Toxic Tank Cars Take the Mall

Hot off the wires- the Senate killed Sen. Clinton's bill for an investigation of what went wrong in New Orleans. The 2/3rds majority just wasn't there, so the answer to "The Blame Game" is now- "No one is to blame." There's nothing to investigate.
Investigations were rampant after 911- why, oh why did all those stockbrokers and insurance executives have to die? Surely someone was to blame- someone wasn't prepared- now lets give all the relatives of the deceased millions of dollars in restitution. However, be sure and give the execs relatives more restitution than we do the janitor's relatives- their lives were worth oh so much more.
This makes me sick. Bush said just yesterday that he wants to find out what went wrong- Liar, Liar, Liar. So, he directs his minions in the Senate to block any plan to find out what went wrong, because he knows exactly what went wrong- he denied the funding to bolster the levee system in New Orleans before the storm. He didn't order that the citizens of New Orleans who couldn't get out before the storm be given free transportation in all those school busses we saw parked in the photos the last week. He just didn't give a damn. Couldn't we just have a Senate resolution to agree on that one little fact?
The American people are finally figuring it out, months too late do do anything about it. Their president just doesn't give a damn about them. And why should he- they were stupid enough to give him another 4 years in office after the biggest disaster of a presidency in history.
I'm very pissed off right now- gotta go back to work though. I've decided to support Hillary for the White House next election. She seems to be the only person in the Senate with any balls. Go Hillary- retake the White HOuse and bring that wonderful, caring, intelligent, well spoken hubby of yours back into power with you.
It'll be the best revenge we can ever get against these monsters.

I'm very pissed off right now- gotta go back to work though. I've decided to support Hillary for the White House next election. She seems to be the only person in the Senate with any balls.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Who needs balls when you have the DIXIE MAFIA on your side. Guess you do not realize why they defend bush over and over again.

This is a transcript of a phone conversation Buddy Spell had with Brendan Clancy as Buddy was driving through New Orleans...be prepared to be shocked.

Just got off the phone with Buddy. He still doesn't have internet access so he's asking me to post this.

Buddy Spell was driving around New Orleans with Armond Richardson, Official Photographer for the Louisiana Activists Network. I could here Armond, Shiek is his nickname, directing Buddy around obstacles while he drove. The reason they went in was to pick up a Readers Digest Photographer that had an accident with a Policeman. Even though it appears to be both of the drivers faults they decided to lock up The Photographer. At 5 pm Buddy was going to grab him from the authorities. They took photos of the accident scene on their way down to prove their point.

Union Terminal has been turned into a jail. They were cruising through some of the areas supposedly hit with massive looting and could only see one small drug store that appeared to be broken into but since many of the most expensive items were left one would assume that someone desperately needed medicine.

"Watcher" and "Train 7" your homes are fine! He has photos to prove it.

They allowed a cop car to pass them. Buddy says all he sees are cops and fireman. Not a single citizen.

They head into the Iberville Projects are in the Treme District. Military Police are everywhere dressed in Black. A red X marks the homes with bodies in them and there are a lot of Red X Marks. They pass a water Depth finder taped to lightpole at about 5 1/2feet up. It stinks to high heaven, they can tell wehn bodies are near.

They stop to take a look at Dookie Chase's a fine Soulfood Restaurant and cannot see any major damage. They turn and start driving the wrong way down Oleans Ave because debris blocks the correct lanes. Shopping carts are everywhere, this is where many people waited for days to be rescued, over by the interstate. In the Central Business Districts the Infrastructure is fine. They pass Carborne Towers (not sure if that's the correct name as the phone started to break up) it was rumored that 200 starving children were in there.

Buddy sees very little sign of rampant looting, he sees stomr damage to high rise windows and calls into question everything that was reported by the MSM. He laughs a bit as they see a 22 ft speed boat with a 200 horse power engine is sitting on the StreetCar tracks in the middle of the business district. He sees abondonned semi trucks, and cannot get used to the smell.

The phone connection breaks up and I am hoping he'll call back later on. Photos of all this should be available as soon as Buddy or Shiek can find a way to upload.

