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September 30, 2005
Oregon's Walden has DeLay's dirty money
Oregon's only Republican member of the House has been getting a good chunk of change from Tom DeLay's ARMPAC.
Walden has been the recipient of $4342 from the PAC.
But even more significantly, Walden was among the group of Republicans who weaken House ethics rules.
Apparently the Oregon Republican soul is worth just over $4k.
Posted by Carla at 10:41 AM |
Is it stupidity or Smack? I can't decide.
All of a sudden, Texas Prosecutor Ronnie Earle appears to have acquired magical powers and vast supreme being-type connections that have allowed him to manipulate the entire Washington political scene:
Earle has said more than once, including as recently as two weeks ago, that DeLay was not a target of his "investigation." So, what changed? One possibility is that, after three years, Earle suddenly found some evidence against DeLay. That's possible, I suppose, but certainly unlikely. Based on the indictment, which we linked to yesterday, it doesn't appear that Earle has any evidence at all. In all probability, the DeLay indictment will be thrown out at some point, and Earle will look like a fool, just as he did when he indicted Kay Hutchison shortly after she was elected to the Senate.A year ago, and apparently as recently as two weeks ago, Earle did not choose to take that risk. So--once again--what changed? My guess, and it's only a guess, is that it has to do with the impending battle over the Supreme Court. It appears that the Democrats have decided, barring the extremely unlikely possibility that President Bush nominates a Democrat, to filibuster the next nominee, whoever he or she may be. Such a move would be unprecedented in American history, and carries considerable political risk.
I believe that the Democrats think they can get away with a filibuster because they have the Republicans on the run--nothing but bad news from Iraq (untrue, but that's the impression you get from the media), the fiasco of Hurricane Katrina (also untrue, as we're learning), Bush's sagging poll numbers, etc. In order to lay the groundwork for their filibuster, the Democrats are doing everything they can to create an anti-Republican frenzy in the press. My guess is that the DeLay indictment is part of that effort.
It would be interesting to subpoena Ronnie Earle's telephone records and see what Democratic Senators or representatives of the Democratic National Committee he has been talking to over the past couple of weeks.
In other words, Darth Ronnie and his clone army of Democratic warriors have contracted with the liberal media to thwart the brave Republican philanthropic truthseekers.
If these Democrats are so damn clever, how come they're the minority in EVERY ASPECT OF WASHINGTON POLITICS?
What about the other Republican leaders that are in trouble for their various alledged indiscretions? Poor Bill Frist...another victim of an out-of-control Securities and Exchange Commission that's simply attempting to undermine the great conservative notion of capitalism? Karl Rove was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time (over and over again) and special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is just jealous that the GOP keep winning?
Hinderaker has written a plethora of delusional pieces over his career at Powerline..but this one smacks of being on Smack:
My criticism of Earle's indictment was not that he didn't plead his evidence, but that he didn't specify what, exactly, DeLay supposedly did. (The indictment does, in contrast, recite specific acts that were allegedly perfomed by the other defendants.)
I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on this blog...but this looks like exactly what Hinderaker says it isn't..specifically and exactly what DeLay supposedly did:
..that on or about the thirteenth day of September AD, 2002,in the county of Travis and the state of Texas, John Dominick Colyandro, James Walter Ellis and Thomas Dale DeLay, the defendants therein, did enter into an agreement with one or more of each other or with a general purpose political committee known as Texans for a Republican Majority PAC that one or more of them would engage in conduct that would constitute the offense of knowingly making a political contribution in violation of Subchapter D of Chapter 253 of the Texas Election Code, a violation of sections 253.003 and 253.094 and 253.104 of the Election Code, in that said contribution was made directly to the Republican National Committee, a political party, during a period beginning sixty days before the date of a general election, and that said contribution included a prohibited political contribution by a corporation;
The indictment goes on to list the rest of the very specifically detailed alledged illegal acts.
I don't know if Hinderaker believes that if he just writes it down and publishes, no one will bother to check if he's correct or truthful..or if he just thinks his readership is plain stupid. Or maybe it's the Smack talking.
Posted by Carla at 09:07 AM |
September 29, 2005
DefConAmerica.org
Via my good friend Alan, a website for every American who stands ready to defend the Constitution against the assault of rightwing religious attacks:
The most informative page on the site is Meet the Religious Right, where you'll see quotes like these:
“I will appoint men and women to the Federal judiciary who share my view of unborn children as constitutionally protected and who will unhesitatingly vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.”
“Fight abortion. Block gay marriage. Stop stem cell research.”
"Feminism encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."
And the Theocrat of the Month, Tony Perkins:
"Counterfeit marriages called 'civil unions' pose a serious threat to the health of our culture."
This organization is working to keep the Constitution intact and religion out of our government. Go visit them.
Posted by Carla at 02:57 PM |
Who's buried in Lenin's Tomb?
Nobody....yet.
But if Vladimir Putin gets his way, the other Vlad will be removed from Red Square and buried with the rest of the Bolsheviks.
Personally..I don't have a horse in the "bury or don't bury" Lenin race. But that picture just creeped the hell out of me..so I thought it was worthy of posting.
Posted by Carla at 02:18 PM |
Secular Bible?
The Bible Literacy Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group in Fairfax, Va., has spent five years developing the first high school text on the Bible in 30 years. But they had to craft a textbook which would pass constitutional muster.
Why bother? Apparently a survey last spring found that 90% of English teachers believe that Biblical knowledge is necessary for a good education. Not sectarian knowledge, though. Rather, they point to a wide range of subjects ranging from Shakespeare's 1,300 biblical references to how the Bible shaped President Lincoln's perspective as President to the historical African-American experience and musical traditions as reasons why students need to have at least some academic grasp of what is in the Bible.
Interestingly enough, Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, thinks this textbook is constitutional.
Posted by Kevin at 12:21 PM |
September 28, 2005
"Pork" shows up in Katrina aide bill
Buried in what might eventually total $200 billion in federal spending for Hurricane Katrina is $488 million for what would be the nation's largest school voucher program.The proposal, which to this point is formalized only to the level of a few paragraphs in a press release, would give families displaced by the storm as much as $7,500 per child to spend on a private school, including a religious school, for the coming year.
Poisoned water, infrastructure washout, millions in levee repair, homes torn down and rebuilt...the nation in debt to it's eyeballs. But there is enough money to make sure God's Own Party gets their vouchers.
I wonder how much is set aside for "abstinence only" programs and "intelligent design" for the science curriculum?
Freaks.
Posted by Carla at 11:35 AM |
Breaking News: DeLay indicted
Congressman Tom DeLay has just been indicted by a Texas Grand Jury with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme.
Update: You can read the text of the Indictment here. Included is a photo of the check that was key evidence for the Indictment.
Posted by Kevin at 10:39 AM |
Don't look now, Michelle...
... but there is a CRESCENT MOON in the sky right now!!!
| CURRENT MOON moon phase info |
We already know how disturbing you find the crescent moon. So, you might want to hide indoors for the next several weeks so that Allah can't insult you with the crescent moon.
I've looked through NASA's website and can't find any plan for obliterating the Moon. What kind of Islamofacist sympathizers does that make NASA? For that matter, what kind of Islamofascist lover must President Bush be to not devote any resources to blotting out Allah's monthly brainwashing of all who happen to see the waxing moon?
It's shocking, I tell you. Shocking!!
Meanwhile, David over at Orcinus points out that the flight 64 families not only had a lot of input into the very design that Michelle Malkin has been ranting against, but they have been expressing how insulted they are by Malkin's tinfoil-hat lunacy.
Posted by Kevin at 10:30 AM |
Supra-geniuses at work
Our first contestant, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions!
"Sessions, accused of exploiting Katrina, defends estate tax cuts: Republican Senator Jeff Sessions says it would be "immoral" not to repeal the estate tax in the wake of Hurricane Katrina."
Let's see, who can top that? -- knock yourself out, Rep. Stacey Campfield!
White Lawmaker Likens Tenn. Blacks, KKK
Stand back and let Bill Frist have a shot:
Frist Faces Heat as SEC Orders Formal Inquiry Into Stock Sale
I can't wait for the next episode of Dr. Frist: M.D. Call it Insider Trading: Greed IS good! (in which he shouts, "Get me some lawyers! STAT!")
But no one has yet to eclipse our front-runner, Michael Brown:
Brown Rehired Investigating Himself, LYING Under Oath. Check out the big brain on Brownie!
Posted by Jeff at 09:07 AM |
Post Katrina New Orleans: Tall Tales of the City
And boy...they were whoppers:
The stories out of New Orleans in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina were little short of sickening: armed gangs terrorising evacuees in the Superdome and convention centre, bodies piling up by the dozen amid the stench and human waste, bodies stuffed into a freezer, children raped, murdered and thrown into waste bins.One month after the storm, however, it appears that few, if any, of the most lurid reports breathlessly repeated on American television, echoed in official statements and duly reported in many of the world's newspapers, had any basis in fact.
Several reporters and officials who have revisited the emblematic sites of the peculiarly chaotic hell that was New Orleans in the wake of Katrina now say the death toll at the Superdome was just six - and four of those were the result of natural causes. The fifth victim overdosed on drugs and the sixth committed suicide. If there were shootings or stabbings, none were fatal.
