Our Tsunami

I just get numb looking at the pictures on television, much like 9/11. I feel helpless and pissed in the same emotional moment. Watching people die is not my idea of a sport.

I don't know if it's totally mishandling, but the local law enforcement and emergency management officials have been truly in over their heads from the beginning. That's not necessarily a slam. The sad thing is that they have refused to admit it. Or worse, they have made a call and it's gone unheeded. It's obvious that Plan A didn't work and there was no Plan B. For at least 48 hours since the storm passed there have been thousands of people wandering around without any direction.

It's like a boxer who has been knocked down and gets up dazed and confused, the whole world has changed and he can't get oriented. And the hits keep coming and no one is directing him to safety.

Who's in charge? Is it local officials, who don't have the resources to cope with this type of disaster? Is it the Governor or the State? Is it FEMA or Homeland Security? It's like everyone is looking around at everyone else waiting for someone to act. The victims are long past waiting.

The sad reality is there are over 1 Million homeless, jobless refugees from this disaster many of whom are requiring basic survival needs. After these get met, then they have to deal with reality. Their shelter is gone, their income is gone, they are now dependent on others. After 9/11 I soured on the Red Cross, but I hear it is better. I know there are other good charities that provide excellent services to the victims. Red Dog urges you to support your favorite charity and give what you can. I will be making a donation to the Red Cross and to my friends on the Coast. In spite of the slow start to provide relief, I know it is coming and Americans will pitch in to help their fellow citizens.

"Did we quit when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?"__Bluto

And I apologize for my feeble attempt at humor. Nice try to shake me LR, maybe tomorrow. If I have to keep watching Wolf Blitzer and Larry King, I probably will have to open up a can of "whupass" on somebody.

Note:
Those of you reading this blog for the first time or because it is a Mississippi blog, if you want to pass on information about Katrina or need information, drop a response. We will try to help, but my communications to the coast are probably not any better than anyone elses. I have seen the number of hits go up since Sunday, so I know people are dropping in looking for sites that may have information. That's why I put NoFatCat's link in the posting below.
http://www.artsjournal.com/aboutlastnight/

I hope Stacy Carpenter has made contact with his fiance. I did leave a message on her cell phone, but have not made actual contact. I will keep trying.

To Zachi145, as soon as I make actual contact with my friends in Gautier, I will find out. It sounds like Gautier may not have been hit as hard as some of the other places.

Links

Thanks NoFatCat for your link. There are some really good blog links at this address for Katrina
http://www.artsjournal.com/aboutlastnight/

I finally got in contact with our friends' daughter. They are fine, extensive water damage in their house, but thank God they are alive. Now I do have some friends that lived in New Orleans that I used to work with, please pray for them.

LR makes a good recommendation on "Rising Tide" a very good book that outlines many of the problems of the river and New Orleans. When you max out on TV coverage, I recommend reading it, as well.

A Really Rotten Day

I went into overload today on Katrina news. The story of the man who lost his wife because he couldn't hold on to her hand as their house split apart was too heart wrenching. Then the news that another levee was breeched in NO and that virtually all of the city would be underwater by tomorrow, the entire city will have to be evacuated and the realization that New Orleans will no longer be New Orleans was just too much to bear. I did what I always do when I'm depressed, I went to Walmart.

Walmart is good therapy, you can always escape by looking at "all the stuff." One of my favorite pasttimes is seeing if I can find anything "American Made." But that's another story.

Today, I ran into a group who has just ran into one another, they were from Slidell. They didn't know each other, but they immediately were best friends. I eavesdropped for awhile on their conversation. Basically, they were trying to find out news of any kind from home, they swapped contact numbers for FEMA, the Red Cross, or any agency that might help. They weren't sure when they would be able to return home or whether or not they had a home. Someone said maybe Friday. In all they were rather upbeat.

When I finally made it to checkout there was a lady there purchasing phone cards. She was from New Orleans. I asked how she was holding up and if she new anything about her home. Her response was God must really be testing us. She was sure her house had been flooded and didn't know when she could return, or when, if ever, she and her husband would be able to work, or make their house payment, or be able to file a claim for insurance. Things we may take for granted at any given point in time. But she said, "We'll be alright, we'll manage." She was able to smile, I know it took courage for her to smile, but somehow I believe she and her family will make it.

Some of you don't know how hard it is for Red Dog to keep his mouth shut about some of the obvious mishandling of this situation, but I'm not going there for now out of respect for those that have lost their lives and their homes and their livelihood. However, I will say Fred Barnes is a Jerk and that is the nicest thing I can say about him. Wingnut's rhetoric was "We" shouldn't have to pay for rebuilding those homes in NO and the Coast "because they chose to live there." I'm sorry, Fred, the people I saw being rescued from their roof tops didn't seem to be the favored elite class that enjoyed the Bush tax cuts. (Fred started it.)

Anyhow. Does anyone know any information about Gautier, other than Aaron Brown doesn't know how to pronounce it? I've got friends that live there and can't find anything out. Communications is nonexistent.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day, particularly for those affected by Katrina.

Horrible!!

Maybe 50 or so dead in Harrison County so far. Who knows how many perished in Ward 9 in N.O. It may be days/weeks/months before there can be an actual accounting of the death and destruction caused by Katrina. I fear it will be much worse than we think now.

I once lived "down there" in Gautier. My house was about 30 to 40 yards from a finger on Mary Walker Bayou. I haven't heard about the damage or the storm surge from Pascagoula to Ocean Springs, but if I can split the difference between Mobile Bay and Gulfport, at least 18 to 20 feet. I can only imagine that my old house has significant water inside it. I hope the owners left before the storm came in. But I know the people there and many of them used to brag about weathering Camille and I'm sure they felt safe. I fear many of them were wrong this time.

I watched the wind blow around here all day and the rain that accompanied it. Imagine that kind of bashing multiplied by 3. I'm glad I don't live there now. I'll have some minor yard cleaning to do tomorrow, I won't complain. Tonight I'll sleep in my bed with a roof over my head. Many folks "down there" won't be so lucky.

I'm sorry, I just don't feel very "political" right now. Maybe tomorrow.