Back on the phone...

Just called again.

He covered about 3/4's of the city in his running around today and said he saw a total of 4 "shops", gas stations and convenient stores that appeared to be broken into. Of course this was most likely done by moms that were tired of watching their kids die in front of them because their Federal Government was not even attempting to get assistance in to them and of course there was no place to shop.

He said expensive stores with expensive objects were left untouched. Again and again he'd pass rolex watches gleaming in the sun, countered of course by the smell of rotting cropses in the streets.

No Flooding Uptown whatsoever, 90 percent of those places could be moved back into today. There is still water in LakeWoods South so that is uninhabitable. But from St. Charles to the river is fine. Streets are clear.

Naomi Klein from The Nation is one of Buddy's house guests and she said that 2 black people she interviewed both said they survived first the Storm, then the Looters, then the White Vigilantes, most of whom spoke with a Texas accent and basically had the Authority to go Hunting Black people with no accountability.

At that point a BlackHawk helicopter flew over head and Buddy's Voice rose in disgust...."You tell me Brendan, what the hell do they need a BlackHawk in New Orleans for?! What are they gonna shoot with that!"

I mentioned that Blackwater Security forces were being deputized by the Governor. He said some few choice words about that crew. And said people at the Bus Station/Jail were starting to look his way. He repeated the statement only louder. Realizing that New Orleans is about to undergo some sort of bizarre federal mutation of some sort he said, I gotta get the hell outta here....I can't take it.

Brendan for Buddy Spell in New Orleans yesterday.

Indy

If bush is ..sorry..if HALLIBURTON is SERIOUS about invading Venezeula

THEY WILL HAVE TO HAVE THE PORT OF ORLEANS TO STAGE IT FROM.

Speaking of FEMA and FUBAR

http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/archives/002362.html

no thanks to FEMA, Edgar Hollingsworth is still alive.

Invading Venezuela?

Wow...and what would be the most dangerous "Weapons of Mass Destruction" Venezuela might have...

Catapulting llamas at our military?

Give me a freakin' break already.

Venezeula =

free oil for everyone bush loves

If IT REALLY IS ABOUT THE OIL

and ONLY the OIL

Then he WILL invade to our south

Iraqi oil is NOT sustainable AND they need another 'major ongoing event' to cover up crimes committed in IRAQ

they are using this natural disaster as a cover for a MILITARY BUILDUP

From Molly Ivins on the Bankruptcy bill amendment for hurricane victims... (sorry, it's long but it was so tough to choose what to snip that I didn't)

The Graft Goes On

By Molly Ivins, AlterNet. Posted September 14, 2005.

Congress has a chance to rethink some of the most punitive parts of the new Bankruptcy Act, in order to give poor victims of Hurricane Katrina a break. Will they do the right thing?

Here's a good idea: Consumer groups and progressive congressfolks have joined in an effort to stop hundreds of thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina from being further harmed by the new Bankruptcy Act, scheduled to take effect Oct. 17. This law was notoriously written by and for the consumer credit industry, and is particularly onerous for the poor.

The bill was passed with massive support from the Republican leadership in Congress and from a disgusting number of sellout Democrats. While it was being considered in committee earlier this year, Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee offered an amendment to protect victims of natural disasters. It was defeated, without debate, on a party-line vote.

Now, Congress has a chance to rethink some of the most punitive parts of the bill. Katrina victims who were planning to file before the new law goes into effect are S.O.L. -- where are they gonna find a lawyer, let alone an open courthouse?

Under the new law, anyone whose income is over the state median must file under Chapter 13, a more restrictive category that requires some repayment of debt. The new law grants no exemption for natural disaster, even though it's going to be a little tough for some citizen sitting in the Astrodome who no longer has a home to come up with tax statements, pay stubs, and six months of income and expense data. Let's see if Congress can manage to open its marble heart on this issue.

Meanwhile, it's an ill wind that blows no one good, so we should not be surprised to learn the first winner out of the gate on Katrina is none other than the Halliburton Co., whose deserving subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root has already been granted a $29.8 million contract for cleanup work in the wake of Katrina.

