It's Not Easy

I'll not mention
Judy Miller, Scooter Libby or Karl Rove
nor
Tom DeLay, Bill Frist, Jack Abramoff
I won't talk about
Katrina, Rita or FEMA
I'll not even discuss
oil prices, no-bid contracts or budget deficits
nor
the economy, global warming or war in Iraq.
Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib are too grusome to waste our time.
The Patriot Act is too boring.
Legislative pork and the "Bridge to Nowhere" gets us nowhere.
"Stagflation" is way too complicated
So, there. It's not easy to be a Republican these days. Too painful to discuss anything. and carpetbaggers and scalawags running your party.
You get the same spin from
Hannity
Limbaugh
Malkin
Coulter
Pat Robertson
Faux News
Blah, blah, blah, blah blah
Welcome to the world of the living. It's not easy being a Democrat either. Is bad leadership better or worse than no leadership? When I figure that out, I'll get back to you.

Censored

by my own computer. I'm actually going to try this again. Last night I wrote a post that actually praised (gulp) Haley for the stand he was taking against his base on the casinos. Yep, Dog really said that about the Guv'ner. When I hit the 'Publish Post" button, I got my usual notice saying it was posted, but it never showed up. My anti-virus program must have thought someone one else, an imposter, was writing the blog and nixxed it. I dunno.

Well, hat's off to Haley. Moving the casinos on land is the only sane thing to do. Since Katrina, the state has lost roughly $15 Million in revenue. Add to that the 14,000 unemployed due to their workplace being destroyed and the economy of the Coast and Mississippi, in general, has really taken a hit. Regardless of one's position on gaming, the casinos do provide revenue. My argument is that why restrict it to the Coast. Greenville and the other river casinos could benefit greatly if they allowed casinos to move inland.

The House approved moving the casinos inland 800 ft. today. The Senate will take the matter up next. The House bill only made provisions for Hancock and Harrison Counties.

Well here goes nothing

Oh, It's Judy's Turn To Sing

Judy's turn to sing.....
Her source is non other than "Scooter" Libby, Chief Aide to Veep Cheney. 'Ol Fitz is getting closer to handing out those indictments. How many is the question and who? My guess is that a lesser aide in the White House will fall on the sword for Dick and Karl. Either Judy Miller is seeing the house of cards falling in around her and has decided to save her neck or she is plea bargaining herself for a lesser sentence (maybe time served). This has been one helluva week.

Tough time to be a wingnut, the bad news just keeps on coming like storm surge. Pounding, pounding, pounding.......

Big Day On The Beltway

Boy, Howdy! Pardon me while I gloat. Ok, that's enough. An indictment does not a conviction make, but it sure put a kink in the Republican machine. I was almost sorry to see that DeLay had to give up his majority leader role, until I saw they replaced him with Roy Blount. He may even be a better lightening rod. 'Ol Roy has some contributions he may need to explain. The best leader they could have come up with was David Dreier (CA) but they would have had a really hard time explaining that to their Christian Right base. I love it when the sharks start devouring themselves.

The real loser today was Bush. There he had all his brass around him to announce they had again killed the Number 2, al Qaida operative. Does anyone know how many number 2's this makes? Who ranks these people anyhow, the BCS? What's wrong with getting Numero Uno (bin Laden). We spend $200 Billion to get 'Ol Number Two? Maybe we are in the wrong stadium. Anyhow, Bush makes this grand statement and gets upstaged two hours later by DeLay's indictment. Poor Dubya.

Karen Hughes, Ambassador of Spin Doctoring, got her ass kicked by arabic women in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Basically, she was told to take our western freedoms and shove it. They were happy the way things were going, only we were messing things up by being in Iraq. Silly women, it took us almost 150 years to give women the right to vote. Dubya is offering them the "fast mommy track" plan.

The other important story you missed today was Ashley Smith's confession that she gave her abductor crystal meth. No charges were anticipated being filed. Faux News will have 12 dedicated hours on the story tomorrow.

