9/30/2005
Hurricane Katrina Recovery Pork Bill II
Senator Mary Landreiu and fellow Louisiana Senator Vitter introduced the biggest pork barrel spending package ever seen on last Thursday. They asked for $250 billion dollars for relief and recovery from hurricane Katrina — this doesn’t include any money she might ask for for hurricane Rita. This is also on top of the $65 Billion that has already been funneled into her state.
Some of the oddest requests are for amounts like $71.8 million dollars to pay back the FAA. Now, I know i’m just a lowly peasant and don’t understand these sort of things but how can you borrow money from the federal government to pay the federal government back. Doesn’t that just consist of the feds forgiving the debt?
(5) $71,800,000 shall be available to the Federal Aviation Administration for reimbursements to the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport;
Or how about this one for $300 million for early psychological intervention for trauma caused by the hurricane. $200 million of that is for children 0 — school age. Now I know that what these folks have been through has been terrible, but you’d think that they could do it for less than $300 million.
Here’s another $3.5 billion for tenant based rental assistance. I thought a lot of the houses were destroyed, why do you need that much money for rental assistance?
TENANT-BASED RENTAL ASSISTANCE
For an additional amount for ‘‘Tenant-Based Rental Assistance’’ for annual contributions contracts for tenant-based assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) for use only for assistance for families displaced as a result of Hurricane Katrina, $3,500,000,000, to remain available until ex-pended: Provided, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, the entire amount provided herein shall be available immediately and shall not be subject to apportionment for the purpose of chapter 15 of title 31, United States Code: Provided further, That the amount provided herein is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 402 of H. Con. Res. 95 (109th Congress).
Landrieu and Vitter also want $750 million for a teacher incentive fund to draw teachers to the storm raveged area. Once again, I don’t see the need for that much money. $750 million to draw teachers to the New Orleans Slidell area?
For an additional amount for a teacher incentive fund, $750,000,000 to remain available until expended: Provided That such funds shall be made available to the Louisiana Department of Education, to create a teacher incentive fund to provide assistance to all teachers who were employed on August 29, 2005, in Louisiana and affected by Hurricane Katrina, as directed by the Louisiana Department of Education, which funds shall remain available to the Louisiana Department of Education until expended: Provided further, That the amount of any such funds to be provided to a teacher shall be reduced by any amount the teacher receives under section 410(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5177(a)), for temporary extended unemployment compensation under subtitle E of title III, for temporary employment, or under any other Federal program: Provided further, That such funds shall only be made available to a teacher if the teacher enters into a written agreement with the Louisiana Department of Education to return to employment at the teacher’s home school in Louisiana once the return is determined appropriate by the Louisiana Department of Education.
Here’s a request for $8 million for alligator farming. Why do we as tax payers need to subsidize this, and What could they possibly use $8 million dollars on?
(1) $8,000,000 shall be available to provide a direct, lump-sum payment to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries by not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act for direct financial assistance to alligator farmers affected by Hurricane Katrina or a related condition;
There are also payments to the local public transportation board for loss of revenue. What about all the small businesses — or for that matter big businesses — why aren’t we paying them for lost revenue?
$36,000,000 shall be available to the Federal Railroad Administration for reimbursements to the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad for anticipated revenue shortfalls due to Hurricane Katrina; $190,000,000 shall be available to the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority for revenues lost as a consequence of Hurricane Katrina; and $150,000,000 shall be available to the Maritime Administration of the Department of Transportation for the cost of guaranteed loans.
What I’ve covered in the above paragraphs is just a small portion of this massive spending bill. I understand that it’s going to take money to get the state of Louisiana and New Orleans back on it’s feet, but in this time of “budget crisis” and “extraordinary deficits” I think that there’s a lot of this that can and should be cut. Why not turn some of this responsibility over to private individuals and organizations? Unfortunately, considering the dirty history that covers Louisiana politics and politicians like the toxic sludge in the ninth ward, I don’t think it will happen.
9/29/2005
Hurricane Katrina Recovery Pork Bill I
I am neck deep in Senate bill 1765, better known as the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Bill. It is some 440 pages long and contains requests for money for everything from $10 million for rehab of Air National Guard facilities to $300 million for a health monitoring fund for evacuees. All of these amounts are in addition to any money that would be available through FEMA and any money already given. A good portion of this request is pork though.
I’m ashamed to say that a republican has put his name on this bill along with Senator Landrieu. With the money these two Senators are requesting, we could give every resident of New Orleans $100,000.00 and rebuild the levees and come out spending less money. I hope to have a better breakdown of the bill later today or tomorrow.
9/28/2005
No time to post today, but I do have a post in the works about the Huge Landrieu pork bill. Stay tuned.
9/27/2005
“Reflections of a Libertarian Republican” has a couple of great posts on the anti-war rally over the weekend. Go check them out.
9/26/2005
Sheehan Arrested In Front Of Whitehouse
Cindy “Moonbat Mom” Sheehan was arrested in front of the Whitehouse today. Initially I was sympathetic towards the woman. My initial response during her vigil in front of President Bush’s ranch outside Crawford,Tx was that she was misinformed and maybe a little out there, but she had lost her son and was in a great deal of pain, maybe she had even gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd. The more I read about her and some of her statements the more I am convinced she never has been for this war or the President and will do anything and everything she can to tear our efforts and our President down. I googled Cindy Sheehan’s name and wikipedia has a great section on some of the rhetoric she’s been spewing lately.