Katrina - Sommbitch

I hope if any of you have friends and relatives along the coast and in New Orleans, they are safely out of harm's way. It looks like Katrina will meet or exceed Camille in destruction. Hopefully, lives will be spared. If you need it, here is the link to the National Hurricane Center.

I went and bought $2.47 a gallon gas today, wonder what it will be like tomorrow? Futures opened up about $5 a barrel to just over $7o and could go higher. Here is the MSNBC Link.

We should feel some winds in the Delta tomorrow of around 30-50 mph.
Stay Safe

Are You Ready For Some Football?

I'm just thinking for the fun of it how about a football contest? Politics sometimes gets too boring. I thought if we could have a weekly contest and whoever gets the most right picks becomes the "Pigskin Prognosticator Poobah" (PPP) for the Week. The teams are teams we have a connection to, in other words, you or your spouse or kids or in-laws attended/graduated, or you make a significant financial donation to each year. In order to participate you have to pick all the teams (No point spreads involved, straight W/L). Oh, the team you submit must actually play eleven man football. It should be neat to see how many schools we can get represented.

I will publish the games for the week by Wednesday Night, you have to make your picks by Thursday (some play on Thursday and Friday) by 5:oo p.m. CDT. These can be Division 1, 1-A, etc. however many divisions there are. Let's not do Junior Colleges, unless you insist. Depends on how many schools we can get. Winners will be announced on Sunday.

I'll start with the teams I have or have had a connection to and we can see how many we get.

Ole Miss
Miss. State
University of Southern Mississippi
Delta State
University of Oklahoma
Auburn University
University of Arkansas
UCLA

It should be fun, you win absolutely nothing (Red Dog is cheap!) but everyone must honor you for a week for your prognosticating skills.

What do ya think?

Pass the word on to your pals if you like, the more the merrier. You must have a "handle" to participate. "Anonymous" is automatically ineligible and "PPP" is not available, it's an honor.

Red Dog's Inside Prognostication You Can Bet The House On Tip Of The Year!
The Saints will not win the Super Bowl
Shhh! Don't tell anyone. We don't want to influence the odds.

I know, it's a sneaky way to get people to read the blog, but face it, I'm just another "media whore."

Humor Me

Last night was a slow night so I just did some "googling" looking for "Movies that Made Me Laugh" and some of the classic lines. My Top 10 Movies that made me laugh, in no particular order.

Blazing Saddles
The Producers
The Jerk
Monty Python's Holy Grail
Christmas Vacation
Young Frankenstein
Airplane
A Fish Called Wanda
Raising Arizona
Animal House/1942 (O.k. I was a Belushi fan - "Hollywooooooood")

And I'm sure I could change my mind, if someone came up with one I forgot about.

Recommendation

NoFatCat has recommended a blog to me and I want to pass it along to those who want to get the "real news" from Iraq. Journalist Michael Yon is embedded with a group called "Deuce Four" in Northern Iraq. I will warn you that it is lengthy but worth the read. I will let you draw your own emotions and conclusions, my only comments are for the troops "Godspeed"

Either click on Michael Yon or go to:
http://michaelyon.blogspot.com

Damn

I turned the word verification on to prevent automated comments, when you comment to a post you should receive a "word" to type in to insure a person is commenting, not a machine.

If this doesn't work, I guess the next step is to require "memberships"

Dog

Running on Empty

Thought I would take a break from the war tonight and throw out some pain and suffering of another kind. We were never asked to make any sacrifices to go to war (i.e. increased taxes to pay for it), but sooner or later you have to pay the piper. From the chart above (courtesy of the Energy Information Administration) you can see that shortly after "Mission Accomplished" in July 2003, gasoline was about $1.66 per gallon and that in August 2005, that same gallon is about $2.62. In the neighborhood of 58% more.

Now, we all know that it costs more to fill up our tanks and therefore eats up more of our discretionary income, assuming we have any. We still have to buy groceries, (a lot of groceries in Mississippi, apparently) and that sooner or later the cost of growing, processing, and transporting those groceries to the stores will go up, sucking up more of our disposable income and eating away at any discretionary income. The cost of cooling and heating your house is also impacted by the cost of gasoline, that too will rise, eating more of your disposable income and reducing discretionary income. Just about everything we purchase has a link to the cost of oil. The cost of government goes up putting pressure on governments to raise taxes to support law enforcement, trash removal, etc.

Now, remember that Congress just passed an energy bill that gave the oil companies another whopping $12 Billion in welfare and they ducked the issue of fuel economy mandates on vehicles, again. Don't forget that a new refinery has not been built in this country in over 25 years and that at my last count 8 refineries were down or partially down for maintenance and conversion. When the wind blows in the Atlantic or Gulf the oil companies automatically shut down the rigs and the price goes up. The salt caverns holding the U.S. oil reserves are full. It's supply and demand working right? Wrong! The supply and demand are being manipulated by the Oil Producing countries, the oil companies, and the government to the extent that the market cannot level itself.

Throw in the rise in the cost of medical care, the rise in the cost of education, and the rise in insurance rates and ask yourself, are you better off than you were five years ago?

There Something Happening Here...

What is ain't exactly clear.

No Red Dog isn't invoking the Buffalo Springfield in an anti-war protest song, but I am using it to describe our two Senators. As Wolf Blitzer would say "Watch this."
From RiMo's Diary at DailyKos

Sen. Thad Cochran made a surprise announcement this morning in Biloxi, MS: He proposed a buyout of Federal drilling leases within 12 miles of MS barrier islands and a moratorium on drilling in Federal waters within that limit. He also announced that, if state officials make a request, he will work for a Federal buyout of state mineral rights near Gulf Islands National Seashore. This places Cochran out in front of the MS congressional delegation on an important conservation matter. Governor Barbour had refused to rule out drilling, choosing to call for a suspension of activities pending a coastal zone study. This announcement comes three days after 3000 people attended a rally in the Biloxi coliseum to preserve the barrier islands. Is what happens here a national issue?

