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Saturday, September 03, 2005
Astrodome Stories and PicturesMy reader Songbird, who did some volunteer work at the Astrodome the other night, sent me the links to some good blogging on the refugees.
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Hmmmm, Sounds Like Bush Doesn't Care About Black People(Welcome, fellow Radio Equalizer readers!) According to this story in the NY Post: At one point Friday, the evacuation was interrupted briefly when school buses pulled up so some 700 guests and employees from the Hyatt Hotel could move to the head of the evacuation line - much to the amazement of those who had been crammed in the Superdome since last Sunday.
"How does this work? They (are) clean, they are dry, they get out ahead of us?" exclaimed Howard Blue, 22, who tried to get in their line. The National Guard blocked him as other guardsmen helped the well-dressed guests with their luggage.Oh, wait a minute. It's New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin who doesn't care about black people: Mayor Ray Nagin has used the hotel as a base since it sits across the street from city hall, and there were reports the hotel was cleared with priority to make room for police, firefighters and other officials.Sorry Kanye West, whom Time Magazine covered just recently as "the smartest man in pop music" (and if that isn't a backhanded compliment, I don't know what is). Be sure to check out My Take of the Day on this latter story; he also has a link to the video. Is it just me, or does West seem extraordinarily inarticulate for "the smartest man in pop music". Hat Tip: LucianneThis is all part of what Mrs Malkin calls Bush Derangement Syndrome. After 9-11 they were able to put BDS down for awhile, but after four years of having their hatred stoked by the Kossacks and Hatrioses of the world they are in no mood to be reasonable. They have seized on that comment about "nobody expected the levees to break" and I'm sure some liberal bloggers are selling tee shirts already: Bush Lied, New Orleans Died. With 0% of the proceeds going to help the refugees. Stalin created a cult of personality about himself in the Soviet Union. The Democrats seem to be creating a cult around the hatred of President Bush. It hasn't worked in the past, and it seems unlikely to become more successful in the future. Despite the much-reported low job ratings of some polls, Rasmussen has shown him fairly stead in the mid-high 40s for the past month. Also, be sure to check out Combs Spouts Off who goes into more detail on this subject.
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Friday, September 02, 2005
Bush a Hero!Not that Bush this time: Three days later, the anemic-looking, red-tipped bush in front of the police department has become a shrine to Waveland's men and women in blue. There's now a hand-carved wooden cross placed in the bush to highlight its role in a remarkable story of survival — a sign of hope as police go about the grim duty of recovering bodies and trying to help shocked survivors in the town of 7,000 about 35 miles east of New Orleans.Good story. Another good story here: Authorities eventually allowed the renegade passengers inside the dome. But the 18-year-old who ensured their safety could find himself in a world of trouble for stealing the school bus.Heh, don't worry, kid, no jury would convict you. Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin, who has more. Let me highlight just once more this story, which I don't think has gotten enough attention: The babies began screaming, the adults panicked and, in that moment, Phillip Bullard, 13, began saving lives — four adults and nine children, including himself.
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Clift Piles It Deeper and HigherEleanor Clift engages in a little political looting herself: I didn’t see the movie “The Day After,” which depicts the desolation and desperation in the aftermath of a nuclear attack.Well, then, why are you using it as a comparison for New Orleans? I didn't see the movie "Sunset Boulevard" which depicts the twilight of a once-famed woman, but I'll compare it to Eleanor Clift. Things were so bad “you almost wonder if Donald Rumsfeld is in charge,” said Marshall Wittmann, an analyst with the Democratic Leadership Council.Heh, little Democatic wit there. Bush’s comment that nobody thought the levees in New Orleans would break is false, and he will regret those words just as Condoleezza Rice did her comment that nobody could imagine a plane flying into a building like a missile.This particular charge seems typical of the Democrats. Here's a clue guys. When President Bush said nobody thought the levees would break, he was referring to Monday evening and night. He wasn't saying that nobody ever considered that possibility. The same of course applies to Secretary of State Rice. Here's the full quote: "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees. They did appreciate a serious storm but these levees got breached and as a result much of New Orleans is flooded and now we're having to deal with it and will," he said.Congress had been planning to eliminate the estate tax, draining billions from a federal budget already reeling under the costs of a war. Marshall Wittmann, who used to advise John McCain, predicts that Bush’s tax-cutting days are over. “We’ve been living in la-la land,” he says. “This is a moment of sobriety when business as usual can’t continue.”Marshall, Marshall, Marshall. Isn't it typical that a former McCain advisor is now working for the DLC? You know, after 9-11 there were easily 2-3 weeks where the Left in America suddenly stopped being idiots; some of them never went back. But with Katrina the armistice didn't even last 2-3 days.
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Site ChangesI'm fooling around with the template today, so if things look a little funky at times it's because you've caught me before I debugged something. The fleur-de-lis stands for New Orleans. You can get a robot like mine just by clicking on the picture. Hat tip to Ex-Donkey.
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Logistical Problem with EvacuationLotta criticism over how long it's taking to get people out. But here's an explanation for at least part of the problem:  (Map by Mapquest) As you can see, there are not many routes out of the city. Many bridges are out according to this article. Hatcher said that part of Interstate 10, the main artery from the north, is washed out. “The Route 11 bridge is maybe 75 years old, and it withstood the hurricane. That’s the only way in now. Maybe older is better.”You can't really see it on that map, let's zoom in on the Route 11 bridge:  That one little bridge is how they're getting everybody in and out of the city.
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Rebranding the Democrats--A Contest!No kidding, Oliver Willis is hawking tee shirts with this image:  It's not as stupid as it might seem. Yeah, the liberals like to claim that dropping the bomb was the greatest hate crime in the history of humanity, but they know that a lot of us sensible folks think it was a great way to end the war, with the least possible loss of life on both ours and the Japanese's part. Of course, I still don't see Ollie getting a lot of libs to buy or wear one in order to convince Republicans that Democrats can be tough. So here's the contest: Using the image below, make up another muscular slogan for the Democrats. Here's a blank:  Here's my entry.  If you blog, trackback to this post or leave a mention in the comments and I'll link. If you don't blog, email me your entry. I'll close entries Monday evening and announce the winners on Tuesday. Hat Tip: Soxblog
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The Blame America Crowd Rolls Up Its Sleeves and... Blames America--UpdatedWhile the conservative blogosphere was rolling up their sleeves and exhorting their readers to contribute to charitable organizations, the big liberal blogs and their synchophants in the media are doing what they do best: Blaming America. Arthur Chrenkoff has a roundup of idiocy at his blog. I do disagree with him about #6 though: Germany said on Wednesday the United States was partly to blame for record oil prices and should look to extend its refining capacity after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc at U.S. refineries, hitting output.That's absolutely dead on the money and I don't see it as insensitive or uncharitable. Hat Tip: LucianneMeanwhile, the Ankle-Biters point us to this compendium of lunacy. And Michelle Malkin has more. Note particularly this bottom-feeder: After I managed to get the candy bar's bar code to fit perfectly over the little laser and figured out how the machine worked so I could waste twice the time it would normally take me to buy a candy bar, an employee approached me and said, "Would you like to give a dollar for Hurricane Katrina?"
I said, "No."
First off, I'm offended that the store employees are wandering around fundraising instead of helping customers, especially when it's so obvious that the store conglomerate uses these do-it-yourself machines to cut down on the number of employees necessary to help customers so that the store conglomerate can turn a larger profit while having fewer of those pesky union workers to deal with.Well, if you kept them busy taking contributions, the store would have to hire more employees, right? And second, this loser didn't have any money to begin with; probably using his food stamps to buy that candy bar. Update: Greg Gutfeld takes a cluebat to the rest of the Huffers. Additional National Guard members were ordered to combat looting that has erupted at the Huffington Post today. The troops have already witnessed brazen incidents of criminality since the disaster began, as Huffposters gleefully sift among gnarled wreckage and corpses to find any blunt or broken object to swing at an administration they detest. "Looters are grabbing whatever they can to make themselves look smart, and make Bush look or feel bad," Greg Gutfeld said in a telephone interview, hiding under his desk.Rick Moran contrasts the charitable nature of the Right-wing blogs versus the blame Bush crowd on the Left. The Commissar posts a handy-dandy table of reactions. Let me mention here that I'm on Howard Dean's Democracy for America mailing list, and the silence from that quarter speaks volumes.
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McCartney Killer Free On Bail?A story we've been following for a long time: The judge fixed personal bail at £2,500 with two cash sureties of £2,500 and directed that Mr Davison must live at an address handed into court, report to police daily and surrender his passport.Uh, isn't that rather light bail on a murder charge? And surrendering his passport isn't very useful; he can travel to Poland without it.
