Bennett Gives Us an Education in Fighting Crime

Republicans and other conservatives get VERY defensive when you call them on their bullshit. For example, the next time you're engaged in a conversation with a Republican, accuse them of being racist, and take note of what happens.

The Republican party of today rarely engages in overt racism or hate speech - they will often thinly veil or disguise their prejudices and biases, such as when Rush Limbaugh said that Donavan McNabb was overrated because everyone wants a black quarterback to do well. Or, when Trent Lott openly regretted the presidential election defeat of fellow Republican segregationist Strommy "black house-servant-raping" Thurmond at one of his last birthday parties.

Sometimes, the racist statements made by conservatives aren’t all the concealed.

Enter Bill Bennett. Mr. Bill has recently taken it upon himself to promote the "Every Black Voter Left Behind" strategy of the Republican party on his new talk show by making the following statement:

"I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky."

(Full audio here)

Holy shit Bill. Did you know the mic was on?

Now, keep in mind Bill Bennett isn't just a radio talk show host. From 1985 to 1988, he was the former United States Secretary of Education under Reagan.

Think about this: The man who was in charge of equality, fairness and balance in education throughout the land is making a link between black people existing in America, and higher crime rates. (It should be noted that Bennett later went on to serve as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under Bush I - a post that is created out of necessity to control the addictive behavior of American citizens, while he himself is a recovering gambling addict).

Notice above I did not say the former head of Education suggested we abort black fetuses to quell crime statistics. 90% of me honestly believes he doesn't really want that to happen any time soon - or at the very least, he believes it would just be too much work.

However, you'll see Bill Bennett appearing on the 1,501 conservative talk shows that comprise the liberal media (such as the cable news nightly lineup nearly in it's entirety) and defend his remarks by saying he would NEVER suggest we do such a thing. After all, Mr. Bennett is a card carrying culture of life member.

Instead, the greater point Bennett will miss, as will other overweight conservatives with little skeletons of addiction living comfortably in their proverbial closets is this:

Bennett's remarks are racist, not because he's suggesting genocide toward African Americans, but rather because he's linking them to crime.

With that said, I'm not sure how many are going to bail him out this time. Check out mediamatters' documentation of the Bennett controversy here.

The Hammer in the Slammer

Some of the people I work with who vote Republican claim they do so because of the family values appeal. I'm not kidding. As cliched as the family values phrase has become, with everyone snickering at the mention of this trite political buzz phrase from over 10 years ago that has become as meaningless as a Michael Jackson child molestation charge - there are actually people out there who still cling for dear life to the phrase that has become the butt of all jokes and even used as a mocking, humorous marketing term for hard rock tours. I actually share breathing space and hole-punchers with them on a daily basis.

Today's current Republican has different values than those not in the part. For example, Tom Delay was just indicted for criminal conspiracy. Bill Frist is being investigated by the SEC, and he may face criminal charges. Karl Rove is still under investigation for revealing the identity of an undercover CIA agent. I hope all three share a tight, federal prison cell with some of the very people they've fucked over with their policies over the years. I hope they get introduced to the "dropping the soap" cliche on their first day.

These are three of the most powerful men in the Republican party (there are no powerful women), and much of the country still supports them based on their "moral values."

Listen for how many times in the next several weeks these three scumbags blame their criminal behavior on partisan politics. Listen for them to tell you they've done nothing wrong, and shame on anyone calling them on their bullshit behavior.

Listen for the Sean Hannity's, Bill O'Reilly's, and Rush Limbaugh's of the world, claiming the moral high ground every day on their pathetic, lie-filled, political hack talk shows, supporting these criminals. Listen for their totally ill-informed, zombie-like conformist followers blame the Democrats for these three felons breaking the law. Listen for the Church going, super-Christian, Church bake sale attending, Stepford Wives from the fly-over Red states verbalize how incredibly ignorant they are for thinking these white-collar crooks are wholesome, family values gentlemen.

Listen for your President and his spokesperson totally sidestep and dodge any question about the behavior of Bush's three biggest allies in Washington.

Now listen for the laughter, mockery, and free-falling level of respect. That's the rest of the world, and they're pointing at us.

Brownie Does Heck of a Job Lying His Ass Off

A few blogs down, I posted a Hurricane Katrinia timeline, gathered from various sources and media outlets. I realize now that I forgot to tie the loose ends with one final entry in the disastrous chronology:

9/6/05 – In reaction to the nation (and world’s) shock over the government’s inadequate response to Hurricane Damage along the Gulf Coast, Bush announces that he will investigate…himself.

Well, the regime’s investigation of itself is under way, and Michael, “Brownie you’re doin’ a heckuva job” Brown has taken center stage.

And, of course testifying in front of any Congressional committees means you have to tell the truth, and since the investigation pledges to get to the bottom of why the Federal Government’s response was so ridiculously inept, Brownie must have admitted his mistakes, right? Let’s take a look, shall we?


Lie #1

Brownie’s Testimony to Congress: FEMA was stretched beyond its capabilities because, "over the past few years, [the agency] has lost a lot of manpower, (and) has suffered from the inability to grow to meet the demands.”

Brownie in September 2004: When Asked About Hurricane Preparedness by CNN Brown said, "We absolutely are (prepared). We have all the manpower and resources we need. President Bush has been a very great supporter of FEMA."

Lie #2

Brownie’s Testimony to Congress: "FEMA doesn't evacuate communities."

Brownie to CNN on September 1, 2005: “The Coast Guard, FEMA, all of those continue to do those rescue missions and we continue to do those evacuations and we’ll certainly continue to evacuate all of the hospitals.”

Lie #3

Brownie’s Testimony to Congress: Since FEMA was placed under the new Department of Homeland Security in 2002, budget requests for new communications equipment were brushed aside. He said his agency suffered ''emaciation" because
anti-terror operations have become a priority for the administration.

Brownie in August, 2004: FEMA had "proven [in Florida] that we're up to the task" of responding to both terrorism and natural disasters

Lie #4

Brownie’s Testimony to Congress: When asked by Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), "Since you went through the exercise in Pam, was that not shocking to you that the governor would have excluded New Orleans from the declaration?" Brown said, "Yes," and that FEMA had questioned Blanco's decision. But Blanco's emergency declaration on August 27 was for all "affected areas" in "southeastern parishes including the New Orleans Metropolitan area."

So, considering Brownie:
1. Had virtually no prior experience dealing with natural disasters or homeland security;
2. Is recognized by most as the one who headed one of the most embarrassing and costly government disasters in recent memory;
3. Lied in his testimony to Congress about what happened during his failed leadership…

You would think the Bush Administration would either fire, reprimand severely or disown Michael Brown altogether, right?

Christ no. This is the Bush administration, which promotes and rewards loyalty despite horrible, life-costing job performance, and fires or smears anyone who disagrees with them.

At the time of this posting, Michael Brown is still serving in Bush's administration, as a consultant to FEMA.

I can’t wait for the next Hurricane. Until then, you can buy the bumper sticker below by clicking here:

Global Moron

By now there are very, very few people not only in this country but on this planet who don’t subscribe to the phenomenon that scientists across the globe continue to inform and caution us about on an almost daily basis: Global Warming.