Stories this spring in the LA Times and Manchester (UK) Guardian saw it this way, MS being a strong Red State, and an easier entry point that would be precedent to pry open other state waters where the environmental ethic is stronger. This is a remarkable turnaround, since Senator Cochran was responsible for inserting into a War and Tsunami Relief statute a provision opening up these barrier islands to drilling. Reports indicated that Sen. Cochran did this at the request of Governor Barbour, and neither seemed to be aware of the controversy that would follow. Although not widely known, these islands are gaining increasing national press. Horn Island was identified as one of America's ten best beaches in Men's Journal this summer and another publication identified the MS coast as among the best areas for recreational boating. This press follows in the heel of a new pulse of condominium and dockside casino development that may propel the MS coast into a new level of tourism. For this reason, the local community was unusually united, with Repubs and Dems side by side trying to hold onto a good tourism environment. It is a major step forward and it was a people power effort. Important lesson, work the grassroots.

And from CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 (Soledad O'Brien substituting for Anderson Cooper)

O'BRIEN: As we told you earlier tonight, Cindy Sheehan is returning to Crawford, Texas. She says she believes the president deceived her son by sending him to die in her words, in a senseless war. Our next guest on 360 disagrees. Senator Trent Lott voted for the war, says knowing what he knows now about Iraq, he still supports the president's decision. The Republican from Mississippi is the author of a new book. It's called "Herding Cats." He joins us this evening.It's nice to see you. I love the title of your book. Let's get right to it. How much do you think, back to Cindy Sheehan, how much do you think not meeting with Cindy Sheehan is causing problems with the president?

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: It probably does cause some problems, because people, you know, they can't help but have their heart go out to this mother who lost her son. And people think, you know, she has a right to demonstrate, and wouldn't be easy for the president to meet with her. And early on, I said I probably find a way to meet with her, maybe with more mothers or others or a group of some kind. I didn't know at the time that he had met with already. And then I've heard some comments that she's made later that do disturb me, and, so, you know, you have to weigh each situation, look at all the details. But I think people would like to see some further responsiveness. And I don't mean that as critically of the president as it may sound. It's hard. It's tough. Because you can't meet with everybody that demonstrates or protests no matter how good their cause. But --

O'BRIEN: Kind of keeps the story going.

LOTT: Yes, it does. And I, also, I want to emphasize this, too. You said that, you know, I supported going to the war, I think it was the right thing.

O'BRIEN: You write about it a lot in the book.

LOTT: Right. We are there now, and whether you agree with that or not we've got to figure out how we complete this job. And I want to emphasize, I don't think you should, just because you say we still got a job to do, you shouldn't acknowledge that maybe we need to do it differently, or change some people, or change your tactics. Be realistic in facing where we are and how do we want to get to where we need to be a year from now. What is the, you know, the conditions -- what are the conditions you're looking for.

O'BRIEN: Well the president says we're going to stay. He said it again today and he said it many times. We are going to stay until the mission is completed. But as you can see from the poll numbers, and the latest ones say 43 percent, think the war is going well, 56 percent think it's going badly. At what point would your constituents say Senator Lott we want our boys and women home. Do you say, it's time to go.

LOTT: Well even my own constituency, a state that you know is a red state, they still for the most part like President Bush. And they supported our military -- always supported our military, and they supported going into Iraq. I had a lot of them say kind of what's the plan here? See, when you just say, we are going to stay until the mission is completed, I think you need to take a little bit more time and say, well, this is the mission. Now why don't we have more police trained, more soldiers ready? Why hasn't the economy been growing more? Why isn't unemployment still too high? What are we going to do to maybe put a different mix of troops in there, move a division to the northern part of Iraq?You need more information, but the president, I watched him, he's pretty perceptive. When he senses that things are not what they should be, or he's not getting as much across then he will initiate a lot of things that will expand that message, and, maybe even change how we are doing the job. And I think we need to assess that right now.

O'BRIEN: All right. Senator Trent Lott, it's nice to you. The book is called "Herding Cats." You covered the war in Iraq and many other things as well. It's an interesting read. Thanks.

LOTT: Thank you very much, Soledad.

WTF? Who put Kool Aid in my coffee? Is Thad becomming an (gasp!) Environmentalist? Is Trent second guessing Fearless Leader? My, oh, my, things are happening in the GOP! Could it be the Pres is being viewed as a liability.
Lameduckness is a terminal disease.

Got Protection?

Stolen from the interner. I think AP gets the credit.

Picutre of veteran at Bush's speech to VFW in Salt Lake. You just can't bullshit a bullshitter, Mr. President!

I believe the picture speaks for itself. However, as a veteran my comment is that if you want to honor those killed in combat, treat their "band of brothers" with dignity and decent veteran benefits, take care of their survivors, and above all don't make their sacrifice a lie. Mr. President, you lied. You continue to lie and you need to finally tell the American people the truth. You finally referenced the number of casualties in Iraq, you earn no medal for that. If you don't want to answer Cindy Sheehan's questions, at least answer the 64% of Americans who want to know the truth.

American Fatwah

From the August 22 broadcast of The 700 Club: On Hugo Chavez

ROBERTSON: "There was a popular coup that overthrew him [Chavez]. And what did the United States State Department do about it? Virtually nothing. And as a result, within about 48 hours that coup was broken; Chavez was back in power, but we had a chance to move in. He has destroyed the Venezuelan economy, and he's going to make that a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent.

You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop. But this man is a terrific danger and the United ... This is in our sphere of influence, so we can't let this happen. We have the Monroe Doctrine, we have other doctrines that we have announced. And without question, this is a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us very badly. We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."

And the people said "AMEN!"

So, Brother Pat Robertson gets it, it's all about the oil. Screw the Ten Commandments. God told him it's o.k. to go kill a leader of another country to save a few bucks and steal their oil. Funny, I can't think of a single person Jesus thought should be killed. The scary thing is people acutally take this Quack (Robertson) seriously! This is the Religious Right base of George W. Bush. Murder a democratically elected leader of another country for oil, I think that also strikes at another commandment about "coveting." Hey, LR We didn't even have to go to Iraq for oil, there's plenty in Venezuela for the taking. Can I get an AMEN?

