Bill Bennett is an ignorant fool...

"[Y]ou could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down

9/29/05:

This is ridiculous, even for conservatives.

Joseph McCarthy is reincarnated into a modern-day radical Republican from Iowa?

A political dustup over congressional efforts to name a Berkeley post office for a longtime councilwoman and left-wing activist intensified Wednesday when Republican leaders accused Maudelle Shirek's supporters of being soft on communism.

Huh? Apparently, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, has decided that a 94-year-old civil rights activist, whose previous political leanings happen to be too Left for him, will not be honored by putting her name on the Post Office in Berkeley, CA.

Wow! BushCo is hard at work dwelling solely on the negative issues, while neglecting everybody who does not fall in line with their extreme values. I thought the conservative party was working to "restore integrity" and "moving America forward?" Instead, these BushCo radicals have politics on their mind...

"How can an Iowa member of Congress say who a California city should honor?" the still-angry Rep. Barbara Lee asked. "This was outrageous.''

There was no effort to disguise the partisan nature of the attack on Cardoza and other Democrats, since the releases were only sent to Democratic districts where Republicans hope to take seats next year.

Rep. Lee should be rightly angry. This insidious attack on an elderly woman is just another tactic by BushCo Republicans to prevent certain defeat in next year's mid-terms and deflect attention from the rampant corruption now plaguing the party.

"These people are so desperate to change the subject from Tom DeLay's indictment and their record of corruption and abuse of power that they will resurrect the ghost of Joe McCarthy and attack a 94-year-old African American woman whose health is failing,'' she said.

Hey King! Communism is dead. Get over it! And, stop being a coward and come tell it to our faces…

It looks like trouble in RepublicanLand

DeLay Indicted in Campaign Finance Probe

It is about time. It took a while, but Tom's time is up...

DeLay is the first House leader to be indicted while in office in at least a century, according to congressional historians.

It goes to show you how corrupt this administration and party really is... There have been quite a few criminal politicians in our history, but DeLay takes it to the next level, Teapot Dome Scandal be damned. This kind of impropriety is indefensible.

Red state after red state is falling into political disarray, plagued with corrupt Republicanism. The list continues to grow - Governor Taft and Congressman Ney in Ohio, Governor Fletcher in Kentucky, Sen. Frist in Tennessee, Federal Procurement chief, former FEMA boss Brown...

Some states are taking matters into their own hands. An organization in Ohio, Reform Ohio Now aims to clean the state government from top to bottom.

The GOP's claim that there is a partisan agenda here by Dems is flat out untrue. Americans are just getting fed-up with how BushCo is running things. Domestic and foreign policies are failing miserably. Only corporations and the rich are enjoying themselves. The malaise among the citizens here and troops abroad is palpable. The Dems have been demoralized to a point where their treats feel meaningless. How can this be partisan? DeLay is a criminal, plain and simple. His actions were criminal - fraud corruption, illegal donations, unconstitutional redrawing of district lines, abuse of power, using defensive less people for political advantage, and lastly, no respect for people.

This man's blind lust for power has led to his downfall. Period. Time for him to go...

Brown Blames 'Dysfunctional' Louisiana

It's too late Brown

"I've overseen over 150 presidentially declared disasters. I know what I'm doing, and I think I do a pretty darn good job of it," he said.

Huh? You failed. Stop placing the blame solely on local officials. Take responsibility for your botched role and get on with it.

"Brown's testimony drew a scathing response from Rep. William Jefferson, D-La.

"I find it absolutely stunning that this hearing would start out with you, Mr. Brown, laying the blame for FEMA's failings at the feet of the governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans."

Dems and Repubs alike laid into Brown, who did not take the criticism lightly. He retorted: "So I guess you want me to be the superhero, to step in there and take everyone out of New Orleans..."

Unbelievable, the absolute idiocy of this man… He will deny, deny, deny, until he is deeper and deeper in the hole. It represents a very good foreshadowing to the 2006 Midterm elections next year. Embattled Bush Republicans will do anything and resist as much as possible in light of defeat. The BushCo doctrine and policies are on the line here and the GOP faces an increasing amount of tight races next year. They won't go down without a bloody fight. And progressives will be right there to meet them...

BushCo blames terrorism on everyone but himself and continues to dig in on his failed Iraq policy. From the LA Times:

President Bush said today that mistakes made by three of his predecessors, including the Reagan administration's response to the Marine barracks bombing in Lebanon, had emboldened global terrorists and helped set the stage for the 9/11 attacks.

