September 2005 Archives

The way that money moves in Washington and throughout government is obviously a Baroque dance, full of delicate complex patterns, furtive asides, bowing and scraping, and intrigue rivaling that of the Louis’ courts.

A Notated Baroque Dance

Having never learned the money dance, but knowing a bit about Baroque dance, I offer the following guide to the choreography of Monsieur DeLay’s latest troubles:

L’etat du Texas has a rule: a candidate for state office cannot accept money from a corporation.

Enter Monsieur DeLay, dressed in lace and silk stockings. The outcome he hopes for: more Republican seats in Congress. The pathway to that: Seize control of the Texas state legislature and then redistrict so as to assure the election of more Republicans to the U.S Congress.

The challenge: to assure that the corporations, who are complicit in this scheme whether they know it or not, are able to give large sums to the candidates for the Texas legislature indirectly, in order to achieve the redistricting required, in order to increase Republican seats in Congress.

From Vic, this morning:

The first thing I notice is that this room is full to the rafters with women who look smart. They just do. I also notice a decided lack of pearls…

Howard Dean is speaking as I arrive, talking about the core values of the Progressive movement: health insurance, poverty, deficit elimination and reproductive freedom for every woman.

The larger progressive notion that underlies all aspects of this movement is INDIVIDUAL PERSONAL FREEDOM - the need to articulate our core values while promoting equality and justice.

It’s about freedom, folks, and the only way to guarantee it is to get involved.

In 2004, only 52% of eligible women voted. 52%. That’s barely more than half of us, and it’s not good enough. We have to do better than that, and it’s why this room is full of people today.

It's official.

John Roberts has been confirmed as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court on a standing roll call vote.

UPDATE: Final Vote, 78-23.

The Roberts Court begins.

Dear Media,

Pleae take note of the following...

This is NOT looting:

(Photo: Yahoo News)

This IS Looting:

As fiscal hawks surrendered, would-be government contractors were meeting in the Hart Senate Office Building to figure out how to get a share of the money. A "Katrina Reconstruction Summit," hosted by Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) and sponsored by Halliburton, among others, brought some 200 lobbyists, corporate representatives and government staffers to a room overlooking the Capitol for a five-hour conference that included time for a "networking break" and advice on "opportunities for private sector involvement."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) sent his budget director, Bill Hoagland, who cautioned that federal Katrina spending might not exceed $100 billion. But John Clerici, from a law firm that helped sponsor the event, told the group that spending would "probably be larger" than $200 billion. "It's going to be spent in a fast and furious way," Clerici said.

Any questions?

Via Daily Kos:

Constance Baker Motley, a civil rights lawyer who fought nearly every important civil rights case for two decades and then became the first black woman to serve as a federal judge, died yesterday at NYU Downtown Hospital in Manhattan. She was 84.

The cause was congestive heart failure, said Isolde Motley, her daughter-in-law.

Judge Motley was the first black woman to serve in the New York State Senate, as well as the first woman to be Manhattan borough president, a position that guaranteed her a voice in running the entire city under an earlier system of local government called the Board of Estimate.

Judge Motley was at the center of the firestorm that raged through the South in the two decades after World War II, as blacks and their white allies pressed to end the segregation that had gripped the region since Reconstruction. She visited the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in jail, sang freedom songs in churches that had been bombed, and spent a night under armed guard with Medgar Evers, the civil rights leader who was later murdered.

But her métier was in the quieter, painstaking preparation and presentation of lawsuits that paved the way to fuller societal participation by blacks. She dressed elegantly, spoke in a low, lilting voice and, in case after case, earned a reputation as the chief courtroom tactician of the civil rights movement.

Gov. George C. Wallace of Alabama and other staunch segregationists yielded, kicking and screaming, to the verdicts of courts ruling against racial segregation. These huge victories were led by the N.A.A.C.P.'s Legal Defense and Education Fund, led by Thurgood Marshall, for which Judge Motley, Jack Greenberg, Robert Carter and a handful of other underpaid, overworked lawyers labored.

In particular, she directed the legal campaign that resulted in the admission of James H. Meredith to the University of Mississippi in 1962. She argued 10 cases before the United States Supreme Court and won nine of them.

Judge Motley won cases that ended segregation in Memphis restaurants and at whites-only lunch counters in Birmingham, Ala. She fought for King's right to march in Albany, Ga. She played an important role in representing blacks seeking admission to the Universities of Florida, Georgia Alabama and Mississippi and Clemson College in South Carolina.

Rest in peace.

Last night, Cindy Sheehan appeared at the University of Maryland, along with several distinguished professors and Kevin Zeese of DemocracyRising, to share her story, and her mission.

As we have all come to understand, Cindy has been tireless in her telling and retelling of her personal journey over the past year.

Last night, she brought a sense of the toll and the weight of that journey to us.

NEWS FLASH: Texas grand jury returns indictment of Tom Delay on one count of criminal conspiracy! Check news sites for more details.

Here's what the publisher of The Hammer: Tom Delay, God, Money, and the United States Congress says about the good Congressman:

"With The Hammer, Lou Dubose and Jan Reid track the rise of Tom DeLay from owner of a pest control business to unremarkable, and hard-partying, Texas legislator (his nickname was "Hot Tub Tom"), to the congressional pinnacle of power.

Last night Cindy Sheehan spoke at the University of Maryland--a large community of diverse opinions on every issue.

But this semester, there appeared a small cohort of student activists who understand what it takes to create change and bring justice to our country.

Monday night, they slept outside, in the rain (subsequent pre-timed sprinklers went off, adding to the overall cooling effect)in an act of solidarity with Cindy and the Crawford peacemakers.

As of this minute, while America is assaulted by what will be the media's framing onslaught of Cindy Sheehan's arrest in front of the White House, we offer this short collection of words from famous originators of civil disobedience. Their words, like Cindy's actions yesterday, help us keep our spine...

"The Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, the constitutions of the several states and the organic laws of the Territories, all alike propose to protect the people in the exercise of their God-given rights. Not one of them pretends to bestow rights."
Susan B. Anthony

Today's activities for democracy are two: I've got the easier one: I'm speaking with my Congressmember (and then flying home.) But a new friend of ours is going for the gusto! She will be participating in today's civil disobedience. The following letter is from her, describing her thoughts about today's actions:

We've got Stephanie's back...

Craziness! Just 3 days ago I was back home in Buffalo not knowing where I'd be staying while in DC let alone if I'd participate in the civil disobedience.

Yesterday's march for peace brought hundreds of thousands of Americans to the White House Lawn. Citizens from across the nation came together to demand an end to the occupation of Iraq and the return home of the troops as soon as possible.

The march is over. Now we turn to the next steps we need to take to bring back the promise of America, at home and abroad.

To that end, the Democracy Cell Project offers "The Progressive Pledge for America," a core set of proposals to get our country back on track. We urge Americans everywhere to take the pledge, and persuade their Senators and Representatives to sign the pledge and carry it out.

THE PROGRESSIVE PLEDGE FOR AMERICA

A Call to Action

As promised, more pictures from the March in DC...

But don't forget to look here as well for pics and posts...

Live Blogging from Pro-Peace March!

DCPers are in DC now and are calling in with reports as they line up to march. Stay tuned for continuous updates, reports & photos here.

Check below for blog posts phoned in from the troops on the ground at the March.

Brand New Pics from the March for Peace in Washington...

On the way to the rally...

Our friend Casey is lying abed recovering from surgery. But whatever drugs she is taking haven't slowed her mind down one bit. She's figured out what the Democrats should do.

But first a little story. A man's neighbor comes over and tells him that a terrible storm is coming, and that he should evacuate. The man says, No, God will take care of me. The neighbor offers a life preserver, but the man refuses. Sure enough, the rains fall, and the flood rises. A policeboat comes by, and offers to pick up the man, but again he refuses, saying that God will take care of me. The waters rise, and the man retreats to his roof. A helicopter comes by, but the man refuses to be rescued, shouting over the din that God will take care of him. An hour later, his house collapses, and he drowns in the flood.

There is new Camp Casey (III) across from the White House now. The crosses have been placed; the buses are in repose, the Vets for Peace and the Military Families have settled in for what they know is a standoff--for the very soul of America.

