katrina

Obama’s Doing To Much!!!

This morning on CNN Tom Kean, former member of the 9/11 commission, was talking about how Obama is “taking on to much”, echoing the same right-wing talking point we have heard all year.

Let’s think about that. To a Republican like Kean, Obama shouldn’t be focusing on other things besides terrorism. We just had 8 years of that and look at what it produced – an economic crisis, the loss of a major city and hundreds of lives from Katrina, ignoring our rule of law to “fight terrorism”, etc., etc. If people think that the President should focus solely on terrorism and nothing else, like domestic issues, then let’s just hand this country over to al Qaeda because they have won.

Is God Punishing Alaska For Sarah Palin?

Looks like they could be facing a natural disaster up north:

Hardware stores and auto parts shops scored a post-holiday run of business this week as Anchorage-area residents stocked up on protective eyewear and masks ahead of a possible eruption of Mount Redoubt.

Monitoring earthquakes underneath the 10,200-foot Redoubt Volcano about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, scientists from the Alaska Volcano Observatory warned that an eruption was imminent, sending experienced Alaskans shopping for protection against a dusty shower of volcanic ash that could descend on south-central Alaska.

If Katrina was New Orlean’s God’s punishment for having their gay pride parade, then this has to be his punishment for them giving us Sarah Palin, or maybe her daughter having that baby out of wedlock. Maybe Pat Robertson will tell us the answer.

Disaster Interruptus?

John McCain is floating the idea of giving his speech from the "disaster zone" Gustav leaves. My God - the storm hasn't even brought it's fury and McCain is looking into ways to politicize it. And what the hell happened to the excuse after Katrina that Bush going down there would only hinder response? So putting a huge media spectacle down there that ISN'T related to the disaster somehow helps?

John McCain has no idea how to govern, or make sound decisions. Even considering an idea such as this proves that. He cares less about the American people than George Bush. McCain is not more of the same - he is much worse.

Oh The Irony

John McCain is talking about skipping the GOP convention or having it postponed due to Gustav. Here is what he said:

McCain told Chris Wallace of “Fox News Sunday” in an interview taped for broadcast Sunday that the convention could be rescheduled. “It just wouldn't be appropriate to have a festive occasion while a near-tragedy or a terrible challenge is presented in the form of a natural disaster,” McCain said. “So we're monitoring it from day to day and I'm saying a few prayers, too.”

(emphasis added)

No we wouldn't want festive activities happening while a hurricane was beating down part of our country. Would we?

Well to be fair, when McCain was eating cake with Bush while people were dying in New Orleans from Katrina, he was only a young 69 years old. I'm sure he has gained much more experience in these past three years.

McCain Was Sooo Mad At Bush Over Katrina

That he did this while the disaster was happening:

Seriously - McCain is not "critical" of Bush about Katrina. If it wasn't for this damn Democratic Primary the Democrats could be hitting him so hard over this right now. Show this picture of McCain smiling as people were dying in New Orleans. He really is as stupid as Bush.

High Oil Prices And The Environment

As oil prices teeter above $112 a barrel, I have heard recent debates about how the high prices are good for the environment. I have been in debates about this in the past, and while people might consume less oil, it is such a wrong way to go about it.

A couple of years ago, after Katrina and oil prices spiked, I got into a debate on a forum with a west coast liberal about the high oil prices. She insisted how it was good for the environment and needed to be done. As a Midwest liberal, I can safely say that is a very bad way to handle the over consumption of oil. Why? Because it hits the people it shouldn't - the middle and lower class.

Countless cities and states around the country are suffering financially. Think about all the fire trucks, ambulances, police cars, school buses, road repair trucks, etc. that your city and state operate. They are having to fill those vehicles up with this high dollar gas. That means other things end up being cut, or the use of those vehicles end up getting cut. "Sorry Mr. and Mrs. Jones, but your child now has to walk the two miles to school. We can no longer afford bus service". Don't think that happens? It happened here back after the Katrina oil price surge.

