FEMA director Michael Brown is the old FEMA director's (Joe Allbaugh) college roommate. He was put in charge to get fat contracts for his good buddies. It's called privatizing -- because it's better to get big government off your back by giving the money away to your business partners.

FEMA has always done this job successfully. But this is what you get when you put someone in charge who has no experience, and is more interested in nickeling and diming the agency, more interested in public relations press conferences -- than helping people.

Bush put Joe Allbaugh [ read more about him here and here.] in charge of FEMA in 2001 when they decided to no longer make FEMA a cabinet level program. Allbaugh was Bush's campaign manager in 2000, and the FEMA appointment was his "reward". He also had no disaster experience. He "downsized" the agency and then left in November 2002 to become a consultant to help corporations do business in Iraq. In other words, get fat contracts and make lots of money.

Brown replaced Allbaugh in November 2002. FEMA was then folded underneath the Department of Homeland Security headed by lawyer Michael Chertoff who also has no disaster experience. He was appointed to make sure the contracts go to all of the right people.

In the past, whenever a storm comes into the gulf that might become a CAT ONE, they start getting supplies ready in Houston. This has been so as long as I can remember. After Camille and Betsy (in the 1960's pre-computer era) the government was there the next day with help.

This time they didn't set up a distribution center in Houston when they knew this would be a hurricane on Friday. They knew it would hit somewhere. It the past FEMA always did this. This time they sat on their hands.

Where was Bush on Tuesday and Wednesday? Answer: giving a speech in San Diego explaining "we are in Iraq to keep the oil wells from getting into the hands of the terrorists."

When Terri Schivo was on the verge of death, he cut his vacation short and immediately flew back to Washington. When Katrina hits and destroys the gulf- coast, it takes our president 3 days to get to Washington D.C.

On Saturday, the cameras show Bush, Brown, Chertoff, and Rumsfeld all have their press conference. Apparently, they were getting briefed on the situation (looking mighty presidential too) on Saturday. Why wasn't this done last weekend? Why wasn't our President on the god damn phone last Sunday, making sure everyone was preparing for this catastrophe?

The Governor and Mayor both notified FEMA of their needs by Saturday, as they were supposed to do. FEMA did nothing. The Governor and Mayor both put all of their efforts into saving people Monday and Tuesday while the waters rose. because property that is looted can be replaced, but dead people cannot. Had FEMA acted and coordinated ("managed") the needs of the city when the city and state detailed its needs on Saturday, the situation would not have gotten as bad as it did.

This is why there is a Federal Emergency Management Agency in the first place. That's what "Emergency Management" means. According to the agency's own website, it is the "Agency of the US government tasked with Disaster Mitigation, Preparedness, Response & Recovery planning."

Government programs do work, and have worked in the past quite well. Except when you have presidents and presidential appointees who look at government as a way to line their friend's pockets, and who know nothing about the position they head.

This current administration is DUMB. All they care about is politics and making sure their friends get some of the government contracts.

And these folks are supposed to defend us from a ... terrorist attack? Maybe they act so lackadaisical because they spent their time planning on how to take political advantage of the disaster when they had plenty of evidence the disaster was coming.

"We are in Iraq to prevent the oil fields from getting into the hands of the terrorists."

Meanwhile, New Orleans is flooded when 2 levees break that were not able to be completed because of 52 million dollars in cuts by this administration to pay for Iraq. And 300 plus Lousiana National Guards units AND THEIR AMPHIBIOUS EQUIPEMENT watch this disaster in Iraq.

This one is real. A few of y'all who didn't call need to call me and tell me how you are doing.

There have only been 3 category 5 storms to hit the United States since these things have been recorded. Katrina is now the fourth. This thing has hurricane force winds at 45 miles from the eye. At 11 mph that is 4 hours long one way, followed by 4 hours of the end of the storm. The storm surges will probably inundate the city, and lord help those downtown buildings when the 160mph winds start hitting them.

This is the worst storm I've ever heard of, and recall that I grew up in New Orleans. I know hurricanes all to well.

Good god, what will be left of the city. The French Quarter has never been completely underwater. No one knows what could happen should this thing really hit at 20 feet high.

We will soon discover the power of mother nature, within 24 hours.

Fubar: F**ked Up Beyond All Repair.

Bohica:Bend Over Here It Comes Again.

