In the GOP, It's Suddenly Every Man for Himself

The Threat - gulp!

In the GOP, It's Suddenly
Every Man for Himself

I looked at Dana Milbank's latest WaPo article, and I could just imagine what another Category 5 hurricane, fast approaching the Texas coast, might do to the GOP and their hideous scrambling jumble of political self-preservation.

This week, I think I've heard it all. President Bush says we'll spend like [wise and honest] drunken sailors to rebuild New Orleans, with Karl Rove at the helm. Halliburton will profiteer. New Orleans workers will have their wages slashed while millionaire cronies walk away with their pockets full. Not one fat-cat will be left behind - every tax-cut promise to the richest will be kept.

But what's THIS I'm hearing!? Treasury Secretary John W. Snow says that hurricane recovery spending will push the GOP's plans to extend the tax cuts to the back burner for this year.

But what's THIS I'm hearing!?! The Washington Post reported Sept. 9 that Treasury Secretary John Snow is once again being shown the door. His rumored replacement is White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, who would then be replaced either by Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove or Office of Management and Budget Director Josh Bolten. [Washington Times]

Dick Cheney said he sees no need for a "czar" to oversee the Katrina response.

But what's THIS I'm hearing? Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said after meeting with administration figures yesterday: "I feel we need a czar, an administrator."

Tom Delay (R-Tex.) asserted last week that the GOP majority had "pared... down" federal spending so well that there was no more fat to be found. There ain't no pork. As DeLay said about the budget, "After 11 years of Republican majority, we've pared it down pretty good."

But what's THIS I'm hearing? The weeping hypocrite Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) is telling us that the evil Washington Times made up these Tom Delay quotes. [see Atrios]

But what's THIS I'm hearing!? The chickenhawks of Congress have come up with a tough-guy sounding "Operation Offset" to balance Hurricane Katrina recovery costs with other federal spending reductions. The brave and brawny National Taxpayers Union (NTU) has reported "ready for duty," armed with budget restraints to make any social Democrat's bleeding heart stop beating.

_________
Don't take my pork!.................Pork? What pork?

I thought that Speaker of the House Denny Hastert looked like he was going to toss his cookies today when he was put on the spot about House minority leader Nancy Pelosi's challenge to him - daring him to commit to giving up his precious pork.

The messages are swirling. We feel like we're spinning in hurricane-induced whirlpools. How can we be one America when it's every man for himself?

I agree with what Jonathan Chait has said about the GOP - "the usual guideline in these kinds of circumstances is craziest man wins."

> 1,900

> 1,900
The war in Iraq passed a sobering milepost Tuesday when U.S. officials reported 12 more Americans were killed — eight of them members of the armed forces, raising to more than 1,900 the number of U.S. service members who have died in the country since the invasion. [Houston Chronicle]

John Edwards' Speech at Center for American Progress

John Edwards' Speech at Center for American Progress

Restoring the American Dream
An excerpt from my guest-blog at the One America blog:

John Edwards assures us that a war on Poverty is not a futile one. He envisions what he calls the Working Society, where every American who works hard should have tangible rewards to show for it, whether it's a home, a savings account, a chance to get ahead, an education, a safe neighborhood, or easier access to a job. It is based upon the principle that no one succeeds on their own and it strengthens our national community by making the pact that, if you're willing to hold up your end of the bargain, the Working Society will make sure you are able to get ahead, and not just get by.

What I appreciate most about Sen. Edwards is that, unlike any Democrat today, he has forwarded concrete ideas that will make a real difference in the personal lives of so many poor and hard-working Americans who aren't looking for a hand-out, but are instead willing, responsible, and enthusiastic partners in the Working Society. The ideas he brings to us are not ideas to benefit the poor alone; they are for all of us - one America. With our eyes focused upon a higher purpose and a new social compact, we will be a stronger national community.

I wish to end with some lines from a song that increased my own awareness of Poverty many years ago, and it reinforces John Edwards' hope to see fewer Americans living "just a bank account away" from the American dream. It's by one of my favorite songwriters, Nanci Griffith:

Can you spare the time?
Can you spare a dime?
Can you look me in the eye?
I'm down 'n' out
And I am lonely
Do you ever think of me on
Sunday?
No. I don't live
Across the water
Hey, I live right here
On this corner
...just a bank account away from
America.

- from the song Down 'N' Outer by Nanci Griffith

Blogs:

See Ezra Klein's Been A Long Time Since I Had This Feeling


Comments in the media:

Thomas Oliphant: Edwards got it right about poverty [Boston Globe]

Dan Balz uses the angle that the Edwards speech was one of three recent public appearances (Bill Clinton, Edwards, Kerry) that was an opportunity to criticize the handling of Katrina'a aftermath. While that may be so, in part, I would be disappointed to think that's the main point that most people might take away about Edwards' speech after reading the Washington Post article. The speech was brimming with new ideas, something you rarely see (or hear about) in the Democratic party these days. I noticed that Tracey Schmitt, press secretary for the Republican National Committee, had accused Edwards of attempting to politicize the tragedy along the Gulf Coast. It looks like Dan Balz wrote his piece all around the RNC fear. I think we miss a lot of constructive ideas when politics get in the way, but that's how the big show goes on, I suppose.

Chaos In Iraq Today

Chaos In Iraq Today

This is opening up a can of worms. I'd be remiss not to bring it to your attention.

In the WSJ, Yochi J. Dreazen says that new doubts are being raised about the U.S.-led coalition's strategy for pacifying southern Iraq by giving free rein to Shiite religious militias with ties to neighboring Iran.

Juan Cole says the NYT has the only version that makes any sense.

A spokesman for Moqtada al-Sadr has accused Abu Musab al-Zarqawi of dividing Shiites.

The British papers are mulling over what this means - and what comes next.

The Telegraph has asked the public for their comments - do they see a civil war in Iraq today?

Dem Leadership Should Take This Advice

Dem Leadership Should Take This Advice
Markos had some words for Dem leadership that I found to be excellent advice.

Iraq is only going to get worse. There is little danger in calling for a troop withdrawl upon approval of the Iraqi Constitution. Most Americans don't expect us to hold Iraq's hand for the long-term. It's their country, they're going to have to survive on their own. While "we broke it, we fix it" has its moral attractiveness, fact is we can't fix it. Only Iraq can, and we must let them do so..We also need the money and troops to help rebuild the gulf coast and prepare for the next big disaster. Katrina was definitely not the last we'll face.

Serious Democrats cannot take a muddled approach to Iraq. "Staying the course" is a phrase that has become meaningless to Americans, who are not stupid and can see that "the course" has produced disastrous results, and we have not learned from these mistakes because the president won't admit he made any. Polls show that Americans are afraid and non-trusting on the issue of this war. They need to hear that there is, indeed, a timetable for bringing our troops back. More than that, Americans are caring people, and they know we've gone in and bombed the hell out of Iraq - and we aren't the kind of society that would run from an obligation to assist in rebuilding the country. Like it or not, Bush committed us to this mess and we will never regain any international respect if we break a nation and fail to assist in fixing a new infrastructure.

The window of opportunity is not closed. Most Democrats can support a pull-out now and escape appearances of pandering (especially with Katrina as cover). But if they wait until next year as Iraq burns hotter and public support for the war falls further, and suddenly announce a big turnabout on the war, they will be every bit the panderers they appear to be. And if they continue supporting the war, they'll simply be supporting a failed adventure with no hope of success..In other words, Democrats can still get ahead of the issue, or they'll be on the wrong side of history next year. But that window of opportunity is closing fast.

Now is the time. Now. Now. Now. Before anti-war protestors clash with pro-war supporters. Before things in Iraq get worse. Before FOX News and National Review morph the public's opinion of you into silent supporters of "the course" and we send more soldiers to die. Americans are intelligent and intuitive people. Trust them. They'll trust you if you do.

