Check it out kids! The Army National Guard wants to give you some iTunes, and send you to Iraq too!
Receive 3 FREE iTunes music downloads when you sign up to be contacted by the Army National Guard!
Hey college grads, this one is for you too! Pay off the student loans with up to $20,000 in student loan repayment, because we know there are no good jobs out there. Plus get a $10,000 signing bonus. Hurry, valid only until Oct. 15!
From the U.S. Newswire. This is just crazy, people who write terrorizing letters, bombed emergency facilities, counterfeit money, and deal every drug you could want... Bush sets his people free.
To: National Desk
Contact: U.S. Department of Justice, Office Public Affairs, 202-514-2008 or 202-514-1888, Web: http://www.USDOJ.gov
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 /U.S. Newswire/ -- President George W. Bush granted pardons to the following 14 individuals:
-- Gene Armand Bridger, Elkhart, Ind.
Offense: Conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and mail fraud; 18 U.S.C. 2, 371, and 1341.
Sentence: May 29, 1963; Western District of Michigan; five years probation
-- Cathryn Iline Clasen-Gage, Rockwall, Texas
Offense: Misprision of a felony; 18 U.S.C. 4.
Sentence: Aug. 21, 1992; Northern District of Texas; 18 months imprisonment and one year of supervised release.
-- Thomas Kimble Collinsworth, Buckner, Ark.
Offense: Receipt of a stolen motor vehicle that had been transported in interstate commerce; 18 U.S.C. 2313.
Sentence: Aug. 22, 1989; Western District of Arkansas; three years probation and a $5,000 fine.
-- Morris F. Cranmer, Jr., Little Rock, Ark.
Offense: Making materially false statements to a federally-insured institution; 18 U.S.C. 1014.
Sentence: March 30, 1988; Eastern District of Arkansas; Nine months incarceration in a community correctional facility, with the condition that he work for the Arkansas Department of Health.
-- Rusty Lawrence Elliott, Mount Pleasant, Tenn.
Offense: Making counterfeit Federal Reserve notes; 18 U.S.C. 471.
Sentence: April 26, 1991; Western District of Missouri; 12 months and one day imprisonment; two years supervised release, and a $500 fine.
-- Adam Wade Graham, Salt Lake City, Utah
Offense: Conspiracy to deliver 10 or more grams of LSD; 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A)(v), and 846.
Sentence: Nov. 23, 1992; District of Wyoming; 30 months imprisonment, later reduced to 11 months and 21 days of imprisonment, and five years supervised release conditioned upon performance of 250 hours community service.
-- Rufus Edward Harris, Canon, Ga.
Offenses: 1.) Possession of tax-unpaid whiskey; 26 U.S.C. 5205 and 2604. 2.) Possession and selling tax-unpaid whiskey; 26 U.S.C. 5601, 5604, and 5205.
Sentence: 1.) June 17, 1963; Middle District of Georgia; two years imprisonment. 2.) May 28, 1970, amended July 24, 1973; Northern District of Georgia; five years incarceration subsequently reduced to two years probation.
-- Jesse Ray Harvey, Scarbro, W.Va.
Offense: Property damage by use of explosives and destruction of an energy facility; 18 U.S.C. 844(i) and 1366(a).
Sentence: April 17, 1990; Southern District of West Virginia; 25 months imprisonment and three years supervised release.
-- Larry Paul Lenius, Moorhead, Minn.
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine; 21 U.S.C. 846.
Sentence: Sept. 29, 1989, District of North Dakota; 36 months probation conditioned upon three months service in community confinement and payment of $2,500 in restitution.
-- Larry Lee Lopez, Bokeelia, Fla.
Offense: Conspiracy to import marijuana; 21 U.S.C. 952 and 953.
Sentence: July 19, 1985; Middle District of Florida; three years probation.
-- Bobbie Archie Maxwell, Lansing, Mich.
Offense: Mailing a threatening letter; 18 U.S.C. 876.
Sentence: Sept. 6, 1962; Middle District of Georgia; 12 months probation.
-- Denise Bitters Mendelkow, Salt Lake City, Utah
Offense: Embezzlement by a bank employee; 18 U.S.C. 656.
Sentence: May 21, 1981; District of Utah; two years probation conditioned upon payment of restitution.
-- Michael John Pozorski, Schofield, Wis.
Offense: Unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm; 26 U.S.C. 5861(d) and 5871.
Sentence: Sept. 14, 1988; Western District of Wisconsin; four years probation conditioned upon 90 days residence in a community treatment center and payment of a $750 fine.
-- Mark Lewis Weber, Sherwood, Ark.
Offense: Selling Quaalude tablets (one specification), selling, using, and possessing marijuana (three specifications), U.C.M.J., Articles 92 and 134.
Sentence: Aug. 20, 1981; United States Air Force general court-martial convened at Little Rock Air Force Base, Little Rock, Arkansas; 30 months confinement at hard labor, forfeiture of $334 pay per month for 30 months, reduction to the rank of airman basic, and a dishonorable discharge.
Look at these people, every single one except for 3 of the 14 is from a red state. I wonder with a disproportionate amount of blacks in US prisons, how many of these people were white? Not to make judgments from some of the names and judging color, but they seem pretty white to me.
Remember kids, George W. Bush care about America and wants to keep your wife, husband, and children safe.
The House Majority Leader, Republican Tom "The Hammer" Delay indicted today by a Texas grand jury. The charges could give Delay two years in state jail and $10,000 in fines. House ethics rules state that such charges require the speaker to step down. MSNBC has more:
WASHINGTON - A Texas grand jury on Wednesday charged Rep. Tom DeLay and two political associates with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme, forcing the House majority leader to temporarily relinquish his post.
DeLay, 58, was accused of a criminal conspiracy along with two associates, John Colyandro, former executive director of a Texas political action committee formed by DeLay, and Jim Ellis, who heads DeLay’s national political committee.
GOP congressional officials said Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., will recommend that Rep. David Dreier of California step into those duties. Some of the duties may go to the GOP whip, Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri. The Republican rank and file may meet as early as Wednesday night to act on Hastert’s recommendation.
DeLay said in a statement:
"I have notified the speaker that I will temporarily step aside from my position as majority leader pursuant to rules of the House Republican Conference and the actions of the Travis County district attorney today."