Of course, no one would suggest Halliburton and its subsidiaries get government contracts (more than $9 billion for reconstruction work in Iraq, with Pentagon audits thus far showing $1.03 billion in "questioned" costs and $422 million in "unsupported costs") just because Vice President Cheney is still on the payroll. Heavens no. The veep continues to receive deferred pay from the company he formerly headed -- $194,852 last year.

But Cheney has nothing to do with the Halliburton contracts: that, friends, goes through none other than the noted lobbyist and former head of -- of all things -- the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Since Joe Allbaugh, who was Bush's campaign manger in 2000, left FEMA in December 2002, he has been busy making sure reconstruction contracts in Iraq go to companies that give generously to the Republican Party.

Now, aren't you ashamed of yourself for thinking there's something wrong with that? Besides, Allbaugh is now with a big-time Washington lobbying firm, where he also represents Shaw Group Inc. And -- voila! -- Shaw Group already has a $100 million emergency contract from FEMA for housing management and construction, and a $100 million order from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for Katrina repair.

Congress has appropriated over $60 billion in emergency funding for recovery costs, and estimates are the final costs will top $100 billion.

Danielle Brian, director of the Project on Government Oversight, told Reuters, "The government has got to stop stacking senior positions with people who are repeatedly cashing in on the public trust in order to further private commercial interests."

Now, Ms. Brian, get a grip. Not all the money goes to the big, politically connected firms.

Michael ("You're doing a heckuva job") Brown liked to spread federal money around. In fact, Rep. Robert Wexler of Florida was so annoyed by Brownie's distribution of largesse in Miami after Hurricane Frances that he urged the president to fire Ol' Brownie last January. What upset Wexler about the $30 million in FEMA checks to cover new wardrobes, cars, lawnmowers, vacuum cleaners, furniture and appliances was that the hurricane did not affect Miami. It landed 100 miles away.

Some of you may have heard me observe a time or two -- going back to when George W. was still governor of Texas -- that the trouble with the guy is that while he is good at politics, he stinks at governance. It bores him, he's not interested, he thinks government is bad to begin with and everything would be done better if it were contracted out to corporations.

We can now safely assert that W. has stacked much of the federal government with people like himself. And what you get when you put people in charge of government who don't believe in government and who are not interested in running it well is ... what happened after Hurricane Katrina.

Many a time in the past six years I have bit my tongue so I wouldn't annoy people with the always obnoxious observation, "I told you so." But, dammit it all to hell, I did tell you, and I've been telling you since 1994, and I am so sick of this man and everything he represents -- all the sleazy, smug, self-righteous graft and corruption and "Christian" moralizing and cynicism and tax cuts for all his smug, rich buddies.

Next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention.

http://www.alternet.org/katrina/25421/

"If Dirt Were Dollars"
by Don Henley

Walkin' like a millionaire
Smilin' like a king
He leaned his shopping cart against the wall
He said, I been a lot of places
And I seen a lot of things
But, sonny, I seen one thing that beats 'em all

I was flyin' back from lubbock
I saw jesus on the plane
...or maybe it was elvis
You know, they kinda look the same
Hey, look out, junior, you're steppin' on my bed
I said, I don't see nothin
He just glared at me and said,

If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
I wouldn't worry anymore

Lookin' like a beauty queen
Loyal as a wife
She raised her little voice and testified,
I am a good girl
I've been one all my life
But her virtue was as swollen as her pride

She should've had the oscar
She must have been miscast
Her fifteen minutes went by so fast
I said, now, baby, have you got no shame?
She just looked at me, uncomprehendingly
Like cows at a passing train

If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
I wouldn't worry anymore

We got the bully pulpit
And the poisoned pen
We got a press no better
Than the public men
This brave new world
Gone bad again

God's finest little creatures
Looking brave and strong
Whistling past the graveyard
Nothing can go wrong
Quoting from the scriptures
With patriotic tears
We got the same old men
With the same old fears

Standing at attention
Wrapped in stars and stripes
They hear the phantom drummers
And the nonexistent pipes
These days the buck stops nowhere
No one takes the blame
But evil is still evil
In anybody's name

If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
We'd all be in the black

Here's an interesting essay from political cartoonist Ted Rall. I particularly like his concluding paragraph... talk about turning a phrase.

