E Pluribus Unum

(cross posted on Daily Kos)

When most people talk about the destruction of New Orleans, they think of Hurricane Katrina.

But it wasn't the hurricane that did it: it was the failure of the levees. And what happened in New Orleans could happen anywhere. After all, the federal government and the US Army Corps of engineers designed and built the levees in over 100 locations around the country, including New Orleans.

This land is our land. Don't we all deserve levees that work?

Please visit www.levees.org and join us to make sure this doesn't happen to any of us ever again.

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Categories: Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana

• Bush at 28%. Old School: invoke Truman's name. New School: freedom's just another word...for nothing left to lose.

• Sarkozy wins, vowing to out-poodle The Poodle. And why not? After all...he's French!

• An Iraqi blogger visits New Orleans and is shocked at how much it reminds him of home...but not in a good way. Adding insult to injury, he observes that, after the 1991 Gulf War, the despised Saddam rebuilt the infrastructure of Iraq within months.

• Speaking of rebuilding, the reconstruction of Greensburg, Kansas, destroyed by tornados last week, likely will be delayed because a lot of the needed equipment is in...(wait for it)... Iraq.

• Religious fundamentalist murderer Ayman al Zawahri releases a tape...and the White House (and Brit Hume) agrees with what he says. Gosh, in the good old days, they at least made a show of disagreeing with him.

• John Aravosis meets John Kasich. Interesting on so many different levels.

• The reaction to Tenet's book has been interesting. So far, Douglas Feith and Bob Woodward have reviewed it in the WSJ and the Washington Post, respectively. Not surprisingly, they've been pretty critical of Tenet's account as well as his performance in office. But then, they have an agenda, no? Feith wants to deflect blame and Woodward wants to sell his own account of what really happened -- including the now infamous "slam dunk" quote from Tenet.

• Attention gamers: you are now officially middle class and you suck like the rest of us. Why? Because you can now earn World of Warcraft gametime when you use your World of Warcraft Rewards Visa card.

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Categories: George W. Bush , Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana , Odds & Sods , Terrorism

by Mark Adams
Cross-posted and KOS-Posted

Well, maybe not in my neighborhood, but certainly my fellow Kossack Konspirator, Ara's neighbors should be taking notice of this:

As part of his ongoing efforts to fight poverty in America, Senator John Edwards will travel to New Orleans on Friday, May 4th, 2007, to draw attention to the struggles of the community and to help with recovery efforts. Edwards announced his candidacy for president in New Orleans and last spring traveled to Louisiana with 700 college students to help with rebuilding efforts.

Later in the day, Edwards will travel to Baton Rouge to speak at the National Conference of Black Mayors' 33rd Annual Convention.

Continue reading "John Edwards Is Helping Your Neighbors" »

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Categories: Hurricane Katrina , John Edwards , Louisiana

The Republicans used tort reform and smaller government as a way of firing up their base. So if the Democrats need an issue to fire up their base, insurance reform would be my first pick.

Here's just the latest two examples of what makes my blood boil:

[State Farm Insurance,] the nation's largest residential insurer said Wednesday that it would stop selling new homeowners and commercial policies in storm-damaged Mississippi because of lawsuits and legislative saber-rattling over the company's handling of claims from Hurricane Katrina.

The decision ... is the latest by a major insurance company to reduce its risks by retreating from the nation's coastlines. Allstate Insurance has canceled or weakened coverage, or refused to write new policies in more than a dozen coastal states including Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and Texas.

"We've reluctantly come to the conclusion that it is no longer prudent for us to take on additional risk given the uncertain legal and business climate" in Mississippi, said Fraser Engerman, a spokesman for the Bloomington, Ill.-based insurance giant.

This is part of an ongoing trend of insurance companies cherry picking the easiest, lowest-risk accounts in order to maximize their profits. And not only that: they have ALWAYS dragged their feet when it is time to pay a claim. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita we had to nag and nag and nag our insurance company to come up with a settlement that would actually make our home whole again -- and then they raised the rates as though it was a shock to them that hurricanes happen in Lousiana.

Hel-lo? What is insurance for anyway? Don't they have any actuaries who can actually, you know, read a weather table?

Then there's this:

United Health Group, its United HealthCare and Oxford subsidiaries and several United and Oxford executives, including former United CEO William Maguire, are accused of violating the U.S. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in a law suit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court...by Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Flushing Hospital Medical Center.

The hospitals...accuse United Health Group...of implementing a “rogue business plan” on a “national level” that, for more than three years, “has contributed to UHG’s profits, which, in turn, have been utilized in attempts to justify outlandish compensation to Maguire and to enhance the value of illegally backdated options for UHG stock” which were given to Maguire, other UHG senior executives and to managers of its business units.