Read Kos' entire post on this issue.

Sheehan Manhandled by Authorities at Peaceful NYC Rally

Sheehan Manhandled by Authorities at Peaceful NYC Rally



I picked this one up from Common Ills. It appears that Cindy Sheehan was manhandled yesterday by the New York City authorities.

I attended a Bring Them Home Now rally last week, and I can tell you, in no uncertain terms, that these people are intelligent, introspective, and they do not promote any kind of violence. In Syracuse, some of the speakers engaged those in the crowd who had oppositional beliefs with respect and entertained their concerns.

I'm disgusted that the authorities would have treated Mrs. Sheehan in this manner, whether or not the paperwork had been properly filed.

Posse Comitatus Revisited

Posse Comitatus

"The Dims will raise a great cry against this in an attempt to style themselves defenders of liberty."

- Freeper quote, exposing the fear that surrounds the Bush administration's revisiting of the Posse Comitatus Act.

I can just hear Gore Vidal saying, "I told you so." We cannot allow the Bush administration to turn us into a banana republic with a wealth-filthy class on one side of a divide, a deep canyon in between, and the rest of us on the other side - with our own military policing our side. That's a sickening thought.

"Americans need to rethink how to protect the country curtailing the rights and the privileges of the free society that we defend."

- Gore Vidal

*tip o' the hat to Pam Spaulding on the Freeper quote

Bob Livingston Boggles Minds

Bob Livingston Boggles Minds
...with his absurd finger-pointing

At Think Progress, Judd exposes former Congressman Bob Livingston for the boob he appears to be. Still blaming Clinton - for things he's never had control over. I got this tip from Andrew Sullivan, who calls it mind boggling.

Five years into the Clnton Presidency -

"I would like to note that the current economic expansion is now entering its seventh year. That makes it already a long upswing by historical standards. And yet, looking ahead, the prospects for sustaining the expansion are quite favorable."

- Alan Greenspan, March 20, 1997

Those were the days.

Clinton Disappoints on Iraq

Clinton Disappoints on Iraq

I believe that Bill Clinton was one of the best presidents this country has ever had. He was an excellent diplomat, and I saw him being a very good diplomat yesterday at exactly the when he shouldn't have been. I thought that former President Clinton was far too careful yesterday when he was interviewed about the Iraq war by Tim Russert on Meet the Press. In an atmosphere where I don't just suspect, but I know that I (and all Americans) have been lied to - flat out and bold faced - by our President, platitudes, soft criticism, and wimpy rationalizations just don't engender my trust or warrant my respect. Those who care about America understand that America is worth fighting for. I want a man or woman of firm and undeniable conviction to say the words to Tim Russert or George Stephanopoulos which give clear indication and acknowledgement that we've been bamboozled on Iraq - that it's clearly a disaster - and that we must change the course - and not throw one more troop's body to the Iraqi civil war until we can show that we're capable of cooperating with international allies to organize a protective force for innocent citizens while their burgeoning democracy is "growing up".

Bill Clinton didn't do that. If you ask me, he looked like a bowl of cold pablum.

I was disappointed in his performance. What he did gives every one of the right wingnuts who tried to destroy his own presidency the ammunition to continue to attack Democrats of conviction - like his own VP Al Gore.

Arianna Huffington commented on her belief that Russert dropped the ball and how National Review moved in to take Clinton's cold pablum on Iraq and spin it into more of Bush's Fools' Gold.

There's a fallacy about this being the first time one former American President has publically criticized the incumbent President. It's being spread by Powerline, and it stems from an AFP report with an overdramatic (and decidedly false) headline ["Clinton launches withering attack on Bush"] :

"Breaking with tradition under which US presidents mute criticisms of their successors, Clinton said the Bush administration had decided to invade Iraq "virtually alone and before UN inspections were completed, with no real urgency, no evidence that there were weapons of mass destruction."

First of all, that's not a "withering attack." It's the damned TRUTH. Only a fool or a blind partisan couldn't tell the difference.

John Hinderaker speaks of the public criticism, saying, "This has never happened before," which is totally false. High-profile blogger should be careful about disseminating obvious disinformation.

________

UPDATE: Arianna has more on this today (Sept 20). See Bill Clinton's Muddled Attempt to Own the Middle

Nat'l Voter ID Card Could Disenfranchise Millions

National Voter ID Card Could Disenfranchise Millions

At 10:35 am ET, President Bush will receive former President Carter and James Baker's election reform report. There's something contained within that report that is dismaying for any libertarian-leaning citizen to learn. Millions of Americans will likely be made ineligible to vote in elections should legislation be enacted to require national voter ID cards. It is believed that it would also inevitably disenfranchise minority voters, along with those who live in poverty and the elderly. In a shocking turn of events, Raw Story reports that a voting reform commission which has already taken heat for playing host to sham voting rights groups run by members of the Bush-Cheney campaign has now recommended the institution of a national voter ID card. What is particularly disturbing is that civil rights groups had essentially been barred from testifying about their concerns. You can the Commission on Federal Election Reform here (pdf).

UPDATE: Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL), Chris Dodd (D-CT), and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) will hold a 2:15 pm ET press conference to voice their opposition to a recommendation made by the Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform which would require all Americans to show photo identification before voting. [Source:TheNote/ABC]

Hypocritical Times

Hypocritical Times

We're living in hypocritical times. We are aware that the US went into heavy deficits four years ago. The Bush administration has taken us to two wars - one in Afghanistan and the other in Iraq, but never saw a need to call for any personal sacrifice to carry the debtload of hundreds of millions of dollars each day. Instead of calling for sacrifice, tax breaks have been legislated for the benefit of the richest. Through our need to borrow, our own economy has come to depend on the kindness of communist nations like China to pay for our elective wars which we claim will "make the world safe for democracy." Meanwhile, the gap between rich and poor has widened. Poverty in America is on the rise while the Bush economy grows, taking on third-world characteristics. We see a staggering amount of concentrated wealth that recalls to us the memory of the pre-Depression days. Hurricane Katrina literally blew the lid off the issue of poverty and washed away the illusion that we didn't know that the problem of poverty existed. The truth is, we didn't act because we didn't want to look, as Sen John Edwards eloquently said today in his Center for American Progress speech on "Restoring the American Dream." The $3.oo per gallon we pay at the pump for our gas is a personal sacrifice - but only for the oil companies.

I want to know what happened to the America where caring citizens shared common traditional values and worked for the common good? Just about any issue you examine today leaves you with a sense that you're living as an island - in a vacuum where everything your leadership is telling you they're doing raises a distinct sense of hypocrisy when you look at the actual outcome of their actions.

Americans thirst for community - and they're becoming increasingly tired of the kind of political hypocrisy where one thing comes out of the President's lips, and another thing happens altogether.

Peter Daou: The Triangle

Peter Daou: The Triangle
Limits of Blog Power
Peter Daou of the Daou Report[Salon.com]has written a piece on blogging and its political power and the limits of that power. As a Kerry advisor, he says he'd made his case as forcefully as he could on behalf of netroots organizing as a communications tour de force, but to a good extent, "the old guard" made it clear that it was too early in American political history for convincing them.

By defining "political influence" as the capacity to alter or create conventional wisdom, (conventional wisdom meaning a widely held belief on which most people act), Daou uses Hurricane Katrina and Ohio candidate-for-Congress Paul Hackett as prime examples of how a triangle of blogs, media, and the political establishment has been (and can be) an essential influence in creating a major shift of "conventional wisdom."