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Who?Some woman showed up at Tom Delay's office. I vaguely recall the name; wasn't she on Happy Days that last season after Fonzie jumped the shark?
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Thursday, September 01, 2005
Phillip Bullard, 13 Years Old and a Hero--Updated!(Bump to top due to updates) This is going to be the most famous young man in America in the next week:  Here's a good news story: Just before Katrina crashed into the east side of Biloxi, Miss., a dozen family members, friends and neighbors piled into the only bedroom of a wooden house.
Suddenly, the water rushed in, penetrating every wall and window. They retreated to a living room that yielded no protection from the 5-foot tide inside the house.
The babies began screaming, the adults panicked and Phillip Bullard, 13, began saving lives. Four adults and nine children, including himself.
Phillip swam and cradled the youngest. He floated the oldest -- all through the house, out a broken front window and into a boat floating nearby. He coaxed his twin sister to let go of the side of the house, which she clung to in terror. He took the hands of his mother and grandmother, both too frightened to leave their home, and guided them to safety.
"I just didn't want to see my family drown," said Phillip, a seventh-grader. "I was scared if I didn't keep helping, somebody would die."Hat Tip: Michele CatalanoLonger version with terrific details found. Phillip, a soft-spoken boy who said he knew he wanted to be a police officer or doctor before the storm, says he went under water to clear a path to the window and then got his 25-year-old sister, Yoshico Posey, out. He picked her first because she was the only other person who could swim and help guide the rest out of the house. They formed a rescue team. He carried or floated each person out the window; she passed them to a neighbor who was helping, or put them in a boat they found drifting by.
Later, they used broomsticks to paddle down the street and sought haven in the upstairs loft of a neighbor's home.
''It felt like Phillip was in there getting people for hours,'' said Vanessa Posey, sitting outside the shelter. ``I just kept thanking the Lord for every person he got out.''
By the time Phillip finally swam out of the house, he found his twin sister clinging to the exterior wall of the house.
''She was scared. It took me awhile to convince her to let go and take my hand,'' he said softly. ``But I had to keep trying because she would not have made it.''
After everyone was rescued, Phillip took the boat to Division Street, a main thoroughfare, to find help. It never came.
And so the story that began at noon Monday in the earliest moments of Katrina's brief stay ended with Phillip in a shelter, nursing a foot cut by tin that his mother fears will become infected. This time, help is on the way.
''I just thank God for Phillip,'' the mother said. ``We would not be here but for the grace of God and the courage of my son.''I say he's on five national broadcasts by the end of next week. And he deserves it. Best story yet to come out of the hurricane. Note that his left foot is bandaged in the picture.
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Blog Aid(This post will remain on top all day September 1st. Scroll down for newer content.) As part of the bloggers' support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, I have designated Catholic Charities as the group for whom I am blegging. While local agencies along the Gulf Coast anticipate that they will be provide some type of emergency assistance in their communities, Catholic Charities' niche in disaster relief is to provide long-term recovery work. In fact, Catholic Charities agencies in Florida are still providing services to help people recover from last year's devastating hurricanes.
Based on past disasters, possible long-term services that Catholic Charities may provide include temporary and permanent housing, direct assistance beyond food and water to get people back into their homes, job placement counseling, and medical and prescription drug assistance.We can all see that there will be significant long term recovery work to be done in the wake of Katrina. Note that although the group is called "Catholic" Charities, their aid is dispensed without regard to the religion of the recipient.  As always, when I ask you to pull out your wallet, I've done so first, with some of that "mad blog money" that our buddy TC the Leather Penguin likes to talk about. Amazing how I can rack up mad blog money without any ads, eh? But seriously, give what you can afford, even if it's only a couple bucks. This is an opportunity to show how our country pulls together in time of need. Here's a link to Instapundit's post on this topic. Thank you!
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Just In Case You Were WonderingThe NFL hasn't figured out what to do with the Saints. They will almost certainly not play in New Orleans this year. I know this is of minimal importance in the wake of the tragedy that has already unfolded and may still be unfolding. But I'm an NFL addict only one week away from a score.
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This Must Be A Metaphor or SomethingI did the charitable contribution thing up above, linked to Instapundit's main page on the charity drive, sent him my link early yesterday evening, so I'm wondering all day where's my Instalink? Heh. I went over to Truth Laid Bear's page on the blogs and charities they're blogging on. There are 1211 blogs listed there (!). Okay, Professor Reynolds, we'll forgive you this time. Indeed. And this is just me showing off: Design, Weblogs, Accessibility, Education & Technology—Burning River Studio is blogging for Lutheran Disaster Response Gardening, Cooking, Life & Everything Else — Distracted Mind is blogging for Habitat For Humanity Queenthings is blogging for American Red Cross ClayCalhoun.com is blogging for The Salvation Army Father Jake Stops the World is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) Dummocrats is blogging for Brett Favre Foundation EDSBS is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) Family Scholars Blog is blogging for Modest Needs FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog is blogging for Catholic Charities damnum absque injuria is blogging for Music and Cats is blogging for Habitat For Humanity One Webmaster’s Blog is blogging for American Red Cross is blogging for American Red Cross is blogging for American Red Cross Joy Of Blogging is blogging for Samaritan's Purse ONEBIGSWEDE BLOG is blogging for Feed The Children 3D Phantasm - Bravenet Web Journal is blogging for Operation Blessing Ales Rarus is blogging for Catholic Charities AMERICAN DIGEST Essays | News | Notes | Quotes is blogging for American Red Cross Angry in the Great White North is blogging for Catholic Charities Dust my Broom - Just us Bloggers eh! is blogging for American Red Cross New is blogging for Republican is blogging for American Red Cross The Sundries Shack is blogging for American Red Cross Trañablog|The Jorge Traña Weblog |Best viewed with Mozilla Firefox. is blogging for American Red Cross"D"igital Breakfast is blogging for American Red Cross++ relapsed catholic ++ religion politics culture blog is blogging for Samaritan's Purse... and his ministers a flame of fire is blogging for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief2 Blind Squirrels - A Blog for Online Poker Players is blogging for American Red Cross2 Political Junkies is blogging for American Red Cross2PDF is blogging for Rainbow World Fund:: The Adventures of EMPulse and Leogrrrl :: is blogging for Heart to Heart International:: What Next? :: News and Commentary is blogging for Presbyterian Disaster Relief::*Barely-Legal*:: is blogging for Feed The Children:::Christian News & Hot Issues about Christianity: is blogging for Presbyterian Disaster Relief=) Bnpositive’s Blog is blogging for Nazarene Disaster ResponseA Blog For All is blogging for B’nai B’rith Disaster Relief FundA CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT is blogging for Catholic CharitiesA Jester Unemployed is blogging for Feed The ChildrenA Lady's Ruminations is blogging for Catholic CharitiesA Lie a Day is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago is blogging for A Little Voice is blogging for The Humane Association of Northwest LouisianaA MOCKINGBIRD'S MEDLEY -- A WEBLOG MASQUERADING AS AN ONLINE MAGAZINE (BADLY)... is blogging for American Red CrossA New Beginning is blogging for United Methodist Committee on ReliefA North American Patriot is blogging for Mercy CorpsA Penitent Blogger is blogging for Catholic CharitiesA Place Called Vertigo is blogging for Habitat For HumanityA planet where APES evolved from MAN?!? is blogging for Catholic CharitiesA Random Act of Blogging is blogging for American Red CrossA Republic, Madam, If You Can Keep It is blogging for Catholic CharitiesA SAHM's Blog is blogging for American Red CrossA Shot in the Dark is blogging for American Red CrossA Simple Desultory Dangling Conversation is blogging for The Salvation Armya small victory: Check it out, I'm like a buzzbomb is