It does not get anymore Republican than this as from as a Washington Post article reports Wednesday. The party of: "capitalism" "smaller government" "fiscal responsibility" and "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" gave Carnival Cruise Lines $236 MILLION no bid contract to house victims of Hurricane Katrina over a six month period. This equals out to $1,275 a week for the room, board, and meals. However, a REAL seven day Caribbean cruise will on average coast only half that at $599 a person. That is a 100% markup which does not include the entertainment and other perks, and oh yeah, the ship actually moves and goes places. These ships plan to just bob up and down for six months in port. It is by no surprise that the Carnival Corporation contributed over $171,000 to Republicans last year, 58% of all political contributions. Democrat Sen. Barack Obama has the quote of the week:
"When the federal government would actually save millions of dollars by forgoing the status quo and actually sending evacuees on a luxurious six-month cruise it is time to rethink how we are conducting oversight. A short-term temporary solution has turned into a long-term, grossly overpriced sweetheart deal for a cruise line."
Over 100,000 vacations were canceled due to the storm and the double priced government FEMA buy out. I wonder what percentage of those people were Republican? But Carnival defends is most generous offer to hurricane victims. They even claimed $44 million as part of their expenses, which included fuel for the docked ships. A spokesperson for Carnival stated:
"In the end, we will make no additional money on this deal versus what we would have made by keeping these ships in service," said Jennifer de la Cruz, a Carnival spokeswoman. "That has been our position from the outset, and it has not changed."
Probably the most Republican part of this is the tax status of the Carnival Corp. They are based out of Panama... imagine that. The company paid only $3 million in taxes on $1.9 billion income. Most American corporations pay around 25% where Carnival pays 0.15%.
What even sweetens the deal for Carnival is that the three FEMA payed for ships are not even been used to capacity.
The Ecstasy and Sensation had to set sail for safer seas as Hurricane Rita rolled in. They re-docked Monday. By Tuesday morning, 625 were aboard the Ecstasy, a fraction of the 2,544 passengers once registered. An additional 820 were aboard the Sensation, down from 2,579.
And those ships have fared better than the Holiday, docked in Mobile, Ala., with 342 on board. FEMA had hoped for 1,800.
I mean, what a deal, contribute to Republicans, pay 0.15% in taxes, and get double ticket prices for six months for less expenses and less actual occupants.
Anti-war mother Cindy Sheehan was among about 370 protesters who were arrested in front of the White House Monday. I would figure the media would have made a bigger deal of it than it did, 370 protester practicing civil disobedience right in front of the White House... I can't remember the last time that happened in those numbers. However, the media seemed to be stuck on PFC England and no bid contracts to rebuilt the Gulf Coast (not that its bad thing). Sheehan was the first arrested because evidently you are not allowed to sit in front of the White House without a protest permit. Not that the protesters intentions were not to get arrested, they ended up with a $50 fine and charged with demonstrating without a permit, a misdemeanor. What was funny to me is that Sheehan asked to meet with Bush, and the guards actually went to first check and see if Bush would; however, when guards returned with a "No," the civil disobedience protest started.
Oh yes, Iraq, that monumental "gas" in the middle east. You know how Republicans ALWAYS give you this a line like this when talking about Iraq, "We are opening up schools all across the country," "Children are going to school with fear of Saddam for the first time." Even Bush called the Iraqi school being rebuilt a "hallmark of an American-led renewal, a symbol of hope for a new generation of Iraqis".
These people think that Iraq was a bunch of uneducated idiots out in the sands who had not schools or universities. Before the war, Iraq was the "hallmark" of education in the Middle East. Men and women, boys and girls all went to school and were educated. Sure it wasn't completely fair, and yeah, they did have pictures of Saddam in their textbooks, but their schools were not being constantly blown up and their teachers slaughtered. One of my personal favorite professors I ever has was a graduate of Baghdad University. He was a physics professor and if Republicans beliefs were true, he would have been an immigrant who wanted to come to America to drive a taxi cab or work at a gas station.
The San Fransisco Chronicle has a MUST READ article about Army Ranger Pat Tillman who was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire. The article reveals that although Tillman strongly supported the war in Afghanistan, he opposed the war in Iraq. During the bombing in Iraq while he was on the ground, he called Bush's war
You know, this war is so f— illegal.
Tillman was also a fan of Noam Chomsky where a family member had arranged for him to meet with the leftist author. He also urged to his fellow Rangers to vote for Democrat John Kerry before his death.
I see this every day when I come back from class. I am pretty sure it has something to do with asbestos removal. Alan Hall, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV.
Thanks to Crooks & Liars for the original source. Bill O'Reilly decided to debate Phill Donahue on "The Factor" the other night. Phill utterly destroyed Bill, and called him "Billy" during the entire debate. O'Reilly the has the fake outrage about his "blood" nephew who has enlisted in the Army as if Donahue said anything negative about him. It was pretty clear that O'Reilly was just frothing at a chance to bring up that his "blood" was enlisted. They also brought up Jeremy Glick in which O'Reilly continued to lie about his stance. This is a must see video.
Wow, 12 hours and Bush's pre-scripted Bianca question has already been Google bombed. I wonder what she is doing right now? I doubt she still has a White House press pass though.
Here is my playing around a bit in Excel. Using this data that goes back to 1886; however, due to technological reasons, we start in the 1920's. As you can see, there is a significant trend going on here. Keep in mind we STILL HAVE the rest of this year and four more after that for this decade which has already had four category 5 storms. For all these wacko "Christian" fundamentalist out there who blame these natural occurrences on people who don't prescribe to their radical sect of Christianity, we can see that your God was not too pissed in the 1990's. Hell, Pat Robertson even claimed that he had the power to steer Hurricane Gloria away from his Virginia Beach, Virginia headquarters in 1995. There was only one Category 5 storm during Clinton's presidency, and it did not even touch American soil.
But then again, maybe I am looking at this all wrong. Maybe God is pissed now? Since Clinton left office, poverty, crime, unemployment, and abortions are up. Our country is partaking in a war in which the Pope called, "an unjust war." Hmmm, I will just blame it on the fact that the waters in the Atlantic and Gulf are 2 degrees above average. Oh that's right, silly me, there is no such thing as Global Warming, this data means nothing...
As posted over at DU. The National Enquirer stand by it's story "150%" that Bush has started drinking again... not that he every privately stopped. On the Ed Shultz radio program, a National Enquirer editor said that they would even go to court if they had to regarding the story. The editor claimed to have two different sources for the story and had been informing the Enquirer about this story over the last month.
The editor also said that another "highly respected" newspaper had been working on the same story and may publish within the next week or so.
POTUS Bush has reportedly started drinking again and his poor response, or lack of one, to Katrina is what family sources claim is the cause. Although it has been widely known that he has never actually given up drinking.
In 2001 it was know that he was intoxicated while watching football, tripped and banged his head off of a coffee table. Although the visible damage to his face was blamed by choking on a pretzel.
