Newsweek discusses BushCo's non-response to Katrina and Hurricane Politics

It is pretty stern critique by their standards and indicates the waking up of the mainstream media in regards to how BushCo places its priorities everywhere else but on actual leadership. They conclude bluntly:

Beyond the poll numbers, the Bush administration faces some immediate, urgent challenges—and serious questions about its response to the disaster. For all the president’s statements ahead of the hurricane, the region seemed woefully unprepared for the flooding of New Orleans—a catastrophe that has long been predicted by experts and politicians alike. There seems to have been no contingency planning for a total evacuation of the city, including the final refuges of the city’s Superdome and its hospitals. There were no supplies of food and water ready offshore—on Navy ships for instance—in the event of such flooding, even though government officials knew there were thousands of people stranded inside the sweltering and powerless city.

Then there’s the speed of the Bush administration’s response to such disasters. Just one week ago the White House declared that a major disaster existed in Louisiana, specifically most of the areas (such as Jefferson Parish) that are now under water. Was the White House psychic about the disaster ahead? Not exactly. In fact the major disaster referred to Tropical Storm Cindy, which struck the state a full seven weeks earlier. That announcement triggered federal aid for the stricken areas, where the clean-up had been on hold for almost two months while the White House chewed things over.

Now, faced with a far bigger and deadlier disaster, the Bush administration faces at least two difficult questions: Was it ready to deal with the long-predicted flooding of New Orleans? And is it ready to deal with the long-predicted terrorist attack that might some day strike another of our big cities?

Wow! It is time to call the kettle...

Katrina's real name

Fantastic editoral from the Boston Globe. We can continue to ignore the warning signs of global warming and fall in step with BushCo's bunk science, "we need more research," armageddon tract, or we can demand greener ways in business and force bloated corporatists to change or leave. Don't you think it is time for this administration and government to actually pay attention to people and not profits?

As Katrina Struck, Bush Vacationed

ThinkProgress shows side-by-side pictures of Bush's vacation spot and the utter destruction in Louisiana and Mississippi. He decided to cut his 5 week vacation by 2 DAYS in order to fly back to Washington to find his talking points. This is despicable - he could not even do a flyby in a helicopter to survey the damage and offer hope to the millions displaced by this disaster. At least one photo-op - just one…

But this is to be expected by this President. He has a history of non-action - frozen for 7 minutes as the Trade Towers were attacked, even after being told that the first plane hit; not responding for 3 days to the Asian Tsunami, even as confirmed reports of over 100,000 deaths, and now this - golfing and playing guitars.

I must say that BushCo administration could only be compared to that of Emperor Nero of the Roman Empire - merrily partying away as Rome burned. Pathetic.

As New Orleans and a chunk of the Gulf states deal with the aftermath to Katrina, getting help there is nearly impossible - not enough National Guard, not enough equipment, and not enough time as the levee breaks in New Orleans have 80% of the city under water.

BushCo cut funds for levee upgrades to divert resources to Iraq.

In fiscal year 2006, the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is bracing for a record $71.2 million reduction in federal funding.

The Philadelphia Daily News provides a blunt piece on the shortfalls of the how BushCo took money from New Orleans, even though Congress and the President knew levee protection was needed, because of US Army Corps of Engineers research. They conclude:

The president told us that we needed to fight in Iraq to save lives here at home, and yet -- after moving billions of domestic dollars to the Persian Gulf -- there are bodies floating through the streets of Louisiana.

PLEASE DONATE

To donate money and resources for Hurricane Katrina victims, please go to http://www.redcross.org/

The fallout continues for corrupt BushCo Governors...

First, there is Taft in Ohio, who became the first governor in that state's history to be indicted and plea to a crime. Now, we have Kentucky, where the Governor Ernie Fletcher whose "personnel initiative as a "corrupt political machine'' designed to install fellow Republicans and other supporters in state jobs." A months-long investigation into some 9 Republican lawmakers ends with indictments for violating the state's Merit System Laws. Fletcher stonewalls then issues a blanket pardon for all officials and former staffers. The "bizarre" move and leads to the resignation of the Attorney General. It is mess there right now and represents the 2nd mid-west crumbling in crisis.