But I want to share a story that will do all our sore hearts good. It is the story of Adam Eidinger, who is overseeing the Operation Ceasefire concert.

First of all, read this:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33527-2005Jan24.html

"The District government agreed yesterday to pay a total of $425,000 to seven people caught up in a mass arrest at a downtown park in September 2002, acknowledging that they were wrongfully arrested and promising to adopt changes in police procedures...

Under the terms of the agreement, a high-ranking police commander must issue a warning to disperse before police can begin arresting protesters. Officers must be able to prove that individual protesters broke the law and cannot arrest people simply for protesting without a permit. All officers must have clearly displayed badge numbers. Police must also provide phones so that detainees can call attorneys, friends or family members.

Eidinger said he would use some of his cash award to promote the antiwar and anti-globalization message..."

Adam has been coming to the mobilization and organizing meetings for months and has been excited and positive about the concert especially. Until today, when I spoke with him, I never knew that he was donating his share of the money he won to the Operation Ceasefire concert.

$48,000. From his hands, to this effort. Because he really, really , really believes in justice, freedom, and democracy.

AND PEACE.

out.

I wrote this column in response to David Brooks' Thursday New York Times column, Democrats Still Split by Great Divide, comparing speeches of John Kerry and John Edwards. It takes the form of an open letter. Brooks' original column can be found at:

http://www.democracycellproject.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=886

Suz and I spent the afternoon at the Peace Festival site, at the corner of 17th and Constitution, helping the staff and volunteers of Operation Ceasefire set up the stage and tents for Saturday and Sunday’s activities. Well, we were very encouraging to those who were doing the heavy lifting anyway!

We first ran into Tina, who was serving up food for the volunteers:

"It makes no sense to spend billions of dollars to rebuild a city that's seven feet under sea level....It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed."

–House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Aug. 31, 2005

In August 2004, a group of 7000 local, state and federal professionals focused on flood management, prevention and mitigation called the Association of State Flood Plain Managers (ASFPM) passed a resolution expressing their concern about the dissolution and deterioration of FEMA within DHS. In January 2005, they wrote to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert with this warning.

FROM WIKIPEDIA:
"The snake oil peddler became a stereotype in Western movies: a travelling "doctor" with dubious credentials, selling some medicine — such as snake oil — with boisterous marketing hype, often supported by pseudo-scientific evidence. To enhance sales, an accomplice in the crowd would often 'attest' the value of the product in an effort to provoke buying enthusiasm. The "doctor" would prudently leave town before his customers realized that they had been cheated."

Should we be surprised when we see these stories (albeit on the back pages) of the underqualified and ethically challenged who have been appointed to highly responsible positions coordinating the recovery from the country's worst natural disaster in history?

Here's the partial list of the pyramid of snake oil salesmen allowed in on what is shaping up to be the biggest domestic federal dollar giveaway on record:

Start from the bottom and work your way up:

MICHAEL BROWN, former head of FEMA
FEMA Chief Brown Paid Millions in False Claims to Help Bush Win Fla. Votes
September 19, 2005
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1460

Michael Brown, the embattled head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, approved payments in excess of $31 million in taxpayer money to thousands of Florida residents who were unaffected by Hurricane Frances and three other hurricanes last year in an effort to help President Bush win a majority of votes in that state during his reelection campaign, according to published reports.

Homeland Security sources told the Post that after the hurricanes that Brown "and his allies [recommended] him to succeed Tom Ridge as Homeland Security secretary because of their claim that he helped deliver Florida to President Bush by efficiently responding to the Florida hurricanes."

In light of Katrina, and the estimated $200 Billion dollar reconstruction costs, I wouldn’t think that any member of Congress could say with a straight face that we need to maintain the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans “to keep the economy rolling.”

But they are. I saw this on the Sunday talking head shows - from actual members of Congress. Not kidding.

Is it possible for these people to be that out of touch? That out of step with the general public? Apparently.

Bob Schieffer offers some insights on a new poll showing that 83% of Americans now believe the war in Iraq is costing money that is needed at home. A majority say that the war in Iraq is not making us safer.

[From DCP blogger Ellen via Ellen's Illinois Tenth Congressional District Blog]


Millions of dollars are missing in Iraq.  Turns out that Paul Bremer worked, not for the state department as a diplomat, but for the department of defense. He presided over cash payments made to corporate mercenaries.  Some congressional Democrats have asked for an accounting and hearings, but the call has been quieted and the taxpayer dollars are gone, magically disappeared.

In 2000 and 2004 votes for Democrats magically disappeared too. Now, there is an employee of Diebold who is speaking out about the known back door for hackers and the cover-up. But that's so technical, not the type of things Americans are known to ask about, not something good like sex with an intern in the Oval Office, so although bloggers are talking about it, it's unlikely to get much press in the mainstream media. American votes, magically disappeared, and along with them our ability to have real elections in our so-called democracy.

Between the war on Iraq and the rebuilding of New Orleans, you have to wonder whether there will be even a shred left of the rule of law that was once one of our country’s claim to fame. The term “rank opportunism” does not begin to describe the Machiavellian grandiosity of the shameless assaults which George Bush and his supporters in the Congress are mounting against an ever-growing number of the laws of our great country.

Let’s start with Iraq. A federal appeals court has ruled that as commander-in-chief, with no legislative authorization, the president now has the power to designate anyone, including citizens of the United States, as an “enemy combatant,” and after having done so, to arrest this person and imprison him or her for the rest of his or her natural life, with no charges, no trial, and no access to an attorney.

How do you like them apples? Sounds pretty much like every Communist police state I was warned about growing up during the Cold War.

Update:

Josh Marshall over at TPM is asking folks to call their members of Congress and ask where they stand on President Bush’s Gulf Coast Wage Cut. He's keeping a list.

Here's the link:
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_09_18.php#006565

================================================

I spoke with someone yesterday who made me question what I know about the Davis-Bacon Act and the ramifications of Bush's recent suppression of it. Though I can not go into details of who, when, and why we spoke, I would like to tell you what appeared to be the other side of the story about it.

Though many of you already know what the Davis-Bacon Act is, I will quickly sum up for those who do not: The Davis-Bacon Act requires the payment of prevailing rates of wages on Federal public works. It was approved in 1940. The President has the authority to suppress the wages mandated by this act.

Simple right? The president has the authority during times of national emergencies to cut out the minimum wage mandated by this act. Let's refer to that minimum wage as the floor.

Getting back to the original point...the person to whom I spoke pointed out that the assumption that people would make less than the floor is incorrect. He believes the natural consequences of Capitalism will take care of the problem by simple supply and demand, ie: people will refuse to work for less money and will go work for the company who is offering more money, thus each company would have to up his wages to get workers for the job.

Sounds reasonable, huh?

But let's think about that more deeply. As dwahzon pointed out to me after that conversation, if the floor of the wages is usually $20. dollars per hour and companies now may lower their wages to $10 dollars an hour, then inherently no amount of competition between the suppliers (the business owners) and the demand (the job seekers) will ever bring the income that these workers would make back to the original floor.

That was my original opinion but the person to whom I spoke argued convincingly that that is an assumption...a guess!

Americans witnessed a startling juxtaposition this week. On Wednesday, a vote at the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention made it more likely that gay marriage will become a permanent institution in that state. On Thursday, The New York Times revealed that Pope Benedict XVI has begun a purge of homosexuals, and faculty that disagree with official Vatican teaching, in American seminaries. As Laurie Goodstein reports in her September 15th story, Vatican to Check U.S. Seminaries on Gay Presence:

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.

The Vatican document, given to The New York Times yesterday by a priest, surfaces as Catholics await a Vatican ruling on whether homosexuals should be barred from the priesthood.

In a possible indication of the ruling's contents, the American archbishop who is supervising the seminary review said last week that "anyone who has engaged in homosexual activity or has strong homosexual inclinations," should not be admitted to a seminary.

Edwin O'Brien, archbishop for the United States military, told The National Catholic Register that the restriction should apply even to those who have not been sexually active for a decade or more.

[Editor's Note: This is another installment in our ongoing Saturday morning series examining and exploring the powerful relationship between Art and Politics.]

What happens when the tools of theater are applied to politics? Stagecraft meets Political Soliloquy.