FEMA still can't get it right in Texas, maybe we should outsource the whole operation to Walmart. In no way should we spend taxpayer dollars to reimburse "faith based" volunteer work. That would be a dangerous precedent and is wrong, wrong, wrong.

Kerry Drinks The Koolaid

"There is some schedule showing what you (need) to do to get Iraqis standing up and defending themselves which is now suddenly beginning to happen, so there are some signs of progress,'' Kerry said during a 30-minute speech at the Park Plaza Hotel. "The only way we're going to be successful there – and ultimately, success is going to have to be somewhat redefined – is to create sufficient stability to get the troops home."

He later added while speaking to reporters: "The Iraqi forces are improving somewhat. Whether it's enough to hold the line is obviously a very serious question." (Boston Herald)

WTF? "signs of progress", What the Hell is he talking about? He sounds like he's reading from the RNC Talking Points memo. "Get the Iraqis standing up" sounds like Rummy and Bush, "As the Iraqis stand up, we'll stand down." Then, he goes on to say"The Iraqi forces are improving somewhat? What the hell does that mean? As compared to what and when? Geeeezz. No wonder we can't win elections. There is absolutely no leadership in the Democratic Party and I fear we are doomed to be the minority party forever, in spite of Republican attempts to tear themselves apart. Isn't there any Democrat that gets it? Hillary, no. Biden, no. The majority of Americans feel that it was a mistake to go to war in Iraq and disapprove of the way Bush has handled the war. What is wrong with those people?

Sure, I held my nose and voted for Kerry, but you can bet your sweet ass I won't do it again. At a time when Republicans are "swift boating" themselves, Democrats are "stuck on stupid." (Thank you, Gen. Honore). Our "wartime" preznet has met his "Waterloo" in Katrina, spent all his political capital, and has the popularity of a skunk in a tent. We cannot mount a decent attack on the war and bringing our troops home. Why? Is it a fear that the country will think we are weak and cannot protect us from terrorism? Katrina has exposed our defense system and Americans have realized that GWB is nothing more than the failed ex-CEO of companies his daddy and friends bought him. It's past time to try and be Republican-lite. It's time to oppose the war and bring our troops home. No more American blood spilled for this optional war. Maybe the Democratic leadership has been bought off by the oil companies who wish for the war to continue, so that we get control of the Iraqi oil. Whatever. There is no spine in the Democratic leadership.

In spite of the idiots in my party, how about the other party? All day long I have fantasized about a trifecta, Frist, DeLay and Rove all being frogged marched out of Washington into the same jail cell. DeLay could face charges of conspiracy as early as tomorrow. Frist could be indicted on trading on insider information and Karl, well the penalty for outing a CIA agent should be more severe, Guantanamo is a good place for him. He hates America, he hates our freedoms.

Seems an investigation is going on about the no-bid contract to remove rubbish and the relationship of the vendor with Haley (AshBritt?) Don't know, but we need to check on it. It sure looks like a duck! As I said before, the real looting is about to start.

Frist Fries With That BLT?

Well, well it seems my favorite Senator is at it again. Selling HCA stock before it craters. Think maybe he had some insider information and some insight into his "blind (legitimate?) trust?

I saw him on CNN and I could tell, he is in a "persistent vegetative state." He had two, count 'em, opinions from the "ethics panel" and determined that he was just divesting himself of stock he supposedly didn't even know he held to avoid any conflict of interest. He has held these stocks for the entire 11 years he has been in Congress. So where was his conflict in the Medicare Drug Bill? Just more "crooks and liars" on parade.

What's good for Martha Stewart is good for 'ol Frist. I personally think he would look good in an ankle bracelet.

Too much Monday football, it's late.

Rear View Mirror

A lot of space has been devoted in the DDT over Mayor Nagin being a hero or a goat. Let me throw in my two cents. He's neither, he's a politician. Making the mayor out to be anything more or less (if there is such a thing)is ludicrous. An independent investigation is the only way to find the truth and to prevent another failure in the country's disaster response system. You only have to witness the evacuation of Houston to know that we still have a long way to go.