blogging for A Soldier's Perspective is blogging for American Red CrossA Stitch in Time... is blogging for The Humane SocietyA View From a Gnome is blogging for B’nai B’rith Disaster Relief FundA View from Home is blogging for American Red CrossA View To An Uzz is blogging for Mercy CorpsA Wife's Tale is blogging for LDS Humanitarian Servicesa wolf walk is blogging for Habitat For Humanityaaron | aaron’s cc: is blogging for B’nai B’rith Disaster Relief Fundab integro is blogging for American Red CrossAbigail Brayden is blogging for American Red CrossAbsinthe & Cookies (a bit bitter, a bit sweet) is blogging for American Anglican CouncilAbstract Musings is blogging for Samaritan's Purseabundance.blog-city.com is blogging for The Salvation ArmyAccidental Hedonist is blogging for America's Second HarvestAcross the Atlantic is blogging for The Humane SocietyAddison Road is blogging for World VisionAdrift in Neuroses is blogging for The Salvation ArmyAh, Shoot! is blogging for Lutheran Disaster ResponseAin't no Beach in MO is blogging for United Methodist Committee on ReliefAKMA’s Random Thoughts is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)Alenda Lux is blogging for Navy and Marine Corps Relief SocietyAlia's Musings is blogging for Catholic CharitiesAlias: Flickr + Reblog is blogging for American Red CrossAliens in This World is blogging for Catholic Charitiesall about E is blogging for Presbyterian Disaster ReliefAll Cupcakes, All The Time is blogging for Habitat For HumanityAll the Pages Are My Days :: Mike & Sheryl's Digital Cornucopia is blogging for American Red CrossAll This And Brains, Too is blogging for The Humane Societyallied is blogging for American Red CrossAlways Victoria is blogging for Humane SocietyAmerican Geek is blogging for United Methodist Committee on ReliefAmerican Oblivion is blogging for The Humane SocietyAmericans for Freedom...Afghanistan is blogging for Lebanon Egypt Syria Saudi Arabia is blogging for Belarus... is blogging for American Red Crossamilu is blogging for American Red Crossamilu is blogging for American Red Crossamilu is blogging for American Red Crossamomandherblog.com is blogging for American Red CrossAng's Weird Ideas is blogging for American Red CrossAngel's Many Selves is blogging for American Red CrossAngela's Right to Free Speech is blogging for American Red CrossAngie Brennan's Humor Blog: The Gamut is blogging for PCA Mission to North America Hurricane Katrina FundAngry Twins is blogging for Catholic CharitiesAngryJolietan is blogging for Catholic Charitiesannika's journal is blogging for Catholic CharitiesAnon Y. Mass is blogging for American Red CrossAnonymous Rowhouse is blogging for Catholic CharitiesAnother Day, Another Dozen Diapers is blogging for American Red CrossAnti-Strib is blogging for The Humane SocietyArch Words is blogging for American Red CrossArea417 is blogging for America's Second HarvestArgepundit is blogging for Catholic CharitiesArguing with signposts… is blogging for Southern Baptist Disaster ReliefArmyWifeToddlerMom is blogging for Soldiers' Angels Katrina Relief FundArtists, Autistics, and Activists (and Neo-Pagans) is blogging for The Salvation ArmyArtsJournal: About Last Night is blogging for McCormick Tribune Foundation: Hurrican Katrina Relief FundArtsJournal: PIXEL POINTS is blogging for Southern Poverty Law CenterAs Corey's World Turns is blogging for American Red CrossAshley's Random Blog - Unexpected and irrelevant, but often amusing is blogging for United Methodis Committe on ReliefAttack of the Killer Email is blogging for United Methodis Committe on ReliefAttitude of Gratitude is blogging for The Humane SocietyAustin's Wonderland is blogging for American Red CrossAuthor Intrusion is blogging for Southern Baptist Disaster ReliefAvalon Landing is blogging for The Humane SocietyB.L. Ochman's weblog - Internet strategy, marketing, public relations, politics with news and commen is blogging for American Red CrossBabalu Blog is blogging for Catholic CharitiesBack of the Envelope - is blogging for World ReliefBackwoodz News is blogging for Operation BlessingBacon Unwrapped is blogging for American Red CrossBadger Blogger is blogging for Brett Favre Foundationbaldilocks is blogging for Soldiers' Angels Katrina Relief FundBanana Stew is blogging for American Red CrossBanter in Atlanter is blogging for AmeriCaresBareknucklepolitics.com is blogging for American Red CrossBart's is blogging for - USA website is blogging for American Red Crossbasil's blog is blogging for American Red CrossBatFlattery is blogging for Chabad of Louisiana - Jewish Hurricane ReliefBaylink -- The Things I Think is blogging for American Red CrossBEAR TO THE RIGHT is blogging for Feed The Childrenbearing blog is blogging for Catholic CharitiesBeathey's Journal is blogging for American Red Crossbebere.com is blogging for The Salvation ArmyBecause I said so is blogging for Baptist General Conference Hurricane Katrina Reliefbecause there's no grand piano is blogging for Mercy Corpsbeen there is blogging for Habitat For HumanityBeep Blog is blogging for American Red Crossbehind the candoor - what's life got to do with it? is blogging for American Red CrossBelicove.Com is blogging for American Red CrossBelow The Beltway is blogging for Catholic CharitiesBenjamin Solah’s BlogAustralia Red Cross - Hurricane Relief FundBetsy's Page is blogging for American Red CrossBetter Living: Thoughts from Mark Daniels is blogging for Lutheran World ReliefBettnet - Musings from Domenico Bettinelli, Jr. is blogging for Catholic CharitiesBetween Sundays is blogging for The Salvation ArmyBeware The Dark Side is blogging for American Red CrossBinding Wor(l)ds Together is blogging for Catholic CharitiesBird of Paradise is blogging for American Red CrossBird's Eye View is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)Bittersweet is blogging for Southern Baptist Disaster ReliefBizzyBlog.com is blogging for American Red CrossBLACKFIVE is blogging for Soldiers' Angels Katrina Relief FundBlackhacker is blogging for Red Cross-Mississippi Gulf Coast ChapterBlog d'Elisson is blogging for B’nai B’rith Disaster Relief FundBlog For Books is blogging for Life Today InternationalBlog Home Page is blogging for Habitat For HumanityBlog Marketing, Blog Promotion for Newbies is blogging for Feed The ChildrenBlogActive: Real Truth, Fun Action is blogging for Rainbow World FundBlogcritics.org is blogging for American Red CrossBlogCruiser is blogging for Catholic CharitiesBlogeline's Journal is blogging for American Red CrossBloggers Blog * Blogging News and Trends * is blogging for American Red CrossBlogging for Katrina Relief is blogging for Southern Baptist Disaster ReliefBlogging in the Spirit: Rivers of Living Waters Flowing From My Innermost Being to Quench the Thirst is blogging for American Red CrossBloggledygook is blogging for American Red CrossBlogMeister USA is blogging for Lutheran World ReliefBlogotional is blogging for Presbyterian Disaster ReliefBlogrolling News :: Main Page is blogging for American Red CrossBlogware :: Main Page is blogging for blonde sagacityâ„¢ is blogging for American Red CrossBlue Blogging Soapbox is blogging for Canadian Red CrossBlue's Thoughts is blogging for Catholic CharitiesBlueprint for Financial Prosperity... a personal finance blog for financial security and independenc is blogging for The Salvation ArmyBobo Blogger is blogging for The Salvation ArmyBogus Gold - is blogging for Society of St.Vincent de PaulBoiFromTroy is blogging for Booker Rising is blogging for American Red CrossBorgard Blog is blogging for American Red CrossBossed By Baby is blogging for Habitat For Humanitybound by gravity is blogging for Canadian Red CrossBrain-Washed Sheeple is blogging for LDS Humanitarian ServicesBrainster's Blog is blogging for Catholic CharitiesbRight & Early is blogging for American Red Crossbrittn826 @ MindSay is blogging for American Red CrossBroken Masterpieces is blogging for Samaritan's PurseBruins Nation :: A UCLA Bruins weblog is blogging for American Red CrossBrutally Honest is blogging for World VisionBujutsu Blogger Shorin Ryuu is blogging for Feed The ChildrenBurghNation is blogging for American Red CrossBusiness blog consultant, blog consulting, business blogging, blog marketing: Radiant Marketing Grou is blogging for Samaritan's PurseBusiness of Life is blogging for American Red CrossBusiness Owner’s Blog is blogging for Mission Harvest America, Inc.Buzz Marketing with Blogs by Susannah Gardner is blogging for American Red CrossBuzzMachine is blogging for Mercy CorpsBWPrice's Marketing U is blogging for United Methodis Committe on ReliefByrd Droppings is blogging for The Salvation ArmyCadmusings is blogging for International Disaster Emergency Service (IDES)CADRE Comments is blogging for The Salvation ArmyCafe Mocha “Lightâ€? is blogging for American Red CrossCake Eater Chronicles is blogging for American Red CrossCake Fun is blogging for American Red CrossCALIFORNIA YANKEE is blogging for California Conservative is blogging for American Red CrossCaliforniaBelle is blogging for The Humane SocietyCampus Bread: Best Thing Since Slicec Blog is blogging for can you hear me now is blogging for Humane SocietyCaNN :: We started it. is blogging