Yep, passing the buck to the buck is quite a surprising move. Could this be payback to Ron Jr. for speaking at the Democratic National Convention? Nancy's support of stem-cell research?

While there is truth in the statements, BushCo never seems to own to the fact that HE is part of the problem. The United States Government's continuing destructive policies have created these many enemies. This includes both Democrats and Republicans. But, blaming it on weakness of others actually makes him look weak as he continues to strip the rights of Americans in the name of security. A large-scale attack has happened on BushCo's watch and he is responsible for it. He can either work to fix the problem or do nothing. He has chosen the latter and, instead, is pursuing his own agenda hoarding the power and protecting his inner circle.

There are varying degrees of neglect - Reagan's war on drugs, Bush1's failed domestic agenda and failure to get Saddam the first time, Clinton's cutting of welfare. This time, enemies have succeeded in putting the BushCo administration in disarray, failing even to protect or service their own people in the Gulf Coast disaster. This is not the fault of previous administrations. They, at least maintained the illusion of order and method.
Still, BushCo picks and chooses:

Bush did not mention any events during the first Bush administration, such as his father's decision to end the first Gulf War without sending coalition troops on to Baghdad to topple Saddam Hussein's regime.

Why would he mention daddy? If he is going to blame somebody, he is only going to blame the right people. Moreover, as the Times' article suggests, this type of talk is just damage control in light of the upcoming massive anti-war protests to be held in DC and many other parts of the country. He, of course, won't be there, as he cannot be to close to Cindy Sheehan as she begins her vigil in front of the White House this weekend.

BushCo continues to refuse to address truth and consequences in Iraq...

"The terrorists are testing our will and resolve in Iraq," he said. "If we fail that test, the consequences for the safety and security of the American people would be enormous. Our withdrawal from Iraq would allow the terrorists to claim a historic victory over the Untied States.

"That's not going to happen on my watch," Bush said.

It already has...

3 Dems move Right


The Senate Judiciary Committee approves Roberts. And 3 Democrats on the panel vote Yea. Feingold and Leahy surprise everyone with a vote for Roberts and conservatives are still complaining that it was partisan. Sigh.

Liberal groups that had opposed Roberts expressed disappointment with the committee vote, with Ralph Neas, president of People for the American Way, singling out Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.

He said the Wisconsin Democrat was the only member of his party on the committee who voted in favor of both John Ashcroft to become Mr. Bush's first attorney general and now Roberts. Neas said that Feingold's vote was a "tremendous mistake and a tremendous disappointment."

But Leonard Leo of the conservative Federalist Society said the fact that only three of eight committee Democrats supported Roberts was evidence of partisanship. "We're supposed to think the Democrats are being magnanimous? Give me a break," Leo said.

Give me a break?!? What does this radical wingnut want? Fascism on a platter, Stat!! Roberts, if anything will maintain the conservative slant of the Court, that has been chipping away at the stone for decades. Leo should be happy. But, it doesn't matter, because, like Grover Norquist, he wants liberalism and democracy dead...

Bush Official Arrested in Corruption Probe

Yep. BushCo top federal procurement official reigns and is arrested for repeating false statements to investigators about the golf trip with Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff to Scotland years back. You remember Abramoff? - Worked for Tom Delay, who is connected to fraud, illegal campaign finance, and overall criminal idiocy…

Accompanying Safavian and Abramoff on the 2002 trip to Scotland, for example, were Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Administration Committee, lobbyist and former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and Neil Volz, a lobbyist with Abramoff at the Washington office of Greenburg Traurig.

Like Abramoff, Safavian is a veteran Washington player. He is a former lobbying partner of anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist and previously worked with Abramoff at another firm.

Time to round them up. These folks are in way to deep. Nepotism, corruption, stealing, negligence… Sounds like roll call at Rikers. Lying does have its consequences. So, when will the FBI be knocking at Bush's door? Or is this just another ruse to deflect attention away from the real criminals? A couple sacrifice fly’s for a team betting on their own team. The problem here is that the whole administration is corrupt. Swatting at a couple flies on the wall doesn't solve the problem; it only makes it go away for a while.

The Raw Story follows up with bad news for GOP scandal-ridden Ohio:

An email sent by Safavian appears to indicate that the powerful Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) lied when he said he was "duped" by Abramoff and lied again on financial disclosure forms when he said that a nonprofit had paid for the trip...

