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LEADERSHIP IS OVER-RATED
The latest installment in our series to heal the politically lame...
Dear Polly:
Is it true that when Congress comes back into session, they will be dealing immediately with the permanent repeal of the estate tax? This can’t be true! Don’t they have other things to do that are more important right now? Katrina will cost the nation millions. It seems to me that the federal government should not be reducing taxes again for the wealthy right now. I’m stunned. Can you shed some light on this?
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
Rehnquist dead.
Things just got really interesting.
Wildfires? Yes. We also have volcanoes & earthquakes in the Pacific NW & could be hit by a tsunami.
The disaster in the Gulf Coast, especially New Orleans is bad enough....
With Chief Justice Rehnquist's death, the Roberts hearing coming up shortly, and another hearing will surely have to follow immediately for another justice (O'Connor's not completely gone since she said her retirement isn't final until someone is found to replace her)..... I wonder who Nitwit will nominate to replace Rehnquist?
I forsee lots of "rush to judgement" and "rush to appointment" crap coming out of the White House and Nitwit's mouth.... Lots of horrors can happen with our Congress now because the nation is focused on helping the people on the Gulf Coast, and more shenanigans will happen behind closed doors.
With Roberts' judgement a few days before he was nominated that the president can have unlimited powers, I forsee nothing good whatsoever for the short or long term for our nation if the Senate approves Roberts' nomination.
Lots of letters to write.......
Hope you're hanging in there in these dark times-here's my latest published in today's Times. -See you on the barricades- Emily
The lack of foresight coupled with the tardy and inadequate response of the Bush Administration to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is just one more example of what so many of us have seen all along; regardless of whether or not you agree with their policies, these guys are a bunch of feckless bunglers.
Bush's penchant for firing his critics and rewarding the incompetent is in marked contrast to the working lives of the average Americans who would find themselves hitting the streets if they performed as badly. Instead, the president will probably be awarding medals to those in charge of what is rapidly becoming "Operation Enduring Fiasco".
9/11 + Iraq + New Orleans + Gas Prices = IMPEACHMENT
Compound W
Arlen Specter has floated the idea of O'Conner staying on as Chief Justice in Rehnquist resigned.
Posted by: Cyrano at September 3, 2005 11:40 PM
Great idea. Can we start letter writing campaign to her and anyone else who can make that happen???
Julian Borger of the Guardian writes from New Orleans (Sunday paper):
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1562429,00.html
Spared history might be Big Easy's salvation
French Quarter, Garden District appear largely intact
(CNN) -- Soon after, "Why did it take so long to help?" comes the question: "Can New Orleans recover?"
In a town steeped in history and soused with a raucous reputation, bloated corpses float on flooded streets where shade-tree trumpeters blew tunes in exchange for dollars dropped in hats.
The scrawny teenagers pounding out tap dances with bottle caps tacked to their sneakers on the French Quarter's Royal Street are gone. There's no smell of hot grease wafting out of fried oyster po-boy shops.
There is no music. Boys don't dance. Stench fills the air.
Thousands are gone and thousands more are trying to escape the city's sewage-filled floodwaters, but some centuries-old landmarks still stand. And those structures signal hope for the future.
"New Orleans routinely has hosted conventions of 20, 30, 40, 60,000 people," said CNN correspondent Tom Foreman, who has strong ties to the city. "This is a convention town unlike anything you've ever seen. So they've got to get that back. That fuels the economy."
"One of the things that many people have been watching in this whole great human tragedy ... is what's happening to this extraordinary cultural and historic landmark of America and how much of its going to be there to help the city recover -- because this is what draws a lot of people there," Foreman said .
Aerial shots indicate the city jewel -- the French Quarter -- remains intact and relatively dry, he said.
Café du Monde, the home of sugar-dusted beignets -- puffy, rectangular doughnuts -- is still there. Just across the street behind Jackson Square, the Cabildo and Presbytre museums still squat beside St. Louis Cathedral.
"By and large, the French Quarter seems to be dry," Foreman noted. "That's important. That's home to Preservation Hall.
"It's home to the streetcar named Desire. In the historic New Orleans museum, the Cabildo, they have the original maps that the Spanish drew of this nation. They have Napoleon's death mask. They have one of the last existing complete collections of [John James] Audubon's "Birds of America," the original collection.
"These are invaluable treasures to this nation and to the city," Foreman said. "That's what drew all these tourists here over all these years.... The French Quarter clearly has a lot of damage to it from wind and some from water, but it may be that it is largely intact at least in terms of the structures."
