Freedom of the Press means...?

How much can you help? How much can you offer? If you are coming to DC September 24-26, please consider coming earlier and helping out in a major way:

Hi UFPJ volunteers--

We are in urgent need of people who can serve as peacekeepers during the September 24th weekend mobilization events.

You don't need to have any prior experience, because we will train you in everything you need to know. However, to participate you must be able to maintain a cool head and to stay on your feet and remain active for long periods of time.

Peacekeepers are trained to maintain security at large events by learning techniques of crowd direction, de-escalation of tensions on site between individuals and by working with legal observers and police officers.

The greatest need for peacekeepers will be on Saturday, Sept. 24th, during the antiwar rally and march. We would prefer that peacekeepers be available to participate for the entire day, but we will try to accomodate peacekeepers who are only available for shorter blocks of time.

It is also possible that we may need peacekeepers for the Sept. 26th non-violent civil disobedience actions.

In order to participate as a peacekeeper, you MUST attend one of the training sessions to be held on Thursday, Sept. 22nd and Friday, Sept. 23rd in Washington, DC.

If you are interested and able to serve as a peacekeeper during the Sept. 24th or Sept. 26th events, please contact us immediately at dcvolunteer@unitedforpeace.org.

When it comes to Bush’s handling of the hurricane, the public largely is divided along political lines.

More than two-thirds of Republicans said Bush is doing a great or good job, according to a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll out Wednesday. About two-thirds of Democrats say he is doing a bad or terrible job.

Republicans have accused Democrats of seeking political advantage in attacking the administration’s response.

‘Shameless’ finger-pointing
“While countless Americans are pulling together to lend a helping hand, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are pointing fingers in a shameless effort to tear us apart,” Republican party chief Ken Mehlman said Wednesday in a statement.

Bush’s spokesman, Scott McClellan, said the White House is “focused on bringing everybody together to help the people in the region. And the president continues to act to make sure that we’re addressing the ongoing problems,” he said.

McClellan took issue with what he called “personal attacks” by Democrats, particularly Reid’s implication that Bush’s Texas vacation may have hindered the federal response to Katrina.

Bush cut short his vacation by two days last week to return to Washington. He has presided over daily meetings, visited stricken Gulf Coast areas twice and was expected to return soon. He has sent Cabinet members to the region; Vice President Dick Cheney planned to be there on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the White House announced Bush is asking lawmakers to approve $51.8 billion more to cover the costs of federal recovery efforts. That is in addition to $10.5 billion already approved.

Poorly chosen words
Democrats suggest they have been given ammunition for their criticism by seemingly insensitive remarks of some Republicans.

These include House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., questioning whether rebuilding New Orleans was worth the cost; comments by Barbara Bush, the president’s mother, that “underprivileged” people would be better off in the Houston Astrodome; and a suggestion by Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., that people who do not heed future evacuation warnings may need to be penalized.

Santorum later said he would exempt people who lack cars or other resources.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9245785/

Monkey...

Republicans accuse democrats? Now look at this!

Republicans block efforts to amend relief bill, hold vote without providing copy of bill
http://www.rawstory.com

monkey,
MSGOP is back on the program...

Monkey,

Bush cut his vacation short by TWO whole days! My god!!! That deserves a medal of honor; give him the one he didn't get in Vietnam!

Tyler, Texas: Compassionate?

A confrontation this morning between an East Texas church and an evacuee from New Orleans. It centers around a sign out front of Woodland Hills Baptist Church on Old Jacksonville Road in Tyler, about a mile inside the loop. Some say the message is offensive.

"I drove by that sign and was just horrified when I saw that," says Kelly Jackman who now lives in Tyler but used to live in New Orleans.

That sign at Woodland Hills Baptist Church reads ,"The big easy is the modern day Sodom and Gomorrah."

Kelly along with her sister Robin Lafont, an evacuee from New Orleans, showed up this morning at the church to talk to the man who put it up, Pastor Wiley Bennett.

During a heated discussion, Robin asked, "What's the point of the sign out there?" Pastor Bennett replied, "The point of the sign is New Orleans, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and New York City are some of the most wicked cities in America."

Robin, who still has family members unaccounted for in New Orleans, is offended by the sign. "I'm telling you. This hurts. Why would you want to put more hurt, more salt in my wounds and why would you want to do this to me?"

Kelly adds, "And to go by and see this church saying that God did this to destroy these people and basically they're celebrating that by putting that sign up there saying look at what God has done. He has destroyed the city of New Orleans because it is evil."

Pastor Bennett says, "Anybody that's ever visited New Orleans, the very name its self - Big Easy - denotes that it's easy to find sin there."

