Sorry Loons Bad news for all my fringe left friends and ankle-biters. George Bush's approval ratings are going up. Yes, that's right, going up.

According to separate polls conducted by CNN/USA Today/Gallup and Fox News the President currently has a 45% approval rating, up from 40-41% just a couple of weeks ago. At least a 5 point jump in just two weeks. Not bad. (Well, I guess it's bad if you're a "Bush is Hitler and I hate him!" lefty.)

Even better, 71% of those polled by CNN/USA Today/Gallup gave Bush high marks for the way he responded to Hurricane Rita. Don't despair, moonbats. Forecasters predict there may be another major storm in October. You can always blame that on "The Magic Man Who Controls the Weather".  ¶ Friday, September 30, 2005 11 comments

  I am Pro Victory They claim to be anti-war when what they are is anti-America. They call themselves a peace movement when they are really supporters of tyranny. They claim to be for progressive ideas when they are supported by Communist organizations.

So, we know what they are. Now, what are we? Are we pro-war? No one who has served in the military is pro-war. No, we are pro-human rights. We are pro-self-determination. We are pro-American. We are pro-victory.

"There is no substitute for victory" said Douglas MacArthur. But there is a subsitute for victory, a poor substitute. It is defeat. It is tyranny and subjugation. Look at MacArthur's quote in context.

"[O]nce war is forced upon us, there is no other alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end. War's very object is victory, not prolonged indecision.
"In war there is no substitute for victory.
"There are some who for varying reasons would appease... They are blind to history's clear lesson, for history teaches with unmistakable emphasis that appeasement but begets new and bloodier war. It points to no single instance where this end has justified that means, where appeasement had led to more than a sham peace.
"Like blackmail, it lays the basis for new and successively greater demands until, as in blackmail, violence becomes the only alternative. Why, my soldiers asked of me, surrender military advantages to an enemy in the field? I could not answer."

Thanks to Wizbang for starting this campaign.  ¶ Wednesday, September 28, 2005 19 comments

  Cindy Fools McCain Apparently "peace mom" Cindy Sheehan was a bit less than honest in her attempts to meet with Congressional leaders during her anti-American spectacle. She secured a meeting with John McCain of Arizona by leading him to believe that some of his constituents would be in attendance.

(AP) - "McCain, R-Ariz., also seemed disappointed in the meeting, which he said had been misrepresented as including some of his constituents. Only one person in her small delegation has ties to the state, and that person no longer lives there. The two exchanged views about the war, and McCain described the conversation as "a rehash" of opinions already well known. He said he might not have met with Sheehan had he known none of his constituents was in the group."

"He's a warmonger." Sheehan said of McCain. "Saint" Cindy also claimed that in a previous meeting McCain told her that her son's death was "like his buddies in Vietnam" and that he was afraid that their deaths were "for nothing." McCain has denied making any such statements.

OpinionJournal: "Sen. John McCain met with fascist fishwife Cindy Sheehan yesterday, and neither one walked away happy. McCain said the meeting "had been misrepresented as including some of his constituents" when in fact "only one person in [Sheehan's] small delegation has ties to the state, and that person no longer lives there."
As for Sheehan, she said of McCain, "He is a warmonger, and I'm not." A warmonger McCain may be, but we'll take a warmonger over a hatemonger any day of the week. And come to think of it, Sheehan has described al Qaeda terrorists as "freedom fighters," so she's a warmonger too--only for the other side."

A spokeswoman for Sheehan said, "She's exhausted..."

So are we, Cindy. Go home and give us a rest.  ¶ Wednesday, September 28, 2005 4 comments

  The Anti-Cindy I was disproving an urban legend for someone this morning and ran across an interesting item on Snopes.

Seems back in 2003 one Karen Perez, whose son, Lonnie Lewis, was deployed to Kuwait as a corpsman with the Navy, was trying to decide whether she should join an anti-war protest march in Hollywood, CA. Karen asked Lonnie what he thought of the idea.