Daou offers his view of the confluence of the triangle construct (netroots + media + party establishment = Conventional Wisdom), and forwards the notion that, although media would get along just fine without bloggers - having a megaphone large enough to keep their corner as the gatekeepers of Conventional Wisdom - the bloggers' presence has thrown an undeniable monkey wrench in the spokes of their wheels.

From whence doth netroots power cometh? I'll use Peter Daou's words:

Reporters, pundits, and politicians read blogs, and, more importantly, they care what bloggers say about them because they know other reporters, pundits, and politicians are reading the same blogs. It’s a virtuous circle for the netroots and a source of political power.

I found agreement with Daou's view of the right blogosphere in that their primary strategic aim seems to be preventing the left from forming its own triangle, as they have done with Drudge-Fox News and the RNC (top-down strategy). Desperation shows when an unvarnished truth (such as that exposed by Katrina) appears, rendering their "conventional wisdom" as little more than a smoke screen - a "triangle-emperor with no clothing."

As far as the left is concerned, Daou says :

...left-leaning bloggers face the challenge of a mass media consumed by the shop-worn narrative of Bush the popular, plain-spoken leader, and a Democratic Party incapacitated (for the most part) by the focus-grouped fear of turning off "swing voters" by attacking Bush. For the progressive netroots, the past half-decade has been a Sisyphean loop of scandal after scandal melting away as the media and party establishment remain disengaged.

and he offers some advice:

It would seem reasonable to conclude, then, that the best strategy for the progressive netroots is to go after the media and Democratic Party leaders and spend less time and energy attacking the Bush administration. If the netroots alone can’t change the political landscape without the participation of the media and Democratic establishment, then there’s no point wasting precious online space blasting away at Republicans while the other sides of the triangle stand idly by.

If I were to throw in any additional advice, it would be for left-bloggers to continue to contribute and forward constructive ideas about respective issues, because someone is definitely listening and may be interested or influenced by those ideas.

When Karl Rove Speaks

When Karl Rove Speaks...

...people listen to (and tell about) what the influential gasbag is saying.

Middle Class Taxpayers Will Lose American Dream

Paying for Katrina:
Middle Class Taxpayers Will Lose American Dream

On Katrina rebuilding:

"It's going to cost whatever it costs," [President] Bush said [last Friday.] Allan Hubbard, Bush's economic adviser, was equally blunt when asked who will pay: "The money ... is going to come from the federal taxpayer." [USA Today]

Do the math, whiz kids. Unless Bush tax cuts are rolled back now, you middle-class taxpayers are going to bear the brunt of this thing - and so will your children. Bush says he's confident that "we" can handle it - meaning you, the taxpayer. Are you so sure? Tom Delay admits there's no more federal spending to cut. "No appreciable fat", he says, as if he's talking about Kate Moss instead of your government.

This is where the rubber meets the road - and Karl Rove is drunk with power at the wheel. I can see us going off the road, Middle Class taxpayers, and what will be derailed, by the undue burden put upon you, is your American dream.

Call for Bush tax rollbacks now - before it's too late. Demand a realistic and transparent plan to rebuild New Orleans and end the poverty that pervaded the city before the Hurrican ever came close.

John Edwards to Give Speech on Poverty

John Edwards to Give Speech on Poverty

Today at 1:15 pm ET at the Center for American Progress, Sen. John Edwards will discuss the structural poverty that was exposed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and how the country needs to seize this opportunity to take the steps necessary to fight poverty and expand opportunities for everyone in our country. For more information, click here. [from-OneAmerica]

Watch the One America website for my summary of and thoughts on John Edwards' speech.

CYA on WMD Tied Military's Hands in Iraq

CYA on WMD Tied Military's
Hands in Iraq

"I was in meetings where (General John) Abizaid was pounding on the table trying to get some help," says a senior military officer.

This is just one of the sad and shocking facts revealed in the most recent Time magazine [The Secret History of How the U.S. Misjudged the Enemy in Iraq], showing that the Bush administration was trying so hard to cover their asses on WMD that our military was barred from obtaining important intelligence to help them fight the insurgency because it wasn't "the priority."

I'm furious - and if you're not, then you are not paying attention.

Iraq's missing $1billion

Iraq's missing $1billion
One of the largest thefts in history

One billion dollars has been plundered from Iraq's defence ministry in one of the largest thefts in history, The Independent can reveal, leaving the country's army to fight a savage insurgency with museum-piece weapons. [Independent]

Quote of the Day: Frank Rich

Quote of the Day: Frank Rich

"What comes next? Having turned the page on Mr. Bush, the country hungers for a vision that is something other than either liberal boilerplate or Rovian stagecraft. At this point, merely plain old competence, integrity and heart might do."

- Frank Rich [NYT]

Harry Hopkins' Name Making a Resurgence

Harry Hopkins' Name Making a Resurgence

Ralph E. Shaffer and Walter P. Coombs, professors emeriti at Cal Poly Pomona, talk a bit more about good old Harry Hopkins (as I did on September 16th).

See: Why It's Time for Dr. New Deal (Again)

The anti-visionaries are once again coming out of the woodwork, too - once again calling old Harry Hopkins - the man who brought America up from its knees to newfound success - a "commie".

Quote of the Day - John Dryden

Quote of the Day - John Dryden

"Let grace and goodness be the principal loadstone of thy affections. For love which hath ends, will have an end; whereas that which is founded on true virtue, will always continue."

- - John Dryden

Neocons Will Burn Jurassic Park DVDs

Neocons Will Burn Jurassic Park DVDs
..when they hear this one:

From today's Miami Herald:

Actor Sam Neill has blamed President Bush's economic policies for contributing to the disaster that engulfed Louisiana when Hurricane Katrina hit, reports The Associated Press.

In a speech Wednesday night attacking New Zealand opposition leader Don Brash ahead of the country's general elections on Saturday, Neill, a supporter of the ruling Labour Party, compared tax cuts proposed by Brash to Bush's election pledges in 2000.

'Perhaps we should look at somewhere else where they recently used the time-old bribe of tax cuts, and see how it worked. In 2000 George Bush, under the reasonable sounding `compassionate conservatism,' offered huge tax cuts. And he delivered,'' Neill told an audience in Oamaru, 200 miles east of his home and vineyard on New Zealand's South Island.

''Take a look at America now. The rich are certainly richer, but the economy is in the tank, a healthy surplus has been converted into a massive deficit, and the U.S. is a place that cannot even afford the basics. Like maintaining levees in low-lying Louisiana. Might I suggest that tax cuts led indirectly to the flooding of New Orleans?'' Neill added.

He also heavily criticized the war in Iraq, saying that Brash, a former central bank governor, would have sent New Zealand troops to Iraq in 2003 while Prime Minister Helen Clark refused.

''The greatest achievement of this government is that they kept us out of the war in Iraq. Let's make no mistake about this -- this war is a bloody mess, and a terrible blunder, with disastrous consequences for the future,'' he said.

Tar Heel Tavern #30

Tar Heel Tavern 30

Don't miss Erin's beautifully displayed Tar Heel Tavern XXX.

The Next Inaugural

The Next Inaugural

Stirling Newberry takes you on a hopeful journey forward to January, 2009.

May it be.

Bring Them Home Tour - Part One

Bring Them Home Now Tour - Part One
Notes from the "Bring Them Home Now" bus tour, which stopped in Syracuse NY on September 14.

Mike Ferner was the first to speak.He is a freelance writer from Toledo, Ohio, and a member of Veterans for Peace. Encouraging all to attend the March on Washington on September 24th, he commented it should have come as no surprise when a powerful insurgency emerged in Iraq. He asked all to consider that if a foreign power had invaded our country, that we would have fought back, and we see the same level of violence in Iraq today. He said, "We need to get the hell out of Iraq – and the sooner the better. I have a two-word exit strategy – SHIPS and PLANES. Get our troops on them and bring them home now."