The cracks in the BushCo Kingdom are beginning to show. It is difficult to keep the lies together and the corruption machine operational. Taft and Fletcher represent tips of the iceberg. Investigations in Ohio continue and the constituency is getting wary. There is definitely more to come...

Cindy Sheehan's impact: In search of an Iraq exit strategy

Webb, of BBC News, looks deeper into the tide change in America and how one woman's vigil is changing politics:

President Bush cannot look Cindy Sheehan in the eye and tell her that her son died because the White House messed up.

But a future president will.

The Independence examines the impact as well. Bush supporters who descended on Crawford this past weekend spent more time shouting that Sheehan was going to hell and was aiding the enemy than actually engaging in dialogue. Pro Peace supporters also came in equal numbers drawing notables like Al Sharpton, Martin Sheen, and Joan Baez.

If anything, Sheehan has brought the debate back to this sleeping country. Whether you agree or disagree with her, the issues are palpable and we need to deal with them. Too much is at stake. Politicians must be held accountable for their indefensible positions, especially on this mistake of a war. We, as Americans, must do what we can to help the troops and Iraqi people. Save them from the greed and corruption of inept government and corporations. We cannot blindly take one side, stand on a dusty road and shout at one another. The problem lies with our leaders - they must pay the price for their mistakes. Sheehan doesn't care whether Bush or Kerry became president, she cares about why - Why are we fighting this war and for what cause are our soldiers dying? Everyone deserves the answers to these questions, whether you believe or don't believe in this war.

The mainstream media is catching up. Leonard Pitts Jr. of the Seattle Times and Miami Herald asks a different question.

It's good that Cindy Sheehan is asking questions. But what's it tell you that until now, so many of us did not?

My Private Idaho

Maureen Dowd is looking for logic in BushCo's reasons for vacation, constitutional rights and war. Bush is running out of them and now the last reason - democracy is fading:

America has caved on Iraqi women's rights. In fact, the women's rights activists supported by George and Laura Bush may have to leave Iraq.

But, as a former C.I.A. Middle East specialist, Reuel Marc Gerecht, said on "Meet the Press," U.S. democracy in 1900 didn't let women vote. If Iraqi democracy resembled that, "we'd all be thrilled," he said. "I mean, women's social rights are not critical to the evolution of democracy."

Not critical?!? I didn't realize that we or the Iraqis are living in 1900s America...

Leaderless on the left

Gary Younge of the U.K. Guardian contemplates the weaknesses of Left, but realizes the tipping point. You would think it was time for the Democrats to wake up and start showing their leadership. Oh, it's there - they just don't know how to use it. It is like they are in a slumber, a dead space - stuck, if you will, in suspended animation. The GOP has stupefied them - their moves and ideas. It is scary. It takes a few good citizens to put themselves on the line and sacrifice what it left to push the so-called leaders into action. Will they listen? Can somebody tell me when a Congressperson or Senator will actually listen to his or her constituency?

Younge's conclusion is something to think about:

Sheehan has revealed both the strength and the weakness of the left. We have a political agenda that can command considerable mainstream support; yet we do not have a political leadership willing or able to articulate those agendas. We wield political influence; we lack legislative power.

Democracy is about power to the people and representation of that power in the most powerful legislative body on Earth. There is a war on and people are dying for fictional reasons - there is no time for mediocrity...

Bullshit Protector...

In response to BushCo's attack on Cindy Sheehan and his claim that most American's don't agree with her stance on the war in Iraq (not the other views, but the real reasons behind her vigil in Crawford), Vets in Salt Lake City make themselves "heard."

Wow! You got to hand it to them for their ingenuity...

Cindy Sheehan responds and heads back to Crawford...