While many of the hard-core scumbags in the Republican party still dismiss not only global warming, but science of all varieties, even some in Bush senior’s posse (which of course, is pretty much the same as W’s current posse) like James Baker have let the facts finally seep into their cold, polluted brains after several years.

Like with evolution, Bush really “duddn’t” think that there is a lot of significant evidence regarding global warming, and would like to wait until all the facts are in.

Excuse me, Mr. President? There is no debate anymore. It’s long, long over. The most important thing to realize here is that those who study this phenomenon for a living are not debating each other. The jury is not out anymore for the scientific community, and most of the entire population for that matter. You’re just about the only one left.

It’s not that Bush doesn’t believe something he can’t see or touch – after all the Prince of Peace himself, 2000 years after his death, is Bush’s closest advisor who continues to tell him to bomb the shit out of the Middle East.

I think he just doesn’t like science and factual evidence. That’s why he’ll continue to push abstinence only education, that’s why the jury’s still out on evolution, that’s why this country doesn’t fund enough stem cell research, and it’s why he’s never EVER prepared for a single event or national experience of any kind prior to the incident actually occurring. Ever.

And – as an added bonus – all of us can sit here in America and watch other nations leapfrog over us in the fields of science and health, all the while looking back at us from the future, and waving goodbye.

Take today for example. Sir John Lawton, chairman of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution for Britain made the following statements:

"The increased intensity of these kinds of extreme (hurricanes) is very likely to be due to global warming….If this makes the climate loonies in the States realize we've got a problem, some good will come out of a truly awful situation."

“If what looks like is going to be a horrible mess causes the extreme skeptics about climate change in the US to reconsider their opinion, that would be an extremely valuable outcome."

“Increasingly it looks like a smoking gun. It's a fair conclusion to draw that global warming, caused to a substantial extent by people, is driving increased sea surface temperatures and increasing the violence of hurricanes."

Why did Lawton make those statements? Well for starters, since 1990, category 4 and 5 hurricanes have nearly doubled to an average of about 18 a year. During the same period, sea surface temperatures, among the key drivers of hurricane intensity, have increased by an average of almost 1 degree Fahrenheit.

The predictions for hurricane season continue to show a pattern of stronger, more violent storms, and since most people (less the ring-wingers in the Bush administration) would agree that warm, moist air from the gulf and tropical Caribbean waters fuel these monsters, well, there might just in fact be yet another reason to blame the Katrina disaster on the ignorance and unpreparedness for the Bush administration.

Oh, and to all the Red states in “hurricane alley” - I suppose you get what you vote for, don’t you.

Announcing the New Bin Laden Clock

Remember back a bit...oh, just a few days after 9/11, our newly befuddled leader swaggered around New York and Washington DC will bull horns, while is approval rating was around 90%?

Our silver-spoon fed, Saudi connected, oil business failure of a President got all man-tough and made a few statements to the American Public:

"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him."
- G.W. Bush, 9/13/01 White House Press Conference

"I want justice...There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive,'"
- G.W. Bush, 9/17/01

"...Secondly, he is not escaping us. This is a guy, who, three months ago, was in control of a county [sic]. Now he's maybe in control of a cave. He's on the run. Listen, a while ago I said to the American people, our objective is more than bin Laden. But one of the things for certain is we're going to get him running and keep him running, and bring him to justice. And that's what's happening. He's on the run, if he's running at all. So we don't know whether he's in cave with the door shut, or a cave with the door open -- we just don't know...."
- Bush, in remarks in a Press Availability with the Press Travel Pool, The Prairie Chapel Ranch, Crawford TX, 12/28/01, as reported on official White House site

The red states went ape-shit with joy.

NASCAR fans were ready to finally share some bumper space with their Junior stickers, and slap aan "I support President Bush" sticker on the SUV they drive that increases dependence on Middle Eastern Oil.

Stay-at-home soccer moms baked the best goddamn American flag cookies their type-A personality husbands could share with the boys at the office after hitting the strip club for the third time that week.

We were going to get that A-Rab sonofabitch Bon Ladden or whateverthefuck his name was, and damnit to hell, I bet that Saddam character, Bill Clinton and the liberal media was behind this attack too.

Then something happened. No one knew where Bin Laden was. Couldn't find him. Afghanistan really wasn't the focus anymore. Iraq, the Bush administration said, was behind these attacks - which is fine because, someone as focused as Bush could pursue both Saddam, the orchestrater of 9/11, and his partner Bin Laden at the same time, right? What say you, Mr. Bush?

"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority."
- G.W. Bush, 3/13/02

"I am truly not that concerned about him."
- G.W. Bush, responding to a question about bin Laden's whereabouts, 3/13/02 (The New American, 4/8/02)

Holy flip-flop bat man! What a reversal of priorities! Enter the RYDWBM (Republican Upside Down World Bullshit Machine) to accuse John Kerry of being the flip flopper.

To commemorate the 4-year anniversary (although a bit belated) of Bush announcing to the world that he'd track down and find Bin Laden, I've created a JavaScript Bin Laden clock, down at the bottom of the sidebar on the right hand side of the site. It will give you, in real time, the number of days since we've asked for Bin Laden's head on a stick.

If anyone reading this would like their own Bin Laden count-up clock, feel free to steal the code and just put a link to my site on your page somewhere as reciprocation.

When we finally capture him in '08 when Senator Biden is our president, I'll remove the clock.

The O-Really? Factor

Card carrying "Culture of Life" Member Bill O'Reilly recently lashed out at the U.N. last week, and I think it's important that people know what he said. This way, each time you see a Culture of Life member threaten to kill another human being through statements they make in the media, it will undermine that much more their pleas to save blastocysts of stem cells at the expense of your Alzheimer's-suffering grandmother.

See, when Bill isn't sexually harrassing female Fox News producers, he's wishing that the god he prays to would strike down members of the United Nations. Actually, I'll just let him speak for himself:

"Bush to address the U.N., says we must be steadfast in battling terrorism. I'm sure all the U.N. people fell asleep. They don't really care about anything over there at all. I just wish Katrina had only hit the United Nations building, nothing else, just had flooded them out. And I wouldn't have rescued them."

(click here for audio)

Thanks Bill. I'll remember that next time you're lecturing some pregnant 13 year old in Alabama that she and society would be better off if she'd just take your advice.

Bush Family Values

Remember all the shit you used to read in the liberal media’s newspapers about Clinton’s coke-head brother Roger? Now, I realize having a President who might have smoked pot and had a brother that used coke is a much more upsetting to Republicans than having another President who himself is a Jesus-saved former alcoholic with a drunk driving conviction and his own coke habit. However, since the Republicans were so obsessed with Clinton's personal and family life, I guess it's only fair that we talk a little bit about Bush's.