Yes, monkey, but check out this map:
http://www.democracycellproject.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=864
There may well be more to come...
My heart sank reading about Rhenquist's death. Can things get worse? It looks like they can.
As much as I respect Ira for all the hard work (and I do respect and admire him) that he and others are doing, I understand that he can't consider, right now, the political impact of such a disaster. If I were as deeply involved in the volunteer charity efforts as Ira is right now, I don't think I would be considering the political angles as well (In a perfect world none of us would want to consider the political angles linked to the living hell we are witnessing.). Yet, I fervently believe that if we are not careful with how we deal politically with America's current judicial and political situation, the neocons will gain the upper hand. NOTHING stops them from trying to achieve their goals. WE can not let this happen. WE bear witness, as does the world, to what their priorities mean to millions of Americans. Their priorities mean death and destruction. WE must work together to end their reign of terror. I can not remain silent while this continues. With every bone in my body, I will take any opportunity to make clear that I am an American who loves his country. I will not sit idly by and let a people who stand only for their self interests destroy the America I love.
the neocons will gain the upper hand. NOTHING stops them from trying to achieve their goals.
Posted by: oncall at September 4, 2005 12:21 AM
Perfect timing. Check this article out from the Wash. Post and see who they're blaming for their own mistakes... What S.O.B.'s...
Thousands Remain To Be Evacuated
White House Shifts Blame to Local Officials
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 3 -- Tens of thousands of people spent a fifth day awaiting evacuation from this ruined city, as Bush administration officials blamed state and local authorities for what leaders at all levels have called a failure of the country's emergency management.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301680.html
(from Courrier Internationale, Sunday)
Remember - this is my translation, not literal
"Cher monsieur Bush, auriez-vous une idée de l'endroit où se trouvent tous nos hélicoptères?", a demandé le trublion Michael Moore, auteur de "Fahrenheit 9/11", dans une lettre ouverte au vitriol, lui reprochant d'avoir privé les victimes de Katrina des ressources militaires qui se trouvent en Irak.
(Michael Moore is asking where Bush can find helicopters - does he know they're all in Iraq or what?!)
La presse américaine a demandé samedi à l'administration de tirer la leçon de son échec tandis que la presse européenne estimait qu'une tempête politique menace désormais le président Bush.
(American press seems to think Bush administration will learn a lesson from this fiasco, but the European press seems to think Bush is toast).
A Washington, le Sénat américain a décidé l'ouverture d'une enquête sur l'action des autorités avant et après le passage du cyclone.
(The Senate is actually going to run an investigation into what took so long!)
Le Qatar, l'Arabie Saoudite et la Norvège ont décidé de faire des dons respectivement de 100 millions, 5 millions et 1,6 million de dollars aux Etats-Unis. La Croix-Rouge française a annoncé samedi le départ de 18 logisticiens "à la demande de la Croix-Rouge américaine" pour participer aux opérations de secours.
(Is it being reported in US that Qatar, Saudi Arabia & Norway are donating 100 million, 5 million & 1.6 million, respectively or that the French Red Cross is sending 18 logicians at the request of the American Red Cross?)
Let us NEVER forget where Boy George & Dick Dark Lord were on Sunday & Monday when the state & local authorities were begging for help...NEVER!!!
OnCall
No one will be more concerned about Rehnquist than Ira. I think he definitely didn't mean permanent de-emphasis from political goals.
Here is an example. I work with a Republican from Texas and she did not end up voting for Bush, partly because of exposure to me and I admit that (as I worked on it for 2 years). I sent her the list of things Ira & the others need in Houston & she sent it to Republican friends in Houston (who probably support Bush) & now they are gathering materials to help. Why they support Bush or whether they'll continue, I don't know. But I knew if I told her, she could gather more donations & really, maybe now they'll listen to her (and me, indirectly) more now.
So you never really take the politics out - the personal is political. Ira will definitely have an opinion about Rehnquist, count on it!
If local officials are now being blamed, I think it will be hard to convince the whole country of that. The Republican party will splinter but that may happen anyway, since there is no incumbent in the next election.
Rehnquist dead.
Things just got really interesting.
Posted by: Cyrano at September 3, 2005 11:28 PM
Indeed.
(Is it being reported in US that Qatar, Saudi Arabia & Norway are donating 100 million, 5 million & 1.6 million, respectively or that the French Red Cross is sending 18 logicians at the request of the American Red Cross?)