Not surprisingly, the same transformational magic that is used to good effect in transporting the theater-goer to a different reality, is used to inveidious effect, to orchestrate a well-planned and executed strategy of public deception.

And I am not the only one who thinks so. Far from it.

It's nice to see our usually prostrate media now decrying that which they were admiring only a year ago. Remember how the members of the snooze media, en masse, fawningly declared the genius of Karl Rove for his staging of the Republican Convention? I recall the near unanimous shouts of, "Brilliant!" on every news channel, because Rove had managed to create an elaborate four-day political charade, culminating in his candidate appearing to speak from a pulpit, rather than a podium. And why not? Wouldn't everyone vote for God for President?

But things change, and so has this.

Patrick Fitzgerald has asked Congress to not hold hearings on the Plame issue, and I agree.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Justice Department and the special counsel investigating the leak of a CIA operative's identity pressed Congress to block legislation that would compel the administration to turn over documents related to the case, the department said in a letter released on Thursday.

The Justice Department, in a letter dated September 14, said special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald had advised that producing documents and holding hearings would interfere with his investigation. The letter was sent to the House Intelligence Committee's Republican chairman, Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan.

Comedian Bill Maher closes each of his HBO Late Night episodes with a segment he calls "New Rules". Maher’s September 9th broadcast concluded with a “new rule” that couldn’t help but make reality-based Americans both laugh and cry at the same time.

*****

And finally, New Rule: America must recall the president. That's what this country needs. A good, old-fashioned, California-style recall election! Complete with Gary Coleman, porno actresses and action film stars. And just like Schwarzenegger's predecessor here in California, George Bush is now so unpopular, he must defend his job against...Russell Crowe. Because at this point, I want a leader who will throw a phone at somebody. In fact, let's have only phone throwers. Naomi Campbell can be the vice-president!

I'm not saying you don't love this country. I'm just wondering how much worse it could be if you were on the other side. So, yes, God does speak to you, and what he's saying is, "Take a hint.

*****

Bill, seriously, from your mouth to the ears of the House of Representatives. The Framers didn't leave us a provision for a recall petition, but impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors is both available, and an eminently appropriate end for our ne’er-do-well President.

[Editor's Note: So let's hear what you think about the new rule. Post it. Keep it clean please, and let's talk about it.]

Rep. John Conyers talks about the importance of including the American people in a dialogue on the next steps in Iraq:

Dr. Kenneth Katzman (Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs at the Congressional Research Center) stresses the need to find a formula for the process that includes the Sunni perspective.

Ambassador David Mack (Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates under Ronald Reagan, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Vice President of the Middle East Institute) is the next speaker. Mr. Mack reiterates the importance of credible Sunni leadership involvement, and says that a high level international political leader - not an American - will lend credibility and authority to the process.

================================================================
After listening to the testimony today, one is stricken deeply by the complexity of the U.S. position in Iraq. We cannot afford to fail, and the government has not defined a realistic strategy for success.

What is also apparent is that this issue carries repercussions for virtually every aspect of our national life, and that it needs to be addressed by all the members of this Congress.

The Iraq conflict will require honest analysis - not political rhetoric - from the U.S. government, and the thoughtful development of achievable goals.

We can hope that today's hearing will be the beginning of that dialogue.

From Victoria:

Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) issued a statement this morning calling on members of Congress to devise a plan to bring the troops home from Iraq.

The hearing is meant to begin the process of creating a roadmap for peace in Iraq. It is not meant to endorse any one exit strategy, but to break the silence on Capitol Hill surrounding this subject.

The hearing room is packed and many members of the media are in attendance. I was initially directed to the overflow room, but wanted to be in the hearing room itself. After calling Congresswoman Woolsey's office, her staff kindly directed me to the hearing room. As soon as I arrived, the Congresswoman's Director of Communications, Susannah Cernojevich, approached me and escorted me into the hearing room so I could take photographs (to be posted later). I'd like to thank her for her help.

I arrived in time to hear DCP supporter, Andy Shallal, giving testimony on the reality in Iraq during the occupation. He recounted the details of the kidnapping of his fourteen year old nephew, gas shortages, housing problems, security issues, lack of electricity and jobs. Andy says if you ask an Iraqi what the most important issues are facing the country, he will NOT tell you it's writing a brilliant constitution.

Mr. Shallal continued his testimony by discussing the concept of winning the hearts and minds. He pointed out the critical difference between crushing the insurgency and diffusing the insurgency, concluding that a plan to engage the leaders of the insurgency in dialogue would lessen their ability to recruit new members.

More to come...

Just when you think you have seen everything, there's this, from Atrios, via First Draft.

And sure, my first thought was, "Can you say PHOTO SHOP?" But alas, no. Here's the Reuter's original. All the fine folks at First Draft did was enlarge the image to make it legible.

You gotta ask yourself, what is the status of leadership in this country when Bush has to ask Rice if it's possible for him to take a bathroom break?

I don't even know what to think about the implications of this note and someone's ability to lead a country in a time of crisis. It's deeeply disturbing.

I know that there are those who would say that the President is perhaps asking for what the protocol may be in such a situation, but is that an adequate explanation for why the leader of the free world needs to ask his Secretary of State about a bathroom break?

Anyone have those "strong leader" poll numbers handy?

Tonight, Karen and I attended an event on behalf of Rep. Jim Oberstar (8th District, Minnesota) in Washington, D.C. The food is always good at the Minnesota Wild Game Dinner: Venison, Walleye, Buffalo, Smoked Whitefish, Bear, Wild Rice. You betcha.

I don't go to many political fundraisers. But I went to this one because Jim Oberstar was my representative for my entire early life in northern Minnesota. I've met him, he knows my family, and he is, as we say at home, 'a keeper.'

He is one of those rare public servants who actually still believes he's a public servant.

He talked about a number of issues: The devastation of Katrina, and his unheeded personal warning to President Bush of the dangers in absorbing FEMA into the behemoth that is Homeland Security.

And he also shared his very real sadness at today's announcement by Northwest Airlines that they will be declaring bankruptcy. Northwest Airlines is a homegrown Minnesota company, and Jim talked about the huge impact this will have on working families in our state.

Northwest Airlines accounts for thousands of jobs in Minnesota. This includes many jobs in the northern part of the state, an area already devastated by the untimely deaths of the steel and mining industries. Coming on the heels of the Katrina disaster, the impact seems even larger. These are times that call out for leadership.

It's pretty clear that we've got a lot of soul-searching to do in this country. And we need elected officials that we can trust, and that truly care about a future that we share - whether we are the haves or the have-nots.

So, if you have some time this week, you might want to get in touch with your Senator or Representative.

You don't need to take a lot of their time. Just let them know that you're informed, that you vote, and remind them of one of life's great truths: That a job is a terrible thing to lose.

Greenpeace USA led one of the more visually dramatic protests this year on the Mall in front of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday morning. With police and firefighters looking on, and a realistic-looking tank car spewing fumes in the background, a group of 100 demonstrators staged a die-in protesting the refusal of the Bush administration and the Congress to take action against one of the deadliest but most common terrorist threats, toxic tank cars.

A Department of Defense study has estimated that rupturing a 90-ton tank car filled with chlorine in the District of Columbia could kill or seriously injure as many as 100,000 people in less than a half-hour.

Danielle Drakes reading Riverbend's portrait of Baghdad Burning

The piece begins with a section from Riverbend's Bagdad Burning: Girl Blog from Iraq entitled "Normal Day". It goes like this:

Normal day today. We were up at early morning, did the usual ‘around the house’ things, you know—check if the water tank is full, try to determine when the electricity will be off, checked if there was enough cooking gas…You know what really bugs me about posting on the Internet, chat rooms or message boards? The first reaction (usually from Americans) is “You’re lying, you’re not Iraqi.” Why am I not Iraqi—-well, because a.) I have internet access (Iraqis have no internet) b.) I know how to use the internet (Iraqis don’t know what computers are) and c.) Iraqis don’t now how to speak English (I must be a liberal). All that shouldn’t bother me, but it does. I see the troops in the streets and think, “so that’s what they thought of us before they occupied us…that may be what they think of us now.”

[Editor: Here’s a small discussion about Leadership from two of our bloggers, Veritas and Christy Cole, that we wanted to highlight. Definitely deserving of more thought and attention...]

