says the New York Times … but Cheney is still on vacation!
Bush Is Dumber Than…
Mr. Bill. No kidding. In early 2004, lovable, crushable clay animated figure Mr. Bill from Saturday Night Live starred in an ad to alert people to the problems with the wetlands in Louisiana. On Good Morning, America today, President Bush said, "I don’t think anyone could have anticipated the breach of the levees." He was wrong. Mr. Bill already had. … Read More
Condi, Meet Imelda
Bush eats cake and plays the guitar, and Condi buys shoes. From Steve Soto From the Gawker.com website today: According to Drudge, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has recently enjoyed a little Broadway entertainment. And Page Six reports that she’s also working on her backhand with Monica Seles. So the Gulf Coast has gone all Mad Max, women are being … Read More
“Words Just Fucking Fail Me”
That’s what Doghouse Riley says, although he manages to eke out a few more: I just watched the most harrowing thing I’d seen yet, edited footage from the New Orleans Convention Center, where people were instructed to go. That is, I thought it was the most harrowing thing, until they talked live with the MSNBC photojournalist who took the pictures, … Read More
What A Guy!
Bob Martinez, former governor of Florida (today’s NYT): "The great thing about this president is that he doesn’t try to use tragedy to gain immediate attention for himself" Banner on White House Hurricane Relief Page:
About Mike Parker
One of the things I write about often is how the Bush Adminsitration often fires (or marginalizes) knowledgeable people who contradict made-up policy with annoying things like facts, common sense, and honest-to-god expertise and experience. I wonder if one of those guys was Mike Parker, a former Republican congressman from Mississippi who briefly served as head of the Army Corps … Read More
Outrage at FEMA And BushCo Grows
UPDATE: Don’t miss Kevin Drum’s chronology of FEMA as it relates to flood control projects (or, alternatively, take a peak below the fold here). Atrios: Someone emails Josh Marshall a question a bunch of people have been raising in comments and email. The emergency preparedness for a medium scale biological or chemical attack, or the "dirty bomb" scenario, would be … Read More
Canada Offers Help
Writes one Kos commentator: The Vancouver [Canada] Urban Search and Rescue team is one of the best trained and qualified rescue teams in the world for land or water. They were at 9/11, and the earthquakes in both Iran and Turkey. Great! Can they come down here and help? A specialized urban search and rescue team from Vancouver will be … Read More
“I Don’t Think Anyone Anticipated The Breach Of The Levees.”
I couldn’t believe it. I heard it in my car this morning, but apparently on this morning’s "Good Morning America", George Bush spoke to Diane Sawyer and said, "I don’t think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees." (I’ll try to get a transcript link when/if it becomes available, but you can see the video replay of the interview here). … Read More
Fuel Situation
Here in North Carolina, gas prices are $3.00. That’s pretty much the same effect that everyone is feeling. However, there are reports of gas stations in South Carolina and Georgia running out of gas, and closing shop. Is there a pending fuel shortage? Airlines seem to think so. UPDATE: Just came across this statement from N.C. governor Mike Easley: The … Read More
Superdome Shock Horror
These poor people: A 2-year-old girl slept in a pool of urine. Crack vials littered a restroom. Blood stained the walls next to vending machines smashed by teenagers. The Louisiana Superdome, once a mighty testament to architecture and ingenuity, became the biggest storm shelter in New Orleans the day before Katrina’s arrival Monday. About 16,000 people eventually settled in. By … Read More
Katrina-propa-Gate
Perhaps responding to the criticism that Bush has been largely AWOL on Katrina, even though hundreds if not thousands of Americans have died, the White House has now put up its "hurricane relief" page, which you can see here. Right now, the photo on the page shows Bush engaging in (according to the caption) a "video teleconference with federal and … Read More
Opportunity Cost For Iraq
Via Corrente: Philly’s own Will Bunch follows the money (via the man in the grey turtleneck here) Yes, if you follow the money it turns out Bush took the money that should have been spent on New Orleans levees and pissed it away in Iraq. In fact, the very levee that burst, 17th Street, was a victim of Bush cutbacks: … Read More
The Apocalypse
Well, let’s see. The death toll from Katrina is rising. Snakes, gators and corpses are floating around in New Orleans, making the second evacuation difficult. Attempts to fix the breaks in the New Orleans levees have failed. There are whitecaps on Canal Street. Prisoners stranded in a New Orleans prison have rioted, taking a deputy, his wife and their four … Read More