Also The Smoking Gun has a video of Bush well after his 40th birthday, where he claimed that he stopped drinking. Bush's 40th was on July 6th of 1986 when he claimed to have gone "cold turkey." However, this video from a 1992 shows an obvious intoxicated Bush chucking back a stiff one.
Also during the 2004 campaign, when Bush was visibly to the public on an almost daily basis, Bush was eating ice cream many times a day, a classic sign of a alcoholic in withdrawal.
"When the levees broke in New Orleans, it apparently made him reach for a shot. He poured himself a Texas-sized shot of straight whiskey and tossed it back. The First Lady was shocked and shouted: "Stop George!"
...
Dr. Justin Frank, a Washington D.C. psychiatrist and author of Bush On The Couch: Inside The Mind Of The President, told The National Enquirer: "I do think that Bush is drinking again. Alcoholics who are not in any program, like the President, have a hard time when stress gets to be great.
"I think it's a concern that Bush disappears during times of stress. He spends so much time on his ranch. It's very frightening."
By an eight point margin, more Americans would call themselves Democrats than Republicans. This is a big move since November and even before as I recall Republicans were up by about a point. Associating oneself with a party is a major deal to Americans. I had always been registered independent until 04. Also, the new AP Poll shows that nearly 6 out of 10 disapprove on PUTOS Bush.
Given a choice in the survey, 42 percent favored cutting spending on Iraq to pay for relief efforts on the Gulf Coast, and 29 percent wanted to delay or cancel Republican tax cuts. That's a whopping 71 percent backing options that Bush doesn't even have on the table.
Two-thirds said the president was spending too much in Iraq. Just as many were concerned the money was not being spent wisely.
Side Note: This is kind of a informal request. If anyone would like to contribute to this site, please send me an email. I am pretty busy with graduate school, among other things and could use some good like minded blogging help.
As with every arrest and booking, comes the mug shot, and with POTUS Bush's nephew, and Jeb Bush's son, John Ellis Bush, it was no different.
It brings a smile to me seeing a Bush in the black and white stripes. Notice that smirk too, where have we seen that before? Also you can see the small cut he received while resisting arrest which was treated at a hospital. I guess he was just pissed that nobody wanted to go home with the balding 21 year old on college night.
John Ellis Bush, 21, shown in this photo provided by the Austin, Texas Police Department, was arrested early Friday morning, Sept. 16, 2005, in Austin and charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest, a Travis County Sheriff's Department spokesman said. Bush is the youngest son of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. (AP Photo/Austin Police Department)
The nephew of POTUS Bush, Ellis Bush, or son of Florida Gov. Job Bush, was arrested by the good old Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission at 2:30 a.m. Friday on a corner of Austin's Sixth Street bar district. Bush was arrested for public intoxication and resisting arrest.
GOF Jeb Bush said that it was not an appropriate time to discuss specifics of the incident.
"My son's doing fine. It's a private matter. We will support him. We're sad for him. But I'm not going to discuss it on the public square with 30 cameras."
Capt. David Ferrero of the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission told Miami television station WSVN that the younger Bush,
"received a small cut on his chin when he was resisting and he was treated and released from the hospital."
A staffer answering phones at the commission's offices later Friday evening said he had no information about John Ellis Bush being injured during the incident.
It's not the first time Florida's first family has experienced legal problems with one of their children.
Noelle Bush, the governor's daughter, was arrested in January 2002 and was accused of trying to pass a fraudulent prescription at a Tallahassee pharmacy to obtain the anti-anxiety drug Xanax. She completed a drug rehabilitation program in August 2003 and a judge dismissed the drug charges against her.
Noelle Bush was sent to jail twice for violating rules during her rehab stint. She was jailed for three days in July 2002 after being caught with prescription pills and served 10 days a month later after being accused of having a small rock of crack cocaine in her shoe.
Subject arrested for public intoxication, upon arrest, subject pulled away and became resistant. Subject continually pushed away against this officer and struggled as he attempted to handcuff him. Subject further resisted by pushing back with his body as he was restrained at the APD transport van.
In case you haven't noticed yet. Please look at George Bush's collar from last night's nationwide address.
Here are ten that I have come up with.
10: It gives the Prez that "it's hard work" look. 9: He was showing us that the right had superiority. 8: Everyone was too busy to worry about it. 7: It was passed Georgie's bedtime, and the fatigue had overcome him. 6: Bush's brain is still recovering from his Kidney Stones. 5: Karl Rove wants everyone talking about his shirt, not his speech. 4: Bush was creating a new fashion look. 3: Condi was on the trip. 2: No one dared to tell the emperor about his clothes. 1: His staff has figured that Bush is an idiot, and wanted him to fall on his face.
Just when you think you have heard it all from the dirty South, here comes a new one. This is what the now former employee of Greenville Technical College had to say:
Renee Holcombe, formerly an associate vice president for student services with a staff of about 40, told employees in two separate briefings last week that the school's aid for the mostly black hurricane victims staying at the Palmetto Expo Center would include sending yellow buses to pick up the "yard apes," said Barton and senior vice president Ben Dillard.
Dillard said Wednesday that Holcombe was referring specifically to the children of evacuees, who were provided separate transportation. Reached at her home this afternoon, Holcombe said she was "numb and shocked." She declined further comment. She submitted her resignation to Dillard and there was no financial settlement, Barton and Dillard said.
She had been employed at the college for 19 years, Dillard said.
Rick Wilking, the photographer who took the now infamous photo of Bush's "I think I may need a bathroom break?" photo speaks with Gelf Magazine.
Yes, the note is real. And yes, the president really wrote it. “It was shot at a pretty good distance,” Wilking tells Gelf. “I had no idea what was on the paper.” Until, that is, the editors at Reuters enlarged it. “I was just as surprised as you,” Wilking says.
Wilking also helped saved lives by rescuing five Katrina survivors in New Orleans, one of which was paralyzed by Parkinson's Disease.
We should all be so honored, here they are thanks to Think Progress. These are the official Republican talking points written for and in conjunction for the Bush Hurricane Katrina speech. Sadly, they forgot the "No, President Bush is not an idiot, he DOES know how to button a shirt" talking point.
President Katrina Speech Talkers:
* America and the Gulf Coast are recovering from one of the greatest natural disasters this country has ever faced.
* Tonight President Bush will talk about how there is some optimism that we can see as we move forward. We’re going to build a better Gulf Coast, a better New Orleans and we’ll work with local officials to make sure that happens.
* This will be a massive funding effort at every level of government. We shouldn’t just look at government - we’re seeing private charities, and the American people’s enormous compassion.
