What Went Right

For those who still question main stream media's reporting of the aftermath of Katrina -- this is a must-read:

What Went Right

Naginizing the Future of New Orleans

To Naginize or Naginizing: the ability to be held unaccountable for negative calamity; the failure to act proactively in the face of pending disaster; to shirk responsibility for what may happen within an elected official's jurisdiction, unless it involves taking credit or blaming others; alternately wringing hands or sitting on them. Alternate definition: to draw a Blanco.
------------------------

''The next season may be worse than the past two, which resulted in an increase in the number and intensity of hurricanes that hit U.S. shores.''

Max Mayfield, Director of the National Hurricane Center, has spoken. Again.

Does Governor Blanco watch cable? How about the Weather Channel? What happened to those federal funds for communications systems, by the way? Nothing like a hand-tooled exotic leather briefcase and gold-plated faucets when you need to stay informed, eh?

And Nagin?

Somebody tie a string around Nagin's -- uhhhh ...... finger and remind him dry out that evacuation plan and line up a few bus drivers.

They're still sitting WHERE?

Oh, yeah. That's right. The mayor has been toooo busy planning mardi gras (yes, it rained on that parade as well) and poor-mouthing the New Orleans plight (bad-bad feds won't set up those doublewides in a flood plain).

But, hey -- It's time to set priorities!! Crunch time in the Big Easy! Just a few weeks or so before -- not hurricane season -- but elections!

This week Nagin is over in Texas campaigning amongst evacuees in a bid for re-election as mayor of New Orleans.

He'll probably be resourceful enuff to crank up those buses and transport ballot boxes over to Texas to collect the votes!

Whatta guy.


-- gull (http://journals.aol.com/gullspirit/PerishTheThought)

The Get-Bush Conspiracy

"I don't fear Big Brother; I fear Big Smother."
-----------------------------------------------
[a scenario] MSM mogul to publishers: Things are looking brighter on the Bush front despite that CBS poll ... We need a new distraction .... If you can't find a controversy, create one ... Bush is over in India and Pakistan doing things that might strengthen his work against terrorism .... Let's revisit Katrina again -- run that news release from the hurricane center and get our editors busy on those video tapes -- see what they can muster ..... whatever you find, leak it to Shep over at Fox .... back off the Bill and Hillary port dispute .... Ask Laura what she thinks, see what the twins are doing or better yet, find a reporter embedded with the President and have him call a few radio talk shows ....

--------------------------

We pay good money to be entertained by twisted minds on the screen and in print. Now we learn similarly twisted and obsessed minds are promoting major news releases.

Recent headlines (see AOL, CBS and AP wires) show the full impact of the * Bush Derangement Syndrome.

AP may not have actually faked the recently "edited" video to support their claim that "Bush knew" about the New Orleans levy breach before it happened, etc., but nonetheless, AP found reason to apologize for editing omissions.

Omissions?
What about the misleading inclusions????

Why would an allegedly reputable news service need to apologize for reporting "news?"

Why would a responsible news agency promote a false survey (such as the recent CBS poll reported by AOL) to indicate Bush's decline in popularity, etc.?

What a crock.

Someone had to decide which pieces of the video to cut and which to paste. Someone had to approve it post-editing. You don't just randomly edit items in or out without purpose any more than you randomly select "news" to feature or headlines that mislead -- or any more than randomly [accidentally?] orchestrate a slanted survey .... Do you?

Seems the person involved with the video editing was none other than a producer for the infamous CBS "discovery" of a [faked] memo about George Bush's military service. You remember that one, don't you? It was conveniently "discovered" right before the elections. Dan Rather lost his job because of that one.

Will an editor lose his/her job at AP over the "edited" video? Ohhhhh, some editor might be buried in the editing lab for a while or sent to the Food Gazette for a few months. The Associated Press, a mainstay in the Fourth Estate (the guardians of government) will probably slide by with its milk-toast apology. News outlets are too dependent upon the AP to jeopardize headlining their bias!

What is it with mainstream media's need to defame George Bush? Why do major networks and agencies risk professional reputations to defame a sitting president?

Thanks to the blogosphere, the answer becomes fairly obvious.

The press as an institution -- the Fourth Estate, the guardian of government -- is no longer "free." It is owned by private enterprises. It's manipulated by agendas.

