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More Weasel Words
Photo courtesy of Associated Press
DCPers - Let's welcome back Gob Ears with another installment on the vicissitudes of our nation's infrastructure:
A lot of interesting stuff is coming out in the wake of the I-35W bridge failure in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Now we learn that that state's transportation bureaucracy quietly lowered its goals for bridge maintenance in 2003 from 65% to 55% of bridges receiving a "good" or better rating. Here's a wonderful quote from one of the top bureaucrats there: "Once we started looking at what others were doing, we realized that 65 percent was an unrealistic number."
In other words, if we can show that we're no worse than others, it's okay.
The 65% goal was set in 1997 when actual inspections showed that 62% of Minnesota's bridges were rated "good" or better. By the time 2003 rolled around and the bureaucracy determined that 65 was an unrealistic number, their performance has dropped to 52% One wonders what happened in the intervening six years.
One thing that happened is the bureaucrats were advising the policy leadership that they were having problems keeping up because of "dwindling financial resources", a set of weasel words that are hereby nominated for immediate elevation into the Weasel Word Hall of Fame. We all know, of course, that it means we need more money or we can't do this.
Recall now how the Governor of Minnesota vetoed a gas tax increase that may have enabled the bureaucrats to meet the more ambitious goal. I think he should be reminded of this sad fact daily, but what is even better is the massive memory loss currently being suffered by policy makers across the political spectrum. None of them has the vaguest memory of this reduction occurring!
The reduction in goal was done very quietly, one paragraph buried deep inside the department's budget request. In fairness it should be reported that the latest data available show that Minnesota improved its "good" or better rating to 54% in 2006, in other words they came very close to meeting their new lower goal.
But what about those "others" who Minnesota wishes to be compared with? Well, neighboring Michigan established a goal of 95% "good" rating for freeway bridges and 85% for other bridges by 2008. Since then they have gone from 63% to 87% good. How, you may ask, did they do this? Well, first off they enacted a 4 cents per gallon increase in their gas tax and then they postponed some expansion for maintenance. Here's a really outstanding quote from a Michigan Department of Transportation bureaucrat: "We are working (under) the theory that you don't put an addition on your house while the roof is leaking."
Must be a tax and spend liberal.
Utah, always a place where good sense seems to abound in government, has established a goal of 65% very good and 25% good and by all indications they are succeeding. But most states are like Minnesota, doing very little, hoping that nothing bad happens, and keeping their heads well buried in the sand.
How is your state doing?
"Gob Ears" has been known to rake muck, rant and intermittently howl at the moon at The Infrastructure Report.
Stay tuned. FB.
Massachusetts is slowly working on their bridges, after some scares caused by flooding a couple of years ago. But Romney cut the sales tax and everything is suffering.
And speaking of failed infrastructure and flooding....
Tomorrow is the 2nd anniversary of Katrina.
Watch this video, feel sorrow, and sign the petition.
http://whenthesaints.org/?utm_source=foundemail
Massive Criminal Probe of Illegal Iraq Arms Sales Underway http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/082807J.shtml
James Glanz and Eric Schmitt, of The New York Times, report: "Several federal agencies are investigating a widening network of criminal cases involving the purchase and delivery of billions of dollars of weapons, supplies and other material to Iraqi and American forces, according to American officials. The officials said it amounted to the largest ring of fraud and kickbacks uncovered in the conflict here, the officials said. The inquiry has already led to several indictments of Americans, with more expected, the officials said. One of the investigations involves a senior American officer who worked closely with Gen. David H. Petraeus in setting up the logistics operation to supply the Iraqi forces when General Petraeus was in charge of training and equipping those forces in 2004 and 2005, American officials said Monday."
I wrote this in another blog:
Bush tells Congress to go to hell (again)
__________________________________________
Bush, in his statements yesterday, defends Al Gonzo as " a good man whose name was dragged - UNFAIRLY - through the mud".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi6yKPrNpKE
EARTH TO BUSH, EARTH TO BUSH, DO YOU READ???
Telling the Congress and the Democrats to go to hell at this stage GUARANTEES a blood feud for the next year and half.
The Bush presidency is going down in flames and disaster...
and Bush doesn't care in the least..