[...]

David Rosen, president and CEO of both hospitals, said: “UHG, United and Oxford have clearly established and refined a pattern of deceitful practices and myriad means to improperly retain money they owe to service providers, and to arbitrarily and unjustifiably deny payment for their members’ medical services under their plans.

I'd be happy to see Medicare for all and an end to all health insurance companies. Period.

P.S. Read more on the United Health lawsuit.

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Categories: Business , Corruption , Health Care , Hurricane Katrina , Hurricanes

NPR Commentator Chris Rose captures what it's like living in New Orleans one year later.

And, although I have no idea if Ry Cooder has a New Orleans connection, I love this performance of Jesus On The Main Line so much that I'm including it here. It's from the Catalyst In Santa Cruz, c. 1987, with Jim Keltner (dr), Van Dyke Parks (key), Flaco Jimenez (acc), George Bohanon (tb), and who knows who else. Check out that tiny guitar!

For extra credit: Read about the history of the "Main Line" and the "Second Line" in New Orleans lore.

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Categories: Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana

I won't be able to hear the wind again, here in Baton Rouge, without thinking of the day Katrina hit Louisiana.

I shot this video in my back yard at about 7:30 am on August 29, 2005. Less than half an hour later, one of these trees came down on top of another one, snapping it off about 5 feet from ground level, making a loud cracking sound like a massive gunshot. The broken tree then fell on the power lines taking them all down. We were without power for five days after that.

In the front yard, an 80 foot water oak tree popped out of the ground and fell parallel to the house. When it came down we felt the impact come across the floor, up through the soles of our feet, causing our stomachs to bounce in a sickening way. It crushed the sidewalk, demolished our neighbor's cars and took out part of his carport. Somehow, no one was injured.

The tree lay in the driveway blocking our way out. Miraculously, we were able to get a man to come out nearly right away and cut a pathway for us. The rest of the tree, including its 10-foot diameter root ball and 4-foot diameter trunk, lay in the front yard for many days. We became quite the tourist attraction, as cars would stop and people took snapshots and videos. I told my neighbor we should make postcards and sell them at the curb for $1 each. Eventually, the rest of the tree was cut up and moved to the street where a truck with a giant claw came and took it away, but not before we got a chainsaw and cut ourselves a season's worth of fireplace logs.

The worst part? Rita hit us less than a month later, causing even more damage. A couple of trees hit the back of the house damaging the roof and burying the backyard in tree limbs. More on that another time -- I'm exhausted just remembering it all.

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Categories: About Me , Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana

I moved to Baton Rouge about a year before Katrina; I've lived here a year since Katrina. And I have to say Wil Haygood gets it mostly right:

If the hurricane forever changed New Orleans, it has also permanently transformed Baton Rouge. Katrina has demanded realignments, shaken this city's sense of order and left it struggling to cope with a range of new, daily problems.

UPDATE: Apparently Anya Kamenetz resents what Baton Rougians have to say about New Orleans:

A more assertively provincial, narrow-minded, anti-progressive, anti-New South place you could not hope to find. The people who choose to occupy its many lifeless, cookie-cutter subdivisions are defined by the fact that they hate New Orleans and everything that it represents: crime, culture, city life writ large.

In any case, Miss Julie wrote a response to Kamenetz which I posted using my HuffPo account. Go look for it...it hasn't appeared yet, but it'll be there soon, I guess, once the moderator checks it out.

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Categories: Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana

Here is a partial listing of some of the TV programming about Katrina that will be airing on network and cable TV. All times are Eastern Time:

Aug 21-22 & repeat on Aug. 29 - "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts," 9-11 p.m. Monday, Aug. 21, and Tuesday, Aug. 22, HBO. This Spike Lee film will then be repeated from 8 p.m. to midnight Aug. 29, the anniversary of Katrina.

Aug. 24 - "Hurricane Katrina Babies," 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24, Discovery Health.

Aug. 25 - Dateline NBC, 8 p.m., Friday, Aug. 25, In-depth report documenting how Katrina affected the Lindy Boggs hospital staff, NBC.

Aug. 27 - "True Life" episode focusing on four young storm survivors, returning to their lives, 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27, MTV.

Aug. 27 - "Postmark Katrina," 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27, Weather Channel. That's followed at 9 p.m. by the "It Could Happen Tomorrow" episode that was made prior to Katrina, then shelved after the real storm.

Aug. 27 - "Surviving Katrina," 9-11 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27, Discovery.

Aug. 28 - "Katrina: The Long Road Back," 8 p.m., Monday, Aug. 28, Brian Williams hosts a commercial-free documentary culled from network coverage that captures images of the hurricane and its devastating aftermath.