~Veritas~
So here's something I was thinking about this morning...why is it that Katrina has exposed a complete vacuum of leadership among politicians of all stripes, at all levels?

I have heard a lot of griping but that is not leadership.

Someone should have stepped forward and stated that out of this grisly disaster, there were opportunities for hope.

Someone should have welcomed displaced citizens into their home, and then encouraged other Americans across the country to do the same.

Someone should have authorized (or lobbied for) public-private partnerships that would have provided displaced citizens with temporary housing in desirable communities across the nation.

Someone should have said that this was an opportunity for all Americans to reach out and open their homes and hearts and pocketbooks to welcome in their brothers and sisters from New Orleans and Gulfport and Biloxi.

Someone should have said that we had an opportunity rarely presented in our nation, for people trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of poverty, crime, drugs, and hopelessness to be welcomed into the open arms of the American dream, if only for a year until they insist on returning and rebuilding.

Someone should have taken the opportunity to quickly establish a visible chain of command from the local level to the federal level that ensured every city had a disaster plan and every plan accounted for the poor.

[Notice from the editor: Join us in the IRC tonight starting about 9-9:15 eastern for a post-performance discussion/chat with the performers at tonight's DCP fundraiser at Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC. Tonight's event is "FEAR UP: A reader’s theatre presentation of stories from Iraq and Guantanamo". Check the front page for more details and attend if you're in the area.]

                    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And Now For The Bad News...

There are approximately one thousand things about the handling of Katrina and her aftermath that have made me angry. But the thing that moves me beyond anger into a kind of numb depression is this:

Not one single person in the Bush administration or the United States Congress will try to honestly discover what went wrong.

The Bush administration, when the full depth and spectrum of their failure became obvious, did not launch into an immediate effort to rectify the situation.

Instead, they launched an immediate and massive Public Relations effort. The usual talking heads streamed into television studios and began to swear that it was the state and/or local authorities in New Orleans that killed all those poor people. The federal government did all it could. Even the President cut short his vacation by two whole days. This is Act I of the Presidential Ass-Covering (PAC).

This position was being parroted to me in a D.C. bar by a neo-con partisan hack by last Thursday night. The talking points had been written, distributed and acted upon.

As Americans, we are nothing if not fantastic about being open hearted and generous to those in need because we have so much.

The outpouring of food, clothing and shelter to Katrina victims across the country underscores why I love this country so much. The victims of Katrina deserve as much help as possible to get back on their feet as quickly as they can.

However, when I read this:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050904/ap_on_bi_ge/katrina_halliburton_hk3_1

and this:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9282533/

and despite what one President's mother says about the Katrina evacuees sheltered in Houston, it makes me wonder who is the REAL slacker on the public welfare dole. The ones who don't have to work to compete fairly for jobs? The ones not being accountable for public dollars spent? And worse yet, the ones feeding an ever increasing addictive behavior?

Its amazing to watch a government so eager to cannibalize its own country for corporate greed. I am sickened by the number of current and former administration officials now working as lobbyists who gain financial windfalls on the backs of the new diaspora of disenfranchised Katrina evacuees--their ruined comunities and lives. I am sickened by the level of corruption that would make banana republics worldwide blush.

How much money is too much? How much more do corporations like Bechtel, KBR, and Halliburton need to net in order to feel comfortable with their year end profit and loss? And why do the uncounted dead and ruined lives of American citizens have to be the price for it?

While hundreds of Katrina disaster workers will be paid less than minimum wage to re-build a once-again ruined South, all the big moneyed ambulance chasers are lining up outside the doors of Congress and the White House, waiting to cash in on their federal dollar fix to fuel their ever-increasing addiction to the American Treasury. The same old players. All some of them are waiting for now is the big Change Order on their existing contracts for Iraq, adding yet another few billion to their already overstuffed bottom line.

That's our money; money we work hard for to fix roads, build schools, educate our children, strengthen our infrastructure, support the social contract, and even help us stay safe in the event of an emergency. It could be used to help jump start local businesses that need local blue-collar labor, mostly from the ranks of the poor and working class to re-tool and rebuild themselves and their local economies from the ruins.

The Federal government seems to be binge-ing again on disaster...doing the "dance" with their corporate welfare recipients like they always do.

Addicted. And our tax dollars are providing the "fix" to their corporate "need".

When and how do we rush an intervention before it's too late, and get these overpaid slackers off the public dole before they bleed us dry?

There's a ceremony taking place this morning at Ground Zero: a commemoration of the fallen of September 11th. For the families of the victims of the attack on the World Trade Center, the arrival of this day will always be the cause of profound anguish. I wonder, however, if it’s possible that there will come a time for the rest of us, both here in New York and across America, when this day will become less an occasion of grief and anger, and more a day of thoughtful reflection?

So long as Osama Bin Laden and his lieutenants remain free, this day must remind us of our unfinished business. Treachery cannot be allowed to go unpunished. We owe it to our dead to see that justice is done. In a very real sense, by focusing United States' efforts on occupying Iraq, rather than dismantling al Qaeda, President Bush has only exacerbated the pain and suffering of New Yorkers.

Yet, at some point, once Bin Laden and his lieutenants have been captured or killed, Americans are going to have to at least consider the possibility of closure. Again, perhaps not the friends and families of those who lost loved ones that day. We cannot, and should not, expect that. But the rest of us are going to have to come to grips with an equation: at what point is enough, enough? At what point does a thirst for vengeance become, to borrow a phrase from Mohandas Gandhi, “an eye for an eye, making the whole world blind?”

The latest installment in our series to heal the shockingly afflicted lumpen masses... Oy.

Today's message comes from the heart of official Washington. Specifically, Busboys & Poets Cafe, where rehearsals are being held for Monday night's performance of "Fear Up: Stories from Guantanamo and Baghdad." As always, I am here to support my friends at the Democracy Cell Project in their first major event. Frequent readers will note that I have spent a great deal of time in Washington lately, a fact not without cost to loved ones at home in Andersonia. I send them love and white light.

Actors have come together from around the D.C. metro and across the country to share the real-life stories of the many individuals who have experienced the conflict in Iraq on a deeply personal level. This group of actors will give voice to some of their stories on Monday.

As always, it is pleasurable to see actors in their natural habitat - a darkened, empty room, waiting for an audience that has been liberally plied with liquor. I have a great appreciation for this art form, having dabbled in it myself prior to my work as an international healer and espionage agent. Life is quite a journey, isn't it?

The stories the actors tell are not funny. They are tragic, and horrifying and generally do not help in the digestive process, but they are stories that need to be told. You will not see them on CNN.

I have been asked to provide some comic relief to the people involved in this project, and so have brought my unicycle and a miniature poodle to lighten things up a little. Her name is Pinky Bodacious, and she does tricks that are appropriate for ages 18 and up. If you're old enough to vote, you can see her show when it comes to a theater near you.

In any case, Monday's event promises to be an exciting one, and I look forward to keeping my loyal readers apprised of all the action. There is much more to come, and I will work tirelessly to report all of it for you, my lumpen friends.

Here's a hint of what's to come...

Tomorrow: Report from the "Bushville" encampment on the National Mall.... Think "Hooverville" and you're on the right track...

There really is no rest for the wicked. See you tomorrow.

Love,
Polly

So many good comments this week; but these three really spoke to why we are here at the DCP. As we grow, we grow capacity for change as well:

I own a small simple pin, it's nothing more than a red ribbon a white ribbon, and a blue ribbon tied in a simple knot, held on by a little pearl tie tack. No rubies or diamonds or sapphires, just narrow satin ribbons. It is my symbol of my pride in America. I got it, or at least the ribbons for it on the Friday after 9/11. Remember? That was the day of the memorial service in Washington, the day most of us tried to show our support for the country we loved. It is the most precious piece of jewelry I own. It gets worn on the Fourth of July, and I wore it every time I walked my precinct last year.

Ira has been telling us about the bankruptcy law and the Conyers/Nadler/Lee Amendment that has been proposed for a few days now. Well, let's get on it!

Here's the article he referenced:

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/3345871

Sept. 8, 2005, 8:30PM

Law to deal second blow to victims of hurricane
By LOREN STEFFY
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

A bad law just keeps getting worse.

The devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is exposing more shortcomings in the federal bankruptcy law that's scheduled to take effect Oct. 17.