Pastor Bennett says the sign, is a sign of the times. "The purpose of the sign is to wake American up to the fact that America is going away from God. New York City's 9/11 was a call of judgment and New Orlean's horrible incident was judgment on a wicked city."

http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3820292

p.s.
You can also call Wiley Bennet, the pastor there at 903-581-2333 and tell him that perhaps Tyler is the Modern Day Sodom and Gomorrah.

Yes, Bush cut his vacation short by a whole two days, WHOOPEE! Meanwhile, it was about 2 days too late, none of those trapped in their homes or attics were afforded that luxury.

Furthermore, Dick Cheney will be touring the region this week... where's HE been?

Oh yeah, vacation in Wyoming, on conference calls no doubt with his pals at Halliburton setting up another sweetheart of a no-bid deal for Katrina cleanup.

Hey, another 2 or 3 hurricanes this year, and Halliburtons stock might break $100 a share.

Ok, so out goals and dreams are different, but does that make them bad people? (feel free to respond)

Yes, Bush cut his vacation short by a whole two days...
Posted by: monkey at September 8, 2005 08:20 AM

WRONG! Boy George cut his vacation short by about 36 hours...one night, one day, and about 12 hours...of 5 weeks...

I had to cut my vacation short to come to Washington to blast this administration for not cutting their vacations short...

Bullies On Vacation
by The Verve Pipe

A bully enjoying his vacation
Oblivious to all our confrontations
Speaking fondly of his junior years
When I was fighting tears
A bully enjoying his vacation

I can taste the anger and the hate
I have come to set the record straight
Twenty years seems long enough to wait
A bully enjoying his vacation

Cruising with my nemesis on high seas
Five drinks, he doesn’t recognize me
Full of anticipation
I don’t notice his depression
Cruising with my nemesis on high seas

My act of concern is just to tease
I’m about to send him to his knees
So close to force him begging please
He mentions terminal disease
A bully enjoying his vacation

And how he feels someone is dangling
His vile existence on a string
And now the sea he’s conquering
Knows he can conquer anything
A bully enjoying his vacation

Aware of his terminal condition
Frustrated by my indecision
Knowing I’d regret this very day
I hit him anyway
Aware of his terminal condition

Once again, he got the best of me
I left him conquering the sea
A bully enjoying his vacation

Resolution of Inquiry into the Iraq War Planning by Bush Gains Momentum

There are now 59 co-sponsors on Barbara Lee's Resolution of Inquiry into the Downing Street Memos, including one Republican member of the International Relations Committee, Jim Leach. Cindy Sheehan is meeting with another Republican committee member, Ron Paul, tomorrow. A vote in committee will come between Sept. 6 and Sept. 16.

Now is the time to contact YOUR Congressmember - and be sure to use our Feedback Form:

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/902

Katrina Timeline:

http://www.thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline

Federal Government Seeks to Block Photos of Dead
Reuters

NEW ORLEANS When U.S. officials asked the media not to take pictures of those killed by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, they were censoring a key part of the disaster story, free speech watchdogs said on Wednesday.
 
The move by the Federal Emergency Management Agency is in line with the Bush administration's ban on images of flag-draped U.S. military coffins returning from the Iraq war, media monitors said in separate telephone interviews.

"It's impossible for me to imagine how you report a story whose subject is death without allowing the public to see images of the subject of the story," said Larry Siems of the PEN American Center, an authors' group that defends free expression.

U.S. newspapers, television outlets and Web sites have featured pictures of shrouded corpses and makeshift graves in New Orleans.

But on Tuesday, FEMA refused to take reporters and photographers along on boats seeking victims in flooded areas, saying they would take up valuable space need in the recovery effort and asked them not to take pictures of the dead .

In an e-mail explaining the decision, a FEMA spokeswoman wrote: " The recovery of victims is being treated with dignity and the utmost respect and we have requested that no photographs of the deceased by made by the media."

Efforts to recover bodies continued on Wednesday. Out in the city's filthy waters, rescue teams tied bodies to trees or fences when they found them and noted the location for later recovery before carrying on in search of survivors.

Rebecca Daugherty of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press found this stance inexplicable.

"The notion that, when there's very little information from FEMA, that they would even spend the time to be concerned about whether the reporting effort is up to its standards of taste is simply mind-boggling," Daugherty said. "You cannot report on the disaster and give the public a realistic idea of how horrible it is if you don't see that there are bodies as well."

FEMA's policy of excluding media from recovery expeditions in New Orleans is "an invitation to chaos," according to Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, a part of Columbia University's journalism school.
"This is about managing images and not public taste or human dignity," Rosenstiel said. He said FEMA's refusal to take journalists along on recovery missions meant that media workers would go on their own.