What a mess. Ney is continuing to deny his connection on this event to the Indian Tribe and Abramoff. What else is new? Maybe it is time for the people of Ohio to show this criminal the door?

Show Me The Money!!!

Bush Rules Out Tax Increase to Pay for Katrina Relief

Where is he going to get it? Some secret BushCo slush fund created by his rich oil buddies? The Saudis? He could not comment on the actual cost of this massive rebuilding of New Orleans revealed last night:

"It's going to cost whatever it costs," he said.

Bush said, "But I'm confident we can handle it, and I'm confident we can handle our other priorities. It's going to mean that we're going to have to make sure we cut unnecessary spending. It's going to mean we've got to maintain economic growth, and therefore we should not raise taxes."

The key words here: "cut unnecessary spending...” That's GOP language for screw you asshole. Like what unnecessary spending is to the Governator, Arnold? - Kill benefits and aid for nurses, teachers, firefighters, and police offers. So, if BushCo - in their deluded, un-capitalistic, just use Halliburton way - cut the "unnecessary" $73 million needed to upgrade the New Orleans levees only to cost some $200 Billion to save the city, what will he cut now? Social Security. We the poor folks of this country ever go unscathed? Will the rest of us 98% always pay the price for the BushCo's incompetence?

Once again, taxpayers pay the price for the mistakes of a man who never really has a plan for anybody but his corporate donors and himself...

So It Goes: Natural Disaster

Padow hits the mark. We all know where BushCo's priorities lie and they are not with us - the 98% of us that matter. The incompetence is a sign of mismanagement, delusion of power, and most importantly, lack of respect - for those poor victims in the Gulf Coast, USA and those poor troops in Baghdad, Iraq. How do you except there to be enough money and peoplepower, if BushCo cut them all? Do you really think this wasn't going to happen? Robert Scheer, on AlterNet, explains BushCo's priorities, even after the storm and how finally everyone is catching onto the ruse. He comments:

Unfortunately, what the Bush White House is good at when it comes to national security is providing flash over substance, as Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana found out the hard way. After riding in a helicopter with the president and seeing machinery apparently working on the breached 17th Street levee, she was shocked the next day to find the work mysteriously stopped. "Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment," said the senator in a press release.

Landrieu finally speaks up. Why does it take something so shocking and calculating in the wake of a horrific event to force her speak her conscious? Or are all our politicians so blind that their awakening to the failure that is Bush really has finally set in? I find it hard to believe.

The Storm That Ate The GOP

Mark Morford of the San Francisco Chronicle asks: Who will pity the soulless Republican Party now that Katrina is mauling their regime?

Can you hear that? That low scraping moan, that painful scream, that compressed hissing wail like the sound of an angry alligator caught in a vice?

Why, it's the GOP, and they're screaming, "No, no it can't be, oh my God, please no, this damnable Katrina thing is just an unstoppable PR disaster for us!"

After all (they wail), who woulda thought dissing all those poor black people and letting so many of them die in filth and misery in the Superdome while our pampered CEO president enjoyed yet another vacation would cause such an ugly backlash, such harsh criticism of the glorious, rich-über-alles GOP creed?

Who knew it would lay bare our deeply inbred agenda of social injustice and civil neglect, and our systematic abuse of the country? This storm thing is so not the thing we need right now because, oh my God look, just look! We've been so golden! We've had the run of the candy store! We have been gods among swine! ...

A MUST READ that speaks for itself...

Katrina, Incompetence, and the End of the Bush Era


E. J. Dionne Jr. of the Washington Post examines BushCo’s policy failures and how Americans are finally starting to see the light.

He starts:

Recent months, and especially the past two weeks, have brought home to a steadily growing majority of Americans the truth that President Bush's government doesn't work. His policies are failing, his approach to leadership is detached and self-indulgent, his way of politics has produced a divided, angry and dysfunctional public square. We dare not go on like this.

While this “revelation” may be true to mainstream Media, most Americans seem to be thinking ahead looking at the recent results of polls. They show that the “tipping point” may have been reached in their support for the War in Iraq, domestic policies and Bush’s handling of terrorism.

Dionne points out:

The Bush Era did not begin when he took office, or even with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It began on Sept. 14, 2001, when Bush declared at the World Trade Center site: "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." Bush was, indeed, skilled in identifying enemies and rallying a nation already disposed to action. He failed to realize after Sept. 11 that it was not we who were lucky to have him as a leader, but he who was lucky to be president of a great country that understood the importance of standing together in the face of a grave foreign threat. Very nearly all of us rallied behind him….