There will be a debate over the role of the military in these disasters and that will be an important one. Who is in charge of restoring order is the the question. I believe the National Guard is the logical first choice under the command of the Governor. Precedent has been set with the integration of public school systems in Little Rock, Oxford and Tuscaloosa for "federalizing" the Guard. There should be a healthy discussion in Congress before allowing the military to enforce order and under what circumstances it should be done.

I missed the anti-war march coverage over the weekend, however, I noticed that it got mixed reviews. What I have read and some of the clips I caught on C-Span, "caught in the sixties" protestors need to retire.

Lots will be happening this week. Special Session of the Legislature (is gambling the only thing on the agenda?), confirmation of Judge Roberts as Chief Justice of SCOTUS, and news from Iraq will make its way back to the front page (getting more serious there).

Good to be back. My Rebels suck!

Quick Post

Will be out for a couple of days, back on Saturday, maybe something to post on Saturday night. You can use this topic to keep your thoughts going on Katrina, Rita, or any other girls you want to bring along.

Locals - give me your rants with Greenville City Budget. Kudos to Phil V. for holding their feet to the fire. Tommie Jeffcoat didn't know the rules? Blow that smoke somewhere else.

State - Haley making a move for President? Just doing his job and passing out money.

Federal - You name it (Able Danger? Bigger than I thought)

I sure hope I can find gas and at a reasonable price to get back.

If anyone down in Texas reads this blog, get the hell out of harm's way!

Someone Shoot Up In Here Amongst Us

It's just not getting any better. With Rita becoming a CAT 4 hurricane by later today and barreling toward Houston, we can't seem to get a break. I suppose we are in for another round of panic buying and a reduction in the availabilty of gasoline by next week. More importantly, have you noticed Walmart hasn't had any coffee for a couple of weeks? That is a serious problem! Red Dog has to have caffeine to function.

Congress will begin discussions on how to pay for Katrina, while Rita is still plotting her destruction. One can only hope that Rita lands in some isolated space with minimal impact on lives and the economy. I'm not certain the country can stand two major ports and petroleum producing areas being knocked out at the same time. On the other hand, one can only hope that Congress can apply some common sense to funding the recovery from Katrina. I'm sure Alaska could do without two bridges to nowhere to the tune of $500 Million to help reconstruct the bridges at Ocean Springs and Bay St. Louis. The Highway Pork Bill is a logical first place to start.

Regarding the delay of one year in the Medicare Drug Bill, I'm against it. Too many companies have already terminated retiree health benefits and forced them to move to Medicare D. My Mom is in this category. With the cancellation of her supplemental insurance from the company she retired from, without the coverage offered by Medicare, she would have no drug benefit coverage in 2006. It seems totally unfair that she, or anyone else who is retired should be strapped with the costs of Katrina.

The energy bill is another place to gain $12 billion in subsidies to oil companies. The Iraq War is another place to gain money, bring the troops home and let them take control of their own country. Roll back some of the tax cuts and start to balance the budget would, also, be a great new beginning. The current adminsitration and legislators have created a mess of fiscal responsibility. Democrats, as well as Republicans can share in that blame, although the Republicans have certainly showed no fiscal restrait being the majority party.

Since this is not an election year, one would hope that some serious discussion and debate over funding the rebuild from Katrina would take place. I'm not very optimistic.

On another note, Harry Reid has said he would not vote for Judge Roberts for the Supreme Court. Who cares? Roberts will be a good judge. I know its politics, but if you are a Democrat and can't vote for Roberts, who can you vote for nominated by a Republican President? The next appointee will be a tougher fight. I think Roberts gets 75 votes, at least.

Let's hope Rita fizzles, if you have any friends in Houston or Galveston or anywhere along the Texas and Louisiana coasts, please encourage them to evacuate. Somehow, I think the response from all levels will be better for Rita. If not, then we are hopeless.

Somebody give me some dirt on the Greenville City Budget. Did they sneak in once a week garbage pick up? What about the millage increase that isn't? I'm sorry, I didn't get that piece of the article. Was there a tax increase that wasn't a tax increase? Explain.