Of greatest controversy is an incident about which Sheehan’s detractors claim she has lied. In March, Sheehan sent an e-mail to ABC’s Nightline that allegedly included the statements that Casey “was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel” and that he had “joined the Army to protect America, not Israel.” Sheehan claims that the email was modified by James Morris to support his own personal agenda, and that she did not write the statements about Israel and a “PNAC Neo-con agenda.” [21] [22] However, James Morris denies altering the email before sending it along to Nightline [23] on Sheehan’s behalf (per her request for him to do so). And two other individuals, Tony Tersch and Skeeter Gallagher, received a copy of Sheehan’s email directly from her; both claim that the e-mail they received is consistent with Morris’s story, rather than Sheehan’s. Tersch posted the email he received to the “bullyard” Google group [24]. Opponents of Sheehan assert that this essentially proves that she has repeatedly lied about the content of her original e-mail.
Gee, why would she lie about something like that? Maybe because she doesn’t want to come off as the moonbat that she is?
In a letter to author William Rivers Pitt, she stated, “And most importantly and devastatingly, this war is based on lies and betrayals. Not one American soldier, nor one Iraqi should have been killed. Common sense would dictate that not one more person should be killed for lies. One of the people, my son, was more than enough for me and my family. I will live in unbearable pain until I die. First of all, because my first born was killed violently, and second of all, because he was killed for a neo-con agenda that only benefits a very chosen few in this world. This agenda and their war machine will chew up and spit out as many of our children as they can unless we stop them now.” [26]
This letter written to William Rivers would seem to back up the assertions of James Morrison and the others. It pretty much says the same thing.
On September 16, Sheehan likened the National Guard presence in New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina relief to that of occupied Iraq stating, “George Bush needs to stop talking, admit the mistakes of his all around failed administration, pull our troops out of occupied New Orleans and Iraq, and excuse his self from power.” [33]
Cindy Sheehan is I’m sure grieving over the loss of her son, I don’t doubt that. However, being a grieving mother doesn’t excuse any of her ridiculous statements. I think Cindy needs to excuse herself from the spotlight and get some help.
9/25/2005
Stop The Bleating (a new blog to me) has a great piece about how the Washington Post has spun a story on the recent protest march in Washington D.C. This is a perfect example of why the MSM is loosing ground in the effort to keep the attention of an American public not interested spin.
To hear the WaPo tell it, Patrice is a mild-mannered, middle-aged former schoolteacher from Olathe, Kansas, and will be a “novice protester” in the upcoming rallies. The Post article seems to suggest that Cuddy represents a growing contingent of small town, mainstream, Red State Americans who’re beginning to join in anti-war protests.
But it turns out that Patrice Cuddy is also known as “J. Patrice Cuddy-Lamoree (see here and here), and has been helping organize antiwar protests from the beginning. Here’s the Internet Archive of a website that Patrice edits, Wydeyed (”Wide-Eyed”), containing many photos from the February 15, 2003 anti-war rally of United for Peace and Justice, in New York City. No word on whether Patrice herself took those photos, but she says openly, on her blog at Greater Kansas City Democracy for America: “I have been in the streets since the beginning of this war . . . ” And she advises her readers at Kansas City IndyMedia (where she has been posting since at least February of ‘03) : “If you ever get an opportunity to go to one of these big rallies, DO IT! A Total rave thing without the drugs and alcohol.” She once tried to march in a local St. Patrick’s Day parade as an “Elf for Peace,” carrying “PEACE IS GREEN signs decorated with shamrocks.”
“Novice” protester? Not hardly.
Petula Dvorak is the author of the WaPo article.
9/21/2005
A Timely And Welcome Thank You From The Iraqi President
In today’s Opinion Journal Jalal Talibani has published not only a thank you to the American people, but a reminder as to why we have to stick it out in Iraq. I haven’t been able to find this in any other paper, especially the NYT or WaPo. The key graph:
Without American forces, the vision of American leadership and the quiet fortitude of the American people, Iraqis would be almost alone in the world. With its allies, the United States has provided Iraqis with an unprecedented opportunity. Iraqis have responded by enthusiastically embracing democracy and volunteering to fight for their country. By giving us the tools, your troops help us to defend Iraqi democracy and to finish the job of uprooting Baathist fascism.
9/20/2005
Galveston In Danger Of Taking Hit
With both of my parents being from Texas, Galveston Island has long been a family favorite. I can remember going there during summer vacations and playing in the sand and surf. The last time I was there was just before I got really sick in 2003. I drove the truck cab (without the trailer) down there over night while waiting on a load back to the west. I ate a great dinner at another family favorite — Gaido’s — which has the best fresh seafood on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Rita is now setting her sights on Galveston Island. Unlike Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco of Louisiana, Texas officials are taking this one seriously and ordering mandatory evacuations beginning tomorrow morning for nursing homes and assisted living facilities and for the rest of the island starting tomorrow evening. Please pray for the safety of residents and rescue workers alike in the coming days.
Severe Weather Alert from the National Weather Service …HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENT…CORRECTED TO INCLUDE GALVESTON COUNTY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HOUSTON/GALVESTON TX 430 PM CST TUE SEP 20 2005
…RITA MOVING INTO GULF OF MEXICO AND INCREASING IN INTENSITY……THIS STATEMENT APPLIES TO THE RESIDENTS OF…JACKSON…MATAGORDA…FORT BEND…WHARTON…HARRIS… BRAZORIA…LIBERTY…CHAMBERS…AND GALVESTON COUNTIES…
…WATCHES/WARNINGS IN EFFECT… NO WATCHES OR WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE UPPER TEXAS COAST.
…CURRENT STORM INFORMATION…
.LOCATION… AT 4 PM CDT…THE CENTER OF HURRICANE RITA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 24.0 NORTH…LONGITUDE 82.4 WEST…OR ABOUT 850 MILES SOUTHEAST OF GALVESTON TEXAS.