RALL 9/13/05
http://www.uexpress.com/tedrall/

NEW YORK--Hurricane Katrina has prompted Americans to donate more than $700 million to charity, reports the Chronicle of Philanthropy. So many suckers, so little foresight.

Government has been shirking its basic responsibilities since the '80s, when Ronald Reagan sold us his belief that the sick, poor and unlucky should no longer count on "big government" to help them, but should rather live and die at the whim of contributors to private charities. The Katrina disaster, whose total damage estimate has risen from $100 to $125 billion, marks the culmination of Reagan's privatization of despair.

The American Red Cross leads the post-Katrina sweepstakes, quickly closing in on the $534 million it took in just after 9/11. But Red Cross spokeswoman Sheila Graham told the AP it needs another half billion "to provide emergency relief over the coming weeks for thousands of evacuees who have scattered among 675 of its shelters in 23 states."

Shelley Borysiewicz of Catholic Charities USA, which has raised $7 million thus far, also continues to solicit donations: "We don't want people to lose sight of the fact that this is going to take years of recovery, and we're going to be there to help the people who fall through the cracks."

What "cracks"? Why should New Orleans' dispossessed have to live in private shelters? We live in the United States, not Mali. There's only one reason flood victims aren't getting help from the government: because the government refuses to help them. The Red Cross and its cohorts are letting lazy, incompetent and corrupt politicians off the hook, and so are their donors.

It's ridiculous, but people evidently need to be reminded that the United States is not only the world's wealthiest nation but the wealthiest society that has existed anywhere, ever. The U.S. government can easily pick up the tab for people inconvenienced by bad weather--if helping them is a priority. That goes double for Katrina, a disaster caused by the government's conscious decision to eliminate the $50 million pittance needed to improve New Orleans' levees.

For our leaders the optional war against Iraq is such a priority, which the Congressional Budget Office expects to cost $600 billion by 2010. That's four or five Katrinas right there. (That's also where the levee money went.) Because rich people are always a political priority, their taxes have been slashed by $4 trillion over a decade--the equivalent of 32 Katrinas. So worried are our public servants about the tax burden placed on the rich that they're looking out for rich dead people. This is why they've gutted the estate tax that, at a cost of $75 billion annually, will run half a Katrina a year. Trickle-down economists beginning with Milton Friedman shout "starve the beast," but while the social programs are put on a diet, the mean and powerful pig out more than ever.

Disaster relief is too important to be left to private fundraisers, with their self-sustaining fundraising expenses, administrative overhead (nine percent for the Red Cross) and their parochial, often religious, agendas. It's also way too expensive. In the final analysis, after the floodwaters have receded and the poor neighborhoods of New Orleans have been razed under eminent domain, major charities will be lucky if they've managed to raise one percent of the total cost of Katrina. Congress, recognizing the reality that only the federal government possesses the means to deal with the calamity, has already allocated $58 billion--over 70 times the amount raised by charities--to flood relief along the Gulf of Mexico. As Bush says, that's only a "down payment."

Cutting a check to the Red Cross isn't just a vote for irresponsible government. It's a drop in the bucket compared to what you'll end up paying for Katrina in increased taxes.

Granted, in terms of popularity of likelihood of success, trying to make a case against giving money to charities compares to lobbying against puppies. The impulse to donate, after all, is rooted in our best human traits. As we watched New Orleanians die of thirst, disease and anarchic violence in the face of Bush Administration disinterest and local government incompetence, millions of us did the only thing we thought we could to do to help: cut a check or click a PayPal button. Tragically, that generosity feeds into the mindset of the sinister ideologues who argue that government shouldn't help people--the very mindset that caused the levee break that turned Katrina into a holocaust and led to official unresponsiveness. And it is already setting the stage for the next avoidable disaster.

It's time to "starve the beast": private charities used by the government to justify the abdication of its duties to its citizens.