Meet the Jeb Bush kids (or as they'll be known in '08, the "first children"):

Precious Metal comprising spoon in mouth during birth: silver
Enjoys: sweet, white crack
Best Known For: On January 9th, 2002 was arrested for trying to illegally score a Xanax 'scrip at a Walgreens (see actual police report here). Later, on Sept 9th 2002, while serving her sentence at a drug rehab program for the Xanax incident, Noelle was caught with crack cocain.
Punnishment for incidents above: While most black Americans caught with crack can serve years in prison, Noelle got 10 days in jail and no use of the platinum card for 3 full days. Also, shopping privileges were limited to Banana Republic and Gap Outlet only, and cell phone minutes were cut down to 5,000 per month. Weekends are still unlimited.

Precious Metal comprising spoon in mouth during birth: platinum
Enjoys: Flexing beer muscles at police trying to arrest him
Best Known For: First, getting caught naked from the waist down with a female partner in the parking lot of Tennesee Mall (see actual police report here). Then, later, resisting arrest for public intoxication in downtown Austin (see actual police report here)
Punnishment for incident above: no porche or sports betting for 48 "goddamn hours because mom is being a total bitch."

Justice Department Participates in Blame Game

It is now well documented that both the Bush administration and the Republican Congress should accept the lion’s share of the blame regarding the underfunded levees in the greater New Orleans area.

For the small percentage still unaware of the politics behind the levee funding, you can read how the funding for the group of Army Corps Engineers tasked with building and maintaining the levees was cut to a trickle by clicking here. (After reading that article you can email me how you spent your $300 tax refund check from W a few years ago).

Now here's the kicker. The Republican spin machine, which benefits more from carefully choreographed illusions than David Blaine eating a stranger's pocket change, realizes that those who avoid Fox News might be aware of this depletion in financial support. Who then are they looking to scapegoat in order to deflect blame from their national security strategy of “what-who-me-are-you-serious-no-one-could-have-ever-seen-this-coming?”

Their sworn enemy: the environmentalists.

That’s right. In this upside down cake, black=white and white=black world of the Bush administration, they are blaming the damage to the environment that everyone has been screaming about for the last several years on those who try most to protect it.

This, from the group that brought you the ironically named polices of Healthy Forests Initiative, and the Clear Skies Initiative. (Actually, if you’d like to view over 300 specifically documented Bush environmental abuses, click here.)

How, you may ask, is the Bush crime family looking to play the blame-game with environmental groups for neglect of the very levees that protect both people and the environment?

Read the letter circulated to dozens of attorneys officies sent by the justice department, cited in newspapers around the country:

"Has your district defended any cases on behalf of the (U.S.) Army Corps of Engineers against claims brought by environmental groups seeking to block or otherwise impede the Corps work on the levees protecting New Orleans? If so, please describe the case and the outcome of the litigation."

When the justice department was asked about the email, their response was "no comment."

The entire incident proves that, mimicking an 8-year-old child, anything the Bush administration accuses others of doing, it was they "who started it." Or as my single-digit-aged cousin might say - he who detect odor with one's nose, may have ostentatiously dealt it.

Our President is a Third Grader

New Texas-Tailored Suit (minus armadillo skin): $900
American Flag pendant: $1.50
John Bolton's Toupee (in the background): $100
Getting photographed while asking your Secretary of State if you can go potty?

Absolutely priceless!

This is NOT a joke, nor was the note Photoshopped. This really happened during a recent UN Security Council meeting, and the picture you see below is real.

According to Rick Wilking, the photographer who snapped the photo: "Yes, the note is real. And yes, the president really wrote it. It was shot at a pretty good distance....I had no idea what was on the paper.” (Until, that is, the editors at Reuters enlarged it.) “I was just as surprised as you,” Wilking says.

Of course it's not headline news that Presidents have to go pee once in a while - it's the fact that Bush actually had to ASK his Secretary of State permission before he shed the first drop.

Yeah, this gives me a compete feeling of comfort, trusting this guy to run disaster recovery down south and two wars halfway across the planet at the same time.

I Got Your "Blame America First" Crowd Right Here

There is a pretty intense battle going on right now over Hurricane Katrina, and it has nothing to do with who is to blame for what, or whose National Guard troops are saving Falluja when they could be saving Biloxi.

The conflict is actually between the bat-shit, ought-to-be-committed religious conservatives, both from America and from the Islamic Fundamentalist community in the Middle East.

The specifics of the tug-of-war?

Our Christian conservatives: Think that Katrina hit the United States because God is punishing us for our behavior.

Their Islamic Conservatives: Think that Katrina hit the United States because God is punishing us for our behavior.

Actually – maybe that’s not a good example of the battle between the two religious conservative groups. Let’s take a look at each group’s response to 9/11:

Our Christian conservatives: Think that we deserved the attacks on September 11 and that God didn’t protect us from terrorists as a form for punishment for our behavior.

Their Islamic Conservatives: Think that we deserved the attacks on September 11 and that God didn’t protect us from terrorists as a form for punishment for our behavior.

Hmm…wait a minute…maybe both groups ARE starting to agree on this stuff!

Think about the irony of all this: Our Christian Right, Culture of Life fruitcakes who overwhelmingly vote Republican, hate Islamic conservatives and backed an invasion of the most secular part of the Middle East, are agreeing with the Islamic conservatives who hate Christians, and want to blow stuff up over here.

Does this not prove any ANY religious fanaticism is dangerous, misguided, and generally should be taken seriously long before someone on the Christian Right bombs a building, or before the Islamic Right bombs another one?

Some may say that the difference between their conservative psychos and our conservative psychos is that theirs have safe harbor, alliances and financial support from their government, and our government generally doesn't associate with the fringe Christian whackos.

Read this letter from Bob Jones University to Bush Jr. after his election "victory."

Now check out who is the NUMBER TWO recommended charity to which those visiting the FEMA web site are encouraged to donate.

I rest my case.

Dr. Ben Marble in '08!

Let's take a walk down memory lane, to about a year or so ago on the senate floor. U.S. Senators including the chamber's president, one Richard Cheney, gathered for a photograph while the Senate was out of session.

An exchange occurred between Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Cheney himself regarding the no-bid contracts Halliburton seemed to be enjoying over in Iraq (this was before Halliburton was connecting with overcharging the government in connection with "misplacing" $8.8 billion).
It was then that one of Cheney's pace makers overheated, and he told a ranking Senator on the floor - in front of everyone - to go fuck himself.

It was only a matter of time before Cheney got a taste of his own medicine...and payback came at a really hilarious time.

There Dick Cheney was over a year later, conducting an interview on live cable news down in Mississippi, trying to cover for himself (on vacation in Wyoming throughout Katrina and most of it's aftermath), for W (on vacation throughout Katrina and several days thereafter), as well his their friends over at FEMA.

Then, all of the sudden, just off camera, as if voice of God was speaking to Dick, you could clearly hear, "Go fuck yourself Mr. Cheney. Go fuck yourself."

The tone wasn't threatening, or even angry. It was actually really polite (note the use of "Mr. Cheney" and the resistance of the temptation to do a million different things with Richard's nickname), and quite calm. It was as if someone was saying, "Nice to meet you Mr. Cheney," or "Talk to you soon Mr. Cheney."

The reporter heard it too, and even interrupted by saying, "are you getting a lot of that?" Cheney just awkwardly laughed it off and began to say that the person in question might have been "friends with John...oh, nevermind."

