this is not the time for on the job learning

WTF is Dear Leader doing? Going to Colorado because he doesn't want to hamper the response to Hurricane Rita? For God's sake, he's the the Most Powerful Man In The World (other than Cheney and Rove). People need to see you leading decisively and you're running off to Colorado? He says that the decision to avoid visiting San Antone was made because he didn't want to interfere with the re-positioning of FEMA response teams from San Antone to the storm's landing point. How would one plane, and whatever requisite security Bushie uses, interfere with that? What is he hiding from?

And then this priceless quote on the relationship between relief efforts on the federal, state, and local levels: "It's an important relationship, and I need to understand how it works better". Did you fail Governmental Relations for Presidents 101? You have, um, minus five years to learn how to co-ordinate the various levels of government response to emergencies. Yeah Georgie, maybe you can bone up on how the various government agencies work together a little bit tonight. Maybe you're reading your textbook on Governmental Relations for Presidents as we speak? Or maybe you're passed out and chill wit' some Jim Beam. Sweet dreams!

Tests Help You Know Yourself!

Well, here's a political test I took. Not much of a shock really though maybe I'm a bit less economically liberal than I thought and I might be a bit less socially liberal on another day...but about what I'd expect.

You are a Social Liberal (81% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (8% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating

more good news-in bullet format today!!

• Well, this hurricane appears to be even stronger, at least at time of writing, than Katrina. Apparently, 1 million have been ordered evacuated from the Gulf Coast. That's all very well, and as we've just seen in Katrina, obviously if people have transportation, they're gonna leave, by and large. At least according to this Houston Chronicle article, "hundreds" of buses had been sent in to evacuate those with no other means of evacuation. Galveston mayor Lyda Ann Thomas stated late Wednesday that the city had used nearly all its buses and so folks on the island would really need to get off it before Rita arrived. BTW, WTF is with giving all these storms nice names? They ruin the idea of nice folks with these names. They should call them something like Jezebel and Agatha and something. Not all these nice names when these things are sometimes killers. OK, well, that's not really that important. Don't know what to say about this impending disaster, although I do feel sorry for the folks who were evacuated to Houston from NO and will now have to leave a second time. Reminds me of my time as a student missionary in Croatia (teaching English as an undergrad) shortly after the War there in the '90s. There were some older people there who were living in one of the dorms at the school where I taught and they'd been evacuated during the Second World War when Germany shelled Yugoslavia, and then, when I was there, these lovely old folks had been in this dorm-and most of them were over 70-for quite a time. Anyway...



• It seems the Dems are stepping up pressure for an independent panel to investigate the fuck-ups of Katrina. See Dems? It's not hard to show backbone. People like it. Yeesh. It's hard work teachin' you Dems anythin'.



• Don't know quite what to make of the claims by the....um, National Enquirer that Dear Leader is drinking again. I was skeptical, as years of seeing Weekly World News headlines with apparently limitless combinations of Elvis, aliens, births, Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot, God, and large insects might (should) have prepared. But, according to The News Blog, the Enquirer pays their sources. And according to Jack Shafer of Slate, they vet their stories very carefully in order to shed the trashy image that they have acquired, at least to some degree. Anyway, the story's there, for what it's worth. I would say that if he isn't on the bottle, that it's not very encouraging. I mean, the decisions he's made...not that I'm hoping he is. I would say he's under a lot of stress...but it never looks like it. We saw lots of pictures of Clinton in shirt sleeves, tie loosened, face reddened, hard at work; and he never had Abu Ghraib or 9/11 or Katrina to fend with...coincidence? Anyway. The story is what it is. Steve Gilliard talks about invoking the 25th Amendment, but again I'd say, he's been working at a pathetic level for 5 years nearly, would we really be a lot worse off if he was having a tipple now and then? I think not.



• Crappy news on gas prices. I'm definitely thinking Toyota Prius on my next car.



• Update on Monday entry. I was a bit uncertain as to why Dems wouldn't agree to the Republicans' Katrina commission although it wasn't too hard to deduce. I only said what I thought was reasonable and I felt comfortable enough printing it. I couldn't find-and this is amazing, an article stating exactly what their objections were to the commission and I wanted my article sourced. I thought it was quite a big story but yet Google News-nothing, RawStory-couldn't find a link, tried to remember which blog I had seen it on, and then today I found that it was from Billmon, probably the only blog which I regularly read which I didn't check up. Anyway, just a clarification, fwiw.