The so-called Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act is the love letter that Congress wrote to the credit card industry this spring. It's been widely decried by corporate and personal bankruptcy attorneys alike for making the process more convoluted, expensive and difficult for consumers, companies and even creditors.

Now it may bog down the Katrina recovery effort as well.

"The victims of Hurricane Katrina may face a cruel second blow when they take steps to try to put their lives back together," says Brad Botes, a bankruptcy attorney with the firm Bond & Botes, which has offices in the southeastern U.S., including some of the regions affected by the storm.

With jobs lost, lives uprooted and homes and businesses destroyed, bankruptcies are certain to rise in the coming months.

"The things that force people to file bankruptcy are usually some sort of catastrophic event," says Susan Matthews, a bankruptcy attorney with the Houston office of Adams and Reese. "Having their home wiped out and losing their job would force people to seek bankruptcy protection."

Mostly it's crises

Katrina reminds us that crises, not irresponsibility, are the primary cause of personal bankruptcies.

The new law, though, assumes that most debtors are simply dishonest, that they're looking for a way to shirk their obligations. So beginning next month, in order to file a standard Chapter 7 bankruptcy, debtors will have to show not only that they are broke, but that they've been broke for at least six months. Losing everything in a hurricane apparently won't be enough.

The law also requires additional paperwork such as copies of tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements and other financial records that, thanks to Katrina, may simply no longer exist.

Congress also enacted a provision requiring debtors to undergo credit counseling. In most cases, though, people forced into bankruptcy by a natural disaster don't need counseling, they need relief.

Debtors may be able to get some of these requirements waived, but they would have to petition the court, on an individual basis, which
takes additional time and money.

Waiving provisions

The Consumer Federation of America and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys on Wednesday called on Congress to delay or waive the more onerous provisions of the new law for victims of natural disasters.

Four U.S. House members, including Houston's Sheila Jackson Lee, said Thursday they plan to introduce legislation that would do just that when Congress reconvenes next week.

"What we need to do here is avoid kicking hurricane victims when they're already down," says Botes, who is an NACBA director.

Even without the changes in the law, evacuees such as those in the Astrodome and other shelters around Texas may have difficulty filing bankruptcy. Residents of Louisiana, for example, can't file a case in Texas. Federal law stipulates that debtors must file in the judicial district where they reside.

(The State Bar of Texas is setting up mobile clinics for evacuees in need of legal advice.)

A second chance

It's an unfortunate consequence of disasters that people succumb to financial hardships they often couldn't imagine. Even if lenders cooperate in delaying payment demands temporarily, some borrowers, having lost both home and employment, may find themselves unable to catch up.

In America, we believe in the second chance. We believe in the idea of picking ourselves up from failure and trying again. It's the basis for our bankruptcy laws, which are unique in the world.

Nowhere is that concept more essential than in those areas digging out from Katrina's devastation.

"It's the only safety net these people have right now, and it needs to be there," Botes says. Along the Gulf Coast, the next few months will be a time of rebuilding, of starting over. It's a time for second chances, not just for the storm victims, but for members of Congress, too.

They have a chance to fix some of the mistakes they legislated in the spring.

******

OK, so start calling--it's Friday, it's late, but those of us west of the Mississippi can still call the media and the legislators--get them ON THIS!

Thanks, Ira.

When we first came up with the category of "The Politics of Security", we never guessed how far-reaching and how deeply drawn this topic header would go.

But after viewing the results of the appalling lack of judgement and incompetence by the federal government to protect and serve its citizens in time of peril and distress, the raw evidence of criminal carelessness we see in the devastation of Katrina, one of the things we need to now look at as cities everywhere is: Where is our disaster preparedness now?

From National Geographic

The storm hit Breton Sound with the fury of a nuclear warhead, pushing a deadly storm surge into Lake Pontchartrain. The water crept to the top of the massive berm that holds back the lake and then spilled over. Nearly 80 percent of New Orleans lies below sea level‹more than eight feet below in places‹so the water poured in. A liquid brown wall washed over the brick ranch homes of Gentilly, over the clapboard houses of the Ninth Ward, over the white-columned porches of the Garden District, until it raced through the bars and strip joints on Bourbon Street like the pale rider of the Apocalypse. As it reached 25 feet (eight meters) over parts of the city, people climbed onto roofs to escape it.

If I were to characterize today’s gathering outside the White House, by identifying one single cause, one single thing that has made these Americans angry, I’d be hard pressed to do so. There are a lot of different people here today, and they are here for a lot of different reasons.

Many of them are motivated by the massive governmental failure that the world witnessed with the Katrina disaster.

The crowd gathers

It’s clear that some people here also see the Katrina debacle as yet another blow to the already reeling masses of American “have-nots.” It has been a banner year for the have-nots. They have taken hit after hit from the haves and have-mores that are the President’s self-identified base.

“SHAME ON BUSH,” the crowd screams. “FIRE BROWN!” “IMPEACH BUSH”

Signs ask “Where Does the Buck Stop?” Good question, that…

Bill of Rights of the United States of America:
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Bill of Rights under George W. Bush, according to Reuters:

"The U.S. government agency leading the rescue efforts after Hurricane Katrina said on Tuesday it does not want the news media to take photographs of the dead as they are recovered from the flooded New Orleans area.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, heavily criticized for its slow response to the devastation caused by the hurricane, rejected requests from journalists to accompany rescue boats as they went out to search for storm victims."

I fault this president (George W. Bush) for not knowing what death is.

He does not suffer the death of our twenty-one year olds who wanted to be what they could be.

On the eve of D-day in 1944 General Eisenhower prayed to God for the lives of the young soldiers he knew were going to die. He knew what death was. Even in a justifiable war, a war not of choice but of necessity, a war of survival, the cost was almost more than Eisenhower could bear.

But this president does not know what death is. He hasn't the mind for it. You see him joking with the press, peering under the table for the WMDs he can't seem to find, you see him at rallies strutting up to the stage in shirt sleeves to the roar of the carefully screened crowd, smiling and waving, triumphal, a he-man. He does not mourn. He doesn't understand why he should mourn. He is satisfied during the course of a speech written for him to look solemn for a moment and speak of the brave young Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

But you study him, you look into his eyes and know he dissembles an emotion which he does not feel in the depths of his being because he has no capacity for it. He does not feel a personal responsibility for the thousand dead young men and women who wanted to be what they could be.

It's worse than I had imagined, and the political CPR efforts that are being forcebly injected into the President's image, married to the cabinet-wide orchestration of revisionist history seem especially vulgar, calculating and cold-blooded in light of this information from Josh Marshall:

I had heard it suggested by a knowledgable source that a White House representative was listening in when National Hurricane Center Chief Max Mayfield gave that briefing to Brown and Chertoff before Katrina hit.

But according to this August 30th article in the St. Petersburg Times, on Sunday the 28th, Mayfield arranged a video conference call with President Bush himself at the Crawford Ranch during which he explained the hurricane's force and destructive potential.

Perhaps this is common knowledge. But I hadn't heard it before. And it would seem to leave little question that the president himself knew the critical information from Mayfield before Katrina even made landfall.

Said Mayfield, according to the Times: "I just wanted to be able to go to sleep that night knowing that I did all I could do."

And yet, they all stayed on vacation while New Orleans drowned.

What once seemed incredibly inept, now seems downright criminal.

Here in New York, I have little doubt that the actions, or rather inactions, of a number of members of the Bush Administration would constitute a legal finding of "depraved indifference". Depraved indifference means to be responsible for circumstances which create a grave risk to human life, and depravity aggravates an assault charge (NYS CPL § 120.10). Or, even if no physical injury occurs, depravity warrants a charge of reckless endangerment (NYS CPL § 120.25).

At the very least, it certainly looks and feels like depraved indifference.

I wonder what charges the public will ultimately bring against the Bush Administration? There is a lingering difficulty for the human mind to cross the gap from criminal responsibility to morally reprehensible behavior when no explanation is offered.

So what explanation can be offered in this instance when so many people are asking, "Why didn't they help? They knew and they still stayed on vacation and did nothing?"

I think that the public will need answers to those questions of morality before they will hold those responsible for the genocide of depraved indifference which occurred in New Orleans fully accountable.

What answers will the public be given, and when?