Will someone ask Wyatt what he would like to pay for gasoline next week?

Katrina Looting

The looting has just begun. On the promise of "doing whatever it takes" by the president, the Gulf Coast will be overrun by carpetbaggers and scalawags to cash in on the new Reconstruction of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. Spending to reconstruct the areas affected by Katrina is projected to be at least $200 billion and likely will be a great deal more.

Already the carpetbaggers have arrived from Iraq. Bechtel, Fluor, Halliburton and Shaw have obtained $100 million no-bid contracts, as early as before the waters stopped rising in New Orleans. No one is in control of dispersing the money. Rumor has it that FEMA will be in control, or Karl Rove is the White House "czar" in charge of the Reconstruction. Neither of which should make a taxpayer breathe a sigh of relief.

Joe Allbaugh, a former FEMA head (before Brown and Brownie's college roommate) and campaign manager for none other than George W. Bush is a paid consultant to Shaw and Halliburton. It seems Shaw is being investigated by the SEC on some "accounting irregularities" I'm sure they were just some misunderstandings.

In order to prevent any financial shenanigans the president has said he will send "inspectors general" into the area to audit the books. Isn't that sweet? With Karl Rove as the informal WH "czar" how effective do you think these bean counters will be?

There are both Democrat and Republican Congressmen who think that an over all independent czar will be best for the oversight, such as Tommy Franks or Colin Powell types. So far the White House has not conceded, maybe because Guv'ner Barbour is balking at the idea. He wants to be his own czar so he can reward his cronies.

But all this begs the question, "Where will the money come from?" Benevolent George has promised not to raise taxes to pay for it and even has suggested that we should make the tax cuts permanent and pass the "death tax" bill to cut more federal revenue from the budget. Tom DeLay has declared victory over cutting all the fat out of the federal budget and the Republicans can't cut any more. The only option left is to use our already maxxed out credit card and borrow more money.

Spending by the Republican controlled White House and Congress has increased by 33% from 2001 to 2005. This congress and this president has shown a great propensity for spending. Consider this:

• Over $200 billion for GWOT (Iraq and Afghanistan)
• Medicare/Prescription Drug bill $700 billion over
  10 years
• Highway/Pork bill $286 billion
• An Energy Bill that gives the oil
  companies $12 billion
• Tax cuts of $1.4 Trillion
• The President has never vetoed one bill

Overlay the miserable failures in rebuilding Iraq and the mishandling of the occupation of Baghdad. Overlay the miserable failures in the Federal Government response to Katrina. The Bush Administration is nothing of substance except for spending money. He knows how to do that, perhaps his failed companies in private life would not have been failures had he concentrated on making money instead of spending money. The Treasury is being looted by these pirates and it's time to get rid of all of them in 2006 and 2008. This "borrow and spend" philosophy and Mr. Bush's demand for guns and butter and tax cuts are dimming the future of our children and grandchildren.

The Speech

Well it wasn't exactly a "blowhorn moment" that opportunity never existed and it wasn't an "I feel your pain" oratory, that's not Bush's style. It was, however, something. I'm not sure what to make of it. Sometimes the speech seemed as fake as the setting (it could have been done in the Oval Office) and other times he actually connected. Perhaps the most memorable comments were about the poor and the legacy of poverty. Totally out of character for the President and I'm sure many of his base (special interests) gulped.

O.K. that's enough of the smoozing. He passed, I'm not sure if it was a "D" or "C-" but he did say enough to probably help him regain a few points in the polls. Bush did roll out his "New Deal Plan", doesn't that make you conservatives gasp?

1. Public housing close to the relief effort
2. Gulf Opportunity Zone
3. Free money for the dislocated

There were, however, some things he did not say

1. Appointment of an independent 9/11 type commission to investigate
2. The cost of the Federal Programs and where the money would come from
3. The obvious need to raise taxes (eliminate the tax cuts-have you forgotten?)
4. Appointment of a "Relief Czar" to streamline and account for the money that will be allocated and spent.
5. Repeal of the suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act
6. All contracts would be on a low bid basis (going forward-when rescue, recovery and relief are over).