At the convention centre, where The New York Times recently reported a death toll of 24 amid scenes of gun violence and rank fear, health and law enforcement officials have now told the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper that they recovered four bodies, of which only one showed signs of having been murdered.
Still...it's not slowing down the Belle of Bullshit
Posted by Carla at 07:24 AM |
The best part about banning books is that it makes people want to read them
I love books. My house is full of the books I've collected over the years, from birth to present day. It's more than just reading them, which is a joy in itself. It's owning them..seeing them on the shelves and revisiting them like dear, old friends.
The supression of ideas through the banning of books has always been a foreign concept to me. It only creates a black market for the ideas and the books.
Which makes the American Library Association's List of Banned Books that much more fascinating.
The list is heavy with literature aimed at children. Authors such as Judy Blume and Maurice Sendak appear repeatedly. Is it possible that my anti-authoritarian streak was bred through Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, a childhood favorite? Have I corrupted my children with Where's Waldo (#88)?
I'm not terribly surprised that so many of my favorites appear on this list. I've always run against the grain. Vonnegut, Steinbeck, and Salinger are the staples of most any individual who seeks to go outside the restrictive bounds of the fundamentalist "morality" culture.
Perhaps that culture has no choice but to attempt to ban these ideas. But nothing makes an idea more attractive to people than trying to keep it from them.
Posted by Carla at 07:15 AM |
September 27, 2005
Societies "worse off" when they have God on their side
That's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
RELIGIOUS belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published today.According to the study, belief in and worship of God are not only unnecessary for a healthy society but may actually contribute to social problems.
It would seem under these circumstances that it's religion attacking society, rather than the reverse.
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.
Statistics do seem to bear this out. This chart from the Guttmacher Institute offers one piece of evidence:
U.S. teenagers clearly have higher pregnancy rates, birthrates and abortion rates than adolescents in other developed countries.
US teens also have higher incidences of sexually transmitted diseases than England, Canada, France and Sweden. This phenomenon most likely stems from having more sexual partners and less frequent condom use.
I'm not in any big hurry to purge religion from society. I think it in fact does have it's place. To me, the problem is less about people relying on religion for their own structure. It's about foisting and forcing that structure on the rest of us.
There is an ironical component to this that can't be ignored, however. The fact that these sorts of closed religious practices yields exactly the opposite results of it's intent says a lot about the ineffective nature of guilting people through God.
Posted by Carla at 03:10 PM |
The silence of the lambs
The next steaming pile of responsibility dodging by a member of Team Bush is in full swing.
Former FEMA Director ( and current FEMA consultant..yeah, you read that right) Michael Brown gave testimony today, shoveling up all the blame at the State of Louisiana for the problems after Hurricane Katrina:
Former FEMA director Michael Brown aggressively defended his role in responding to Hurricane Katrina on Tuesday and put much of the blame for coordination failures on Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. "My biggest mistake was not recognizing by Saturday that Louisiana was dysfunctional," two days before the storm hit, Brown told a special congressional panel set up by House Republican leaders to investigate the catastrophe.
Multitudes of pixels have already gone forth demonstrating the fundamental lack of competence on the part of Brown. He quite obviously didn't know what he was doing and it's nonsensical to rehash (again) the myriad of things he did and didn't do.
That said, Brown's statements to the sham Republican committee alledgedly investigating the government failures after Katrina is looking more and more like a big set up.
The federal government needs to demonstrate that the states can't manage themselves in a disaster. The cause du jour for the White House is now a complete usurpation of local authority following these large scale messes.
Am I the only one cringing at the idea of the United States Military coming into a region of the US, completely taking over and residents having absolutely no local recourse contact if and when there are problems? Not to mention the fundamental legal problems of the military being used as domestic law enforcement.
Prior to Bush taking office, this country had a functioning National Guard at the various state levels whose job it is to be called up by a governor under such circumstances. The Guard has been decimated by Bush's policies. Had they not been squandered in Iraq, the Louisiana Guard would have been available in force to deal with any security and rescue issues rising from Katrina. Further, had FEMA not been turning away assistance from various local, state and international entitites, many of those in crisis would have been able to access resources.
It's apparent to me that the Republicans are going to use these fake investigatory hearings to drum up excuses for widening federal authority.
I can't believe that conservatives aren't screaming about this. The lambs of the GOP have truely been silenced.
Posted by Carla at 10:18 AM |
A false, flickering hope
Save me from television shows.
First we had the West Wing, and all I heard about was how wonderful whatshisname Bartlett was as President. We had a Black President whatshisname in the show 24. Now we've got Geena Davis as the new President whatshername on TV, and it's being touted as a beacon of hope for people who'd like to see a woman as President. Just like whatshisname provided hope and inspiration for a TV viewing audience, whatshername in Commander-in-Chief and whatshisname in 24 is supposed to be the bone we get for parity.
Well, count me out of this stupid hope frenzy. There are a couple of shows out there about aliens and another one about sea creatures that eat entire boats, and I'm not living in dread that either thing will actually turn out to be inhabiting this planet. There's a reason why these shows do well--it's called fantasy.
We barely have decent representation in Congress--actually, we don't. It's overwhelmingly white and male and "center-right" to "so far right it's off the edge of reality". And please, don't give me the malarkey that well we have four black people and three asians and twenty hispanics and fifteen women and how can I be so mean as to say that's no representation? Or that we could just vote in the people we want when we've got party machinery churning out manniquens that all stand for similar things. It's no secret that money counts for a lot in campaigns--you need money to get your message out and to run a campaign. The candidates we want don't get the dollars, period.
I mean, excuse me, I'm supposed to be dancing a jig of joy because a flipping TV show features a female President? It's television. And it's been done before, by the way. We had a show about the very same thing back in the seventies or eighties. Did anything change then? No, for Hades' sake, because it was a bleeding television show.
Who cares that the guy already in power lied to justify invading and occupying a sovereign nation, is covering for a traitor, and is in bed with Big Corporate America? Who cares that the Congress in power is not only doing everything they can to roll back worker's rights, civil rights and liberties, and individual rights, but that they are also going to bat for Big Daddy Corporate Suit whenever they can?
A television show is supposed to give me hope? Oh, that's rich. Go on, watch the show and stay still for these important messages from Target, Home Depot, Verizon, McDonalds, and Dove (the campaign for real beauty! Whoo hoo! Love that hope).
If I sound bitter, I'm not. I'm just irritated, and I get that way when people insult my intelligence. Television shows don't provide hope--they provide filler between commercials, product placement opportunities, and the equivalent of electronic Xanax for the population at large. Hey, I'm happy to watch a few shows (I rather like Lost) but I'm not going to fool myself that they are a reflection of real life, or that I have reason to hope because someone redid a show that's already been done.
This isn't hope. It's a bone to shut us up. How much hope should I have when anyone but the White guy in office is a twist, a novelty? It's 2005, people.
Posted by at 08:01 AM |
September 26, 2005
A new edition to my desert island
Last evening as I sat down after a busy weekend of running kids hither and yon, I channel surfed across an episode of Inside The Actors Studio on the Bravo network.
For those that are unfamiliar, Inside The Actors Studio is an interview program conducted by James Lipton of The New School at the Actors Studio Drama School in New York. Lipton interviews actors on their films and technique before an audience of drama students.
This week's interviewee was actress Jodie Foster. Normally I find Lipton's guests to be fluffy and insubstantive. Not so with Foster. She was articulate, interesting and unusually private about her life outside of acting/directing/producing.
I was struck by how genuine she seemed. Its rare to watch someone so used to being the center of attention not come across as craving it. I got the distinct impression that she's one of the few famous women I'd actually enjoy sitting down and sharing a meal with.
If I were shipwrecked on a desert island..I've decided Jodie Foster would be a necessary comrade. Along with Thomas Jefferson, Linus Pauling, Ben Franklin and Martha Stewart (Martha is way too crafty [meaning able to make useable stuff out of anything] to sit on the sidelines).
I definitely need some more on my list. Any suggestions?
Posted by Carla at 02:34 PM |
September 25, 2005
GOP v. We The People
A meager 400 people showed up today in Washington D.C. to rally in support of Bush's Iraqi occupation. Yesterday 100,000 showed up at a rally in opposition to the continued occupation of Iraq.
Senator Jeff Sessions (AL-R) said:
"The group who spoke here the other day did not represent the American ideals of freedom, liberty and spreading that around the world," Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, told the crowd. "I frankly don't know what they represent, other than blaming America first."
With just a few words Sessions reveals his contempt for the very same America that he claims to support.
Recent polling shows that a majority of Americans both question the wisdom of invading Iraq in the first place and favor withdrawing some or all of our troops immediately.
President Abraham Lincoln famously defined both the point and the purpose of our existance as a nation as " government of the people, by the people, for the people," which was nothing more than a rephrasing of the Framer's preamble to the Constitution, "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union..."
It is Senator Sessions who is blaming America first, as the evidence shows. His rally was a minute fraction of the other rally's turnout, the polls back the first rally, and Lincoln and the Framers made it clear that the federal government is beholden' to the People, not the other way around.
Of course this latest outrage by a leading Republican is only another implimentation of the GOP's demonstrated agenda of saying whatever they think will dupe We The People into rubberstamping what they want to do. Their rabid dittoheads on the Right lap it up and regurgitate it mindlessly. I mean, has a single Republican explained why, contrary to Senator Hatch's assertions, the Iraqi insurgency has continued strong nearly a year after they were supposedly causing mayhem in order to help Kerry win? Of course not! And why? Because none of it matters to them. Whichever lie will work is the one that they will use. They're simply cycling thru the Rovian Rolodex of Lies trying to find something... anything that will stick.