• And nothing like a good ol' Tucker Carlson smackdown. The 12 year-old MSNBC host is more irritated that Bill Clinton has the nerve, the nerve to criticize Monkey Boy when things are going so...well. (I woulda criticized him when they were going well, but I don't remember such a time, didn't say Bubba) Carlson claims that he has been holding Monkey Boy's feet to the fire right from day one (shure ya have Tucky) and just can't abide Bubba saying anything about Monkey Boy. It's amazing, the nerve of these GOPers. Their guys are this bad, but Clinton comments on anything and they're beside themselves. I swear, it's a psychological problem. He wouldn't concede that Bubba would not have let Katrina happen. Anyway, Bill Maher has his way with Mr. 12 Year-old. Enjoy.

fair and balanced Katrina commission

Well it seems the White House doesn't want a Katrina investigation-at least not a legitimate one. Monkey Boy says he's going to appoint his own political hack investigator. Well glad to hear there's no conflict of interest there then. No doubt the findings of said investigation won't be at all uncompromised. Cough cough.

Seems, however, that the Dems have, for the moment at least, shown a bit of backbone. They are refusing to participate in this bi-partisan commission because, well...it's...not....really....very....um...bi-partisan. Repubs want to nominate and appoint members of the commission absent proportional Democratic involvement. It would seem that in order to have a bi-partisan commission, there has to be support from both ..parts. Who knew?

outrage fatigue

I guess, particularly with this administration, some people just become tired of how corrupt they all are and yet how they remain in power. That must have been the case with me, I realize now. Obviously with the fallout from what's gone on in New Orleans it just seemed to me that there was really no point in yelling out the sins of these scam artists. It all seems so obvious. And yet, no widespread call for impeachment. No serious apologies, or even attempt appearance of sympathy or acknowledgment of the sins of his administration. Obviously the whole house of cards would fall down if Monkey Boy was to do that. At this point, he's just hoping that this won't happen before the whole gig is up and he's cleared off to Argentina with the loot. Yeah, the polls are bad, bla bla bla. But one gets the sense that, with His Evil Highness in charge of carving up the booty reconstructing N'awlins and spinning like a drunk on a roller coaster, things will be back to normal relatively speaking. People will go back to their buying, their rushing around after junk, their facile notions of political parties, not connecting policies to effects-as really cannot be denied by the N'awlins debacle. Not that I'm giving up, it's just sad and at times, it just seems, just watch the TV. If you still think Bush is a decent (or even not completely megomaniacal) leader, then there's really not a lot I'm going to type here that will convince you.

Read a couple of sad things today, here, here, here and here. And yes, of course, who could have predicted such things? And then, something I just read a few minutes ago that, well, OK, my outrage is back...here's the story. FEMA told LA governor Kathleen Blanco on the day the levees broke that they wouldn't use school buses because.....wait for it...waiiiiiiiit...waaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit....a bit more: THEY WEREN'T AIR-CONDITIONED!!!!!!!. "Oh man, I'm dead, but this sure is some nice A/C. Goddamn. This is nice, but I'm already cool because my body temperature is dropping BECAUSE.I'M.DEAD." Sheesh. Yup, that's those compassionate conservatives for ya-people first....

OK, and to end; a hysterical picture and great quote.

The most powerful man in the world wonders if he can go to the bathroom.

"Every gun that is made, every warship that is launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron." Dwight Eisenhower, 1953

Quote of the Day

from the Baltimore Sun via Left I On the News:

It is time to hold them accountable - this ugly, troglodyte crowd of Capital Beltway insiders, rich lawyers, ideologues, incompetents and their strap-hangers should be tarred, feathered and ridden gracefully and mindfully out of Washington and returned to their caves, clubs in hand.

• Gordon Adams, senior White House budget official for national security in the Clinton administration, writing for the Baltimore Sun.

And some great cartoons also, particularly Slowpoke. Again, black humor, but what other type has any effect at this point?

Also (can you tell I've been reading Left I today), I read this story prior to reading Eli's post. This story, in a British paper no less, is bad enough-saying that child mortality rates in the US are around those of Malaysia, that whites are now twice as likely to have health insurance in the US, and that 20% of children in the US live in poverty, but Eli, in his post notes that while the Times and WaPo report that the UN criticizes the US for its stinginess in foreign aid, neither of them even mention the shortcomings of the US healthcare system as mentioned above. Disgraceful.

random ish

• OK, here's an account of why Brownie (certainly laced with something) couldn't keep his job supervising horse judges. Seriously, you can't make this stuff up. Horse judges. How do I write something funny about that. (Really I don't want to-it's sad, ultimately). What a dumb fuck.


• Oh yeah, great news, the water in N'awlins is about ten times more toxic than is recommended. Thanks again Horse Boy.


• And, summoning up more outrage (I didn't think it possible), Lord Voldemort, ur, Monkey Boy has apparently been dandering around the lost city employing firefighters as props in his little leadership charades. And War and Piece informs us of German TV station ZDF noting that Bush's press photos were all staged. Not the greatest shock. No wonder Monkey Boy doesn't want the media in N'awlins.


• Horrific account of life in the Superdome.


• Fidel apparently understands the Golden Rule.
  