for CANUCKS HOCKEY BLOG is blogging for Catholic CharitiesCap'n Bob is blogging for The Salvation ArmyCapitol Ideas is blogging for Captain's Quarters is blogging for Catholic CharitiesCaption This! is blogging for The Humane SocietyCarol Platt Liebau is blogging for Humane Societycatholicnews.org is blogging for Catholic CharitiesCatHouse Chat is blogging for Soldiers' Angels Katrina Relief FundCatprint in the Mash is blogging for Canadian Red CrossCCM Magazine is blogging for World VisionCCUCEO is blogging for Celia Stuart is blogging for The Humane SocietyCentral VA real estate news, trends and opinions is blogging for American Red Crosscfsmtb in low earth orbitAustralia American Red CrossChapelccino is blogging for Samaritan's PurseCharging RINO is blogging for American Red CrossCharlie's Blog is blogging for American Red CrossChezJoel is blogging for The Salvation ArmyChicken Fried Life is blogging for American Red CrossChip Tarver's B2B Tips & B2B Techniques Blog is blogging for Mercy CorpsChris Breisch is blogging for Catholic CharitiesChrisCam is blogging for American Red CrossChrist and Culture is blogging for Christ-Haunted is blogging for Catholic CharitiesChristian Home School Teachers' Lounge is blogging for Humane Societychristianfiction is blogging for American Red CrossChristine Lynxwiler's Official Website is blogging for Churches of Christ Disaster Relief EffortChristWeb is blogging for Samaritan's PurseChronicles of a Curious Cook is blogging for America's Second HarvestCitizen Journal is blogging for Catholic CharitiesCityMama is blogging for American Red CrossCivil Commotion is blogging for Southern Baptist Disaster ReliefClandestine is blogging for The Humane SocietyClassical Education 4 Me - Homeschoolblogger.com is blogging for American Red CrossClassically Speaking... - Homeschoolblogger.com is blogging for American Red CrossClutter to Cash is blogging for Coasting Along is blogging for Mennonite Disaster ServiceCobb is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)Coffee with CrankyBeach is blogging for The Salvation ArmyColbert's Comments is blogging for American Red CrossCold Spring Shops is blogging for McCormick Tribune Foundation: Hurrican Katrina Relief Fundcollected notes and scraps is blogging for Catholic CharitiesCollege Football's Home On The Internet - The Resource Blog is blogging for The Humane SocietyColorado Coalition for Human Rights is blogging for American Red CrossCombs Spouts Off is blogging for The Salvation ArmyComments From Left Field is blogging for American Red CrossCommittees of Correspondence is blogging for American Red CrossCommon Folk Using Common Sense is blogging for The Salvation ArmyCommon Sense Junction » Blog Archive » HURRICANE RELIEF BLOG DAY is blogging for The Salvation ArmyCommon Sense Runs Wild is blogging for The Salvation ArmyComplicated Fun : is blogging for Southern Baptist Disaster Reliefcomposite drawlings is blogging for Humane SocietyConfessions of a Wayward Catholic is blogging for Catholic CharitiesConfessions of an Undercover Geek is blogging for American Red CrossConneva - Weblog is blogging for Southern Baptist Disaster ReliefConservative Musings is blogging for The Salvation Armyconservative-thoughts.blog-city.com is blogging for Soldiers' Angels Katrina Relief FundConstant Vigilance! is blogging for Habitat For HumanityCookin' in the 'Cuse is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)Country Store is blogging for The Salvation ArmyCowboy Steve is blogging for Society of St.Vincent de PaulCows, Crows & Compost is blogging for American Red CrossCrazy Jon is blogging for Noah's Wishcrimsontide @ MindSay is blogging for The Salvation ArmyCritical Cloud is blogging for American Red CrossCrosblog is blogging for Mennonite Disaster ServiceCrossFishFreedom is blogging for The Salvation ArmyCrosSwords is blogging for Samaritan's PurseCRY HAVOK...and let slip the blogs of war! is blogging for American Red CrossCursed By a Classical Education is blogging for The Salvation ArmyCynical: A Life is blogging for American Red Crossd2thaEreK is blogging for American Red CrossDaddypundit is blogging for Samaritan's PurseDadmanly is blogging for Southern Baptist Disaster ReliefDaily Inklings is blogging for Samaritan's PurseDaimnation! is blogging for Canadian Red CrossDaisy Cutter is blogging for Samaritan's PurseDamn She Can Ramble! is blogging for American Red CrossDamn You, Katrina is blogging for American Red CrossDawn's Early Light is blogging for Southern Baptist Disaster ReliefDawson's Danube is blogging for Catholic CharitiesDaydreams From the White City is blogging for America's Second HarvestDAYS is blogging for days of beer and carnations is blogging for American Red CrossDays of Deerledge is blogging for American Red Crossdcthornton.com is blogging for American Red CrossDear Jeremy is blogging for American Red CrossDebbie's Dirty Little Diary is blogging for American Red CrossDecent Marketing is blogging for American Red CrossDecision ‘08 is blogging for American Red CrossDeep POV: Confessions of a Christian Writer is blogging for The Salvation ArmyDelight--The Stylish Blog> Daily Updates for Shopping, Fashion, Celebrity Style, Boutiques, Sales & is blogging for ASPCADemocratizing Media is blogging for Habitat For HumanityDenali Flavors is blogging for Samaritan's PurseDiabetes Mine is blogging for Diabetes Talkfest is blogging for Diabetes.Blog.com is blogging for American Red CrossDIANE’S STUFF is blogging for The Salvation ArmyDiary of an Elven Empress is blogging for Noah's WishDiary of the Nello is blogging for American Red CrossDigital Irony is blogging for United Jewish CommunitiesDignan's 75 Year Plan is blogging for PCA Mission to North America Hurricane Katrina Funddirectsite.net is blogging for Noah's WishDirtbags Baseball is blogging for The Salvation ArmyDisert Paths is blogging for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Emergency ResponseDiva Marketing is blogging for American Red CrossDizzy Girl is blogging for American Red CrossDo It Yourself Insanity is blogging for American Red CrossDo Or Die is blogging for Northwest Medical TeamsDoctor(Squared) is blogging for Catholic CharitiesDodgeblogium is blogging for American Red CrossDoes This Blog Clash With My Complexion? is blogging for Catholic CharitiesDon't Let Me Stop You is blogging for AmeriCaresDonaldopato is blogging for United Methodis Committe on ReliefDone With Mirrors is blogging for Mennonite Disaster Servicedougpetch.com is blogging for American Red CrossDraggletail is blogging for Louisiana SPCADrell’s Descants is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)Drinking From My Saucer is blogging for Bread for a Hungry WorldDrumwaster's Rants - Ponder. Rinse. Repeat. is blogging for DrWeb's Domain is blogging for Louisiana Library AssociationDuthie on... : is blogging for Catholic CharitiesDyspeptic Mutterings is blogging for Mercy CorpsEagleSpeak is blogging for The Salvation ArmyEckerNet.Com is blogging for American Red CrossEd Driscoll.com is blogging for American Red CrossEducation Matters US is blogging for Feed The ChildrenEffervescence is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)EGOSweden Armed Forces Retirement HomeElephants in Academia is blogging for American Red CrossEleventh in Line is blogging for LDS Humanitarian ServicesElisamatic's Knitology is blogging for American Red CrossEmergiblog is blogging for Samaritan's PurseEmmyLiz Knits is blogging for Habitat For HumanityEmpyreal Environs is blogging for American Red CrossEnding Hairstyle Struggles | Hair styles, hairstyles, hairstyle advice is blogging for The Salvation ArmyEnergy Crisis Now! is blogging for American Red CrossEnviropundit: Green Building Blog is blogging for Habitat For HumanityEpiscopalians for Global Reconciliation is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)Eric's Grumbles Before The Grave is blogging for American Red Crosseris404 is blogging for American Red CrossErnesto Burden is blogging for Catholic Charitieserniesblog – use a stick is blogging for United Methodist Committee on ReliefEscamoteurettes is blogging for American Red CrossEscape From Obsession is blogging for American Red CrossEscaping the Gray Twilight is blogging for Bread for a Hungry WorldEthos is blogging for The People's ChurchEU Referendum is blogging for American Red Crosseuphoricreality.net is blogging for Soldiers' Angels Katrina Relief Fundeverybodys broke weblog is blogging for Catholic CharitiesExcessive Catholicism is blogging for Catholic CharitiesExgaucho: Posts on Life, News, or Whatever Else is blogging for America's Second HarvestExit Zero - is blogging for The Salvation ArmyExpat Yank: One American living in the south of is blogging for is blogging for F U M A R E is blogging for Catholic CharitiesFaith Based Business is blogging for Convoy of HopeFaith Blog is blogging for Family Matters is blogging for American Red CrossFat Steve's Blatherings is blogging for The Salvation ArmyFBIHOP is blogging for Presbyterian Disaster ReliefFeelin' Alright is a State of Mind is blogging for American Red CrossFeuerwehr Weblog is blogging for Fidler On The Roof is blogging for American Red Crossfivecentnickel.com » a blog about personal