Tammara Rosenleaf of Helena, Montana spoke on behalf of Military Families Speak Out - tearfully, she described how her husband is soon to be deployed to Iraq and how he is willingly going to Iraq for “his buddies.” She knows that when she wakes in the middle of the night, scared to death that her husband is dead or injured in Iraq - or if he really is injured or killed, that the military is not going to be there for her as they claim they will be. She hears many people say that it's demoralizing to troops when Americans speak out against the Iraq war. Ms. Rosenleaf's husband tells her that he does not believe it’s demoralizing to troops at all. She assured the group of about 150 people that her husband and most troops would agree that our constitutional right to free speech was living in each person that was in attendance at the rally. In her words: "Who needs a free speech zone? We ARE a free speech zone." While in Crawford, she had seen a photo display of wounded soldiers that deeply disturbed her - their pain cannot be understood unless you really look at their eyes. She says that our leaders need to take a close look at those men and women before committing another soldier to die.

Quote of the Day - Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Quote of the Day - Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

About America:

"Those of us who know that it’s worth fighting for have to take it back now from those who don’t."

- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Photos - Syracuse MoveOn.org Vigil

Photos - Syracuse MoveOn.org Vigil


l-r: Mike, Alexis, Gina, Austin, me. My story about the vigil is here. Someday I'll learn to open my eyes for the camera. You can see the signs better in this shot.


Here we go - that's better.

The Helping Hand

The Helping Hand

Bishop T.D. Jakes of the Potter's House in Dallas, Texas delivered an inspiring and healing sermon today at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. on this National Day of Prayer for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. He stressed that faith-in-action is the truest example of sincere compassion toward one's fellow man or woman, and that pretty rhetoric without action is little more than poetry. Speaking about the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritan, he drew out five points and lessons, skillfully applying them to our modern public lives and our treatment of the poorest among us. He called upon Americans to "dare to discuss the unmentionable issues that confront us" and to not rest until the poor are raised to an acceptable living standard.

The first Parable-related point that Bishop Jakes made was that "Restoration is more than observation." We can no longer be a nation of people who can pass the ghetto on our way to Mardi Gras, to pass Harlem on our way to Manhattan, or to pass Compton on our way to Rodeo Drive while ignoring the poverty of our fellow Americans. Second, he raised the question, "Who is my neighbor?" Your neighbors are more than the people who look just like you; who live where you live; or who vote the way you vote. Third, he reminded us of the vision of our wounded neighbors lying by the side of the road (in the parable as well as in New Orleans), and how some people choose to pass them by - a powerful and humbling reminder that you can't help others if you exalt yourself above them. In the parable, the Samaritan came off his beast to help the bleeding man. "Come down where the pain and poverty is," recommended the Bishop. Fourth, Bishop Jakes pressed the fact that "Resources, not rhetoric, are what bring about meaningful changes in our lives." It's not what we say that is important. It's what we do that is important. Real leadership is defined by what we do. The Bishop suggests that we need to love our neighbors enough to "pay the bill." Fifth, he asked the question: "Are our relationships productive?" He said that we must know each other if we are to help one another, despite our distinctive perspectives.



Bishop Jakes spoke about the Twin Span Bridge that connects Slidell, Louisiana to New Orleans which was partially submerged by Katrina and will need rebuilding. He called it a symbol of our need to rebuild bridges between our ideas, our perspectives, and our differences - we must build unity. "We can't multiply by dividing and we can't add by subtracting," said Bishop Jakes. If we rebuild that bridge with unity, it could make a real difference, letting go of the divisive illusion that we're black or white; Democrat or Republican; "right" or left." The true vision, he said is "One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." He took his Five Points and compared each of them to a finger of one Helping Hand stretched out our nation's poor and underprivileged, and stretched out to those all over the world who've been ravaged by Poverty. He concluded that our nation - and the world - will be the place we've thought it could be when we've closely examined the lessons of the story of the Good Samaritan and applied them, with faith and action, to our society.

Where is Bush's Harry Hopkins?

Where is Bush's Harry Hopkins?


I thought that President Bush gave a pretty-sounding speech last night. With the "beauty shot" of Jackson Square lit up like an angel's daylight behind him, he exuded hope to those who searched for it. The hopeful overtones seemed closer to what you'd expect from the articulate and inspiring Sen. John Edwards. The usual G.W. Bush "sloganese" was absent, for the most part. When he reassured America that the great city of New Orleans would rise again, I think that many believed that he'd meant what he'd said. He admitted his mistakes. He spoke of the rebuilding as a "common effort," which was one of the most uniting and sincere-sounding phrases I've heard from Bush since 9/11. It was good talk, yet we realize the cagey devil remains to be found slithering among the bare details. What Bush had to say was not easy to accept, but it was realistic. For many conservatives, it was a slap to the face. After all, piling $200 billion (plus) to the monster of a deficit that the Bush administration has already created is staggering in its economic implications.

Rather than offering an Inspector General to ensure that our tax dollars will be spent honestly and wisely by reviewing upcoming expenditures, I believe Bush should have given us the name of a new program with an administrator who has real and material experience in social management and economic oversight. A glorified auditor is not sufficient, and Bush can't handle the job himself. Karl Rove is the worst person for the job because of who he is and what he stands for. After what we saw with FEMA, I don't trust that we can leave this awesome task to the various bureaucracies (DHS, Labor, SS, FEMA,et al) with no one "czar" to report to. The military may be of invaluable assistance, but they should not be required to have as broad of a role as recommended by the President. New Orleans is going to be more than just a bunch of new buildings. It's going to be a city to which a lot of underprivileged people will return with the hope of opportunity.

Harry Hopkins, one of the great American policy makers and innovators of the 20th century who lived in New Orleans for a time, was FDR's trusted channel of communication and administration. He was chosen to head up the short-lived FERA (Federal Emergency Relief administration), which vastly improved the fortunes of the unemployed in the 1930s. Back then, America was fighting to recover from a depression and Congress was generous, spending a whopping $4 billion in total on FERA programs. It was the economic pump that broke the depression. It provided a substantial stimulus to the revival of business by creating purchasing power in a once-destitute class. It raised the standard of living of the poorest and lowest-paid people. In his day, many right wingers called Harry Hopkins a "communist" because of his focus on social justice. Louisiana's own Huey Long had disagreed, averring that FDR had not been generous enough with federal funds and admitting that the redistribution of wealth to the American people was socialistic but necessary. Harry Hopkins had said:

"We can only say that after every dollar entrusted to us for lessening of distress, the maximum amount humanly possible was put into the people's hands. The money, spent honestly and with constant remembrance of its purpose, bought more of courage than it ever bought of goods."

In 1935, the work of FERA was taken over by the Social Security Board, and Hopkins moved on to become director of the Works Projects Administration, one of the most famous of all New Deal programs. The WPA employed more than three million people and was responsible for the building of highways, bridges, public buildings and parks. Even though Congress eventually found the programs unpopular and unnecessary, Harry Hopkins had handled the programs with extraordinary skill and they had served their purpose well. Hopkins' political honesty (what's that, you ask?) and competence was a boon to FDR's popularity.