Rosenstiel also noted that U.S. media, especially U.S. television outlets, are generally reluctant to show corpses.

"By and large, American television is the most sanitized television in the world," he said. "They are less likely to show bodies, they are less likely to show graphic images of the dead than any television in the world."

There is also a question of what the American PEN Center's Siems called "international equity," noting that American news outlets cover stories around the world showing the effects of natural disasters and wars in graphic detail.

"How is the world going to look at us if we go into their part of the world and we broadcast these images and we do not allow ourselves to look at such images when they're right in our own midst?" Siems said.

Mark Tapscott, a former editor at the Washington Times newspaper who now deals with media issues at the Heritage Foundation, said the FEMA decision did not amount to censorship.

"Let's not make a common decency issue into a censorship issue," Tapscott said. "Nobody wants to wake up in the morning and see their dead uncle on the front page. That's just common decency."
 
What do you think of FEMA's stance against taking photos of bodies recovered from the hurricane zone?
I disagree with it 56%
I agree with it 44%

Why do you think FEMA has taken that position?

A desire to limit news coverage that reflects badly on the government 44%
A mix of sensitivity and a desire to limit unfavorable coverage 33%
Sensitivity to the dead and their loved ones 23%
Total Votes: 195,755
Note on Poll Results

Posted by: DiAnne at September 8, 2005 09:13 AM

I'm off to a dedication ceremony where we sadly have to add more names to our Eyes Wide Open display. Cindy Sheehan and the bus tour will be there with us. They're stopping by our district's R rep. Mark Kirk's (aka Mark Kirk-DeLay)office this morning. Yesterday about 500 supporters showed up at Hasturd's office with Cindy & the bus members. (Apparently, there were about 100 pro-war supporters, and of course, no Hasturd...)

NBC News Anchor Brian Williams writes about the efforts to block NBC's coverage:

While we were attempting to take pictures of the National Guard (a unit from Oklahoma) taking up positions outside a Brooks Brothers on the edge of the Quarter, the sergeant ordered us to the other side of the boulevard. The short version is: there won't be any pictures of this particular group of guard soldiers on our newscast tonight. Rules (or I suspect in this case an order on a whim) like those do not HELP the palpable feeling that this area is somehow separate from the United States.

At that same fire scene, a police officer from out of town raised the muzzle of her weapon and aimed it at members of the media... obvious members of the media... armed only with notepads. Her actions (apparently because she thought reporters were encroaching on the scene) were over the top and she was told. There are automatic weapons and shotguns everywhere you look. It's a stance that perhaps would have been appropriate during the open lawlessness that has long since ended on most of these streets. Someone else points out on television as I post this: the fact that the National Guard now bars entry (by journalists) to the very places where people last week were barred from LEAVING (The Convention Center and Superdome) is a kind of perverse and perfectly backward postscript to this awful chapter in American history.
The lockdown on the Media is in full swing. What say you our "bulldog" Media?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/7/223843/1206

Here's my message to Wiley Bennett - who is clearly not all that wiley in the ways of the spirit.

I note that the storm, before it hit, veered eastward, away from New Orleans, and towards Mississippi and Alabama. Why would God do that? If he wanted to destroy New Orleans, why would he have the storm move eastward? What was his purpose, assuming that you believe that God directed the storm at all?

Had President Bush and his Congressional allies made sure that those levees were reinforced and upgraded, it is possible that New Orleans would have come through the hurricane with a lot less damage, and many, many fewer deaths.

But I ask Pastor Wiley, why did God choose to so punish the people of Mississippi? What had they done to draw the Almighty's wrath? Elect Haley Barbour as Governor, and Trent Lott and Thad Cochran as Senators? Those choices would certainly anger me, but I'm anything but a being of infinite consciousness and understanding. And I simply can't imagine that God expresses his or her displeasure with election results through natural disasters.

So, I am forced to conclude that the cosmic causes of the storm remain far beyond this human being's comprehension. But I do know this: if human beings in Washington had taken the proper precautions, and acted in a fashion consistent with a "culture of life", then the damage in New Orleans would likely have been far less, and aid to victims in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana would have been that much quicker to arrive.

Hence, while God's purposes remain beyond all understanding, a President's guilt is plain for all those with eyes willing to see.

So the 4 hurricanes that blasted Florida last year were for what, because pudgy Jebby is Gov, and God paid a visit to settle a debt for the sins of the father AND the brother for the immoral activities being done in God's name worldwide? Man, I can almost buy that.

Next time a Texas tornado rips thru Tyler, I'll know why. Thanks Pastor Bennett for setting me straight, I mean right.

Pastard

(no ill-will intended to the good people of Texas, of which I know many)

Matt, once again your clear analysis is right on the mark.