finance is blogging for The Salvation ArmyFlorida Cracker is blogging for Humane SocietyFootball Outsiders is blogging for American Red CrossForward Biased is blogging for Homes for Katrina VictimsForward Ho!: Hurricane Katrina - Pack a Bag is blogging for American Red CrossFrank's Wild Lunch is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)Fred Fry International is blogging for American Red CrossFree Money Finance is blogging for Samaritan's PurseFree Traffic Tips - the blog is blogging for The Salvation ArmyFreedom and Whisky is blogging for The Salvation Armyfreedomdogs.com is blogging for Mercy CorpsFringe is blogging for Southern Baptist Disaster ReliefFrom The Word Go is blogging for American Red CrossFrom Where I Sit is blogging for The Salvation ArmyFructus Ventris is blogging for Catholic CharitiesFull Circle Online Interaction Blog is blogging for American Red CrossFuller House is blogging for Petfinder.com Foundation Hurricane FundG e n e r a t i o n W h y ? is blogging for American Red CrossGarage Scholars is blogging for American Red CrossGateway Pundit is blogging for Catholic CharitiesGautreaux Gazette is blogging for ASPCAGay Patriot is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)GayMadHousewife is blogging for Homes for Katrina VictimsGen X Revert is blogging for Catholic CharitiesGetting Nothing But Static From MSM is blogging for American Red CrossGfunk Era is blogging for American Red CrossGibbie's Bioscience World - is blogging for Catholic CharitiesGinsberg's House is blogging for Noah's WishGirls and God is blogging for Samaritan's PurseGlennFrazier.com is blogging for The Salvation ArmyGoing to the Mat is blogging for Catholic CharitiesGood Night Springton is blogging for The Salvation Armygopnailguy is blogging for Samaritan's Pursegopnailguy is blogging for American Red CrossGovernment IT Weblog is blogging for American Red CrossGrabass | We'll floss and fly this mo'fo'... is blogging for The Salvation Armygrace in the 'cuse is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)GrannyTiger's Reality Check is blogging for Catholic CharitiesGrateful Dating is blogging for American Red CrossGreat Solutions to Team Challenges is blogging for American Red Crossgreatscat! The online magazine is blogging for American Red CrossGrowing Chocolate is blogging for Catholic CharitiesGuide to Midwestern Culture is blogging for Wizbang's Paul (direct)Gus Van Horn is blogging for Armed Forces Retirement HomeGZ Expat, Part IIChina Lutheran World Reliefhairstyles.blog-city.com is blogging for The Salvation Armyhaligweorc is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)hangingontonothing.com is blogging for Catholic Charitieshanseatische befindlichkeiten is blogging for Homes for Katrina VictimsHappy Catholic is blogging for The Salvation ArmyHard Starboard is blogging for Samaritan's PurseHARD-TALK is blogging for American Red CrossHARKONNENDOG is blogging for Catholic CharitiesHarleys, Cars, Girls & Guitars is blogging for American Red CrossHazelnut Reflections is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)Hennessy’s View is blogging for Catholic CharitiesHere I Stand is blogging for American Red CrossHerpes Simplex Help is blogging for The Salvation ArmyHidden Haven Homestead is blogging for American Red CrossHipsterCards.com Blog: Discover new eCards, enter the Caption the Card contest, and just have a good is blogging for ASPCAHittingTheBooks.com is blogging for The Humane SocietyHM is blogging for Noah's WishHo Hum What? is blogging for Food Bank of Northwestern LouisianaHoly Fool is blogging for Catholic CharitiesHOLYCOAST.COM is blogging for Heart to Heart InternationalHomefront Six is blogging for Soldiers' Angels Katrina Relief FundHomeschooling Only One is blogging for Life Today Internationalhonea express is blogging for Humane SocietyHousehold Opera is blogging for Louisiana Library Associationhttp://alisonashwell.blogspot.com/ is blogging for http://anklebitingpundits.com is blogging for Mercy Corpshttp://chapterhouse.blogspot.com/ is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)http://donnashepherd.com is blogging for Samaritan's Pursehttp://moltenthought.blogspot.com/ is blogging for Armed Forces Retirement Homehttp://sarahlaughed.net/gracenotes is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)http://tapscottscopydesk.blogspot.com/ is blogging for Samaritan's Pursehttp://www.CrossBlogging.com/ is blogging for Feed The Childrenhttp://www. is blogging for warnews.net/ is blogging for Soldiers' Angels Katrina Relief Fundhttp://www.multiplementality.com/ is blogging for American Red Crosshttp://www.onlywonder.com/ is blogging for United Methodis Committe on Reliefhttp://www.scrapcast.com/ is blogging for American Red Crosshttp:// is blogging for American Red CrossHugh Hewitt is blogging for Hugo Schwyzer is blogging for Mennonite Disaster ServiceHurricAid is blogging for American Red Crosshurricane katrina blog: a survivor's story is blogging for American Red Crosshypersync is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)If Laura Petrie Married General Patton is blogging for Armed Forces Retirement HomeIggert.com is blogging for The Salvation ArmyIlliniPundit.com is blogging for American Red CrossImablog is blogging for American Red CrossIMAO is blogging for The Salvation ArmyImpacted Wisdom Truth: Hurricane Katrina Blogburst is blogging for The Salvation ArmyIn A World Of "Normal", I'll Take Strange is blogging for American Red CrossIn My Opinion... is blogging for The Salvation ArmyIn the Bullpen is blogging for Catholic CharitiesIn Which Our Hero is blogging for Habitat For HumanityIndependent Country is blogging for World ReliefIndieGameDev :: Main Page is blogging for INDIVID is blogging for American Red Crossinfinite improbability is blogging for PCA Mission to North America Hurricane Katrina Fundinfinite universe is blogging for World Visioninmyelement.net:weblog is blogging for American Red CrossInside Europe: Iberian NotesSpain United Methodist Committee on ReliefInsoluBlog: Always separates when shaken is blogging for The Salvation ArmyInstapundit.com is blogging for InsureBlog is blogging for B’nai B’rith Disaster Relief FundInvesting in DXinOne is blogging for American Red CrossIowa Voice is blogging for American Red CrossIpsissima Verba is blogging for Catholic CharitiesIridesce Sent is blogging for American Red CrossIrish Elk is blogging for American Red CrossIshbadiddle is blogging for American Red CrossIt's A Wild Life & Unfortunately It's Ours! is blogging for The Humane SocietyIt's All About Me... is blogging for American Red CrossIt's Kiki and the Lou is blogging for American Red CrossIt's the customer, stupid is blogging for America's Second HarvestJakebouma.com is blogging for American Red CrossJamie Dawn's Mindless Blather is blogging for American Red CrossJamin Philip Gray is blogging for American Red Crossjason sweeney::blog is blogging for American Red Crossjaynumber13.net is blogging for Samaritan's PurseJeff Quinton - Backcountry Conservative is blogging for The Salvation ArmyJess Mahone is blogging for American Red CrossJo Janoski's Blog is blogging for The Salvation ArmyJo Leigh - Author is blogging for The Humane SocietyJo’s Cafe is blogging for The Salvation ArmyJocelyn's Other Desk is blogging for America's Second HarvestJoe's Dartblog is blogging for American Red CrossJoey in Astoria is blogging for Catholic CharitiesJohnTabin.com is blogging for Union for Reform JudaismJOLLYBLOGGER is blogging for PCA Mission to North America Hurricane Katrina FundJosh's Weblog is blogging for American Red CrossJourney of Faith: Mark's Reflections is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)Joyful Song is blogging for World ReliefJpatrickm is blogging for American Red CrossJuicy Living is blogging for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD)JunkYardBlog is blogging for Southern Baptist Disaster ReliefJust A Girl is blogging for The Salvation ArmyJust a Woman is blogging for Feed The ChildrenJust Being Me.... is blogging for American Red Crossjuweldom is blogging for American Red Cross(Okay, I snipped it off because it was causing the blog to load very slowly). I'm just saying, is all.
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Buncha Pat RobertsonsGet these quotes: * "Conventional Wisdom," Newsweek, Nov. 17: "Take him down." (next to a photo of Chavez and a downward-plunging arrow)
* Thomas Friedman, foreign affairs columnist, New York Times, Nov. 6: "Hugo Chavez is the reason God created cruise missiles. ...So if and when Chavez pushes beyond the brink, and we get that one good shot, let's make sure it's a head shot."
* George Stephanopolous, former Clintonite and current ABC News analyst, on ABC'S "This Week," Nov. 9: "This is probably one of those rare cases where assassination is the more moral course...we should kill him."
* Sam Donaldson, co-host of "This Week," Nov. 9: We should kill Chavez "under cover of law.... We can do business with his successor."
* Bill Kristol, ABC News analyst, "This Week," Nov. 9: "It sounds good to me."
* Cokie Roberts, co-host of "This Week," Nov. 9: "Well, now that we've come out for murder on this broadcast, let us move on to fast-track..."