.MOVEMENT… HURRICANE RITA WAS MOVING WEST AT 15 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS WERE 100 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. A GRADUAL INCREASE IN INTENSITY IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
…PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
.EVACUATION INFORMATION… FOR GALVESTON AND BRAZORIA COUNTIES…VOLUNTARY EVACUATION IS IN PROGRESS. MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NURSING HOMES AND ASSISTED-LIVING FACILITIES WILL BEGIN AT 6 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING. ON GALVESTON ISLAND… BUSSES WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE ISLAND COMMUNITY CENTER ON BROADWAY WEDNESDAY MORNING AFTER 10 AM FOR PERSONS WITH NO OTHER MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION. IF THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE OF RITA’S TRACK IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS…A MANDATORY EVACUATION OF GALVESTON AND BRAZORIA COUNTIES IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN AT 6 PM WEDNESDAY EVENING.
VOLUNTARY EVACUATIONS ARE ALSO IN PROGRESS THIS EVENING FOR LOW LYING AREAS OF CHAMBERS COUNTY… HARRIS COUNTY… AND THE CITIES OF HOUSTON…SEABROOK AND BAYTOWN
DECISIONS CONCERNING EVACUATIONS FOR OTHER COUNTIES AND COMMUNITIES WILL BE MADE EITHER LATER THIS EVENING OR ON WEDNESDAY.
NYT Charging For In House Op-Eds
Well, They’ve finally done it. Yup, the New York Times Online edition is charging for access to such notable lefties as Maureen Dowd, Nicolas Kristof, and Paul Krugman. Now, I don’t live and breath on every word that these guys say, in fact, I don’t even agree with most of what they say, but it would be nice to be able to keep track of what the other side is saying without having to pay for it. So, why are they all of a sudden charging $7.95 per month for access to in-house editorials? Could it be that they are loosing money and subscriptions hand over fist because of their biased reporting and this is a way to make up for it?
I Just found this article through Reuters. Apparently the NYT is having some financial trouble. They now have plans to lay off about 500 employees starting in October.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Times Co. on Tuesday said it would cut about 4 percent of its work force, or 500 jobs, and warned that weaker newspaper advertising and rising costs could reduce earnings to less than half of Wall Street forecasts this quarter.
Shares in the New York Times fell almost 2 percent in after-hours trade as the company made its second job cut announcement since May, when it planned to eliminate 190 positions.
9/19/2005
Defeatism Sure Won’t Help Things
Over the last year I have listened to a constant stream of defeatism from the MSM and the left On Iraq. “We support the troops, but not the war”, and “Is it possible to win in Iraq”. But, it’s not just the outright headlines or famous quotes and quips that spoil the war effort, it’s the constant negative coverage of the war effort. Just this week in Time Magazine (they’ve finally switched from Katrina defeatism back to Iraq defeatism) there are five negative stories on the effort in Iraq and not one positive one. Where’s the positive coverage of Afghanistan… where’s the coverage on Afghanistan at all now that things are going well there?
We are constantly bombarded by headlines, stories, and op-ed articles that claim if not outright failure in Iraq, at least a perilous position. We are bombarded by stories about and coverage of the Moon Bat Mom, but there is no coverage of the majority of parents and spouses who understand what their loved one was there for and support it.
This attitude is a fatal disease, if it is not treated or corrected we will fail in Iraq and in the GWOT. We need to start seeing coverage of the good work our troops are doing, we need to see coverage of the good work the Iraqi’s and Afghani’s are doing. Where is the coverage of girls going to school for the first time, and where is the coverage of women being involved in the political process for the first time in both Iraq and Afghanistan? Where is the coverage of the hospitals being refurbished, and the water and power being turned back on in Iraq? Why haven’t we seen reports of the southern part of Iraq being pacified to the point that it has been turned back over to the Iraqi’s for protection?
In WWII you wouldn’t have seen this kind of defeatism because we all came together against a common enemy, an enemy that performed an un-provoked attack on our country just as Al Qaeda did on 9-11. We need to put our politics aside and do that again if we are to have any hope of winning this war. And don’t be fooled, Iraq is a battle in the GWOT just as the battle of the bulge and the landing at Normandy were a part of the greater WWII effort.
9/17/2005
Grieving Mom Or Raging Moon Bat
I was willing to give Mrs. Sheehan the benefit of the doubt when she was in Crawford, Tx making a spectacle of herself. Now she’s gotten herself involved with such notable moon bats as Michael Moore and Ariana Huffington. She recently published an article on both the Michael Moore site and the Huffington post. In this article among many outright lies (if not outright lies, at least a misrepresentation of the facts) she calls George Bush, our President and her son’s Commander In Chief an imbecile.
After living in a country your entire life it is so difficult to see such callous indifference on an immense scale. When I reflect on how the mother of the imbecile who is running our country said that the people who are in the Astrodome are happy to be there, it angers me beyond comparison.
I’ve got news for her, many of those in the Astrodome are happy to be there because if the great people of Texas hadn’t opened up their hearts and facilities they wouldn’t have anywhere to go other than their flooded out homes. These are homes that are so filled with raw sewage, oil, fuel, and God only know what else that mere contact with the water can cause open sores, infection, and left untreated death. So, Mrs. Sheehan, I don’t want to hear anything about callous indifference, because that is pure grade A manure.
saw in the paper that George Bush said the recovery in the Gulf States would be “hard work.” That’s what he said about sending troops to Iraq and looking at the casualty reports everyday: “It’s hard work.” That man has never known a day of hard work in his life.
Mrs. Sheehan, with all due respect, only a robot could do what the President has done and not consider it hard work. I believe it is hard work sending young men and women off to war — if not physically emotionally. I truly believe that, 9/11 and the responsibilities, and the aftermath of Katrina weigh heavily on his heart every day. If you don’t than your lying to yourself or lying to us.
The citizens of Algiers desperately needed help and hope before the hurricane. When I think of how many other poor neighborhoods are being decimated and made so desperate and hopeless by the failed policies of the Bush administration, it makes me so angry.
Maybe then, you should consider that George Bush has thrown three times the amount of money into entitlement spending than the Clinton Administration. Maybe that will ease your troubled heart.