Posted by: DiAnne at September 4, 2005 12:29 AM
As far as I know, these things are not being reported in American media....!!!
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/0...
Bush Expresses Sadness at Rehnquist Death
(09-03) 21:09 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --
The White House said late Saturday the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist was "a tremendous loss for our nation" and issued a statement of condolence on behalf of President Bush.
Bush was notified about Rehnquist's death shortly before 11 p.m. It will be up to the president to nominate Rehnquist's successor on the Supreme Court.
"President Bush and Mrs. Bush are deeply saddened by the news" of Rehnquist's death, White House counselor Dan Bartlett said. "It's a tremendous loss for our nation."
The president, after attending church services on Sunday, will make a statement about Rehnquist, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said.
***
He responds to Rehnquist's death within hours, yet waits 5 days to respond to the deaths of thousands...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301680.html
Posted by: madame defarge at September 4, 2005 12:29 AM
Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state's emergency operations center said Saturday.
The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. "Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals," said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly.
A senior administration official said that Bush has clear legal authority to federalize National Guard units to quell civil disturbances under the Insurrection Act and will continue to try to unify the chains of command that are split among the president, the Louisiana governor and the New Orleans mayor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Get 'em while they're down' seems to be the mantra of the pResNitwit's administration. I notice she got Witt (former FEMA head under Clinton) to advise her.... That should help some, too.
Person who works with homeless vets says:
So I figure the US got two lessons this week.
1 the true cost of deferred maintenance
2 homelessness 101
The Poor Were Left to Suffer
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/090305D.shtml
With the rotors of President George W. Bush's helicopter sounding overhead, New Orleans' poor and downtrodden recounted tales of murder, rape, death threats and near starvation since Hurricane Katrina wrecked this city.
{{{ This is difficult to read - read it anyway. I'm sure it's only the tip of the iceberg for the horrors that have happened.}}}
Posted by: DiAnne at September 4, 2005 12:34 AM
DiAnne,
I never once said and don't believe that Ira intends to de-emphasize the political aspect of our current situation. I sure hope he doesn't. His opinions are very important. I know that his experiences will be something which will help shape his opinions, and by extension, many of our own. However, I do understand that, at this time, he feels he can't get involved in the political aspects of what has happened. That is totally understandable. For MY part, and something that I think Ira understands, I feel that now is the time FOR ME to take advantage of what happened from this disaster. At the same time, I have been doing what I can from a far distance to help make a positive difference for those whose lives have been needlessly ruined.
Posted by: madame defarge at September 4, 2005 12:39 AM
I kinda think his staff responded. Isn't it widely known he goes to bed by 10 p.m., and hasn't he said previously that he doesn't have sleepless nights? If he responded at all (in person) it would have been to tell the staff to send out previously worded press reports and go right back to sleep. He has to be up early tomorrow morning to figure out ways to screw over this nation with his next SCOTUS appointment.
He has to be up early tomorrow morning to figure out ways to screw over this nation with his next SCOTUS appointment.
Posted by: NonnyO at September 4, 2005 01:07 AM
Who does Dick Cheney want? Zell Miller.
AllyMcLesbian logging on from South San Francisco...
As I drove up the California coast today, near Santa Barbara, I spotted a semi coming in the opposite direction. On it were HUGE words saying: "Thank you PRESIDENT BUSH for your leadership."
Leadership? What leadership? The kind of leadership that goes AWOL for hours on 9/11 and DAYS after Katrina?
Good thing he was in the opposite direction. If he were in the same direction, I would've gone into road rage and done something extremely dangerous.
At least it feels good to be in the bluer part of California tonight. Far fewer "W" ovals here, and I actually see Kerry stickers. I will stay here until the end of the long weekend, to cool my head and work on my novel. (My novel is set here in the Bay Area.)
Rehnquist is dead? I smell Scalia becoming Chief Justice... :(
Frank Rich comes out swinging in his Sunday op-ed:
Falluja Floods the Superdome
By FRANK RICH
Published: September 4, 2005
AS the levees cracked open and ushered hell into New Orleans on Tuesday, President Bush once again chose to fly away from Washington, not toward it, while disaster struck. We can all enumerate the many differences between a natural catastrophe and a terrorist attack. But character doesn't change: it is immutable, and it is destiny.
As always, the president's first priority, the one that sped him from Crawford toward California, was saving himself: he had to combat the flood of record-low poll numbers that was as uncontrollable as the surging of Lake Pontchartrain. It was time, therefore, for another disingenuous pep talk, in which he would exploit the cataclysm that defined his first term, 9/11, even at the price of failing to recognize the emerging fiasco likely to engulf Term 2.