Now Dog is not so naive to think that this country has not had leaders of other countries assassinated or started coups in other countries to accomplish our objectives. Normally, that is left to the CIA and normally religious leaders in this country aren't calling for a Fatwah against another government. We should be more worried about the Taliban in this country than in Afghanistan. Pat Robertson is the Taliban.

On another note:
My how times have changed. Trent Lott is quoted from a NYT article on President Clinton and Kosovo.

May 19,2000
"We have no long-term plan for Kosovo," complained Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, the majority leader, who supported the deadline for withdrawing American forces. "We don't know how long we're going or how much it's going to cost. Commitments are not being fulfilled by the Europeans, and that's unacceptable."

Gee, change the reference to Kosovo and substitute Iraq and the quote looks almost timeless. The only difference is that the Republicans are in charge. Where is your question now, Trent? It's unacceptable.

Bush approval rating plummets to 36% lower than Richard Nixon at the height of Watergate.

Housekeeping Note

Noticed some anonymous posts giving kudos to the blog and go on to say, "Oh, by the way, check out this blog at xxxx" Dog says be careful of anonymous post that direct you to another site. I have no way of controlling them except to not allow anonymous posts, which, for now, I choose not to do. I have looked at moving to other blog sites, but am too cheap to pay for one and I don't want to fill this small blog up with advertisements. I will leave the first two comments on the previous post in place for a while so you can see what I am refering to. Hell, I like compliments as much as anyone, but I don't solicit them.

Red Dog Bites the cheapest, opinionated news source with bias against idiocy in town.

I don't even pretend to be fair and balanced, that's the other guy's lies.

Strong Odor of Mendacity

"We're not winning".....Chuck Hagel (R-Neb)
Chuck must have picked up the wrong talking points memo. A Republican Senator has broken ranks with the "stay the course" crowd and tells it like it is. I love it when Reps start in-fighting. But Chuck, you better get prepared for the "Swift Boaters." Hagel, another Vietnam Veteran, will be smeared by the "Three Amigos" Draft Dodgers for being unpatriotic and hating our freedoms. Anyhow, my tail wags for you Sen. Hagel. And from Red Dog to the Dems.."You need to grow some cujones, too."

Dead Wrong
A good documentary tonight on CNN. Does this mean that the missing blonde story is dead? If you missed it, watch the rerun. Dog loved it to see the replay of the "misstatements" from Cheney, Bush, Rice, and Powell in the run up to war. Watch Condi's lips quiver when she is lying about the aluminum tubes and the "mushroom clouds." Of course, CNN lets the WH off the hook and jumps on the fall guy, George Tenet. Anyhow, CNN did some real reporting on this special. There is nothing new here, but old lies are hard to distance yourself from sometimes. Especially lies that send this country to war.

Interesting comment from LR:
"I see the platforms of both major political parties shifting. Ten years ago, it was Republicans clamoring for a balanced budget - today, it's the Democrats. Tough illegal immigration policy was safely in GOP hands - now Bill Richardson leads the Dems in declaring it a "State of Emergency" (which it is). It fascinates me and disheartens me in philosophical stroke. Ideologies shouldn't change so rapidly and, yes, ten years is a rapid change in political parties' "core" values."

I'll add another to the list. Who would have thought the Democrats would push welfare reform and the Republicans would push a Medicare Drug Plan. Of course the Repubs were never against welfare, they just felt the wrong people were getting it. Now they control where it goes and it goes to the rich and BigCorp.

The Republicans are masters at the shell game by attracting the religious right on the social issues of gay rights,stem cell research, and abortion, while fleecing the same constituency to fund the coffers of the drug companies and HMO's. Oh, and LR, I used a couple of "code words" - Strict constructionist - anti-gay and anti-abortion supporters and privacy - a woman has the right to determine what happens to her body and whatever consenting adults agree to is no one's business, especially the government.

I'll have to get back to you on the rest of your comments, but I do agree that those who only pay the minimum deserve what they get, however, personal debt in this country is $2.1 Trillion and a 2-4% default is $40 - $80 Billion. It is a huge problem!

Did anyone see Trent on MTP today? Looks almost like he took a swipe at Bush on the run up to war, but weaseled his way out of it. Some of the blogs on the left were saying he "let the cat out of the bag," but I think Trent knew exactly what he was doing. (He doesn't always.) He's still pissed about the Speaker thing. The funniest line I saw today was that Lott wrote a book called "Herding Cats and Frist is writing a book called "Hurting Cats." heh, get it...?

Cat, would you do us a favor? Find out what Lush smells like tomorrow and give us a report. If he would spend more time on his scoop stories and less time on the BS stories, he might could make a decent reporter. He's got to be writing a book, a mystery, because again, I read it and say WTF?

Flip Flop

Mostly Flop

My old friend Bill Frist is at it again, this time over teaching "Intelligent Design." Bill trying to get back in the good graces of his leader or what? Apparently the good doctor had some scientific genes dominant somewhere or he couldn't have gotten through medical school. I guess spending too much time under the tin foil hat is hazardous to your brain. Anyhow, Frist has given a totally new meaning to the term "flip-flop" Never has he quite completely recovered from the Schiavo "diagnosis." Then again, maybe he is positioning himself to run for the presidency in 2008. If he can dumb down his own intelligence to match that of fearless leader he might have a chance.

"I don't want a pickle, just want to ride my bi-cy-cle." Dubya out spying on Sheehan, no doubt. Or, maybe he's just getting ready for unemployment in three years (at most), he can capitalize on opening a bicycle dealership since Americans won't be able to afford to drive cars. Amazing that gasoline has gone up by $.16 a gallon since he signed the Energy Bill. Oh, I know, the whiny Repubs didn't get their precious ANWR oil (10 years out and about 2% of demand).