One thing that truly troubled me about my visit to Louisiana was the level of the military presence there. I imagined before that if the military had to be used in a CONUS (Continental US) operations that they would be there to help the citizens: Clothe them, feed them, shelter them, and protect them. But what I saw was a city that is occupied. I saw soldiers walking around in patrols of 7 with their weapons slung on their backs. I wanted to ask one of them what it would take for one of them to shoot me. Sand bags were removed from private property to make machine gun nests.
Geez, make up your mind. Just days ago your leftist buddies were whining because the Government wasn’t there. Just days ago your leftist buddies were saying that the La. National Guard couldn’t handle things alone. Furthermore, I have news for you, those soldiers — much like your son — were there protecting the citizens, and their property )more on that in a minute).
The vast majority of people who were looting in New Orleans were doing so to feed their families or to get resources to get their families out of there.
Bread, water, infant formula, and sandwich meat I can understand. Tell me though, how will a big screen TV or a shopping cart full of expensive tennis shoes, or narcotics looted or stolen at gunpoint from hospitals feed their families or provide them with a way out of town. From the pictures I saw on TV that’s what most of the looting was about. When one sporting goods store was cleaned out, some looters apparently frustrated that they were a little late to get in on the action decided to burn the place down. Yeah, that’ll really help feed the family.
When our fellow citizens are told to “shoot to kill” other fellow citizens because they want to stay alive, that is military and governmental fascism gone out of control.
As proven in the above paragraph, this nonsense about “just wanting to stay alive” is clearly that — nonsense. Let’s not forget, it was Governor Blanco — a Democrat — who refused access to the Red Cross and Salvation Army, two groups who could have immediately solved the problem of no food and water. Let’s also not forget who’s incompetence it was who left these poor people in town to fend for themselves in the first place. Mayor Nagin, also a Democrat, had fleets of city and school district buses that could have been used to ferry these people to safety before the storm, Mayor Nagin also turned down offers from Amtrak to get people out of town ahead of the storm.
George Bush needs to stop talking, admit the mistakes of his all around failed administration, pull our troops out of occupied New Orleans and Iraq, and excuse his self from power. The only way America will become more secure is if we have a new administration that cares about Americans even if they don’t fall into the top two percent of the wealthiest.
This last paragraph is possibly the highlight lowlight of the whole article. Pull our troops out of occupied New Orleans? Please Mrs. Sheehan, excuse yourself from the spotlight and get a life!! When you’ve allied yourself with such notable crazies as Michael Moore and Ariana Huffington, you loose all credibility and you dishonor the memory of your son and what he stood for.
Democrats Just Don’t Want A Bush Nominee
I watched with interest this week as Democrats on the Judiciary Committee repeatedly beat up on a man, a good man who has as good a grasp on Supreme Court case law as any nominee in the past 20 years. Democrats griped that he wouldn’t commit himself to various liberal causes. But in fact, he was more forthcoming on his positions than Antonin Scalia or liberal hero Ruth Bader Ginsburg who was confirmed 96 — 3 in 1993.
Senate Democrats came at him the first day fast and angry, but Roberts so clearly rebutted there partisan accusations that by the second day Kennedy looked as though he might throw up, and Biden and the rest seemed to only be there to hear themselves talk.
Judge Roberts, thankfully, didn’t reveal his position on cases that might come before the court thus leaving his positions on many issues important to conservatives and liberals alike (though for different reasons) in question. However, one thing became clear this week; in todays partisan judicial politics Roberts will not get the vote that he deserves on the merits: 100–0. The Democrats have clearly staked out their position; if you don’t agree with our positions and don’t see the judiciary as another policy making arm of the government you are not worthy of being on the court. Conservatives however have stuck to their long stated policy of wanting — in the words of Roberts — umpires not pitchers or batters.
As for President Bush’s next nominee, barring the nomination of a liberal, they will be filibustered. So, the next question is; if President Bush’s next nominee is filibustered on the grounds of extreme circumstances, or however the agreement was worded, will the Republicans have the nerve to use the constitutional option of getting rid of the filibuster for judicial nominees? Stay tuned kids, it’s going to be an interesting fight.
9/16/2005
An Irish View Of America Post Katrina
Clay found this on his journey through Europe. It’s amazing, people who don’t even live in this country have a better perspective on what’s going on than most of our own MSM. Keep an eye on Clay’s site over the next few days, he’s in Europe on business, and has decided to take on the challenge of showing views of America from across the pond.
I found this on a lefty blog the other day. It was titled “Cream of the crop: opinion column of the day”. Well, needless to say, Moore is up to his same old tricks, misrepresenting the facts, telling all out lies, ect…
How does it feel to know that the man you elected to lead us after we were attacked went ahead and put a guy in charge of FEMA whose main qualification was that he ran horse shows?
Actually, Brown’s qualifications include working for the emergency management team in Oklahoma. It’s interesting that Florida had four hurricane’s last year and Brown was in charge of FEMA for all of them, you didn’t hear Moore or anyone else on the left complaining then.
I really want to know — and I ask you this in all sincerity and with all due respect — how do you feel about the utter contempt Mr. Bush has shown for your safety? C’mon, give me just a moment of honesty. Don’t start ranting on about how this disaster in New Orleans was the fault of one of the poorest cities in America. Put aside your hatred of Democrats and liberals and anyone with the last name of Clinton. Just look me in the eye and tell me our President did the right thing after 9/11 by naming a horse show runner as the top man to protect us in case of an emergency or catastrophe.
First of all, it’s obvious that Mr. Moore has no respect for those of us on the right, so the idea of him asking us anything “with all due respect” is laughable. Secondly, President Bush has not shown utter contempt for our safety. Finally, in large part, this disaster is the fault of the New Orleans municipal government. As far as whether or not President Bush did the right thing by naming Mr. Brown head of FEMA after 9/11, probably not. But the situation is resolved now.