How about the family that already has to work two jobs just to stay in their home? Now they are paying a lot more to get to and from those two jobs. A medical emergency hits and their child needs special medical care. They don't have the money to take care of that child, simply because the money that was once there is now in the gas tank.

Bush's Great FEMA

And it's too late to blame Brownie for it:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency manipulated scientific research to play down the danger posed by formaldehyde in trailers issued to hurricane victims, according to an investigation by congressional Democrats.

FEMA "ignored, hid and manipulated government research on the potential impact of long-term exposure to formaldehyde" on Katrina and Rita victims now living in FEMA trailers, said a letter written by Democrats on Monday.

Democrats on a House Science and Technology subcommittee wrote the letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. FEMA is part of the Homeland Security Department.

This is another case where the left would bring it up and the right would shoot it down as "conspiracy". Well it doesn't look so much like a conspiracy now.

Musical Presidents

For the love of God - no more pluckin' Presidents!

That's the big picture we always see of Huckaboner now. Lest we not forget about our last pluckin' President?

And that was during Katrina!

How about we change to another instrument? Things weren't bad with the sax:

Splitting Hairs

Today's Washington Post has an article by right wing hit man John Solomon. Today Solomon goes after John Edwards and his infamous $400 haircut. They are coining it as "the stylist speaks out", even though I got a feeling Solomon worked hard to get him to "speak out".

Instead of quoting this piece of crap, which has absolutely nothing to do with leadership, I think it is prudent to remember our history. 231 years ago 56 brave men signed their own death warrant. That death warrant was called the Declaration of Independence, and if the Revolutionary War would have gone the other way, all these men would have been hanged for treason.

They took the ultimate risk to build a nation that was better. One above all others. Now we got this - a country that worries about how much a haircut costs. This is not some "scandal" trademarked by Edwards. Clinton also faced the same scrutiny, lead by a rash of right wing lies when he got a haircut aboard Air Force One.

So why is it the right can only find petty things to pick on?

Look at who their top voices are. Ann Coulter, who sinks to the lowest of human standards by making jokes about Edwards dead son. The same person who can joke about a presidential candidate being harassed, while claiming it a "joke" (and you are welcome Bill).

Or how about a man they want to be the next President, Newt Gingrich. This is a man who told a bunch of other neo-cons that people died in Katrina, because the people were "so uneducated and so unprepared, they literally couldn't get out of the way of a hurricane". This statement was also received by a bunch of cheers.

Thinking of Kansas

The F-5 tornado that leveled a town in Kansas was horrible. Having lived through a couple major tornados, I can tell you how devastating they are first hand. One of my earliest childhood memories was when an F-5 tornado came through southern Ohio in 1974. Thankfully our house was untouched. The same couldn't be said for a lot of our neighbors. Walking out the front door after the storm cleared, I quickly realized that most of my street was destroyed.

The amazing thing about that horrible April day was how quickly the National Guard responded. I was very young and don't remember that part, but my mother reminds me of it. Sadly the same isn't true for Kansas today:

The governor said the state's response was limited by the shifting of emergency equipment, such as tents, trucks and semitrailers, to the war in Iraq.

"Not having the National Guard equipment, which used to be positioned in various parts of the state, to bring in immediately is really going to handicap this effort to rebuild," Sebelius said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency was bringing in travel trailers to house some of the town's residents.

Because of Bush's failed war, people in our own country can not get the necessary emergency services when the need arises. We saw that in Katrina and we are seeing it again today. This also provides another need for us to end the war now. The people of this country should come first. Unfortunately they don't under Bush. Instead our needed services are stuck helping a government in a foreign nation that don't even want to help itself. Ironic that the Iraqi government is getting ready to take a two month vacation, while the people in Kansas can't even get the help needed to rebuild.