The press (i.e., main stream media) is controlled by corporate boards and billionaires who "agenda-dize" the slant of news to project their own political, economic, global and social perspectives.

(It's like a privately-owned non-state-controlled press, if you think in terms of the intended Constitutional protection. Except the MSM has somehow distended its purpose not to simply monitor government and inform the public, but to manipulate public opinion against the government -- unless, of course, the non-state-controlled press happens to support the current government .... At which point, the non-state-controlled press freely exercises its version of free speech to either support, criticize, feature, slant, bury or inform the public of what they perceive as newsworthy -- even it means altering facts ....)

But I digress.

Ever wonder why we don't hear or read about more "good" news? (Pick a topic. Any topic.)

Justcheck the who's-who on media conglomerate boards. Cross-reference the owners/members with lists of political donors and "philanthropic" foundations which these board members support or own. Check their contributions to Political Action Committees and "store front" 157 sub-groups (exempt form political contribution regulations) that silently fund political agendas, ad campaigns, news feeds and, yes -- protests, marches and riots on the national and global front.

Go ahead. Check them out. Check the lists of political donors across party lines. You might discern that a few donors frequently "hide" political support/contributions through their wives or children or their own foundation(s). If you are aware of (even among Internet moguls) who supports which political party or candidate or cause, you'll gain some insight into why featured MSM news reports carry certain "slants" among the most "independent" carriers!

It's intentional, by the way. And it didn't just happen during the last two presidential elections.

Why is this relevant?

It's relevant because it has become so blatant, flagrant and alarmingly obsessive. It's unhealthy for everyone, including our institutions.

Our guardians of government (the Fourth Estate turned agenda-operatives) have lost it -- lost it somewhere between responsible journalism and op-ed agenda-based news.

Reporters and editors have "bought in" to promoting agenda-perspectives and have sacrificed all standards of professionalism to destroy one man and discredit a national sentiment that elected him.

Note to the MSM: it wasn't JUST conservatives who voted for GWB, by the way.

They (the MSM -- the bastions of thoughts and controllers of how-America-should-be) cannot accept that the average American has the capacity to think, assess, identify or understand their own needs, interests AND preferences.

MSM has, without question -- lost a prevailing sense of mission and integrity -- has become so fixatedon one man that they go so far as to fabricate scenarios to discredit him. Furthermore, they portend to demean those who dare to express support for any program under his administration.

What's the future of MSM?

I hope bleak.

I don't fear Big Brother; I fear Big Smother. I don't fear an elected government official; I fear a manipulative media that insolates my view of government and the world.

Need a prime-time example?

Meet the new MSM poster boy (a member of the White House Press Corps who finally stepped over the edge) -- NBC's David Gregory who tops his press-conference temper-tantrums by calling a talk radio show in a drunken giggle-fit while traveling with the President. What was he trying to say? Do? The guy needs help beyond a weekend anger-management retreat or an AA sponsor. I wonder if his days in the WH corps might be numbered ....

Of course, you won't read any of this as headlines in the MSM. They're much too focused on editing videos, orchestrating new polls or monitoring potential riots in the streets of where-ever-bush-might-go-next.


* Bush Derangement Syndrome: "The acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency -- nay -- the very existence of George W. Bush."

-- Gull (http://journals.aol.com/gullspirit/PerishTheThought)


update: The AP did not "apologize" for the misleading video. The moonbats simply issued a "correction." My error, with apology for giving those slimeballs credit.

Yodeling Frenchman Returns!

Commemorating the week (1915) US President Wilson refused to prohibit immigration of illiterates, John Kerry takes advantage and returns to Washington to call for filiblustering (uh huh) Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court.

Oh, well.


credit: Rhetoricia and Perish the Thought!

[Exactly.]

The Alito Hearings

If the conduct of Kennedy, Biden and Chuckie S, et al, does not have you shaking your head in

A) disgust,
B) bewilderment, or
3) embarrassment --

I suggest you turn off Comedy Central re-runs and take a gander at the Judicial Sayings Hearings .... that is, the Alito Hearings.

And if you are still debating options A), B) or C) -- try this bare facts assessment of folks who loveeeeee the sound of their own voices : http://blogs.pajamasmedia.com/mondo_alito/

Pathetic. Boring.