It is now known that the voice was not that of God, but someone who is being praised across the web for his heckling -the man behind the curtain? Dr. Ben Marble, an emergency room physician.

Cheney later went on to say he wasn't too concerned because Bush administration hecklers are in their last throes.

Well - my good friend Doug shared with me today that now you too can relive this momentous occasion of righteousness with your very own "Go Fuck Yourself Mr. Cheney" t-shirts, mugs, notebooks and hats by clicking here.

Breaking News From the White House

Did anyone see what happened today? Did you hear the news?

NBC interrupted it’s shitty housewife programming to give you the Special Report. CBS stopped it’s midday senior citizen lineup of the Price is Right. And one of the pregnant teens on Maury Povich stopped just short of telling us which 14 year old kid with the cooked ADIDAS hat and Hillfigires hanging past his miniature testicles was the father of her new Red-State bastard kid, all to let you, the daytime TV viewer, get the following breaking story:

George W Bush took responsibility for something.

Un-fucking-believable.

Although the story has yet to be confirmed, despite Republicans blaming the hurricane on Democrats, the victims of the storm and New Orleans for even existing, Bush noticed that his own pointed finger, as the saying goes, had three others pointing back at himself.

This might be first step in like 10,000 Bush needs to take in order to explain to the American people how we lost our surplus, our allies, many of our constitutional rights, 2,000 soldiers, two trade centers, our World Standing, our media legitimacy, the guy who planned the 9/11 attacks and our general confidence in anything government has ever done to protect people…however I wouldn’t really expect any apologizing about those mundane things.

Let’s just let him start with the FEMA (otherwise known as Failure to Effectively Manage Anything or Fuck Evacuating Minorities in America) and who knows, maybe tomorrow Karl Rove will apologize for outing a CIA agent.

The only reason I can figure out why for the first time in his entire presidency he came close to admitting a mistake, is that he’s looking to find a way to do something with his disastrous poll numbers. The latest approval ratings are as follows:

Newsweek: 38%
Washington
Post/ABC: 42%
Time Magazine: 42%
Associated Press: 39%

Nixon During the Height of Watergate: 39%

Bush needs a terror alert and he needs it SOON.

David Gregory's Testicles Descend on Live TV

David Gregory, providing a hell-freezing-over signal that yes, maybe the media needed a disastrous hurricane to call out this President on his bullshit, had some words for White House Information Minister Scott McClellan.

Lest you’ve been living under a rock for the past five years, you may have noticed the most popular mutation of Republican philosophy to emerge from the latest Klan meeting is that of marketing political ideas as if your audience was a group of 3rd graders. This is achieved in part by using catch phrases and slogans with bumper-sticker level ingenuity to get people distracted or otherwise unable think past said marketing to the real issue.

“Fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them here,” comes to mind. How about, “ongoing investigation” used upwards of 20 times by McClellan during a press conference about Rove’s involvement in outing a CIA agent.

Or perhaps, “They hate us for our freedom,” is something that makes the American public vulnerable as if Bush has placed a roofie in the bloodstream of the American thought process.

After all, we’d all shit our collective pants if Bush actually held a press conference that intricately or otherwise judiciously described a particular current event at an adult level of comprehension.

The latest catch phrase you will hear from the Republicans regarding the embarrassing hurricane relief effort is that they’re “not going to play the blame game.”

Right. As if finding out why hundreds of American citizens starved, drowned or dehydrated to death is some kind of silly game, and damnit, they just won’t stoop to your level of playing it. The rest of us, which apparently now includes David Gregory, call it something else: old fashioned, goddamned accountability.

Oh, and to those of you fucking morons who still think the media has a liberal bias…You may note the fact that the media speaking out, starting to finally ask tough questions or otherwise doing something called “re-PORT-ing” is making headlines all by itself. People are almost shocked at the emotion reporters have put into this story and the level of disgust those who actually reported from ground zero felt as they reported it, and that very fact proves the media has been absent, lazy, or otherwise catoring to this President’s administration up until now. I’ve heard the phrase, “we have our press corps back” from a number of people. In other words – the media finally getting tough with the White House Press Secretary for the first time in years tells you all you need to know about your liberal media theory.

But I digressed. In case you missed the one non ass-kissing exchange between a White House Press Secretary and a reporter for the last five years or so, Don Imus recapped it very well on his show recently, which can be seen here.

(Note: despite looking like the gayest member of the Village People, and perhaps not having a single listener who doesn’t remember food rationing during WWII, Imus actually isn’t afraid to go after the Bush Administration from time to time)

Hurricane Katrina: A Chronology of Failures

(thanks to dailykos.com)
(Also see the Daily Show's Timeline by clicking here)

3/1/02
Dept of Homeland Security takes over. In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation.

2/4/05
Innovative Emergency Management or IEM is tasked with "the development of a catastrophic hurricane disaster plan for Southeast Louisiana and the City of New Orleans under a more than half a million dollar contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)"

7/23/04
Staff from the LSU Hurricane Center participated in the “Hurricane Pam Exercise,” a 10-day event designed to help emergency officials develop a response plan should a major hurricane threaten the greater New Orleans area. From the exercise it was determined that "cause flooding that would leave 300,000 people trapped in New Orleans, many of whom would not have private transportation for evacuation," and recommended that a plan be developed "assisting people without transportation." FEMA would later apply the Bush administration's philosophy of blaming the victims by saying, "they didn't heed our warnings to evacuate," instead of facilitating their evacuation.

It should be noted, Mr Bush, that part of the exercise above incorporated a scenario in which the levees were breached.

8/25/05 Thurs AM
Katrina hits Florida, and heads for the Gulf where it is expected to rapidly gain strength. None are left dead in it's path. The Gulf temperature is almost two full degrees on average, warmer than normal, and has been churning out larger and stronger hurricanes than usual. Bush still needs more time to consider whether or not global warming is real while on a long vacation that spanned more than 30 solar revolutions around the Earth.

8/25/05
When asked about his latest record setting vacation, Bush replies, "I think the people want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy, and part of my being is to be outside exercising. So I'm mindful of what goes on around me. On the other hand, I'm also mindful that I've got a life to live, and will do so."
Later, White House spokesperson David Almacy denies Bush is on vacation claiming the reason that Bush is in Crawford is "due to the renovation of the West Wing of the White House." This is clearly false, as Bush took a similar long vacation in 2001 just before 9/11 and also in other years.

8/26/05 9am EST
The White House declares Louisiana a disaster area before the storm even gains significantly more strength. It then orders the DHS and FEMA "to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measure."



8/26/05
Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, commander, Joint Task Force Katrina, acknowledges in Special Defense Department Briefing held on Sept. 1 that a request from the state governors in Louisiana, Mississippi was requested a week earlier Friday Aug. 26. This directly contradicts any bullshit from the White House insisting that Louisiana never followed the guidelines of asking for Federal assistance. (I wonder if that has anything to do with the governor of LA's political affiliation?). Honore's exact words are as follows:

"The process starts, sir, in this particular event, with a request Friday of last week, as the approximate date for defense coordinating offices to be established in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Those were established in those states over Friday and Saturday."