Where is President Bush's Harry Hopkins? We need him. Bush may speak pretty rhetoric, yet he is virtually silent about the social needs of New Orleans and of the worsening poverty across the United States. Waiving Davis-Bacon while silenty offering rebuilding contracts to profiteering political cronies is nothing but worrisome. Bush pushed his "ownership society" ideology during his speech, the Urban Homesteading Act for example, which is short-term Republican micromanagement of an insidious poverty that will still exist when the funds have run out. Does the President believe that he can accomplish a war on poverty without informing the American people that either their taxes will need to be raised or else they will suffer an ever-widening gap between rich and poor while government manipulates more tax breaks as a way to redistribute wealth to the richest? Somewhere along the way, we know that sacrifices must be made for what we've deliberately done in Iraq and for what nature did to us in New Orleans. The bill has been placed in front of us. Who's going to wind up paying the bill? If the richest are not called on by the Bush administration to pay their fair share, the middle class and the poor will be the ones who will suffer most, even though their taxes are not "raised". They will pay higher prices. Their schools will suffer. Their social programs will dissipate as spending becomes restricted to fighting in Iraq and rebuilding New Orleans. The gap between the "two Americas" will deepen.

The economic realities that Republican leadership have avoided, with an all-too-supportive FOX News giving cheerleader's megaphone, have hit us in the face. The Grover Norquist-"drown it in the bathtub" form of federal government was drowned by the floodwaters of August. This is a brand new day.

Where's Harry Hopkins?




Related story: FDR had had his own Hurricane to deal with in 1935.

Headlines

Headlines

Quote of the Day:

"The reconstruction of New Orleans starts now. We need to reconstruct the truth."

-Jordan Flaherty, New Orleans resident, union organizer, and an editor of Left Turn Magazine (www.leftturn.org). [SFBayView.com]

__________ ___________


DNC Chairman Howard Dean's op ed titled "The Verdict on John Roberts" will appear in tomorrow's newspapers. For a preview, see Democrats.org. He believes that John Roberts is the wrong man for the job.

__________ ___________

In typical House Republican fashion, Democratic attempts on Wednesday to force the Bush administration to surrender documents on prewar intelligence and the disclosure of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame were derailed. Liz Sidoti reports that Republican leaders want to avoid the spectacle of either issue being debated on the House floor amid some fear that the measures could succeed if enough Republicans side with minority Democrats. [WaPo]

__________ ___________

In a new e-mail distributed by the One America Committee, Elizabeth Edwards asks all supporters to rally others to sign a petition for her husband Sen John Edwards' "New America Initiative." The plan is intended to assist the victims of Hurrican Katrina, asking the president to “provide the victims of this disaster with the skills, materials and planning they need to revitalize their region.” Mrs. Edwards says it is sad, but not surprising to see how the Bush administration's weak response to the disaster and the Republican leadership's irresponsible policies are a reminder of the immeasurable suffering that results from the disregard. She says that it has to stop, and it can. In her words:

We cannot expect that the Republican Congress or White House will come up with a plan that has the interests of all Americans in mind. In both their long-standing policies and their response to this disaster, their disregard and callousness have been painfully evident. Grover Norquist, a seminal thinker among the Republican leadership, has said that he wants government to be so weak that he could "drown it in a bathtub." That image is searing today. And he is wrong - we need a government strong enough to protect our people and ensure hope and opportunity for all Americans, not just the wealthy.

__________ ___________


On the eve of the President's address to the nation about Hurricane Katrina, AFSCME challenged the Bush Administration to abandon plans to give more tax cuts to the wealthy and immediately implement a comprehensive plan that would both prepare for another Katrina-like disaster and bolster relief efforts.

AFSCME calls on Congress to promptly move ahead with a comprehensive preparedness and relief plan:

* Immediately suspend tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans
and use the money to provide relief to evacuees and rebuild the Gulf
Coast. No new tax cuts should be considered.
* Create a WPA-like jobs program for the nearly half a million workers
who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina, putting evacuees to work
rebuilding the Gulf Coast. Guarantee prevailing wages for the men and
women rebuilding hurricane-torn areas.
* Provide health coverage to every evacuee by enrolling every evacuee in
Medicaid, and don't cut this vital program.
* Give immediate relief to states housing evacuees. If we don't provide
some relief, these states will have to cut programs that serve the
people hit hardest by this tragedy.
* Make the investments in infrastructure necessary to protect against
future disasters, such as a major earthquake in California or a
devastating hurricane in Florida.
* Give emergency responders the tools they need and set up funds for
public employees and relief volunteers. After 9/11 these highly
valuable workers got a lot of lip service but not enough action.

__________ ___________

David Corn asks: What Went Wrong? [TomPaine.com]

People died because of this. And a harsh reality was exposed: In the event of a calamity—whether caused by nature or by terrorists—we cannot expect the government to respond competently. It is scary out there. And the people of New Orleans—and the rest of us—deserve a few answers. If we are on our own, it would be better to know that now rather than later.

__________ ___________

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, leaders of five mainline religious denominations have joined in a renewed call on U.S. Congress to oppose cuts to programs serving the poor. [U.S.Newswire]

Elizabeth Green, who is a public policy associate for Call to Renewal, believes that people of faith must use this moment, when poverty is in the national spotlight, to call for a change in our country's priorities for the common good. Will we accept a federal budget that provides tax benefits to the wealthiest while deeply cutting vital programs for the poor, and all of us? Or will we use this opportunity to call for morally grounded budget and tax policies that help families escape the growing vise of poverty in times of crisis and "normalcy"?__________ ___________

OAC guest-blogger Joe Clark discusses FEMA and the Revolving Door. He discusses a WaPo piece by staff writers Griff Witte and Charles R. Babcock. The article revolves arounf the new test for FEMA - how do they plan to distribute the $62 billion Congress has approved for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts? How will they monitor the private contractors who will do much of the work? It's like a gut punch when you read that..

"Last spring, the Homeland Security Department's inspector general's office audited the FEMA staff that manages its contracts and found it "impossible to determine whether the acquisition personnel met training, education, and experience requirements." As a result, the auditors concluded, "FEMA may be at risk that its acquisition workforce is not qualified."

A CBS article titled "Big Contracts Went To Big Donors" speaks for itself.

I think about Sen John Edwards' New America Initiative, where the rebuilding of New Orleans and surrounding devastated areas could be led by the citizens who live there rather than by cold proprietary interests whose primary goal is profit - and not the public interest. The head of FEMA was a political appointee who didn't know sh*t from Shinola about handling a tragic American emergency. It was an unecessary tragedy. People DIED because of it. Seeing friends of corporate lobbyists get contracts over skilled professional disaster teams and local urban planners who, in rebuilding, will best preserve the spirit of the city they know so well is bothersome to me - especially since it does nothing to better the economic position of the people living and resettling in the disaster areas (which were a disaster BEFORE the floods due to povertry and social injustice).

It screams "WRONG!" The situation demands the public's concern. Any government that would hire private contractors like KBR or Halliburton [indianexpress.com] to gentrify New Orleans and further enrich the rich while failing to serve the very poor, and that allows public interest to suffer at the preference of private interest cannot stand as a popular government or a government with high or historically respectful or abiding purposes. To put it in simpler terms. I smell corruption. And the smell is far worse than the receding floodwaters down in the 9th Ward.

__________ ___________

Stick a fork in him, he's done.
E.J. Dionne explains that any myths or pretensions still sheltered or promoted about Bush being a political success have been dispelled by Katrina. No longer "the Bush Era", Dionne says it's time for new leaders to emerge with better ideas. In his words:

Those who call for yet more tax cuts risk sounding like robots droning automated talking points programmed inside them long ago. Katrina has forced the issue of deep poverty back onto the national agenda after a long absence. Finding a way forward in -- and eventually out of -- Iraq will require creativity from those not implicated in the administration's mistakes. And if ever the phrase "reinventing government" had relevance, it is now that we have observed the performance of a government that allows political hacks to push aside the professionals.

And what of Bush, who has more than three years left in his term? Paradoxically, his best hope lies in recognizing that the Bush Era, as he and we have known it, really is gone. He can decide to help us in the transition to what comes next. Or he can cling stubbornly to his past and thereby doom himself to frustrating irrelevance.

to be cont'd

__________ ___________

Howdy Cindy Photo

Seen today at a "Bring Them Home Now" tour stop in Syracuse N.Y.