Last Wednesday, Americans watched in horror as the survivors of Katrina, particularly those in New Orleans, were shown pleading for help from a government that took too long to decide or act, and too little to plan for this inevitable event.

Our televisions showed seas of faces black and white, infants and grandparents of every stripe, struggling in the midst of the dread of the storm and its even more severe aftermath. They were people who, despite the media's earlier claims were "those who chose to stay", were actually "Those Not Able to Leave".

But this population had another name long before Katrina and other major storms, long before even this current Administration. A population borne out nearly fifty years of "benign" neglect, the betrayal of LBJ's War on Poverty, the Great Society, of supply-side economics and trickle-down theories. This generations-long onslaught on an entire society of the underclass left completely and literally "raftless" on a sea of economic and societal uncertainty.

Landless. Voiceless. Powerless. America's "Invisibles".

To be Invisible in America is the certainty that one small wrong step can lead to your impoverishment and/or your imprisonment. Starting with your birth, if you get to stay with your birth parents or put into foster care. You're shunted from school to school, and if lucky, you hopefully can last long enough to get a high school diploma, if not, you stay permanently stuck because you didn't learn how to read. You are caught in a veritable Infrastructure of Poverty. Given a choice between homelessness and incarceration, some choose incarceration. At least you have three square and a roof over your head.

Being Invisible is to have absolutely no societal expectations of you, other than to further drive you down, caricaturizing you as "welfare bum", "hanger-on" or worse. You become the target of total derision by those with wherewithal (the haves) to begrudge the percentage taxed from their income to take care of you (the Have-Not), and by politicians all-too willing to demonize you for their own political gain because of it.

Here in post-Katrina America---the un-earthing by water exposed what lay in America's heart of darkness. The entire world watched in embarassment as the world's richest country was exposed for its systemwide policy of neglect of entire generations of people. We are currently under an Administration whose compassion can be boiled down to a few photo-op minutes on national media. An Administration whose design and selection of federal management going all the way up the ranks and across the boards shows its disregard for the underclass in its foreign and domestic policy.

And they're still actually doing this with a straight face.

This is why I bristle when I hear the survivors of the Katrina disaster being referred to as "these people" as if they are somehow separate from our experience. They are still, and always will be Our People.

And we are killing them.

Today is the day that the real work begins. Summer is over, and we are all back to work. Even Congress has a full agenda.

Here at the DCP, we have a full agenda as well. Let's update:

1. Several of us are working in various capacities to help out Katrina victims. Let's get those boxes off to Houston, Covington, Gulfport, Biloxi--wherever they can do the most good. Keep the donations going to Veritas' colleagues. http://www.cgmahq.org/

2. Barbara Lee's Resolution of Inquiry (Iraq War lies) has 61 members of Congress already signed on. This includes at least one Republican. A vote in committee will come between Sept. 6 and Sept. 15. Whether or not your Member serves on the International Relations Committee, they can sign on to co-sponsor the Resolution. They come back to work on Tuesday. You can call them first thing!
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/902

3. It is not too late to write Letters to the Editor or even Op-Eds for your local newspaper. Keep these short and to the point; back up any claims with serious reliable information. Suggested topics: global warming and the Kyoto Agreement, depletion of coastal wetlands and the effects on hurricane and other storm damage, the role of governance in our lives, why President Bush should listen to Cindy Sheehan, etc.

Peter McGuire (Copyright © 2001-2005 by BJ Swartz. Permission is granted to use the photo as long as it is not for profit and not for reproduction in a publication without credit. If you do use a photo, I'd just like to know and would appreciate it if you would send a donation to St. Paul's Food Basket. Thanks!)

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."

But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

From the Department of Labor

Today is a day to celebrate the American worker. As a long-time union guy, I fully honor those who struggled before me to bring economic justice and reasonable conditions to our workers.

But the American labor movement may be in its toughest struggle ever. As we battle on all the fronts we are fighting today: racism, indifference to injustice, the ebbing of rights for women, the slow responses to tragedy when poor people are involved and the clear commitment to toadying up to the wealthy. let's also take a minute today to think about and work towards a fair shake for the producers of all that capital--the American worker.

Hopefully, she/he will be returning to our shores, fully compensated and honored, soon...

I watched the Sunday shows this morning. You know, the nonsense shows of the punditry class, which is populated by the stars of the clueless class. But a strange this happened this morning. There were some rare moments of honesty shining through, the likes of which haven't been seen on television in quite some time.

First up, there was Mary Landrieu on Stephanopoulos, threatening to punch anyone, including the President, who spouts one more word of criticism of federal and local officials in her direction. That was after she released the press piece which called the President out for staging a photo op to look like they were fixing the levee, only to have all of the 'staging' disappear and only ONE little bulldozer working at the site 24 hours later.

Then there was near-to-tears President of Jefferson Parrish, Aaron Broussard, on Meet the Press:

Sir, they were told like me. Every single day. The cavalry is coming. On the federal level. The cavalry is coming. The cavalry is coming. The cavalry is coming. I have just begun to hear the hooves of the cavalry. The cavalry is still not here yet, but I have begun to hear the hooves and were almost a week out.

Three quick examples. We had Wal-mart deliver three trucks of water. Trailer trucks of water. Fema turned them back, said we didn't need them. This was a week go. We had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on a coast guard vessel docked in my parish. The coast guard said come get the fuel right way. When we got there with our trucks, they got a word, FEMA says don't give you the fuel. Yesterday, yesterday, fema comes in and cuts all our emergency communications lines. They cut them without notice. Our sheriff, Harry Lee, goes back in. he reconnects the line. He posts armed guards said no one is getting near these lines.

...

The guy who runs this building I'm in. Emergency management. He's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said. Are you coming. Son? Is somebody coming? And he said yeah. Mama. Somebody's coming to get you.. Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday. And she drowned Friday night. And she drowned Friday night. Nobody's coming to get us. Nobody's coming to get us. The Secretary has promised. Everybody's promised. They've had press conferences. I'm sick of the press conferences. For god's sakes, just shut up and send us somebody.

And finally, Bob Sheiffer provides an excellent example of both good writing and controlled anger that was generally on view inside the Beltway this morning. Well, not all of them inside the Beltway, of course. Some idiocy is just beyond redemption, and for some Sunday morning bobbleheaded gasbags, Up will continue to be Down, Wrong will continue to be Right, and the Bush administration will continue to be free of accountablility.

In the meantime, there are those like Bob Sheiffer, of CBS' Face the Nation:

SCHIEFFER: Finally, a personal thought. We have come through one of the worst weeks in America's history, a week in which government at every level failed the people it was created to serve. There is no purpose for government except to improve the lives of its citizens. Yet as scenes of horror that seemed to be coming from some Third World country flashed before us, official Washington was like a dog watching television. It saw the lights and images, but did not seem to comprehend their meaning or see any link to reality.

As the floodwaters rose, local officials in New Orleans ordered the city evacuated. They might as well have told their citizens to fly to the moon. How do you evacuate when you don't have a car? No hint of intelligent design in any of this. This was just survival of the richest.

By midweek a parade of Washington officials rushed before the cameras to urge patience. What good is patience to a mother who can't find food and water for a dehydrated child? Washington was coming out of an August vacation stupor and seemed unable to refocus on business or even think straight. Why else would Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert question aloud whether New Orleans should even be rebuilt? And when he was unable to get to Washington in time to vote on emergency aid funds, Hastert had an excuse only Washington could understand: He had to attend a fund-raiser back home.

Since 9/11, Washington has spent years and untold billions reorganizing the government to deal with crises brought on by possible terrorist attacks. If this is the result, we had better start over.

For those who wish to make donations to the relief effort, you can call the American Red Cross at 1 (800) HELP NOW, which is 1 (800) 435-7669. CBS News will have continuing coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Thanks to CBS' Face The Nation for use of this material.
Thanks and Hat tips to Atrios and Crooks and Liars for the video.

Before Katrina, the Republicans were planning to continue their unremitting assault on the ability of the federal government to provide for the health and security of the American people. In the upcoming session of Congresss, at the top of the agenda are:

*permanent repeal of the estate tax
*an extension of deep cuts to capital gains and dividend taxes
*the first entitlement spending cuts in nearly a decade
*private investment accounts for social security

For those of us watching the tragic debacle in New Orleans, one would think that Katrina might cause some shifting in these priorities.