What a disgrace for an obviously qualified man to be subjected to these self-serving baffoons.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

A pause to reflect on the importance of family, friends and the spirit of this wondrous season ...

Seasons Greetings

and

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Polling Poll-Cats

A recent CBS poll showing that the President's approval ratings had slipped to 35% was investigated by Dartblog with not-so-surprising revelations:

"259 Republicans were surveyed. 326 Democrats. (Already unacceptably
inconsistent with the national makeup.) And then an astonishing 351
“Independents”. That, of course, isn’t all. Savvy surveyors need to weight
their data in order to make the results more accurate. In CBS’ case,
this is done by cutting 36 of the Republican responses off the top, and
leaving the Democrat responses intact. This isn’t the regularly shifty
‘party self-identification’ factor. The data comes from a table which, presumably,
reflects party registration. And even if the numbers are PSI, they are still far removed from reality. The net result: a political poll consisting of 34.8% Democrats,
23.8% Republicans, and 41.4% Independents. And President Bush’s “lowest”
approval rating ever."

Doesn't do much to validate the reliability of polling. CBS, notwithstanding.

'Pubs Call Dems Hand

Call it cutting to the chase.

Call it putting your money where your mouth is.

Call it smart politics.

Call it sending House demmies home to face constituents after voting 403-3 NOT to pull US troops from Iraq immediately.

Just call it smart.

eh eh eh.

AOL Banner Ad Poll

You're welcome to vote as an AOL member or AIM user .....

Not to vote IS to vote .... PERISH THE THOUGHT!

PlameGate with a French Twist ....

From the Goat Gazette -- Edible Editorial Section .........

I'm almost ready to write my report.

You know, a summation of the 2-year investigation on PlameGate by that brilliantly aggressive young Special Counsel, Patrick Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald's report will be out in a couple of weeks (or less) -- unless he extends (or someone persuades him to extend) our boredom (and keep the political grapevine buzzing or to torment the Bush Administration) another year or so.

I don't think it takes a genius to figure out what is going on OR what the options are .....

1. Fitzgerald's role is to find out if laws were broken by WH staffers (or anyone) who allegedly leaked the name of a CIA operative -- in retaliation for her hubby's politicizing (for John Kerry et al) a report (he had complied for the CIA) discrediting the President's "claim" that [British sources had learned that] Iraq had tried to buy nuke material in Africa.

Got it?

Want a little inside info on what went on?

a. VP Chaney's office (and other State Dept. officials) wanted to verify the British claim about Iraq trying to buy nuke material in Africa. They contacted the CIA. A CIA employee named Valerie Plame heard about the request and suggested her former-ambassador husband for writing the report. End of one search; beginning of another.

But not so fast.

b. [side note and possibly significant to Fitzgerald's investigation] Valerie Plame does not appear to meet the standards of CIA "covert field operative" (assigned out of country within 5-years) under existing laws. She may be something akin to a "storefront" secretary, but not a field operative, according to insiders [borrowing CIA lingo].

c. Another insider note: Her hubby, Joe Wilson, is a former ambassador whom she "introduced" to her bosses as a possible person to send to Niger to talk with folks he knew there, to gather info on whether any of his old friends were aware of Iraq trying to buy nuke material .... Old friends not in power when the nuke talks allegedly took place. Why is this relevant? Who knows. Maybe he needed a job. Maybe he wanted to get back into government work; maybe he didn't like the way the Bush administration was doing things -- he and wifey had donated to Kerry's campaign.

Plame's testimony: "My husband has good relations with the PM [prime minister of Niger] and the former Minister of Mines (not to mention lots of French contacts), both of whom could possibly shed light on this sort of activity." Mrs. Wilson would later say she asked her husband, on behalf of the CIA, if he would investigate "this crazy report" on a uranium deal between Iraq and Niger.