Two years ago it was phantom WMD. Last year it was the sanctity of the election. This year it's the "you break it, you bought it" Pottery Barn rule. Notice how their premise has changed from preemptively acting to protect our security... to trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
Ask yourself this: If those Republican sincerely believed their own rhetoric... why do they keep changing reasons???
Posted by Kevin at 03:06 PM |
September 23, 2005
Bill Frist goes all Martha Stewart: Update
Good friend and general PK patronage-r Cengel has been dutifully scolding me for presuming that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist may have been getting a few inside stock tips.
It would seem the SEC made the same presumption:
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's order to sell all his of shares of HCA Inc. a month before the price dropped on news of weaker-than-expected earnings, Frist's office said.The U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan also has subpoenaed HCA documents that the company, the biggest U.S. hospital chain, believes to be related to the Frist stock sales, the company said in a statement.
Cengel did say that if I had any evidence of Frist's wrongdoing I should contact the SEC.
Apparently somebody beat me to it.
(Via PDX Left)
Posted by Carla at 04:54 PM |
Friday Gardenwhore Blogging: Au revior to summer edition
This has been a great summer for my garden. Yesterday's Autumnal Equinox marks the beginning of the end of the fruits of my summer garden.
The dahlias this season have been absolutely grand:
They've been the crowning glory of this season's garden:
They also make really awesome still life photos:
Posted by Carla at 01:19 PM |
PorkBusters
We're a little late to the party here, but this is something that I can definitely get behind.
Glenn Reynolds and N.Z. Bear (creater of the TTLB) have joined together to create and push a blogosphere-driven campaign aimed at getting every Representative and every Senator to commit to cutting significant pork projects in their district or state. Thus freeing up money to actually pay for the Katrina disaster instead of forcing our kids to pay off the fed's credit card sometime in the future.
Apparently the Wall Street Journal has jumped on the bandwagon. Hopefully this is only the beginning of returning at least a smidgeon of fiscal sanity to the GOP-run federal government.
Posted by Kevin at 11:33 AM |
God hearts discrimination
When the White House started pushing their federally funded Faith Based Iniatives programs it was obviously the slippery slope toward more tax payer funded advocation of religion.
The GOP have decided to just go ahead and ride the tobaggon at break neck speed down the slope.
The House voted Thursday to let Head Start centers consider religion when hiring workers, overshadowing its moves to strengthen the preschool program's academics and finances.The Republican-led House approved a bill that lets churches and other faith-based preschool centers hire only people who share their religion, yet still receive federal tax dollars.
Besides the blatant pandering to the religious right and the stupidly dangerous slouch toward theocracy, this screws up another otherwise decent bill. It makes Head Start grants more competitive, reauthorizes funding and makes it easier for teachers to collaborate. Unfortunately the fundamentalist whackos in our nation's capitol can't let a good bill get through without tacking on some sort of heinous religiosity.
It will be interesting to see the reaction of the our God is the most awesomest God crowd when local mosques start applying and receiving grants to host Head Start programs in their buildings.
Posted by Carla at 09:37 AM |
September 22, 2005
Lessons "learned" from Katrina? Not so much
Via Attytood
"Hortense Davis is waiting at the Houston Greyhound station for a bus that may not be coming. The 73-year-old woman called the Red Cross today to find out what she should do about the storm. She said she was told to go to the bus station and tell them she had no money and needs to get out of the city. 'But when I got here, they said they couldn't help me,' she said. 'So now I'm just sitting here.'"
Once again, the poor and the vulnerable fly under the radar of the GOP:
Some tenants of Galveston's public housing projects are among thousands who could face being stranded on the island and risk losing their lives should a major hurricane strike.The tenants are among those identified by local and state officials as the region's most vulnerable residents who could be killed in a hurricane because local evacuation plans virtually ignore those without cars, in group-care homes or with no family to see to their safety.
Nearly all state, regional and local officials -- including many of those responsible for overseeing evacuations -- acknowledge that their current plans rely so heavily on self-evacuation that the poor, the old and the sick may have little chance of escaping a deadly storm.
The Republicans are absolutely paralyzed when it comes to knowing what to do for these massive natural disasters..especially for those in poverty.
This isn't about learning the lessons of Katrina. We've known for years how to manage large scale evacuations and to prepare for hurricanes. It helps to have experienced, serious people in charge for one thing. It has to actually matter to elected leaders that people are dying because of their ideologically driven ineptitude.
Government requires thoughtful individuals who understand poverty and the necessity of government intervention to assist the poor. The Republicans have ostensibly abandoned government as a safety net for the vulnerable in this society. Government's job is to get out of the way of the wealthy so that they can create more wealth.
And in the meantime, hundreds die in our own country because they're too poor to buy a car to get out of the way of a big storm.
Posted by Carla at 04:20 PM |
The Anti-Christ speaks
From Dateline: Hollywood -
Pat Robertson on Sunday said that Hurricane Katrina was God’s way of expressing its anger at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for its selection of Ellen Degeneres to host this year’s Emmy Awards. “By choosing an avowed lesbian for this national event, these Hollywood elites have clearly invited God’s wrath,” Robertson said on “The 700 Club” on Sunday. “Is it any surprise that the Almighty chose to strike at Miss Degeneres’ hometown?”
Normally I'm loath to grant Mr. "Christian Coalition" the time of day because doing so only legitimizes him. But, every now and then it's worthwhile to point out the fact that his agenda is patently unChristian and sorely misrepresents the very God that he claims to follow.
"For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." - God
Posted by Kevin at 12:21 PM |
Son, you gonna drive me to drinkin'...
$4.00/gallon by day's end, I heard just now. $5.00/gallon by the weekend. It can't be any worse than the Katrina gas-panic -- can it?
$32/liter for Jose Cuervo. Hmmmm, gas money, or stay home and party? Choices, choices...!
W seems to be leading by example, though they don't say just what his poison of choice is, exactly.
Jim Beam or Jack Daniels once did a series of Presidential decanters (1970s). Maybe it's time for some reissues!
Posted by Jeff at 10:49 AM |
Shut up and deal.
From dailykos:
Politics as poker. The Democratic leadership could take a lesson from David Mamet...Excerpts from an op ed piece the playwright wrote for the L.A. Times:
One needs to know but three words to play poker: call, raise or fold.
Fold means keep the money, I'm out of the hand; call means to match your opponents' bet. That leaves raise, which is the only way to win at poker. The raiser puts his opponent on the defensive, seizing the initiative. Initiative is only important if one wants to win.
The American public chose Bush over Kerry in 2004. How, the undecided electorate rightly wondered, could one believe that Kerry would stand up for America when he could not stand up to Bush? A possible response to the Swift boat veterans would have been: "I served. He didn't. I didn't bring up the subject, but, if all George Bush has to show for his time in the Guard is a scrap of paper with some doodling on it, I say the man was a deserter."
Best analogy I've seen in awhile.
Posted by Jeff at 10:43 AM |
Lost
Last night's season premiere of Lost was genuinely excellent.
I had expected to be dissapointed, figuring that after the consistent dangling plot lines, the whole thing would turn out to be anti-climactic.
Not so.
Without dropping any spoilers for those who haven't seen it yet, I'm astounded that the show could keep up the tension so well. The plot thickening seems just enough to make sure the viewer stays interested.
****Plot spoiler discussion in comments*******
Posted by Carla at 09:40 AM |
Yikes....
Here comes Rita.
Today is a good day to live in a non-hurricane zone.
[Sending good vibes to those who live in the region]
Posted by Carla at 08:06 AM |
September 21, 2005
Senator Bill Frist goes all Martha Stewart on us
And I don't mean baking cookies and cutting julienne fries:
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a potential presidential candidate in 2008, sold all his stock in his family's hospital corporation about two weeks before it issued a disappointing earnings report and the price fell nearly 15 percent.Frist held an undisclosed amount of stock in Hospital Corporation of America, based in Nashville, the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain. On June 13, he instructed the trustee managing the assets to sell his HCA shares and those of his wife and children, said Amy Call, a spokeswoman for Frist.
Frist's shares were sold by July 1 and those of his wife and children by July 8, Call said. The trustee decided when to sell the shares, and the Tennessee Republican had no control over the exact time they were sold, she said.HCA shares peaked at midyear, climbing to $58.22 a share on June 22. After slipping slightly for two weeks, the price fell to $49.90 on July 13 after the company announced its quarterly earnings would not meet analysts' expectations. On Tuesday, the shares closed at $48.76.
How very Martha Stewart of our dear Senate Majority Leader.
Will the good Senator from Tennessee get the same treatment as the diva doyenne from Connecticut? Are the prisoner tracking ankle bracelet, house arrest and reality TV program a la Trump far behind?
Posted by Carla at 11:52 AM |
For every woman that's ever wanted to write her name in the snow
...this gadget is for you.
Necessity is the mother of invention, after all.
Posted by Carla at 07:46 AM |
Help me to understand
For the last several days as I've pondered the FEMA response to Hurricane Katrina I keep coming back to one specific incident that I've been unable to resolve in my mind.