8/26/05 11pm EST
Bush is still not on vacation in Crawford where he is living his life. NOAA Windspeed/category: 110 MPH / 2 Barometer 965 "forecast to become Category 3 in the next day or two." Center of most likely landfall: Gulfport, MS to New Orleans, LA.

8/27/05
Bush remained on the grounds of his ranch behind a security perimeter and made his case for the Iraq occupation in his Saturday radio address. NOAA predicts Katrina "could become a category 4 hurricane." President Bush officially declares that a "state of emergency" exists in Louisiana and orders Federal aid to the affected areas to complement state and local relief efforts.

8/27/05 5pm EST
Amtrack & Greyhound stop service for the night. Choices for evacuation include driving your own car, of which 130,000 New Orleanians don't own, hitchhiking, skateboaring, or pogo-sticking your family and belongings up to Ohio.

8/28/05
CBS news reports that Governor Kathleen Blanco makes a preemptive request to President Bush for disaster relief. Bush declares an expedited major disaster for the state. From his Texas ranch where he was not on vacation Bush warned, "We cannot stress enough the danger this hurricane poses to Gulf Coast communities. We will do everything in our power to help the people and the communities affected by this storm."

Later, Bush pressed for an emergency declaration in Alabama, which would allow federal operations in. Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi were already declared disaster states.
"These declarations will allow federal agencies to coordinate all disaster relief efforts with state and local officials," Bush said.

8/28/05
'All indications are that this is absolutely worst-case scenario,'" Ivor van Heerden, deputy director of the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center, said Sunday afternoon.

Bush is still not on vacation at his Crawford ranch. He holds a press conference in a helicopter hanger at his Crawford Texas Ranch taking a moment to urge Gulf Coast residents to evacuate before hailing the Iraqi draft constitution an inspiring success.

8/29/05 6am EST
Katrina makes landfall. Electrical power at the Superdome failed at 5:02 a.m., but the backup power runs only reduced lighting and cannot run the air conditioning. Entire neighborhoods were submerged up to the roofs. Numerous people had to be rescued from rooftops and attics as the floodwaters rose higher and higher.

President Bush hits the road to promote prescription-drug plan. His first stop is Arizona, where he eats birthday cake with Senator John McCain and talks to senior citizens in Phoenix at a golf resort. In late afternoon, there are early reports of broken levees. The National Weather Service reported that a levee broke on the Industrial Canal near the St. Bernard-Orleans parish line. President Bush travels to Southern California to talk to more seniors about changes to Medicare. He also plays golf. He spends the evening in San Diego to prepare for a Tuesday speech commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War Two and comparing Iraq to it.

8/29/05 Late Morning
Levee breach floods Lakeview, Mid-City, Carrollton, Gentilly, City Park - "A large section of the vital 17th Street Canal levee, where it connects to the brand new 'hurricane proof' Old Hammond Highway bridge, gave way late Monday morning in Bucktown after Katrina's fiercest winds were well north." Out West at the Country Club, Bush is now 3 over par.

8/29/05 11am EST
Five hours after Katrina makes landfall, FEMA chief Michael Brown asks Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff for permission to dispatch 1000 Homeland Security employees to the Gulf Coast region. He gives them two days to arrive. His memo tells employees that among their duties, they will be expected to "convey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials, community organizations and the general public."

8/29/05
FEMA director Brown tells outside fire and rescue departments not to enter disaster area unless invited - Brown urges local fire and rescue departments outside Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi not to send trucks or emergency workers into disaster area without explicit requests for help from state or local governments. Brown says it is vital to coordinate fire and rescue efforts.

It is reported by the New Orleans Times-Picayune that the 17th St. levee broke late Monday morning in Bucktown after Katrina's fiercest winds were well north The Federal Emergency Management Agency went into disaster mode as it and other federal agencies prepared to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. President George W. Bush joins Arizona Senator John McCain in a small celebration of McCain's 69th birthday.

8/30/05
FEMA refuses to allow volunteer firefighters into New Orleans - A team of volunteer firefighters with experience helping after hurricanes who also had special expertise with oil infrastructure and repairs arrives outside of New Orleans and is refused entry into the city by FEMA who will not let them in until "the National Guard has secured the city." When the teams asks if they should help out in other communities along the Gulf Coast impacted by the storm, they are told no, because their special expertise is needed in New Orleans. However, FEMA turns down any advice or help from them, and after waiting in a parking lot until Saturday, Sept 3, the expert team finally gives up and returns home to Houston.

The AP reports that President Bush will cut short the vacation he wasn't on to focus on the storm damage.

8/31/05 Mid-morning
B.C. urban rescue team headed to Louisiana - Canada was prepared to send aid directly to Louisiana, "after Louisiana officials asked for help". However, they were reportedly blocked from doing so by the Department of Homeland Security. ' Canadian agencies are saying that foreign aid is probably not being permitted into Louisiana and Mississippi because of "mass confusion" at the U.S. federal level in the wake of the storm.'

Louisiana Gov. Blanco issues order authorizing the commandeering and use of buses for evacuation and relief efforts (see public document).

Meanwhile, Homeland Security Chief Chertoff claims in media interviews that relief and evacuation efforts are "going well."

8/31/05
"Gov. Kathleen Blanco Friday night called on President Bush to order the expeditious return to the state of the 256th Brigade Combat team of the National Guard which is now serving in Iraq because they are needed in Hurricane Katrina cleanup and rescue efforts."

8/31/05 Afternoon
The Forest Service has offered fixed plane aircraft used to fight forest fires to help extinguish blazes in New Orleans, according to two congressional sources. But the sources said the planes, which can pour large amounts of water on fires, remained grounded in Missouri Friday because the Department of Homeland Security hasn't authorized their use."

8/31/05 Evening
18-yr-old hero helps 100 escape New Orleans ordeal - The first 100 refugees to arrive at the Houston Astrodome from flooded New Orleans are evacuated not be FEMA but by 18-year-old Jabbor Gibson who commandeers an abandoned school bus and drives his fellow citizens seven hours to the refuge of the Houston Astrodome collecting passengers as he goes until the bus is full. Gibson has never before driven a bus. Included in the evacuees is an 8-day-old infant. When the bus first arrives at the Astrodome, the refugees are not welcomed. Finally, however, they are allowed inside. Gibson, however, may be charged with stealing the bus.

9/1/05 Morning
Halliburton awarded Navy contract for storm cleanup - U.S. Navy announces it has hired Halliburton to "restore electric power, repair roofs and remove debris at three naval facilities in Mississippi damaged by Hurricane Katrina. No mention is made of whether the contract was bid out, but due to the limited time-frame, competitive bidding is unlikely.

The (suburban Chicago) Daily Herald reports that House Majority Leader Dennis Hastert says rebuilding New Orleans "doesn't make sense to me."

9/1/05 Evening
Rescues by California swift water rescue teams halted - Hundreds of people in Orleans and Jefferson parishes are rescued by swift water rescue teams from California. However, at the end of the day, FEMA halts further rescues due to supposed security concerns, though no security incidents involving the teams are reported by CNN journalist Rick Sanchez who was embedded with the teams during the rescues.