I want you to put aside your self-affixed label of Republican/conservative/born-again/capitalist/ditto-head/right-winger and just talk to me as an American, on the common ground we both call America.
Are we safer now than before 9/11? When you learn that behind the horse show runner, the #2 and #3 men in charge of emergency preparedness have zero experience in emergency preparedness, do you think we are safer?
When you look at Michael Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security, a man with little experience in national security, do you feel secure?
We can summarize this three paragraphs of BS into one question — do you feel safer with the people President Bush has put in charge of Homeland Security? Yes, I do. Not because of the people he has put in there, but because he is at least doing something. President Clinton had eight years where he presided over multiple terrorist attacks against this country and it’s interests, and multiple occasions to nab the guy responsible for it and he didn’t do a darn thing.
When men who never served in the military and have never seen young men die in battle send our young people off to war, do you think they know how to conduct a war? Do they know what it means to have your legs blown off for a threat that was never there?
Another misrepresentation, President Bush did serve in the military. As far as whether or not there was a threat there in Iraq, yes there was. Iraq and Saddam were actively involved in cultivating a relationship with Al Qaeda.
Do you really believe that turning over important government services to private corporations has resulted in better services for the people?
Yes, actually I do. It’s a proven fact that the private sector can do many things better than Government. This is for a number of reasons, first of all there’s not the red tape and bureaucrats who have there own reasons for stalling.
Why do you hate our federal government so much? You have voted for politicians for the past 25 years whose main goal has been to de-fund the federal government. Do you think that cutting federal programs like FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers has been good or bad for America? GOOD OR BAD?
Do I sense some hostility here? Well, to answer your question, the Bush Administration hasn’t cut funding, in fact they have contributed more than the Clinton Administration did in eight years toward the Levees. Another misrepresentation of facts.
With the nation’s debt at an all-time high, do you think tax cuts for the rich are still a good idea? Will you give yours back so hundreds of thousands of homeless in New Orleans can have a home?
Yes, I do think that tax cuts for the rich were a good idea. But, once again Mr. Moore fails to mention that anyone who payed taxes got a refund, not just the rich. Secondly, it is the rich among us who will provide the jobs for the poor. More money in their pockets means more money to invest in the business through capital or more employees. Mr. Moore shows a complete lack of understanding for basic economics as well as the Bush tax cuts in this paragraph of sarcasm.
Do you believe in Jesus? Really? Didn’t he say that we would be judged by how we treat the least among us? Hurricane Katrina came in and blew off the facade that we were a nation with liberty and justice for all. The wind howled and the water rose and what was revealed was that the poor in America shall be left to suffer and die while the President of the United States fiddles and tells them to eat cake.
What about the massive response from Americans, both in money and in goods. At last count $1.3 million dollars has been donated by bloggers from all over the political spectrum. Congress has freed up over $60 Billion dollars for the relief effort, and there are 40,000 troops in the area helping and rescuing people in need. It is disingenuous and borders on an all out lie for Mr. Moore to say that we don’t care about the poor, or to put it in his words ” The wind howled and the water rose and what was revealed was that the poor in America shall be left to suffer and die while the President of the United States fiddles and tells them to eat cake.”
Mr. Moore continues his misrepresentation of the facts. He continues his screaming and ranting supposedly in the aid of the poor. Well Mr. Moore, put down the big mack and help out yourself. A wise man once told me, if your not part of the solution, your part of the problem. Well, Mr. Moore, so far it seems as if you are solely part of the problem.
9/12/2005
Time Gives Nagin and Blanco a Pass
This weeks Time Magazine explores what went wrong in Louisiana in the hours immediately before and after Katrina’s attack on the Gulf Coast. Unfortunately, they decided to largely give both the Mayor and Governor a pass on their mistakes and focus the blame on the Whitehouse and FEMA. At one point they even try to assign a political motive to Bush’s asking for Federal control of the troops even though there is no evidence that that was the case. I’m disappointed that Time has joined the rest of the left and MSM in attacking the President and FEMA for things that only the Mayor and Governor had control over while largely giving the Mayor and Governor a pass for their mistakes. Truly, the only way we are going to correct problems such as the ones that occurred on August 29th and days immediately before and after is to take a hard unbiased look into what really happened. Unfortunately, after all the political speech making and race bating by some on the left I don’t know that it’s possible. Even if it is, this unbiased look into what happened certainly won’t come from anyone in the traditional main stream media, and it’s not likely to come from Capitol Hill either.
9/11/2005
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”- Thomas Jefferson
On the fourth anniversary of 9/11, lets stop and remember that day. Remember where you were, how you felt, and never forget the victims and the heros.
9/10/2005
Major Garrett Story Confirmed Through Red Cross Website
I’ve spent part of the afternoon looking for some independent confirmation of the Blanco blocks Red Cross story, I found it on the Red Cross website under disaster FAQ. Here are the essentials of the story.
Access to New Orleans is controlled by the National Guard and local authorities and while we are in constant contact with them, we simply cannot enter New Orleans against their orders. The state Homeland Security Department had requested–and continues to request–that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans following the hurricane. Our presence would keep people from evacuating and encourage others to come into the city. [Emphasis Mine TR] The Red Cross has been meeting the needs of thousands of New Orleans residents in some 90 shelters throughout the state of Louisiana and elsewhere since before landfall. All told, the Red Cross is today operating 149 shelters for almost 93,000 residents. The Red Cross shares the nation’s anguish over the worsening situation inside the city. We will continue to work under the direction of the military, state and local authorities and to focus all our efforts on our lifesaving mission of feeding and sheltering. The Red Cross does not conduct search and rescue operations. We are an organization of civilian volunteers and cannot get relief aid into any location until the local authorities say it is safe and provide us with security and access. The original plan was to evacuate all the residents of New Orleans to safe places outside the city. With the hurricane bearing down, the city government decided to open a shelter of last resort in the Superdome downtown. We applaud this decision and believe it saved a significant number of lives. As the remaining people are evacuated from New Orleans, the most appropriate role for the Red Cross is to provide a safe place for people to stay and to see that their emergency needs are met. We are fully staffed and equipped to handle these individuals once they are evacuated.