Facing a draft, Nugent bravely wet his pants
So Ted Nugent roams a concert stage while toting automatic weapons, calls Barack Obama "a piece of -----" and says he told Obama to suck on one of his machine-guns. He also calls Hillary Clinton a "worthless bitch" and Dianne Feinstein a "worthless whore."
That Nugent, he's a man's man. He talks the talk and walks the walk, right?
Except when it was time to register for the draft during the Vietnam era. By his own admission, Nugent stopped all forms of personal hygiene for a month and showed up for his draft board physical in pants caked with his own urine and feces, winning a deferment.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/roeper/529419,CST-NWS-roep27.article
Ted Nugent literally crapped on himself to get out of Vietnam...?
HAHAHAHAHA!!!
HAHAHA!!!
Sen. Craig denies sex charge, says ‘I am not gay’
Lawmaker is under fire for alleged lewd conduct in Minn. airport bathroom
WASHINGTON - Under fire from leaders of his own party, Idaho Sen. Larry Craig on Tuesday said the only thing he had done wrong was to plead guilty after a complaint of lewd conduct in a men’s room. He declared, “I am not gay. I never have been gay.”
“I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport,” he said at a news conference with his wife, Suzanne, at his side.
Craig also lashed out at the Idaho Statesman newspaper, which reported Monday that, according to an anonymous source, Craig had a homosexual encounter in a Washington train station. Craig accused the paper of waging a witch hunt against him.
"I overreacted in Minneapolis because of the stress of the Idaho Statesman investigation and the rumors it has fueled all around Idaho," Craig said.
Craig’s defiant news conference came as Senate Republican leaders in Washington called for an ethics committee review into his involvement in a police sting operation this summer in the airport men’s room.
“In the meantime, the leadership is examining other aspects of the case to see if additional action is required,” Sen. Mitch McConnell and other top GOP lawmakers said in a written statement.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20467347/
Who da ho?
"I am not gay."
Is that self delusion or what?
The worst part is how terrified he seems to be of simply BEING gay. Or even being called gay.
Having sex with strange men in public places, he has the nerve to pull that off, but imply he is GAY and he totally freaks.
In some ways it is truly tragic and sad.
You guys have got to see this pic.
A police officer points a weapon at protesters as a presidential limousine drives past behind Monday, Aug. 27, 2007, in Bellevue, Wash.
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070828/480/be800cf71f1e47398fbc89093caf5336
In some ways it is truly tragic and sad.
Posted by: Christy at August 28, 2007 09:18 PM
You know what is truly tragic and sad Christy, is not that the Loser is gay, they are friking hypocrital perverts these friking republicans. They have wives and families, the wives they have to deal with their loser husbands, but the kids they should not have to deal with all the publicity that come out of their fathers little peccadillos, they are innocent in it all, but will suffer for a long time to come.
That is the truly tragic and sad reality, of these moralists the so called party of Family Values.
Posted by: Christy at August 28, 2007 09:27 PM
I was really close to that guy. See my video at http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com. The media here totally misrepresented the crowd too and gave equal time to the few of Bush's base who turned out.
Rossian,
I don't often do this, but this is from the website of the Church of God!
http://www.keyway.ca/htm2001/20010620.htm
It's part of a Bible study on hypocrisy.
Jesus Christ did not mince words when it came to religious hypocrisy. That, more than anything else, is what got Him killed. His death was a staged assassination by a few religious hypocrites who The Lord was very effectively exposing to the people under their authority.
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5 RSV)
"Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." (Matthew 6:1-6 RSV)
"Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat." He answered them, "And why do you transgress the Commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.' But you say, 'If any one tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is given to God, he need not honor his father.' So, for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'" (Matthew 15:1-9 RSV)
"Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. I tell you, My friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear Him Who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!" (Luke 12:2-5 RSV)
So they are really pushing it.
NMP, you had me, right until Lukes fearmongering at the end.
I have never understood worshipping something you fear. Seems kinda redundant.
I don't get it when fundo-islamohippis do it (or whatever we are calling muslims these days). And I certainly do not get the christian fearmongering.
The older I get the stranger it seems.
So they are really pushing it.
Posted by: Not My President at August 28, 2007 10:29 PM
Hope so NMP, I have been waiting a long time.