Aug. 29 - "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts," 8 p.m. to midnight, Aug. 29, HBO

Aug. 29 - "Katrina: Send in the Guard," 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29, History Channel. (Previously announced as "Katrina: 7 Days in September.")

Aug. 29 - "Assembly Required: Operation Home Delivery," 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29, DIY Network.

Aug. 29 - "Saving Jazz" 9 p.m., "In the Sun: Michael Stipe and Friends" 10 p.m., focusing on a fundraising six-song record) and "In His Own Words: Brian Williams on Hurricane Katrina" (11 p.m.), all Tuesday, Aug. 29, Sundance Channel.

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Categories: Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana

(Cross posted at Daily Kos)

Proceed with caution: emotional hotspots ahead...

Digby:

The Republicans are counting on the fifth anniversary to remind people of Bush's Bullhorn moment, which was sold as a moment of potent muscular leadership when in fact it was what he had been training for since his days on the sidelines at Andover prep ...

That brings us to the other big pageant this fall. A few days before 9/11 we are going to memorialize another day of national horror: the death of a huge swathe of an American city, while the president and John McCain shared a few laughs over birthday cake.

Besides, you have to be careful here because the dueling anniversaries will inflame that part of the Republican base that believes that the lives lost to a hurricane in New Orleans are, in fact, less than the lives lost to turban-wearing terrorists. After all, everyone knows that those people were too stupid to get out of the way, right? Serves 'em right. Every man for himself. If you rely on the government, you deserve what you get.

Oh and by the way: "macaca." Vote Republican.

No, the real lesson is that we're all residents of the state of Louisiana because when the next disaster hits, y'all be just as vulnerable to it as we were, even now, five years after 9/11.

So go ahead and bang the drum slowly, Republicans. Enjoy the dirge. As for the rest of us, it is time to rise up and throw the rascals out because if we don't, we're just sitting ducks, waiting for the next disaster.

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Categories: 2006 Elections , Democrats , Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana

The audience for the premiere of Spike Lee's Katrina film arrives with a mix of curiosity and anxiety

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Categories: Film , Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana , Movies

Humanitarian aid in the U.S. has begun arriving in Lebanon. The U.S. Government sent 10,000 medical kits, 20,000 blankets, $30 million cash and today the people of New Orleans said: "They did what?"
---Jay Leno

(HT to Bill in Portland Maine)

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Categories: Humor , Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana

Yesterday, I posted a piece about Ron Suskind's new book, The One-Percent Doctrine.

The book has generated some buzz, mostly about the story it tells of an aborted al-Qaeda plan to attack the NYC subway system with poison gas. The traditional media has trumpeted this story as proof that Dear Leader is still protecting us. On the other hand, Sen. Shumer used it to demand that full funding be restored to NYC after the DHS sent their money to, um, Wyoming instead.

In his interview with Wolf Blitzer, Susskind details how, in the months following 9/11, "Dick" Cheney formulated something called the One-Percent Doctrine:

A key feature of the Cheney Doctrine was to quietly liberate action from such accepted standards of proof and it was effective. Suspicion, both inside America and abroad, became the threshold for action.

This makes sense up to a point.

When evaluating risk, one looks at three factors:

• the likelihood of a catastrophic event occuring
• the enormity of the resulting consequences, and
• the degree of vulnerability that you have to that potential catastrophe.

But what bothers me is that in the one and only instance in which the Cheney Doctrine was put to the test, it failed miserably. Cheney's one-percent probability was significantly closer to zero percent.

And the resulting response resulted in a catastrophe of its own making.

And, ironically, Hurricane Katrina (itself a catastrophe with a likelihood quite a bit greater than 1%) made a further mockery of Cheney's doctrine.

P.S. There was a corollary to Cheney's doctrine: 99 innocent men are worth arresting so that one guilty man is captured. The backlash from that, and the resulting loss of trust in the US, will last a generation or more.

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Categories: Dick Cheney , Hurricane Katrina , Republicans , Terrorism

...unless you've been to Mardi Gras.

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Categories: Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana

The Senate rejected the Federal Marriage Amendment today (rejecting cloture and not allowing an up or down vote).

But before it was over, freshman Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter said this:

I don't believe there's any issue that's more important than this one. I think this debate is very healthy, and it's winning a lot of hearts and minds. I think we're going to show real progress.

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Categories: Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana , Republicans

A couple of highlights:

• The final tally was 52%-48%.

• Nagin and Landrieu split the absentee vote equally.

