Katrina's POLITICAL aftermath (keep the political discussions HERE)

If Al Gore were President, Fundamentalist Baby Jesus would cry and his tears would flood New Orleans.

of looters.

this is Karen Hughes, former WH communications director. She got promoted this week.

..."The images of crime being committed in the face of an awful natural disaster is hard for anyone to understand, people around the world and Americans. It sickens me as an American," she said. "How could criminals prey on vulnerable elderly citizens and children during a time of such horror?"

Like President Bush, Hughes acknowledged that the overall government response effort was flawed, but she did not include that as a reason the image of the United States might suffer as a result of the storm.

Hughes --- a longtime Bush aide and confidante --- takes the oath of office today as the State Department's undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs. Her job will be to improve America's global image...

I sort of hope not if only because I want to see Bush have to put his precious Brownie to task because the press, the people, and everyone else demands it of him.

The Brown resignation thing has been bandied about for a few days now, a fall-on-sword move. Entirely possible because Bush just hates firing people.

???

WTF??

Brown has been under fire because of the administration's slow response to the magnitude of the hurricane. On Thursday, questions were raised about whether he padded his resume to highlight his previous emergency management background.

yeah, i was thinking "paleoconservative". still, adequate military forces devoted to a task, what a concept.

but yeah, freaking out about china being the new soviet union is tipping your hand just a bit.

-
xpost well, that was quick, and pretty much telegraphed by getting the Coast Guard guys down there.

And Helprin's a total weirdo. Anyone remember his speeches for Bob Dole? I liked Winter's Tale in high school but I can't bring myself to read him anymore. Also, what's up with the superfluous knife photo there credited to "Alexandra Helprin"? Is that one of Mark's knives?

And if Brown's been "relieved" of his Katrina duties, can we please take him completely off the public payroll?

Chertof with hair?

That would be wrong and bad, and shows you do not support the war in Iraq.

Brown hasn't resigned from FEMA evidently, just moving off the hurricane relief effort. He's going back to Washington.

Oy. We even gave them the script.

Poor dear.

(Talkin' point-a?)

xpost. yeah, Dan Brown can crucified for other things

Apologies if this was posted upthread. Check the date.

Not as long as he's still in charge of FEMA. Longer he stays/is suffered to stay, the more ridiculous it looks. Thus Lopez's response -- she was hoping for that full clearing of the decks and hasn't gotten it. Good thing too.

Figures.

Brown and many others got their jobs through the good-old-boy sewing circle (jerk) of you butter my bread and I'll butter yours (and heck, I'll throw in a cutie-patootie nickname for you too there, Brownie-boy). No one is the best man (woman? gasp!) for the job, just the best Bush supporter.

Sorry, I have students turning in "people are being mean to the president!" papers today, and it has me fine and frazzled.

Direct quote.

U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's visit to Reliant Park this morning offered him a glimpse of what it's like to be living in shelter.

While on the tour with top administration officials from Washington, including U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao and U.S. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, DeLay stopped to chat with three young boys resting on cots.

The congressman likened their stay to being at camp and asked, "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?"

They nodded yes, but looked perplexed.

T/S: Callousness vs Cluelessness

http://www.kikman.de/Logos-Signs/SI-Burns.gif

Friday 9th September 2005 (01h22) :
New Orleans tragedy: The 17th street levee was bombed
3 comment(s).

Report from the Houston Astrodome...

10:23: Joel just got removed. Almost arrested. Fox News is down on the floor. I’m in dome, hiding in seats. They’re allowing some media on the floor, not others.

10:31 Just met members of the Polish press, they are being stopped from entering floor. Says this is like the former USSR.

10:57 Raw transcript of comments by NOLA evacuee : "The 17th street levee was bombed by the Army Corps of Engineers to save the more valuable real estate in the city... to keep the French Quarter protected, the ninth ward was sacrificed... people are afraid to speak out... everyone who was near there heard the bombings... they bombed seven times. That’s why they didn’t fix the levees... 20 feet of water. Gators. People dying in water. They let the parishes go, not the city center. Tourist trap was saved over human life. A six year old girl was raped in here.. 9 year old boy killed. A man in the shower beaten. No hot food. No help for elderly."

Another evacuee: "Over 20 rapes per night happening inside this place. They bring in national guard for media purposes. Bush wants us to stay here to raise his ratings. Some workers are stealing the good stuff, like shoes."

11:16: Rough transcript of comments by NOLA evacuee, male: "We are treated like prisoners here. Placed under mandatory curfew. We are citizens!"

11:22 Now I’m speaking to someone else, another woman, who says some people report having witnessed "bomb sounds," believe 17th street levee and others were blown up to manage water flow and protect more valuable portions of real estate.

Evacuee: "They blew the levee to save the city..." Saying a barge broke the levee. She is from St. Bernard Parish. "More expensive places were saved at the expense of the neighborhoods that aren’t as valuable... Rebuilding Bourbon Street matters more to the government... that’s what mattered to Governor Blanco..."

xpost

They mentioned this on Marketplace today, and of course had a quote from Grover "Somebody's probably gunna cap me soon" Norquist about how this was a good thing. There was no expiration date placed on the suspension, so companies could pay as little as they wanted to for as long as they wanted to. Grover: "They can save millions of dollars for the taxpayer this way..." etc

Come on, this reads like a bad game of telephone. "someone told someone else who just told me" etc without verifying anything as being from an eyewitness or a knowledgeable expert... "hearing bomb sounds" (Have these people ever even heard a bomb? How different does it sound from, say, concrete bursting from water pressure?) And again, this seems wildly implausible, to say the least, given the Army Corps of Engineer's resources and the kind of work they do. They are not the 101st Airborne.