* There were breakdowns of communication and planning at all levels of government - federal, state and local levels. It is very critical we learn why those breakdowns took place in the first place.
* Many parts of this will be chalked up to the fact it was one of the worst storms our country has ever faced. But there were things in a post-9/11 world that our government at all levels should be doing better and President Bush more than anybody else wants to find out why it took place and how it took place to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
* Bottom line now is all levels of government must take responsibility. This President is taking responsibility and what we have to do now is look forward.
* Senator Frist and Speaker Hastert have indicated that Congress will conduct a thorough investigation modeled after some of the most serious investigations that Congress has ever undertaken: the 1973 Watergate Committee, the 1987 Iran Contra Committee, the 1994 and 1995 Whitewater Committees and the 1997 Campaign Finance investigation.
* Tonight President Bush will talk about specifically what we’ll talk about to help these tens of thousands of people who are literally living with only the shirts of their backs spread out throughout the country. We have to have a strategy for education and heath care, and he’ll spell those out.
* It’s wrong to say it’s either winning the war on terror or funding aftermath of Katrina. We have to do both that means we’ll have to cut spending where else to make sure we are fiscally prudent with the taxpayer’s dollars.
* There’s always discussion about raising taxes but right when businesses and people are trying to get back on their feet in the gulf coast region, the worst thing we can do with these families is pop them with another tax.
* This is going to require difficult decisions in Washington. It’s going to be important that we don’t have the same ol’ same ol’ that we see in Washington. Tough choices will be to have made and President Bush is willing to do that.
For the FIRST TIME, only half approve of Bush's handling of terrorism a CBS News/New York Times poll finds. In addition, over 6 out of 10 Americans think Bush does not share their priorities. Over all, 41 percent of respondents approved of Mr. Bush's performance in office, while 53 percent disapproved. Also, 45 percent of Americans now say Mr. Bush does not have strong leadership qualities, six percentage points more than last fall.
Just as 100% of Senators who actually refused to sign the Lynching Apology to poor American blacks were Republican, all 54 Republicans said NAY to legislation establishing an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate what went so horribly wrong with Hurricane Katrina. These 54 US Senators, ALL REPUBLICAN, do not care what went wrong with Katrina. They don't give a crap about how our country is unable to deal with a national emergency. They think it's great that we are now undeniably worse off from responding to an actual chemical, biological or nuclear attack from Al Qaeda. Do they not think that radical organizations that want to kill innocent civilians in this country did not notice that we are unable to deal with a disaster?
No, they don't give a shit. These Dirty Bomb 54 just care about their party, the hell with everyone else. As John from AmericaBlog says:
76% of Americans want an independent bipartisan commission, like the one that investigated the 9/11 attacks, to investigate what went wrong. In fact, according to the same poll, Americans of all stripes, Republicans and Democrats, are united behind their support for such a commission (64% of all Republicans and 83% of all Democrats want a commission) even though they were aware that the Republicans in Congress are doing their own biased and partisan investigation.
And don't be fooled. The Dirty Bomb 54, as I'm calling the 54 Republican Senators who don't want learn from our mistakes, are going to give you a bunch of BS about how they ARE in favor of an investigation - an investigation run by the Congress itself, an investigation where the investigating committee will be made up of a majority of REPUBLICAN congressmen. Yes, they want a PARTISAN investigation of one of the largest disasters in American history. The Dirty Bomb 54 don't want the truth, they want a whitewash. They don't want to protect America against Al Qaeda, they want to play politics with our lives. Call every single one of the GOP Senators below and ask them why they hate America. (We're only contacting the GOP Senators because all the Democrats voted FOR the independent bipartisan commission.)
Even the Republican Senator from Louisiana, David Vitter hates his own constituants as he didnt' even have the balls to cast a vote agaist his party line.
It's official, POTUS Bush has to ask permission when he"may need a bathroom break." Here you can see Bush is actually asking permission from Condoleezza Rice if it's OK to use the potty at the UN. This is a REAL photo from Reuters. We know Bush and Condi are close, but how close? Does Bush want to meet Condi in the bathroom? What does "bathroom break" mean to Bush? Is "bathroom break" codeword for sexual acts? Is Bush not able to really know when he has to use the bathroom? Does Condi help him out in the bathroom? What does this mean? This is just freaking weird, scary and unbelievable.
U.S. President George W. Bush writes a note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a Security Council meeting at the 2005 World Summit and 60th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York September 14, 2005. World leaders are exploring ways to revitalize the United Nations at a summit on Wednesday but their blueprint falls short of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's vision of freedom from want, persecution and war.
Here is my enhancement. Although I cannot make out what is below that. I hope Reuters releases a higher resolution version. Is there an "Impeach Bush" on there? Just kidding, I wanted the Technorati plug.
Update: Yahoo News has their own picture of it as well.
The radical cleric Pat Robertson thinks that Katrina was his God "vomit[ing]" on America because of the, "wholesale slaughter of unborn children."
C-list "christian" Hal Lindsay is now assured that the rapture is really going to happen now, after many years of false rapture, and that the, "judgment of America has begun."
"Christian" Zionist Charles Colson thinks it all has to do with us fighting terrorism. He believes that his God, "allowed it and perhaps he allowed it to get our attention." His God showed us, "how easy it would be to take a city out" and in doing so, his God "gave us a preview of what America would look like if we fail to fight the war on terror."
I think it is safe to say that the radical cleric Rat Robertson has "officially" lost his mind. Now he was always a little off, but as the end of his life is approaching, he is becoming more extreme along with psychotic visions, messages, and teachings of his God.
I don't know about that, never doubt the power of the corporations that he has in his back pocket, the media, and "Christian" right who is married the two in the faith of supply side economics. Here is some of what E. J. Dionne Jr. of the Wash. Post had to say:
The Bush Era did not begin when he took office, or even with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It began on Sept. 14, 2001, when Bush declared at the World Trade Center site: "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." Bush was, indeed, skilled in identifying enemies and rallying a nation already disposed to action. He failed to realize after Sept. 11 that it was not we who were lucky to have him as a leader, but he who was lucky to be president of a great country that understood the importance of standing together in the face of a grave foreign threat. Very nearly all of us rallied behind him.
And so the Bush Era ended definitively on Sept. 2, the day Bush first toured the Gulf Coast States after Hurricane Katrina. There was no magic moment with a bullhorn. The utter failure of federal relief efforts had by then penetrated the country's consciousness. Yesterday's resignation of FEMA Director Michael Brown put an exclamation point on the failure.
The source of Bush's political success was his claim that he could protect Americans. Leadership, strength and security were Bush's calling cards. Over the past two weeks, they were lost in the surging waters of New Orleans.