• "Both candidates received about 20 to 21 percent crossover vote, but the magnitude of the African-American base propelled the mayor to a victory," said Greg Rigamer, a political consultant who conducted his own analysis of Saturday's balloting.

• Here's a Flash animation of Katrina's progress, concluding with a map of the neighborhoods that sustained the worst flooding; here's a precinct-by-precinct breakdown of how the candidates did on election day. Conclusion? Each candidate won precincts that flooded badly and each one won precincts that were relatively dry.

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Categories: Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana

The race for mayor of New Orleans is nearing its conclusion. Last night the two candidates (incumbent Ray Nagin vs. challenger Mitch Landrieu) faced each other in their final debate.

You should care about this because we're all residents of Louisiana now. Make no mistake: the race for mayor of New Orleans will have national repercussions:

• What happens to the price of gas and oil if the port of New Orleans is permanently diminished?
  
• How much support should the Federal government be expected to give to the rebuilding of a city -- below sea level?
  
• What effect will immigration reform have on New Orleans? More specifically, can you really rebuild New Orleans without relying on illegal immigrant labor, i.e., those who get paid below the minimum wage?
  
• Can the national Republican party be expected to support the revival of a state that elects Democrats?
  
• Will race divide Democrats from each other?
  
• Which campaign strategy is the winning one -- values or competence?

Here's MSNBC's coverage (including video) of the Nagin-Landrieu debate.

And here's another (more intriguing) interview of Landrieu and Nagin. The highlight:

Question: There's another flood. You are in a rescue boat. You arrive at a rooftop to find Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. There's only room for one in the boat. Who do you take?

Landrieu: They both get left.

Nagin: I give them the boat and get on the roof and wait for the helicopter.

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Categories: Democrats , Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana , Politics , Video

• Secretary Jackson Fabricated the Entire Story, Spokesperson Claims, Contradicting Prior Response Very unprofessional (at best) and very likely illegal (at worst). But no worries -- Congress will never investigate.

• Leader of Iran lectures Bush on being a good Christian
  This is what you get when the separation of church and state is torn down and religion trumps government. I wonder if Bush will bother to respond to Ahmadinejad.

• Another poll hits a new low
  68% believe the U.S. is worse off today than it was before Bush became president. Ouch. And with his approval at 31%, how long before he dips into the 20's?

• Israel gives Palestinians a peace deadline
  PA has until year's end or Israel will set its final borders unilaterally. Meanwhile, Fatah and Hamas continue to squabble about not missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

• The difference between New York and New Orleans
  Hillary Clinton talks about how Bush backed New York after 9/11. Wish I could say the same about him backing New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

• Hayden is great (but then so was Goss)
  Watch the video: Bush uses the identical words to nominate Hayden as he used to nominate Goss.

• Should the Democrats campaign for Congressional investigations?
  Some pundits think not; but I think people might want to know (for example) what really happened to those missing billions in Iraq.

• The Evolution of Dance (video)
  How many of these dances did you do in your day?

• The 1-Second Film
  One-second of animation, 90-minutes of credits, all in 70mm, all for a good cause. End-credits are estimated to last 90-minutes and will include a feature-length 'making of' documentary. All profits raised by the finished film will benefit the Global Fund for Women. The best part? You too can be credited as an Associate Producer. All it costs is a $1 donation. No wonder the end-credits last for 90 minutes!

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Categories: 2006 Elections , Advertising , Corruption , Faith & Religion , Film , Funny , Humor , Hurricane Katrina , Iran , Israel , Louisiana , NSA , Poll , Republicans , Video

Miss Julie and I spent the day at Jazz Fest in New Orleans yesterday. The first post-Katrina crowds were huge, with 2 out of 3 people coming from somewhere other than New Orleans -- good news for Festival organizers and everyone who's pulling for New Orleans to make a comeback.

The weather was fine -- no rain. But the winds were very high and the dust was unbelievable. We must have eaten a pound of dirt and grass seed by the time we left.

Here's a short video I put together for you:

By the way, the Mardi Gras Indians in the video are in a group called "Chief Peppy and the Golden Arrows." The dude in red on the right is named Spy Boy Golden Comanche.

Spotted at Jazz Fest:

• A button reading "Make Groceries Not War." I'm told this is a play on words -- "make groceries" is a uniquely local, New Orleanian expression for going to the grocery store.

• A vendor selling those foam beer-can-holders, except these are on a strap. His pitch -- "How you gonna clap?" Indeed.

• A t-shirt that said, "Do You Know What It Means..." As some of you might know, the rest of the phrase is "...To Miss New Orleans?" as in the song by Louis Armstrong (and many, many others).

• A house with the words "We Home!" spray painted on the front.