Of All Gas Consumers, Bush May Be Most

Well now, this should not be any surprise - the Gas-Guzzling President for these gas-guzzling times. Except, we fit the bill. Figures. We make the sacrifice to pay for Bush to take way too many vacations, while we were never asked to make sacrifices for the this illegal war. People are dying and this President is taking trips on our dime to take political pot-shots at a grieving mother who lost her son in a war with no reasons.

To be continued...

Robertson - Spokesman for the "Culture of Life?"

I am all for free speech and all but this guy needs a muzzle...

Thompson is "cannonized"

And so it ends with a BANG, like everything in Hunter S. Thompson's life. The appropriate parting of the late great gonzo had its share of craziness. But would he or anyone associated with him have it any other way? It seems almost prophetic now - the last of the great outlaw writers gone with nothing left in his wake. Blown to smithereens to become part of everyone. Maybe he will infect the current automaton media and wake them from their BushCo driven slumber? Spontaneity, fantastic prose, and mindless craziness - that's what we need.


His son, Juan, was remarked:

My father wouldn't have actually gone to anything like this," Juan Thompson said. "He would have set himself up in a corner, at a bar or in the kitchen, and let people come up to him one by one. He didn't like mob scenes. He didn't do big parties.

Of course, my father understood the media and used the media to enhance the persona," the son went on. "But he was an intensely private person. He wouldn't want the media at his funeral -- even if we did fire a big cannon to say goodbye.

That's Hunter.

We will miss him so. Farewell Hunter, may you resurface again in a far better time...

The Swift Boating of Cindy Sheehan

Frank Rich of the NY Times is on a tear - calling out the right-wing smear of Cindy Sheehan with this fantastic piece on Sunday...

He notes:

True to form, the attack on Cindy Sheehan surfaced early on Fox News, where she was immediately labeled a "crackpot" by Fred Barnes. The right-wing blogosphere quickly spread tales of her divorce, her angry Republican in-laws, her supposed political flip-flops, her incendiary sloganeering and her association with known ticket-stub-carrying attendees of "Fahrenheit 9/11." Rush Limbaugh went so far as to declare that Ms. Sheehan's "story is nothing more than forged documents - there's nothing about it that's real."

Then Rich goes on to mention how ineffective this reactionary response is...

But this time the Swift Boating failed, utterly, and that failure is yet another revealing historical marker in this summer's collapse of political support for the Iraq war.

Let's give the American people credit and reveal what the radical right is hiding:

The public knows that what matters this time is Casey Sheehan's story, not the mother who symbolizes it. Cindy Sheehan's bashers, you'll notice, almost never tell her son's story. They are afraid to go there because this young man's life and death encapsulate not just the noble intentions of those who went to fight this war but also the hubris, incompetence and recklessness of those who gave the marching orders.

Cindy Sheehan and her band or mothers reveal the pain behind the lies, the collateral damage - one the Left has been searching for to show that war is not the answer and the Right is trying desperately deny to put party politics over people. Sheehan, both son Casey and mother Cindy, are American heroes. Both went into the belly of the beast for love of country and democracy - one died, the other is trying to dig herself out, against all odds.

Rich surmises:

The strategy of fighting a war without shared national sacrifice has at last backfired, just as the strategy of Swift Boating the war's critics has reached its Waterloo before Patrick Fitzgerald's grand jury in Washington. The 24/7 cable and Web attack dogs can keep on sliming Cindy Sheehan. The president can keep trying to ration the photos of flag-draped caskets. But this White House no longer has any more control over the insurgency at home than it does over the one in Iraq.

It is time to bring home the troops and start treating people and democracy like people and democracy...