Questions or WTF?

How do you feel about the military taking over? Well, if the National Guard had been available, it may not have been necessary. I know, I saw the failures of the law enforcement and fire fighters in the affected areas like everyone else, but I cannot convince myself that the military being the first on the scene in a command and control mode is the right thing to do. As a means of last resort, maybe I can support it.

The President looked more like FDR than RR tonight. The proof they say is in the pudding.

---------------------------------------

On another note: Highway Commissioner Hall was in town singing the praises of I-69. He even said that some design contracts had already been awarded. What he didn't tell us is that the contracts were for remodeling their MDOT offices.

Maybe I'm still a little too confused about Bush's liberal speech tonight. Must be an emergency recovery plan designed by Karl Rove. I'm sure he has confused a lot of liberals, as well as conservatives.

Stuff You Should Be Paying Attention To

Trent Lott comtemplating retirement: From a source quoting an interview on Roll Call. Trent was pretty much wiped out by Katrina. He was thinking maybe it's time to call it quits. I'm sorry for Trent's misfortune, but I do think it's time to call it quits.

Senate Republicans voted totally on party lines to reject a proposal from Sen. Hillary Clinton for Congress to appoint an independent commission to investigate what went wrong during Katrina. GOPers are circling the wagon to protect their President. I don't care who is at fault, I want the truth to come out. It is imperative for our future to be ready for any kind of disaster. We had four years from 9/11 and we were not prepared. Enough GOPer cover ups already!

Rep. Sensenbrenner refuses to reopen discussion in his committe on allowing Katrina victims more time to file bankruptcy. The same day Delta and Northwest Airlines filed for Chapter 11. Any doubts about who the constituency of the Republican Congress is? And all this time you thought the issues were on the moral high ground?

Tom DeLay declares victory over government fat. All the fat has been trimmed and there is no more to cut. His words. He goes on to approve of the borrowing needed to recover from Katrina. The sad thing is, I really don't have to make any of this shit up!

The true body count will never be known in Mississippi and Louisiana. I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but............

Some of the Casinos on the coast had lights on tonight. A Long Beach subdivision had barbed wire strung around it. Either to keep out looters or to secure the area to pull out dead bodies. Neither of those reasons are good.

Reliable sources from the coast tell me that many people are still looking for the FEMA, MEMA, or Red Cross and relief supplies are not being delivered as promised. It's still a mess. The Guv'ner paints a rosy picture for the press, it ain't so.

Judge Roberts will be confirmed as Chief Justice of SCOTUS. So why are we still talking about it?

Knight-Ridder exposes memo that implicates Chertoff for the screw up. He didn't know what his job was! Chertie should be the next resignation.

Iraq grows closer to civil war. Another screwed up effort by this administration.

Blanco tries to take blame. She must have accepted the blackmail from Bush aboard AF1. Absolutely, Blanco has some accountability, along with Nagin. They both will have to face the voterss.

More White House staffers called to testify in Plamegate. Fitzgereald getting closer to handing out indictments. Will Karl Rove be frog marched out of Washington? Stay tuned.

I would have given the references for all this but I am too damn tired. It's hard work! So consider this a research assignment. Cat, if you would read something besides the New York Post, you might learn something.

Tacky Tuesday

I'm just feeling weird today and maybe this will be a little coarse for some. If I will offend anyone, Good!

Drownie, alias Brownie replaced by :Duct Tape Man! Paulinson immediately orders 20,000 tons of duct tape to fix the levees.

John Roberts: What's with the eyes? Reminds me of a previous reddog post on Body Snatchers. Frightening. Fortunately we never see Supreme Court Justices except for their one time a year group photo.

Joe Biden: Shut up Joe, ask a question. Shummer, ditto! Kennedy, let the man answer the question!

Bush had a Karen Hughes moment today when he "takes responsibility" for the failure of the relief efforts at the federal level. There is nothing so refreshing for the soul as stating the obvious. Flying to NOLA to address the nation on Thursday. I wish George would conserve gas. It would have been nice if he had been there two weeks ago, I don't think we need to fund his photo ops showing how much he cares, now. Thank you!