Aaron Broussard, president of Louisiana's Jefferson Parish, related a truly incredible incident while he was a guest on Meet The Press on September 4th. The day before, September 3rd, FEMA had cut the Parish's emergency communications line with the outside world. The Parish Sheriff had to send armed deputies to reconnect the line and then he ordered them to remain as an armed guard to physically prevent FEMA from cutting the line again.
Can anyone explain this incident to me in a way that at least plausibly shows how this action by FEMA was merely ineptness and not some kind of deliberate sabotage?
I mean... surely it had to have been stunningly self-evident to even the most ignorant adult that cutting an emergency communication line during an emergency would be extremely inappropriate. Yet FEMA did precisely that. Why? What plausible reason could they have had for this action?
Posted by Kevin at 07:29 AM |
September 20, 2005
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself
Many of you may already be aware of Gretna story:
GRETNA, La. — Little over a week after this mostly white suburb became a symbol of callousness for using armed officers to seal one of the last escape routes from New Orleans — trapping thousands of mostly black evacuees in the flooded city — the Gretna City Council passed a resolution supporting the police chief's move."This wasn't just one man's decision," Mayor Ronnie C. Harris said Thursday. "The whole community backs it."
Three days after Hurricane Katrina hit, Gretna officers blocked the Mississippi River bridge that connects their city to New Orleans, exacerbating the sometimes troubled relationship with their neighbor. The blockade remained in place into the Labor Day weekend.
This little burg is the definition of what happens when fear takes over. The people of this town have lost their humanity. Instead of opening their town up to evacuees of Katrina, the citizens of Gretna (themselves without amenities, although not as bad off as New Orleans) armed themselves and threw the victims out.
And now their mayor is left to defend the actions of the town. One such defense can be read at Helpy-Chalk, where Rob summarizes his interview with Mayor Harris of Gretna:
I can see quite clearly where he is coming from: He thinks he did the right thing, because he protected his people. His problem is that he has too small a view of who his people are.
Rob's two sentences are an appropriate summation of much of the way people in poverty are dealt with in this country. We do the "right thing" with those we consider "our people". Maybe it's our next door neighbor whose in trouble. Perhaps it's someone at the local school who lost everything in a tragedy. People are willing to help like crazy when those in need are "our people". It's when we find a way to isolate people and make them "their people" that we lose our way.
The people of Gretna don't consider their fellow US citizens to be their people..and willingly left them to die because it would have put a strain on their resources for a few days and because they were afraid that some of the people might commit crimes. They were willing to let their neighbors die because of fear.
As a nation, so many of us have allowed ourselves to become enfolded by panic and worry that we're willing to abandon humanity and common decency in the name of a trumped up self preservation. This Lord of the Flies mentality is ruining us...creating among us the kind of savagery that we say we can't abide in others.
Gretna is a mirror. And it's time to take a cold, hard look.
(h/t: Lindsay)
Posted by Carla at 10:17 AM |
Wind Creek State Park update
Red Cross from Tallassee was finally allowed in; double super-secret password and handshake was approved, or the full moon ended, or something. Common sense made an appearance. Supplies that evacuees requested were simple: basic housekeeping stuff, since the buildings they're being housed in are bare of sheets, pillows, cleansers, etc.
It's not like they asked for guns, for FSM's sake. Or a shopping list of crystal meth ingredients.
Anyway, kudos and accolades to Gov. Bob Riley -- yes, he's a Republican -- and his staff. Well done with Operation Golden Rule, sir.
By the way, I think Roy Moore's day is done and gone already, though he does have his base of support. But your leadership on Katrina relief puts you in the driver's seat for Election '06.
OZARK - More than 200 people filled the green pews of the Glory to Him Church to hear Roy Moore preach about God and government on a humid Thursday night.How NOT to get my vote #2:"We will always be one nation under God. No federal court, no federal government, no state government can deny it," Moore thundered.
"Amen" the crowd answered back.
WASHINGTON - Sen. Jeff Sessions, responding to a magazine article accusing him of "legislative ambulance chasing," said Monday that his plan to use the death of a Gulf Coast business owner to argue for the repeal of the estate tax was a reaction to a liberal agenda."It was just a push back to the group that was trying to use Katrina as a basis to block permanently or indefinitely the death tax (repeal)," Sessions said.
Sessions, according to an article published Saturday on Time's Web site, called a Birmingham estate tax expert and asked him to find someone whose death would help them make their case for repeal. The request kicked off a search of Gulf Coast obituaries.
Posted by Jeff at 06:09 AM |
September 19, 2005
That's what I want
Yeah, it's a Beatles tune. But it's also the appropriate title for this post.
Last week on comments to this post, Kender asked me what I want in a country. Within the general discourse of the comments and the post, the question was more along the lines of what I want in a government. Here's my answer:
I want a country with a strong, centralized government that protects and respects the rights of individuals first and foremost (as opposed to groups or the majority). I want a country that promotes liberty and justice for all people, including those that aren't our citizens. I want a country whose rule of law is based in the laws our founders determined best, that of English Common Law.I want our government to provide a safety net for the poor and disadvantaged. I want that safety net to work toward getting people on their feet toward becoming self sufficient, productive members of our society.
I want our government to walk softy but carry a big stick, as Teddy Roosevelt embraced. I want our government to deal with other nations in a strong but humble, modest manner. I want our dealings with other nations to not only represent our best interest, but the best interest of nonUS citizens in the promotion of justice and liberty. I want our government to lead by example.
I want our government to protect individual consumers and the enviornment above the group or majority business interests. I believe the rights of individuals and the necessity to keep a long view of enviornmental health trump the needs of free market capitalism.
I want a country that stays out of the lives of individuals as much as possible. I don't want government to intervene unless and until such individuals interfere with the liberties and rights of others.
That's the most generalized and global way I can articulate my most basic wants. I can of course be more specific, but this response should yield a good general idea.
Spyder (someone I consider a liberal) posted his answer to the question and it was quite divergent from mine. It got me to thinking about how people often using the same labels to self identify quite likely have very different visions.
We get a very interesting ideological mix of readers here. I'd love to know what others envision our government to be. What is it that you want? Feel free to give an overall general view..or get specific if you like.
This isn't intended to be a debate thread..although it may turn out to be that way in the end. Mostly I'm just fascinated and curious about what you all want to see happen.
Posted by Carla at 01:49 PM |
Odds and ends
Germans dealt both of the major parties an electoral blow in results which seem to have surprised some observers. The Conservative CDU was expected to do better than they did, and the liberal Social Democrats were expected to fare worse than they did. Still, adding up the total shows that left-of-center parties earned 51.1% of the total vote.
Two British "under cover" soldiers were arrested by Iraqi police after they fired on Iraqi police who sought to question them. At first whiff this smells like a covert ops gone awry. Incensed Iraqi civilians torched a British tank in retaliation.
Former president Bill Clinton harshly criticized president Bush for his rush to war with Iraq, FEMA's inept mishandling of the Katrina aftermath and the swelling budget deficit.
"What Americans need to understand is that ... every single day of the year, our government goes into the market and borrows money from other countries to finance Iraq, Afghanistan, Katrina, and our tax cuts," he said."We have never done this before. Never in the history of our republic have we ever financed a conflict, military conflict, by borrowing money from somewhere else."
Clinton added: "We depend on Japan, China, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Korea primarily to basically loan us money every day of the year to cover my tax cut and these conflicts and Katrina. I don't think it makes any sense."
Along somewhat similar lines... Kevin Featherly dissects Bush's recent speech from New Orleans and discovers that the president has no clothes.
Incidently, Bush's approval rating dropped after giving that speech.
Posted by Kevin at 10:35 AM |
Music to read by
"Our goal is to get the work done quickly. And taxpayers expect this work to be done honestly and wisely -- so we'll have a team of inspectors general reviewing all expenditures."George W. Bush
President Discusses Hurricane Relief
September 15, 2005
Billmon said it all already, with regard to Katrina reconstruction, and past BushCo. performance regarding inspectors general. Read the whole thing, and ask yourself and especially your tax dollars: do you feel safer? I can't add anything else, except to provide the soundtrack:
I Can't Be Satisfied, Muddy Waters*
Well I'm goin' away to leave
Won't be back no more
Goin' back down south, child
Don't you want to go?
Woman I'm troubled, I be all worried in mind
Well baby I just can't be satisfied
And I just can't keep from cryin'
Well I feel like snappin'
Pistol in your face
I'm gonna let some graveyard
Lord be your resting place
Woman I'm troubled, I be all worried in mind
Well baby I can never be satisfied
And I just can't keep from cryin'
Well now all in my sleep
Hear my doorbell ring
Looking for my baby
I couldn't see not a doggone thing
Woman I was troubled, I was all worried in mind
Well honey I could never be satisfied
And I just couldn't keep from cryin'...
*(or Rolling Stones -- Brian Jones said "It has one of the best guitar solos I've ever managed.")
Posted by Jeff at 09:56 AM |
Rhetoric schmetoric
Do Americans swallow disingenuous rhetoric?
Shakes Sis says no.
Kevin Drum says absofrigginlutely, as long as it doesn't appear disingenuous.
No objective observer of American politics believes Americans won't swallow disingenuous rhetoric. I'll even take if further than Kevin. I think they will swallow quite obvious disingenuous rhetoric even if they're not blind ideologues. As long as the "other guy" can be portrayed as worse, Americans will accept whatever insidious blatherings are shoved their way. Or at the very least, they'll elect the one that doesn't "seem" quite as bad.