More observations: On February 18, 2002, the U.S. embassy in Niger sent a cable describing a new account of the alleged deal. The account, it said, "provides sufficient detail to warrant another hard look at Niger's uranium sales." The cable further warned against dismissing the allegations prematurely. The following day, back at Langley, representatives of several U.S. intelligence agencies met with Ambassador Wilson to discuss the trip. Contemporaneous notes from an analyst at the State Department's INR suggest that Mrs. Wilson "apparently convened" the meeting. She introduced her husband to the group and left a short time later. Several of the attendees would later recall questioning the value of the proposed trip, noting that the Nigeriens were unlikely to admit dealing with the Iraqis. Still, the CIA approved the trip.

d. Wilson took the trip and filed his report (indications are that it was a verbal report), stating that none of his associates were aware of any nuke deals in Niger. Concurrently, there were also additional intelligence reports (other than the British report) coming from covert sources that dug a little deeper than Wilson's "sweet tea sipping" party with old acquaintances. French Intelligence sources, however, called documents alleging Niger's sale of nuke materials to Iraq bogus ....

e. The rub: Wilson appears to have taken offense that his report was notdeemed sufficient in discrediting British intelligence or in stopping the President from speaking those famous "sixteen words" in his State of the Union address.

f. Meanwhile, back on the political front: Other "unnamed sources," aspiring to discredit the President's reelection bid and State of the Union address, were slowly but deliberately leaking to the press the possibility that "the President had indeed lied."
Proof of the lie was a report filed by an "independent" CIA investigator (Wilson -- who first hawked his story to MSM outlets as a 3rd party story -- before aligning himself with a French Intelligence report that documents alleging Iraq's nuke buying efforts in Africa were forged) which he/they alleged that the government had chosen to hide ....
In fairness to the CIA, there actually were SEVERAL reports buzzing through offices in the CIA .... Top of the buzz list was the still-under-investigation report from (questionable) French intelligence leaks that documents evidencing an Iraqi-Niger connection were forgeries .... [French + Intelligence??? Uh, never mind.]
Still with me on this?

g. The reality: In testimony before a Senate Committee Hearing, Wilson back-tracked on his criticism of contents of the President's SoU address AND other statements he had subsequently made against the President:

SENATE INTELLIGENCE REPORT (page 45): The former ambassador said that he may have “misspoken” to the reporter when he said he concluded the [British] documents were “forged.” He also said he may have become confused about his own recollection .... but admitted that he had NEVER seen the documents. Wilson had made another adjustment by telling CNN that he had been wrong in his frequently-voiced assumption about Cheney [and staff] and whether they even knew about his report on Niger ....
Now we come to the famous 16 words:

BUSH: The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.

WILSON: I never claimed to have “debunked” the allegation that Iraq was seeking uranium from Africa.

WILSON (page 334): The path to writing the op-ed piece [which he hawked to MSM outlets] had always been clear in my mind. My government had refused to address the fundamental question of how the lie regarding Saddam’s supposed attempt to purchase African uranium had found its way into the State of the Union address... I had to raise it, publicly and in my own words. I realized that my credibility would be called into question, and I was steeled for that. But whatever one might say about me—and there is a lot—the truth remained: There was never any evidence of Iraqi uranium purchases from Niger. [Wilson’s emphasis]

Actually, Mr. Wilson's credibility on Niger was revealed to be not so accurate either. So much for steeling.

2. A Special Investigation was requested by the CIA (a bastion of career-officers of moderately left-leaning political persuasions -- for those who didn't know that tidbit). Of course, career officers within the federal government never act on political persuasion. Also see point 1.f referencing in-house CIA disagreements .....

3. And here we are.
Did someone willfully leak the name of a CIA operative?

a. If so, can we distinguish among those who leaked what to whom and when, and, if we can't, who can we nab for behaviors that are as common as "unidentified sources" in "high government positions" in a city whose mode of communication is founded in unidentified sources?

b. What? Espionage laws may not have beeen broken?

Well, how are we going to justify spending millions of taxpayer's dollars????

Let's see .... hummmmm .... surely someone lied or obstructed justice .... Judy Miller? Joe Wilson? Scooter Libby? Kovack? Carl Rove? The CIA? The New York Times? French intelligence? Can we blame Bush for all of this?

hummmmm .... Writing for the New York Times (speaking of far left MSM), Miller is an "insider" journalist (not a good position to begin with when MSM is fundamentally anti-Bush); she wrote positive articles on the search for WMD's ..... maybe she got Plame's name from a "source" within the CIA (after all, she had top security clearance when working as an embedded reporter searching for WMD's in Iraq AND there WAS a riff between CIA offices .... Stranger things have happened. Was or or does she remain a CIA operative??? How many reporters are given top security clearance???? ) .... Strange scenario there.