George Galloway - Christopher Hitchens Debate

George Galloway - Christopher Hitchens Debate
Galloway - Hitchens Debate
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
7:00 PM ET
Excerpts here
For online video streams of the Galloway-Hitchens debate, go to democracynow.org. The debate will also be broadcast on television on C-SPAN's Book TV. For details click here.

Two years after the invasion of Iraq, British MP George Galloway and journalist Christopher Hitchens will debate the causes and consequences of the Iraq war. Moderated by Amy Goodman.

George Galloway is Respect party MP for Bethnal Green and Bow in East London. He recently electrified the United States with his appearance at a Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing on May 17, when he turned the proceedings into a condemnation of the war in Iraq.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer described Galloway's speech in the Senate as "a blistering attack on U.S. senators rarely heard" in Washington. His new book, out in September, is "Mr. Galloway Goes to Washington" (The New Press).

Christopher Hitchens is a widely published polemicist and frequent radio and TV commentator. He is the author of "A Long Short War," "Why Orwell Matters," "The Trial of Henry Kissinger," and many other books. The London Observer calls him "One of the most brilliant journalists of our time."

This debate is part of a national tour of the United States by George Galloway, "Stand Up and Be Counted: No to War and Occupation." The tour will culminate in Washington, DC, during the anti-war protests on September 24th. For a full list of cities and events, please see the website: http://www.mrgallowaygoestowashington.com

Recommended Reading

Recommended Reading:

Read William Rivers Pitt's Story of Steve.
Anyone who has a Steve (like this Steve) in their life is blessed.



Jenny Ellerbe photo Cypress, September 5, 2005
will be auctioned off for Hurricane Katrina relief,
proceeds to go to the Louisiana SPCA.


Read Alice Sebold's Living With the Dead.
A beautiful piece from this fine writer. Don't miss it.






Chicago Man Reunited With 104 yr-old Grandfather, Katrina Survivor

__________________


Amos Haynes, 104, can't hold back a flood of tears
as his grandson Maurice Kaufman finds him at
Christus Santa Rosa Hospital.
[San Antonio Express-News]

by Karen Adler
San Antonio Express-News Staff Writer
link
Excerpt:

As he sat in his suburban Chicago home watching newscasts of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, Maurice Kaufman assumed the worst. For days, he hadn't heard from his 104-year-old grandfather, living with relatives in St. Bernard Parish in New Orleans. Kaufman, 57, and his family kept their eyes plastered to the television, wondering if one of the bodies they saw on the side of the road could be their beloved grandfather, Amos Haynes.....

...As waters began rising in New Orleans, Haynes and his elderly relatives evacuated their home and headed to the Superdome. Then, because of his failing health, Haynes was separated from his relatives and flown to San Antonio.

He arrived at Christus Santa Rosa on Sept. 3 severely dehydrated and incoherent, Dickerson said. After a day in the intensive care unit, Haynes finally was able to tell Dickerson the name of his grandson and where he lived. Dickerson got on the Internet and tracked down Kaufman.

Over the last week, Haynes has endeared himself to his caregivers at Christus, telling them stories of his life, Dickerson said."Everybody loves him," Dickerson said. "He's got a real sense of humor and he's feisty. He is a survivor and a piece of living history if there ever was one," she said.

Haynes was born in New Roads, La., and spoke French the first few years of his life. He and his wife, a nurse, moved to Chicago, where Haynes worked as an expediter for Railway Express Agency, ensuring rail loads were shipped on time.

During World War II, it was a good job for a black man, Kaufman said. Haynes moved back to New Orleans after his wife died in 1996. Monday night, Kaufman took his grandfather back home to Chicago, where he will live in a nursing home just a few minutes away from his grandson. "I've lived a good life," Haynes said. "I'm gonna try and make it another 10 years."

_________________



Dan Froomkin has a lot of interesting material today. He begins:

Judging from the blistering analyses in Time, Newsweek, and elsewhere these past few days, it turns out that Bush is in fact fidgety, cold and snappish in private. He yells at those who dare give him bad news and is therefore not surprisingly surrounded by an echo chamber of terrified sycophants. He is slow to comprehend concepts that don't emerge from his gut. He is uncomprehending of the speeches that he is given to read. And oh yes, one of his most significant legacies -- the immense post-Sept. 11 reorganization of the federal government which created the Homeland Security Department -- has failed a big test.

Maybe it's Bush's sinking poll numbers -- he is, after all, undeniably an unpopular president now. Maybe it's the way that the federal response to the flood has cut so deeply against Bush's most compelling claim to greatness: His resoluteness when it comes to protecting Americans.

But for whatever reason, critical observations and insights that for so long have been zealously guarded by mainstream journalists, and only doled out in teaspoons if at all, now seem to be flooding into the public sphere.

An emperor-has-no-clothes moment seems upon us.

Tar Heel Tavern 29

Tar Heel Tavern 29

Don't miss edition 29 of the Tar Heel Tavern, sponsored this week by Bora at Science and Politics.

9/11 Vigils and The Two 9/11 Narratives

9/11 Vigils and the Two 9/11 Narratives
See this video before reading.

I was interviewed yesterday by Stephanie Veale of The Daily Orange, which is Syracuse University’s daily newspaper. I was attending (and playing 'disc-jockey' for) a local MoveOn.org event, and the stated purpose of the vigil caused every reporter in attendance to ask the same questions – What brought you here? What is the connection between Sept. 11 victims, the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq?

My basic answer was “compassion”. I still grieve for the victims of 9/11 and their families. The pain from Katrina is fresh and emotional wounds are still bleeding. The death of every American troop and Iraqi civilian killed a cause for bereavement.

Compassion was not the only reason that I was drawn to the vigil. I could not ignore my strong belief that government has failed all of us. Katrina, 9/11, and the Iraq war are all interconnected parts of two distinct and separate American narratives. The first one is of a fabric that has been woven with mixed and misleading messages from the White House - and parroted by mainstream media. The second narrative is told with an equally-strong (but less commonly heard) alternative message from millions of American citizens. I credit MoveOn.Org for their ability and willingness to coordinate what I consider to be the true story, as told in bits and pieces by citizens across the nation. MoveOn.org helps to give that narrative a 'media megaphone.'

Judging from the questions asked by reporters yesterday, I can see that the White House/mainstream media-parroted narrative about 9/11 (in its relation to the Iraq war) has made the second narrative confusing.

In the Daily Orange editorial today, mention is given of a vigil held yesterday at Hendricks Chapel:

That relatively few students attended the candlelight vigil in memory of Sept. 11, 2001 might be a soothing sign that people are moving on and the wounds are healing. Vigils are a nice symbol of unity and can be helpful to deal with grief. But if Americans want to help deal with the reality of dangers of all kind that face our country, it is time to hold the government accountable.

There were fewer people than I had expected to see at the MoveOn.org vigil, just down the street from the vigil at Hendricks Chapel. I wondered – was it because people are beginning to forget – or is it because they are ambivalent and perhaps numb because of all the 9/11 slogans they’ve heard from the Bush administration and the pundits of the Right? Is it because they see how an overcommitment of our troops to a war of option has severely limited our nation's homeland security/FEMA function, which has been hyped to make us believe we'd be safe?

These beliefs are just a part of the "second narrative" which, free of Utopian fantasy, runs parallel with the first, with reality and reason at its core.

The citizens' message (ie: the "second American narrative") is constantly blurred by the White House narrative of 9/11. Gen Colin Powell told Barbara Walters last Friday night that, while he said he is glad that Saddam's regime was toppled, he has seen no evidence of a link between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 terrorist attack. "I have never seen a connection. … I can't think otherwise because I'd never seen evidence to suggest there was one," he told Walters. He is leaning toward the second narrative, and we need to pay close attention.