Kerry vs Bush is a classic example. Kerry was portrayed by the right as a bad guy for going to war in Vietnam and then coming home to protest a conflict that he believed was wrong. The left never managed to portray Bush as worse for not bothering to show up to the cushy assigment he procured with the Guard. Kerry's portrayal as a traitorous politico who was deliberately wounded to win medals and get out of his service was heavily circulated as much worse than a drunken inept who couldn't be bothered to do his duty.
Americans swallowed the rhetoric on Kerry. Kerry is a decorated Vietnam Veteran. The men that served with him reiterated his honorable and brave service. Bush couldn't get one guy that actually served with him to show up and give a testimonial. Yet even those who aren't hardcore ideologues believed that Kerry was worse than Bush at least in part based on their Vietnam era records.
That's one reason I think framing is one of the key elements to making gains in the upper echelons of politics. Americans are willing to accept the rhetoric. They've demonstrated it time and again. As long as the left isn't willing to take advantage of that, they'll continue to be set up as the lessor..and the loser.
Posted by Carla at 08:45 AM |
September 18, 2005
Just a reminder. . .
That the Karl Rove outing Valerie Plame case is still happening. Rove and members of his staff had to testify in front of a grand jury.
You can read Representative John Conyers statement on the case here, and the testimony of Larry C. Johnson, a former CIA analyst, debunking the lies and smears against Plame and the GOPs spin on the leak.
Posted by at 11:03 AM |
September 16, 2005
Letters from home
From my dear mama:
Good Morning All: You may have heard that FEMA placed about 100 recreational homes at Wind Creek State Park recently, and about 50 or so families are located in them presently. Yesterday, our local Red Cross representative took a truckload of necessities (sheets, towels, brooms, mops, etc. stuff that was donated by local citizens to the local church charity) to Wind Creek because the people had said they needed those items to set up housekeeping. FEMA wouldn't let him in! What are they running up there - a POW camp or something?One of the local charity workers called the governor's office and got the word back that he "would look into it." Republican speak for "don't bother me." I've been busy emptying out the linen closet of old sheets and towels and anything else I can think of that they could use and will take them over there in a little while. Stuff like this makes me want to strangle all politicians and bureaucrats.
Our tax dollars at work. Yep, they're running guvmint like a bidness, all right -- "...your call IS important to us. Expected hold time is sev-en-ty-five minutes..."
We should gather as many supplies and people (and cameras) as we can and head up there to make a delivery. We need a prominent name leader at the front of the line. Who can it be?
Posted by Jeff at 08:01 AM |
"Yard Apes"
You just can't make this stuff up.
Posted by Carla at 07:15 AM |
Question for Liberals
Last night, Jay from Stop the ACLU blog emailed me a link to his post Question For Liberals. It's actually several questions all mushed up into a global idea:
Do you want a society completely devoid of right and wrong, where all are free to do whatever they wish? A society that does not punish people for their actions? A government that completely takes care of every need? A government of entitlement and dependency?
The answer to all of those questions is of course, no. But it occurs to me that Jay really believes that this is what liberals want. Jay's myopic understanding of his political counterparts feels typically conservative to me. There is no to real effort to understand or care about the beliefs/wants/needs of others, in general.
I'm under no delusion that Jay gives a flying monkey's butt what I think or care about or believe. His question is a set up to put the liberal he's attacking into a defensive posture of a no-win set of premises.
If Jay (or anyone else) really wants to know what I want for this country, I'm more than happy to oblige my honest opinions. Lord knows I've got lots of them. But it's an especially futile effort to attempt an honest discourse with someone who isn't in it for the honest discourse...but to try to force a "gotcha!".
It must be pretty damn tough to watch conservative ideals in action. (After all, the GOP owns Washington DC right now). The economy is sagging under the weight of enormous national debt. The invasion of Iraq has turned out to be a monumental screw up. Homeland Security is completely unprepared for a major natural disaster or attack despite heavy funding. Ethics laws have been pushed to the brink. A CIA operative has been outed for political gain. Those who serve our country bravely and with honor come home to a system that doesn't care for them as promised.
Jay's questions could easily be reworded and redirected back to himself. Are these the things he really wants for this country?
Posted by Carla at 07:00 AM |
September 15, 2005
Dear Democrats
I know you're agonizing over whether you should confirm John Roberts or not.
Here's a ticket to the clue train: your base finds him repulsive, and with good reason.
Let's go over why, shall we?
First of all, no papers. You haven't been able to look at his whole history, because the White House refused to release his papers. Um, 'kay, but would your hire someone to work in your office who didn't provide you with any information about their work history? That alone would earn a no vote from me, but I'm a stickler for information.
Second, he hasn't been straight about his membership in the Federalist Society. He insisted he wasn't a member, and when documents revealed that he sat on a committee in the Society, he said he didn't recall being a member or doing that. Really? The man is either a liar or he's got cognitive issues. Either way, he's not equipped to sit on the highest court in the land.
Second, Robert's civil rights record is, shall we say, lackluster. Or we could say that it's godawful. He thinks that it's too easy to prove violations of the Voting Right Act. He thinks equal opportunity is hogwash (and that the Justice Department should be above settled law). He thinks that job discrimination is just dandy. And fair housing? Bah. Take your time, no one really needs that program to move along.
Third, Roberts isn't that jazzed about the separation of church and state. He'd allow government representatives to endorse a religion, he wouldn't be bothered by school prayer or religious displays in public buildings, and he'd be okay with government-funded religious discrimination.
Fourth, Robert's dim views of the the environment mean that we can open areas for development even if it means wiping out endangered species, and that mining on public land is A-OK.
Oh, there are plenty more reasons to not confirm him. One of them is the choice question, but that's only important at election time.
So here's the thing--you can play nice and bipartisan, but considering the fact that one of the GOPers likened bipartisanship to date rape, is this something you really want to do? Not the sort of people I'd want to work with, frankly. You can accept him and promise that you'll be tougher on the next one, but you'll leave a lot of us skeptical. This isn't a game--and he's acting like it is. No documents? No straight answers? No dice.
There's something to be said for voting unanimously against this. You may not win, but you'll make a helluva point. Besides which, voting to confirm someone because gosh, "we don't know how he'll do as a Supreme Court Justice" isn't logical. Don't deny it, I've heard that from a lot of quarters. So what? Are you willing to risk the bench via a gamble? I hope not.
Do not confirm him.
Posted by at 09:29 PM |
Dean on Roberts: Ain't no sunshine til he's gone
I haven't been following the Roberts hearings. First of all I've been too damn busy with real life to sit down and watch it. But I've also steered clear because I've felt his confirmation was a done deal from the outset. And I'm not interested in watching all sides mug for the cameras. It's just too annoying.
The good Doctor Dean seems to like and respect Roberts..but has written a piece about why Roberts is the wrong man for the job.
Posted by Carla at 04:42 PM |
Shhh. Be vewy, vewy, qwieyut.
They're hunting wabbits:
Investigators appointed by the Vatican have been instructed to review each of the 229 Roman Catholic seminaries in the United States for "evidence of homosexuality" and for faculty members who dissent from church teaching, according to a document prepared to guide the process.
In the spirit of fairness, I hope the Vatican's investigators will also be checking for evidence of eating the wrong kind of food as well.
I wonder how many faculty members will be burned at the stake for eating bacon?
For some reason, this reminds me of the line in Star Wars where Princess Leia tells Governor Tark:
"The more you tighten your grip Tark, the more star systems will slip through your fingers".
Chalk up another reason to be a Deist.
(h/t: Bitch PhD)
Posted by Carla at 02:54 PM |
Walkin' to New Orleans
Rumor has it the President will tonight name a "hurricane czar" to oversee reconstruction efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
"Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for -- Kaaaaaarrrrrlll ROVE!"
Josh Marshall: "Maybe you want to spend $200 billion on rebuilding the Delta region too. Fine. Something like that will probably be necessary. But don't fool yourself into thinking that what's coming is just a matter of a different chef making the same meal. This will be Iraq all over again, with the same fetid mix of graft, zeal and hubris. Cronyism like you wouldn't believe. Money blown on ideological fantasies and half-baked test-cases."
Top 10 Reasons New Orleans NEEDS Karl Rove to Lead the Rebuilding:
10. The man knows all about things that leak, mud, where the bodies are buried...9. It's hard to indict a man with a really fast fan-boat
8. Finally got Cheney out of hiding, so he knows how to handle vampires, the undead, etc.
7. "Scooter Libby, Hurricane Czar" ...just wouldn't sound right
6. The man's been in politics all his life -- he's obviously impervious to toxic waste
5. Those casinos won't rebuild themselves, y'know!
4. Locals aren't allowed to pay for drinks in the French Quarter, so Karl could pay their bar tab
3. Dubya's already done the Mission Accomplished thing -- let Karl have a turn in a haz-mat suit
2. Survivors need a strong compassionate leader, one with experience giving out no-bid contracts to needy corporations
1. He does a rockin' zydeco version of "Pop That Coochie"!
Posted by Jeff at 11:34 AM |
"This type of whining makes me sick!" cried the troll.