Also confirmation through a Fox News transcript of Special Report With Brit Hume.
Gov. Blanco Blocks Aid Immediately Following Katrina
I may be a little behind the curve on this one. This is truly one of the most amazing acts of stupidity to come from the disaster in New Orleans. Hugh, in a conversation with Major Garrett, a Fox News reporter finds out that Gov. Blanco (yes the same one that has blasted President Bush numerous times) blocked aid from the Red Cross and Salvation Army from coming into the city. These organizations had blankets, water, and food to give to the poor souls at the super dome and convention center and Gov. Blanco said they couldn’t come in. What an amazing act of idiocy. Here’s the conversation between Hugh and Major Garrett courtesy of Radio Blogger.
HH: Making an encore appearance, and we’re very grateful for it, Major Garrett of Fox News Channel. Major, you certainly made waves yesterday. Perhaps the most reported story in America was yours. You followed up on it tonight. What has your investigation into the Red Cross relationship with the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security revealed today?
MG: A couple of things. First of all, it established on tonight’s Special Report, that it wasn’t just the Red Cross. It was the Salvation Army. Both agencies, both organizations were ready, prepared, pre-positioned, eager, but were thwarted in their efforts to bring supplies, basic supplies…not everything these people needed, but core supplies to the Superdome, and then eventually, the convention center. Why? Because the New Orleans Department of Homeland Security said look. Our plan is to evacuate these people. Marty Evans, the President and the CEO of the American Red Cross, said on camera…you don’t have to believe me. Believe her. You can read her own eyes, saying look. We were told if we came in, we would create an atmosphere that would lead people to stay, and give them the feeling that they should stay. And the state did not want that.
HH: Now you said the New Orleans Department of Homeland Security. Did you mean the Louisiana Department…
MG: I’m sorry. Yes. Louisiana. Right. Because it is a state agency that is answerable to the governor, although the governor did not explicitly make this statement, I’m told so far.
HH: Who made this decision?
MG: I’ve also asked the Red Cross to create for me, and they’ve promised to do so, a timeline and a paper trail.
HH: Oh, very good.
MG: Now, they are a bit…they’re very eager to put together the timeline. They’re a little bit more reluctant about the paper trail, because as they’ve told me, look. We expect all this stuff to be subpoenaed by Congress very soon. I said well, that’s probably true, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be able to get it.
HH: Exactly.
MG: They said yeah, but look. The issue here, Hugh, is the Red Cross knows it’s going to have to deal with Louisiana the next time around. And the next time around. And they’re always trying to avoid the appearance of sticking it to somebody, if the political leader in charge feels as if the Red Cross is sticking it to them. So they feel that they’re in a bit of a tenuous place.
HH: On the other hand, Major Garrett, they’re a quasi-public agency, depending upon the good will of the public for their donations.
MG: Right.
HH: I think the public wants to know.
MG: And I said look. You guys had no problem posting this on your own website. So I just think it’s a matter…I said you know, if you want to give it to me, and then put it on your website, that’s fine. But just make sure I’m in the loop, because I want to know who said what to whom. And if that’s written down anywhere, the public should see it.
HH: And what did the Salvation Army tell you?
MG: The Salvation Army basically said look. We…first of all, both agencies also want to let people know that they’ve served the needs of thousands of people who got out, and who got out just a little bit to high ground, north of New Orleans. But they couldn’t get in to meet those needs. They asked to get in. They were prepared with their…the Salvation Army has these ever-familiar portable kitchen canteens, is what they call them. They can actually make food, produce food on spot, and distribute it there. People line up. We’ve seen that at hurricanes and other natural disasters. They were ready. Not allowed in. At first, it was this idea that we don’t want to create a magnet at the evacuation site. Secondarily, it became an issue of well, there’s lots of water, and we can’t assure your safety, so on and so forth. Here’s another key point, Hugh. I was very specific with the American Red Cross, president and CEO Marty Evans, and said wait. Tell me clearly. Were you prepared to go in before the levees broke? Before water became an issue of any kind? She said absolutely. Were you denied access before the levees broke? She said we were denied access from minute one.
HH: And did they attempt to renew their request to get in after the levees broke, Major Garrett?
MG: Yes. I am told that the timeline indicates a frequent re-asking of this question.
HH: And a frequent denial by Louisiana state Department of Homeland Security?
MG: Right. Because as we discussed last night, their system was this is the shelter of last resort. It is an evacuation site, not a services site. And today, in Louisiana, the Louisiana National Guard said look. Here we were. We had four hundred Louisiana National Guard soldiers at the Superdome. Let’s do the math here, Hugh. Four hundred National Guard soldiers coping with thirty thousand evacuees.
HH: Right. Right.
MG: And they said, look. The Mayor told all these people to bring three days worth of food and water. Well, not very many people did. So the National Guard did bring in, on its own, palettes of food, water and things. But clearly, it wasn’t enough. Clearly, they were overwhelmed. The numbers were staggering. In the end, it was up to 60,000 people that the National Guard had to supervise, or at least try to supervise at these two places, and eventually move out with the buses. Where did the buses come from? They came from FEMA. 1,100 of them were produced in 72 hours, even though as we all saw, buses were under water all over the city, never used.
HH: What is your understanding of what happened at the convention center? Was the National Guard there insufficient force to prevent the allegations of huge brutality and murder?
