Writes one Kos commentator: The Vancouver [Canada] Urban Search and Rescue team is one of the best trained and qualified rescue teams in the world for land or water. They were at 9/11, and the earthquakes in both Iran and Turkey. Great! Can they come down here and help? A specialized urban search and rescue team from Vancouver will be … Read More
“I Don’t Think Anyone Anticipated The Breach Of The Levees.”
I couldn’t believe it. I heard it in my car this morning, but apparently on this morning’s "Good Morning America", George Bush spoke to Diane Sawyer and said, "I don’t think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees." (I’ll try to get a transcript link when/if it becomes available, but you can see the video replay of the interview here). … Read More
Delinking Glenn
There are wingnuts, and there are wingnuts. Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) stirred up a hornet’s nest when he wrote: I think that demonizing the ACLU is a bit silly. I do feel that they’ve become overly partisan in recent years, but they still do good work (I’ve worked with them in the past, on the New Orleans rave case for example, … Read More
Fuel Situation
Here in North Carolina, gas prices are $3.00. That’s pretty much the same effect that everyone is feeling. However, there are reports of gas stations in South Carolina and Georgia running out of gas, and closing shop. Is there a pending fuel shortage? Airlines seem to think so. UPDATE: Just came across this statement from N.C. governor Mike Easley: The … Read More
Superdome Shock Horror
These poor people: A 2-year-old girl slept in a pool of urine. Crack vials littered a restroom. Blood stained the walls next to vending machines smashed by teenagers. The Louisiana Superdome, once a mighty testament to architecture and ingenuity, became the biggest storm shelter in New Orleans the day before Katrina’s arrival Monday. About 16,000 people eventually settled in. By … Read More
Katrina-propa-Gate
Perhaps responding to the criticism that Bush has been largely AWOL on Katrina, even though hundreds if not thousands of Americans have died, the White House has now put up its "hurricane relief" page, which you can see here. Right now, the photo on the page shows Bush engaging in (according to the caption) a "video teleconference with federal and … Read More
Opportunity Cost For Iraq
Via Corrente: Philly’s own Will Bunch follows the money (via the man in the grey turtleneck here) Yes, if you follow the money it turns out Bush took the money that should have been spent on New Orleans levees and pissed it away in Iraq. In fact, the very levee that burst, 17th Street, was a victim of Bush cutbacks: … Read More
Texas “Pro-Lifers” Show Pro-Death Stripes
From Feministe–the "pro-lifers" have managed to target a certain population for death in Texas. AUSTIN – Texas doctors who perform abortions without parental approval or after the third trimester could face capital murder charges because of a new law that takes effect this week, a prosecutors group says. The Texas District and County Attorneys Association has outlined that scenario in … Read More
Sgt Thomas Strickland
Here’s a passage from Sgt. Thomas Strickland, a U.S. soldier serving in Iraq, from his blog earlier this month: What the fuck has my chain of command been doing? We were winning somewhat when I left. And now we’re being pinned down in our own fucking homes? Insurgents are pushing locals out of their homes and taking over my area … Read More
The Apocalypse
Well, let’s see. The death toll from Katrina is rising. Snakes, gators and corpses are floating around in New Orleans, making the second evacuation difficult. Attempts to fix the breaks in the New Orleans levees have failed. There are whitecaps on Canal Street. Prisoners stranded in a New Orleans prison have rioted, taking a deputy, his wife and their four … Read More
A Million Ways
Partly because I’m over 40, and partly because I believe that music videos jumped the shark about 15 years ago, it’s no surprise that I never heard of "OK Go" and their video for "A Million Ways". But no more. This is a great video (and a great song). No fancy shots, no babes, not even a single video cut. … Read More
Classic Definition Of A ‘Quagmire’
Who said this: "For the U.S. to get involved militarily in determining the outcome of, uh, the struggle over who’s going to govern Iraq, strikes me as a classic definition of a ‘quagmire’." Answer: Dick Cheney Crooks & Liars has the audio (from an NPR interview conducted in 1991), if you don’t believe me.
Oy
According to Amanda Marcotte at Pandagon, there’s an email making the rounds. It carries the picture below and the following text: The image of the hurricane above with its eye already ashore at 12:32 PM Monday, August 29 looks like a fetus (unborn human baby) facing to the left (west) in the womb, in the early weeks of gestation (approx. … Read More
Where’s Bush?
FEMA is calling Katrina the worst disaster to hit America . . . ever. Parts of New Orleans are on fire, even though most of the city is underwater. There are fears that the entire city could turn into a "toxic lake", as the flood waters continue to pour in. Over sixty people are known dead (so far) in Mississippi. … Read More