9/1/05 Evening
Bush rushed back from the vacation he wasn't just in time for an interview with Diane Sawyer. Despite what is now mountains of evidence to the contrary, Bush states, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."

On Nightline, Michael Brown tells Ted Koppel “We just learned of the convention center -- we being the federal government -- today.” Video here proves otherwise.


9/2/05 Morning
In front of reporters and with a backdrop of Federal officials, Bush praises Mike Brown and FEMA's relief effort by saying, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”

9/3/05
News breaks that the Red Cross has been kept out of New Orleans by the Department of Homeland Security -Media reports and an announcement on the American Red Cross's own website (page created Friday, September 2nd) explains that the Red Cross has stayed out of New Orleans and not provided food and water to New Orleans residents dying of heat exhaustion and hunger on orders of the Department of Homeland Security. Local American Red Cross CEO, Tom Foley, states to KWY Newsradio in Philadelphia: "The state Department of Homeland Security in Louisiana asked the Red Cross not to go into the city because they want that message to be, 'You need to leave the city. This isn't going to be a sheltering spot.' "

9/4/05
The Washington Post prints an article announcing that Louisiana Governor Blanco had not declared a state of emergency (later, it printed a correction, noting that she had, in fact, made the declaration on August 26)

In other news, on Meet the Press, Homeland Security Advisor Michael Chertoff says, "I remember on Tuesday morning picking up newspapers and I saw headlines, 'New Orleans Dodged The Bullet.'" (You can search the day's newspaper headlines here thanks to AmericaBlog, and tell me which paper the Chertoff family gets delivered.)

9/5/05 Mid-morning
During her tour of the Astrodome, the President's mother and former First Lady said, "What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."

9/5/05
News breaks that FEMA blocked aid to Jefferson Parish, New Orleans - Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parish, New Orleans, announces on Meet the Press that FEMA blocked life-saving aid to Jefferson Parish. FEMA prevented the delivery of three trailer trucks of water donated by Wal-Mart, forbade the Coast Guard from donating 1000 gallons of diesel fuel that happened to be on a Coast Guard vessel docked in Jefferson Parish, and cut all emergency communication lines out of the parish. The communication lines were repaired and put under armed guard. Mr. Broussard then broke down as he described how the mother of the head of emergency management in the parish was trapped in a nursing home and phoned her son every day asking when help would come. The son tried to reassure her that help was coming, but the woman died Friday evening (after President Bush's flyby) when she drowned to death.

Hurricane...Corrina?

Apparently all of us are too stupid to know the real name of the hurricane that just devastated the Gulf Coast...Laura Bush set's the record straight here...

Maher Bitch Slaps Bush

Billy Maher finally puts Bush's presidency in perspective during his Friday Sept 9th show. Thanks as always to Crooks & Liars, you can click here for the video.

Here's the transcript:

And finally, new rule: America must recall the president (applause & cheers).

That’s what this country needs: a good old fashioned California style recall election (applause & cheers). Complete with Gary Coleman, porno actresses, and action film stars. And just like Arnold Schwartzenegger’s predecessor in California, George Bush is now so unpopular that he must now defend his job against…Russell Crowe (laughter).

Because at this point, I want a leader who will throw a phone at somebody. If fact, let’s only have phone-throwers—Naomi Campbell can be the vice president!

Now I kid, but seriously, Mr. President, this job can’t be fun for you anymore. There’s no more money to spend—you used up all of that. You can’t start another war, because you also used up the Army. And now, darn the luck, the rest of your term has become the Bush Family Nightmare: helping poor people (laughter & applause).

Listen to your mom. The cupboard’s bare, the credit card’s maxed out, and no one’s speaking to you…mission accomplished! Now it’s time for you to do what you’ve always done best: lose interest and walk away (laughter & applause).

Like you did with your military service…and the oil company...and the baseball team. It’s time. Time to try on the next fantasy job. How about cowboy or spaceman? (laughter and applause)

Now I know what you’re saying. You’re saying that there’s so many other things that you, you as president, could involve yourself in. Please don’t.

I know, I know, there’s a lot left to do. There’s a war with Venezuela, and eliminating the sales tax on yachts. Turning the space program over to the church, (laughter and applause) and social security to Fanny Mae. Giving embryos the vote.

But sir, none of that is going to happen. Why?

Because you govern like Billy Joel drives. You’ve performed so poorly I’m surprised you haven’t given yourself a medal.

You’re a catastrophe that walks like a man. Herbert Hoover was a shitty president, but even he never conceded an entire metropolis to rising water and snakes.

On your watch we’ve lost:

-almost all of our allies,
-the surplus, four airliners,
-two Trade Centers,
-a piece of the Pentagon,
-and the city of New Orleans.

Maybe you’re just not lucky. (applause & cheers). I’m not saying you don’t love this country, I’m just wondering how much worse it could be if you were on the other side.

So yes, God does speak to you, and what he’s saying is: “take a hint.”

My Mom Finally Loses It and Writes the President

"Mr. President....

After days of watching coverage of the massive devastation in the Southern States, and most especially after viewing the gut-wrenching grief of a Louisiana official on this morning's "Meet The Press", I feel the deepest sense of sorrow, but most especially outrage, at the way this situation has been handled by our government.

As an American citizen, I am embarrassed, disgusted, and feel this is a national disgrace. The potential of a disaster of this magnitude had been predicted years before it occurred...and as this monstrous storm moved closer to the Gulf Coast, the federal government needed to be on the front lines with food, shelter, water and transportation for the thousands of poor people in that part of our country that did not have the middle class means to evacuate.

There is no excuse for such inept response to people in need. No excuse for the delay in response to the thousands of person who died because the Federal Government did not move more quickly.

The world is watching as we conduct a war in Iraq with no basis, and react to disaster in this country with no plan and no heart. "

Rumor has it, my mother's letter sits on the President's desk right next to this one.

Are You Sure it's the Liberals Who Are Elitist?

Barbara Bush offered up another gem of a quote recently - although not as bad as her now famous dead soldier quote, this most recent comment regarding the displaced hurricane victims at the Houston Astrodome was almost as entertaining:

"What I’m hearing which is sort of scary is they all want to stay in Texas...so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway (audible chuckle), so this --this is working very well for them." Audio here.

The poverty stricken, black, liberal elitist families using the dome as a shelter could not be reached for comment.

The Full Spin Zone

As the Republican media spin machine is in full force, congratulating each other on the superb response from FEMA and other branches of the federal government to the disaster down south, I thought I should post a blog that gives you a little insight into the guy running the organization itself.

The head of FEMA is Mike Brown, a GOP loyalist who was appointed to head FEMA after joining the organization through an open door provided by Oklahoma college roommate and former Bush campaign manager Joseph Allbaugh.

Brown's experience in heading agencies such as FEMA? None.

Before joining the Bush administration in 2001, Brown spent 11 years as the commissioner of judges and stewards for the International Arabian Horse Association, a breeders' and horse-show organization based in Colorado, so I suppose if we needed to create a cabinet position that was in charge of cleaning up America's horse shit, Brown just may be your perfect choice.