* Jonathan Alter, Newsweek, Nov. 17: "It won't be easy to take him out. ...But we need to try, because the only language Chavez has ever understood is force."
* Newsweek, Dec. 1: "Why We Should Kill Chavez."Oh, sorry, wait a minute--those were their recommendations for Saddam Hussein.
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Attention: Federal Employees Impacted by KatrinaOur buddy Aaron wants me to pass along this message: Federal employees may qualify for an emergency $700 loan from the government. Details here.
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The Reality-Based Community? Part LXIIJustin Raimondo connects some rather bizarre dots: [Gerald] Shea comes to substantially the same conclusion that I did in a series of columns I started writing in late December 2001, the substance of which is contained in a short book, The Terror Enigma: 9/11 and the Israeli Connection: that the Israelis were engaged in spying on U.S. soil in the months leading up to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, that these agents were concentrated in the two areas where the 9/11 hijackers lived and planned their atrocities – Hollywood, Fla., and two counties in New Jersey, Bergen and Hudson – and that they did not share all they knew about preparations for the attack with U.S. authorities.Raimondo also links to this Philadelphia Times-Herald piece which makes a great deal out of the supposed "fact" that Israeli art students were spying on the DEA, heh. Lord only knows why. As I commented on a Jeff Goldstein thread where I heard about this nonsense, they missed the most important dot: How does Jeff Gannon fit into the conspiracy? More Raimondo-debunking here.
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Book Report: Boiling PointThe book is written by Ross Gelbspan, who got a little attention in the blogosphere for his ridiculous (debunked by the New York Times no less) claim in a Boston Globe op-ed that global warming had caused Hurricane Katrina. I decided to check the book out of the local library. Interestingly, Gelbspan is not a scientist. He is a journalist, who worked at the Philadelphia Bulletin, Washington Post and Boston Globe. As a result the book is quite readable, but lacks a certain rigorous attitude towards proof (as we shall see). It basically skips back and forth between anecdotes about global warming in specific places (did you know that butterflies are migrating north four miles every ten years?) and discussions of who's not doing their job (politicians, environmental reporters, activists, etc.) Unfortunately, as we have seen previously with Gelbspan, you can't take anything he writes as truth. For example, when discussing the 2000 election (page 43) he notes: The result of the 2000 election was due--in significant measure--to Bush's victory in West Virginia, a state no other Republican presidential candidate had ever won.Really? Gelbspan means that no other Republican presidential candidate had ever won West Virginia, except: Ronald Reagan in 1984, Richard Nixon in 1972, Herbert Hoover in 1928, Calvin Coolidge in 1924, Warren Harding in 1920, Charles Hughes in 1916, William Taft in 1908, Teddy Roosevelt in 1904, William McKinley in 1900... I think you get the point. But he wants West Virginia to have been solid Democrat forever, because it helps him prove that "Big Coal" ushered Bush into the White House. Facts be damned when Gelbspan is trying to save the planet. I'm reminded of the goofy anti-drug ad from a decade or more ago that purported to contrast the brainwaves of a normal 16-year-old (bouncing around) and a 16-year-old on pot (flatlined). When caught the group that produced the ad claimed that the scourge of drug abuse was too important to stick to the truth. The book is not aimed at convincing global warming skeptics; instead it seems to be intended to serve as speaking points for true believers. When discussing the Bush Administration's decision to drop the Kyoto Protocols, there is no discussion of the non-binding 95-0 vote against the treaty in the Senate during the Clinton Administration. An astonishing amount of vituperation is directed at the Bush Administration, along with the usual implications that X policy is the result of a donation by Y Corporation. In keeping with the "preaching to the choir" nature of the book we get little asides like the factoid that a memo written opposing the Kyoto Treaty was drafted "by the same public relations firm that drafted Newt Gingrich's 'Contract with America' in the 1990s" (Boo! Hiss!). His sources all appear to be on the far left of the political spectrum. For example, while discussing media coverage of global warming, he decries the lack of stories in the New York Times, Washington Post and LA Times, as compared to the London papers the Guardian and the Independent. But both of those papers are far to the left of any major US newspaper; I would place them at about the same spot on the political axis as the Nation. In short, global warming may be happening, and may be human caused. But if you're trying to learn the truth about these topics, steer clear of this book.
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Political LootersLooters are vultures that wait out the storm and then feed on the carcasses of the victims. Political looters are popping up almost as fast as property looters. Robert Kennedy, Jr. put down the needle long enough to pen a screed about how Haley Barbour deserved the destruction that hit Mississippi. Ross Gelbspan screamed it was all global warming. Howard Fineman senses opportunity for the Democrats in an inane column in Newsweek: We have journalist Malcolm Gladwell to thank for the idea that every social phenomenon has a dramatic “tipping point.” It doesn’t always work that way. And yet Hurricane Katrina is just such a moment. We are a big, strong country—and New Orleans will, somehow, survive—but you do get the sense, as President Bush finally arrived here after a monthlong vacation, that a political hurricane is gathering force, and it’s going to hit the capital any day.You can almost hear him channeling Flounder in Animal House: "Oh, boy, is this great!" Huffington Post is political looting central, with Airiheadda herself leading the charge. The president's 35-minute Air Force One flyover of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama was the perfect metaphor for his entire presidency: detached, disconnected, and disengaged. Preferring to take in America's suffering -- whether caused by the war in Iraq or Hurricane Katrina -- from a distance. In this case, 2,500 feet.Robert Smith (who?) posts that greedy CEOs better give back some of their tax savings. OK, you billionaires who have taken advantage of the very unchristian greed fest that is the hallmark of the Bush administration, it's time to step up and give some of that money back. CEO's should pony up and pay for the recovery of New Orleans, Gulfport, Biloxi, and the rest of the hurricane-devastated Deep South.Haven't heard anything about Warren Buffet or Barbra Streisand's contributions, have you? Poltical looters, like looters, should be shot on sight. Not literally, of course, but their unseemly rush to make political capital out of a tragedy should be highlighted and scorned. Similar thoughts here. Greg Gutfeld chides his fellow HuffPoers. Moxie gets sick to her stomach reading the bilge that Airiheadda and her clones are putting out. Buckley F. Williams has a related post on the latest lawsuit filed by the ACLU. Also good arguments here.
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Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Moron the Politics of the Next Five MinutesHere's a clueless article from Ron Fournier. Cutting short his vacation and marshaling the power of the federal government could help reverse his sliding job approval rating. But the president's hands-on approach looks a bit too political for some, and makes him an easy target should Katrina's victims start looking for somebody to blame during the long, costly road to recovery.Typical Clinton fan; the only thing that matters is what it does to the poll ratings. Hat Tip: Lucianne
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Ankle-Biters on FireBulldog Pundit looks through a long list of people that Cindy Sheehan thanked and finds a modestly surprising name. And by the time he gets through gnawing on a ridiculous WaPo poll, there's nothing left. John Hawkins checked the Hagel story and found that Chuckie Bagel's office is denying any contact with Mrs Sheehan.
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So Much for Equality of Suffering--UpdatedWell, the NY Times notwithstanding, ABC News is going with a little class warfare: Hurricane Katrina ravaged much of the Gulf Coast, but it was especially cruel to the poor.
In New Orleans, a third of the residents live below the poverty line. The very poorest live on the lowest land, south of Lake Pontchartrain, where the floodwater is now up to their rooftops.Update: Good counter-arguments here (even if he did trackback without linking, a mistake I made myself this morning). A case can be made that the poor are harder hit, but would it be a story if the rich were harder hit?
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Sheesh, What a Dumb IdeaWhy not suggest that Republicans impeach President Bush for failing to meet with Cindy Sheehan? Wizbang's a good blog and Jay Tea's a good blogger. But this is moronic. Let me add here that one of the biggest reasons we have illegal immigration is that we don't allow enough of the legal kind.
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Looting(Welcome fellow La Shawn Barber readers! I'm going to track the stories of looting here today. If you want me to link something you've posted, either link to me and trackback, or leave a note in the comments. First, lest you believe this is a new phenomenon, check out these panels from two different Batman stories circa 1956:   Rick Moran has a great post on the breakdown of social order that looting implies. How to stop it? Well, if we saw more pictures like this:  And heard fewer stories like this: With much of the city flooded by Hurricane Katrina, looters floated garbage cans filled with clothing and jewelry down the street in a dash to grab what they could. In some cases, looting on Tuesday took place in full view of police and National Guard troops.We'd see fewer scenes like these:    The word should go out; looters will be shot on sight. It's one thing for people to take food and bottled water in an emergency like this; it's quite another to take a case of Heineken or a TV set. Michelle Malkin has a solid post with lots of links on this topic. La Shawn Barber also has more. And if anybody thinks, hey, everybody else is doing it, why shouldn't I, remember: You'd be going into a confined area where criminals are operating. There have already been stories of looters shooting other looters. One looter shot and wounded a fellow looter, who was taken to a hospital and survived.Here's an attempt to justify the looting (at least in the headline): Need and greed trigger lootingAnd get this detail in that story: At a flooded Walgreens store, police officers took control and dispensed medicine, diapers and other essentials to a small crowd of would-be looters.I suppose that's one way to handle it. Chris has a Photoshop pic that will probably draw some comment. I told Chris in an email that I don't see the looting as a black/white thing myself. That said, I do suspect that if Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have anything to say it will be to condemn those taking the pictures and writing the captions. There was one interesting caption on a photo of a woman (either white or Hispanic) that commented on her "finding" food and soda, contrasted with pictures of black people where their activities were called looting. They're not blacks or whites; they're looters. Excellent post here as well.