After dispatching Katrina with a few sentences of sanctimonious boilerplate ("our hearts and prayers are with our fellow citizens"), he turned to his more important task. The war in Iraq is World War II. George W. Bush is F.D.R. And anyone who refuses to stay his course is soft on terrorism and guilty of a pre-9/11 "mind-set of isolation and retreat."
~snip~
Read more here...
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/opinion/04rich.html
Leadership? What leadership? The kind of leadership that goes AWOL for hours on 9/11 and DAYS after Katrina?
Posted by: AllyMcLesbian at September 4, 2005 01:17 AM
What type of semi was this? I mean, what type of business?
Check out my blog when you have a moment. People with a clue don't see 'leadership' from Bush. Quite the contrary.
http://niteswimming.blogspot.com/
Falluja Floods the Superdome
By FRANK RICH
The world is more perilous than ever, and for now, to paraphrase Mr. Rumsfeld, we have no choice but to fight the war with the president we have.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/opinion/04rich.html?pagewanted=1
I have a better solution than Frank Rich-impeach the bastard.
Debunking the WaPo: Gov. Blanco Requested Federal Aid from Bush on Sunday, August 28th - 2 Days Before Katrina Struck
In a well detailed letter to President Bush, Governor Kathleen Blanco requested that Bush declare an “expedited state of disaster for the State of Louisiana… beginning on August 28, 2005 and continuing.”
It appears there is some confusion over at the White House about when Governor Blanco requested aid and for that matter when she declared a State of Emergency for the State of Louisiana.
According to the WaPo, “As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.” That’s rather curious because the letter from Governor Blanco to President Bush clearly states that she declared a State of Emergency on August 26, 2005.
Perhaps the two journalists for the WaPo don’t frequent DU, but they should, if they did they might have seen the link to the letter. And a quick visit to Gov.Louisiana.gov would have turned up the link to this: STATE OF EMERGENCY - HURRICANE KATRINA - August 26, 2005. The State of Emergency Order clearly states that “The state of emergency extends from Friday, August 26, 2005, through Sunday, September 25, 2005, unless terminated sooner.”
MORE & LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=431
Senator John Kerry on the Passing of Chief Justice William Rehnquist
For Immediate Release: United States Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) issued the following statement on the passing of Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
“Chief Justice Rehnquist served our country for more than thirty-three years on our nation’s highest court, and every American recognizes the courage and commitment to the Supreme Court that sustained him as he battled serious illness through the very end. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time.
“America mourns Chief Justice Rehnquist, and also stops to remember the central role of the Supreme Court in the life of our nation. We know that as it has for hundreds of years, the changing Supreme Court will have an impact on our country for generations to come, and no single justice more so than the Chief Justice. As we move forward, it is important that the next Chief Justice is someone who will thoughtfully and responsibly uphold our Constitution for every American, with a clear and consistent respect for the freedoms protected by the Constitution.”
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=432
(Is it being reported in US that Qatar, Saudi Arabia & Norway are donating 100 million, 5 million & 1.6 million, respectively or that the French Red Cross is sending 18 logicians at the request of the American Red Cross?)
Posted by: DiAnne at September 4, 2005 12:29 AM
As far as I know, these things are not being reported in American media....!!!
I can tell you they left today. We saw them, on the news, at the airport in the Red Cross beige uniform with a big red red cross on it.
An other crew should leave tomorrow. They have all been waiting since the first day of the catastrophy, but remember King George first said no to international help.
Posted by: Andrée - France at September 4, 2005 07:33 AM
Thank you, Andrée, and to the other people of France for your blessed help!!! I've not yet seen anything in mainstream media about French help, or the help of other nations, but I plan on sending that info to our Lamestrem Media while I'm about sending out other letters of criticism.
I know the people who were devastated by Hurricane Katrina would thank you and the rest of the other people in other countries for your help... if they had a computer or phone or TV or any other communication where they could even find out people have offered help on an international scale. Someday when they have means of communication, they will know, and they will be as grateful as we are!!!
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050904/ap_on_re_us/hurricane_katrina
New Orleans Left to the Dead and Dying
NEW ORLEANS - As the last weary refugees evacuated from New Orleans, the shattered city drew closer to dealing with its dead, confronting a gruesome landscape of scattered corpses that were expected to number in the thousands.