[thanks to Bill in Portland, Maine.]

Kirk: Well there it is...war. We didn't want it, but we've got it.

Spock: Curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want.

Wear it whenever you have to hear Mr. Bush speak.

From Think progress.

With the Bush administration asleep at the wheel, states have been forced to take the lead in combating global warming. Last year California adopted rules which “will require a 30 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions from cars and light trucks by 2016, a target that will most likely be met by big increases in fuel efficiency.”

The approach is gaining popularity. The New York Times reported last Sunday:

"The Bush administration hates the California plan, and industry has challenged it in court. But George Pataki of New York and other Eastern governors have pledged to emulate it — which means the states may end up carrying a ball that Congress dropped. That would not be a bad thing at all."

Yesterday, the Bush administration released new federal fuel efficiency standards. (Not surprisingly, the standards will do little to increase fuel efficiency and may actually encourage automakers to produce bigger, more inefficient vehicles.)

Buried on page 150 of the draft rule is a provision that would totally undermine state efforts to curb CO2 emissions:

[A] state may not impose a legal requirement relating to fuel economy, whether by statute, regulation or otherwise, that conflicts with this rule. A state law that seeks to reduce motor vehicle carbon dioxide emissions is both expressly and impliedly preempted.

In other words, no state can have a fuel efficiency rule any different than the federal government. So much for state’s rights.

You need to get nervous when the corporatist monarchist Rethuglican's talk reform. Calling the "estate tax" a "death tax" the attempt has been to make this tax seem an onerous burden to hard-working middle-class families who scraped their way to little piece of economic pie. Although possible in rare cases, the estate tax only affects 1 to 2 percent of all estates. This tax can easily be adjusted to affect an exemption beneath a reasonable level (currently 1.5 million) to ensure against encroachment on the middle class -- rather than eliminating the tax entirely.

But elements of the spoiled vile aristocracy (and their groveling minions) don't care. Either through ignorance, pompous insular arrogance, or borderline misanthropic apathy, the result of eliminating the estate tax will only shift the costs of government onto the wage and sales taxes paid predominantly by the very middle classes the "death tax" is supposed to be damaging -- according to the lies of the orchestrated false (heavily-financed) grass roots campaign.

Here is a snippet from a recent New York Times article:

"But despite the populist rhetoric and oft-repeated horror stories about families being forced to sell their farms in order to pay estate taxes, the battle is over a very large amount of money held by a very small number of families. A report last month by the Congressional Budget Office found that in 2000 only 2 percent of all estates - about 52,000 - were subject to any estate tax. At that point, taxes were imposed only on estates worth $675,000 or more. The limit rose to $1.5 million in 2004, and if that limit had been in effect in 2000, only 13,771 estates - fewer than 1 percent - would have been subject to the tax. All but 740 of them would have had enough in liquid assets to cover estate tax liabilities, the office estimated."

"At the moment, taxes are imposed only on estates worth more than $1.5 million. Under Mr. Bush's tax cut of 2001, the estate tax is set to shrink steadily over this decade and disappear in 2010. But the 2001 bill called for the estate tax to reappear in full force in 2011."

One of the matters that bothers me most is when I hear historical ignorance, especially when this ignorance is used to further the justification of lies and stupidity. Or as the late Patrick Moynihan (the Senator from New York who's seat Mrs. Clinton now holds) has said, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." (source)

Another quote by Moynihan:"The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society. The central liberal truth is that politics can change a culture and save it from itself. "

So yeah,when I hear "the war on terror" and "iraq" compared to World War Two, I go completely stark raving mad -- and not just because I am psychologically unbalanced. That's another matter.

No. Where are the tanks, planes, and armies of terrorists that are taking over the world? Hitler invaded Austria, Czechoslovakia,Poland,Denmark,Norway,Belgium,the Netherlands,France,all of East Europe, and then Russia. Where are the tanks threatening our civilization? Where are the planes dropping bombs on our cities like it was London in 1940 - 1941?

Don't try to tell me we are invading nations and toppling governments because there might be another criminal syndicate that could cause a "terrorist" activity. Don't do it. Because in the last 3 years, virtually nothing has been spent defending ourselves from just such attacks whatsoever. No vulnerable nuclear reactors and chemical plants. No upgrade of the Coast Guard and National Guard units here at home -- they went to Iraq. Most of the money the "department" of homeland security spends is spent on advertising (recall the Tom Ridge commercials, and the kids asking "mommy" what to do) and suspicious contracts to defense contracting firms, a lot of whom involve lobbyists and well-connected contractors.