It's time to "starve the beast": private charities used by the government to justify the abdication of its duties to its citizens.

Posted by: dwahzon at September 14, 2005 04:32 PM

Problem with starving the beast is that behind the beast innocent humans (and animals) get hurt.

I don't mean to say and I don't think he intended to say that all charity is inappropriate.

I think his point is definitely worthy of further discussion... at what point to we rely so heavily on private charities that the government is allowed to shirk its reponsibility to care for citizens and its ability to deliver that care atrophies into uselessness?

I also like the way he turned around the "starve the beast" phrase that Norquist used.

And now for something totally off topic, a spellchecker for browsers... but at this point only Internet Explorer browsers

http://www.iespell.com/

I have not downloaded or installed this myself but it has been recommended in a business network I belong to. I immediately thought of how many times I've see people ask for spellchecker here and thought I'd pass it along.

The person who recommended it had this to say:

I use a free spell checker for Internet Explorer called IE Spell at http://www.iespell.com . Once it is installed, it is easy to use - just right click and it checks your spelling.

It is great for online networking and filling out online forms, as long as I remember to use it. You can add words it doesn't know how to spell as well. A nice little tool.

You know that picture of New Orleans with the Grover Norquist quote about drowning government in a bathtub? A kos poster mentions today that Working Assets has contacted him (as creator of that poster) about using it in a billboard in DC.

They've put a version of it up on their website and are asking for contributions to finance putting it up in "Grover Norquist's neighborhood".
http://www.workingforchange.com/index.cfm?

Here's the kos poster's diary talking about it:

http://www.dailykos.com/hotlist/add/2005/9/14/181635/830/displaystory//

Bush approval at lowest level of his presidency
NBC/WSJ Poll: Katrina, gas prices and Iraq damage president's support

By Mark Murray
Political reporter
NBC News
Updated: 6:46 p.m. ET Sept. 14, 2005

WASHINGTON — Rocked by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, record-high gas prices, and the continued debate over Iraq, President George W. Bush’s public standing has sunk to new lows, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds.

Bush's approval rating has declined to its lowest level in his presidency. So has his handling of the situation in Iraq. Moreover, fewer than half those surveyed approve of the way in which Bush has dealt with the hurricane, and a whopping three-fourths believe the United States is not prepared for a nuclear, biological or chemical attack.

“The president has been living on the edge for the last 18 months,” said Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, referring to Bush’s approval rating, which until recently had held steady at or just below 50 percent since 2004.

Recent events take toll
But Hart notes that recent events, especially Hurricane Katrina, have taken a toll on Bush. “What happened out of all of this is that the personal characteristics that had been holding the president up basically burst,” he said.

Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted the survey with Hart, adds that he has disliked stories portraying Sept. 11 and Katrina as bookends for Bush — that the first event boosted his presidency, while the second has done the opposite. But he says these poll numbers suggest that is indeed what’s happening. “It’s hard to avoid that bookend story.”

According to the poll, Bush’s job approval has plummeted to 40 percent, an all-time low for the president. That’s a drop of 6 points from the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll taken in July, and it’s consistent with results from other recent national surveys. The poll also finds that just 37 percent of respondents approve of Bush’s job handling Iraq, compared with 58 percent who disapprove — another all-time low. In addition, 55 percent want to reduce the number of troops in Iraq, while just 36 percent want to maintain the current level there.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9332076/

Wednesday, September 7th, 2005
Here's How You Can Make an Immediate Difference in Louisiana

Friends,

There is much to be said and done about the manmade annihilation of New Orleans, caused NOT by a hurricane but by the very specific decisions made by the Bush administration in the past four and a half years. Do not listen to anyone who says we can discuss all this later. No, we can't. Our country is in an immediate state of vulnerability. More hurricanes and other disasters are on the way, and a lazy bunch of self-satisfied lunatics are still running the show.

So, in the next few days, I will write to you about what must be done about Bush and Co.

But today I want you to join with me in bypassing the colossally inept and incompetent Bush administration and get help DIRECTLY to the people of the New Orleans area -- right now.