Maybe something really is going on. As I learned in 2004, the average person, the old lady watching Fox "News," the people who work at Wal-Mart, the guy who lost his well paying manufacturing job, and those who lived in rural America were concerned about terrorism created by fear. I guess I missed that terror attacks on Gary, Indiana.
I also noticed that "Impeach Bush" has been at the top, or close to the top of the Technorati blog search engine for about the past two weeks. This give a pretty good feel of what people are actually talking about on the Internets. Maybe people are actually waking up to understand that the religion that is supply side economics has failed this country. We created an entire new branch of government, Homeland Security, which sounds really nice; however, as we saw with Hurricane Katrina (Corinna to the First Lady), we are worse off than even before 2001.
Raw Story covers how FEMA has outsourced the job of removing bodies of people killed by the natural and human disaster after Hurricane Katrina. The Texas company, Kenyon is a subsidiary of Service Corporation International (SCI), which of cource, has ties to the Bush family and known for their body dumping scandals in the past.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has hired scandal-ridden Kenyon International to set up a mobile morgue for handling bodies in Baton Rouge, Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina, RAW STORY has learned.
Kenyon is a subsidiary of Service Corporation International (SCI), a Texas-based company operated by a friend of the Bush family. Recently, SCI subsidiaries have been implicated in illegally discarding and desecrating corpses....
FEMA and then Blanco outsourced the body count from Hurricane Katrina -- which many believe the worst natural disaster in U.S. history -- to a firm whose parent company is known for its "experience" at hiding and dumping bodies.
The Menorah Gardens cemetery chain, owned by SCI, desecrated vaults, removed hundreds of bodies from two cemeteries in Florida and dumped the gruesome remains in woods frequented by wild hogs, investigators discovered in 2001. In one case, a backhoe was used to crack open a vault, remove corpses and make room for more dead bodies...
George Bush and the "right-wing neo-con establishment" have promoted a "clash of civilisations" between Muslims and the West, Ken Livingstone has said.
Livingstone is a know critic of the Iraq War. He also sated at a United Against Fascism meeting that,
"Once they get to that point they remain a constant threat."
The man is dead on. Bush has mainstreamed which was once the beliefs of a few extremist, to what is now an entire ploy against the west. Children in Iraq used to dream of once being able to come to America, and now, I don't even want to know...
Although I am sure this is a decisive political move to somehow change the tone and maybe save some face, though I would be nice if maybe Bush actually felt something from seeing the destruction. In actuality however, it's just a political move to change the subject as Bush prepares for his Thursday night Katrina rally.
"To the extent the federal government didn't fully do it's job right, I take responsibility,"
But POTUS Bush, I though yout said,
"I'm satisfied with the response. I am not satisfied with the results."
Oh that's right, as long as Republican racist Tront Lott get's his porch back,
"Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch."
But Barbara Bush is scared that the blacks will stay in Texas,
"What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them."
Never fear though, it's only a some poor people, these things happen,
"I understand there are 10,000 people dead. It's terrible. It's tragic. But in a democracy of 300 million people, over years and years and years, these things happen." -- Republican operative Jack Burkman, MSNBC, Sept. 7, in an obvious attempt to go for the Humanitarian of the Year Award.
And look at the bright side, God cleaned up all these poor people homes, this is a good thing,
"We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did." -- Rep. Richard Baker (R-La.), Sept. 8, in a quip to lobbyists quoted by the Wall Street Journal. Baker is denying the quote; the WSJ reporter stands by his story.
Four days after Katrina it was,
"Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job."
Here is a MUST READ off all the quotes during and after the natural and human disaster. Some highlights:
"I must say, this storm is much bigger than anyone expected." -- FEMA Director Michael Brown, on CNN, Aug. 31.
"Excuse me, senator, I'm sorry for interrupting . . . for the last four days, I've been seeing dead bodies in the streets here in Mississippi. And to listen to politicians thanking each other and complimenting each other, you know, I got to tell you, there are a lot of people out here who are very upset, and very angry, and very frustrated . . .
"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 for this administration, the president appeared a day later than he was needed." -- New York Times lead editorial, Sept. 1.
"It was chaos. There was nobody there, nobody in charge. And there was nobody giving even water. The children . . . they're all just in tears. There are sick people. We saw . . . people who are dying in front of you." -- CNN producer Kim Segal, describing conditions in the New Orleans Convention Center, Sept. 1.
"Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans, virtually a city that has been destroyed, things are going relatively well." -- FEMA chief Brown, Sept. 1.
"We just learned of the convention center -- we being the federal government -- today." -- FEMA Director Brown, trying to deflect criticism to local government, on "Nightline," Sept. 1.
"Don't you guys watch television? Don't you guys listen to the radio? Our reporters have been reporting on it for more than just today." -- Koppel's response.
"Many of these people, almost all of them that we see are so poor and they are so black . . . " -- CNN's Wolf Blitzer's well-meaning but unfortunate description of the evacuees, Sept. 1.
"Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job." -- President Bush, Sept. 2. One of the most idiotic, misguided, clueless and smug things the president has said during his two terms in office.
"I'm satisfied with the response. I am not satisfied with the results." -- President Bush, later that day.
"Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch." -- President Bush, cracking wise in Mobile, Ala., Sept. 2. And maybe when he sits on that porch, one of those unemployed evacuees can bring him a nice iced tea and a fan. After all, they'll be looking for work.
"George Bush doesn't care about black people." -- Kanye West Sept. 2 on an NBC telethon for hurricane relief, as a deer-in-the-headlights Mike Myers stood beside him, no doubt wishing he was off making "Shrek 57."
"I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fund-raisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. . . . Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened in Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh!" -- Excerpt from Michael Moore's open letter to President Bush, Sept. 2. Moore is reportedly considering making a documentary about Bush and Katrina. It would be the easiest film he's ever done.
"I open the television, there's people still there, waiting to be rescued, and for me that's not acceptable. I know there's reasons for it. I'm sorry to say I'm being rude, but I don't want to hear those reasons." -- Celine Dion in an interview on "Larry King Live," Sept. 3. An hour later, yours truly was in the audience at Dion's show in Las Vegas, where she told a baffled audience that she had cried and yelled at Larry King earlier that evening.
"The guy who runs this building I'm in, emergency management, he's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in a St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, 'Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?' [starting to cry] And he said, 'Yeah, Mama, somebody's coming to get you. Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday.' And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night." -- Jefferson Parish president Aaron Broussard, Sept. 4, on NBC's "Meet the Press," in one of the defining media moments of all the hurricane coverage.