"Dear Mom, It's really your decision to march if you want to or not. You are the one who has to decide if what we are doing out here is right or not. ... People may not agree with the things we are ordered to do. I would like to address those people by telling them that terrorism is not only a threat to us as Americans, but to many other innocent people in the world.
"What type of country would we be if we didn't defend the rights and freedoms of others, not because they're Americans, but how about just because they're human?
"Yet as Americans we're afraid of losing our soldiers to defend our security. I can only speak for myself when I say that my life is an easy expense to ensure that my family and friends can live in peace.
"I strongly believe in what we are doing and wish you were here to see for yourselves the honor and privilege that American soldiers aboard this ship are feeling, knowing that we are going to be a part of something so strong and so meaningful to the safety of our loved ones.
"I ask for your courage as Americans to be strong for us; I ask for your understanding in what we believe is right. I ask for your support in what we are sworn to do: defend our country and the life of all.
"I am proud to be here. I will be coming home, but not until I know that it's going to be safe for all Americans and for everyone I love."

So what did Karen Perez do? Did she dishonor her son's service by protesting his mission and the war? Did she start a hair-brained, hippie flashback sit-in on the President's doorstep?

Nope, she did the right thing. "I won't go on any marches. I don't want to be one of those who turns their backs on our soldiers."

It's a shame "Saint" Cindy didn't have enough respect for her own son to follow suit.   ¶ Wednesday, September 28, 2005 0 comments

  Quagmire? Not Hardly! - Part 2 I posted an image recently comparing U.S. casualities from WW II to the present. Here's one with a little more detail.


(From AOL)  ¶ Tuesday, September 27, 2005 3 comments

  Katrina - Who's To Blame - Part 2 So, still having trouble who's to blame for Katrina and the fiasco that followed? Let's look at some of the facts.

"Steve Simpson, sheriff of Loudoun County, Virginia, sent 22 deputies equipped with food and water to last seven days. Their 14-car caravan, including four all-terrain vehicles, was on the road just three hours when they were told to turn back. ... A Louisiana state police official told them not to come. " I said, "What if we just show up?' He says, 'You probably won't get in.' " Simpson said he later learned a dispute over whether state or federal authorities would command the law enforcement effort was being ironed out that night. But no one ever got back to him with the all-clear." - CNN

"Amtrak said they offered to remove people from the city of New Orleans on Saturday night and that the city of New Orleans declined. ... They said they were moving equipment out of New Orleans in order to protect it and offered to take evacuees with them." - Tim Russert, NBC's "Meet The Press"

"[Mayor Nagin's] mandatory evacuation order was issued 20 hours before the storm struck the Louisiana coast, less than half the time researchers determined would be needed to get everyone out. City officials had 550 municipal buses and hundreds of additional school buses at their disposal but made no plans to use them to get people out of New Orleans before the storm, said Chester Wilmot, a civil engineering professor at Louisiana State University and an expert in transportation planning, who helped the city put together its evacuation plan." - Houston Chronicle

"Conduct of an actual evacuation will be the responsibility of the mayor of New Orleans. The city of New Orleans will utilize all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas. Special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves or who require specific life-saving assistance. Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedure as needed. Approximately 100,000 citizens of New Orleans do not have means of personal transportation." - New Orleans' comprehensive emergency plan

"In Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath, attention has focused on the inability of local and federal officials to evacuate or prepare for the large number of poor people who had no access to transportation and remained behind. That possibility was one of the concerns that led Congress in 1997 to set aside $500,000 for FEMA to create 'a comprehensive analysis and plan of all evacuation alternatives for the New Orleans metropolitan area.'
"Frustrated by inaction two years later, Congress strengthened its directive. It ordered "an evacuation plan for a Category 3 or greater storm, a levee break, flood or other natural disaster for the New Orleans area. The $500,000 that Congress appropriated for the evacuation plan went to a commission that studied future options for the 24-mile bridge over Lake Pontchartrain. ... The report produced by the Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission "primarily was not about evacuation. ... In general, it was an overview of all the things we need to do" for the causeway through 2016. [Officials and engineers said they] could not trace how or whether FEMA money came to the commission. 'We didn’t do anything for FEMA.' " - Daily Tribune, Columbia, MO

"A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project designed to prevent a Category 5-hurricane-storm surge from filling Lake Pontchartrain and flooding New Orleans was blocked by environmentalists intent on preserving 'natural water flow' in 1977. Save Our Wetlands used a lawsuit against the Corps based on the National Environmental Protection Act to halt the Lake Pontchartrain Hurricane Protection Project." - Multiple sources

So as you can clearly see, the Katrina tragedy and the horrible aftermath are the fault of just one person: President George W. Bush!  ¶ Monday, September 26, 2005 3 comments

  Will Bush Be Defined By Crises? Ron Fournier of the AP seems to believe so.