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Blogging for ReliefI will be blogging tomorrow as part of the effort for Katrina relief. My designated charity is Catholic Charities. While local agencies along the Gulf Coast anticipate that they will be provide some type of emergency assistance in their communities, Catholic Charities' niche in disaster relief is to provide long-term recovery work. In fact, Catholic Charities agencies in Florida are still providing services to help people recover from last year's devastating hurricanes.
Based on past disasters, possible long-term services that Catholic Charities may provide include temporary and permanent housing, direct assistance beyond food and water to get people back into their homes, job placement counseling, and medical and prescription drug assistance.I'd like to mention here that although the charity typically represents Catholic donors, its assistance is non-denominational; that is, it helps everybody in need, not just Catholics. Link to Instapundit's relief post.
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False Equivalency--Updated!This Rolling Stone article by Matt Taibbi paints a pretty clear picture of the zoo around Camp Casey: If the pre-Sheehan anti-war movement had a problem, it was stuff like this. The movement likes to think of itself as open and inclusive, but in practice it often comes off like a bunch of nerds whose favored recreation is coming up with clever passwords for their secret treehouse. The ostensible political purpose may be ending the war, but the immediate occupation for a sizable percentage of these people always seemed to be a kind of rolling adult tourist attraction called Hating George Bush. Marches become Hate Bush Cruises; vigils, Hate Bush Resorts. Hence the astonishingly wide variety of anti-Bush tees (Camp Casey featured a rare film-fantasy matched set, home at various times to BUSH IS SAURON and DARTH INVADER); the unstoppable flow of Bush-themed folk songs. If you spend any amount of time involved with peace protests, as I have, you very quickly start to notice that Hating the President just seems like a little too much of a fun thing for too many of your brothers-in-arms.But get the false equivalency: Then again, here as in the rest of America, there's no shortage of folks who spend too much time sick with the opposite disease, Loving the President. In downtown Crawford, the two groups are separated by a Mason-Dixon line. While the anti-Bush protesters congregate at a Zonker Harris-style commune called the Crawford Peace House, the pro-Bush crowd has a meeting place in a giant gift shop called the Yellow Rose.You see? There are people who hate the President too much and there are people who love him too much. Except of course that the hate Bush crowd will blame him for a car stuck in the ditch, while it's doubtful the love Bush crowd will attempt to give him credit when the sun pokes through the clouds. More on that theme: It's a striking visual scene: On one side of the railroad tracks running through town there's a creaky old house, bedecked with peace signs, that looks like the home of the Partridge family. A few hundred yards away, across the tracks, is the Yellow Rose -- a patriotic storefront drenched in red, white and blue whose entrance is obscured by a Liberty Bell, flanked by two huge stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments. Together, the two places look like a pair of rides in a Crossfire theme park.On the one hand, you've got a bunch of peacenik kooks and on the other hand, you have folks who love their country. It's not too hard to figure out where Matt's sympathies lie despite his attempt at "even-handedness". Update: Pam Meister has more.
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Tuesday, August 30, 2005
At Least the Women and Minorities Didn't Suffer DisproportionatelyJames Dao of the NY Times finds a silver lining in Katrina: The Misery Is Spread Equally
WAVELAND, Miss., Aug. 30 - The storm was nothing if not equal opportunity in its misery.
In Waveland and Bay St. Louis, modest bungalows and working-class apartment buildings were thrashed, torn open like cellophane bags and filled to their first-floor ceilings with muddy Gulf of Mexico water by Hurricane Katrina's howling winds and powerful tidal surge.
But a few miles away, affluent Diamondhead fared no better, and perhaps worse, as the hurricane obliterated an entire subdivision of $500,000 houses, leaving just the pilings they once stood on and piles upon piles of rubbish, sodden clothing and battered appliances.Simply amazing. The Times dips deeper and deeper into self-parody mode.
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No Overrated Big BlogsJohn Hawkins had a question last week about which big blogs were overrated. I quickly replied that none were in my opinion. Yeah, it's easy to point to the liberal blogs, and wonder at their success, but that's somewhat like me as a SF 49er fan decrying the Oakland Raiders' blog--they aren't writing for my benefit. So cross the liberal blogs off the list and go down the list of big "right-wing" blogs and tell me who's overrated? Nobody. Oh, there are times I get frustrated with individual bloggers who threaten to leave the Republican fold over ID or stem cells, but let's face it, I'm reading those blogs and I care about what they say because they're great blogs. One of my favorite blogs is Michele Catalano's A Small Victory. She writes a lot of cultural stuff; about video games, comic books, baseball, metal music, and it's tempting to think that her blog is just for fun. Well, not solely. She has a terrific post up today about the good stories coming out of New Orleans, one of those posts where other bloggers feel their gonads shrinking as they recognize their inadequacy. We are not worthy!   
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GlobaloneyHere's an idiot who couldn't wait to claim that Katrina was caused by global warming: THE HURRICANE that struck Louisiana yesterday was nicknamed Katrina by the National Weather Service. Its real name is global warming.This part made me wonder if he was joking: When the year began with a two-foot snowfall in Los Angeles, the cause was global warming.But no, he appears to be dead serious. There was some snowfall outside of LA and in the mountainous areas there may have been trace amounts, but 24 inches? It's not hard to find the reason for these outrageous claims: Ross Gelbspan is author of ''The Heat Is On" and ''Boiling Point."He also mentions a week of 110+ degree heat here in Phoenix. I've lived in the Valley of the Sun for 22 summers and there hasn't been one where we didn't have at least a week of those kinds of temperatures; in 1989 or so we had a two-week stretch of 113+. It comes with the territory.
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Here's An Easy PredictionThe Left will be slightly less interested in prosecuting this guy for outing spies than they have been about Karl Rove: SCORES of British spies fear their cover is blown after they were named by a US website.
It listed 121 alleged secret agents - including former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown. Some are understood to be serving intelligence officers based around the world.The website is run by John Young, who "welcomes" secret documents for publication and recently said there was a "need to name as many intelligence officers and agents as possible".
He said: "It is disinformation that naming them places their life in jeopardy. Not identifying them places far more lives in jeopardy from their vile secret operations and plots."And since no possible harm could come to Mr Young for being exposed as the one who exposed these agents, here's a picture:  Hat Tip: L-Dotter Zalmon
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Cluebats for Moonbats and WingnutsRick Moran has posted the 12th edition of the Carnival of the Clueless.
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Flooding in New Orleans Michelle Malkin's got a links-rich roundup. Also, Mrs Media Matters has a photo of some of the looting going on.
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Monday, August 29, 2005
The Reality-Based Community? Part LXIHere's a bland little article about a 10-year-old girl winning a second-place art prize. True, it's the Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance's "9/11 Truth for Peace and Justice", which gives you an idea of where they're coming from. (Hint: "X and Justice" = "X and Socialism" in 99% of all cases). Here's a look at the second place winner's entry: (Click on pictures to enlarge if you really feel like punishing yourself)  Hmmm, we'll be kind here and not critique Hannah's obvious artistic skills. Check out the grand prize winner:  It's helpful that there's a fighter plane in the picture about to hit the second tower. If only the artist could have come up with some way to graphically represent another plane not hitting the Pentagon. Note as well that these two "award-winners" rely on text within the art itself in order to explain the meaning. Hugh Hewitt said today on his show that bad journalism chases out good journalism. Looking at this dreck, I'd say that one of the things that bugs me most about the Left is their absolutely appalling taste. There's nothing really engaging or thought-provoking here; this is art meant to confirm the world view of the idiots who like it, not to challenge the world view of those who don't. This is crackpot MIHOP at its finest. More stupid art here. Here's a picture of the tinfoil hat crowd behind the contest:  And, lest you think that all the moonbattery is about 9-11, did you know that the wackos are now questioning the July 7 bombings in London? Be sure to check out the informative timeline: 2004
Bob Kiley becomes Commissioner of Transport for London.