Or...maybe not. Brown actually didn't do a very good job with the horses. He was actually fired for...ready for this.. lacking supervisory skills.

According to the Boston Herald, Brown was forced out of the position after a spate of lawsuits over alleged supervision failures. Bill Pennington, president of the IAHA at the time, has now confirmed, that Brown was "asked to resign.'' In other words, Brown couldn't even oversee fucking horses (that's fucking as a verb, not an adjective).

In addition to all this, recent reports indicate Brown is actually more incompetent than once thought because...he's actually been lying on his resume.

- Brown's official government resume claims that he was an assistant city manager with emergency services oversight, in Oklahoma. Claudia Deakins, head of public relations for the city of Edmond, OK revealed that Brown "was an 'assistant to the city manager' from 1977 to 1980, not a manager himself, and had no authority over other employees. 'The assistant is more like an intern,'" she told Time Magazine.

- In a profile on Findlaw.com, Brown claims he was named "Outstanding Political Science Professor, Central State University." Charles Johnson, a member of the university's public relations office, said Brown "wasn't a professor here, he was only a student here." Johnson also added the chair of the Political Science Department at CSU was not aware of the "Outstanding Political Science Professor" award.

- Brown's resume also "from 1983 to the present he has been director of the Oklahoma Christian Home, a nursing home in Edmond." An administrator at the home told Time that Brown is "not a person that anyone here is familiar with." The nursing home doesn't have a board of directors anymore and when it did, no one remembers Brown being on it. According to a veteran employee Brown "was never director here, was never on the board of directors, was never executive director. He was never here in any capacity. I never heard his name mentioned here." (It should be noted that Brown isn't the only official at FEMA worth picking on...The Washington Post reports that "[f]ive of eight top Federal Emergency Management Agency officials came to their posts with virtually no experience in handling disasters.")

Considering all of this, you may discover why, despite dozens and dozens of warnings and articles in local New Orleans newspapers warning of this very catastrophe - Mike Brown probably sees this situation with the same exact lack of planning and lack of action Bush has used in every other event that has occurred throughout his presidency, summed up with the following quote:

"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." - President Bush, Sept 1, 2005 on Good Morning America.

Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, said Brown and other top federal officials were briefed as much as 32 hours in advance of landfall that Hurricane Katrina's storm surge was likely to overtop levees and cause catastrophic flooding.

Mayfield was quoted as saying, "They knew that this one was different...I don't think Mike Brown or anyone else in FEMA could have any reason to have any problem with our calls. . . . They were told. . . . We said the levees could be topped."

Bush's take on how Brown handled all of this? "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job," Bush said Friday during a tour of the Louisiana, a day before Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff voiced similar confidence.

Mike Brown, like so many failures before him who have been promoted or rewarded with medals (see Condi Rice, Paul Wolfowitz, John Bolton and George Tennant), is expecting to be Bush's new pick for supreme court Chief Justice.

(I'm not so sure the people at New Orleans's largest newspaper, the Times-Picayune would support such an appointment...read their well written open letter to Bush in the Sunday edition here).

One of These Things is Not Like the Other

Two particular images are circulating the blogosphere that really just sum up why liberals laugh in the faces of conservatives when we’re told there is a liberal media bias.

While overt signs of conservative bias – such as Anderson Cooper saying “all blacks are lazy” during his broadcast (because after all racism is most certainly a conservative ideal) are probably few and far between, it’s the covert – the inadvertent, almost involuntary aspects of media coverage that those of us on the left have screamed about for decades.

For example, 300,000 march on the Washington Mall for gay rights – 99.98% of the crowd are loving families, your neighbors, your coworkers, etc. Who gets the lead image on the story? The 200 drag queens flying penis kites.

Also – think of the last time you saw a black missing child make headlines during your local news. You can’t can you. Either black children never go missing or the media might have slant toward covering pretty white children – Joan Bonnet Ramsey or missing Aruba teens anyone?

When talking to a Republican coworker about the latter, she mentioned that she’s happy the media covers all the missing teen stories – it really gets the search effort going and if her own daughter was missing she’d want all the media help she could get. Good thing my coworker’s daughter is both white and pretty.

This however, inspired me to create a simple little test regarding the latest in media Right Wing bias.

Look at the image below. These are actual photos from actual AP stories and the captions are exactly what was posted, word for word. You can find the photos on the web here, and here.

Tell me what’s wrong with what you see. If your answer is, “there are more people in the picture on the bottom,” then it means you vote Republican.

New Orleans to Feds: Stop Lying To Us

I’d like, for a moment, to expose the absolute propagandist, radical bullshit of the Bush administration regarding the emergency situation down in the Gulf states.

While you read this, keep in mind – it’s one thing to try to keep a positive tone and attempt to motivate effectively by reporting positive aspects of a particular crisis – it’s completely another to lie about said crisis in order to cover up your complete and total lack of effort and results.

Read the following descriptions of the situation in New Orleans. The players are:

Chief Brown: Michael Brown, chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Chertoff: Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff
Mayor Nagin: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin

Thanks to CNN.com for doing some goddamn reporting for once:

Conditions in the Convention Center

Chief Brown: We learned about (conditions at the convention center Thursday), so I have directed that we have all available resources to get that convention center to make sure that they have the food and water and medical care that they need.
Maryor Nagin: The convention center is unsanitary and unsafe, and we are running out of supplies for the 15,000 to 20,000 people
CNN Producer Kim Segal: It was chaos. There was nobody there, nobody in charge. And there was nobody giving even water. The children, you should see them, they're all just in tears. There are sick people. We saw... people who are dying in front of you.
Evacuee Raymond Cooper: Sir, you've got about 3,000 people here in this -- in the Convention Center right now. They're hungry. Don't have any food. We were told two-and-a-half days ago to make our way to the Superdome or the Convention Center by our mayor. And which when we got here, was no one to tell us what to do, no one to direct us, no authority figure.(See video of CNN asking why FEMA is clueless about conditions -- 2:11)

Uncollected Corpses

Chief Brown: That's not been reported to me, so I'm not going to comment. Until I actually get a report from my teams that say, "We have bodies located here or there," I'm just not going to speculate.
Mayor Segal: We saw one body. A person is in a wheelchair and someone had pushed (her) off to the side and draped just like a blanket over this person in the wheelchair. And then there is another body next to that. There were others they were willing to show us. ( See CNN report, 'People are dying in front of us' -- 4:36 )
Evacuee Cooper: They had a couple of policemen out here, sir, about six or seven policemen told me directly, when I went to tell them, hey, man, you got bodies in there. You got two old ladies that just passed, just had died, people dragging the bodies into little corners. One guy -- that's how I found out. The guy had actually, hey, man, anybody sleeping over here? I'm like, no. He dragged two bodies in there. Now you just -- I just found out there was a lady and an old man, the lady went to nudge him. He's dead.