• Another t-shirt that said, "A Rock Concert I Attended."

• And, last but not least, another t-shirt (my favorite): "Rock Is Dead -- Long Live Paper And Scissors." Hee.

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Categories: Entertainment , Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana , Music , Video

Miss Julie and I are residents of Louisiana...and you might as well be, too.

The difference is, we're grappling with Bush's response to a mega-disaster RIGHT NOW, whereas you can only HOPE he'll be there when YOU need him.

The Bush administration has requested or received approval from Congress for $3.5 billion in levee improvements, and none of those plans require state contributions. At the same time, fiscal conservatives have grown increasingly impatient with the growth of federal spending.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) mocked the request for state funding toward the additional $2.5 billion and said the administration should say when it will ask for the money.

"It's like the man who throws you a 30-foot rope when you're drowning 50 feet from shore and says he's gone more than halfway," said Landrieu, who has vowed to block Senate action on Bush nominations to non-defense and judicial posts until the issue is resolved. "A noble gesture, perhaps, but it doesn't get the job done."

The announcement also leaves unresolved the fate of lower Plaquemines Parish, a rural strip of land that counted nearly 15,000 residents before the storm.

Administration officials said they are still weighing whether to spend an additional $1.6 billion for levee improvements there.

That said, would Bush's response, the rubber-stamp Republican Congress' response, would their response have been any different had we been struck by terrorists?

If your answer is yes, then what the hell are you thinking? The houses are just as damaged; the levees are just as devastated; the people are just as dead; the homeless still don't have a place to live.

If the answer is no, then you might as well get used to the idea that Louisiana is coming soon, to a neighborhood near you.

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Categories: 2006 Elections , Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana , Republicans , Terrorism

As you know, I am a resident of Louisiana -- and you are too, because (four years after 9/11) Bush's response to Katrina shows that the entire country is STILL not prepared for a major disaster emergency.

Now, Louisiana's senior senator, Mary Landrieu, has had enough:

Frustrated by a lack of progress in rebuilding the state's levees, a Louisiana Democrat threatened Wednesday to block President Bush's appointments requiring Senate confirmation until "significant progress" is made toward restoring the flood protection damaged by Hurricane Katrina in August.

[...]

"For me, this used to be a major policy issue," she said. "Now, it's an issue of life and death."

The senator said she sent a letter to Bush on Tuesday and "urged him specifically to request of Congress $6 billion that his administration says that we need in order for our region to be safe."

If the White House fails to meet her demands, "I will be compelled to use the power of my office as a senator to hold all executive nominations until we can get a response from the administration."

There was no immediate response from the White House.

Blocking or failing to act on executive appointments may not be the only pressure she applies, she warned. "I have other leverage, and I'm prepared to use it if I have to."

I haven't always been pleased with Landrieu's actions recently (her vote for cloture on the Alito nomination was a major disappointment) but this is the right move for her state.

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Categories: 2006 Elections , Democrats , George W. Bush , Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana

I am a resident of Louisiana. And guess what -- you are too.

How so, you ask?

Simple: more than four years after 9/11, the Bush administration response to Hurricane Katrina shows that we are STILL unprotected from potential disaster and we're STILL unprepared to respond to an emergency.

Remember when Bush vowed to rebuild New Orleans "higher and better?" Well, like I keep telling you: don't watch what he says, watch what he does.

And now that the TV lights and cameras are gone from Jackson Square, the buck has been passed AGAIN.

Two months before the beginning of hurricane season, we're getting the real story:

The Bush administration said yesterday that the cost of rebuilding New Orleans's levees to federal standards has nearly tripled to $10 billion and that there may not be enough money to fully protect the entire region.

[...]

"This monumental miscalculation is an outrage," said Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). "This means that, just two months before hurricane season, the Corps of Engineers informs us they cannot ensure even the minimum safety of southeastern Louisiana. This is totally unacceptable."

[...]

State and local leaders said the U.S. government had broken a trust and appeared to backing away from commitments to rebuild. Louisiana officials also questioned why federal engineers are just now announcing that the task would cost $6 billion more.

"Every time we turn around, there's a new obstacle," said Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.). "The estimates were done for rebuilding the levees, and a number was given to the administration and to the Congress. Now all of a sudden they say they made a $6 billion mistake?"

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) said the announcement confirmed his warnings since November that Washington is "stonewalling" and seeking "way too little money" for levee repairs.

I can't begin to tell you how upsetting this is.

And the excuses? They don't even pass the laugh test:

In the conference call yesterday, [Federal rebuilding coordinator Donald] Powell reiterated the promise that the levees will be at least as strong as they were designed to be before Hurricane Katrina hit on Aug. 29.