This blog doesn't get a huge number of trolls. Our readership seems to be politically/ideologically mixed. But most of our commentors truely bring thoughtful and intelligent discourse, even when they're wrong. (heh)
Yesterday though...we caught a whopper.
In response to this post, a troll so stupendous as to boggle the mind:
This type of whining makes me sick. Republicans are the "Get Rich" party, meaning they actually get off their butts and make something of themselves and don't start blaming others when tragedy strikes.
The rock under which Sandy lives must not get cable/antennae TV, internet, newspapers, magazines or any other type of media.
Shifting blame to others is GOP bloodsport.
According to Republicans: 9/11 is all Bill Clinton's fault.
Intelligence cherrypicking on WMD in Iraq is the fault of the left and the CIA.
Lack of proper equipment and troops for Iraq is Clinton's fault.
Even Sandy-the-troll does the hypocritical blame dance...
Democrats are the "Gimme Gimme" Party. That mentality is what made all these crying poor people in a hurricane the kind of people that don't even know how to survive on their own because the government has done everything but wipe their rears for so long. Productive, resourceful citizens aren't the ones wailing and crying for help. they were prepared.
Translation: It's the victim's fault. If they weren't so poor and without resources because of the left forcing them to suck off the government teat, they wouldn't have been mired in their own feces for days without food and water.
You'd think after 30 years of shoving the "it's their own fault for not pulling themselves up by their bootstraps" crap down everyone's throat they'd get a little more creative, these Republicans. Since they've gone out of their way to disassemble the social safety net, the bootstraps aren't exactly there for everyone to grab.
Some people are poor. Some people don't have resources. Pretending that all they have to do is get off their fat, lazy asses and make something of themselves is watered down Republican pap.
Next time Sandy, choose a blog where no one cares if you're a hypocritical troll. Here's a good starting place.
Posted by Carla at 08:31 AM |
September 14, 2005
We've got what they wanted. Now what?
The surprise and shock of the citizenry at the federal response to Hurricane Katrina really shouldn't be especially surprising or shocking.
As most are well aware, the federal government is wholly under the power of Republicans. For many years, conservatives and Republicans have been adamant about lesser and weaker government. They've wanted less government oversight and regulation. They've pushed to starve the beast of government by forcing tax cuts. These cuts were supposed to lead to bone cutting slashing of federal spending.
The Republicans have instead cut taxes and done little to cut government spending in any significant way. Despite Tom DeLay's declaration of victory against the "war on the budget", the only areas of government seeing real cuts are part of the social safety net. The military, government oversight,homeland security, government contracts and Iraq have seen nothing but growth.
With these hefty spending increases, it would be easy to assume that the Republicans are making attempts to run an effective government. But they aren't. It's pretty plain that they don't want to, either.
This is a group of individuals who, in general, articulate a loathing for government at all levels. They want it to be ineffective, lazy and generally nonresponsive to the people. If the citizenry feels disaffected and burned by the government and the private sector steps up, the citizenry will see no need for the strong, centralized government at the federal level.
Certainly during times of national crisis, the private sector has stepped up to aid victims. But asking them to take over the social safety net, self regulate themselves with consumers and self regulate themselves with land use and pollution is nice in theory. But so is Communism.
Privatization is the goal of today's Republican Party. And not just with oversight and the social safety net. They're also working to privatize much of the military, using contractors such as Blackwater and Aegis to to fill recruiting gaps and patrol streets with automatic weapons in New Orleans. These contractors have no sworn oath to the US government or it's citizens. They're private, money making organizations whose loyalty is to their shareholders. They don't answer to the American people if they get out of hand.
Taxpayer dollars are bleeding out of the national treasury to pay private contractors and charities to deal with issues that the government used to handle. They aren't saving the taxpayers money. There is no congressional oversight of these private organizations, hence the American people have no oversight. Government is now too inept and too weak to even come to the aid of a major US port city following a natural disaster.
This is what the Republican Party has wanted for the last four decades. Now they have it. Now all of us have it.
Posted by Carla at 11:07 AM |
Skid-a-ma-rink-a-link...a link...
The long and winding road of real life work has been bearing down hard on me. I've wanted to write more but time has been unkind for the last week. In the evenings when I do have an hour or so to sit at the computer I've been much too tired. But things are slowing down for the next couple of days.
To those who left links several days ago, my apologies. In the spirit of "better late than never"....
Just go read Pen and Sword blog. Jeff is a retired Naval Commander with a lot of amazing insights.
SteveAudio left this story on how Bush's visit to a Naval medical center kept people from getting their chemotherapy. Not all that different from doing photo ops with firemen in the hurricane region..keeping them from doing their job.
And our good friend The Cranky Liberal has put together a fine piece of video on the nonleadership our federal government showed in response to Hurricane Katrina.
Posted by Carla at 10:47 AM |
Privacy and liberty
Media Girl has an excellent post on the right to privacy and how it's really all about liberty.
Talk to the average American about privacy, and they're going to think about provisions in the Patriot Acts to "sneak and peek" in efforts to find terrorists. Many Americans have wholeheartedly endorsed invasions of their privacy -- in part because of delusional beliefs that by giving up their privacy they're somehow safer (but which Americans were involved in 9/11?), and in part because they really are not aware of how these governmental powers can be abused. (Consider how Alberto Gonzales' defense of the Patriot Act this summer focused on how the people in law enforcement weren't going to abuse the law, which is a tacit admission that these laws were easy tools for abuse, and how many Americans just shrugged, as if that justified it.)Yet when the pundits and politicos in the blogs and mainstream media drone on about privacy, most people probably think they're talking about their library records, and most of them probably couldn't give a shit.
The thing that all the privacy talk misses -- and the essential matter of which Americans should be aware -- is that when legal eagles talk about privacy, they aren't talking about the government reading your emails but about the government controlling your liberty.
Look, this is something we've got to remember when it comes to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on John Roberts. It's not just a matter of the government looking at databases and knowing your buying patterns, or the NSA listening to your conversations, or sneak and peeks, which are creepy enough (and embarrassing--I mean, I lead a pretty darn boring life).
It's about the government telling you what you can and cannot do in your private life. I'm not talking about reasonable laws against stealing, or assault, or murder. I'm talking about government interference in your personal and private life.
This is about the government keeping your doctor from giving you all of the information you need to make decisions about your health, a la Griswold. This is about the government preventing you from getting birth control. This is about the government legislating your sex life.
And this is for starters. Right now, these assaults on our freedom are aimed at women. They were and still are aimed at gays, as well--be it through sodomy laws, attempts to prevent gays from marrying, and attempts to keep gays from adopting children. This may be why Robert's is considered a done deal--he's personable, he seems moderate (although in this country right now, being "moderate" seems to mean you'll mop the brow of the detainee you're torturing), he's appealing to both parties. He's a great guy, and reproductive rights and gay rights are no big deal anyway. They aren't "important" since they don't affect "important" people like straight men.
But make no mistake, this trend will affect men and heterosexuals. A government that can curtail medical information about birth control or abortion is the same government that can tell you that you can't have children a la China. A government that would force heroic measures on the terminally ill or brain dead is the same government that could prevent you from getting that care, if those were your wishes. A government that decides you have no right to refuse a medical procedure is the same government that could force you to undergo it.
It's the power, people. That's what's at stake here. How much power should the suits in Washington have over our personal choices and private lives?
It's rather odd that the very same people who go on and on about the evils of government welcome government control of personal and private matters. That's the crux of the argument--it's not just privacy.
Posted by at 06:45 AM |
September 13, 2005
War...floods...Roberts...power outages...and now...
this:
For some old-school journalists, blogging is the worst thing to hit the print medium since, well, journalism school. They may want to avert their eyes today, when Stephen B. Shepard, dean of the new Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, is to name Jeff Jarvis director of the new-media program and associate professor.Posted by Carla at 06:42 AM |
September 12, 2005
It's all about the papers.
John Roberts' confirmation promises to be interesting, if only because of the lack of information we've been given.
One would think it would be common sense for the White House to release the papers Roberts wrote as principal deputy solicitor general. Roberts served in this position from 1989 to 1993.
But that's not the way this administration plays. We are supposed to take him at his word and not have full disclosure on his judicial record. Which is rather odd, considering the fact he's up for the Supreme Court.
These documents cover a pretty decent chunk of time. And we've got the right to know how he ruled on the cases presented to him during that time.
The documents offer a rare glimpse into a time in Roberts's life that has remained largely shrouded, on an issue that is likely to be central to next week's hearings: Roberts's civil rights record.Under then-Solicitor General Kenneth W. Starr, Roberts tackled a host of controversial issues, questioning the legality of affirmative action programs and co-writing a brief arguing that Roe. v. Wade , the 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide, should be overturned.
He's a candidate to serve on the highest court in the land, a lifetime appointment, and could have the power to influence laws and lives for twenty or thirty years.
We have a right to know about his record.
Posted by at 07:20 PM |
All Lit Up Again
Bush Denies Racial Component to ResponseIn a sign that Bush is growing weary of the accusations, he testily replied to a reporter who asked whether he felt let down by federal officials on the ground.
"Look, there will be plenty of time to play the blame game," he said. "That's what you're trying to do. You're trying to say somebody is at fault. And, look, I want to know. I want to know exactly what went on and how it went on, and we'll continually assess inside my administration."