And when America was attacked by Japan's bombing, there never was a recruitment issue. Sending a fleet of ships that were created by a national governement is 100,000 percent different than a saudi-Mafia operation that stole 4 planes and flew into buildings. Especially considering the degree of apathy and incompetitence which enabled the saudi-mafia operation to occur. And then, why was Cheney looking at oil maps of Iraq in Spring 2001 with energy and oil conglomerates when they were putatively discussing Energy Policy? Why did the August 6th memo of 11 pages get ignored by our President? Was Crawford, Texas more important, or did Mr. Bush really get that memo?

To even relate this invasion of Iraq to the war against fascism is facile at best, and sinister at the worst. We didn't have to "make-up" a threat of "WMD" or use forged documents to justify the war against Japanese and German aggression. We didn't have to justify the D-Day Invasion by saying that German industry (in lieu of Iraqi oil) will pay for the invasion. And we had a Harry Truman commission which ferreted out procurement corruption in the military contractors that put people in jail, cancelled contracts, and impounded bank accounts.

Saddam Hussein was abetted and carried to power by the Reagan administration and petroleum interests infested defense industry. United States chemical companies sold Saddam his chemicals and the sales were permitted by the Reagan administration to destabalize the region into competing nations. Democracy and freedom were always secondary, if they were ever a consideration.

"Freedom is on the march" according to George Bush.

Hmmm....

"By the most brutal methods of terrorism, a regime sought to maintain an existence that was condemned by the overwhelming majority of its people...I have tried to persuade the responsible authorities that it is impossible for a great nation ... to stand by and watch millions belonging to a great, an ancient civilized people be denied rights by their government... I have endeavoured to find some way to alleviate a tragic fate. One agreement was signed only to be broken. I then tried a second time to bring about an understanding. A few weeks later, we were forced to the conclusion that the government [of Austria] had no intention of carrying out this agreement in the spirit that had inspired it, but in order to create an excuse. I have determined, therefore, to place the help of our country at the service of these millions. Since this morning, our soldiers are on the march across all of Austria's frontiers."

This announcer gets paid way too much to scream, holler, and get excited about absolutely nothing.
Oh my God, I have no life and must buy this product so I can be somebody and start smiling intensely like a schizophrenic on speed.
You pay what we pay, just listen to all of the air-brushed sales representatives of every ethnicity tell you so, and then run out and buy a piece of shit car for less money then all of the exorbitant maintanence costs and repairs over the next five years.
How many stories of corruption does it take to topple a Presidency? None. All you need is one blow-job from a willing press secretary flusie.
Lets create a television mini-series, label it "shocking","profound","provocative", and "informative" -- rather than "propaganda".
When you need unbiased information, make sure you listen to convicted felons like Gordon Liddy. His expertise at breaking into the offices of political opponents and setting wire taps make his opinions about the political opposition absolutely reliable and sacrosanct. Indeed, the news organizations that allow him to speak publically should be applauded for their integrity.
How many hatchet men and women called "news analysts" or "news personalities" are there in the news media? If you did an autopsy of every one of their brains, inside their craniums you would find a huge stash of money.
"I'd like to teach the world to ...chill"??? That verb used to be sing, if you have a memory that goes back to the early 80's when Coca-cola taught the world to sing. Chill is like a voiceless grinning lump of thoughtlessness, whereas sing indicates active mental and spiritual participation. How do you "teach" someone to "chill" anyway? Are their classes you can take? And how does a bunch of generation x-ers on a roof-top equate to the whole world holding hands singing about a big ideal?
The more I hear the expression "for real real" celebrated in hollywood and advertizing, the more I recall George Orwell and "double plus plus." So, it is now groovy-coolistic to be unable to articulate or express one-self beyond a three-word idiom.
Boy scouts or not, the Midas touch will still pick your pocket and prey on your automotive ignorance. That's why the corporation franchise's itself.
Some brewers look outside their windows and see smoke-stacks, some travel far away from factories to stand in front of snow-capped mountains and act like they don't have factories with smoke-stacks. It's called the Coors silver bullet, because all of the arsenic dumped in the Colorado water by Colorado mining companies.