"It's August in Crawford, Texas, and President Bush is on vacation. His poll ratings are slumping. He hears warnings of a looming crisis that will soon change the course of his presidency.
Is this August 2001? Or August 2005?
The answer is both. Historians will ultimately judge Bush's presidency based on his leadership through two tragedies — the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and Hurricane Katrina, plus a conflict of his own design: The war in Iraq.
...
'the Katrina response was plagued by confusion, communications failures and widespread lack of coordination — all of which should have been addressed by expensive post-Sept. 11 reforms.' "

Bush defined by Katrina? I don't think so. Consider this from Wall Street Journal's "Best of the Web".

"Historians will judge Bush by his response to the hurricane? Hmm, OK, let's try a little test. Who was president during each of these events:
- The Galveston hurricane, which killed some 8,000
- The Great Okeechobee Hurricane, which killed more than 2,500
- The Johnstown, Pa., flood, which killed at least 2,200
- The San Francisco earthquake, which killed 700
You have no idea, do you? We had to look it up, and we're almost an expert on American presidents.
The answers are William McKinley, Calvin Coolidge, Benjamin Harrison and Theodore Roosevelt.
Do you remember ever hearing or reading a single word about how the president responded to any of these events?"

Judging by his leadership to this point, future generations of Americans will likely judge President George W. Bush's performance based on two things.
1. His response to the attacks of Sept. 11th. His moral fortitude in rallying the country, offering support and compassion to the victims and families, and above all taking the fight to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
2. The liberation of the the Iraqi people and the establishment of a true democratic republic in the Middle East.

I believe that in the 22nd century, it will be said of President George W. Bush, "He was underestimated as President. Only now are historians discovering his personal and political depth. When he arrived in Washington he was criticized for his supposed lack of political experience, but Bush had emotional strengths that made him a natural."

If you find that far fetched, try doing a little research on what the prevailing opinions were of President Abraham Lincoln during his presidency. Bush will be to the America of 2150 what Lincoln is to us today, an icon and one of our finest presidents.  ¶ Thursday, September 22, 2005 19 comments

  Kerry Kashes in on Katrina It's an ill wind that doesn't blow somebody some good and leave it to John Kerry to make the most of that maxim.

The man who lost the Presidential fight blasted Bush over Katrina in a speech at Brown University yesterday. He also included portions of his remarks in a fundraising e-mail sent to supporters.

"This is the Katrina administration. Katrina is a symbol of all this administration does and doesn't do. ... Michael Brown is to Katrina what Paul Bremer is to peace in Iraq; what George Tenet is to slam-dunk intelligence; what Paul Wolfowitz is to parades paved with flowers in Baghdad; what Dick Cheney is to visionary energy policy; what Donald Rumsfeld is to basic war planning; what Tom Delay is to ethics; and what George Bush is to ‘Mission Accomplished’ and ‘Wanted Dead or Alive."

"“John Kerry's attacks on President Bush's efforts to assist the victims and rebuild the Gulf Coast don't come as a surprise. Armchair quarterbacking on tough issues has never been a problem for Senator Kerry." said an RNC spokesperson.  ¶ Tuesday, September 20, 2005 4 comments

  Why Are There Poor? "Most poverty isn't caused by storms. Or even bad luck. Most poverty is caused by poor decision-making. Having children out of wedlock, abusing drugs and alcohol, or putting personal pleasure above responsible action are problems much too personal to be cured by politicians and bureaucrats. Or by more money, either.
"Many of us have been poor at one time or another. But those truly stuck in poverty are usually suffering from a lack of character, something no government can provide.
...
"One of America's biggest causes of poverty is fatherlessness. It is a problem that our society can discourage, but government can do little to solve. A government check certainly doesn't create a father.
...
These are personal choices. People's actions can be subsidized or taxed, they can preached at or ignored, but these choices cannot be legislated and the consequences of poor choices — namely poverty — cannot be solved by bureaucrats or politicians.
(Paul Jacob)  ¶ Sunday, September 18, 2005 0 comments

  Let's Hear It For the Feds! In the week following the main levee's breach, the military and the Coast Guard managed to rescue more than 32,000 stranded civilians, many from rooftops by helicopter.