Killing to be President

I have been fuming over this one for the past week. The Mitt Romney flack over him being a hunter has exposed a bigger problem in our political system. It doesn't matter if he hunted 2 times or 1000 times or if he has killed 2 rabbits or killed enough to put them on the endangered species list. What I have a big problem with is the fact this has become some sort of requirement to be President.

While the Republicans are the party of the bigger hunters, they are not the only ones in this "kill to be President" mentality. In 2004 we had John Kerry out there shooting animals to win over the hearts and minds of hunters. I guess it is a good thing that the animals don't vote.

So how fake are we as a nation? We have to pretend we have these big macho men running for President because they killed Bugs Bunny? For Kerry, it wasn't good enough he actually killed human enemies in the middle of a war. That didn't make him man enough, but shooting at some little bird does?

Here is something else to think about on this issue. If acting macho is such a good thing, then how do you explain our situation today? Bush got elected playing mister macho and look at what all that "toughness" has done when it comes to things like Iraq, Katrina, Walter Reed, etc.

If America can not choose their leaders on their actual abilities to make sound decisions, listen to expert advice and lead, then this country does not deserve to be a democracy, or perhaps the whole experiment called "democracy" is failing because the people who choose the leaders are too shallow to weigh their options properly.

The Media's ADD Is Shining Through

John Mark Karr, Katrina, new hurricanes, Tom Cruise, and now Warren Jeffs. Wow with all that going on in the world, it is no wonder why little stories like this get buried:

Police found more than two dozen bodies across the capital Tuesday and the government said 73 people had died in fighting in the south as violence surged despite promising signs that a U.S. crackdown is curbing sectarian killings in Baghdad.

Also Tuesday, the U.S. military said three American soldiers and one marine were killed the day before: two in combat in Anbar province and two from non-hostile causes. A fourth soldier died on Tuesday in Baghdad. At least 13 American service members have died in Iraq since Sunday, according to the U.S. command.

The latest violence both inside and outside the capital occurred despite U.S. and Iraqi officials' claims that a new operation in the capital has lowered Sunni-Shiite killings there, which had risen in June and July.

(emphasis mine)

Now why would the media cover anything like that?

Frist Ready To Move On Censure Resolution

Think Progress is reporting that Frist has said they are ready to vote on the motion to censure Bush.

Minutes ago, Sen. Bill Frist said on the Senate floor that “we are ready to vote on” a censure of President Bush over warrantless domestic wiretapping “this afternoon or tonight.”

This might be one of the best things Frist has ever done. This is a perfect time to find out which Democrats are with us or with Bush. It is that simple. Feingold's motion is very moderate. He does not focus on Iraq, Katrina, the Economy, the CIA leak case or anything else. It is simply about the President being able to ignore the law or follow it when it comes to our basic rights under the Constitution of the United States. Any Democrat that does not support this resolution needs to get the hell out of the party now. The Republicans constantly say the Democrats have no unity. Well show them that they are wrong or give it up. It is as simple as that.

Frustration In Katrina

PRESIDENT Bush's visit to Katrina-ravaged Louisiana Wednesday follows six months of bungling that threatens political catas trophe for the state's Republicans. He will boost his belated $4.2 billion plan finally to provide housing for people made homeless by the storm, but it may be too little, too late.

Rep. Richard Baker, a 10-term conservative GOP congressman from Baton Rouge with a 91 percent pro-Bush voting record, sat down with me in his Capitol Hill office last week to talk politics frankly: "The backlash is unknowable, but it is a big concern. . . . We [Republicans] are being measured by this storm response and by what Republicans do to help poor people."

That appears in the New York Post and was written by Robert Novak. You know things are going bad for Bush when the typical right-wing mouth pieces are now straying from the talking points.

Considering how long it is taking us to rebuild the Gulf Coast, it is no wonder why Iraq has been such a mess. To Bush just saying something is good enough. He never feels his words require any actions.