Ohio: radical right wing wasteland

Ohio Gov. Bob Taft is fined for violating state Ethics laws, narrowly escaping jail time becoming the first Ohio governor in history to be charged with a crime. Great Granpa would be proud. The judge gave him a lame sentence - a $4000 fine plus an order to email (yes, that's right) every media outlet and Ohio laborer atoning for his sins. This guy is a hypocrite in a long line of GOP hypocrites - the New York Times noted: "During his two terms, Mr. Taft has repeatedly promised Ohioans that he would not tolerate violations of the state ethics laws by members of his administration and had vowed to punish those who did."

Yep... The kettle is black.

But how black? Sending emails as punishment? Is this guilt meaningful enough? Does this send a message to the Tom Noe's of the world? You know Thomas Noe, Taft's buddy, the Republican fund-raiser and apparent rare coin dealer being tied to the growing scandal of mishandling and stealing some $50 million from the Ohio Workers' Compensation Bureau. Will Ohioan's through down soon? Paul Hackett's good showing last month Ohio Dist 2 Congressional Election is certainly a good start.

And what is it with golf? All these scandals involve gifts of golf or golf trips - first Tom DeLay, now Taft and Noe. Talk about giving a sport a bad name...

A former Ohio Governor says there is more to come. Ohioans not only get to suffer in the short term, they get to suffer later (which is usually the GOP's modus operandi).

FORGET THE POLITICS, MEET WITH DEAD SOLDIER'S MOTHER


The Miami Herald joins the chorus of thousands of newspapers across the county and tens of thousands of Americans calling for Bush to meet with Cindy Sheehan. The paper states:

The point is that when a president asks people to go to war, there is no separation by politics among those who serve. Our soldiers are conservative and liberal, black and white, atheist and religiously devout. In combat, those labels are irrelevant. The goal is to defeat the enemy and survive.

The president alone makes the final decision to ask each American soldier to make the ultimate sacrifice. He does so because he thinks the cause is just. Thus, it is his duty and obligation to console those who have made the sacrifice. President Bush owes it to himself and to all Americans to put politics aside for a shared moment of grief with a mother who has lost her son. That's what this is about -- nothing more, nothing less. President Bush has done it before. He should do it now.

And that is a major point here, isn't it? At least one that boths sides must consider. This is about war and peace, life and death, not Democrat and Republican. Our politicians have become so wrapped up in the politics of everything, that they forgotten about people. They are careless and curt, they never answer the real questions or provide any real motives. Everything is for the benefit of the pocketbook, not the voters. Dan Frookin, of the Washington Post looks into what this Sheenan phenomenon all means. And the politics still remain. He quotes his colleague: "The White House thinks this whole story is a silly obsession of bored reporters with nothing better to do during the slow August."

That is what we have come to expect from this Administration and this government...

It's not over Karl...

The most detailed information concerning RoveGate is available village voice > news >here from the Village Voice. Now, Ashcroft is in the mix. Who would of thought? Meanwhile, Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald contemplates his next move. Looking at his history may dictate a plan of action.

The LA Times discusses the "perjury trap." They note: "Perjury prosecutions in federal court are fairly rare — and somewhat controversial. Defense lawyers say they are used in cases to manufacture crimes where the government has no evidence to support more substantive charges." Furthermore, Louis Klarevas, of City College in New York ponders: Will the Precedent Set by the Indictment in a Pentagon Leak Case Spell Trouble for Those Who Leaked Valerie Plame's Identity to the Press?

Will this be enough? Or will the conflict of interest - Fitzgerald being a Bush appointee and Rove being a Bush best friend - ruin any chance of justice being applied? To be continued...

Why I must tell the president to stop the war

Cindy Sheehan continues her vigil for the sakes of other soldiers. As the debate rages between Left and Right, Sheehan, nevertheless remains optimistic. She is doing this not for politics, but for morality and honor. These words have lost their meaning to our leaders, but have gained new ground with Cindy, even from the unlikeliest of places - middle America. This is becoming a phenomenon and tapping into the deteriorating mood of the country. It has left the most right of the radical right wing stammering and BushCo's poll numbers in the dumps. One analyst notes: "This president should be glad he's not running for re-election..."