{{{ This is heartbreaking to read about. The death toll - and how some of the people died, and how some committed suicide - still must be reckoned with.... The photo is heartbreaking.}}}
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-chalmette4sep04,0,6604565.story
Stranded in New Orleans' Shadow
Isolated in the storm's aftermath, the residents of Chalmette banded together for survival.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/national/nationalspecial/04police.html
Law Officers, Overwhelmed, Are Quitting the Force
Reeling from the chaos of an overwhelmed city, at least 200 New Orleans police officers have walked away from their jobs and two have committed suicide.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/opinion/04rich.html
Falluja Floods the Superdome
{{{ I think this was posted before. If you haven't read it, it's a good op-ed piece.}}}
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050904/ap_on_re_us/katrina_mississippi_hk2
Mississippians' Suffering Overshadowed
JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi hurricane survivors looked around Saturday and wondered just how long it would take to get food, clean water and shelter. And they were more than angry at the federal government and the national news media.
In a strongly worded editorial, The Sun Herald of Biloxi-Gulfport pleaded for help and questioned why a massive National Guard presence wasn't already visible.
"We understand that New Orleans also was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, but surely this nation has the resources to rescue both that metropolitan (area) and ours," the newspaper editorialized, saying survival basics like ice, gasoline and medicine have been too slow to arrive.
"We are not calling on the nation and the state to make life more comfortable in South Mississippi, we are calling on the nation and the state to make life here possible," the paper wrote.
{{{ The second state pissed at Nitwit & his administration is speaking out - good for them...! I know one Lamestream Media network has broadcast from both MS and LA. I think the flood in New Orleans and the resulting horrors and more deaths in LA have overshadowed the fact that the eye of the hurricane actually hit Gulfport, MS, and the people there are just as devastated.}}}
And the other story we have to pay attention to, whether we want to or not, lest the Supreme Court becomes a tool of Bu$hCo & PNAC:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050904/pl_nm/court_rehnquist_bush_dc
Bush is expected to replace Rehnquist with an equally conservative justice, and administration officials have talked about the possibility he would nominate Roberts as chief justice.
While criticized by some Democrats as out of the mainstream, Roberts had seemed likely to gain bipartisan confirmation by the Senate.
To fill a second opening on the court, Bush could also return to the list of candidates he considered before nominating Roberts.
Among the possible candidates are U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and appeals court Judge J. Michael Luttig. Bush could fill the two vacancies and then elevate a current justice such as Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas to the chief justice post.
At least one lawmaker, Sen. Edward Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), a Massachusetts Democrat, urged Bush to focus first on relief for the victims of Hurricane Katrina before turning his attention to the Supreme Court nomination.
"With Justice O'Connor committing to stay until her replacement is named, we can and should remain focused first on protecting our citizens who need help the most," Kennedy said in a statement.
{{{The photo is insulting. It shows the back of Chief Justice Rehnquist's head and Nitwit and his wifey-poo when Nitwit was sworn into office in 2005. Why not a full-face photo of the person who died: Chief Justice Rehnquist?!?!?!?!? And, PS, I agree with Kennedy, but I'm quite sure Nitwit will forge ahead with back room politics, as usual.}}}
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/politics/politicsspecial1/04roberts.html
Old Memo From Roberts the Young Lawyer Shows a Caustic Side
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/huffpost/20050903/cm_huffpost/006716
Arianna Huffington: Bill Clinton, Suck-Up-in-Chief
Sat Sep 3,12:48 AM ET
What the hell was Bill Clinton thinking, standing there next to President Bush and providing verbal cover for the administration's ludicrous claims that the problems plaguing New Orleans were unforeseeable?
He even defended the administration's catastrophic response to Katrina. When asked on CNN whether the federal response was fast enough, Clinton bobbed, weaved, and fell back on this utterly absurd claim: "You and I are not in a position to make any judgment because we weren't there." C'mon, Bill, "...we weren't there"? I know this sucking up business is hard, but you've got to do better than that.
This disaster has been extraordinarily revealing, exposing not only Bush's failure of leadership, and the deadly consequences of his distorted priorities but also the many, many years of political neglect of the poor and the needy by both political parties. You couldn't get a much clearer illustration of the myriad ways that we have indeed become Two Nations than the stories and pictures coming out of New Orleans this week. Not too many Bush Pioneers were forced to wallow in their own feces at the Superdome.