Study: US preparing 'massive' military attack against Iran
The study concludes that the US has made military preparations to destroy Iran’s WMD, nuclear energy, regime, armed forces, state apparatus and economic infrastructure within days if not hours of President George W. Bush giving the order. The US is not publicising the scale of these preparations to deter Iran, tending to make confrontation more likely. The US retains the option of avoiding war, but using its forces as part of an overall strategy of shaping Iran’s actions.
Any attack is likely to be on a massive multi-front scale but avoiding a ground invasion. Attacks focused on WMD facilities would leave Iran too many retaliatory options, leave President Bush open to the charge of using too little force and leave the regime intact.
US bombers and long range missiles are ready today to destroy 10,000 targets in Iran in a few hours.
US ground, air and marine forces already in the Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan can devastate Iranian forces, the regime and the state at short notice.
Some form of low level US and possibly UK military action as well as armed popular resistance appear underway inside the Iranian provinces or ethnic areas of the Azeri, Balujistan, Kurdistan and Khuzestan. Iran was unable to prevent sabotage of its offshore-to-shore crude oil pipelines in 2005.
Nuclear weapons are ready, but most unlikely, to be used by the US, the UK and Israel. The human, political and environmental effects would be devastating, while their military value is limited.
Israel is determined to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons yet has the conventional military capability only to wound Iran’s WMD programmes.
The attitude of the UK is uncertain, with the Brown government and public opinion opposed psychologically to more war, yet, were Brown to support an attack he would probably carry a vote in Parliament. The UK is adamant that Iran must not acquire the bomb.
The US is not publicising the scale of these preparations to deter Iran, tending to make confrontation more likely. The US retains the option of avoiding war, but using its forces as part of an overall strategy of shaping Iran’s actions.
http://rawstory.com//news/2007/Study_US_preparing_massive_military_attack_0828.html
Rossian
We just walked over to Green Lake to the peace vigil (candlelight) and everyone was talking about an imminent invasion of Iran.
I did nothing 'inappropriate' in airport bathroom -
WHAT A HEADLINE
Makes "I didn't have sex with that woman" sound positively normal.
By the way, good thread header & sent it to MN friends just now.
Makes "I didn't have sex with that woman" sound positively normal.
Posted by: Not My President at August 28, 2007 11:49 PM
I'd say it is positively normal NMP, Men are probably saying it all around the world. Its just impeaching a President for saying it, that is not normal, ohhhhh I know he perjured himself, Well hell Georgie and his gang of thugs and the Republican Party have been perjuring themselves for the last eight years, and I have yet to see any of them impeached.
A Scandal-Scarred G.O.P. Asks, ‘What Next?’
Forget Mark Foley of Florida, who quit the House last year after exchanging sexually explicit e-mail messages with under-age male pages, or Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist whose dealings with the old Republican Congress landed him in prison. They are old news, replaced by a fresh crop of scandal-plagued Republicans, men like Senator David Vitter of Louisiana, whose phone number turned up on the list of the so-called D.C. Madam, or Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska and Representative Rick Renzi of Arizona, both caught up in F.B.I. corruption investigations.
It is enough to make a self-respecting Republican want to tear his hair out in frustration, especially as the party is trying to defend an unpopular war, contain the power of the new Democratic majority on Capitol Hill and generate some enthusiasm among voters heading toward the presidential election in 2008.
“The real question for Republicans in Washington is how low can you go, because we are approaching a level of ridiculousness,” said Mr. Reed, sounding exasperated in an interview on Tuesday morning. “You can’t make this stuff up. And the impact this is having on the grass-roots around the country is devastating. Republicans think the governing class in Washington are a bunch of buffoons who have total disregard for the principles of the party, the law of the land and the future of the country.”
Then again, Washington does not have a monopoly on the latest trend among Republicans. Just ask Thomas Ravenel, the state treasurer of South Carolina, who had to step down as state chairman of Rudolph W. Giuliani’s presidential campaign after he was indicted on cocaine charges in June.
Or Bob Allen, a state representative in Florida who was jettisoned from the John McCain campaign last month after he was arrested on charges of soliciting sex in a public restroom.
Lets not forget the White House. and Jeff Gannons
200 or so visits.