Frank Rick of the NY Times pleads to have someone talk some sense to the president, as his kingdom begins to crumble, before it is too late...

Lobbyist Tied to DeLay Indicted

Jack Abramoff is finally indicted for fraud and illegal fundraising, as DeLay tries to "loosen" ties with his former pimp. But this marks just another step toward making Mr. DeLay accountable for his illegal ways. US Congress people should act to a higher standard and Delay's actions are downright indefensible. However, Delay still has friends who protect him - BushCo and his oil buddies. And boy did this latest joke of an Energy Bill give DeLay am awful large "prize".

Pathetic. Break the law or act irresponsible or just be down right hateful to anyone who disagrees with you, and get rewarded with one of the most pork-ridden pieces of legislation of all time; what Bernie Sanders calls "the worst bill money could buy..."

When will we stop this madness? You have almost every editorial in the U.S. and greater part of the world calling out DeLay's energy handout, waiting for Treasongate to produce some results, and watching Cindy Sheehan on the side of that Texas road, but nothing happens. It used to be that folks were held accountable for their actions. Some had the integrity to call it quits and save Americans further pain. Some worked hard to make sure it would not happen again. Because we are not in mock government at your local high school, where you go home at the end of the day without any consequences- we are dealing with real world issues and real world people. Maybe it is time we have a real world government...

Cindy Sheehan continues to stand firm, putting the president in a tough position.

The San Francisco Chronicle notes that the rabid right wing pundits are not sharing the entire story out of the Vacaville Reporter in 2004 as the accuse her of changing her story and being a patsy for the anti-war movement. Sheehan's words:

"We haven't been happy with the way the war has been handled,'' she also was quoted as saying. "The president has changed his reason for being over there every time a reason is proven false or an objective reached.''

Even the Editor of the paper states: "We don't think there has been a dramatic turnaround. Clearly, Cindy Sheehan's outrage was festering even then.'' But right-wingers continue to smear her anyway. Media Matters analyzes how this "changing of story" lie is circulating throughout the right wing media machine.

Cindy Sheehan is getting attention all over the world and now BushCo must consider where they stand...

Enough said...



Link at Seattle PI here. Other media outlets (ClearChannel)are deciding to hold Anti-Sheehan rallies.

Who is the coward now?

Support Cindy Sheehan

Mother of Casey Sheehan, killed in Iraq in 2004, stands vigil in Crawford, TX demanding an audience with the president, who refuses to meet her. She plans to stay as long as she needs to...

Follow her account on Daily Kos here.

Stuck in Second

Bush approval ratings at an all time low. What is interesting is the related chart that tracks poll percentages for the last 5 presidents excluding Bush1. The concerns for Americans under Republican presidents all deal with 3 overwhelming concerns - international relations, scandal, and economy. Do we see the pattern here?

Speaking of scandals: It has been 24 days since the American Public learned that one Karl Rove leaked the identity of a covert CIA agent.

Traitor Novak cannot take the heat, so he gets out of the kitchen. CNN suspends him for "his behaviour."

Novak, as you know, is involved in the leaking of a CIA operative, a treasonous act under US law. The actual leak came for Rove and/or Libby - Cheney’s chief of staff, but is still being investigated. Spotlight on the BushCo TreasonGate scandal has died down since Bush nominated Roberts to the Supreme Court as a diversion to these illegal acts. This outburst by Novak, however, shows that the squeeze is still on and that the "story" is not going away. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald apparently still has work to do…

Design for Confusion

Paul Krugman ponders the new religious theory "Intelligent Design" now the BushCo seems to be placating the reactionary Religious Right after statements like these.