There was a map of Florida floating around last year (it was sent to me by a friend who lives in the state) that alleged that since the 2000 vote, hurricane activity in the state was primarily focused in the counties that had voted for Bush, and not Gore. I didn't take this map seriously, and just dismissed it as yet another urban legend.

Still, I can't help thinking that Rove physically reminds me of the actor that Mel Gibson got to play Satan in his film, "The Passion of the Christ"...

Sparrow,

I got to thinking about the same subject last night when I was at the anti-war vigil with Cindy Sheehan and their bus tour participants. There was a lot of Chicago media there as well. However when I watched local news, I noticed there was little coverage of the vigil. There was however a significant portion of the news dedicated to the pro war movement. Similarly there was a substantial portion dedicated to NO and the after effects of Katrina.

Given the fact that the media in general has been very outspoken about the catastrophe in NO and generally quiet about the war, I am left to conclude that the leaders in the media are pro-war as well. They have been forced to cover the Cindy Sheehan story because of the public support she has been receiving. Otherwise the country would have never heard about about her efforts to end the war.

(CBS) Americans think the response to Hurricane Katrina was inadequate, and spread the blame around all levels of government. President George W. Bush finds disapproval on his handling of the matter, too -- and the public now shows diminished confidence in his abilities to handle a crisis or provide leadership, as well as in the government’s ability to protect the country.

These are highlights from this latest CBS News Poll. There will be a longer release, with more questions and analysis, later today.

RATING THE RESPONSE

President George W. Bush's overall response to Katrina meets with disapproval today – a dramatic change from the public’s reaction just after the storm hit on August 29th. Last week, in the two days immediately after Katrina made landfall, a majority of Americans said they approved of Bush's response, although more than a third were not sure. Now, only 38% approve. A majority disapproves.

New Zogby

Released: September 08, 2005
Bush Job Approval Hits 41%—All Time Low; Would Lose to Every Modern President; Public Rates All Levels of Government Poorly in Katrina Handling; Red Cross Rated Higher Than Federal Government, 69%-17% —New Zogby America Poll

President Bush’s job approval rating took a hit in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, dropping to a historic low of 41%, a new Zogby America poll reveals. The same survey found the nation’s forty-third president would lose election contests against all of his predecessors since Jimmy Carter.

The Zogby America survey of 1157 likely voters, conducted from September 6 through 7, 2005, has a margin of error of +/-2.9 percentage points.

The public rates the performance of all levels of government in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina negatively, with 36% giving the President passing marks on his handling of the crisis—slightly higher than the 32% who give government in general good marks for its handling of the storm that devastated New Orleans and much of the Gulf coast.

http://zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1020

Exxon's $10B fill-up: Cashing in on crunch

By Brett Arends
Wednesday, September 7, 2005 - Updated: 04:27 PM EST

Oil companies came under new fire yesterday when it emerged that ExxonMobil's profits are likely to soar above $10 billion this quarter on the back of the fuel crisis.

That's $110 million a day, and more net income than any company has ever made in a quarter. It's also a stunning 69 percent increase over the same period a year ago and a 34 percent jump from the $7.6 billion Exxon made just last quarter.

``Do you realize President Bush has just given a tax break to ExxonMobil?'' thundered Rep. Ed Markey (D-Malden). ``Of all the companies in the history of the world that needed a tax break, this month, ExxonMobil should be at the bottom of the list.''

The law gives incentives to producers such as Exxon to expand production, such as for drilling for new wells in deeper waters in the Gulf of Mexico.

``It makes me angry,'' agreed Rep. Marty Meehan (D- Lowell), noting rising fuel prices ``are going to have a negative ripple effect throughout the economy.''

Meehan yesterday sponsored legislation on Capitol Hill to penalize price ``gouging,'' assuming it can be agreed what that is. Markey is preparing for Energy Committee hearings on the fuel crisis.

Even oil company shareholders were critical. Hub fund manager Lee Forker, the head of New England Research & Management, said the profits reflected a failure of oil companies' leadership to invest in future production. ``They're maximizing present cashflows and ignoring the future,'' he said.

ExxonMobil is spending about $5 billion a quarter buying back its own shares.

Forker says the oil companies bear responsibility for recent shortages, because they have held back on investment in new production for years due to a fear of a price collapse. ``It could just be a big scam – `Let's just restrict the supply along with the OPEC countries and we'll all get rich together' '' he said.

http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=101320

Looks to me like W is trying to buy his way out of his bumbling handling of FEMA with $51 billion dollars. Where in the world is he coming up with $51 billion; $300 billion for Iraq and making tax cuts permanent?
All the money in the world won't make up for the massive loss of life.