• And finally, to leave you with an incredible story.

censorship

Here from Operation Flashlight. What is there to say? The world is watching and this is not an impressive display. I'm not American (greencard holder) but I love this country. HOwever I hate this government. It's a disgrace to all civilized human beings. The way I feel about their disdain for their citizenry is the way I feel when a student turns in a paper to me in which the paper is not actually even changed from its original format as a webpage. It's one thing to plagiarize, it's another not to even try to disguise that you're plagiarizing. That's what this government is doing. It's waiting until the teacher is watching and then taking its textbook out of its bag and using it to answer all the questions on the final. Fuckers.

A couple of great cartoons from Ted Rall here and this one, from September 5 in case it doesn't come up.

We're gonna find this hurricane, dead or alive

I'm Joe Friday. We've got to solve problems. We're problem solvers. It's Dragnet 2005. I didn't really see the TV show but I loved the 1987 film. Tom Hanks was as clueless and "likable" (if by boorish, juvenile, unprofessionalism, you mean likable) as Monkey Boy and Dick Cheney, aww, who am I kidding? The only person Dick Cheney reminds me of is Satan. What a bunch of fuck-ups. I've yet to hear Monkey Boy say even one remotely helpful thing about Katrina and the aftermath. And now, with FEMA not letting reporters in, we need a strong media more than ever. They must assert themselves and exhibit some vestigial backbone as they have done quite well since the storm hit. But they must defend their right to take pictures of dead bodies, and also document how many they find. Monkey Boy doesn't want them to do that. The Cheney administration cannot be allowed to separate the dead bodies from the disaster of Katrina. It's happened so disastrously in Iraq and now it's happening here. It's one more step on the road to a police state. It's certainly at least an opening for Monkey Boy to take away more fundamental freedoms.

race and the net-(don't) works

Why isn't primetime covering the fall-out from Katrina? There will surely be many more casualties of Katrina than there were from September 11. But no, of course it's not about race. Nooooo. I don't understand (well, I do understand it but it's very irritating) it. Why there are still people in jeopardy, in the breach, at this point, one week after the 17th St. levee broke? What a disgrace. And yet all we get-even during the summer when the net-(do not)works don't even broadcast new programming-are re-runs. Kanye West certainly has some fans, I'll tell you that. Anyway...it's a disgrace (of course) that the net-(do not)works are not broadcasting coverage when the most people are watching TV here in the States. Anyway, must give some love to Keith Olbermann who has shown he has a conscience and a brain; please see my past post in which he rips Bush for his lengty vacation, particularly when Americans have less and less of this luxury. And then there's this. You know things are bad when your cheerleaders Fox is hammering the response to Katrina. Of course, I saw Shepard Smith on Letterman last night and it sounded as though he'd had some time to compose himself and realized that he'd actually sounded sensible a couple days before. Consequently, he spent a lot of the time saying that on one really knew what had happened, that now as not the time to judge, that we needed to let it all come out in the wash (no pun intended). It sounded as if he knew that his boss Monkey Boy couldn't have been too happy with such critical coverage. Anyway, I'm not willing to really write them off yet. I mean, how do you spin rivers of shit and piss in the Superdome? How do you spin stench and corpses? How do you spin bloated bodies and bedraggled mothers? Not sure that even the fuckers over at Fox won't realize that Dear Leader is not wearing any clothes. erhaps that's being a bit optimistic; probably so. Still, can't hurt to hope.

Ted Koppel is certainly a pro. Methinks Brown is a little out of his depth, particularly tete-a-tete with Koppel. Also, in the couldn't-be-more-company-(wo)man-if-my-name-was-Dickhead-Cheney category, the award goes to Cokie Roberts. Also gotta give a shout-out to Jack Cafferty of CNN for reaming the failures of the rescue efforts. Here's another one. Crooks and Liars and One Good Move continue to have the story. And finally, Anderson Cooper's done some stalwart reporting, accepting no excuses from power. Here he is with Sen. Mary Landrieu who's done a poor job in looking out for the people of Louisiana in the aftermath of the hurricane. And then here he is with Trent Lott. (Yeah, we're sorry you lost your house Trent but you have another one.)

Oh yeah, and read this: Best.Post.Ever.

Former First Lady

Well we know how "First Ladies" are usually renowned for their grace and class (and who, living on that salary, couldn't look classy? OK, apart from Paris Hilton) but to be perfectly honest, I'd rather have a political animal like HClinton as First Lady (not that I really want her as Pres-she's really as hawkish as Joe Biden yet she also occasionally tempts more liberal democrats with notions that she actually has a social conscience) than the (insert your adjective: matronly, plump, maternal, bigoted) former First Lady Barbara Bush. You wonder what Monkey Boy said to his mom in the wake of these comments. Rush's Rogue Pharmacist speculates wildly:

"Mom, why did you say that? Them thur crazy lib-er-uls have jumped on those words-even if they are true."
"Look son, I call 'em as I see 'em. I was renowned for being frank. I gots me a reputation to keep up. Maybe you should be a bit more honest too. We know what you think."
"Shur is true moms. Hey you got any that real sharp lemonade you make so good? I'm gonna go play Streetfighter."
"OK son, git."