The Party of Moral Values.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/us/politics/29repubs.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Actually Clinton didn't say, "I did not have sex with that woman." He said, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." Call me pedantic, but in court, that's what you're supposed to be. The word "relations" conjures up something entirely different from "sex". It implies a continuing adulterous relationship. I'd say it was a very carefully worded lie that he probably could have got away with. Neocons are still trying to convince you that all things of a sexual nature are perverse and dirty. Why else would they be getting caught on a week by week basis doing one of the very deeds they say is abhorrent?
The US retains the option of avoiding war, but using its forces as part of an overall strategy of shaping Iran’s actions.
Posted by: rossiann at August 28, 2007 11:03 PM
Really? Can someone tell me where this large pool of highly motivated, energised, extremely healthy military force is hiding? I guess the twins are going to have to put their lives on the line for that one. Not a lot of choices left.
Neocons are still trying to convince you that all things of a sexual nature are perverse and dirty. Why else would they be getting caught on a week by week basis doing one of the very deeds they say is abhorrent?
Posted by: woz at August 29, 2007 01:21 AM
Your right woz he did say, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." and it is the Republican Party itself that is abhorrent.
UnfrikingBelievable. Justice Texas Stlye
Execution Alert
Free Kenneth Foster
Help us save him!
Thank you for taking the time to visit this web site and learn about the case of Kenneth Foster, Jr., an innocent man on Texas Death Row. Unfortunately, Kenneth has been given an execution date of Aug. 30, 2007. If you would like to get involved in the fight to save Kenneth's life, please contact us at:
http://www.freekenneth.com/
Unbelievable have you been in to see this petition, it is basically signed by people all over the world other than maybe a few Americans.
All the crimes and murders committed in Iraq, and the instigators are set free, or do maybe a year or two, if the families of the dead Iraqis are lucky.
Justice in America, what justice.
American Nightmare: Gonzales "wrong and illegal and unethical"
by Greg Palast
Tuesday, August 28.
"What I've experienced in the last six months is the ugly side of the American dream."
Last month, David Iglesias and I were looking out at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island where his dad had entered the US from Panama decades ago. It was a hard moment for the military lawyer who, immediately after Attorney General Alberto Gonzales fired Iglesias as US Attorney for New Mexico, returned to active military duty as a Naval Reserve JAG.
Captain Iglesias, cool and circumspect, added something I didn't expect:
"They misjudged my character, I mean they really thought I was just going to roll over and give them what they wanted and when I didn't, that I'd go away quietly but I just couldn't do that. You know US Attorneys and the Justice Department have a history of not taking into consideration partisan politics. That should not be a factor. And what they tried to do is just wrong and illegal and unethical."
When a federal prosecutor says something is illegal, it's not just small talk. And the illegality wasn't small. It's called, "obstruction of justice," and it's a felony crime.
Specifically, Attorney General Gonzales, Iglesias told me, wanted him to bring what the prosecutor called "bogus voter fraud" cases. In effect, US Attorney Iglesias was under pressure from the boss to charge citizens with crimes they didn't commit. Saddam did that. Stalin did that. But Iglesias would NOT do that - even at the behest of the Attorney General. Today, Captain Iglesias, reached by phone, told me, "I'm not going to file any bogus prosecutions."
But it wasn't just Gonzales whose acts were "unethical, wrong and illegal."
It was Gonzales' boss.
Iglesias says, "The evidence shows right now, is that [Republican Senator Pete] Domenici complained directly to President Bush. And that Bush then called Alberto Gonzales, the Attorney General, and complained about my alleged lack of vigorous enforcement of voter fraud laws."
In other words, it went to the top. The Decider had decided to punish a prosecutor who wouldn't prosecute innocents.
All day long I've heard Democrats dance with glee that they now have the scalp of Alberto Gonzales. They nailed the puppet. But what about the puppeteer?
The question that remains is the same that Watergate prosecutors asked of Richard Nixon, "What did the President know and when did he know it?"
Or, to update it for Dubya, "What did the President know and how many times did Karl Rove have to explain it to him?"