He also sharply rejected suggestions that the nation's military was stretched too thinly with the war in Iraq to deal with the Gulf Coast devastation. "We've got plenty of troops to do both," the president said. "It is preposterous to claim that the engagement in Iraq meant there weren't enough troops."
This BushWorld moment brought to you by Pfizer, makers of Zoloft -- in a world that's clearly goin' to hell in a handbasket, what's so low about gettin' high? Tell us Buckcherry!
I'm on a plane with cocaine,
And yes I'm all lit up again...And yes I'm all lit up again, On the couch, in my bed
And yes I'm all lit up again, flyin' high --
I love the cocaine, I love the cocaine
Mama can you wait, oh can you wait long?Crack the door for the curious girl 'cause she's waiting
She's been waiting. Chop a line for the fiending man cause he wants one.You know you know you got to -- can you feel it can you feel it
tonight, are you high love, tell me are you fucking high?!?In the moment you are just so right, you're right love, oh you're right love --
And yes I'm all lit up again, On the couch, in my bed
And yes I'm all lit up again, flyin' high --
I love the cocaine, I love the cocaine
Mama can you wait, oh can you wait long?Oh yeah. Don't wanna fight it. Alright. Yeah. Ah YEAH!
Posted by Jeff at 10:23 AM |
The federal government response to Katrina was excellent when viewed through rose colored glasses!
Somebody needs to send The Astute Blogger the definition of "astute". Or maybe he's using it as irony:
The current death toll from Katrina in New Orleans - and the rest of Louisiana and Mississipp and Alabama - is less than 400. This number is SURE to go up, but it is VERY UNLIKELY that it will reach 10,000 or anything near that dire and irresponsible prediction.BY COMPARISON: the 2003 heat-wave in Europe killed 35-40,000, (14,847 in France alone; 20,000 in Italy). [More HERE.]
So in other words if an apple is compared to an orange, the fruitness of both comes into view even though everything else about them is completely different. And in the process it makes it a lot easier to excuse the government of monumentally screwing up.
Not to mention the fact that the less-than-Astute Blogger seems to think that 400 is an acceptable death toll.
If we do an apples and apples comparison, the fruit salad gets a little less mushy:
Hurricane Andrew(1992). Class 3-4 hurricane. Fatalities 26 direct, 39 indirect
Hurricane Camille(1969). Class 4-5 hurricane. Fatalities 256 direct
Labor Day(1935). Class 4-5 hurricane. Fatalities 408 - 600 direct
So with all the planning and money spent after 9/11 to prepare this country for a major disaster, the best we can do is hope for a death toll that's not quite as bad as the category 4-5 Labor Day hurricane of 1935?
Ahhh...the soft bigotry of low expectations. Gotta love it.
Posted by Carla at 07:24 AM |
The not-so-free Freedom March
Next time you want to hold up an anti-Bush Administration sign, better lawyer up first.
Posted by Carla at 07:12 AM |
Stop me if you've heard this one.
Lavish tastes of card-carrying lowlifes
Profiteering ghouls have been using debit cards distributed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina - intended to buy essentials for evacuated families - in luxury-goods stores as far away as Atlanta."We've seen three of the cards," said a senior employee of the Louis Vuitton store at the Lenox Square Mall in affluent Buckhead, who asked not to be named.
The distinctive white cards were distributed by the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency and carry a value of up to $2,000.
"It doesn't say anything on the card other than alcohol, tobacco and firearms cannot be purchased with it," the store employee told me. "There's nothing legally that prevents us from taking it, unfortunately. Other than morally, it's wrong."
The source told me that the two women who had made purchases with the card each bought a signature monogrammed Louis Vuitton handbag in the $800 range.
"They didn't look destitute by any stretch. You would never have said, 'They must be one of the evacuees.' The one that I dealt with yesterday was 20. She'll be 21 next month." The source described the reaction of other store-keepers in the mall - which includes luxury brands Ferragamo, Burberry, Judith Leiber and Neiman Marcus - as "outrage."
Anything else going on in the news? Let's see: "Doctors could face death penalty for illegal abortions, some say". Really? Well, it's Texas, what do you expect? And people are worried Roe v. Wade might be overturned...!
"Hey, put on Fox News, I need to know more about that Red Cross debit card scandal..."
Posted by Jeff at 05:33 AM |
September 11, 2005
Just some FYI, if you want to help Katrina victims
Here's a blog that has information on where you can send donations, volunteer, and extend help.
Posted by at 01:50 PM |
9/11, 7/7 and 8/30
Juan Cole connects the dots. There is a pattern and it's not inspiring.
Update: Here's two more that I highly recommend. One dealing with an aspect of 9/11: George W Bush v US Constitution v Jose Padilla. The other is a sterling example of one area where the federal response in NOLA got it right in spades: A Doctor's Message from Katrina's Front Lines.
Posted by Kevin at 09:58 AM |
Karma
Vice President Dick "go F yourself" Cheney reaped what he had sown when he was told to go F himself TWICE while conducting a TV interview in the middle of touring the Katrina hurricane zone.
Courtesy of Novakeo.com, the video and audio footage is here
Update: PK reader RainbowDemon points us to the rest of the story: Here. Definitely a must read. Only in Mr. Cheney's America can an American citizen be handcuffed and detained for 20 minutes for having exercized a constitutional right.
Posted by Kevin at 09:48 AM |
September 10, 2005
Michelle and gang fly over the Cuckoo's Nest
Michelle Malkin and her fellow right-wing whack jobs are all atwitter over the shape of the proposed Flight 63 memorial near Shanksville, Pa.
Michelle froths:
Tons of you are stunned, outraged, and sickened by the new Flight 93 Memorial, the "Crescent of Embrace." I called the architect responsible for the redesign, Paul Murdoch of Los Angeles, yesterday for comment. He did not return my call, but he did speak with the Johnstown, Pa., Tribune Democrat, as quoted in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.Neither Murdoch nor his supporters see any problem with the red crescent wrapped around the crash site near Shanksville, Pa., where 40 innocent people were murdered at the hands of Islamic terrorists
All 19 highjackers on 9/11 came from two countries: Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Neither of which has a crescent on it's flag. Maybe you're thinking, "but they trained in Afghanistan." Afghanistan's flag doesn't have a crescent either. Nor (for you reality-challenged Bush partisans) does Iraq. Countries who do have it include Turkey (NATO member, longtime ally and did NOT participate in 9/11 attacks), Uzbekistan (ally and did NOT participate in 9/11 attacks), Pakistan (ally and did NOT participate in 9/11 attacks) and a handful of others. None of which have any connection whatever to 9/11, much less to Flight 63. None, nada, zilch!
Sadly, Michelle isn't done...:
The article [Post Gazette] states that family members of the Flight 93 victims do not find the crescent objectionable. And how's this for fair and balanced: Five people who support the memorial are quoted, including one who calls the criticism bigoted, disgusting, and repellant. By comparison, only two opponents are quoted, including a "street evangelist" who is described as a "self-proclaimed bishop."So, the plan is dismiss those of us whose eyes are not blinded by political correctness as racist cranks with imaginations run wild.
Hey, if it walks like a racist crank and quacks like a racist crank... odds are very high that it is a racist crank. Of course your own stunningly obvious political correctness is blinding you to that fact.
The Islamic Crescent is actually just a crescent Moon.
So... um..., Michelle, Do you figure that God is actually Allah? I mean... He must be. Otherwise, how do you explain the repeated cycle of pure Islamic symbolism that has barraged planet Earth since the Moon came into existence?
I'm telling you, Michelle... I really think it's deliberate.
God must be Allah and, Michelle, I think that it is your patriotic duty to warn your readers to keep their children inside well-lit rooms with curtains firmly shut during the weeks when Allah is broadcasting that evil, diabolical, America-hating crescent Moon for all humanity to see.
Oh... and while you're at it you might wanna have a chat with Dear Leader about his proposed new focus for NASA. I say to hell with Mars! We gotta obliterate that damn crescent Moon ASAP!
Posted by Kevin at 10:06 PM |
"Bush haters" in action
TJ at Also Also points us to a truly amazing TPM Cafe account of how former Vice President and cheated winner of the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore, helped lead a massive evacuation of hospital patients from New Orleans to Knoxville and Chattanooga Tennessee.
Read the entire post all the way to the end. You'll be glad you did!
To add some context to this... Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta played a crucial role in Al Gore's saga. Time after time Gore would call Mineta to cut thru the BS red tape that FEMA, FAA and the military kept trying to use to prevent their mission of mercy. If Michelle Malkin and her racist ilk had their way, Mineta wouldn't have been there to help the desperate victims of hurricane Katrina.
Posted by Kevin at 10:47 AM |
Friday news dump:Bad News Bush edition
The traditional Bad News Bush Friday news dump took place yesterday. With all the Katrina hooplah these pieces went flying under the radar of most.
Final base-closing report criticizes Pentagon
The Pentagon overestimated savings from base closings by $30 billion and some of its plans for streamlining the Army, Navy and Air Force might have made the services less efficient, a federal commission that reviewed the process said Friday.In its final report, the nine-member panel also questioned whether the Pentagon should have postponed the current round of base closings and consolidations, the first in a decade, until a major review of the national defense strategy was finished.
But here's the kicker:
With its five months of work complete, the base-closing commission voiced its concerns even as it approved roughly 86 percent of what Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld recommended as he sought to save money by getting rid of extra space in the domestic military network.