"We lost everything. Katrina didn't care if you were poor or rich; all the houses look the same now." -- Mississippi resident Penny Dean, quoted in People magazine, which has covered the hurricane story in honorable and comprehensive fashion.
"What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this, this is working very well for them." -- Former First Lady Barbara Bush, sounding like a bad caricature of a "Dallas" character, in the Houston Astrodome, Sept. 5.
"I understand there are 10,000 people dead. It's terrible. It's tragic. But in a democracy of 300 million people, over years and years and years, these things happen." -- Republican operative Jack Burkman, MSNBC, Sept. 7, in an obvious attempt to go for the Humanitarian of the Year Award.
"Go f-- yourself, Mr. Cheney. Go f-- yourself." -- Off-camera citizen heckling the vice president during a live interview that aired on CNN and MSNBC, Sept. 8. The "Go f-- yourself, Mr. Cheney" guy has his own Web site and is auctioning copies of personal video footage on eBay.
"First time I've heard it. Must be a friend of John, er, uh, never mind." -- A chuckling Cheney's nonsensical, half-joke of a response when a reporter asked if he'd been hearing a lot of that sort of thing.
"We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did." -- Rep. Richard Baker (R-La.), Sept. 8, in a quip to lobbyists quoted by the Wall Street Journal. Baker is denying the quote; the WSJ reporter stands by his story.
"How, then, did we get here? How did the richest country on Earth end up watching children cry for food in putrid encampments on the evening news? How did reporters reach crowds of the desperate in places where police, troops and emergency responders had not yet been--three days after the storm?" -- Time magazine, in a report to be published today.
POTUS Bush made time out of his busy day from having to go down in the South and look at poor and black people's homes and get pictures taken with imported firefighters to call up the newly "elected" leader of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak was in power of Egypt for 24 years until they decided to hold an "election" where he fortunately won in a landslide with an amazing 88.5% of the vote. Yet only one out of every four of the nation's 32 million registered voters cast a ballot.
Last Wednesday's election was marred by low turnout, voting irregularities and reports of widespread pressure for people to back Mubarak, one of Bush's strongest allies in the Middle East.
Though Condi Rice thinks this is a good thing:
We encourage Egyptians to build on progress made with this election and to address valid criticisms of the electoral process. In particular, more needs to be done to increase the voice of the people and their confidence in the democratic process.
This is a subject that I just abhor talking about because EVERYONE is pro-life. It's just a matter if you are anti-choice. Nobody wants abortions, but people do support our constituion and the rights that it gives us. OK, enough of that. Anyways, the group Columbia Christians for Life have pointed out that, "Hurricane Katrina satellite image looks like 6-week fetus."
Satellite picture of Hurricane Katrina at NOAA.com looks like a 6-week unborn human child as it comes ashore the Gulf Coast, vicinity states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida at 12:32 PM, Monday, August 29, 2005 ... The image of the hurricane above with its eye already ashore at 12:32 PM Monday, August 29 looks like a fetus (unborn human baby) facing to the left (west) in the womb, in the early weeks of gestation (approx. 6 weeks). Even the orange color of the image is reminiscent of a commonly used pro-life picture of early prenatal development (see sign with picture of 8-week pre-born human child below). In this picture, and in another picture in today's on-line edition of USA Today*, this hurricane looks like an unborn human child. ... ABORTION (child-sacrifice) is a national sin. 9-11 was a national calamity. Hurricane Katrina is certainly a regional calamity, and it has already had national effects. REPENT AMERICA. REPENT AND TURN TO THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SAVE US, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ! (John 3:16, Romans 10:9, 10, 13).
Actually I think it kind of does. So does every other hurricane, typhoons, and cyclone. Although these storms in the southern hemisphere look like fetuses from the other side as the spin clockwise vs. counterclockwise as in the northern hemisphere. It's fun to make out figures in the clouds sometimes. Even if you use a infrared satellite images of clouds.
The Republican "Freedom Walk" Toddle that only had 15,ooo registered participants flops big time. It's no big surprise really then, that the event was organized by the Department of Defense. The toddle was held to celebrate the birthday of 9-11 and started from the Pentagon to the National Mall where b-list country music singer Clint Black gave a performance of a lifetime to the mostly white crowd featuring his pro-war song, Iraq N Roll. The Washington Post reported that the number who actually showed up was more around is dismal 4,000 people. John from AmericaBlog was there and reports:
I've seen a lot of marches on the mall in my 20+ years in Washington, but I've never seen one where 15,000 people arrive between 11am and noon, and are all gone, and everything's cleaned up, two hours later.
Geez, my roommates and I once had more people outside our apartment at a kegger before a WVU game in undergrad (well not really but you get the point). Here are some pictures from during the event. If anyone has ever been to a reall march in Washington, as you can see from these pictures from the National Mall, this is pathetic.
Yes, even Operation Yellow Elephant was there adding to the massive 4K of people. Though they actually tried to have these toddlers "walk the walk" and really support the troops by enlisting in the military. I am sadly to report that Rev. Mykeru of OYE (has an nice video too) was unsuccessful in recruiting. Even handing out flyers to these people with directions to the closest recruiting office was like handing out anthrax.
B-list Republican, turned Mormon, turned fat ass, radio host Glenn Beck announced on Friday that it ONLY, "took [him] about a year to start hating the 9-11 victims' families." The "Christian" Beck with hate and racism, linked the victims families of 9-11 to the victims a Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Beck called the New Orleans victims "scumbags" who could not leave the city. Beck then lied about people "rioting" when FEMA issued 4,200 debit cards to families at the Astrodome on Friday.
Thanks to Media Matters for the transcript and original audio source:
From the September 9 broadcast of The Glenn Beck Program:
BECK: Let me be real honest with you. I don't think anybody on talk radio -- I don't think anybody in their right mind is going to say this out loud -- but I wonder if I'm the only one that feels this way. Yesterday, when I saw the ATM cards being handed out, the $2,000 ATM cards, and they were being handed out at the Astrodome. And they actually had to close the Astrodome and seal it off for a while because there was a near-riot trying to get to these ATM cards. My first thought was, it's not like they're going to run out of the $2,000 ATM cards. You can wait! You know, stand in line. Maybe it's because I'm the kind of guy, when I go to a buffet, I either have to be first in line, or I'm the very last. Because I know there's going to be extra food, and I just won't stand in the line. I'll wait until all the suckers go get their food, and then I'll go get mine. Or if I'm really hungry, I hate to admit this -- and really, I don't even have to be really hungry. If I'm really being a pig, I will kind of, like, hang out around the buffet table before the line is -- you know, chat with people right around the table: "Oh, they just opened the line! Let's go!" And then you're first in line.