…And so the Bush Era ended definitively on Sept. 2, the day Bush first toured the Gulf Coast States after Hurricane Katrina. There was no magic moment with a bullhorn. The utter failure of federal relief efforts had by then penetrated the country's consciousness. Yesterday's resignation of FEMA Director Michael Brown put an exclamation point on the failure.

The failure to connect to the American people has been a long time coming for Bush. He narrowly escaped the 2000 election and only found footing after Sept. 11, 2001. Only then could his policies “stick,” in relation to the “War on Terror.” Dionne remarks that defining quality of the President was lost in the wake of Katrina:

And so the Bush Era ended definitively on Sept. 2, the day Bush first toured the Gulf Coast States after Hurricane Katrina. There was no magic moment with a bullhorn. The utter failure of federal relief efforts had by then penetrated the country's consciousness. Yesterday's resignation of FEMA Director Michael Brown put an exclamation point on the failure.

I encourage folks to read on. Dionne ties plenty to the failed policies, including the stripping down of government to its lowest terms. “And if ever the phrase "reinventing government" had relevance, it is now that we have observed the performance of a government that allows political hacks to push aside the professionals.” And, not only will it affect Americans in the short and long term, but Bush himself will pay the price…


Along the same lines as Dionne, The Nation called out BushCo as The Disaster President

Except they are more blunt:

But the incompetence revealed by the response to the hurricane is deep-rooted, and can be traced to the twenty-five-year project, begun in the Reagan era, of discrediting government, "starving the beast" of resources and exalting private markets and faith-based charities. Tax cuts for the wealthy and Congressional corruption have drained government of the imagination and resources to address human needs. Katrina has brutally exposed Americans to the costs of this folly.

The reality of killing government, as the Nation points out is nothing new for Republicans. It is like a bad diet – they constantly hammer away at Democrats (and Americans, for that matter,) that government is way big and everything should be cut, cut, cut… Now we pay the price – not enough services to those in need and more pork to those who have none.

The Nation, like many, calls for an independent investigation into the failure of response to Hurricane Katrina’s destructive aftermath.

The disaster requires a thorough investigation into what went wrong, by an independent commission with subpoena power. It should also lead now-furious Americans to re-examine a generation of backward priorities. The debate about the role of government in the service of public good has been reopened. The hurricane revealed not only the desperate poverty of the region's African-American population but also the poverty of our federal policies. For too long our leaders have abandoned our cities, our poor, our public infrastructure. We need a government dedicated to serving the unemployed, the ill fed and the ill housed. It's time to end the dismantling and begin the rebuilding.

There is opportunity and optimism here. Americans deserve leadership that has the best interests of their people in mind. BushCo is not up to that task and must step aside for those, Democrat or Republican, to get to work. Otherwise, Bush will be removed and rendered to what Dionne noted, as “frustrating irrelevance.”

LA Guv Blanco cleared of any blame associated with not calling a state of emergency in time.

Rep. John Conyers notes, via a non-partisan Congressional Report (also found at Daily Kos):

This report closes the book on the Bush Administration’s attempts to evade accountability by shifting the blame to the Governor of Louisiana for the Administration’s tragically sluggish response to Katrina. It confirms that the Governor did everything she could to secure relief for the people of Louisiana and the Bush Administration was caught napping at a critical time.

Karl Rove and all the radical right-wing talking heads can shut up now.

Katrina body count being censored

As in Iraq, the BushCo Administration is censoring the number of dead from Hurricane Katrina. Desperately trying to bring his poll numbers up from an all-time Low, the President disgraces the poor peoples of New Orleans in death like he did in life. He and his handlers cannot cover up the fact that they failed in responding. Whether it was because of race and class or not, they are Americans and they deserve equal treatment. It is shameful that this President is still putting politics before people. The record will show it. More importantly, these folks will never forget it...

Breaking -- FEMA Director Mike Brown Resigns

Santorum, Barbara Bush Criticized For Evacuee Comments

I am sorry, but I had to repost these comments by Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former First Lady Barbara Bush. This blatant racism is unacceptable. Santorum's head is on the block. The good folks of Pennsylvania will wield their political will in 2006 and kick this jackass to the curb.

First he says...

"You have people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings. There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving."

Notice how he recouped the next day with this statement:

"Obviously most of the people here in this case, an overwhelming majority of people just literally couldn't have gotten out on their own," he said. "Many didn't have cars ... and that really was a failure on the part of local officials in not making transportation available to get people out."