What will be the future of 9/11 memorials in this nation, when we have two totally different narratives about a controversial war - a war in which an alleged war-worthy link is something we know that the Bush administration has clearly misled us about?

The memory of 9/11 is sullied by the false narrative.

How can we look forward? How will the two distinct narratives ever be reconciled? I don't think they can be. From where does our hope arrive? If you talk to any rational American, they'll look you in the eye and tell you they do not trust that Bush can make any kind of success of the foolishly-begun and failing Iraq war, because world leaders have long understood what the majority of American citizens had not begun to understand until now. The Bush 9/11 narrative was corruptly false - and the post-invasion plan was totally inept.

Although we wish we could, we cannot go back. When we think of looking forward, what do we see?

I believe that the most effective local act, promoting a hopeful civic spirit around the 9/11 Memorial theme, was set about by select students at Syracuse University yesterday. They used the memory of 9/11 to honor local firefighters. I applaud these students. From the Daily Orange:

As the flag stood at half-mast, a group of about 50 students decided to give back to the downtown community by honoring the local Syracuse Firefighters Association on Sunday morning. "It's an event that brings the whole country together," said William Coplin, adviser of the Maxwell Citizenship Education Learning Community and professor of public affairs in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

The memory of those who died on 9/11 will be best respected and remembered by the ability of all Americans to participate in a common effort to make their own communities safer.

We can't go back, but we can look forward.

We need to hold government's feet to the fire for the way they've let us down, from the failure of infrastructure which caused Katrina to ravage an American city to the glaring poverty of black Americans in New Orleans; from the false narrative we've been told about the link between 9/11 and the Iraq war to a "9/11 Freedom Walk" in D.C. where you would've gotten arrested if you'd attended without a "credential" and civilly disagreed with the Pentagon's completely false narrative.

A change is surely due to come, or this nation will be forever divided - bitterly so - by the two narratives. In a healthy and vibrant democracy, the majority of citizens who agree with a certain narrative are supposed to be duly represented by their government. How long will we be officially oppressed by the false one?


*tip o'the hat to Gen JC Christian

Guest Blogging at One America

Guest Blogging at One America

I spent last week as a guest blogger for the One America Comittee blog.
My stories can be seen here:

Guest Blog: Iraq War - Bitterly Disappointing Results
Guest Blog: Katrina Polls
Katrina Tragedy Heightens Awareness of Two Americas Message
Guest Blog: Global Warming, Public Safety, and Open Thread
Guest Blog: John Roberts
Guest Blog: Hurricane Katrina
Guest Blog: Thoughts on Labor Day and Open Thread

The Incident at the Bridge

The Incident at the Bridge

"The truth is gonna come out."
- Mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin

Read Digby's post about "The Incident at the Bridge."
It's an important allegory because it represents a problem that exists not only in New Orleans, but in every city across the United States.
I regret that it's still true, after all these years.
Fear, materialistic greed, and distrust blinds us to human suffering.
In the darkest of times, defense of property meant more than human protection.
It's heartbreaking.

Quote of the Day - Juan Cole

"In four years, Roosevelt and allies defeated Nazi Germany and imperial Japan. In four years, Bush hasn't managed even to corner Bin Laden and a few hundred scruffy terrorists; or to extract himself from the deserts of Iraq; or to put the government's finances in good order so that it can deal with crises like Katrina."

-Juan Cole "9/11, 7/7 and 8/30"

The Tragedy of 9/11

The Tragedy of 9/11

The September 11th anniversary is upon us again. It's been four years since suicide hijackers flew American planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon - and into a quiet autumn field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The memory of where we were that day and how we learned about the tragedy is something we will always remember. One of my own family members worked just a few steps away from the Trade Center buildings, and like many Americans who had someone they loved in the danger zone, we recall the relief when we got the call from them saying that they were okay. Some of us never got the call. Some of us, such as Elizabeth Emery, the wife of Edgar Emery, got a phone call, only to find it would be the last earthly conversation they'd have with their loved one - and on that fateful morning they said their bittersweet farewells. It was the kind of tragedy where pain lies dormant, just under the skin, and on each anniversary we see the images again and the pain comes flowing back.


There has been more tragedy since that fateful day, and I regret to say that it was the preventable kind. There will be a parade and concert in Washington, D.C. on the 9/11 anniversary dubbed as a "9/11 Freedom Walk", and it is representative of a culmination of the tragic consequences which have caused Americans to fail to unite in a common purpose since 9/11. The "registry-only" participants of the parade will walk from the Pentagon, across the Memorial Bridge to the Mall. They will require a four-foot-high snow fencing to keep the event "closed and sterile". Authorities threaten to arrest anyone who joins the march or the following concert without a "credential." And here's the kicker - the media is banned from the parade route. Think about that for a minute - a 9/11 memorial in our nation's capital with fences to keep the public out and the media banned from getting close to the participants.


What we have here is a pro-Iraq-war march being dubbed as a "9/11 memorial". It mocks the words '9/11 memorial' and 'freedom' and 'democracy' because all it really seems to be is an invitation-only event sponsored by the "My Way or the Highway Patriotism Club," much like the Bush rallies we have observed. It screams of irony because it makes room for one limited and narrow choice on how you must think if you're going to be a member. Worse, it takes our nation's solemn memory of 9/11 and turns it into a divisive debate about a controversial war that never had any war-worthy 9/11 link.


Meanwhile, it's four years later and disappointed 9/11 widows still wait for the truth and they no longer believe that the intelligence agencies failed, suspecting instead that the failure lied in the hands of Pentagon leaders who did not pass along information to law enforcement.
That is a tragedy.

Hurricane Katrina came along and proved we were not prepared for catastrophic emergency. All the rhetoric and promise about Homeland Security making us safer was swept away with the great flood.
That is a tragedy.

President Bush praises 'armies of compassion' while promoting a tangled mess of new federalism that strips Americans' commonly-shared value of compassion straight out of the face of government. There was no effective coordination between state and local governments after Katrina. Imagine a bucket of water being poured over ants and imagine blaming them for their helplessness.
That is a tragedy.

Katrina showed us that we didn't care enough about our nation's infrastructure, which is one of the most important necessities for a strong civil society.
That is a tragedy.

President Bush had the comfort and support of the world on September 11, 2001, and he squandered it. He lacks the humility that the leader of a powerful nation needs to succeed.
That is a tragedy.

The Iraq war has cost this nation 177 million dollars a day and the President has never called upon the nation for any kind of personal sacrifice. Instead, ideas that promote the elimination of taxes for the wealthiest put more burden upon the working class in America.
That is a tragedy.

Poverty in America is on the rise while the Bush economy grows, taking on third-world characteristics. We see a staggering amount of concentrated wealth that recalls to us the memory of the pre-Depression days.
That is a tragedy.



We are all Americans.
That is the message our leaders should be sending to us, but I'm not hearing it. Instead, we get an elite Pentagon parade which is disconnected from 9/11/01 and we get leadership in whom we lose more faith by the day.
That is the tragedy of 9/11/05.

Dick Gets A Taste

Dick Gets A Taste

"GO F**K YOURSELF DICK CHENEY!"



Haven't heard it much before?
Expect to hear it a whole lot more.
That phrase that got under your skin
That taste of your own medicine.

You struggled for some wit to say
Your withered brain ripe with decay.
"How to hit Kerry?", you thought, ol' son,
We guess you forgot, last election day you won.