When you are rioting for these tickets, or these ATM cards, the second thing that came to mind was -- and this is horrible to say, and I wonder if I'm alone in this -- you know it took me about a year to start hating the 9-11 victims' families? Took me about a year. And I had such compassion for them, and I really wanted to help them, and I was behind, you know, "Let's give them money, let's get this started." All of this stuff. And I really didn't -- of the 3,000 victims' families, I don't hate all of them. Probably about 10 of them. And when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, "Oh shut up!" I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining. And we did our best for them. And, again, it's only about 10.
But the second thought I had when I saw these people and they had to shut down the Astrodome and lock it down, I thought: I didn't think I could hate victims faster than the 9-11 victims. These guys -- you know it's really sad. We're not hearing anything about Mississippi. We're not hearing anything about Alabama. We're hearing about the victims in New Orleans. This is a 90,000-square-mile disaster site, New Orleans is 181 square miles. A hundred and -- 0.2 percent of the disaster area is New Orleans! And that's all we're hearing about, are the people in New Orleans. Those are the only ones we're seeing on television are the scumbags -- and again, it's not all the people in New Orleans. Most of the people in New Orleans got out! It's just a small percentage of those who were left in New Orleans, or who decided to stay in New Orleans, and they're getting all the attention. It's exactly like the 9-11 victims' families. There's about 10 of them that are spoiling it for everybody.
Republicans who attend the Freedom Liberty Democracy Red White & Blue We Love Bush March, which celebrates the 4th birthday of 9/11 this weekend will receive fake dog tags to wear around non-enlisted necks. As Atrios says, "I shit you not." These people must think they are doing something so brave, so tough, walking around listening to b-list country music and propping up a cause that they only support verbally.
One side is stamped: "Freedom Walk September 11, 2005 The Pentagon AMERICASUPPORTSYOU.MIL"
The other side has "STARS and STRIPES www.stripes.com"
Thanks to The Liberal Avenger for the wonderful find and picture. Also, when viewing www.stripes.com, it contained this really weird ad in the center in which I have no clue what it's target audience is geared towards... Jeff Ganon / Guckert?
From SusanHu over at Kos. Republican Representative Richard Baker thanked "God" for destroying many of the poors public housing in Lousina's 6th disctrict.
"We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did."
I am sure some of you have seen this one, I hope it's not in too bad taste, but considering who it is mocking, I find it appropriate. We all need a laugh after this week...
Over at Daily Kos, maggie2 reports that First Lady Laura Bush just commented about Hurricane Corinna. That's right, Corinna. Not once did she say it, but twice. It would be nice if Bush's wife would even know what is going on in the country in regard to Katrina which could have taken 10,000 to 25,000 lives this past week, who only knows how many of those were because of neglect .
Also, earlier today Laura Bush responded to comments that called her husband racist:
"I think all of those remarks are disgusting, to be perfectly frank, because of course President Bush cares about everyone in our country"
Alright, but you call your husband President Bush? It's 7:00 PM President Bush, are you ready to go to bed? You are really trying to humanize yourself Laura, aren't you... She goes on to tell the press that she actually lives with the man:
"And I know that. I mean, I'm the person who lives with him, I know what he's like and I know what he thinks and I know how he cares about people."
She then goes on to say that flooding happens more often in poor neighborhoods because that type of housing attracts more rain and water which makes them more "vulnerable."
"They lived in poorer neighborhoods. Their neighborhoods were the ones that were more likely to flood, as we saw in New Orleans. Their housing was more vulnerable and that's what we saw, and that's what we want to address in our country."
Or maybe she is just dumb? More to come of this once I get it...
From Oliver Willis, The 100% Republican, "Team Hate America." These eleven congressmen, Republican conservatives all, just voted against the $51 billion package ( H. R. 3673) for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Horrible human beings, all.
Shame, that's the theme of the protest outside the White House today as survivors and concerned citizens of Hurricane Katrina display their anger and disapproval of PUTOS Bush's mishandling and neglect of other Americans. Democracy Cell Project has more with pictures and quotes.
I saw this first over at BobHarris.com. Here are two maps, the first is one of the parishes / counties in which POTUS Bush declared a "declaration of emergency in:" From whitehouse.gov:
The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina beginning on August 26, 2005, and continuing.
The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn.
The parishes in Red were ordered federal aid and disaster releif, the Blue were not. Here is the same map of the parishes / counties that went for Bush / Kerry in 2004.
Only two of the five counties that went for Kerry were included in Bush's order. While Orleans Parish which went 78% for Kerry was ignored. Make of this as you will...
Radical fundamental "Christian" cleric and Republican, Pat "Assassination" Roberston never ceases to amaze me. In his profit for preaching program The 700 Club, the radical cleric went on to say that Supreme Court nominee John Roberts should be "thankful" for the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, and it has actually brought some "good" for Roberts. Robertson was referring to the people not wanting to hear "inflamed rhetoric" about life and death while people are still fighting for their lives on the Gulf Coast. Media Matters has the text and video. Even more disgusting is the metaphor of "ill wind" and "blows" that Robertson uses.
ROBERTSON: Well, in a sense, they say it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good. Out of this tragedy, the focus of America is going to be on these victims, and inflamed rhetoric in the United States Senate is just not going to play well now because this is a time of healing and compassion and reaching out to people, and if they start going on a vendetta against Roberts in the Senate, it's just going to hurt them. And I think they know that, so, I mean, Judge Roberts can, maybe (laugh), you know, be thankful that a tragedy has brought him some good.
Notice that laugh when he mentioned the "good" that this "tragedy" has brought to Roberts. What the hell is it with the way Roberts pronounces the word "out", too? Sounds like some Frenchy godless Canadian if you ask me...
Charleston South Carolina was given a 30 minute notice that approximately 180 survivors were going to be arriving via plane at the airport. Health officials scrambled to prepare, having a line of buses and ambulances ready for the NOLA arrivals. However, the plane landed in Charleston, WV, some 400 miles away. Charleston, SC health officials were told that some of the evacuees required,
"some minor treatment ... possibly some major treatment."
The report did not mention what eventually happened to the evacuees.
Republican Rick "Man On Dog" Santorum finally did not have sex on his mind (at least we don't think so); however, this time Ricky thinks the poor of New Orleans, Louisiana should be fined. Over the weekend, Santorum stated that the poor who did not have transportation and could not afford a way out of NOLA despite the "mandatory" SUV evacuation should actually be penalized.
"You have people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings. There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving."