MG: No. Clearly not. And the situation in the Superdome was tough for the National Guard, because you had people on various different levels of this enormous complex. And four hundred on thirty thousand, I mean, just forget it. It’s not possible. You’re doing the maximum, but in proportion to the numbers, it’s a minimal effort.
HH: So the pre-positioning of resources around New Orleans was abysmal?
MG: Yes. I mean, I think in a word, you have to understand…and Marty Evans of the American Red Cross said look. The failure from my point of view is, and I don’t want to second-guess people, but look. You have to have a realistic, executable plan, and then execute the plan for evacuation. They didn’t have it.
HH: Now Major Garrett, when you broke this story last night, it immediately sped across the United States. People are aghast, even though there have been hints about it. You mentioned the O’Reilly Factor the night before. It had been on the website. But none of the other networks are carrying this. Why?
MG: Look, I don’t know. And believe me, Hugh, this is not the first time in my career I have found myself with my news judgment saying this is an interesting and important story. Where are my colleagues? I don’t know if you remember any of the swift boat coverage, but I covered that story more aggressively, more factually, and with more direct response to key questions from the Kerry campaign, than any other television reporter in this country. And I never lost my relationship with the Kerry campaign, because they always knew my questions were hard and tough and fair, but I always gave them a chance to express their opinion.
HH: Now Major Garrett, this morning, Rush…
MG: Everyone was ridiculed about…everyone who covered the swift boat story was an idiot. You know, well, I’ve been in this position before.
HH: But this morning, Rush made the blanket statement, and I think he’s right, that if it is reported on Fox, the other networks will not consider it news. I believe that’s because you’re crushing them, and they hate to attribute to you guys a head start on something. But this is a huge story of important, national interest.
MG: They don’t even have to attribute it to Fox. They can go to the website. They can call Marty Evans, and get her on camera whenever they want. Look, they don’t need to talk to me. All they have to do…I mean, Hugh, I’ve covered a lot of hard stories, and I’ve done a tremendous amount of hard digging in my journalistic career. I’ve got to be honest with you. This isn’t an example of it. I mean, it was a pretty basic story. Ask a few core questions, get some core answers, read the state documents, add it up.
HH: We’re running low on time, Major Garrett. Was the Salvation Army reluctant to confirm to you? Or were they willing?
MG: No. No. I mean, look. Are they advertising it? Are they calling me up? No.
HH: Senior officials at the Salvation Army?
MG: Yeah. Among the most senior people here in Washington, D.C., who are coordinating their efforts across the Gulf region.
HH: And they were ready to go, and they were blocked as well?
MG: Yes.
HH: That’s remarkable. Major Garrett, great reporting. I hope we can check in with you again.
Remarkable, absolutely remarkable…
9/9/2005
Dems Used Katrina Disaster To Raise Election Funds
Why does this not surprise me? Whip up your base with the Katrina disaster and anti-Bush hatred, and get them to pull out their check books to help the victims on the gulf coast? Wrong answer, you get them to pull out their check books to help elect and re-elect your fellow demo–rats. Nice move Schumer.
Sen. Charles Schumer (search), a New York Democrat and the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, issued an appeal Thursday urging people to sign an online petition to fire the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s director over his handling of the Katrina response.
After an inquiry from the Associated Press, the DSCC quickly pulled down the page and said they would give the Red Cross any money raised by the anti-FEMA petition.
Now, how many of you really believe the Red Cross will actually see that money?
9/5/2005
Responding To Mayor Nagin’s False Statements Of Blame
This weekend Scott Pelley conducted an “hard hitting interview” with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. From what I’ve seen and heard it was nothing more than softball questions designed to lay the blame for the tradgedy in New Orleans at President Bush’s feet. I never could find the exact transcript, but here’s the story CBS has up on their website about the interview.
Two days before the storm, Nagin ordered the biggest evacuation in U.S. history — but he told us he never imagined his city would be abandoned, as he sees it, by the state and federal government. Nagin says communication failed and agencies dithered over jurisdiction while New Orleans drowned.
Two questions for Mayor Nagin. You claim you ordered an evacuation of the city two days before the storm, why then are your school busses sitting window deep in flood waters unused? And, did you ever think that in a catagory 4 — 5 hurricane such as Katrina that communications might fail, and if so, what was your backup plan for staying in touch with state and federal agencies.
“Too many people died because of lack of action,” Nagin says. “Lack of coordination and some goofy laws that basically say there’s not a clear distinction of when the federal government stops and when the state government starts. And if you have federal - if the federal government takes over, then you’re giving up some powers. Or if the governor don’t ask the president and the president don’t ask the governor, and it was just b.s.”
Again, Mayor Nagin, just some observations that might help answer your questions. First of all your correct on one thing. Far to many people died due to lack of action. Unfortunately sir, you and the Governor were responsible for not taking action. Once again, the picture of city school busses in flood waters up to their windows, unused comes to mind. Secondly These “goofy laws” as you put it are called collectively the Constitution and they provide a very clear portrait of where Federal authority ends and State an local authority begins. That’s why it was your job to order the evacuation of the city and see that it was done. Speaking of the evacuation, what kind of an idiot moves residents to the Superdome and Convention center without police protection, food, and water? If your police forces couldn’t handle the pressure, then it was Governor Blanco’s responsibility to call out the National Guard. They are under her control and no one elses. If all of that fails then it’s time to call the President. That’s how the system works, and the people in this country who give a damn about their system of government know it, so your blaming the Bush administration is falling on deaf ears.
Asked if he thought people died because of the delays, Nagin says, “There is no doubt about it. I watched a guy jump from the Superdome yesterday, just couldn’t take it anymore. We have two police officers that have committed suicide. They couldn’t take it anymore. This is, this is hell. And to have this happen in the United States of America in the state of Louisiana, and to not have immediate, immediate response regardless of the laws, is tragic.”