CALL TO PENS!!!

Any REAL Journalists out there or is you know any REAL Journalists PLEASE GET THEM INVOLVED!!!

A Request.

As we discussed last night, there are now clear signs of an administration attempt to invoke a press blackout on what is happening within the disaster zone.

With thousands of bodies under the water in New Orleans, I will not be so myopic as to say that this is the story to focus on. In fact, though, it's close. Because if the attempt succeeds the public will lose the ability to know the facts about what happened in this tragic episode -- the facts about what happened, how it happened, why it happened. As I said last night, having failed to ameliorate the tragedy as it occurred, the administration now seems dead-set on sanitizing and concealing the details of what transpired.

So, if you see press reports of bans on press access of any kind, please send them in to us. Second, if you're a reporter on the scene -- or anyone on the scene who has relevant information, for that matter -- and you have more details you can share about what's happening, please send them in. Your anonymity will be assured.

-- Josh Marshall
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

Get your story and pictures out there ... NOW ... it's critical that your work and goodwill get to the media.

Off to the White House to cover another event, but in the meantime, check this out:

House Committee to Vote on Resolution of Inquiry on 9/14

The Resolution of Inquiry into Bush's war lies now has 65 co-sponsors. It will come to a vote in the House International Relations Committee on September 14th, where it has the co-sponsorship of most of the Democrats and one Republican. To pass, it needs all the Democrats and three Republicans. The more Congress Members not on the committee who co-sponsor, the more likely some committee members are to vote yes. A substantial debate on the issue is expected. The committee meets in Room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, at 10:30 a.m. next Wednesday.

Email Your Congress Member

http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/50

Phone and Fax Your Congress Member

http://www.usalone.com/get_instantcongress.htm

Or call switchboard tollfree at (888) 818-6641.

Fill Out Feedback Form

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/1887

Here are Current Co-Sponsors

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HE00375:@@@P

More Info

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/902

9/15 Hearing and Rally on Ending the War

On Thursday, September 15, in Washington, D.C., Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey will hold a hearing on exit strategies for Iraq. A coalition of organizations demanding an end to the war will hold a rally afterwards at 5 p.m. in front of the White House.

Please ask your Congressmember and Senators to take part in both events.

Email them here: http://tinyurl.com/7vjej

Or call the switchboard toll free: (888) 818-6641

And please come to these events yourself if you can (but remember that we are building toward a mass mobilization on September 24; if you can only come to DC once, come then).

Rally updates and flyers:

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/2369

HEARING: Thursday, September 15, 2005, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (may change once location is determined)

WHERE: TBD (there will be a room and a large overflow room)

WITNESSES: U.S. Senator Max Cleland, former member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, former head of the Veterans Administration and triple amputee from his military service in the Vietnam War; General Joseph Hoar (Ret. USMC), former Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command; Ambassador David Mack, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, and current Vice President of the Middle East Institute; Dr. Ken Katzman, Middle East analyst and Iraq specialist at the Congressional Research Service; Tom Hayden, former California State Senator and experienced negotiator in Northern Ireland; Anas Shallal, an Iraqi-American and founder of Iraqi-Americans for Peaceful Alternatives.

Both Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate have been invited. Some 25 Democratic Members are expected, and several Republican Members, including Rep. Walter Jones Jr. (N.C.), have indicated they will participate for at least a portion of the hearing.

Rep. Woolsey's Advisory:
http://woolsey.house.gov/latestnews.asp?ARTICLE5110=44547

Sept. 6 Article in Roll Call:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/2703

RALLY: at Lafayette Square Park (in front of White House) at 5 p.m. ET on September 15, 2005, sponsored by Progressive Democrats of America, After Downing Street, Code Pink, Peace Action, Democrats.com, and Democracy Rising.

SPEAKERS: Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey and other Congress Members; Gold Star Families for Peace Member Tia Steele; Founder of American Families United, Gold Star Mother, Member of Military Families Speak Out, and star of "Farenheit 9-11" Lila Lipscomb; Veterans for Peace Board Member Ellen Barfield; Family member of U.S. soldier serving in Iraq Jawaid Khan; Co-Founder of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) Tom Hayden; Code Pink Co-Founder and United for Peace and Justice organizer Gael Murphy; Peace Action Organizing and Policy Director Paul Kawika Martin; U.S. Labor Against the War Co-Founder Gene Bruskin; Center on Conscience and War Executive Director J.E. McNeil; PDA Board Member and After Downing Street Co-Founder John Bonifaz; Pastor of Pasadena, Calif., All Saints Church Ed Bacon; PDA Executive Director and After Downing Street Co-Founder Tim Carpenter; PDA Board Member and After Downing Street Co-Founder David Swanson; Democracy Rising Director and likely U.S. Senate candidate from Maryland Kevin Zeese; Pacifica Radio Washington Bureau Chief Verna Avery Brown; Co-Founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity Ray McGovern; PDA Board Member and President & CEO of Hip Hop Caucus Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr; diplomat who resigned in opposition to Iraq war, and Camp Casey coordinator Ann Wright; Research Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies, Erik Leaver, Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg.