During the Watergate hearings, Nixon tried to obstruct the investigation into his obstruction of justice by offering up the heads of his Attorney General and other officials. Then, Congress refused to swallow the Nixon bait. The only resignation that counted was the one by the capo di capi of the criminal-political cabal: Nixon's. The President's.
But in this case, even the exit of the Decider-in-Chief would not be the end of it. Because this isn't about finagling with the power of prosecutors, it's about the 2008 election.
"This voter fraud thing is the bogey man," says Iglesias.
In New Mexico, the 2004 announcement of Iglesias' pending prosecution of voters (which he ultimately refused to do) put the chill on the turnout of Hispanic citizens already harassed by officialdom. The bogus "vote fraud" hysteria helped sell New Mexico's legislature on the Republican plan to require citizenship IDs to vote - all to stop "fraudulent" voters that simply don't exist.
The voter witch-hunt worked. "Wrong" or "insufficient" ID was used to knock out the civil rights of over a quarter million voters in 2004. In New Mexico, that was enough to swing the state George Bush by a mere 5,900 votes.
So what is most frightening is not the resignation of Alberto Gonzales, the Pinocchio of prosecutorial misconduct, but the resignation of Karl Rove. Because New Mexico 2004 was just the testing ground for the roll-out of the "ID" attack planned for 2008.
And Rove who three decades ago cut his political fangs as chief of the Nixon Youth, is ready to roll. To say Rove left his White House job under a cloud is nonsense. He just went into free-agent status, an electoral hitman ready to jump on the next GOP nominee's black-ops squad. The fact that Rove's venomous assistant, Tim Griffin, was set up to work for the campaign Fred Thompson, is a sign that the Lord Voldemort of vote suppression is preparing to practice his Dark Arts in '08.
It was Rove who convinced Bush to fire upright prosecutors and replace them with Rove-bots ready to strike out at fraudulent (i.e. Democratic) voters.
Iglesias, however, remains the optimist. "I'm hopeful that I'll get back to the American dream. And get out of the American nightmare."
Dreams. Nightmares. I have a better idea for America: Wake up.
Bush wants $50 billion more for Iraq
Planned request signals confidence that Congress won't prevail on pullout
WASHINGTON - President Bush plans to ask Congress next month for up to $50 billion in additional funding for the war in Iraq, a White House official said yesterday, a move that appears to reflect increasing administration confidence that it can fend off congressional calls for a rapid drawdown of U.S. forces.
The request -- which would come on top of about $460 billion in the fiscal 2008 defense budget and $147 billion in a pending supplemental bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- is expected to be announced after congressional hearings scheduled for mid-September featuring the two top U.S. officials in Iraq. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker will assess the state of the war and the effect of the new strategy the U.S. military has pursued this year.
The request is being prepared now in the belief that Congress will be unlikely to balk so soon after hearing the two officials argue that there are promising developments in Iraq but that they need more time to solidify the progress they have made, a congressional aide said.
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20485844/
I'm SURE it's gonna be for updated equipment for the troops to keep em safer, right?
"I wondered whether music might not be the unique example of what might have been - if the invention of language had not intervened — the means of communication between souls" - Marcel Proust
Two Years Ago Today...
Katrina devestates the Gulf Coast, and my beloved New Orleans was left for dead by an administration that seems to like all things dead.
Best wishes to all affected in the Gulf area.
http://www.reneworleans.com/
p.s. Happy Birthday, Dave Malone.
Anyone else catch this LA Times story?
They are trying to imply a major dem fundraiser is a 'fugative' but look what they say...
Big Dem fundraiser wanted on swindling charges
"The Los Angeles Times reports on this website tonight and in Wednesday's print editions that a major Democratic Party fundraiser named Norman Hsu is wanted by authorities for skipping out on an agreement to serve up to three years in prison after pleading no contest to grand theft swindling charges."
Have you ever heard anyone plead guilty to grand theft SWINDLING...?
Now look what his lawyer said..."Hsu's lawyer confirmed today that his client was the one involved in the California case but said he did not remember pleading to a criminal case nor facing jail time."
Is that not a damn odd thing for a lawyer not to remember...?
WTF...?
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/08/breaking-news-b.html?cid=80966557
I dare y'all to stream OZ all day today in honor of Katrina anniversary... music genres change throughout the day, and there will be much local discussion re: music and recovery...
http://www.wwoz.org/
Geaux Nola!