Boiled down: Your plan sucks but you can have it anyway.
Rumsfeld's pretend $49 billion cost savings was adjusted to $19 billion, and apparently will make the military less efficient. But since the military has already been understaffed and underequipped, overdeployed and underrecruiting, what's a little more bending over for the "safety and security" folks? The military is only one of the main Constitutional reasons for the federal government's existence.
The PR machine that it takes to sell this swill is clearly the best in history.
In other radar ducking news, Analysis Sees Deficits Growing Under Bush:
Even before the cost of Hurricane Katrina is added to the federal ledger, a Congressional Budget Office study commissioned by Democrats predicts President Bush will fail to keep his promise to cut the deficit in half by the time he leaves office.The study by the nonpartisan CBO assumes that Congress will heed Bush's call for new tax cuts and for making those passed in 2001 and 2003 permanent. It also assumes a big slowdown in spending on the Iraq war, tight caps on domestic agency budgets and new individual Social Security accounts.
The study was requested by Rep. John M. Spratt Jr., D-S.C., the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee. He says it reflects a likelier budget scenario than CBO's official estimates, which do not foresee new tax cuts.
The study predicts that the $331 billion budget deficit projected for the current budget year would rise to $370 billion by 2009, the year Bush has promised to cut the deficit to at least $260 billion. Bush promised to cut the deficit in half from a projection in February 2004 of a $521 billion deficit for 2009.
By 2015, the deficit would hit $640 billion under CBO's study.
The response from the White House came in true Republicanspeak style:
"Instead of complaining about the deficit, how about doing something about it?" said Bush spokesman Trent Duffy, noting that Spratt opposes Republican efforts to trim just $35 billion from federal entitlement programs over the next five years.
I'm no math genius, but $35 billion from programs that help people contribute to society is somehow going to do something about a $521 billion red ink stain? And that's only if they don't screw Iraq up any further and need to dump more cash there. Tack on the billions for Katrina...and that $35 billion is even more anemic.
Somebody needs to buy Mr. Duffy a calculator.
Posted by Carla at 08:32 AM |
September 09, 2005
Better get in line!
Posted by Kevin at 01:21 PM |
Working for a livin'
I’m taking what they giving ’cause I’m working for a livin’
Sorry for the light blogging today. I'm up against a deadline for work and prepping for two major presentations. Blogging don't feed the bulldog. Not yet anyway.
I've only had time to catch bits and snippets of news today so I'm woefully behind. Leave some news links in comments to bring me up to speed, if you can.
Feel free to blogwhore your own stuff in the comments thread as well. I'll try to sift through the really good stuff later and maybe front page a few.
Posted by Carla at 12:14 PM |
September 08, 2005
Damn you ungrateful wretches to hell!
Shorter Michael Reagan: Liberals should be grateful that the government bothered to do anything for Katrina. And liberal actors should have gone over to New Orleans and saved people like in those action movies they all star in. Except if their boats were leaky. Then there's no excuse.
Turn on TV, read the local newspaper or listen to your local radio station, and all you are going to hear, see and read are accounts of people knee-deep in playing the blame game. What you don't hear is anybody saying "thank you."
'Cause those folks should be sending FEMA and George Bush cards and potted plants in gratitude for letting them wait in floodwaters and sewerage for five days.
From the safety of France, Pierce Brosnan took the time to tell the world: "This man called President Bush has a lot to answer for. I don't know if this man is really taking care of America. This government has been shameful." Instead of lifting a finger to help Katrina's victims, this was the make-believe 007's response to the tragedy.
How dare an untrained actor hold the government accountable for not doing its job? It's his job to go and single-handedly save the people of New Orleans. Not FEMA's. Not the National Guard's. It's not the worry of the federal government or the President, who was safely enjoying his vacation. The same President whose salary is paid for by our tax dollars. Our great Preznit couldn't make it to New Orleans right away because he had a speaking engagement in San Diego. But that's different because he's the President and a conservative, not a godless liberal like Pierce Brosnan.
Hollywood celebrity Sean Penn raced to New Orleans with his leaky boat in what became a Keystone Kops effort to rescue flood-stranded victims. He failed, but the cameras were there to record for posterity his gallantry in coming to their aid. Having lost that photo op, he launched into his usual leftist rhetoric to castigate the president, accusing the administration of criminal negligence, while his boat's engine sputtered to a stop.
Of course, if you try to go to New Orleans to help people but you don't have the supplies of FEMA and the National Guard at your disposal, we don't have to thank you. Especially if you're a liberal pinko scumbag actor. All actors are bad, bad, bad.
At a Labor Day rally, with his AFL-CIO union collapsing all around him, John Sweeney assured his members that what he alleged was the government's slow response was a sign of hostility to workers. No kidding, he actually said that.Can you just picture George Bush waking up in the morning and saying to Laura: "The hell with those workers. We're not going to send help to New Orleans because we hate ‘em." As these bozos were collectively venting their liberal spleen at the president, huge caravans of trucks carrying thousands of tons of food and water and clothing and other vital supplies were pouring into New Orleans from as far away as California and New York. Army and National Guard troops were arriving by the thousands, all sent under orders from the president. Did it occur to any of his critics to take a moment out to say "thank you" to George Bush?
For what? Sending the cavalry in five days later? Whooohoooo! I'm sure the folks who had to pee on the floor of the Superdome were quite grateful that they took such priority.
Harry Connick Jr., a native resident of New Orleans, was there, but unlike his fellow celebrities he wasn't spending his time making political speeches. Instead, he was in his boat - which didn't leak - surrounded by toxic water and rescuing those mostly black folks trapped by the flood. Has anybody said "thank you" to Harry Connick Jr.?
We can thank Harry Connick Jr. because his boat didn't have a leak. He was much more effective than the federal government's response, but we should still thank the federal government and our President beause. . .um, because Miss Manners says so. Or something like that.
From almost the moment the 17th Street dike broke, members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been laboring day and night to repair the breech and stop any more of the lake waters from gushing into the streets of New Orleans – a job they have now completed. Has anybody said "thank you" to these dedicated and weary men? Not that I've heard.
Those dedicated and weary people were not feeling particularly grateful, considering the fact that funding to shore up and strengthen the levees was cut--despite the fact that everyone knew a category three hurricane would flatten New Orleans. Did I mention that Katrina was a category four hurricane? Kids, say thank you.
All across the nation the left-wing wackos are squinting to find something they can complain about and blame on the president [sic] for alleged failures in the massive federal effort to cope with the worst natural disaster in American history. They can't bring themselves to admit that a lot of good things are being done by the federal government and the horde of good people who are pitching in to help their fellow Americans. If they did they might have to say "thank you," a phrase they don't seem to have in their vocabularies.
We should thank the federal government even though it was Harry Connick, Jr. who rescued people in his boat since the federal government didn't exactly respond in a timely manner.
When my wife asks me to vacuum the house, I inevitably miss a spot. She doesn't jump all over me because I messed up, but, understanding what klutzes husbands are when it comes to domestic chores, she simply thanks me.
You see, responding to one of the worst natural disasters we've ever seen is a lot like vacuuming the carpet. We really should thank Electrolux.
You may miss a few spots, or heck, not bother to do it until the dust bunnies grow to the size of Hummers, but it's no big deal and you deserve a big old thank you.
These liberal scoundrels don't have it in them to thank those police, firemen, National Guardsmen, regular army soldiers, relief workers from FEMA and the Red Cross and all the others and the people in the Bush administration whose efforts are above and far beyond the call of duty.They are too busy looking for the motes in the administration's eyes to see the huge planks in their own.
Yeah, thank you administration and Congress for cutting the funding to shore up and strengthen the levees. Thank you FEMA for not getting people out for five days. Thank you President Bush for going on about the looting and lawlessness that was nothing more than hyperbole instead of mobilizing the National Guard. They're too busy in Iraq, and that's far more important.
All together now, let's hear it: "Thank you President Bush, thank you Harry Connick Jr., thank you police and firemen and National Guardsmen and members of the Red Cross and Salvation Army and all you other heroes."
But no thanks to you Sean Penn, because you're an America-hating liberal and your boat was leaky! So there! Nyah, nyah!
Posted by at 08:29 PM |
Mirror Mirror on the wall...
Tancredo is the biggest dick of all.
U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., asked House Speaker Dennis Hastert not to send federal disaster aid to officials in Louisiana, calling state and local government there incompetent and corrupt.In a letter to Hastert on Wednesday, Tancredo urged the speaker to create a "bipartisan select committee" of members of Congress to oversee federal disaster spending in Louisiana.
Corrupt and incompetent? Its like he's looking in a mirror.
Nearly all the funds in the bill passed today will go directly to FEMA. Apparently having his head jammed so far up his backside has made it difficult for Tancredo to read the bills he's voting for.
And since Tancredo is itching for a bipartisan select committee, here's a suggestion. Get one to appoint an independent investigation of what happened with the Katrina disaster response. Investigate them all from Nagin to Blanco to Brown to Chertoff to Bush. Let's do a bottom-up/bottom-down, independent inquiry into what happened, what didn't happen and what should have happened.
Unlike the hackery of rightwing nutjobs who say:
The Democrats may need to re-think their calls for an investigation.
I say let's go for it. I've never met a liberal whose afraid to get to the truth.
Posted by Carla at 04:23 PM |