But it's mighty hard to have a teachable moment when you have Bill Clinton, still the reigning symbol of the Democratic Party, failing to connect the dots between the Bush administration's chronic abandonment of the poor and its recent abandonment of the poor in the Big Easy -- as well as the dots between the war in Iraq and the undermining of our security here at home. And as if all this wasn't enough, there he was defending the indefensible. "I'm telling you," he said in a White House sit-down with CNN (along with Bush, Sr.), "nobody thought this was going to happen like this...they had problems they never could have foreseen." Which is absolutely, incontrovertibly, and provably untrue (many, many times over). And he is too smart not to know it.
Instead of acting like a Bush lapdog and gratefully accepting his role as Co-Disaster-Fund-Raiser-in-Chief, imagine the impact Clinton would have had if he had stepped up and made the connection between the increase in poverty and the stagnation in incomes for the fifth straight year and the post-storm suffering among the poor in New Orleans. Or imagine if he had spoken out about how the GOP's beloved new bankruptcy bill is going to further the misery of those ruined by Hurricane Katrina.
Chances to radically shift the national debate, alter the nation's perspective, and rearrange our priorities don't come along very often. President Bush squandered the teachable moment provided by 9/11, calling us not to national service but to shopping. Bill Clinton is now making it harder to use the current disaster as a wake-up call about the pent-up anger bubbling just beneath the surface of our country, about the Other America largely hidden from view, and about the urgent need to redefine national security.
Even devoted Clintonites are scratching their heads and wondering what has happened to the man once lauded as "the first black president." Is his need to be a part of this country's wealth and power establishment so great that it blinds him to reality? Is his need to be fawned over so desperate that he has forgotten how to speak the truth?
Sadly, Clinton has been remarkably consistent when it comes to sucking up to Bush -- offering his support on everything from the invasion of Iraq ("I have repeatedly defended President Bush against the left on Iraq," he told Time last summer) to Bush's infamous phony State of the Union claims about Saddam attempting to acquire uranium ("You know, everybody makes mistakes when they are president," he told Larry King sympathetically. "I mean, you can't make as many calls as you have to make without messing up once in a while.")
And now providing cover for George W. Bush and undermining this teachable moment. Again I ask: What the hell is he thinking?
Copyright © 2005 HuffingtonPost.com. All rights reserved. The information contained in Huffington Post commentary may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without prior written authority of huffingtonpost.com.
Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050902/od_nm/tv_dc
ABC halts promotion of hurricane TV drama
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Citing sensitivity over the real-life disaster unfolding on the U.S. Gulf Coast, broadcaster ABC has pulled its promotions for a drama series about a family coping with a fictional hurricane.
{{{ I consider the promos dropped good news, but the bad news is that they still intend to air the show as planned. I've seen promos for this show (doesn't look interesting), and it looked to be another genre of 'scary' TV series being promoted for fall season coming up on at least three networks that I get - none of which I plan to watch since I don't like the genre. I never did understand the mentality of being scared by fiction as "entertainment." IMHO, in view of the fact that there are real horrors to cope with we don't need fiction scaring sheeples half to death - it renders them unable to cope with reality and tragedy like we now see on a large scale....}}}
Here's a surprise...Rover's a tax-cheater. Claimed Homestead Tax in both D.C. & Texas at the same time... Imagine that - the president's top advisor...
Rove Not Entitled to D.C. Homestead Deduction
Presidential adviser Karl Rove may live in Washington. But in his heart -- and for voting purposes -- he remains a Texan. Which means he is not legally entitled to the homestead deduction and property tax cap he's been getting on his Palisades home for the past 3 1/2 years.
--snip--
Going forward, Healy said, Rove will forgo the exemption and tax cap on his Washington house -- valued at more than $1.1 million -- rather than give up his status as a Texas voter. But that raises a new set of questions.
Rove sold his longtime home in Austin in 2003. He was getting a homestead exemption there, too. So for three years, from 2001 until the sale, Rove was claiming homesteads in Texas and Washington, which is, technically, illegal, according to tax collectors in both cities. "Strictly speaking, you can only have one homestead," said Art Cory, chief tax appraiser in Travis County, Tex.
Cory said he would, nonetheless, probably not bother to investigate.
Anyway, Rove is now registered to vote in Kerr County, about 80 miles west of Austin in the Texas Hill Country. He and his wife, Darby, have owned property there, on the Guadalupe River, since at least 1997, according to county property records.
But as far as the locals know, the couple have never actually lived in either of two tiny rental cottages Rove claims as his residence on Texas voter registration rolls. The largest is 814 square feet and valued by the county at about $25,000.