Krugman further states:
"The important thing to remember is that like supply-side economics or global-warming skepticism, intelligent design doesn't have to attract significant support from actual researchers to be effective"

That is the scary part. Folks need to understand the distinction between valid researched facts and religious theories. If BushCo wants neo-Christianity beliefs taught in American schools along side evolution, or according to the Houston Chronicle: Bush says all theories of life have place in classroom, then, well than means all theories of life including paganism and the concepts of Mother Earth and Rastafarianism, and Islam and the teachings of the Profit Muhammad, and Judaism, and, of course the beliefs of the Indians and Tibetans, those of the Witito in Peru, the Kalahari in Africa... the list goes on. There is a reason there is a separation of church/religious belief and state. Beliefs and faith of the many religions are their own. They are allowed to exist, thanks to the First Amendment, with persecution. Science belongs in the schools, as it has no place in religious institutions. Science provides us with life saving remedies, maintains our water supply, keeps us sheltered and provides species with safe haven. Evolution is part of that understanding; it helps understand our environmental changes and relationships to other mammals and ecosystems. Not all science is perfect. It is not meant to be and must adapt to new discoveries. It evolves...

Supreme Court Nominee Roberts: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?

-- At least when is comes to privacy rights. DailyKos follows story in the Washington Post and points out an excerpt:

"A second memo, sent by Roberts to the attorney general on Dec. 11, 1981, summarized a lecture six years earlier by then- Solicitor General Erwin N. Griswold at Washington and Lee University, which touched on the same theme. Griswold's lecture, Roberts said, "devotes a section to the so-called 'right to privacy,' arguing as we have that such an amorphous right is not to be found in the Constitution. He specifically criticizes Roe v. Wade.""

Something is going on here and Roberts needs to come clean. This suppressive reactionary-ism is not good for our country. It follows BushCo's MO though - bait and switch. A Supreme Court position is way too important for these kinds of tactics. When will this administration give us the straight answers? We deserve nothing less.

Beginning of a bad month...

BushCo installs Bolton at UN as recess appointment, since he could not get his man appointed the fair way. This is not a surprising move by this Administration, who cares less about peace and world relationships. As most of us know, Bolton is a case study in anger management. His discontent for the UN and people in general is palpable.

Prior to this below the belt move by BushCo, George first snubs the Boy Scouts at their Jamboree last week, then after some 300 scouts collapse in what James Wolcott portends as an indicator to Global Warming (Wait, more tests are needed!!), he decides to show up to "give his support." The Jamboree was plagued with problems and tragedy - 4 dead scout leaders and a general malaise that makes the Washington Press Corps seem like Mardi Graz. A sad week, nonetheless, and makes one feel bad that these kids, who look to others for leadership role models end up learning a valuable lessen in life - you cannot rely on current leaders to actually stand up and lead. We live in an individualistic society - a myth perpetuated by the far Right. So suck it up and move on...

And to top it off, seven Marines Killed in Western Iraq bringing the count up past 1800. The Iraqi estimates are the hundreds of thousands, with no end in sight.

There is a little hope though - Ohioans in Congressional District 02 go to the polls today to get Paul Hackett, an Iraqi War veteran in office in that beleaguered state. He would be the first, if elected. Ohio is getting it with one scandal after another. As the coin/golf ethics GOP scandal escalates, Governor Taft stonewalls. He must have received the GOP talking points - Repeat, repeat, or say nothing at all. Things are getting worse with the wife of Ohio GOP fundraiser apparently doing what The Raw Story calls "some election reform of her own." In Lucas County, Bernadette Noe, wife of Tom Noe - currently involved in the Ohio GOP campaign money laundering schemes, was former chairman of the Republican Party in that county that seems to be in Diebold's payroll. Diebold, of course, is the voting machine company that can't make a secure machine with a paper trail, even though nearly all of the other products they design provide receipts. The Noe's are playing very bad politics and costing Ohioans a lot of money, not to mention a possible election. Maybe the Purple state will wise up and put Hackett in play to provide accountability and balance? It is high time that some folks at BushCo actually take responsibility for their selfish and destructive ways. Government is in the business of fairness, oversight, protection, and democracy. And, knowing Ohioans, they will make it right and stop this mess...