President Talabani: He was actually for troop withdrawal before he was against it. WaPo on Monday to flip flop on Press Conference Tuesday. These Iraqis, they are getting the hang of democracy now!

Gretna, LA: City of Brotherly Love (Cajun for Keep yo' po' ass out!)

Louisiana politicians: Thank God someone else has 'em as bad or worse than Mississippi.

Mary Landrieu: see reference to Body Snatchers, or does Shari Lewis have her hand in her back moving her lips?

Liar, Liar: Bush doesn't know about Brownie's resignation. Brownie said he told the president. McClellan says Bush knew but didn't know it was public knowledge. What will we tell the kids?

Attorney General: Cheaters, Scammers, Price-Gougers, Wyatt Emmerich Beware! Does this mean the Feds are going to prosecute Halliburton?

McCoy pledges to work with the Guv'ner: Satan is throwing snow balls, now!

Davis-Bacon Act: Sorry, we used all the money on pork in Alaska. You can work for $5.15 and like it. Halliburton can't make enough money on their no-bid contract. It's good for the economy, you know?

RedDog Flea: NYT for charging $50 a year now to read the op-eds on-line. Money Mongers! You'd think they were becoming Republican. Just proving once again, Free Speech ain't Free.

Joke:

Q. "Mr. President, what's your opinion on Roe vs. Wade?"

A. "I don't care how they get out of New Orleans."

RedDog's Advice for the Week: Get your MoJo Working and go enjoy some Blues!

Weekend at Bernie's

Where are you now that we need you Bernie Keric? Doofus Brown resigned. Good riddance! Nothing has changed though. Chertie is still the headmaster at DHS. Big Lie: "We didn’t know the storm would be that big." NWS, smelling a sneak attack publishes the timeline of the briefings to the Regional Offices of DHS, which Chertie and Brownie were in on. Notice how the administration lies about the facts and denies knowledge.

Bush claims to have acted “extraordinarily.” Actually signed the emergency order before the “Big Storm Coming” hits. Well, where was he when the big storm coming actually hit and what was the extraordinary response then? He was eating cake with John McCain and then on to play the presidential guitar at a fund raiser in San Diego. Three days later he flies over the area in AF1. Judging from the photos on the plane he was actually looking out the south side of the aircraft, probably looking for drilling platforms.

Anyhow, what Bush appointees can we trust anymore? Is Chertoff any better than Brown? He is a lawyer for Christsakes! That almost assures he’s not qualified. Looking at the track record of Bush appointees you have to wonder if any of them can handle the job. Let’s see, Bolton, Snow, Rumsfeld, we already know about Tenet (oops, wrong guy appointed him). Then there’s Caio, Asscroft, Rod Paige, and Condi. The only decent appointment Bush made was Colin Powell, whose career Bush and his neocon buddies completely decimated.

I know I have shocked many of my liberal and conservative friends over my position on Roberts. But not so fast, my friends! Given the track record of other Bush appointees, I made need a further review of JR’s qualifications. For instance, how many nannies has he hired illegally? Was he ever the head of an Arabian horse club? Who was his college roommate? How much money did he contribute to the campaign? Is his degree really from DeVry? All these things we need to know. One thing the WH isn’t particularly strong on is vetting appointees.

Oh, but to borrow a line from my OxyContin influenced buddy Rush. This whole administration is a hoax, a forgery, they are not real.

Speaking of OxyContin influenced or perhaps Wild Turkey influenced, did you read the absurd opinion from Wyatt Emmerich in the DDT? I always like Wyatt’s opines because they are really stupid, but have some element of truth about them. Let’s see, the market forces of supply and demand should always be prevalent in the market place and “price gougers” should be revered rather than chastised. Caveat emptor. Just because Wyatt can afford $100 a gallon and doesn’t want to wait in line to buy gas with the rest of us peons, then we should let him? Wyatt, when you sober up, I think we are being “price gouged” on the price of your newspaper. Maybe during the next ice storm you can bundle up 25 copies and sell them for fuel at $100 a bale. Someone is stupid enough to buy it!