"If a hurricane such as Katrina hit the area, there would not be catastrophic flooding," he said. But, he said, there might be some "manageable" flooding.

Powell said that science, "not any bureaucracy, politics nor any member of the political branches," determined the cost revisions. Bush "is concerned with the well-being of the area's residents," he said, but "he wants to make sure we make the right rebuilding decisions, not just for the residents but for the American taxpayers."

Most taxpayers would appreciate being reminded how important Louisiana is to the national economy:

• 11 percent of the US petroleum
  
• 19 percent of natural gas reserves
  
• THE primary source of the nation's crude oil
  
• Second in produciton of the nation's natural gas
  
• Second in total energy production
  
• Second largest refiner of petroleum for consumer use
  
• Provides 26 percent of all seafood landed in the US
  
• Provides 40 percent of all seafood consumed in the US
  
• ...and on and on.

And (oh the irony) it is the home of the world's first World Trade Center.

New Orleans and the rest of Louisiana is a vital part of the region and a vital part of this country. OUR country.

For Powell (and Bush) to just wave it off in such a high-handed manner speaks volumes about their commitment to protecting and cherishing everything this country stands for.

But, that said, are you really surprised?

Call your Congressman, call your Senators and demand that the Republican Congress fully fund the rebuilding of New Orleans.

Better yet, do everything you can to throw the Republican bums out and replace them with a Congressional majority that actually cares about protecting our country in the event of a major disaster.

Come on! Don't just sit there -- one of these days (God forbid) a disaster will strike your town or state and you'll be hearing a lot of soothing crap from Bush, and you'll wish someone would shut him up and actually, you know, DO something.

Find your Congressman's phone number
Find your Senators' phone numbers

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Categories: George W. Bush , Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana , Republicans

"New Rule: Nobody can use the phrase "our greatest problem" anymore unless you're talking about global warming. President Bush has been saying we're in a war on terror, and now I get it. He's not saying "terror," he's saying "terra" as in "terra firma," as in the Earth. George Bush is an alien sent here to destroy the Earth! I know it sounds crazy, but it made perfect sense when Tom Cruise explained it to me last week."
---Bill Maher

"Here now a list of requirements for Dick Cheney's `downtime suite'...Cheney wants bottled water, decaffeinated coffee. He wants his lights on. He wants the temperature at 68 degrees, the TV's must be tuned to Fox news. I was thinking, 'My God, I wish they would have put this much preparation into the Iraq War.'"
---David Letterman

"We're now down to the final four. Not college basketball. The number of people who still think President Bush is doing a good job."
---Jay Leno

"Ummm...well, uh...I wasn't prepared for that one."
---Cobra II co-author Michael Gordon, responding to Jon Stewart's question, "After the fall of Baghdad, what did [Bush and the neocons] get right?" on The Daily Show

"The President's mother, Barbara Bush, donated tax-deductible money to the Katrina Relief after the flood. And now we find out that it was with specific instructions that the money be spent for educational software owned by her son Neil. Because who can forget those tragic images of the poor black people on rooftops in New Orleans holding up signs that said, 'Send Educational Software'?"
---Bill Maher

(HT to Bill in Portland Main)

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Categories: Amusement , Funny , George W. Bush , Humor , Hurricane Katrina , Politics , Poll , War

EJ Dionne:

...when [the Republicans'] own government fails, they turn around and use their incompetence to argue that government can never work anyway, so you might as well keep electing conservatives to have less government. It's an ideological Catch-22. Even their failures prove they are right.

(HT to shep)

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Categories: 2006 Elections , George W. Bush , Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana , Politics , Republicans

While New Orleans was drowning on Monday, August 29, 2005, George W. Bush visited John ("Mr. Birthday Cake") McCain to celebrate his birthday.

The End.

(HT to Georgia 10)

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Categories: George W. Bush , Hurricane Katrina , Republicans

Turns out Katrina is the issue that turns the reddest part of red-state America against the Republicans:

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw -- two stars who usually stay out of politics -- blasted the Hurricane Katrina cleanup effort, with Hill calling the slow progress in Louisiana and Mississippi "embarrassing" and "humiliating."

[...]

McGraw specifically criticized President Bush. "There's no reason why someone can't go down there who's supposed to be the leader of the free world ... and say, 'I'm giving you a job to do and I'm not leaving here until it's done. And you're held accountable, and you're held accountable, and you're held accountable.

"'This is what I've given you to do, and if it's not done by the time I get back on my plane, then you're fired and someone else will be in your place. '"

[...]

Hill, who grew up in Jackson, Miss., echoed those sentiments. So overwhelmed, she uncharacteristically unleashed an epithet, calling the situation, "Bull- - - -"

"It is a huge, huge problem and it's embarrassing," she said.