Is that not a damn odd thing for a lawyer not to remember...?
WTF...?
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/08/breaking-news-b.html?cid=80966557
Posted by: Christy at August 29, 2007 09:03 AM
Is Gonzales his lawyer?
Katrina, Katrina, wash me away.
Cry me a river and flood the bay.
Float me the hope of rescue someday.
As you drown my love and I drift astray.
Bring history to bear on open shores.
Bring back thy fathers from distant wars.
Bring back to me the empire I love.
Katrina, Katrina, what have you done?
On waves of memory, comes back our child.
Left alone to die in the wild.
The old are gone too, all washed away.
The day Katrina came home to stay.
North winds blow and south winds blew,
A nation wept, they still do.
Better days are memories,
Swept away by stormy seas.
Katrina, Katrina. Wash us away.
Kill our tommorrows and savage our way.
Change the heart of a nation in less than a day.
Katrina. Katrina. Wash me away.
"Every New Orleanian knows about the long black line, the dirty bathtub ring left by receding floodwaters. Folk/blues troubadour Spencer Bohren threads that indelible image through a post-Katrina landscape laced with the menace and moan of a slow-crawl, doomsday acoustic slide guitar. His unflinching narration resonates with the authority of an Old Testament prophet. "The Long Black Line" could serve as the soundtrack to a Katrina documentary, but video footage would be redundant - Bohren's song paints an all-too-vivid picture."
Long Black Line
by Spencer Bohren
everywhere you look
everywhere you go
you read it like a book
it's the only way to know
how high the water got
august twenty-nine
that hurricane that summer
left a long black line
sometimes it's to your ankles
sometimes to your knees
sometimes it's to your chest or head
or up above the eaves
water filled with chemicals
water filled with gas
water spillin' everywhere
a city under glass
water laced with poison
god knows, of every kind
you don't want to know
what's in the long black line
you can go to church
confessin' all your sins
you can tell your brothers
'bout the shape this world is in
you could tell your sisters
judgement day is come
he's dealin' with the devil
he's thinnin' out the scum
this one it was water
fire comes next time
all of this is written
in the long black line
i will never leave this place
you hear some people say
then there's the ones
who just can't hardly wait to get away
lots of others have no choice
they're livin' in a void
their house is wrecked, their job is gone
their lives have been destroyed
the people comin' back
no tellin' what they'll find
one thing will be waitin' there
the long black line
drivin' on the highway
you go too fast to tell
but get down in the lower nine
it's like a walk through hell
out along the curb
it's everything we own
we sacrificed our every lives
to this mighty storm
beautiful new orleans
oh, she was so fine
now everywhere you go
there's just the long black line
the long black line
the long black line
the long black line
the long black line
some people say the sinners
brought it on themselves
others say the climate change
will send us all to hell
some people blame the government
they speak of genocide
there's some that don't say anything
they just want to hide
even strong men fall apart
they break down and cry
mother mary pray for us
the long black line
every single minute
every single day
you wonder are you doin' right
you wonder should i stay
'cuz everything is broken
all the lines are down
confusion walks down every street
there's rumors all around
the media is black and white
politicians whine
everything is broken
except the long black line
the long black line
the long black line
the long black line
the long black line
god help the lower nine
the long black line
The peope are marching to Congo Square today, holding rallies. The anger is palpable all over the state, everyone is in a real bad mood today.
I wish I could be there with them. I have decided when my kids get older, I will never regret missing a march again.
Really? Can someone tell me where this large pool of highly motivated, energised, extremely healthy military force is hiding? I guess the twins are going to have to put their lives on the line for that one. Not a lot of choices left.
Posted by: woz at August 29, 2007 01:26 AM
Why the hell would he need them, when he has the code and his finger on the a bomb, you think that psycho would not love to drop an A bomb woz. It would be the ultimate high for him.
Posted by: rossiann at August 29, 2007 10:21 AM
Rapture crapture.