Libby (admits communicating with Miller, though doesn't remember giving her Plame's name) is a likely target --

And everyone to the left of middle hates Rove. The mastermind of the 2004 Republican landslide victory needs to be taken down ..... He admists talking with someone -- He's always talking with reporters. Talk. Talk. Talk. Nail the buzzard.

The New York Times? (What did THEY know??? What was their editors hiding? Why were they protecting Judy Miller? Huh? )Others in the MSM? Tim Russert? CNN? Who was Kovack's snitch? Rove?

It's bound to be Rove .... Mastermind THIS, Mr. kick-our-butt!



And now Miller says she is not certain that Libby is the one who actually gave her Plame's name (it was written in "another" section of her notes -- and not with his interview notes) .... but Kovack is the one who associated Miller with Plame's name .... and that other reporter -- who did he say his source was? And then there was the speech that Wilson gave about the time of the leak -- where in his credits, his wife's name is listed .... anyone could have "googled" her to learn that she was associated with a business that was later revealed to be a CIA storefront ....
Of course, Rove has been called to testify again and again -- something must be up (or down) for him ....

c. So if we namesomeone -- anyone -- THEN someone else will have to take them to court? How long will that take? Another 2-3 years? Phew ....we're off the hook.

d. Huh? There's another option?

e. We can just file a report, turn it over to the politicians, pundits and MSM and let the chips fall where THEY want them to fall them?

f. Sounds plausible. Looks like we've got ourselves one of those ready-made win-win situations just for the choosing.

Now to choose which option will leave the least amount of egg on our faces and splash it on someone else's.

Lemme chew on this.
I'll get back with you.

There're No Secrets in Washington ....

Joe Wilson's Speech
June 14, 2003
Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC)


Credit: The American Thinker

A month before Robert Novak wrote his column supposedly outing Valerie Plame, Joseph Wilson gave a speech in which he talks in the third person about a person who is obviously himself, allows Valerie Plame to be identified as his wife, and discloses his intense opposition to the war in Iraq, as well as his anti-Israel sentiments. He makes clear that he is the source of the Kristoff/Pincus leaks about his mission. He even says that “this thing has legs,” that it will take two or three months, but it has legs – implying, perhaps, that he had already been working with the Kerry campaign to make this issue big – attacking the President's credibility on the war.

From the EPIC web site: Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, IV served as a member of the U.S. Diplomatic Service from 1976 until 1998. From 1988 to 1991, Ambassador Wilson served in Baghdad as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy. As acting Ambassador during "Desert Shield," he was responsible for the negotiations that resulted in the release of several hundred American hostages. He was the last official American to meet with Saddam Hussein before the launching of "Desert Storm." Ambassador Wilson graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1972. He has been decorated as a Commander in the Order of the Equatorial Star by the Government of Gabon and as an Admiral in the El Paso Navy by the El Paso County Commissioners. He is married to the former Valerie Plame and has four children.

Speech transcript/audio link: http://www.americanthinker.com/comments.php?comments_id=3345

Deliver Freeh from Evil ...

CBS (Clinton's personal MSM outlet) gave Bill "i-feel-yo-painh" Clinton "rebuttal time" to counter a 60-Minute interview with Louis Freeh tonight.

Rebuttal time? To a former President? For whaaaat?

Rebuttal time to deny that he illegally hit foreign countries for money for his "double-wide in the sky" presidential library in lieu of chasing terrorists? And the rebuttal was supposedly done by WHO? Sandy Berger? Clinton's former Security Advisor who stole classified documents (coughcoughAble Dangercoughcough) from the National Archives? The SAME guy who violated his probation last week? Sandy "stuffmyshorts" Berger????

I was expecting Dan "Rathergate" Rather to introduce Sandy Berger in his ummm ... rebuttal.
We remember Dan. The guy who "retired" from CBS for his infamous "break" of those faked memos on Bush's military service.

I anticipated Michael Moore would be producing the segment. And one of those Cindy Sheehan commercials. Unless Howard Dean and the DNC bought up all the commercial time.