The Army Corps of Engineers all but completely repaired levee breaches, and began pumping large quantities of water.

Fact: Federal response time for Hurricane Katrina was faster, not slower, than for hurricanes Hugo (1989) or Andrew (1992), each a brutally destructive Category 5 storm in its own right. (Dr. Carl F. Horowitz)  ¶ Sunday, September 18, 2005 0 comments

  Quagmire? Not Hardly!
Thanks to BigLizards.net  ¶ Saturday, September 17, 2005 0 comments

  Lordy, Lordy, Look Who's 40... Me, that's who!

Yes, on this date in 1965, Ted & Laura gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.

My wife took me to Macaroni Grill for lunch. I had the Veal Saltimboca. Not bad, but I prefer the Honey Balsamic Chicken or the Penne Rustica.

My sister sent me the gift that keeps on giving, a book. "The Gift of Peace" by Ben Stein. I have been a fan of his since "Ferris Bueller" and especially like his political commentaries, but I had no idea he was an author as well.

My mother-in-law called and paid me a high compliment. Seems her sister and niece had been talking about boyfriend's and marriage. Her niece said she wanted to marry someone like me who would enjoy being so involved with his kids. Made my day.

Well, enough of the mindless me-blogging. I'll leave it to the experts, the touchy-feely liberals, and get back to matters of substance.  ¶ Friday, September 16, 2005 1 comments

  When Injustice and Incompetence Meet So the police in South La. totally drop the ball in a crisis, to the point of engaging in looting themselves, but they have no problem falsely imprisoning a 73-year-old grandmother and deaconess. Why am I not surprised.

Merlene Maten, a diabetic, was locked up by Kenner police for two weeks with an exhorbitantly high bail. She was arrested for looting when she went to her car to get food from a cooler.

(AP) - "There were people looting, but she wasn't one of them. Instead of chasing after people who were running, [the police] grabbed the old lady who was walking." said Maten's daughter Elois Short, who works in traffic enforcement for neighboring New Orleans police. ... [P]olice snared Maten in the parking lot of a hotel after floodwaters swamped her New Orleans home. She had paid for her room with a credit card and followed authorities' instructions to pack extra food, they said.
"She was retrieving a piece of sausage from the cooler in her car and planned to grill it so she and her husband, Alfred, could eat. The parking lot was almost a block from the looted store.
"The arrest report is short and assigns the value of goods Maten is alleged to have taken at $63.50. The items are not identified.
"When officers arrived, the arrestee was observed leaving the scene with items from the store. The store window doors were observed smashed out, where entry to the store was made."
"And the original judge who set $50,000 bail by phone - 100 times the maximum $500 fine under state law for minor thefts - hadn't returned a week's worth of calls."

It is still unclear whether Maten has yet been released.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Martin Luther King.  ¶ Friday, September 16, 2005 1 comments

  Speaking of Fat, Disgusting Buckets o' Lard

Separated At Birth?

  ¶ Friday, September 16, 2005 0 comments

  God Save The Prince! Prince Harry, the 21-year-old son of Prince Charles & Princess Diana, has said he is eager to answer his country's call to serve in combat.

"[T]here's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country. That may sound very patriotic, but it's true. It's not the way anyone should really work."

Good for you, Harry!

(Say, I wonder if Michael Moore would be interested in talking to Charles and Camilla the next time he wants footage for a "crockumentary" about those in government not sending their kids to fight for liberty?)  ¶ Thursday, September 15, 2005 2 comments

  Capt. Chuck Z. On Katrina My best friend Clay and I had the opportunity to help out at one of the local shelters for the evacuees from Katrina today. A great experience and something I'll be posting about very soon.

But for now, Capt Chuck Z, one of the bloggers I try to keep up with daily, has some thoughts about Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath. I don't completely agree with all his assessments, but I do want to highlight what he has to say about Lt Gen Honoré. I first heard Lt Gen Honoré was taking charge when Mayor Nagin of NOLA referred to him as follows, "I give the president some credit on this. He sent one John Wayne dude down here that can get some stuff done." (Translation - "Whewee! Am ah evah glad they sent somebody down hyah who know's what the heck they's doin' and can save my a**!")