CODEPINK has been at the forefront of the movement to oust Gonzales--we have been outside the Department of Justice every Monday and Friday calling for his resignation since May (watch our YouTube here) and have been a visible presence at his hearings (you can see our favorite hearing photo in the New York Times' slide show of Gonzales' tenure here and a video of our raucous send-off in the hearing room here) Thank you for helping us keep the pressure on Washington; our demand for truth and accountability is finally being heard.
Let's use all this celebratory energy and momentum to continue to make a difference. First of all, we need to make sure Bush doesn't replace Gonzales with someone just as bad (or even worse, if that's humanly--or inhumanly--possible!) Read Glen Greenwald's important piece on the Democrats' responsibility in the wake of Gonzales' resignation and rest assured that we will be ready to take action if Bush tries to pull any funny business. Until then, Cheney is next on our checklist; click here to send him a well-deserved pink slip.
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/codepink/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=651
Rapture crapture.
Posted by: monkey at August 29, 2007 10:40 AM
He doesn't need any rapture monkey, the Rapture Crapture would have nothing to do with him dropping the A Bomb. It's the thrill of it, knowing he could do it and no one could friking stop him, He's the decider, he will just give everyone the finger, like he has done all his life, with Daddy Dear waiting in the wings to pull him out of all his little scraps. Whats another few million deaths to him he thrives on it.
That is the problem with America, for 8 friking years they have underestimated this psycho, they wanted to be on the same level as the President of the USA, have a beer with him. Well uneducated people voted this psycho into the White House, and he is going to use all that calatoral that he has got from them, and he and his gang of thugs have done a pretty good job of it up till now I would say.
They decimated the constitution at will, and who the hell stopped them, they have gotten everything that they have demanded, unbelievable as it is. And you think he has not considered dropping the A bomb. I wouldn't count on it.
Well that is just my opinion. I don't trust snakes, and I certainly have not trusted that snake since he was put into power in 2000.
HAHA!
HOLDEN BEACH, N.C. – Good Wednesday morning. On West Executive Avenue next to the White House at this moment, Karl Rove's Jaguar is covered with Saran Wrap and emblazoned with an 'I (heart) OBAMA' bumper sticker on the passenger-side windshield. It's the handiwork of loving colleagues who say they will miss his puckish humor in meetings. Rove is in New Orleans with the president. Karl's technical last day is Friday.
'Good Morning America' had video, thanks to the intrepid Ann Compton, who adds this detail: The sedan's windows are plastered with Post-it notes which spell KING KARL. Two stuffed eagles are mounted on the trunk.
http://www.politico.com/playbook/
They have pictures of it!
HAHAHA! OMG too funny!
and my beloved New Orleans was left for dead by an administration that seems to like all things dead.
Posted by: monkey at August 29, 2007 10:40 AM
You took the words right out of my mouth monkey they like all things dead.
Analysts: Lobbyists Must Name Allawi's Backer
DC Lobbying Firm's Initial Statements to Justice Dept. Inaccurate, Incomplete
Iraqi opposition leader Ayad Allawi's newly-hired Washington lobbying firm will likely be in violation of U.S. law unless it discloses the identity of the anonymous Iraqi supporter who is underwriting Allawi's $300,000 U.S. lobbying campaign, legal analysts say.
As IraqSlogger first reported, $300,000 is being paid to the powerful lobbying firm of Barbour Griffith & Rogers (BGR) -- a firm with close ties to the Bush administration -- to help Allawi promote himself and his agenda, a centerpiece of which is the ouster Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki.
But a key question is who is paying BGR for Allawi's lobbying efforts?
http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/4114/subscriptions/subscriptions/splash.html
Listening to wwoz and thinking about all those in NOLA and the entire Gulf Coast who are still suffering for this administration's poor planning, underfunding, and plain incompetence, if not malevolence towards the area.
The music helps, but even the music struggles these days.
We must get our country back.
From David Swanson:
Conyers Now Says Impeachment is NOT Off His Table
By Ann Wright, Colonel, US Army Reserves (retired), AfterDowningStreet.org
http://afterdowningstreet.org/node/26257
US Congressman John Conyers said in Pontiac, Michigan, on August 28, 2007 that, while Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi may have impeachment off her table, he has NOT put impeachment off HIS table!
At a gathering of over 500 citizens of the Detroit and Pontiac, Michigan area gathered to "Take a Stand" against the war on Iraq sponsored by Iraq Summer, Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said that citizens must bring to an end "sad and tragic war."