I hope that, in my lifetime, we never see a clearer picture of the racial and class divides that our political leaders and the national media pretend do not exist.

But let's look at the attitudes of leaders in the House and the Senate. First, the Senate:

The Washington Post reports this morning the following statement from Amy Call, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. According to Call, Frist still plans to move the estate tax legislation this week.

What about Katrina, you might ask? Call: "However, we remain willing and able to return to Katrina business at any time."

So we know what Bill Frist's priorities are.

Meanwhile, over in the House, Majority Whip Roy Blunt told the Post he will be pushing forward with the tax and spending cuts and social security legislation.

And Katrina?

Blunt told the Post that hurricane-related legislation will not be controversial and "may mean we work on a Friday or two."

Damn. I hate that working on Friday, don't you? But isn't it nice to hear that Majority Whip Blunt is willing to consider imposing such sacrifices on his fellow House members?

(Frist and Blunt both appear to be committed to upholding the sterling standard set a few days ago by House Majority Leader Dennis Hastert who signalled his priorities. Hastert first suggested that we solve the problems of the people of New Orleans by simply bulldozing the city into a final oblivion. And when it came time to come back to Washington early to vote for emergency funds, Hastert declined to come, citing a very important fundraiser that he just had to attend).

From our own Christy Cole:

Not too long ago I wrote an article entitled 'Preaching to the Choir.' in which I discussed the political abandonment of the deep south. When I wrote it, I was blissfully unaware of exactly how right I was. Or how it would bring death so close in plentiful amounts.

As a resident of Louisiana I would like to tell you about what you have lost. I would like you to see it, as I saw it.

New Orleans. Or, as they say if you’re from here, "Nuuuw 'Awwwlins'. So famous, most think her our capital city. Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana, but New Orleans was our crown jewel. World wide she was known for her parties, her history, her engineering feats, her defiance of nature itself. And on top of it all was a culture unlike any place on earth. A place where history is beloved and alive.

So very, very ALIVE.

In March of 1776, as momentum built for the historic events that were to come, Abigail Adams wrote her husband John of her belief (quoting Shakespeare) in "a tide in the affairs of men".

If there is indeed a tide in the affairs of men, then this nation is as adrift today as the swollen, abandoned bodies of the floating dead of New Orleans.

The waters of irrational religious emotion and radical political ideology rise around us. They threaten the once invulnerable hill upon which Abigail's husband and his contemporaries took their historic stand.

The Revolutionary Generation built their shining city out of the bricks of hard won, carefully sifted, human experience and history. But today so many in this country see experience and history as a hindrance.

They throw caution to the wind, advocate preemptive war over the construction of secure levees and defenses, and treat their ideological fantasies as a set of magic bricks. These bricks appear so potent that our ne'er-do-well President imagines that he can use them to build the empire of his fevered imagination - and even fancies that God wills it so! As if God’s will could ever be known by mere mortals, except as through a glass, darkly.

I fear that we are fast becoming the kind of monster that John Adams and the Founders rose up to oppose; but there is still time enough to reverse that terrible tide.

Oh God, may the awful sight of our dead bring us back to our senses.

May the shock of their untimely deaths jar our collective memory.

May it reawaken in us the wisdom of men, whose sacrifice, commitment, and courage gave birth to this nation - and with it, a spontaneously generated, still unfolding, ever expanding tide of freedom, dignity, and democracy.

May the loss of so many innocents put an end to our delusions.

May it sear in the mind's eye these three lessons:

- that a well-funded, energetic government is the foundation of contemporary civilization;
- that concern for the physical safety and survival of our communities must forever trump ideological insanity;
- and that there are times when a nation's greatest impact, on this tide in the affairs of men, can only come through cultivation of their own garden.

The latest installment in our series to heal the politically lame...

Dear Polly:

Really Amazed in Nebraska

Dear RAIN:

Yes, sadly it is true. Even in light of the horrific events in the Gulf Coast, Congressional leaders will get to work immediately, repealing the estate tax and sucking billions out of the federal treasury. If I were the sort of person that gave thought to these matters, I might wonder if perhaps this isn’t a bad time to give big, wet, crinkly green kisses to the richest Americans, and then televise the appalling conditions of the poorest Americans.

But thankfully, I am not the kind of person that notices such things.

After next week’s ‘Save the Wealthy’ mission is accomplished, Congress will move on to other less important matters, like figuring out how we’re going to pay for rebuilding the majority of the Gulf Coast. Although, in a bold break from American tradition, House Speaker Dennis Hastert suggested this week that maybe we should just let New Orleans go, and not bother to rebuild it.

You can read the details here: http://www.dailyherald.com/story.asp?id=89334

Forward thinker, Mr. Hastert is. In fact, he is joined by other forward thinking groups, such as this article from Repent America, which details why New Orleans, as a hotbed of sin, was rife for such punishment:

http://www.repentamerica.com/pr_hurricanekatrina.html

On a related note, one reader wondered if we should apply the “Hastert Principle” to other states stricken by disaster in the future. For example, if California experiences a major earthquake, should we really go to all the expense of rescuing people and trying to rebuild the state? After all, they’re mostly movie people out there and well…

Or the Pacific Northwest states that suffer those terrible wildfires… Or Florida… Or New York… or the tornado plagued states of the Midwest…

I wonder what the new flag will look like when there are only twelve states.

Polly

[Editor's Note: This is another installment in our ongoing Saturday morning series examining and exploring the powerful relationship between Art and Politics.]

There are quick ways to make your point artistically and get off stage. And there are shocking in-your-face kind of ways to get your political point across.

With the work of the The Freeway Blogger, we have both.

The wonderful thing about the Freeway Blogger is that it is an open source tool. No matter what it is you want to say, these folks will help walk you through and How to Freeway Blog and gives valuable tips.

But let's take a moment here and think about what it is about this form of political art that is so compelling.

First, it comes at you very fast. I almost have to go back in time to experience the moment and what was just said in my face. Which forces me to think and process the information differently already.

Also, it's free. Anyone can freewayblog, as they are happy to teach you how.

Think about this part. It will stay up until someone takes it down. So your Freeway Blog will stay up, giving your artistic/political message exposure to car after car after car after car, until and unless someone takes it down.

It seems to me this type of political art is among the most purely democratic part of the artwork there is.

Anyone can do it. Even you. And then you could send it in with a story. And we could post it. Today even. Democracy can happen just. that. fast.

And of course, there is that tiny thrill of being caught, unless you live in my sister's town, in which case the cops help you. Oh well, it was a tiny thrill anyway. It's the artistic expression that's important. At least I hope it is.

As sad as we have been about the debacle, especially in a city we love so dearly (New Orleans), we woke up this morning to so many stories of what DCPers are doing in the wake of Katrina and the mess surrounding the disaster relief efforts. We are just so proud of how active this site is, and how much everyone has been doing. The DCP is a learning community and we help each other figure out how to restore democracy, which, if you think about it, is really about active participation and community support.

From Christy, to Indy, to all the contributors to the Red Cross, so many have simply taken action. (We are spending the morning boxing up the items we collected over the last two days to send to Ira).

Ira. Here is his post from last night:

Just got back from the dome and I was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of folks they have put in there. The media was complaining that its not the 23,000 promised but in actuality there are probably close to 100,000 here throughout the Houston metroplex. It made me think of a modern day Hooverville, by the sadness and magnitude of the trauma, but the living conditions here seemed wonderful. I spent only an hour or so in the dome where around 17,000 people are living (it's virtually a small US city) and was told they had just opened up the Astro Arena and that 3,500 new folks had been set up there. It felt more personal to be connecting with a mere 3500 folks. A pittance of people where I felt more comfortable. There are huge trucks rolling in with food, baby supplies and clothing and every conceivable medical supply. There are plenty of sick people but I didn't sense the horrible coughing and general sickness I expected to see.

One of the biggest changes I have noticed since becoming a mother is that I no longer have the luxury of being furious when I want to. It scares and confuses my child. It is impossible to explain why or put into context the level of rage about our government's third world response I feel when I look at another woman trying to get her child food and water in Louisiana, United States. Four-year olds don't get it.