Louis Freeh doesn't stand a chance. Maybe his book will.

The Goat Gazette

Our resident cyber-goat chews the news, views and spews from the world of politics .....

* The rumors are running faster than kudzu up a pine tree that Rudi is the person to defeat Hilliary in her rerun for the NY Senate seat .... but hold on to your hyperbole, Hilda! These speculations are being promoted on behalf of "other" Republicans who want to run for President in 2008 ....

* Condi Rice (denying she is interested) is gaining grassroots support as a possible candidate for the Presidency .... Never happen, Nannies -- not in 2008, at least.

* Cyber-goat has the chomp on the chill, Bill.

Rudi will be on the 2008 Republican Presidential ticket with Condi as his VP .... wait and see, cyber-munchkins -- wait and see ... (They will win, but he won't run for a second term ....)

McCain? Too old and ornery ....
Frist? Too southern ....

Nobody else has the national clout to carry the GOP....

* Dems will select Hilliary as their candidate. Which is why the GOP will retain the White House in 2008 ....

Her running mate will be some no-name (that whiz kid from Chicago will decline and play his cards later -- but watch for a MAJOR scandal to unfold for him ....) The Dems may regain control of the Senate, however -- by a few seats .... but the GOP will keep the House .... (I could have the chambers reversed --)

* 2006 Elections? Hummmmm .... None -- absolutely none of the current media feeding frenzies will affect the ballot box -- except in Louisiana and maybe Mississippi ..... Too much national attention has been given to corruption in these disaster impacted states ....

* And New Orlean's idiot un-mayor better plan on moving his family again (from Texas) .... Nagin will be leading a mardi gras OUT of Louisiana --- likely 3/4's of evacuees from his city won't return .... which will also impact the ballot box ....

* Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu's legacy: "You can bus us to the ballot box, but you can't bus us out of Katrina's path."

* That Austin, TX District Attorney oughta have a good legal practice to fall back on (unless by some application of law he's disbarred after investigations into his wheelings and dealings) .... Win, lose or draw in his indictment against DeLay -- he's history.

* Betcha a tin hat that Jeanine Pirro will give Hilliary all she can handle in a run for the 2006 Senate seat in NY .... With full GOP backing, she might just win (operative word: full) ....

Hilliary's defeat in NY will be the only way to get the Clinton motif out of our headlines and government ...

* You kidlets stay tuned for more news, views and spews from the world of politics.

Questions? Predictions? Post them below and we'll chew on them, too! Sprinkle lightly with humor and focus on the topic, por favor -- our resident cyber-goat will butt ya if you're rude or crude!

um-um-um-mm-mah-mah-mah-mah

Translation: This goat can also eat his own words, when necessary.

(Dis)Abling Danger?

Out there, somewhere, someone knows exactly what Sandy Berger stole from the National Archives.

What did he feel should be "hidden" from the Clinton presidency?

Doesn't the National Archives maintain a directory of documents/notes kept there?

So when we gonna learn what he REALLY stuffed into his undies?

Has anyone figured out his stuffings might be related to Able Danger?

Hummmm .... we already suspect that the snitched notes were related to the 911 Commission ..... Weren't those involved with Able Danger presenting "unsubstantiated" accounts of destroyed files to the Commission about the same time as Sandy's visit to the NA?

I think I'm on to something ....

The buzzards.

Nagin: The Third Disaster

Puleeeeeeze. Somebody do something. Fast.

Where is the city council in all of this? The Governor? Parish leaders?

First the Mayor of Nawlins' failed to remove his people from harm's way and now he wants them to return to a cesspool of disease and distruction?

I forgot. His city is bankrupt (or so he announced last week) and the solution is to bring in 180,000 or so residents to revive the tourism trade -- nevermind the health and welfare of tourists (much less his own citizens).

Has anyone thought to ask WHY he moved his family to Houston????

Hopefully, more stable and responsible "minds" will prevail -- one way or the other. Methinks General Honore and Admiral Allen need to take the irresponsible Mayor Nagin on a short walk through the streets of his own city ....