Dubya's going to visit the troops in Idaho. Idaho? Yep, talk up of how fightin 'em there means we don't have to fight 'em in Idaho. In the most bizarre fashion of "having your head up your ass" the military now says they are preparing to stay in Iraq for 4 more years (sounds like a campaign chant). Let's see now, we have gone from 30,000 reduction next year, to that was a rumor. "When they stand up, We will stand down." The Iraqi's are being trained with 200,000 being ready to ,Oops, maybe only 5,000 to we will maintain a troop level of about 100,000 for the next four years. Amazing at a cost of over $1 Trillion. And, we still don't have an exit strategy.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse. Remember the Bankruptcy bill, so embraced by our two Senators? Guess what? When it goes into effect in October, the credit card companies will also increase your minimum payment from 2% to 4%. So, if you are only paying the minimum on your credit card, you will have to pony up about twice as much in minimum payment. If you are late one payment, your interest rate will go to 30.43%. Is this a great deal or what? Pay off those cards now! The Big CreditCo isn't publicizing this, by the way. Be sure to read the fine print in the Terms of Acceptance. You will quickly find that you are screwed!

To my Lefty friends, on Judge Roberts, "Get a Life." He's in, no matter what you try to dig up. And, he probably should be, he's certainly intelligent enough. I do feel that he should answer questions on the "privacy" issues. The Executive Department has stepped all over "privacy of individuals" and if you are a strict constructionist, you will have a hard time finding anywhere in the Constitution the guarantee of privacy. Dog asks, what good is freedom without privacy?

Good News

I'm back.....!!

I've gotta admit, the past week has been wacky and dog has been on an emotional roller coaster. Needless to say, keeping up with the news was not a priority and I have little clue as to what has transpired this week. (O.k. smartasses, some of you don't think I have a clue anytime.)

While being assigned to a waiting room, I did catch a segment of Faux News (couldn't find the remote) and learned absolutely nothing except the missing blond is still missing. Something about someone named "Able Danger" and blah, blah, Clinton, blah, blah. My head and my heart weren't really with it.

So, nothing went on to strike your fancy this week?

Thanks, LR for the post and let me say that your arguments too are well thought out. Too bad the Administration didn't have at least this much discussion before commiting American lives and dollars in a misguided policy.

Anything happen on the local scene?

I hate when I have to read back issues of the DDT to find out what's going on. I know some of you really want to comment on things locally. Without the "dirt" Red Dog can't go there, you need to provide that input.

I promise I'll do my homework and get something out over the weekend to stimulate the brain.

Oh, and the worst news I got from my stay in the waiting room was Faux News. So, it was a Great Day!

Open Discussion

I plan on being out for a few days and don't anticipate being able to post. However, use spot to bring up whatever. I can jump start a few things and maybe add a comment or two from afar.

Trent Lott Book :Herding Cats - Lott accuses Frist of undermining his bid to keep the Majority Leader and Bush for not supporting him. Interesting that Republicans have taken to attacking one another. Even Bill Clinton stated that Lott got a "raw deal" from the Repubs. Of course, the timing of the book confirms that Trent will be running again. Surprise. My opinion, I don't care, I wouldn't hand out a flyer for Trent, I think he has misrepresented Mississippi in Congress and it's time for a change.

Iraq: Further erosion of the "noble cause" No consitution, no harmony among the three factions. The country has been set up for failure by the U.S. leading to an eventual Islamic Theocracy with alliances between Baghdad and Tehran, the Kurds seceding and forming their own country, and the Sunnis joining with the Saudi Sunnis to overthrow the House of Saud. Result: Chaos in the Middle East.

Oil: Before passage of the Energy Bill gas was $.40 a gallon cheaper. Prices are being manipulated by the oil companies and the consumer is getting screwed. Use the links on the right side to let Trent and Thad know how much you appreciate the opportunity to contribute to oil company profits along with the U.S. Government.

Anyhow, just whatever strikes your fancy and I'm sure there are some local issues burning.

Be Very Afraid

With the wheels coming off the war in Iraq, Bush tells Israeli television that "all options are on the table" with Iran. Is this the precursor to another preemptive invasion? It sounds all too familiar. Last week you recall Rumsfeld's indignation over weapons from Iran being found in Iraq. Iran is one of the "Axes of Evil." And the administration is working diligently to make a connection between Iran's new President and the "Hostage Crisis" in the 70's. Sounds like a solid case to invade them to me, Mr. President. I'm sure we have another $400 Billion lying around and we could just hold the troops over from Iraq, after all, they have experience and they are expendable.

Check out Frank Rich's editorial at http://nytimes.com "Someone needs to tell the President that the war is over." Then go to The Washington Post at http://washingtonpost.com on how the administration has lowered its expectations in Iraq. I believe "flip-flopper" was a popular term used in the 2004 election that applies here. Plus some "senior adminstration officials" are in for a real ass chewing, I'm sure they will be fired for their behavior in leaking classified information. Bush is, after all, someone you can believe his word.

How about the price of gasoline today in River City? $2.50 a gallon. The national average was $2.41, think someone in Greenville is 'price gouging?' I read a tongue-in-cheek comment that Karl Rove was thankful that Cindy Sheehan just wanted to talk about Iraq and not the price of gasoline. At these prices in the States, we must be paying Halliburton $200.00 a gallon in Iraq to fill up our military vehicles.

This is the military/industrial complex that Eisenhower warned you about.

White Rabbit

White House Rattled

Bushco is having a great deal of difficulty these days in keeping the lemmings in line. First Rummy and Condi change the GWOT (Global War on Terror) to GSAVE (Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism) and George has to correct them. Then General Casey says that we can start drawing down the troops in Iraq by the Spring of 2006 and The Supreme General has to again correct the field commander. He then scolds the press for listening to “rumors.” It’s not easy being King.

Now one of his disloyal subjects is camping outside his castle demanding that he talk with her about the war and her son’s sacrifice. She only wants to know what noble purpose he died for. King George only wants to “stay the course” which means many more sons and daughters will die for his noble purpose.

Every day the probability of snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory becomes greater.

“We will stand down when the Iraqi’s stand up,” the King says.
”When will that be?” cry the subjects.
“Not one day longer than we have to.” shouts the King.
“When the insurgency is vanquished!” replies the Royal Rummy.
“When Iran stops sending in weapons!” yells the Vice King.
“When the danger of the ‘Mushroom Cloud’ is gone!.” chimes in the Countess Condi.

The Puzzle Palace has gone mad, chasing rabbits in Crawford.