However, because of staunch criticisms from everybody who is not a right- wing wacko, and even some of them, Santorum thought he should clarifiy his comments:
"Obviously most of the people here in this case, an overwhelming majority of people just literally couldn't have gotten out on their own," he said. "Many didn't have cars ... and that really was a failure on the part of local officials in not making transportation available to get people out."
Santorum later went on to say that "man on dog" sex was God punishing NOLA...
Everyone else has this one so you know I will too. Evidently former First "Lady" Barbara Bush thinks that it's actually "scary" to have "underprivileged" blacks staying and sharing her now home state of Texas. Although before Katrina, Bush thinks they lived in trees, streets and abandoned buildings so living in a dome, on a football field and sleeping on a cot next to 20,000 other people is "working out well" for those who used to live in squalor.
"Almost everyone I've talked to says 'we're going to move to Houston.'"
"What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality."
"And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them."
This family is just sick... So Katrina was the best thing that could have happened to these "underprivileged" mostly black, poor people. Leave it to a Bush to invent a pseudo-silver lining is some disgustingly minded way.
Thanks to the sad continuation of hate that is the Republican Party, this site has continue to grow and gain traffic. Here are the statistics for the past 50 days. As you can see from the data, there is a significant consistent increases in new visitors, which contribute to a growing returning visitor base.
That's right, according to the Salvation Army, Hurricane Katrina was actually created by God and/or Jesus to punish the sinners of New Orleans. Maj. John Jones, of the Salvation Army told reporters and survivors in Houston,
"Natural disaster is caused by the sin in the world. The acts of God are what happens afterwards ... all the good that happens."
Do not ever give money to this wacko "charitable" organization. The Salvation Army's Jones was one of many trying to comfort victims in Sunday services across several states which included songs such as, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."
"We're getting reports of how some religion-based 'aid' groups are trying to fly evangelists into the stricken areas and how U.S. Army chaplains are carrying bibles -- not food or water -- to 'comfort' people,"
Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheist, said in a statement.
"People need material aid, medical care and economic support -- not prayers and preaching."
The Catholic Church which makes up the majority faith in New Orleans had a more realistic and philosophical explanation. As Fr. Lowell Case of St. Francis Xavier Church, a black Catholic Church in Baton Rouge said,
"For those who were alone in the water, alone on the roof, you might ask 'What did we do to deserve this?' A lot of us think being black may have had something to do with it, being poor and black in New Orleans."
This should make you think twice whenever giving financial contributions or time to so called charitable organizations like the Salvation Army which has an obvious religious agenda. Organizations such as the American Red Cross have an excellent record and do not discriminate against Americans because they do not approve of based- on- supernatural beliefs.From the Salvation Army website:
The Salvation Army is a Christianorganizationn and part of the universal Christian Church. Its message and the lifestyle it advocates are based on the BibleÂs teaching. Its work is to make known the good news about Jesus Christ and to persuade people to become his followers. Everything The Salvation Army does is rooted in the faith of its members. The confidence Salvationists have in a loving and caring God finds outward expression in their love for humanity and their practical response to human need.
It was Bush who exclusively visited Salvation Army centers five days after Katrina.
I kid you not... from Americablog: Right from the horses ass, Bush orders flags to fly at half staff for white, privileged Republican Supreme Court Justice... oh yeah, and then for the poor victims of Katrina second.
UPDATE: That's exactly what happened. They did it for Rehnquist today, within hours of his death, and realized it would look rather callous not to do it for the hurricane victims a week AFTER the hurricane. So they did both today. The hurricane victims were a CYA afterthought. Lovely.
Howard Blue, 22, was blocked by National Guard troops when he tried to enter the "white" line where troops were even assisting the well-dressed guests with their luggage. Blue exclaimed,
"How does this work? They (are) clean, they are dry, they get out ahead of us?"
Even National Guard Capt. John Pollard commented on his orders to evacuate the $150 a night minimum Hyatt people first by moving them to the front of the line as,
CHICAGO, IL -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 09/02/2005 -- Hyatt Regency New Orleans and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced the evacuation of hurricane victims -- including both guests and employees -- from the hotel. With the exception of a small group of Hyatt executives, safety experts, city officials and FEMA representatives, all guests have vacated the premises.
According to Hyatt Regency General Manager Michael Smith, guests and employees who had operable cars were evacuated and cleared to drive to points north via caravan, and the remainder were evacuated via bus. No guests were suffering from major injury or illness at the time of evacuation, Smith said.
The approximately 900 guests that remained on the premises following Katrina's powerful blow -- primarily hotel staff and their families, officials, and those in emergency-related roles -- were safely relocated to the hotel's well-sheltered ballroom, exhibit hall areas and serviceable guest rooms where they were kept comfortable following the hurricane while city and emergency officials began the difficult process of assessing storm related damage to the hotel and the city.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
From Reuters website:
I think it is safe to say that the radical cleric Rat Robertson has "officially" lost his mind. Now he was always a little off, but as the end of his life is approaching, he is becoming more extreme along with psychotic visions, messages, and teachings of his God.
Geez, my roommates and I once had more people outside our apartment at a kegger before a WVU game in undergrad (well not really but you get the point). Here are some pictures from during the event. If anyone has ever been to a reall march in Washington, as you can see from these pictures from the National Mall, this is pathetic.
Yes, even Operation Yellow Elephant was there adding to the massive 4K of people. Though they actually tried to have these toddlers "walk the walk" and really support the troops by enlisting in the military. I am sadly to report that Rev. Mykeru of OYE (has an nice video too) was unsuccessful in recruiting. Even handing out flyers to these people with directions to the closest recruiting office was like handing out anthrax.
This one is great too, check out the caption.
BUSH: ONE OF THE WORST DISASTERS TO HIT THE U.S.
Shame, that's the theme of the protest outside the White House today as survivors and concerned citizens of Hurricane Katrina display their anger and disapproval of PUTOS Bush's mishandling and neglect of other Americans. Democracy Cell Project has more with pictures and quotes.
Here is the same map of the parishes / counties that went for Bush / Kerry in 2004.
Only two of the five counties that went for Kerry were included in Bush's order. While Orleans Parish which went 78% for Kerry was ignored. Make of this as you will...
Download the cleaned up Audio and original video Video here:
As you can see from the data, there is a significant consistent increases in new visitors, which contribute to a growing returning visitor base.
Do not ever give money to this wacko "charitable" organization. The Salvation Army's Jones was one of many trying to comfort victims in Sunday services across several states which included songs such as, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."
From the Salvation Army website:
A picture really is worth a thousand words. 
Howard Blue, 22, was blocked by National Guard troops when he tried to enter the "white" line where troops were even assisting the well-dressed guests with their luggage. Blue exclaimed,