Kiley worked for the CIA between 1963 and 1970, then starting to work as an assistant director at the Police Foundation in Washington D.C.
During 80s he was Chairman and CEO of the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
It's obvious, that Kiley's function is either to coordinate, allow or tolerate moles into the Transport System who supervise and coordinate the upcoming 7/7 attacks.Well, now that you mention it, that is rather obvious, isn't it? Maybe we could call those CITHOP, AITHOP and TITHOP, for short? Michelle Malkin has more examples of this group's tired "art". And if you want to play the Kevin Bacon game, it's not hard to get from this group to Cindy Sheehan, for example. Carol Bruillet appears to be the leader of 9-11 Truth for Peace & Justice; here's an article where she describes a march in Washington against the World Bank shortly after 9-11: At one point we stopped in front of the World Bank building (I recognized it from earlier demonstrations), where our path was blocked by police. The pagans decided to circle up and dance. Then Starhawk suggested another ritual- exorcising the World Bank.Starhawk is a Wiccan who is a "training partner" of Lisa Fithian. Lisa Fithian is is basically running the show at Camp Casey.
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Random MNF ObservationJoey Harrington isn't going to make it in pro football. He doesn't set up quickly enough, he locks onto one receiver just like a rookie, and he's got bad pass rush evasion skills. He has improved every year since he's been in the league (which is a plus), but he's got a ways to go before he even moves into the category where he's helping his team win games instead of losing them. In fairness, it also looks like his offensive line sucks. If I were the GM of an NFL team I would never take a quarterback in the first round. They cost you way too much in salary, you can't give up on them until three years into their career, and there are just too many capable ones who've proven themselves in the NFL, as compared to college ball.
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A Blog I Don't Link Often EnoughChris at Right-Wing and Right Minded really does a great job. I enjoyed his music download from the group Indigenous--solid blues rocker. Lots and lots of excellent posts; spend a little time over there while I'm watching Monday Night Football.
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Der Spiegel Does Irony?Here's a comment I never expected to read in a German paper: For weeks, she has been besieging the ranch near Crawford where US President George W. Bush has been spending his astonishingly lengthy vacation.Astonishingly lengthy? Isn't Germany the land of the 6-weeks-paid vacation?
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The Undead ConstitutionMr Right got a glimpse at some proposed changes to the US Constitution. This is funny, but it would be easier to laugh if it weren't true.
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And He Does This Without Feline Viagra?Here's a little fascinating tidbit from an otherwise crapulent post over at the Huffpo: The male lion mates every 10 minutes for three days or so before he crashes.Now, that's stamina!
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Turn Out the Lights....Updated!Third Wave Dave says Cindy Sheehan's 15 minutes are up.  Update: Turns out the Reverend Al couldn't wait to get out of Crawford. The Reverend Al Sharpton's driver is free on bail after sheriff's deputies say he was arrested for driving 110 miles per hour on an Ellis County highway near Waxahachie.
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Interesting Hate CrimeHere's an oddball story: Two swastikas were spray-painted in the road in front of Ginger Ragans' two-story home Sunday and a third was etched onto her lawn, along with the word "Fascist" and an obscenity scrawled in the grass. Her trees were draped with toilet paper and someone had urinated and defecated on the porch.Gwinnett County police are investigating the vandalism in the town northeast of Atlanta and are uncertain whether to classify it as a hate crime, spokesman Darren Moloney said.
Ragans, 36, who has lived in the neighborhood for 10 years, said the incident likely was the work of neighborhood teens retaliating against her for her work as a neighborhood liaison for a community watchdog program.
In a recent edition of the community's newsletter, she mentioned that cameras had caught groups of teens hanging around the tennis courts long after the county's midnight curfew.Sounds like teenage punks with a leftist point of view; calling someone a "fascist" is certainly right out of the "reality-based community's" playbook.
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Michelle Malkin All Over KatrinaThere's nothing more I can contribute than to link.
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The Mainstreaming of the Protest MovementI knew it wouldn't be long before the Left started this meme: "The vigils were something we hadn't seen in quite some time. It was a turning point, I think," says Todd Gitlin, a professor of journalism and sociology at Columbia University, noting large turnouts in cities like Salt Lake City, not just Democratic strongholds. "Something was afoot in its mainstreamness."Sigh. This is a classic example of something I've commented about in the past. How does the Left "mainstream" itself? By saying they're mainstream to an uncritical media. Getting a turnout at the vigil in Salt Lake City may sound impressive, but were there 135,000 people there? Because that's how many people in Salt Lake City voted for John Kerry. In fact, there were a claimed 2,000 people at the protest vigil. So basically they got about 1.5% of the folks who voted for John Kerry to turn out. That's not mainstream, that's fringe.
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Sunday, August 28, 2005
The Town That Dare Not Speak Its NameThis is mildly amusing.
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The Bell Curve RevisitedI put up a post last week about the differences in IQ between men and women; Charles Murray takes another look at that as well as the always-contentious differences between whites and blacks. Evolutionary biologists have some theories that feed into an explanation for the disparity. In primitive societies, men did the hunting, which often took them far from home. Males with the ability to recognize landscapes from different orientations and thereby find their way back had a survival advantage. Men who could process trajectories in three dimensions—the trajectory, say, of a spear thrown at an edible mammal—also had a survival advantage. Women did the gathering. Those who could distinguish among complex arrays of vegetation, remembering which were the poisonous plants and which the nourishing ones, also had a survival advantage. Thus the logic for explaining why men should have developed elevated three-dimensional visuospatial skills and women an elevated ability to remember objects and their relative locations—differences that show up in specialized tests today.On the racial issue: In the reading test, the comparable gaps for ages nine, thirteen, and seventeen as of the first NAEP test in 1971 were 1.12, 1.17, and 1.25 standard deviations. Those gaps had shrunk by .38, .62, and .68 standard deviations respectively at their lowest points in 1988. They have since remained effectively unchanged.His point here appears to be that while some of the black/white gap of the past can be attributed to social causes, there remains a portion of it that appears genetic. Such differences do seem to violate our general standards of fairness. I remember my mother explaining to me as a small boy that the reason my penmanship was so atrocious was that abilities are spread out among people; if one person had good writing skills, he might be worse at math, for example. She wasn't attempting to be scientific, but rather to reassure me that things were "fair". And to a certain degree I have internalized that notion of fairness in other areas. The mean kid on the block who had the ten-speed bicycle and other cool items probably had a miserable family life. But when it comes to IQ in this meritocracy, it is a small consolation to highlight group advantages in other areas. Point out that blacks seem disproportionately represented in the NBA, for example, and you will be assured that it's just socialization. But even within sports, there is a fairly substantial segregation by position. In football, attention has been focused on the relative lack of black quarterbacks compared to their dominance at other positions, although their percentages have been on a fairly steady upward climb. In the NFL last year, only 5 of the top 30 QBs in passing yards were black. Contrast that with, say, running back, where all of the top 30 rushers were gentlemen of color. You can see a similar pattern in baseball, where there are comparatively few great black pitchers compared to, say, great black outfielders. Although blacks have played in baseball for fewer than 60 years, they already hold 5 of the top 10 spots in home runs. Contrast that with the pitcher's glamour category, strikeouts. None of the top 10 for a career are black (Fergie Jenkins is #11). I chose K's over wins there because the wins leaderboard includes a lot of pitchers who pitched before the color line was broken. I've wandered a bit from the IQ story, so to bring it back, I think Murray is dead on the money when he points out that the differences in IQ between the genders and the races need to be examined honestly: Good social policy can be based on premises that have nothing to do with scientific truth. The premise that is supposed to undergird all of our social policy, the founders’ assertion of an unalienable right to liberty, is not a falsifiable hypothesis. But specific policies based on premises that conflict with scientific truths about human beings tend not to work. Often they do harm.
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The Racism of the PeaceniksHere's a very smart little article. President Bush is actually the greatest liberator of Muslims in history, considering that there weren't 50 million people in the entire MIddle East when Saladin beat back the Crusader hordes. But to the anti war activists, providing freedom from slavery, democratic and economic opportunity to brown skinned people isn't worth the sacrifice of white Americans. Good thing they weren't around when Lincoln was drafting the Emancipation Proclamation.
I recently watched the magnificent Don Cheadle film "Hotel Rwanda" with a group of friends, certified Bush Bashing Democrats all. After it was over, the general murmur in the room was 'why didn't America do something!' to stop the carnage in Rwanda. If Cindy Sheehan were to get her way, and President Bush would be 'impeached and tried for war crimes' over his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as she has demanded, the real losers will be the future citizens of Rwanda, and the other places where brutal dictators will have free reign to massacre people in large numbers, knowing that American leaders will pay too high a political price for them to get involved and 'do something.' And I don't think many of those places will be populated by white Europeans.
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