Conyers said that citizens must reject the "imperial" government of the Bush administration. Conyers listed torture, Geneva Convention violations, abuse of national security letters, and voters' rights violations as parts of the "imperial system," and that members of the administration have "inherent contempt" for the Congress. Conyers said he has no reticence or reluctance to "use the tool of impeachment," when he "feels it is appropriate."
I spoke to the gathering prior to Congressman Conyers. I called for accountability for the invasion and occupation of an Arab, Muslim, oil-rich country that had not attacked the United States and for other Bush crimes such as torture, kidnapping, illegal detention and warrant less wiretapping. I said accountability for illegal actions is critically important to our country as if the Bush administration escapes accountability, future administrations will attempt to do the same.
I asked Congressman Conyers to "Take a Stand" for accountability for the deaths of 3760 US military and 1000 US civilian contractors killed in Iraq, for the 700,000 Iraqis killed in the US occupation of Iraq and for the 770 persons imprisoned for almost 6 years in Guantanamo with only one charged and convicted by the US military commission.
I emphasized that investigations of allegations of criminal actions by President Bush and Vice-President Cheney were the right of citizens, that investigations that could lead to impeachment, were a part of the US Constitution that could not be taken away by individual Congressmen or women.
And, I reminded Congressman Conyers that I was one of 400 persons who came to his office on July 23 and one of 47 who were arrested in his office when he would not agree to consider initiating investigations on articles of impeachment. Conyers has said frequently that "we don't want to jeopardize the 2008 elections with impeachment" and "we don't have time before the 2008 for impeachment."
I also promised to organize the "protection of the House Judiciary committee" if Nancy Pelosi attempted to take the chairmanship of the Judiciary committee from Conyers if he initiated investigations for possible impeachment.
The 500 citizens in the audience were committed to putting further pressure on the Congress for ending the war on Iraq and were enthusiastic about holding the Bush administration accountable for its crimes through impeachment.
September is a critical month for ending the war. We need as many people as can come to Washington to put pressure on the Congress to end the war and to impeach those in high offices who have broken domestic and international law. The Petraus/Crocker/White House report will be presented in mid-September, marches will be on September 15 and 29. The Iraq Moratorium Day is September 21. Come help in DC!!!
Bush visits New Orleans on Katrina anniversary
‘This town’s coming back,’ president says; local paper blasts aid distribution
NEW ORLEANS - President Bush commemorated Hurricane Katrina’s devastating blow Wednesday with a somber moment of silence. Across town, in a symbol of a federal-city divide that persists two years after the killer storm, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin marked the levee-breach moment with bell-ringing.
Bush and his wife, Laura, are spending Wednesday’s anniversary of the storm in New Orleans and Bay St. Louis, Miss., determined to celebrate those he says have “dedicated their lives to the renewal of New Orleans.” But with the region far from its former self after two years, some here think it’s the president’s dedication that should be in the spotlight.
The front page of The Times-Picayune advertised a scathing editorial above the masthead: “Treat us fairly, Mr. President.” It chided the Bush administration for giving Republican-dominated Mississippi a share of federal money that it said was disproportionate to the lesser impact the storm had there than in largely Democratic Louisiana. “We ought to get no less help from our government than any other victims of this disaster,” it said.
“There’s always a more blessed day in the future and that’s what we’re here to celebrate,” said Bush.
Like his last three visits to New Orleans, including last year’s anniversary trip, the president chose a charter school as his main backdrop. This time, it is the Dr. Martin Luther King Charter School for Math and Science, where Bush could combine hurricane comfort with a favorite and controversial subject: the need for competition and choice in public schooling.
“This town’s coming back,” he said after visiting with educators and students at the school in the hard-hit Lower Ninth Ward. “This town is better today than it was yesterday and it’s going to be better tomorrow than it is today.”
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20490384/
Kindly geaux fuque thyself...
On msnbc.com, there is a story about Heir Bush asking for another $50 BILLION for his war... you can post a reply. There is currently 29 pages of replies, and they are 100% against...
Ya gotta read some of these...
http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/thread.aspx?boardid=380&threadid=383902&boardsparam=Page%3D1