[...]

"I fear for our country if we can't handle our people [during] a natural disaster. And I can't stand to see it. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out point A to point B. . . . And they can't even skip from point A to point B.

"It's just screwed up."

Surely all Democrats can come together and agree that our government is an instrument of the people and so is an instrument of good.

Republicans certainly don't believe that. And that is finally dawning on America.

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Categories: 2006 Elections , Democrats , George W. Bush , Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana , Politics , Republicans

Monday: Will powerful House Republican Bill Thomas retire? [Update: Thomas did announce his retirement.] If so, will there ultimately be so many House Republican retirements that the party has trouble holding the majority?

Tuesday: Will Tom DeLay win the Republican nomination in his district outright, or will he face a run-off?

Wednesday: Bush comes to my part of the country, making another trip to inspect Katrina damage and recovery. Previously, the House Katrina Commission blasted this White House, saying we were still unprepared (four years after 9/11) for another disaster. Will Bush's visit give him a bump in the polls, or will Republicans be viewed as the do-nothing party?

Thursday: Potential Republican presidential candidates gather in Memphis to address the party faithful (and the traditional media). A straw poll will follow. Let the 2008 games begin! Who comes out on top -- McCain or Allen? And who, if anyone, distances himself from the Bush-Cheney record?

(HT to The Note)

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Categories: 2006 Elections , Democrats , Dick Cheney , George W. Bush , Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana , Media , Politics , Republicans

We're away from Louisiana during Mardi Gras this year, so I thought you'd enjoy a reprise of last year's celebration.

Laissez les bon temps roulez!

(Video by Instant Video Generator)

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Categories: About Me , Hurricane Katrina , Louisiana

I moved to Louisiana from Michigan in June of 2004. Since then, I've experienced two hurricanes, an earthquake, a tornado and the re-election of George W. Bush. Hard to say which was the worst.

[pause]

No it's not.

Seriously, living in Baton Rouge is like living in the center of the universe as far as Democratic politics go. I'm reminded of this upon reading a post from Chris Komm at Facing South, a terrific blog about progressive Southern politcs. Chris points to a new Marist Poll:

66% of registered voters nationwide are bothered a great deal or a good amount by the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina. Although Democrats are most critical, 64% of independents and 42% of Republicans are bothered by how the administration handled the disaster.

But here's the interesting thing: the issue goes hand-in-glove with the issue of terrorism. So this becomes a real opportunity for Democrats to seize the initiative in an area where they are thought to be weak.

Follow me on this...

The House Report on Katrina Response recently reported that, after four years of preparation, the US is still not prepared to respond in the aftermath of the kind of cataclysmic destruction wrought by that hurricane:

"If this is what happens when we have advance warning, we shudder to imagine the consequences when we do not. Four and a half years after 9/11, America is still not ready for prime time," the report concluded.

[Scarily, Frances Fragos Townsend, the assistant to the President for Homeland Security, was quoted as saying that "President George W. Bush was fully engaged in preparations to Katrina."]

What does this have to do with terrorism? Plenty --

I know for a fact that FEMA is tasked with emergency response, whether or not the emergency is a man-made disaster or a natural disaster. And believe me when I tell you: I've been to New Orleans and seen the destruction. And if you were ignorant of the cause, there would be no way to tell if it were caused by a hurricane -- or a suitcase nuke. The fact is, the levees broke, the town flooded and over a thousand people were killed. And, four years after 9/11, we were not prepared to deal with it.

Now the polls show that Americans are worried, very worried, about that. And they, we, should be. But what can one person do?

More on that in a moment, but first, let's talk about port security.

As you know, Bush has given final approval for the government of the United Arab Emirates to take over security for the port of New Orleans (along with five other major ports). Here's are some relevant facts about the government of the United Arab Emirates:

1. The UAE was one of three countries in the world to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
   
2. The UAE has been a key transfer point for illegal shipments of nuclear components to Iran, North Korea and Lybia.
   
3. According to the FBI, money was transferred to the 9/11 hijackers through the UAE banking system.
   
4. After 9/11, the Treasury Department reported that the UAE was not cooperating in efforts to track down Osama Bin Laden's bank accounts.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff made the rounds on the talk shows Sunday, asserting that the administration made certain the company agreed to certain conditions to ensure national security. He said details of those agreements were secret.

During a stop Monday in Birmingham, Ala., Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the administration had a "very extensive process" for reviewing such transactions that "takes into account matters of national security, takes into account concerns about port security."

So let's review:

• Four years after 9/11, we're still unprepared for the aftermath of another disaster emergency.
  