Capt Chuck says,
"Why did they put LTG Honoré in charge of the military relief effort?
I have had the distinct pleasure of working as a lieutenant under LTG Honoré. Back then, he was a full colonel, and my brigade commander. Behind his back, we called him the Ragin’ Cajun; a name that he has probably had since he was a lieutenant. The thing that we respected and admired about him most was his ability to get down to the squad level and help leaders, even very junior leaders, figure out what was wrong; what they were doing wrong. And he would caveat a lot of his "counseling sessions" with words like “Son, if you don't get this straight, you’re gonna to end up dead... Grave. Yard. Dead.” He also had a penchant for firing stupid people. That, among other admirable traits, earned him a lot of respect among the junior leaders in the brigade. Just his personality, the way he runs the show, makes things happen. ... General Honoré has the strength of will and the strength of character to influence his men properly."

Please go on over and read the rest of Chuck's post. And here's another good story about this "soldier's soldier".  ¶ Tuesday, September 13, 2005 0 comments

  Ground Truth From Louisiana "Ground truth" refers to confirming facts by doing an in-person check on location. "Oak Leaf," an active reserve military member provides the following:

The unofficial motto of the Infantry is “Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way.” The elected local politicians in Louisiana are not “leaders” and should have stepped aside. You do not elect a “leader”, a “leader” is developed over time and experience.

In spite of herself, Gov. Blanco had significant military assets available to her, of which she had little knowledge to effectively utilize. The people of Louisiana would have been better served had the Governor ceded control to one of the many Platoon Sergeants in the Louisiana Army National Guard that she commands.

In six days in NOLA I have seen ignorance, paralysis and blatant/shameless corruption, ALL at the “local” level of government. Should the Congress pursue an “investigation” or appoint a Commission, I would pray that the members are not current/former Louisiana politicians or family members. The military term FUBAR is an apt description of the “emergency management plan execution” by the NOLA Mayor, the NOLA Police Department, the LA Governor and all of their emergency management appointees.

But don't worry, all you fringe lib nuts. I'm sure the liberal media will continue to fuel your fantasies that Bush, and Bush alone, is responsible for every dollar and every death.

If you want some "ground truth" however, go read the rest of his post.  ¶ Sunday, September 11, 2005 0 comments

  Just Say Thank You Or Go Your Way
I have said repeatedly something I firmly believe, and that no one has yet changed my mind about. You cannot claim to "support the troops" in one breath and condemn our leaders and our mission in the next. My friend, Dadmanly, helps prove my point.

"Mrs. Dadmanly feels alone. ... I wish I could say family and friends have worked hard to make up the difference, and while some have, and many want to, the results just don't compare. ... Some have let their own ambivalence or even negative feelings about the war color their interactions and poison their good intentions. "This really is a stupid war, there's no reason he should be over there," or "I get so mad he even has to be over there." Each time these misguided editorials zing past her ears, it really doesn't matter what else was said, offered, or given. "Why don’t you just shut up and go away," is the thought that blackens any good intent.

"By the way, that is why one cannot be against the war but support the troops, because every one of your negative comments hurts, depresses, angers, and weakens the resolve of both the troops and their loved ones, whether they personally agree with the war or not. Such talk, when publicized, boosts an enemy's propaganda effort, and whittles away public resolve, which of course is the real intent of the criticism anyway, isn't it? But more dangerously, such talk, when incessant and without real substance, contributes to poor morale. And poor morale and ebbing public support will eventually weaken families, embolden failing enemies, and kill Soldiers."

------------------------

I love the movie, "A Few Good Men," partly because it is such a superb piece of Hollywood drama. I also love it because I can identify with both "sides" of the case. The defense team is doing what they must to prove their clients innocent of the charges. They were two Marines following the orders they'd been given. At the same time Jack Nicholson is a warrior whose charge to protect his country at all costs has clouded his judgement and his humanity. His motives are good, his methods are fundamentally flawed.

Among the best lines in the film is Nicholson's answer to Tom Cruise's questioning.
"Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? ... You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. ... I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way."
-------------
If you can not support the mission in which I am engaged, then I neither want nor need your support of me as a defender of this nation. If you think so little of my honor, my calling, that you believe I would engage in an unjust war then I don't want your so-called support. I don't even need your thanks. Just get out of my face, have another toke, and sing endless choruses of "Give Peace A Chance."  ¶ Friday, September 09, 2005 7 comments

  Red Cross Kept Out By La. Officials According to CNN state officials in Louisiana refused request by the American Red Cross to enter New Orleans with relief supplies following Katrina. "Concerns over logistical difficulties" was cited as the reason.