Information on mass mobilization September 24-26:
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/septmobe

Information on civil resistance on September 26:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/2759

Sign Up for Exciting Workshops in DC on Sept. 25 These events, organized by Progressive Democrats of America, will include a discussion with Cindy Sheehan, as well as a focus on the Downing Street Memos and remarks by John Bonifaz, Co-Founder of After Downing Street.
http://www.pdamerica.org/articles/events/sept2005/index.php

The Jersey Gals were the only ones that forced Congress to have an Indepednent 911 Commission.
Who will now stop Frist and Hastert from forming a Blame the Democrat Commission this time? Who will speak up for the 9th Parish of Louisiana and the countless souls lost in the FEME dabacle, like the Jersey Girls?

If Frist/Haster get their way for a joint Republican run Commission rather than having an Independent Commission, we might as well write the report right now, for we all know how it will read. Just Blame the Democrats.

Suz--great piece!

Congressmen Conyers and Nadler submit amendment exemptioning Katrinia victims from recently passed Bankruptcy Bill. This provision was initially voted down by Republicans at the time the Bankruptcy bill was initially passed.
Please call 800-959-2780 and let them know you want this amendment to the bankruptcy bill passed today.

Just called Congressman Coulbertson and Senator Cornyn's office about the Conyers/Nadler bill. Neither of their office's legislative assistants knew or seemed to care much about this amendment to the bankruptcy bill.

My next call will be to the Houston Chronicle to let them know that my representatives don't seem to care much about this issue. Their Washington desk just responded the same way, don't know don't care. I will check with Sheila Jackson's Lee's office and see what they suggest. Apparentlt this amendment might delay the effective date of October 17 so will be probably get short circuited before coming up for a vote.

Terrific analysis of a variety of reports here...

http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/006754.html#006754

It's long but it's worthwhile reading.

Christy:

Better chant to Cheney is to call him A Major League...
He will understand the reference.

BTW I know why they locked down the pics of the dead...

I have been coming across several pics of dogs eating the dead

In 2000 Bush whispered into Cheney's ear calling New York Times writer Johnathan Apple a Major League ahole. He and Bush had a big chuck about that and I thought that might be the end of Bush.

Christy are they from New Orleans?

Where are you finding them?

Off-topic:

Gay marriage bill passes California Legislature, but will be vetoed by Ahnuld.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9247775/

In addition, a state constitutional amendment is in the works to ban gay marriages once and for all.

It's bad enough that hate IS a family value in Third World countries. Don't let them make it a California family value.

When I join the DC march later this month, UFPJ will need to have a talk with me regarding its blind support of Third World immigrants, especially when many of them are busy destroying the very progressive values we espouse.

Grand Jury Indicts PAC Connected to DeLay

The Associated Press
Thursday, September 8, 2005; 12:56 PM

AUSTIN, Texas -- A grand jury has indicted a political action committee formed by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and a Texas business group in connection with 2002 legislative campaign contributions.

The five felony indictments against the two groups were made public Thursday. Neither DeLay nor any individuals with the business group has been charged with any wrongdoing.

Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, right, looks on as Speaker of the House Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., left, makes remarks about Hurricane Katrina on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2005 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Evan Vucci - AP)
The charge against Texans for a Republican Majority alleged the committee illegally accepted a political contribution of $100,000 from the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care.

Four indictments against the Texas Association of Business include charges of unlawful political advertising, unlawful contributions to a political committee and unlawful expenditures such as those to a graphics company and political candidates.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/08/AR2005090800973.html

Yes Indy From No,La

I am finding them in diffrent places..I have one thats not VERY graphic will post it up on Reb now

ALERT, ALERT >>>>

Karen reporting in from in front of the White House:

There is a gathering here of hurricane victims testifying to the TV cameras about their difficulty in getting out of New Orleans.

Probably about 200 people.

There's a lot of mainstream press here and a lot of people with signs that say shame...

Now they are walking across the street and standing directly in front of the White House and screaming, "Shame on Bush".

Pictures and more details soon...

Ok Its up

here is a link to SOME of the pics Im going through

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/neworleansdead/

Posted by: dwahzon at September 8, 2005 01:27 PM

Maybe the protestors can all bring guitars to present to dub... he seems to drop everything to play a shiny new gee-tar.