• If anything, we've gotten MORE complacent about homeland security.

In the meantime, here's what you can do:

1. Contact your Congressmen. I've included the links to the "lookup pages" for both the Senate and the House.

   Find your Congressman
   Find your Senator (upper right corner of page)

   Visit those pages and get the name, phone/fax numbers, and/or email addresses for your Congressman and Senators.

2. Tell them you want them to do whatever is necessary to block the UAE port security deal. Tell them that it is a bad idea to allow a foreign government to have control of our seaports.

   And/or...

3. Tell them that you want all the funds released that have been allocated for Gulf Coast rebuilding. It's time to rebuild New Orleans and the surrounding region. If we had been hit by terrorists we would insist on nothing less.

4. Forward this post to your friends and urge them to do the same.

Thanks for reading this far. Please help us get it done now.

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Categories: 2006 Elections , Democrats , Hurricane Katrina , Politics , Terrorism

The first parade of Carnival season rolled by in New Orleans last Saturday night. Laissez les bon temps roulez!

You can see the entire set of pics at Flickr.

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Categories: Hurricane Katrina

Mardi Gras is just around the corner and Krewe du Vieux will be there:

New Orleans has learned a lot this past year. We’ve learned new meanings for “open house” and “waterfront property”. We’ve learned that there are nine different types of mold and they all smell worse than a Congressional appropriations committee. We’ve learned that sometimes you can’t help but sleep on the wet spot. We’ve learned that FEMA’s just another word for nothing left to lose. And all because the Army Corps of Engineers doesn’t know the London Avenue dike from a Bourbon Street dyke.

...Audience warning: This parade, one of only two to march through the Quarter (the other is the dog parade Barkus), is not for those of tender years or the easily offended. With subkrewes like the Krewe of LEWD and the Mystic Krewe of Spermes . . . well, you get the picture.

(HT to Miss Julie)

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Categories: Amusement , Entertainment , Faith & Religion , Funny , Humor , Hurricane Katrina , Jokes , Music

Those of you that want to read this blog via a web-based news reader can now choose from several popular choices listed below. You can also find these links near the bottom of my sidebar, just below the Search box.

Just curious -- how many of you do this and what readers do you use?

Subscribe to E Pluribus Unum
(via Feedburner)

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Categories: About Me , Advertising , Amusement , Audio , Books , Business , China , Computers/Internet , Democrats , Economics , Energy , Entertainment , Environment , Faith & Religion , Family , Film , Friends , Funny , George W. Bush , Health + Wellness , Health Care , History , Humor , Hurricane Katrina , Iraq , Jobs , Jokes , Law , Marketing , Media , Military , Movies , Music , Politics , Poll , Random thoughts , Republicans , Software , Technology , Television , Terrorism , Video , War , War in Iraq

...after all that, the high today will be 79. And sunny. In late December.

IJS.

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Categories: About Me , Hurricane Katrina

This 45-second video was shot out the window in our office at home in Baton Rouge. It was taken Monday morning at about 7:30 am. You can see our house in the lower right corner and our neighbor's house at the bottom center.

Listen to the wind.

The trees are about 70-80 feet tall. If and when some of those branches break and land on the power lines, well, that'll be that for a while. Until then...

P.S. We're expecting Katrina to formally arrive around here around noon or so.

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Categories: Hurricane Katrina

(From The Big Ol' Box of New Orleans - Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queens)

1. In New Orleans, the graves are above the ground. And there is a bus line called Cemeteries.

2. Sometimes you can see this: a man, standing on the street called Elysian Fields, between Pleasure and Humanity, selling candied apples.

3. In this town they will batter and deep-fry anything that isn't nailed down. And then they might pour a cream sauce on it.

4. On Ash Wednesday, many of the residents of this very Catholic city go about their daily business with ashes on their foreheads, a reminder that Mardi Gras madness and mayhem has turned overnight into the contemplative season of Lent.

5. When their favorite watier at Galatoire's was fired, a hundred customers wrote in letters of support, explaining why having the same waiter for 25 years was a necessary part of the dining experience, and while Galatoire's was at it, could they get rid of the ice machine and go back to hand-chipping ice for the water glasses? (New Orleans doesn't take change well.)

6. Even after she became one of the most famous authors in the world, Anne Rice had a listed home phone number and offered once-a-week free tours of her house. And engaged in a public battle of satirical newspaper ads with local food legend Al Copeland.

7. Ernie K-Doe once came to a friend's book signing and started signing the books himself.

8. We can stand outside many of the best clubs in town and hear the music, as well as if we were inside, and dance in the street.

9. People will dance with us.

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Categories: Hurricane Katrina