Well that is the weekend at Bernie’s you can tell I have only been talking to dead people.

Rested

It's good to get away and see family, and particularly when you know where your family is and that they are safe. It's amazing at the things we take for granted. In Gwinnett Co., Georgia life goes on and we are thankful.

Now imagine that you don't know where your family is or if they are even alive. Imagine that you don't have food or water or a charge card, your house in uninhabitable and you're waiting for someone to come rescue you. You are taken to a shelter with thousands of other people you don't know. There is no food or water there. You don't know what's going on and the people you are looking for to give you assistance is not there. What do you do?

For all the Bush apologist, and there are many, what will it take for you to see the man is incompetent and has surrounded himself with incompetent people? "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." Even his own party is beginning to wise up. "I don't think anybody anticipated the breech of the levees." This administration is always on "damage control" and how do they do that? They attack those that try to do the right thing, they change the subject to moral issues (BTW Newt said that doesn't work anymore).

You didn't have to come in from the Planet Ork to understand that the images on television were not contrived and that "those people" were desperate. Desperate times require desperate measures. FEMA fiddled through that desperation. 1000 FEMA volunteers were sent to give the relief effort a positive spin. Trouble is there is no positive spin.

Hurricane "Pam" predicted the many dire consequences that have come to fruition with Hurricane Katrina (or is it Corrina?). What happened to the plan? First responders? Overwhelmed and wiped out. National Guard? In Iraq. School bus evacuation? Where were they going to go? Convention Center? Superdome? Do you forcibly remove people before the disaster hits or after? To be sure there is plenty of blame that needs to be assigned and only a 9/11 type investigation will get at the real picture. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security should not be allowed to investigate, however, because they were the ones that approved Michael Brown in one hour. Susan Collins and JoePa need to take a sideline and have an independent group perform the investigation.

Apologists should take no solace in that this event occured in NO where the population is of a certain makeup or "those people." All of our major cities have a majority of "those people" in the inner city. It would have been just as bad in Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, or Los Angeles. For $41 Billion I expect more. How would our response have been if this had been an actual terrorist attack against the levee in New Orleans rather than a hurricane, which there was some warning? Would it have been any different? I think not. Could we have handled a chemical or biological attack in Chicago any better? What about a major earthquake in Los Angeles or San Francisco?

The fact is "Brownie" was a political appointee with no disaster management experience, as are 5 of the to 8 most senior officials in FEMA. This is what you apologize for? Harry Truman had the buck stopping in the White House, Dubya passes the buck along like a hot potato. Yes, Mr. Brown will be the latest "My Pet Scapegoat."

But let's don't leave the apologies in New Orleans. "Nobody had foreseen airplanes would be used as weapons." Remember that along with the PDB that Bin Laden was looking to attack with airplanes? Have we found any WMD's? What about the record trade and budget deficits? Where is our plan to stop illegal immigrants from flowing across our borders? What about record number of people below the poverty level and millions without healthcare insurance? Somehow the fixation on the blue dress seems juvenile now. Yet, those apologist will still find a way to blame Bill Clinton for something and everything. Sometimes you just have to take responsibility for your actions or inactions. George W. Bush has not mastered that part of being a leader.

I find it interesting that by executive order federal contractors do not have to pay the prevailing wage rate in cleanup and rebuilding. Could there be any other motive than to slap those poor people who depend on paychecks in the face and to reward the Halliburton's who get the government contracts with greater profits? Compassionate Conservative? Give me a break. No excuse, no apology necessary. Keep drinking the Koolaid.

On a local level: Anyone who has worked in corporate America who can read between the lines of the e-mail quoted in the DDT knows what "being evaluated" means. Adios Textron!

Whoever, asked what would happen in Greenville if the levee broke and the current adminsitration (local) was handling the disaster. I think you can turn on your TV set and see how it would be on a smaller scale. The Guv would probably be slower to act. The reason action is happening on the GC is one word "Casinos" and don't you forget it.