In better moments, I tell myself that maybe now people in the United States will be able to understand the problems in Africa and other poor nations of the world. In darker moments, I go in the shower and cry and quietly rage about a government of people I despise, ruining a country that I love. I rage about a government I hate killing the people it deems as disposable--troops, Iraqis, poor people in the Gulf Coast, the list is growing. I love my country, but it is getting less recognizable to me as time goes along.

I know I am not alone here. I know there are other parents with children of varying ages to which different levels of explanation and understanding are appropriate. So what can a parent do when you are filled with rage but must seethe silently in the presence of young ones? You know that if you don't do something, they will pick up on it anyway, so you better do something and quick.

I think I’ve surpassed the point of being able to adequately articulate my rage and grief at what is happening in New Orleans. And you know, I didn’t see this coming. On Sunday, I knew the storm was approaching, just like the authorities did. I was concerned for my people there, but in what I am starting to suspect was typical of many Americans, I figured we had it covered. I thought that the great euphemistic ‘we’ - which really means Government - had it covered. After all, they take a pretty good chunk of our paychecks. I assumed there were plans in place, emergency operation contingencies, relocation mechanisms, people who would be in charge…

Jesus H. Christ On The Throne WAS I WRONG.

It never occurred to me that five days after this storm, my fellow American citizens would be still sitting without water or food at the New Orleans Superdome. I didn’t think the elderly would be dying from dehydration and lack of medicine. I am torn between the desire to just cry, and the need to throw something through my television. So instead, I stand up, wipe my eyes and sit down at this damn computer because I’ve got one or two things to say to our President on this particular day.

I hear now that Mr. Bush has arrived on the Gulf Coast to survey the damage. They break away to cover this live. I listen to the briefing, which consists of a series of horrifying numbers, followed by a series of congratulations all around for such outstanding cooperation.

Oh yeah, that’s exactly what I want to see… Our President being briefed FIVE DAYS AFTER THE STORM, which is still claiming lives at this moment. Mr. Bush has now agreed to meet with the Mayor of New Orleans, who has been issuing desperate pleas for help for 3 days via CNN. Personally, if I were in the Mayor’s shoes, I’d tell the President that if he can’t bring sandwiches and water, to just stay the hell out of the way.

But it gets worse. Because after about 8 seconds thought, one realizes that this is truly the face of our “Homeland Security Preparedness.” This is what we’ve got, folks. Or rather, what we don’t have: adequate plans, national guard support, emergency communication systems, victim services… none of it is in place.

And this was a situation we saw coming. We had warning. Just ponder for a moment what the results will be when it’s a surprise.

The world is watching. And they are horrified. Here are a few snippets from around the globe.

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World Stunned as U.S. Struggles with Katrina
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050902/ts_nm/weather_katrina_reaction_dc

World leaders and ordinary citizens have expressed sympathy with the people of the southern United States whose lives were devastated by the hurricane and the flooding that followed.

But many have also been shocked by the images of disorder beamed around the world -- looters roaming the debris-strewn streets and thousands of people gathered in New Orleans waiting for the authorities to provide food, water and other aid.

"Anarchy in the USA" declared Britain's best-selling newspaper The Sun.

"Apocalypse Now" headlined Germany's Handelsblatt daily.

Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, in a veiled criticism of U.S. political thought, said the disaster showed the need for a strong state that could help poor people.

"You see in this example that even in the 21st century you need the state, a good functioning state, and I hope that for all these people, these poor people, that the Americans will do their best," he told reporters at a European Union meeting in Newport, Wales.
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So, here we are. If you can watch the coverage of this situation, and still run around waving a big styrofoam finger that says “America: #1,” I don’t want to know what you’re smoking.

This has been a failure of government of such epic proportions, that frankly, I haven’t seen it in my lifetime. And I’m angry. I’m angry that our Congress is working at this moment to repeal forever the Estate Tax for our wealthiest citizens, instead of working to save lives on the Gulf Coast.

Maybe this disaster will wake up the American people, and make them demand an explanation of how this could have been handled so badly. Maybe people will want to know just exactly what it is that we pay taxes for if we can’t take care of our own citizens.

Personally, I want to know how this happened. I want to know what they’re spending our money on, and then I want to make sure that as much of it stays here as goes to rebuild a country we just got done blowing up. I want to know that if, god forbid, something like this happens again, I will not see my countrymen starving in the streets 5 days after the event. I demand a re-accounting of our national priorities to include our nation. I want to know that “Homeland Security” means something real, and is not just politically useful paint-by-numbers media kibble.

AND I WANT SOME GODDAMN WATER AND SANDWICHES AND MEDICINE AT THE SUPERDOME, NOW!!!!!

Signed,

American

For the last 25 years, some of the most powerful politicians have built their careers on attacking the role of government. This ideological tsunami has fundamentally undercut the willingness of the American people to support legitimate government activities. Hence, we are the only industrial nation in the world without national health care; our schools leave our children far behind too many other countries…

You know how long this list has gotten. The destruction in New Orleans and across the south is a tragic and bitter reminder of the terrible price that we, as Americans, are paying for this successful campaign to de-legitimate the role of government. Only the rich have benefited. If nothing else were to come from the death and suffering we are witnessing, at the very least, is it not time for our government to acknowledge the reality of global warming, and to join with the rest of the nations of our planet in switching from fossil fuels to a solar-powered world?

A letter to the editor of your local newspaper may be in order.

It's hard for me, in San Francisco, a city whose dance with disaster is always a minute away---to watch what is happening in New Orleans, another city on the water's edge, without a sense of profound shock and stunning grief.

I love living in a city. I work for local government here. Have been for a long time. In fact, I used to work for both local public works and public utilities departments for this city. I know what it takes for metropolitan public works to fix a water main bust, a sewer break, or even a sinkhole from a 100-year storm. I know of the heartache of loss, the destruction, and the long road to recovery--even in micro, when an individual homeowner or a neighborhood loses basic, life-giving services, such as water, a functioning sewer service. Electricity.

What Katrina did to New Orleans is no ordinary disaster. This is an epic disaster that eclipses our 1906 Earthquake, and even the 1989 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake. It is epic because in this day and age, with so much technology and lessons learned from previous disasters---the losses we see today could have been avoided. It is epic because so many people who had the wherewithal, and who could have done something BEFORE this happened, consciously made the decision to forgo doing something about it before something bad happened.

Unfortunately, something bad has happened. As I read the words of from today's headlines from Marc Morial, ex-Mayor of New Orleans: "A great American city is fighting for its life", my heart breaks. I think of the people who are endangered or dying in the Superdome tonight. Of the bodies of the dead that are still to be found. Of the terrible loss of history, and the egregious loss of foresight of those who could and should have done something about this long before this happened.

I pray that we have the wisdom to make sure that this never happens to ANY American city or town, ever again. If that means, step-by-step, brick by brick, we re-build, and we re-affirm with sincerity our commitment to keep our cities and citizens safe and out of harm's way from ANY disaster natural or man-made, and hold those accountable on EVERY level responsible when our people are harmed--then we must do so. Not just for New Orleans, but for every American city.

To do anything less would shame the memory of those lost, and tarnish the history of what was once a great Southern city by the water's edge.

FROM COUNTERPUNCH:

http://www.counterpunch.org/solomon08312005.html

...The back-page Post story added: "National Guard officials in the states acknowledged that the scale of the destruction is stretching the limits of available manpower while placing another extraordinary demand on their troops -- most of whom have already served tours in Iraq or Afghanistan or in homeland defense missions since 2001."

As the White House acts quickly, cutting the President's month-long vacation by one day to attend to the Katrina disaster in the Gulf states, one ponders this metaphor:

Have you ever come home after a spending spree to find your mate waiting at the door, unpaid utility bills in hand, the mortgage due, the refrigerator empty and the children crying in hunger? Could you look them in the eye and say you did your best?

The death count and the economic ruin faced by the Gulf Coast communities is yet to be fully accounted for, but the cost is already dear. How much do we spend per day, with billions unaccounted for a war that's supposed to make us more secure, while we aren't adequately equipped or staffed to handle a natural disaster at home?

If my husband came home with the checking account overdrawn, and he sent the help on an errant mission while the mortgage was overdue, AND there was a disaster, there would certainly be a reckoning--ya think?

Share this article with others and share your thoughts...in the event of a national emergency, are we safer?