See this great cartoon

Bye Bye Brownie

Bye Bye Brownie
Sing to the tune of Bye Bye Blackbird



Shoo op, shoo op
Shoo op, shoo op

Pack up all your care and woe
Here we go, singing low
Bye bye Brownie

Where somebody gets a crew
To do the job you could not do,
Bye bye Brownie

Everyone did not appreciate you
Lou-siana served to just deflate you
Make your way to the door
We don't need you anymore
Brownie, bye bye...

Ah but you did a heck of a job, Brownie...

Now I lay me down to sleep
While NOLA is a soupbowl deep
I pray that Nancy shuts her face
Before they know 'bout my disgrace.

Fishin'

Fishin'


Fishin' ...
How I love to go fishin'...
While them others are wishin'
They had a boat like mine
Won't ya listen to 'em whine.

Fishin'...
With my daddy I'm fishin ...
While they're splashing and a splishin'
In the benzene and the brine
Won't ya listen to 'em whine.

Guitarin' While NOLA Burns

Guitarin' While NOLA Burns



I hope yer children is learnin'
that even as NOLA's burnin'
I can play my geetar 'n sing a song
'bout all the things I ain't done wrong

Ol' Brownie he's good like rosebud petals
When this is over I'll give him medals
Like ribbons you git at them horsey shows
Ask ol' Brownie - he can tell you 'bout those.

I'll sing about my dedication
To clearin' brush on my vacation
Aww, don't cry, Mama, I gave up my retreat
So I could go to Phoenix to beat the NOLA heat.

And now I'm here and don't you fear
Human prop-photo ops will keep me from smear
Let me dry all your tears with a big surprise
I'll investigate my very own failures and lies.



- by Jude


Photo found at DailyKos

Thoughts on Hurricane Katrina

Thoughts on Hurricane Katrina

"This is an unfortunate time for America, and I believe we should take government to task for their rescue-effort delays. It's also a time when a great moral cause has been brought to light. The flooding in New Orleans has introduced us to Americans who have lived in poverty and until now, have been invisible to us. Now that we know them, I believe it would be unacceptable to turn our backs. We must ask for change. Our government can do better. If there can be any hope brought about by this terrible tragedy, it will be that the dead in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast did not die in vain. Our hearts may be broken, but it doesn't have to render us helpless. Americans will feel empowered if they will promise to never forget the people they met through these dark days. We are people who truly care about one another, and we have shown it. I hope we will all make a commitment, along with John Edwards, to make Poverty the issue of our lifetime."

- Excerpt from my September 5th story at the One America blog

Iddybud to be guest blogger at One America

Iddybud to be guest blogger at
One America website
September 5th - 10th



I will be guest-blogging at the One America website this week. I hope you will visit the website and join in the discussion. Also, if you don't have a blog now, perhaps I could persuade you to consider starting one now. There's no time like the present to share your thoughts with fellow citizens of your country - and the world.

John Edwards sent his thoughts on a blog himself today. At the TPM Cafe, he has writtem about "Two Americas". I don't think there's ever been a better
"A-Ha!" moment than now, after seeing the "other America" left behind in New Orleans in the wake of Katrina's fury.

TWO AMERICAS
by John Edwards

During the campaign of 2004, I spoke often of the two Americas: the America of the privileged and the wealthy, and the America of those who lived from paycheck to paycheck. I spoke of the difference in the schools, the difference in the loan rates, the difference in opportunity. All of that pales today. Today - and for many days and weeks and months to follow - we see a harsher example of two Americas. We see the poor and working class of New Orleans who don't own a car and couldn't evacuate to hotels or families far from the target of Katrina. We see the suffering of families who lived from paycheck to paycheck and who followed the advice of officials and went to shelters at the Civic Center or the Superdome or stayed home to protect their possessions.

Now every single resident of New Orleans, regardless of their wealth or status, will have terrible losses and life-altering experiences. Every single resident will know and care about someone who was lost to this hurricane. But some, ranging from the very poorest to the working class unable to accumulate a cushion of assets to rely upon on a very, very rainy day, will suffer the most because they simply didn't have the means to evacuate. They suffered the most from Katrina because they always suffer the most.
These are Americans some of whom who left everything they possessed behind in order to save those they loved. These are Americans huddled with their children or pushing a wheelchair between rows of those too beaten or weak to stand. In this moment, we have to remember they are part of us, Americans who love their country and are part of our national community. In this moment, it is hard because our hair is clean and our clothes are washed and our eyes are not glazed with hopelessness. But these are our brothers and sisters, and we have to remember this not just for them, but for us. We must finally recognize that when any of us suffer, we are all weaker; it affects us all.

Commentators on television have expressed surprise, saying they think that most people didn't know there was such poverty in America. Thirty-seven million Americans live in poverty, most of them are the working poor, but it is clear that they have been invisible. But if these commentators are right, this tragedy can have a great influence, if we listen to its message.
The people most devastated have always lived on a razor blade, afraid of any setback, any illness, any job loss that could disrupt the fragile balance they achieved paycheck to paycheck. They didn't leave New Orleans because they couldn't leave. Some didn't leave their homes because they wanted to protect the hard-won possessions that made their lives a little easier.

The government released new poverty statistics this week. The number of Americans living in poverty rose again last year. Thirteen million children -- nearly one in every five -- lives in poverty. Close to 25 percent of all African Americans live in poverty. Twenty-three percent of the population in New Orleans lives in poverty. Those are chilling numbers. Because of Katrina, we have now seen many of the faces behind those numbers.

Poverty exists everywhere in America. It is in Detroit and El Paso. It is in Omaha, Nebraska and Stockton, California. It is in rural towns like Chillicothe, Ohio and Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Nearly half of the children in Detroit, Atlanta and Long Beach, California live in poverty. It doesn't have to be this way. We can begin embracing policies that offer opportunity, reward responsibility, and assume the dignity of each American.

There are immediate needs in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, and the first priority is meeting those, but after that, we need to think about the American community, about the one America we think we are, the one we talk about. We need people to feel more than sympathy with the victims, we need them to feel empathy with our national community that includes the poor. We have missed opportunities to make certain that all Americans would be more than huddled masses. We have been too slow to act in the face in the misery of our brothers and sisters. This is an ugly and horrifying wake-up call to America. Let us pray we answer this call. Now is the time to act.

Quote of the Day - Thomas Friedman

Quote of the Day - Thomas Friedman

"An administration whose tax policy has been dominated by the toweringly selfish Grover Norquist - who has been quoted as saying: "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub" - doesn't have the instincts for this moment. Mr. Norquist is the only person about whom I would say this: I hope he owns property around the New Orleans levee that was never properly finished because of a lack of tax dollars. I hope his basement got flooded. And I hope that he was busy drowning government in his bathtub when the levee broke and that he had to wait for a U.S. Army helicopter to get out of town."

- Thomas Friedman, NY Times, Osama and Katrina

Mother of Bush Makes Mother of Freudian Slips

Mother of Bush makes Mother of Freudian Slips

You won't believe this one. According to Editor and Publisher [editorandpublisher.com]:

Accompanying her husband, former President George H.W.Bush, on a tour of hurricane relief centers in Houston, Barbara Bush said today, referring to the poor who had lost everything back home and evacuated,

"This is working very well for them." The former First Lady's remarks were aired this evening on National Public Radio's "Marketplace" program.

She was part of a group in Houston today at the Astrodome that included her husband and former President Bill Clinton, who were chosen by her son,the current president, to head fundraising efforts forthe recovery. Sen. Hilary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama were also present. In a segment at the top of the show on the surge of evacuees to the Texas city, Barbara Bush said:

"Almost everyone I’ve talked to says we're going to move to Houston."

Then she added:

"What I’m hearing which is sort of scary is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this (she chuckles slightly) is working very well for them."

The mother of the President has made the mother of Freudian slips.