Storm the gates

Video for cheney being told to f*** himself

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/08.html#a4856

for those who have kos membership, please recommend and say a kind word for our shameless plugging of karen's story...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/8/135834/3616

thanks

I knew it!

See what happens when you try to drown a bunch from NOLA! LOL!

We will never let them rest!

Like I said...they should just resign and get out of the country before people from the Gulf Coast lynch them!

CHALMETTE, Louisana (AP) -- The cars were swallowed, the homes shattered and the people left clinging for life. Survivors waited for help, but it seemed like so little, so late.

More than a week since Hurricane Katrina cut its swath along the Gulf Coast, word is only now starting to trickle out from this outlying area of some 66,000 people on Louisiana's southeastern edge.

What's said is filled with anger -- residents feeling even more abandoned than hard-hit New Orleans -- and disbelief.

"If you dropped a bomb on this place, it couldn't be any worse than this," said Ron Silva, a district fire chief in St. Bernard Parish. "It's Day 8, guys. Everything was diverted first to New Orleans, we understand that. But do you realize we got 18 to 20 feet of water from the storm, and we've still got 7 to 8 feet of water?"

In the working-class parishes of St. Bernard and Plaquemines, the heavy rain and levee break brought a wall of water up to 20 feet high. Local officials expect the number of deaths to be in the hundreds.

In one wrenching case, 30 residents in a nursing home died and 30 others were evacuated, said Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, who has been working with search and rescue.

Homes were chopped open, a Baptist church's steeple ripped off. Water gurgles and spurts in places from leaking natural gas.

"I can't even imagine trying to rebuild this," said Kevin Cobble, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife officer from Las Cruces, New Mexico, who has been looking for survivors.

As relief efforts sputtered in the days after the storm, Verlyn Davis Jr., an out-of-work electrician, took charge. He transformed his parents' bar and seafood restaurant, Lehrmann's, into a shelter where he dispatches people to clear roads, hook up generators and help in the disaster relief process.

About 20 people have been staying there these days. On a boarded-up window out front is a blue spray-painted sign: "ABOUT TIME BUSH!"

Video for cheney being told to f*** himself

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/08.html#a4856

Posted by: Christy at September 8, 2005 01:45 PM

I so wish I was there to yell it as well. After that we are even more likely to see "public" appearences attended only by those worthy of being there. It should be the anthem for our movement: f**k yourself, cheney, f**k yourself Bush. I can almost hear the thousands chanting it right now.

Posted by: oncall at September 8, 2005 02:15 PM

The fundies would label us all foul-mouthed blasphemers... I can live with that.

Have You Smacked A Fundie Today?

HEY!

We call ourselves COON A$$ES AND PROUDLY SO!

Keep your cencorship out of my culture dammit!

Let's see if Bu$hco can't screw this up too...

1:15 P.M. - MOBILE, AL (AP): The massive EADS' Airbus Beluga aircraft with 22 tons of hurricane relief supplies from the United Kingdom and France landed today at Mobile.

From Mobile, supplies will be delivered to hurricane victims in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, a spokesman said.

The aircraft, called the Beluga because of it's whale-like shape, normally carries aircraft parts from Airbus factories across Europe to the assembly plants in Toulouse and Hamburg.

It was also used to deliver supplies to tsunami victims in east Asia.

EADS is the second largest aerospace and defense company in the world.

Indy check your comments section on Air America Phenix site

Thanks C,

But that is Air America Phoenix's blog and Bily is the mod...I passed it on though. =]

BIPARTISAN???????????????????????

GOP leaders agree to joint Katrina hearings
Administration asks for $51.8 billion in Katrina aid

Thursday, September 8, 2005; Posted: 8:27 a.m. EDT (12:27 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A bipartisan joint congressional committee will review the response at all levels of government to Hurricane Katrina, the leaders of the House and Senate said Wednesday.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, said in a written statement the joint committee would report its findings to Congress no later than February 15 next year.

Critics argue the federal government took too long to mobilize aid, causing thousands of storm victims to languish for days without food, water and other necessities.

Frist told reporters during a brief appearance that the new committee will be composed of senior members of Congress, with Republicans in the majority.

A high-ranking House Democratic aide said lawmakers from his party had not been contacted yet.

Here's how MSM portrays Dick's Excellent Adventure....

Cheney, Gonzales tour disaster area
Vice president sees 'very impressive' relief effort

GULFPORT, Mississippi (AP) -- Walking a hurricane-riddled street, Vice President Dick Cheney declared Thursday that much progress is being made in a disaster relief effort he termed "very impressive."

Cheney's plane took him on a course over heavily damaged houses as he arrived to this Gulf Coast town destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

After meeting with state and local officials, Cheney and his wife, Lynne, toured a particularly damaged part of the town.