Eye on the Harpie Corps

Dr. Carl F. Horowitz writes in Townhall.com: .... let's put away the FEMA jokes for just a minute, and give a modest round of applause for the feds. In the week following the main levee's breach, the military and the Coast Guard managed to rescue more than 32,000 stranded civilians, many from rooftops by helicopter. The Army Corps of Engineers all but completely repaired levee breaches, and began pumping large quantities of water. Fact: Federal response time for Hurricane Katrina was faster, not slower, than for hurricanes Hugo (1989) or Andrew (1992), each a brutally destructive Category 5 storm in its own right.

The primary villain in the Hurricane Katrina saga, of course, was Katrina herself. Yet the aftermath of the storm seems to have unleashed a pent-up fury among paint-by-numbers Bush-haters. The entire Democratic Party and its unofficial brain trust, it seems, have gotten in on the action.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi denounced President Bush as "oblivious" to the suffering of others. Her California Democrat colleague, Rep. Barbara Lee, was even more barbed. "If anyone ever doubted that there are two Americas," she huffed, "this disaster and our government's shameful response to it have made the division clear for all to see."
---------
We'll keep an eye on the outspoken Congressional harpie-corps of Bush-bashers to see if they now remain oblivious to the relief efforts the President proposes.

WHY?

Why did the wealthiest nation in the world watch in helpless disbelief as two natural disasters devastated a region of 90,000 square miles?

What else could we have done?

Three days before the storm, the President declared LA a national disaster area. The LA Governor called in National Guard units and FEMA resources were set up outside New Orleans. The Red Cross set up a distribution center 80 miles away. The Mayor of New Orleans had the total public transit system, city and government vehicles and a fleet of school buses at his disposal ....

And the buses sat in the parking lots.

Two days before the hurricane hit, NOAA announced "Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks... maybe longer," it went on to say. "Power outages will last for weeks... as most power poles will be down and transformers destroyed. Water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards."

Those who had the resources to leave, left. Those who didn't, waited -- either because they did not have the resources to leave, chose not to leave for a variety of now defense-less reasons or chose to rely on historic pride in having weathered previous hurricanes.

And the buses sat in the parking lots.

Then Katrina came with savage fury. In her wake, resources and aid stood ready.
Until the flooding.

The levee system which had been in a state of upgrade since 1965 collapsed. It broke, coincidentally, in a section that had already been rebuilt to withstand a category 3 hurricane ....

No matter that funding to determine upgrades to withstand a category 5 hurricane was to begin in 2006 .... The buses that might have carried thousands more lives to safety were now sitting in floodwaters.

And with the second natural disaster, all post-hurricane infrastructures and conduits for basic needs, sanitation, communications, aid, access and delivery systems were rendered useless. Chaos reigned.

Survivors of the hurricane and the rushing floodwaters waded or swam to higher ground.

To stand in lines awaiting other buses.
While their own sat in flooded parking lots.

A single, please -- hold the pickles

I want so badly to rant about what's happened to one of my favorite fast food stops: Wendy's. But I'll restrain myself and let someone else take up the rant, especially if anyone shares my love of a Single or a Frosty ...

The woman who found the finger in her chili has dropped her law suit because of emotional stress.

Emotional stress? HERS???? What about the owner of the finger? What about MY stress????

Today I tried (really tried) to return to Wendy's for a favorite sammich: a single, hold the pickle. No, if I wanted cheese I would have ordered a single with cheese. No, I don't want anything else. OK, gimme a small Frosty. But I just couldn't force myself to drive thru .... Just couldn't do it. Not yet, anyway.

So I went to KFC and ordered a #3 ... The guy misunderstood me. "NUMBER THREE!!!!" I yelled into the speaker. He apologized and so did I. I really wanted a Single, dang it. Hold the pickle. And the cheese, please.

If the woman actually planted that finger and/or maimed someone in anticipation of a settlement, she should be punished. I could suggest they chain her to the golden arches and force-feed her specials from every drive-thru within 50 miles. Hourly. With pickles. From 11 am until 1 am for the rest of her life.

But I won't.

Long time no blog ....

Illness has a way of re-focusing your attention ....

I'm working on a progression of posts related to dealing with TIA's and heart disease. Serious stuff. But I'm trying to add a dash of humor to all this bruhaha ..... humor can be a perfect anedote -- I mean, antidote -- for what ails ya!

More later ....