The death of the gentleman who jumped off the roof of the superdome and the deaths of the two New Orleans police officers is tragic, but don’t you think it a little presumtious to say that all three killed themselves due to the delay partly caused by the Governor and yourself? Secondly, to have anything happen “regardless of the laws” would be anarchy — something your city is acutely familiar with — this is why we have laws, to make sure that the things that need to happen happen in an orderly fashion so that it doesn’t produce chaos.
National response authorities would say, “It’s a disaster. It’s hard to get stuff in there. It’s hard to fly the helicopters and trucks in there,” Pelley tells Nagin.
I heard the audio of this part of the interview, Pelley was clearly being sarcastic. Thanks for the fair and balanced coverage again CBS.
Nagin was unmoved. “Man, I don’t wanna hear any of that. Yhis is a national disaster on U.S. soil. And if we can deploy troops around the world, if we can deploy national guards and in a confined area, this is a - this is a small city. It’s about 500,000 people. We’re not talking about taking over a country. We’re talking about 500,000 people. And with all the resources that this state and this country has, it should’ve gotten done quicker.”
If you think that the National Guard troops should have been in there quicker then talk with Governor Blanco, we already covered this one. She’s the one with the authority to activate them.
Nagin says the nation still doesn’t know how desperate New Orleans was in the hours of anarchy — the three days before the national guard broke through.
“My police chief almost got kidnapped. He was trying to calm the crowd out at the convention center and they got into the middle of a crowd and the guys tried to take him hostage. I mean there are stories that are unbelievable, police officers crying, screaming over the radio saying ‘I’m under fire help, I’m running out of ammunition.’
I will admit, that is scary, but why were these citizens evacuated to places without adequate security to prevent this from happening in the first place. It seems to me that the security would be the police departments job and they fall under your authority Mr. Mayor.
These responses and my previous post on Katrina don’t even begin to touch on the levee system, which the Governor, Mayor, and both houses of congress knew wouldn’t stand the full force of a catagory 5 hurricane. Me thinks, all the more reason to get your constituants the heck out of dodge rather than to the Superdome and Convention Center eh, Mr. Mayor?
What has taken place in New Orleans is clearly a tragedy of unspeakable proportions. The estimates of 10,000 + dead breaks my heart and there’s much that could have and should have been done to prevent what we are facing today. As an over the road truck driver, I spent many months traveling that portion of the country — including New Orleans. In fact, one of my favorite truck stops (they had some of the best biscuits and gravy I’ve ever had) was the Petro Travel Center in Slidell Louisiana which is on the north side of lake ponchatrain where I-55 meets I-12 (the New Orleans bypass). According to everything I’ve heard Slidell doesn’t exist anymore. The eye wall of Katrina passed right through there, I can’t imagine the truck stop faired much better than the town.
Certainly the Mayor and Governor are not completely to blame. I’m sure in the investigations to come, the blame will start at the top and slowly trickle down through The Department of Homeland Security, Fema, the Army Corps of Engineers and anyone else in the direct path of the beaurocratic snowball this thing will become. However, at first glance — to use a phrase used against President Bush by an op-ed columnist earlier this week — it seems Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco were the ones fiddling while New Orleans flooded.
According to the Washington Post on Sunday, President Bush offered for the Federal Government to take over the evacuation of New Orleans the Friday before Katrina made landfall.
Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state’s emergency operations center said Saturday.
The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor.
Governor Blanco, in quite possibly the most partisan decision I’ve seen in a long time said no.
Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. “Quite frankly, if they’d been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals,” said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly. [Emphasis Mine TR]
From all available information, President Bush made the offer in good faith because he and administration weather guru’s knew that this was going to be the “big one” for New Orleans. Now, of course, Blanco is asking President Bush “what took you so long to get here?”
9/1/2005
Katrina, Global Warming, and Shooting at Helicopters
As I look at the pictures of New Orleans, Gulf Port, and Biloxi words escape me. This is a tragedy of monumental proportions, one that I certainly never thought I would see in my lifetime. According to news reports the disaster area is estimated to be 90,000 square miles. Sure, we had 9/11, that was a man made attack on this country. Katrina is a natural attack of the same magnitude — or worse (they say that the death toll on the gulf coast may soar over the 3,000 mark set by the attack on 9/11). At the end of this post I will have links to several agencies that could really use your money and time to help those in need on the Gulf coast.
The New York Times lead editorial today After dissing the President by calling him Mr. Bush and thouroghly beating him about the head and shoulders with what they’ve proclaimed to be “one of the worst speeches of his life” blames President Bush’s lack of leadership on the global warming issue for causing Katrina and any future weather calamity.
George W. Bush gave one of the worst speeches of his life yesterday, especially given the level of national distress and the need for words of consolation and wisdom. In what seems to be a ritual in this administration, the president appeared a day later than he was needed. He then read an address of a quality more appropriate for an Arbor Day celebration: a long laundry list of pounds of ice, generators and blankets delivered to the stricken Gulf Coast. He advised the public that anybody who wanted to help should send cash, grinned, and promised that everything would work out in the end.
It would be some comfort to think that, as Mr. Bush cheerily announced, America “will be a stronger place” for enduring this crisis. Complacency will no longer suffice, especially if experts are right in warning that global warming may increase the intensity of future hurricanes. But since this administration won’t acknowledge that global warming exists, the chances of leadership seem minimal.
Just three days ago, the NY Times ran a news story saying that global warming has little to do with the strength of hurricanes. The article says that hurricanes run in cycles.
Because hurricanes form over warm ocean water, it is easy to assume that the recent rise in their number and ferocity is because of global warming.
But that is not the case, scientists say. Instead, the severity of hurricane seasons changes with cycles of temperatures of several decades in the Atlantic Ocean. The recent onslaught “is very much natural,” said William M. Gray, a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University who issues forecasts for the hurricane season.