Col. Jay Mayeaux, the deputy director of the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, (an appointee of the Louisiana Governor, NOT the federal government) asked the Red Cross to wait.

"The national president of the American Red Cross, Marsha Evans, first made the request to undertake the operation during a visit to the state on September 1, three days after Hurricane Katrina struck, a local Red Cross chapter official said."
"We had adequate supplies, the people and the vehicles," [a Red Cross rep] said."It was the middle of a military rescue operation trying to save lives. We were asked not to go in, and we abided by that recommendation."  ¶ Friday, September 09, 2005 0 comments

  Pelosi Gets Head Handed To Her Most who know me know that I'm not a fan of CNN at all. But I may be a new fan of Kyra Phillips.



On today's "Live From..." (Transcript here) Ms. Phillips had a chance to question the Left's shrieking Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, about the Dems unfounded accusations against Bush, among other things. If Nutty Nancy thought she would find a receptive audience and sympathetic ear for her bile she got disabused of that notion PDQ.

Here's some excerpts:
PHILLIPS: ...we can go back to "The Times Picayune" and the investigation ... when reporters revealed that time after time, monies were asked for from all types of various politicians, of the politicians you worked side by side with, laws that you yourself vote on, and monies that should have gone to Louisiana to take care of the problems with regard to the flood control systems.And I think it's unfair that FEMA is just singled out. There are so many people responsible for what has happened in the state of Louisiana.
PELOSI: Well, that's true. That is true. And I'm sorry that you think it's unfair. But I don't.
...
PHILLIPS: What about all the warnings from the Army Corps of Engineers ... years ago, saying there's a problem with these levees, there's a problem with this city.
PELOSI: Kyra, Kyra, Kyra... (Mispronouncing Ms. Phillips name.)
PHILLIPS: It's Kyra.
PELOSI: ... if you want to make a case for the White House, you should go on their payroll.
PHILLIPS: I'm not making a case for the White House, by all means, believe me.
(It was ironic and amusing to see Nancy get so desperate that she'd accuse the very liberal CNN of shilling for Bush.)
...
PELOSI:But the point is not to argue about that. The point is, where do we go from here to help these people? The last thing the American people need is bickering right now over this...
(Fascinating hypocrisy, considering all the Dems have done is bicker and try to blame Bush.)
PHILLIPS: So you think taking Mike Brown out of FEMA right now and replacing Mike Brown...with somebody else...will change this entire dynamic and solve the problem?
(To truly appreciate this exchange you'd have to see Kyra's face and hear the incredulity in her voice. And listening to Nancy sputter and try to think on her feet.)
PELOSI: I do, indeed. ... This is about each individual person whose family has been affected. This isn't about politics or anything else.
PHILLIPS: So you don't think it was politics that even got us all to where we are today ... as we look at New Orleans, and we look at these other devastated areas. ... You think politics had nothing to do with this disaster right now.
(Again Kyra's expression and tone were priceless, as if she couldn't believe Pelosi had the gall to claim it wasn't all about the politics. ... At this point Pelosi suggests an "independent commission" to investigate the "failures". Ms. Phillips can't believe her ears.)
PHILLIPS: Now, you had all these reports that were put forward talking about how this was going to happen to New Orleans, that Hurricane Pam, this project that was put forward, was showing and revealing all these problems with the levees and the ... flooding systems there. And we heard from the Army Corps of Engineer. Now we see, despite all those warnings, what happened in New Orleans and what happened to other states. And now all of a sudden, everybody wants more investigations and more commissions. I mean, this is pathetic. How many things ... have to go wrong in our country, and how many... investigations and commissions do we need?
PELOSI: We need as many until we make the country safer for the American people. We all have to settle down and take a deep breath...
(This was one of the most entertaining moments of the segment. As Nancy said "settle down" and she obviously struggled to think of what to say next, her face was so contorted with frustration and bewilderment I fully expected her head to start spinning around a la "The Exorcist".)
PHILLIPS: And by all due respect, nobody in this organization or any network is on the payroll of the Bush administration right now. Everybody has been challenging every leader in every agency in this disaster, because it's pathetic to see something like this happen in the United States and to see dead bodies still on the ground in -- on American soil. It is absolutely pathetic.