He finally got the GOP/Rove talking points...

Thanks Dana for bringing this up again. We cannot forget the indefensible positions of these radical right-wingers.

Here we go...

Senate Opens Roberts Confirmation Hearings

A radical shift in the judiciary begins with Roberts. As America's attention falls to the Gulf Coast disaster aftermath, only 18% of Americans will follow the nomination proceedings. This stat, heard on KPFA/Pacifica National News, shows that even now, BushCo finds opportunities in the ruins of others. The distraction will ensure that Roberts sails into one of the most powerful positions in America.

Learn more about John Roberts from an extensive investigative report for the People For the American Way. Hundreds of pages outline Roberts' past briefs, memos, and rulings under Reagan and Bush 1.

From their Executive Summary, these are just some key points of Roberts' record:

Roberts supported a restrictive interpretation of the scope of civil rights laws banning gender discrimination in publicly funded school programs, including athletics, a position that would have restricted the reach and enforcement of other important civil rights laws as well.

Roberts played an important role in an unsuccessful Reagan Administration effort to make it harder to prove violations of the Voting Rights Act.

Roberts referred dismissively to the “so-called 'right to privacy;'” his record strongly suggests that he does not believe that the Constitution guarantees or protects a right to privacy, a position that threatens reproductive choice, gay rights, and families' medical decision-making. He signed a brief on behalf of the first Bush Administration arguing that “[w]e continue to believe that Roe was wrongly decided and should be overruled.”

Roberts' record indicates he would allow government endorsement of and favoritism towards religion. His confirmation could open the door to a range of activities that threaten religious liberty, including coercive religious practices in public schools.

Roberts took the position that Congress could constitutionally strip the Supreme Court of the authority to rule on cases regarding school prayer, abortion, and other issues, a position to the right of that advanced by Theodore Olson and adopted by the Reagan administration.

Roberts criticized the Supreme Court for overturning a Texas law designed to keep undocumented immigrant children from getting a public education.

While in the White House, Roberts urged that the administration should “go slowly” on proposed fair housing legislation, claiming that such legislation represented “government intrusion.”

As a judge Roberts has signaled that he subscribes to the ideas of the new “federalism” that would limit the federal government's power under the Constitution's Commerce Clause to act on behalf of the common good. In Rancho Viejo, LLC v. Norton, Roberts issued a troubling dissent from a decision upholding the constitutionality of the Endangered Species Act. Roberts's dissent suggested that Congress lacked the power under the Commerce Clause to protect endangered species in this case. The consequences of such a radical view, if held by a Supreme Court majority, would extend far beyond the Endangered Species Act to whole areas of Congressional authority, including such longstanding programs as Medicare and Social Security.

Roberts has written that affirmative action programs were bound to fail because they required “recruiting of inadequately prepared candidates”; and as deputy Solicitor General he unsuccessfully opposed a federal government agency's affirmative action program designed to diversify media ownership.

Wow - and the mainstream Media and Democrats are making him out to be moderate? Will the Dems step up and ride the momentum of criticism of BushCo's bungling of Hurricane Katrina response. Or will this be another sit on their hands day as an opposition Party that provides no real check and balances? The Party of the People needs to BE the party of the people...

FEMA Dumps Brown As Katrina Relief Chief

This is a positive step. Now fire him...

Are Democrats waking up from their slumber?

"An investigation of the Republican administration by a Republican-controlled Congress is like having a pitcher call his own balls and strikes."

- Sen Harry Reid

This is one of several strong statements coming for the Democratic leadership. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi had a few words the other day. She has been pushing Bush to fire Michael Brown. On Tuesday she said:

"He said 'Why would I do that?'" Pelosi said.

'"I said because of all that went wrong, of all that didn't go right last week.' And he said 'What didn't go right?'"

"Oblivious, in denial, dangerous," she added.

Mother Jones discusses the cause and effect of BushCo investigating its own mistakes. Dems are now refusing to sign on to these Republican Katrina committees.

Meanwhile, word is out that theCanadians beat U.S. Army to a New Orleans suburb. Sad, real sad.

FEMA Chief Faces Questions Over Resume

Yep, time to fire Michael Brown. No experience, no clue, all lies...

Zogby releases latest poll stats...

Bush Job Approval Hits 41%—All Time Low

The numbers are telling. He observes:

The President has managed to do early in his second term what his father did in just one term: Go from record high approval numbers in the aftermath of 9/11 to his present numbers in the low 40s.