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you're going to fall
Tell 'em a hookah smoking caterpillar
Has given you the call
To call Alice
When she was just small

When the men on the chessboard
Get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving low
Go ask Alice
I think she'll know

When logic and proportion
Have fallen slowly dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's off with her head
Remember what the doormouse said:
"Feed your Head
Feed your Head!"
__Jefferson Airplane

A Fishing Expedition

Without any bait.....

The Thursday DDT headlines, can anyone explain to me what that was about? It asked a question, "What does Greenville or the Delta have to do to even be mentioned......" I didn't see any answer. Perhaps it was a rhetorical question. There was some filler in there about Entergy Team City II, I'm still looking for the connection. Perhaps it was just a teaser to sell papers. I think the experience of Textron and the city, the Beef Plant, or Baxteria should be mandatory addition to any article referencing a manufacturing plant in the Delta.

What do we have to do? For starters there has to be a viable workforce. Anybody know where we can get one? Then, there has to be an infrastructure to accomodate these facilities. Nope, don't have that either. Oh, and what about a first class school system? Uh-uh. Low crime rate? Nah. Instead of worrying about what incentives we can offer a company, why not clean up our own nest (not just picking up the trash) first? Face it, to attract and retain a world class facility, we aren't even on the radar. Until the culture changes here, Greenville will never be anything more than a rural poverty area in one of the most depressed areas in the country. Hardly the kind of "perception" that catches the "big ones."

Oink! Ouch!

No matter how much and what kind of lipstick you put on this pig, it's still a pig! President Bush, who was absent when they discussed Presidential Veto in Government class, signed a $286 Billion Transportation Bill today. Well, what did us taxpayers get for this?

• Alaska got $941 Million (4th), Mississippi got $367 Million (31st)
• Don Young (R-AK) is Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. the Alaska allocation is for a $223 Million, mile long bridge that connects an island with 50 residents to Ketchikan, a town of 8,000 residents on the mainland. In addition, $231 Million is allocated to build a bridge in Anchorage that will be named..are you ready for this?......Don Young's Way! That's not all, $3 Million is set aside to make a film about building bridges in Alaska!

Other Projects having nothing to do with Roads and Bridges.

• Horse Riding facilities in Virginia $600,000
• Snowmobile trail in Vermont $5.9 Million
• Bicycle and Pedestrian trail in Tennessee $532,000
• Day-Care Center and Park-n-Ride facility in Illinois $1.25 Million
• Dust Control mitigation in rural Arkansas $3 Million
• National Packard Museum (remember the Packard?) in Ohio $2.75 Million
• Etc.

Mississippi Projects of note:

• Hwy 82 Bypass $10 Million
• Washington Co. General $1.4 Million
• I-69 $35 Million, plus another $8.3 Million from allocation among six states
• $20.2 Million to widen I-55 in DeSoto County to Tennessee Line
• $26.4 Million to purchase ROW for U.S. 49 from Florence to I-20
• $32 Million to widen State Hwy 57 from I-10 through Van Cleave

You can check out the entire bill allocations at www.taxpayer.net

Speaking of Pork and getting Porked, How about Baxteria! The state gives them $14 Million to pay the extortion money to not move and they reward the state with laying off 60 workers. Dog mentioned in a previous post how he felt about that. Corporate Welfare has got to STOP! A quick ballpark calculation is that is more than $3 Million that Baxteria will save annually in human resource costs. Add to that the $10 Million in loans and $4 Million in grants from the State and I'd say they "made out like bandits" (pun intended).

It was so gratifying that the Guv'ner was able to save Mississippi taxpayers money by getting 20,000 derelicts off the Medicaid rolls. How much do you think that saves? Why doesn't he go after the Medicaid Billing fraud from nursing homes, hospitals, clinics, and doctors? How much do you think that is? Do the people lobby? No. Do the providers lobby? You betcha! Now I am not opposed to making sure only qualified people are receiving Medicaid, but the real abuse and big money is in the fraudulent handling of patient charges.

Open Discussion

Red Dog will be out of town today, so no posts tonight, should be back tomorrow night with more "wits of wisdom." Use this post to bring up whatever you want. Here is one to start.

Anonymous posts:
flash!!!! bill has been prefilled in the miss. legislature to mandate that all school districts in the state must consolidate. we will end up with only approx. 84 districts rather than the 150 + . aint't that smart! bill will also mandate that the school boards must be elected rather than city council apointments.

Red Dog says: The Saints have better odds of winning the Super Bowl than this bill. The bill does, however, have great merits. Does Washington County really need 4 School Districts?

Good Week

At least it was for me. Good to get "Local Reflector" fired up again and have some others jump in, i.e. "Delta Watchdog", "NoFatCat". "Expatriate" and a few "Anonymice". I enjoyed the banter and hope you did too. It's just good to vent sometimes. It's my "therapy." As Red Dog has said many times, I don't care if you agree with me and based on my geographic location I doubt that there are many out there who do. Locally, we might have a few more things in common.

Since local issues push a lot of people's "hot button", I will try to add more local issues to the blog. Let me point out that I am not privy to all the stuff that goes on in Greenville and I am damn sure not a reporter. In other words, I ain't going looking for stuff. The DDT is my source and what they report, I decide if I want to comment. If you have burning issues and want them commented on, I've given you the means to get them to me. It's up to you.

Here's Red Dog's ESPN bit:
Bonehead Play of the Week - NCAA bans references to Native Americans from teams participating in NCAA Tournaments. Now PC is one thing, but this takes the cake. We still have Braves in Atlanta, Indians in Cleveland, Redskins in Washington (of all places) and the NCAA has to pick on Florida State, Illinois, and Alcorn, among others. They don't have enough to do trying to keep their member institutions from breaking the rules? The ESPY for Idiocy goes to the NCAA. Da--Da--Dah........DA--DA--DAH!

Stumblin', Bumblin', Fumblin'

Approval Ratings for Bush: (from AP/Ipsos)

Iraq 38%
Domestic Issues 37%
Economy 41%
Foreign Policy 47%

Overall 42%

On the CIA/Plame Leak:

Telling the entire truth 12%
Hiding something 55%
Mostly lying 22%

The "lame duck" president's legacy will be 9/11 and Iraq. Stumbling, Bumbling, Fumbling.......as we settle into that long Vietnam-like quagmire.

and there's more.......