"I've been here 10 years and I've never seen him. There are only, like, three grocery stores in town. You'd think you'd at least see him at the HEB" grocery, said Greg Shrader, editor and publisher of the Kerrville Daily Times.
--snip--
Down in Texas, when you register to vote in a place where you don't actually live, the county prosecutor can come after you for voter fraud, said Elizabeth Reyes, an attorney with the elections division of the Texas Secretary of State. Rove's rental cottage "doesn't sound like a residence to me, because it's not a fixed place of habitation," she said. "If it's just property that they own, ownership doesn't make that a residence."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/02/AR2005090202397.html
Why does Arianna act surprised about Clinton?
He's a smart politician so he has always sucked up to whoever it's politically expedient to suck up to and his wife is the same. I voted for them and for Gore too, but I did't work for them. Now I kind of wish I had, but it would mostly be an anti-something stance rather than truly pro.
Arianna didn't run as a Democrat in California.
She says some good things but I don't trust her either. Alot of columnists (such as Maureen Dowd) say good things too but are basically self-promoters at heart.
Words and especially deeds count. The rest is all fluff. Like tv news - I wish they'd just give the facts and document the events, with maybe a voiceover. But no, they have to have "personalities" - I don't care what their names are or how they look. I want to see what happened and what's going to be done about it.
That's why "news" and also "politics" are things I, on some level, take with a grain of salt. What matters is whether the standard of living improves for the most people, whether our standing in the world improves (respected by others, not feared or laughed at). If someone can really work in that direction, they're more deserving of respect than someone who uses pretty words or gets alot of coverage.
Posted by: cali dem at September 4, 2005 01:59 AM
No indication as to what company it was... The pro-Bush propaganda was the ONLY thing on the trailer.
Arianna didn't run as a Democrat in California.
She says some good things but I don't trust her either. Alot of columnists (such as Maureen Dowd) say good things too but are basically self-promoters at heart.
Posted by: not my ex-president, really at September 4, 2005 09:25 AM
Unfortunately you are too right on the money. :(
cali dem: I will check out your blog right now.
email from a Republican (Andrew Sullivan blog):
You know why I endorsed Kerry last time? Not because I liked Kerry or ever dreamed of backing him. I'm not a liberal. I'm not a Bush-hater. I backed the war. Initially, I trusted and supported this president to the hilt at a time of great danger. But I was forced to back Kerry of all people because Bush's gross incompetence at a time of national peril was simply too great a risk to continue. Now we have the proof:
"I've considered myself a socially libertarian, fiscally conservative Republican for a very long time. I got along with the idea that I wasn't going to get a whole lot of help. College wouldn't be free. Job training would cost money and time. And I'm probably a decent example of up-from-not-much.
But after watching what's happening in New Orleans-an American city that I've loved, visited and have always wanted to return to - I can't ever vote for these people again.
Being a Republican means that you expect the government to do just a couple things for you and nothing else. Build a road. Defend us from enemies, foreign and domestic. Stuff that would be a lot less organized if we all had to do it ourselves. Everything else is just gravy.
And as we poured money into Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, I thought, "Right on," because some of that money's bound to fall on my head.
Well, something else would fall on my head first.
(snip)
Some people say that you can't hold the President responsible for this. Oh, yes you can. Because when he looked over at John Ashcroft after the jets hit the towers and said, "I want you to make sure this never happens again," it was not meant to be specific to "no more planes hitting large buildings on the East Coast, right, boss." It was meant that no American should have to run for his life through an American city. While Americans may perish in a senseless, unforeseen disaster, we'd save the ones we could.
And the Cabinet appointees were mushwits and he could barely speak a complete sentence and we're sending people overseas for God knows how long to help people who are indifferent at worst and hostile at best, but they were going to protect us. In 2004, that's all a lot of us needed. Well right now, it's obvious that they can't.
Ask yourself this: What if Al-Qaeda blew up the levees instead of the hurricane? Would the response have been any different?
No. It wouldn't. That city flooded in a day. And if it were Las Vegas, I would have been in some operations center watching people try to decide who gets to starve to death and who gets to get on a bus to Los Angeles or Phoenix. And there would be no certainty that I'd be on that bus in time to protect my wife and kids.
But one thing sure would have been different.
They wouldn't have had a whole week to sort it out and know what's coming. They were supposed to KNOW this already. It will have been FOUR YEARS next weekend since someone probably said, "Hey, what if..."