The vice president told reporters he was struck by the "very positive, can-do" attitude of Mississippians toward the help they are getting.

In general, Mississippi officials have been much more complimentary of the federal hurricane response than those from Louisiana and, particularly, New Orleans.

President Bush dispatched Cheney to the region, amid persistent criticism of the sluggish pace of the federal piece of the response, to examine any bureaucratic red tape getting in the way of helping people and to focus on the long-term issues at hand.

"I think the progress we're making is significant," Cheney said. "I think the performance, in general, at least in terms of the information I've received from locals, is definitely very impressive."

He added: "That's not to say there's not an awful lot of work to be done -- there is."

While Cheney spoke, a passer-by hurled an expletive at the vice president. "First time I've heard it," Cheney said, when asked if he was hearing a lot of such sentiments.

Most of the people Cheney met with were friendly. Lynne Lofton, whose house further down the street was completely destroyed, was an exception.

"I think this media opportunity today is a terrible waste of time and taxpayer money," she said. "They've picked a nice neighborhood where people have insurance and most are Republicans."

Cheney was also accompanied by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

Later Thursday, Cheney was heading to Louisiana.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/08/national/nationalspecial/08orleans.html
Macabre Reminder: The Corpse on Union Street

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/08/business/08farm.html
Alarm Growing on Storm's Cost for Agriculture

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/08/national/nationalspecial/08democrats.html
Democrats Step Up Criticism of White House Response

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050908/tv_nm/katrina_news_coverage_dc_1
Hurricane coverage gives voice to outrage By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - American TV reporters and newscasters are covering Hurricane Katrina and problem-plagued relief efforts with a sense of outrage and antagonism many thought had long gone out of fashion in broadcast journalism.

"Critics argue the federal government took too long to mobilize aid, causing thousands of storm victims to languish for days without food, water and other necessities. "

Critics also argue that the Mayor should have used city and school buses to evacuate, but he chose not to, because he wanted Greyhound buses.

Critics also argue that established evacuation shelters like the Superdome should have been stocked with food, water, and generators for power to last at least 4 days.

Critics also argue that the Louisiana authorities restricted access by the Red Cross and Federal authorities, until FRIDAY... 4 full days after the Hurricane.

Critics also argue that Louisiana received more money annually than ANY other state for maintaining and updating the Levee systems to avoid floods. Those funds were used for other projects by the LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

Critics also argue that FEMA was spread over 3 STATES. They could not concentrate on just the New Orleans area (that's why it's important for local authorities to do their job).

I've heard other criticism, but I'm getting tired of typing them all in here.

"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."

Wow, did anyone stop to think that maybe this request (not a demand) was to keep family memebers from seeing dead relatives being pulled out of the waters?

Where is the compassion for our fellow man? Why the need for this ghoulish demand for pictures of the dead?

I just don't understand.

Critics=Republicans

Mark, I agree with you about not wanting family members to have to see dead relatives being pulled from the water. But that doesn't mean that pictures should not be taken. They are always an important part of any historical record... think about what we know of Auschwitz and Dachau.

Golfboy is an apologist... and plays at whitebread courses only... and cheats (I saw you kick that ball out of the bunker, Cheneyboy)

So which hour of CNN's coverage did Shrub catch to be alerted to the severity of this storm, would that have been the Tuesday morning show or after he played that air guitar while people were drowning in their own homes? Oh wait, he probably missed it during the fundraiser in Arizona.

Par for the Course

Hi Monkey.
An apologist for what? Oh, and I AIM at bunkers because they're fun to play out of... reminds me of the beaches where I grew up.

I assume by "Shrub" you are referring to the President. I guess that's suppose to be cute, but it just show your distain and lack of intelligence.

Frankly I agree with you that the President should not have been at any fundraisers in Arizona or San Diego because it looked unseemly.
That being said, it was only looks. The President is never "on vacation" - somehow, through the miracles of modern technology, he is able to take his work with him where ever he goes.

Did you have a point?
I didn't think so.

dwhazon,
good point, I hadn't considered that angle. I wonder if the news media would have the self discipline to self-edit pictures that might identify any of the deceased. Trouble is, some reporter/newspaper/magazine/tv would want to make headlines by displaying the dead.

Then they could save the rest for history, maybe 10 years down the road when the immediate pain of the event has calmed down.

I don't know, but there it seems like there should be a middle ground.

Posted by: mark at September 8, 2005 04:48 PM

if we could get an honest body count from New Orleans...

or Iraq!

This is about accountability.

25,000 body bags and they can't get enough.

Barbara Bush can't handle it in her cold heart...

Can you for the truth?