• Republicans squeak by in Ohio - on the election to replace Bob Portman. The district Portman got 70%, the Republican candidate won by only 4%. Iraq veteran and anti-war candidate Paul Hackett nearly pulled off the upset. Dems take note......you cannot be Republican-lite and expect to win.
• Bush promotes teaching "Intelligent Design" - as the antithesis of evolution. A great "wedge" issue for his base. So far, he has ignored the science on global warming, stem cell research, and evolution. I take it science wasn't one of his better subjects.
• Novak walks off CNN set - did Cajun Carville put the heat on Novak, causing him to say "that's bullshit" and walk off, or was it that he knew Ed Henry was about to ask him about Plamegate? I think the reporter "'doth protest too much."
• Hiroshima - 60 years ago the world entered the "Nukular " Age. Can you name the only country that has ever used a nuclear weapon?
• Zawahiri irks Bush - Question. Why is that "fat bastard" still alive making videos? Answer. Bush invaded Iraq.

Go out and make some history this weekend and remember "Little Milton"

"The Blues is Alright"

My House, Is a Very, Very, Very Fine House

"THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET" WAS SET IN AN IMAGINARY small town where there is never any politics, any contention, any heart-break. Everyone is happy. Everyone is well fed and well dressed, lives in a nice house and has the same heart and the same values. At the center of this world are "America's favorite family, the Nelsons," as the show's announcer says. Ozzie plays a character named Ozzie Nelson; Harriet, a character named Harriet Nelson; and so on with David and Ricky. They all live in a virtually unchanging harmony; they love to walk into rooms of the house and greet each other. Scene after scene begins with: "Hi, Mom. Hi, Pop." "Oh, hello, boys." Scene after scene ends with: "Bye, Mom. Bye, Pop." "So long, boys. Have a good time."

The problelm is that Ozzie and Harriet don't live here anymore and the imaginary small town doesn't exist anymore.

Photo of Pre-Walmartian Greenville and serpentine streets!
(Can't say how I got the photo, but thanks to the source. Sorry, that's as big as I can make it for the blog, you may be able to save it and blow it up)

I gotta agree with Local Reflector, Washington School can buy uniforms from wherever they want to, they made a business decision based on research they made. Just take those "I Believe" stickers off your bumpers, because what you want to believe is that the imaginary town pictured above is still here. What you don't want to believe is that you might be part of the problem, if you aren't part of the solution.

What The Hell

Congress is on recess, Dubya is vacationing in Texas and the Guv'ner is "boondoggling" in Asia, so it's kinda dull everywhere except in Iraq and Greenville.

The DDT editorial page must have been it's usual dull, the only thing I remember reading worthwhile was Wayne Dowdy's piece. I did read that the council and mayor got reports on street sweeping and appears that we have a plan. Good, I will rest better tonight knowing the mayor is going to look into getting my street swept since it doesn't have a curb. (Yawn). Oh, and Main Street won't be finished for another couple of months.

Reflector's Comments:
The issue isn't so much an attack on "Washington School" as the fact that WS chose an out-of-town vendor with which to conduct business. It really could've been any of the local schools because of relative timing.

Since the "enlightened community" of Happy Talkers pitched an idea called "I Believe in Greenville," a real awareness has been raised to supporting local business. It's a fair criticism to call out WS. What good is promoting the local economy through cheesy slogans when a great school like WS sends a captive student body (numbering in the hundreds) to an exclusive place to buy clothing - in Jackson no less? That's a large part of hundreds of middle class families' school budget sent OUT of Greenville by the vote of school leaders.

Don't tell me local vendors cannot handle school uniforms. WS chose designs and attire that precluded them from reasonable participation - then blamed local business for dropping the ball.Don't compare other business/consumer climate issues with the WS outsourcing of uniforms. This "devine" action fed the problem. Recent Letters to the Editor made excellent points but we disagree with the defense of school policy.

Washington School is a private entity and can do what it wants because market forces dictate its future. But, since you bring St. Joe and others up, they too should be called out if local business leaders are exposing turncoats in the "I believe in Greenville" and Shop Main Street campaign. The fact is that they don't believe. They want the masses to be politically dormant and the taxpayer lethargic. Look at empty industrial announcements...all hype, great buzz....no pay off (see: ethanol) Uniforms generate revenue for WS. They look good, get replaced every year as kids grow - all in the name of school security.

The bigger shopping controversy should be the fact that Greenville bought its new police cars from out-of-town car dealers. Nobody's said a word about that and certain media-types are more scared of representing the dwindling viewers/readers it possesses in favor of spreading "happy time."

I know the Red Dog hates the local scene, but I hope he allows some local discourse. In fact, mixed with state and national coverage and two-cent thoughts, it becomes an excellent online stop to "shoot breeze." Thanks R.D. but get ready. Now that the ole brain has shaken off a case of writing boredom, I anticipate a hearty debate with the Red One on Bush, Barbour, state, regional and local politics.

Add to that 12.3% unemployment rate. Can't wait until Long John Silver's and Taco Bell open, that will sure ease the pressure. I totally agree that when our institutions, especially the government, do not support the local economy all that rah-rah hype is meaningless.

The Local Forum is declared Open!

Anonymice - Do Me A Favor

Let's Review our Rules of Engagement:

"Anonymous" has some good comments and some cheap shots. Be creative and come up with a handle for me, pleeease! You will get more love and respect. Everyone can be "anonymous" you sign it at the bottom like "NoFatCat" or "Expatriate" or you can use the button and sign on like "Local Reflector" or "Popeye." I can't engage in a debate with "anonymous" and my comment may be mistaken by the wrong "anonymous." Besides, I am not as nice as "Local Reflector" was, I'm not above telling "anonymous" to "FO", then all you "anonymice" would think I was talking to you and get pissed. Got it? Really, it helps to i.d. yourself, others may want to engage you about your comments, as well.

One other thing, you can get a "not my real e-mail account" from Yahoo and others. If you want to contribute a post send it to my "E-Mail Me" Link on the right. It's "not my real e-mail account" either, but works for the blog.