“It’s interesting that each of the former presidents beats President Bush and that his image has been hurt with what is perceived as his greatest strength. It’s intriguing to me as well that John Kerry is still stuck where he was on Election Night—an indicator that Democrats, today, are unable to take advantage of the nation’s situation politically.

“Ironically, the Republican message to Americans is to rely less on government. And it looks like that message is getting across, as Americans have more faith in the Red Cross in this crisis than government.

The first duty of any government is to protect its citizens. The Administration has failed in that task. - UK's Daily Mail proclaims.

World condemnation continues of the terrible response to Katrina's aftermath from BushCo and his government.

Italy's, Corriere della Sera flatly states: Storm Reveals A Leader Who Divides America. It concludes:

The whole world needed a unifying leader, who could only have emerged from the White House, and Mr. Bush does not look up to the task.The United States desperately needs a president who can talk to everyone, but Mr Bush prefers the rhetoric of division.September 11 2001 was Mr Bush’s zenith, his highest moment, and Katrina may be his nadir.And the long line of refugees leaving the wonderful city of New Orleans, trudging along the dry tracks of the only railway line not under water, is a foretaste of dispirited protests to come in the world’s greatest country, a land that can no longer get it together to work together.

This tragic response to a tragedy seems almost like a scene out of Shakespeare - an oligarchy or kingdom so corrupt and plagued with rampant nepotism, undeniably removed from its own people, that it is completely paralyzed and inept. Failures of the incompetence and uncaring and the tragic consequences to the poor and unfortunate...

It seems that BushCo only responded when the politics were at stake, not the people. They were covering, because they knew that many of his advisors, including VP Cheney, were still on vacation almost a full 6 days after the hurricane hit. 6 days. No doubt there will be consequences for the president. And if there isn't, there should be...

Is Bush to Blame for New Orleans Flooding?

FactCheck.org provides the most extensive research into who can be held accountable for the lack of preventative measures that could have minimized the loss of life and damage from Hurricane Katrina. The source list is telling - and I don't see the New York Times on it, for all those who still think the Times is ultra-liberal...

Thank you to Dana for bringing this to my attention...

New Katrina Poll is BAD news for Bush

Liberal Blogs for Hurricane Relief

Click to donate...

Many wonder why the world's wealthiest nation can't supply basic needs to survivors

Why should this be a surprise? This has nothing to with wealth and has everything to do with greed and ineptitude. The money is there. It is just a matter where their priorities lie...

Mayor Nagin Unloads on Feds - "No More Goddam Press Conferences"


Listen to New Orleans Mayor desparate plea for help. Is he politically biased? No, his city lies in ruins and the BushCo government just can't seem to mobilize a response.

"Why the hell can we send troops to Iraq and give Bush a blank check after 9/11 and not save the people of New Orleans?"

Good question...

Waiting for a Leader

Sacrifices may be necessary to make sure that all these things happen in an orderly, efficient way. But this administration has never been one to counsel sacrifice. And nothing about the president's demeanor yesterday - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis.

Confidence in the President has so eroded that; even the NY Times has biting remarks at his performance. When will this President put politics aside and forgo the photo-ops and smirks? His arrogance is demoralizing to those millions in the Gulf Coast suffering from this disaster. His promises mean nothing. It is clear that Americans must go it alone without clear and effective leadership.

No, no, no radical right wing, we are not blaming Mr. Bush solely for this natural disaster, we are blaming him for everything else - his and this government's economic incompetence regarding the needed funding to protect New Orleans from this type of tragedy; his delayed response and call to action, with glazed eyes and speech-by-number sound bytes; his lack of understanding and prioritizing the American people, sending National Guardsmen to Iraq when they would have been more effective here on home soil. This removal from responsibility is not the mark of a leader and certainly not presidential. The American work ethic has come to dictate that one is hired with the expectation that he or she will perform the duties to the best of their abilities - attempt to be prompt and responsible, respectful and courteous, willing to admit mistakes and move on only to perform better. Not every job is for every person. In the case of this Administration, we now know that this is true.

The disaster in Louisiana and Mississippi is overwhelming, upsetting, and very real. There is no time for spin. But, does BushCo really care? Note that over 50 percent of residents in this area are black and poor. In fact, the Gulf Coast represents one of the poorer areas in the United States. It is implied that we live in a pay to play society and "those" folks - the ones left behind struggle enough to keep afloat everyday. And now they are wading down Canal Street with nowhere to go and no expectations that they will survive. This is not the America I signed up for...