Hospital Evacuations

Chief Brown: I've just learned today that we ... are in the process of completing the evacuations of the hospitals, that those are going very well.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta: It's gruesome. I guess that is the best word for it. If you think about a hospital, for example, the morgue is in the basement, and the basement is completely flooded. So you can just imagine the scene down there. But when patients die in the hospital, there is no place to put them, so they're in the stairwells. It is one of the most unbelievable situations I've seen as a doctor, certainly as a journalist as well. There is no electricity. There is no water. There's over 200 patients still here remaining. ...We found our way in through a chopper and had to land at a landing strip and then take a boat. And it is exactly ... where the boat was traveling where the snipers opened fire yesterday, halting all the evacuations.
Dr. Matthew Bellew, Charity Hospital: We still have 200 patients in this hospital, many of them needing care that they just can't get. The conditions are such that it's very dangerous for the patients. Just about all the patients in our services had fevers. Our toilets are overflowing. They are filled with stool and urine. And the smell, if you can imagine, is so bad, you know, many of us had gagging and some people even threw up. It's pretty rough.

Violence and Civil Unrest

Chief Brown: I've had no reports of unrest, if the connotation of the word unrest means that people are beginning to riot, or you know, they're banging on walls and screaming and hollering or burning tires or whatever. I've had no reports of that.
CNN's Chris Lawrence: From here and from talking to the police officers, they're losing control of the city. We're now standing on the roof of one of the police stations. The police officers came by and told us in very, very strong terms it wasn't safe to be out on the street. (Watch the video report on explosions and gunfire -- 2:12)

The Federal Response

Chief Brown: Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans, virtually a city that has been destroyed, things are going relatively well.
Homeland Security Director Chertoff: Now, of course, a critical element of what we're doing is the process of evacuation and securing New Orleans and other areas that are afflicted. And here the Department of Defense has performed magnificently, as has the National Guard, in bringing enormous resources and capabilities to bear in the areas that are suffering.
Crowd chanting outside the Convention Center: We want help.
Mayor Nagin: They don't have a clue what's going on down there.
Phyllis Petrich, a tourist stranded at the Ritz-Carlton: They are invisible. We have no idea where they are. We hear bits and pieces that the National Guard is around, but where? We have not seen them. We have not seen FEMA officials. We have seen no one.

Security

Chief Brown: I actually think the security is pretty darn good. There's some really bad people out there that are causing some problems, and it seems to me that every time a bad person wants to scream of cause a problem, there's somebody there with a camera to stick it in their face. (See Jack Cafferty's rant on the government's 'bungled' response -- 0:57)
Chertoff: In addition to local law enforcement, we have 2,800 National Guard in New Orleans as we speak today. One thousand four hundred additional National Guard military police trained soldiers will be arriving every day: 1,400 today, 1,400 tomorrow and 1,400 the next day.
Nagin: I continue to hear that troops are on the way, but we are still protecting the city with only 1,500 New Orleans police officers, an additional 300 law enforcement personnel, 250 National Guard troops, and other military personnel who are primarily focused on evacuation.
Lawrence: The police are very, very tense right now. They're literally riding around, full assault weapons, full tactical gear, in pickup trucks. Five, six, seven, eight officers. It is a very tense situation here.

America to Federal Government: Your Response to Katrina is Totally Fucking Unacceptable

Dear Mr Bush,

The citizens of New Orleans, and surrounding areas near the Gulf (especially in Mississippi) sure hope Bush enjoyed his most recent month-long vacation. They hope Dick Cheney continues to enjoy his in Wyoming during this past week. They also appreciate Mr. Bush dipping below the clouds to take a look at the devastation on your way back from the Ranch, where you refused to meet with Gold Star Families for Peace as well as other Veterans groups to get some questions answers about the Iraq war. I'm sure they appreciate your words of wisdom during your peak out the window: "It’s devastating. It’s got to be doubly devastating on the ground."

However - there are corpses floating in the streets down there. There are people in their attics right now with water up to their chins waiting to be rescued. They're looking for busses for the people at the Superdome. They're looking for food and water, and they're looking for their National Guard, 1/3 of which is serving over in Iraq (with an even higher percentage in MS).

While most of America and it's corporate media have covered for Bush's complete bullshit for over 5 years in terms of defending every disaster hatched in his administration - from the economy, to the war, to national security to every single aspect a president is responsible for - most of America, including typically conservative pundits, are stunned that those in the administration are actually defending this alarming and outrageous lack of relief:

"We are extremely pleased with the response of every element of the federal government (and) all of our federal partners have made to this terrible tragedy," Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said during a news conference Wednesday in Washington.

How fucking dare you say that.

But wait, it gets better - here's what W had to say about the flooding: "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." Oh really George?

(By the way, does the bullshit line of "Golly gee, no one could see this gul dang thing coming" above sound familiar? How about from Condi Rice's testimony in front of the 9/11 commission: "'no one could have imagined' planes would be used as weapons" We all know how that panned out.

Just how inexcusably inadequate has the federal government's response been?

-Disaster experts and Louisiana government officials charged the administration "failed to plan for a serious levee breech and the federal response to Hurricane Katrina was slow."

- Terry Ebbert, head of New Orleans' emergency operations said, "This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control."

- To quote the SF Chronicle, "In a country that spent nearly $1 billion airlifting supplies to tsunami victims in southern Asia and tens of billions of dollars ferrying military supplies to Baghdad to wage war, many wondered why the United States could not also supply water, food and medical supplies to the tens of thousands of its own needy residents."

- Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) noted he was calling the White House, pleading for more resources. "The state resources were being overwhelmed, and we needed direct federal assistance, command and control, and security -- all three of which are lacking." said Rep. Charles Boustany (REPUBLICAN from Louisiana)

- FEMA Director Michael Brown, responding to the "horrible, horrible conditions" in the New Orleans Convention Center, said, "the federal government did not even know about the convention center people until today."

-Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff , when asked about the victims in the convention center said, "I have not heard a report of people in the convention center who don't have food and water." In an interview with CNN, Chertoff offered little compassion for people who died or were trapped in cities due to the flooding. "Some people chose not to obey that [mandatory evacuation] order. That was a mistake on their part."

Hey Michael. How about because nearly 1/3...one THIRD of the residents of New Orleans live below the poverty line. Had you done 20 minutes of Google homework you'd realize that about half of the kids in Louisiana live in poverty -- the only state with a higher child poverty rate is Mississippi, another victim of the hurricane. Apparently you're also completely unaware that some 134,000 New Orleans residents don't own cars, some of which couldn't afford to keep gas in them anyway. Or perhaps no one told you that one of the most devastated neighborhoods in the city has an average household income less than half the national average, with 25% of the households earning less than 10 thousand dollars a year.

But honestly everyone...do you REALLY expect preparedness from this administration?

After ignored presidential daily briefings about impending Al Qaeda attacks?

After not being greeted with flowers and candy like they said we'd be in Iraq?

After no exit strategy in Iraq?

After lack of armor for our troops in Iraq?

After repeated warnings that a hurricane hitting New Orleans was one of the top three disasters that could effect this country?

After Bush and Cheney both stayed on vacation just before during and just after the hurricane hit?

Do you really want this administration to continue to make life and death decisions for this country?

Look around you. Liberals have been watching this and screaming about this shit for 5 years.

It's time the rest of you wake the fuck up.