A lot of you have written me to ask what you can do. Many don't know who to trust. Many want to do more than write a check. You are right to think that writing checks to relief agencies will not get water and aid to people in the next 48 hours. Checks will be needed later and can be written later.

I have a way, though, for each and every one of us to do something today that can affect people's lives TODAY.

For the past few days I've been working with a group that, I guarantee you, will get direct aid to the people who need it most.

Cindy Sheehan, the brave woman who dared to challenge Mr. Bush at his summer home, has now sent her Camp Casey from in front of Bush's ranch to the outskirts of New Orleans. The Veterans for Peace have taken all the equipment and staff of volunteers and set up camp in Covington, Louisiana, on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. They are accepting materials and personally distributing them to those in need and have been going into New Orleans on a daily basis.

This is where we come in. We need to ship supplies to them immediately. Today they need the following:

Bottled Water (and lots of it!), baby diapers, baby wipes, baby formula, Pedialyte, baby items in general, powder, lotion, handy wipes, sterile gloves, electrolytes, LARGE cans of veggies, school supplies, paper plates, paper towels, toilet paper, and anything else to lift people's spirits.

You can ship these items by following the instructions on VFPRoadTrips.org. Or you can deliver them there in person. The roads to Covington are open. Their address is:

Volunteer Kitchen, Food Bank and Distribution Center
Pine View Middle School
1115 West 28th Avenue Covington, LA.
70434
Here's how to get there. You can drop them off or you can stay and participate (if you stay, you'll be camping so bring your own tent and gear and mosquito spray).

If you can't ship these items or go there in person, then go to VFPRoadTrips.org and make an immediate donation through PayPal. Camp Casey-Covington will have immediate access to this cash and can buy the items themselves from stores that are open in Louisiana (all donations to Veterans for Peace, are tax deductible).

Each day I will post up-to-the minute information as to what is needed and the progress Camp Casey is making. Please visit MichaelMoore.com often and do what you can to help.

Many other groups are also doing good work. MoveOn.org has set up a system for people to offer rooms in their homes to the survivors.

There is no time to waste. People are suffering and dying. Each of us can do something. There is no other alternative.

Thank you in advance for your help. Tomorrow, we will take care of the other work we need to do about the ideologically hamstrung incompetents in charge.

Yours,
Michael Moore
Mike@MichaelMoore.com
www.MichaelMoore.com

Posted by: sunflower at September 14, 2005 08:27 PM

In my mind, it's civility thing. And I would hope that everyone here subscribes to being civil & respectful of others and their opinions. So yes, sunflower, I believe it does apply. And if it doesn't, then I'm in the wrong place.

And, BTW, it's not my blog, but I care deeply about it and it has been a good place to come for almost a year now. I hope it stays that way. We have a lot of work to do and we have a lot of good people here who want to do it.

Agreed M...but one does not argue Alone it does take more than one person to engage in what you are trying to address.

You know what I want? A slow news day. Remember those? When the confirmation hearings of the next Chief Justice wouldn't be the 4th story on the Nightly News. When I could come the the Democrarcy Cell project and find myself slightly bored by someone's going on and on about a tax bill I only half understood. Yes, like some of us here, my politcs tend to be more emotionial then intellectual.
Maybe that's my problem tonight, I'm overwhelmed by body counts, by pictures of destruction , and the taint of broken promises. I can't tell New Orleans from Baghdad...

Hiya Sunny hows your dad???

"There is a Chinese curse which says "May he live in interesting times." Like it or not, we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also the most creative of any time in the history of mankind. And everyone here will ultimately be judged -- will ultimately judge himself -- on the effort he has contributed to building a new world society and the extent to which his ideals and goals have shaped that effort."

Robert F. Kennedy

Thanks NT4K... truer words were never spoken

Hey christy...My Dads home finally! 7 long weeks later..Thank you all for your thoughts and support through out all of it.

Posted by: sunflower at September 14, 2005 08:52 PM

Fantastic..tell him we said hello.

Posted by: sunflower at September 14, 2005 08:52 PM

Good for you sunny - and welcome back to the blog!

a slow news day- wow that would be so nice!!