

Just read who was leading FEMA, how he got the job, who leads it now, and the rest of the shit.

Truly unbelievable.

Unexpected Partner?

Puhhhlease. James McGreevey is an unexpected partner, not President Clinton.

As President Bush and administration officials fanned out across the Gulf Coast in the White House's campaign to deal with criticism that they had failed in managing the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, there was one unexpected face in their crowd on Monday: former President Bill Clinton...

For President Bush, Mr. Clinton's agreement to a request by the White House chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr., to join former President Bush in their second fund-raising project could hardly have been better timed. One of the crucial elements of a White House strategy to help Mr. Bush recover from the rounds of criticism he received in the wake of the disaster in New Orleans was to present him as above politics, and to avoid any kind of political entanglements with Democrats.

"It definitely helps Bush," said Douglas Sosnik, who was White House political director under Mr. Clinton. "Given what has happened to Bush in the last six or seven days, there is not a single aspect of this crisis at all that can be positive to Bush. So anything he can do to get politics out of this - given how vulnerable he is politically - the better for him."

Actually, the unexpected partner is the current President. If he wasn't President he wouldn't be involved at all. Conservatives reaching out to help poor people? That's unexpected. Clinton is the only natural selection.

Some say this helps President Bush. I don't disagree. This puts on display his imcompetence. It may help Senator Clinton, but it makes it seem that President Bush needs his dad and the former President to get through this mess, and frankly, he does. In fact, David Palmer would be helpful right now

Who Needs Donation?

Seriously, I've got the solutions to all the problems affecting the people of the Gulf Coast.

First, we slash taxes for everyone, especially the people trapped in the dome and convention center. That right there will free up so many dollars they won't even need donations. In fact, the businesses that will start popping up across the south because of the tax cuts really should employ all thow want to work within 6 months, and that's being pesimistic.

Second, we take the schools have been crushed and allow private, and parochial schools to take over the school systems across the south. Afterall, these people voted for this concept.

Competition alone will educate most all of these people. Just getting a first hand glimpse of true competition in education is education enough into the ways of America. All these people on TV are saying how bad these people have it. We're going to give them FIRST RATE EDUCATION! It's like, they'll be taught even when they're not learning anything. So weird...

Third, we'll slash the minimum wage. This, along with the massive tax cuts for the poor, will create jobs. All of these people will be able to compete with the border crossing immigrants who are going to flock to the south to help rebuild it. If the minimum wage is too high jobs will not be created, and American workers will suffer.

Fourth, the Federal Government will bypass FEMA and DHS and fund churches, since they do a better job of helping people recover from trauma, suffering, etc. The bureaucracies will only cause more problems. Besides, these people, if they even want a chance in this American life, they'll need to pray...A LOT.

Fifth, (and this isn't so much for the people of the south as it is for the rest of America) members of the churches, having taken over for the Federal Government, will start writing letters on behalf of the starving, poor, and suffering, assuring all Americans that things are just fine, and soon will be over. The letters could even include snippets about things being bad, but that this was a necessary evil to help Americans really see what's wrong with the country. In the end, they're happy to be suffering, for all of us, sorta like Jesus.

Sixth, and maybe the most important, the government will completely cut back funding for the Army Corps of Engineers (in addition to the cuts they've made the last 5 years), and will further ignore environmental issues. This may seem at odds with helping the cause, but you have to understand, this issue is actually bringing Americans together.

Being that our leaders have strived to be uniters, not dividers, it's important to really see how important a disaster like this is to the American psyche. If we had actually funded environmental projects, and science, this moment of unification may never have happened, and that would not have been good. Cable TV is doing amazing with advertising the last few weeks, and that right there has created a better economic environment for these companies, who in turn will hire many of these people as they are now showing up in towns across America.

It's important to see how these things are all inter-connected.

I really want to hear the conservatives step up and espoouse these things. The south is practically a blank slate right now. If we were starting over, and did things differently, I'm told, conservative ideology would work wonders. So why not experiment with a part of our own country that really needs the help?

Where are all you Republicans pushing to not have the Federal Government fix this? I want to hear about your vision. I want to hear about your ideas. I want to hear about your solutions. Oh no, I'm turning Republican as I type. All I keep thinking is "I want...I want...I want..."

Disposable Fantasy

If you play fantasy football I'm going to assume you have some disposable income. Most leagues have begun on some level already, but regardless, send around a league wide email requesting that $50 of all entry fees goes toward some Katrina-related relief effort.

Also, send this link, or an email to everyone you know who does FFB telling them the same.

A guy in my league came up with this idea and we're putting it into action.

Besides, FFB is all about the bragging rights anyway.

He's a Good Guy

Bill Buckner is a good guy. Would you want him playing first base for you in a big game?

John Starks is a good guy. Would you want him shooting jumpers for you with the game on the line?

Chevy Chase is a good guy. Would you want him hosting a primetime TV show for you?

Ralph Nader is a good guy. Would you want him as your president?

So I don't give a shit that John Roberts is a good guy, who people like. I do find it fitting when I click on the MONEY sections of various websites and see articles about Roberts as Chief Justice, since it's the readers of those sections who are most excited about his selection.

Roberts

Now that Bush has selected John Roberts to be the next Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court it's more important than before to know everything possible about his legal past. Going one step further, Roberts is no longer the replacement for O'Connor, right? Now he's the replacement for Rehnquist, and O'Connor's replacement now must still be chosen.

It's semantics, but Chief Justice controls the court. Rehnquist was given a lot of credit for navigating the court, so the question is whether Roberts can do the , same. Knowing his past is slightly important, right?

Lets just be glad it's not Scalia or Token Thomas.

Again, Roberts could surprise, and I hope he does, but that doesn't mean his record shouldn't be studied vigorously. Also remember, Roberts is a the judge for business, not for right-wingers. He could end up being both, or neither, but it really does seem he's the business guy. The next one now has to be the winger, so it seems.

I'd bet at least one of these judges isn't getting through, and I'd also bet it's definitely going to be a woman now.

Curious

If the Hurricane, gas prices, and Rehnquist's passing has really shelved Iraq officially. I'm sure it'll make the front page again sometime next month.

With all these problems one can understand why Bush needs a vacation. He has to head down to Crawford and clear his head. The only problem is he never fills it back up with anything when he returns, that fucking puppet...