Sad News

"Little" Milton Campbell or just "Little" Milton is in a coma in a Memphis hospital. http://news.yahoo.com

He is 71 years old. My personal favorites are "The Blues is Alright" and "Grits Ain't Groceries." He was born in Inverness. Let's all hope and pray he gets better.

I was introduced to the Blues at an early age by listening to WLAC in Nashville. I can't remember the DJ, right now, but the show was "brought to you by Randy's Record Shop in Gallatin, Tennessee." "Big Hugh Baby!"

"Local" Reflections

This comment from "Local Reflector" deserves its own post

Red Dog - I enjoy immensely the mix of topics, but Textron strikes a chord.The company was told it may have trouble hiring hundreds of workers due to many applicants' inability to pass the drug screening. Local industrial recruiters told them it wasn't an issue.Many workers weren't told that they were hired as true "Temps" with no hope of long term employment in Greenville. I find it hard to believe local leaders weren't aware of the scheme to repeatedly hire and lay off local workers to avoid paying benefits.

Local politicians won't admit this "investment" wasn't much of an industrial boon. One even contended that Textron was never expected to hire 500 hundred workers - yet I remember distinctly being told that or, at least, reading it in the paper. Why were so many soaking up kudos on MLK holiday 2004?

It's to a point now where so few local employees are left, Textron's existence in Greenville could possibly carry a financial drain on city coffers. I understand the "trickle down" and money recycling that comes from a working local population, but that's not happening as paychecks are ceased and Textron's still receiving handsome benefits and utility bill breaks (all secretly negotiated, of course).

I don't understand local leaders' thought process and gave up trying. But, when I hear of the mayor's office exploring the possibility of buying a city jet for "official travel," jobs vanishing and NAFTA is 100% blamed (no local factors), I can only say to all taxpayers in the region - PACK YOUR BAGS AND LEAVE NOW. Your heavy financial contributions mean nothing to local government. They have no understanding of quality of life, fiscal prudence or the fact that taxpayers, not a voting majority, really dictate a region's future.

I'll dodge all notions of prosperity through potholes.

Red Dog says: I couldn't even come close to saying it as well myself. Just think, we could have had a beef plant!

I do find it interesting in today's headlines, Yahoo and others, that the Big Three auto sales were booming! Could someone have gotten their facts wrong? I thought that business was bad, and that's .............uh, uh,.........What was that reason again, Mr. Hart?

Other news around River City.
Delta Blues Casino - We are going to get our Convention Center! We will need 250 more hotel rooms! People will flock to downtown in masses! We will attract one convention per week! The Delta Blues Project will revitalize downtown and become the new Beale Street! Happy Talk, Happy Talk! and from the DDT, no less. One, the damn thing hasn't moved in a year and two, the Gaming Commission will have to review and reissue the permit (not a done deal). Now I have a hard time thinking of 52 organizations that are chomping at the bits to have a convention in Greenville, MS, actually I have a hard time thinking of one.

Letter to the Ed. today's DDT - (I don't name names of innocent people, only politicians and fools, so go read it). Anyhow the gist is a reply to the editorial and letters taking Washington School to task over selecting an out of town vendor for the school uniforms. The author makes some excellent valid points and I recommend that the Chamber and business leaders read it, several times. This is the only place I have ever been, where as a paying customer, I have felt like I was inconveniencing some clerk. That's not just at Walmart, either. So all the Happy Talk about shopping Greenville needs to stop being meaningless drivel, show me!

Dammit Cat, I hate the local crap or could you tell? A jet for the city? Damn, how did I miss that? LR, we miss you! Thanks for contributing.

Dog

Race To The Bottom

Textron continues to layoff employees and is now roughly 30% of the 400 peak employment level. All of this within about 18 months. The employment rate for Washington County before the layoff announcement was 12.3% for June. Not exactly good news for the city or county.

The reason given for the layoffs was a decline in American made automobile sales. I have no reason to suspect that statement. American auto manufacturers blame everyone but themselves. Notice the Japanese automakers are doing fine. The employee/retiree medical benefits are the blame. Having to pay pensions is the reason. The union is the reason. Maybe if the American automakers built cars that the American public wanted they might sell a few more, that just might be the real reason.

Back to Textron. I understand that the city gave some fairly significant incentives for the company to locate here. I believe the company took advantage of those incentives and took flight from Illinois to avoid the high labor costs. What they found, however, was that cheap labor can be expensive. Since all my sources are unnamed and unreliable, I am not using any of them as fact. However, I think that from the beginning they had a staffing problem which, in part, is a problem of not understanding the culture. Part of the employee's problem is not understanding the culture of auto manufacturing. Not showing up for work is not an option. With that said, Textron probably wishes they never heard of Greenville. Textron will likely become another vacant building joining Marconi, Mebane, Brintons in that chorus of sucking sounds heading off to another country. You can say "thank you" to our outsourcing, free trading legislators name, Lott, Cochran, Wicker, and Pickering.

Meanwhile, the Guv'ner is vacationing (er, touring?) in Asia. We see how the Momentum Money is being spent. He's going to Japan, South Korea and China among other stops to drum up business. Uh, Haley...they already have our plants, you are confused, our jobs are going over there not the other way around. HiTech? The Chinese own our technology and what they can't buy, they steal. Yeah. It's good for our economy, ask Trent and Thad. So what the hell are you doing spending taxpayer's money on a boondoggle in Asia, looking for Basa?

My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys

Or should have been. Red Dog soured on Major League Baseball during the "Strike" and I have never been the baseball fan since. These prima donnas make too much money and take themselves way too seriously.

On the day after two deserving greats, Wade Boggs and Ryan Sandberg, made the Hall of Fame, a would be Hall of Famer, Rafael Palmeiro, tested positive for steroids. This is particulary hard for Dog to take since Palmeiro has some ties to the State (ok, he's not actually a Mississippian). Palmeiro was one of the few guys I actually followed, especially since he was closing in on 3000 hits. I even saw his testimony before Congress when he stated, emphatically, that he had never used steroids.

How can he say he doesn't know how they got there? I hope there is a feasible explanation as do millions of kids who thought he was great.