And for that, the whole stack of them should be fired.
more...
http://www.andrewsullivan.com/index.php?dish_inc=archiv...
"My heart sank reading about Rhenquist's death. Can things get worse?
However, I do understand that, at this time, he feels he can't get involved in the political aspects of what has happened. "
Wrong oncall I intend to express opinions here about the S. Ct. and Yes Oncall they can worse.
Oncall the reason I am responding to your post today is to repeat the message some got p.o about 10 days ago when I kept suggesting that I thought we were too fixated too much on Cindy and Crwaford. That is a very impt protest. The Bush screwups are so vast in numbers that if we let our guard down even for one day ignoring the Judical battle, FEMMA and Homeland Security Disaray, Abortion Rights, Tax Equity, Out of Control Gasoline Prices, or Skyrocketing Poverty rates, Raping Anwr and the Environment and now with increased toxic emmissions being allowed for the sake of gasoline preservation, etc,etc, that Bush will literally drive this country into the ground and sneak in lifetime appointees and historical changes while we fell asleep at the wheel,and find someday that we rue that we weren't paying attention to.
Many attacked me saying stop already with the courts and my constant post about out of Control Gas Price and the recently release Report of rising Poveerty that got zero responses here.
We can only do much to help the Katrina victims and the Astrdome evacuees and I truly appreciate everyone's efforts in that respect. I will be getting a few select packages of crayons coloring books and some of those targeted resources I requested directly into our newly built day care center in the Relian Center Bldg adjoing the Astrodome, but it will be unmanigible for me to take enormous quanitites of boxes into my home or law office so I will be posting alternative Houston locations that are the command centers here in Houston for contributions. Please realize that our Cty Judge just announced that there are b/w 150,000 and 200,000 evacuees now located at the Dome, Reliant Park, our Convention Center, people's houses here in Houston (but not in Crawford)various centers,chucrhes, synagogues and every available hotel/motel room in Houston. Vacant apts will be next. This is an enormous project even for a city our size.
But please don't forget 2 points: each of us can only do a small part we can't fix everything no matter how big our heart or intentions. The Houston Chronicle reported that there were 12,000 volunteers at the Astrdome staging grounds since Friday so Houston has most everything under control. Be cautious about your gifts and carefully decide if the money you might be spending on shipping might be better spent giving some items directly to your local Salvation Army and giving the saved shipping cost as a cash contribution.I will still be taking in small lugable contributions directly to the Dome but I just don't wnat the packages to get out of hand which could easily snowball.
Secondly lets get better at mutitasking. Let's don't get so fixated on Ciindy or Karina that we fail to pay attention to the Supreme Ct, Out of Control gas Prices and Poverty rates. It as these times when we let our guard down that things like Changes to Gasoline Emission Stantards or Extremists Supreme Ct Justices are appointed that changes this country's historical direction.
Once everyone finishes with their contributions I hope for five things:
1. A massive letter writing effort demanding an immediate Congressional investigation into this massive breakdown of FEMMA;
2. Doing everything we can to unseat and embarras Denny Hastert and make his obscene remarks about N.O and his Fundraiser Event that he refused to cancel the exact time of the $10.5 million hurricane relief vote, the Poster Child of the RNC so we can take back Congress.
3. Any few extra dollars not being sent to Katrina victims should be directed either to Tim Kaine's, Denny Hastert's opponent or for local billbodoards or to Nick Lampson's campaign against Tome DeLay.
4. And finally we need to make sure that neither Anthony Salia or Clarence Thomas become Chief Justice to the US Supreme Ct.
5. That Cindy continue her peace efforts but temporarily turn her peace adviocates into hurrican relief volunteers, insiting that several hundred at least be taken by bus to Crawford and welcomed by Laura Bush.
Would be curious if Sen Danforth might be in the running but we must stop in its tracks word of Scalia or Thomas being elevated to Chief Justice, That we truly be another American tragedy.
This time it's official. Today the American government asked EU and NATO for aide : tents, blankets, medical kits, goods...
17000 troops should be sent in order to support the American ones...
The oil problem was solved last thursday when we accepted to give them some of our reserve.
Oil first, human beings second....
You can read details with translation bottom page here :
http://permanent.nouvelobs.com/etranger/20050904.OBS8315.html
This British report says police shot people who shot at contractors. Who knows .. this article also mentions something I'd heard about Rumsfeld - that he walked nonchalantly by very critically ill people. Callous bastard.
Andree I can't believe you're still up!