-------------------
It was great to see an obviously skilled and passionate interviewer nail one of these talking heads to the wall and make Nancy face up to the stupid, ridiculous bilge that spews from her shrieking maw.  ¶ Thursday, September 08, 2005 0 comments

  Dems Not Confused By Facts Those rabidly zealous Democrats, along with former government engineers got a lot of media ttention as they tried to lay the blame for the New Orleans disaster on President Bush's shoulders. They claimed, among other things, that because Bush cut the budget for the Army Corps of Engineers the city wasn't prepared for the Category 5 storm.

But a Washington Post report reveals that the Bush administration gave the Corps more funding than the Clinton administration did over a comparable period and that Louisiana has been given far more federal funds to be used on civil works projects than ANY OTHER STATE!According to the Post, however, much of the money was spent, not on flood control measures, but on lawmakers' pork-barrel construction projects, such as a brand new $750 million canal lock in New Orleans completely unrelated to flood control.

"...but over the five years of President Bush's administration, Louisiana has received far more money for Corps civil works projects than any other state, about $1.9 billion..."

"...the Bush administration's funding requests for the key New Orleans flood-control projects for the past five years were slightly higher than the Clinton administration's for its past five years."-

"...after a $194 million deepening project for the Port of Iberia flunked a Corps cost-benefit analysis, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) tucked language into an emergency Iraq spending bill ordering the agency to redo its calculations. The Corps also spends tens of millions of dollars a year dredging little-used waterways such as the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, the Atchafalaya River and the Red River -- now known as the J. Bennett Johnston Waterway, in honor of the project's congressional godfather..."

"...more than any other federal agency, the Corps is controlled by Congress; its $4.7 billion civil works budget consists almost entirely of "earmarks" inserted by individual legislators."

Congress controls the Corps' budget, not the President.  ¶ Thursday, September 08, 2005 3 comments

  Heads Must Roll ... For Cash! According to an AP report one of the Dems latest, wild-eyed campaigns to try and spin the Katrina disaster as Bush's fault serves the somewhat crass dual-purpose of raising money for their candidates.

Senator Chuck Schumer, the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, sent out an appeal on Thursday soliciting signatures for an online petition calling for the dismissal of FEMA chief Brown due to his handling of the Katrina aftermath. After clicking a link to the petition, viewers were greeted with a request for a donation to the DSCC.

After the AP inquired about the petition/fund raiser the DSCC couldn't get the page down fast enough. They also claim they will donate any funds raised to charity.  ¶ Thursday, September 08, 2005 0 comments

  I Guess We Don't Get It I'll bet the liberal media is completely baffled by this:
According to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll taken Sept. 5-6, a mere 13% of Americans hold President Bush responsible for the situation in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. In fact, 25% blame "state and local officials". More than half of those polled say Bush has done anywhere from a great to a mediocre job "responding to the hurricane and subsequent flooding."

I guess we just haven't been listening to enough Chris Matthews, Miles O'Brien (CNN) and the whining, liberal bloggers. They want us to blame Bush for, among other things, the National Guard not being sent in fast enough, even though Gov. Blanco has authority over the Guard and should have mobilized them before Katrina even hit.. O'Brien practically demanded that Miss. Gov. Barbour agree with him that "the federal government has dropped the ball here."

Oh well, as long as there are enough ignorant, left-wing sheep to keep repeating the media's Democratic "I Hate Bush" talking points within there own echo chamber they should be able to keep their ratings up.

(By the way, my friend Lawman encouraged me to stop referring to the loony fringe left as "wing nuts" because, as he pointed out, a wing nut at least serves a useful purpose.)  ¶ Thursday, September 08, 2005 2 comments

  New Orleans Was Supposed To Have A Plan Chris Ruddy: New Orleans has long known that such a disaster could take place if a major hurricane hit the city. he municipality even prepared its own "City of New Orleans Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan."

The plan makes it evident that New Orleans knew that evacuation of the civilian population was the primary responsibility of the city – not the federal government.The city plan acknowledges its responsibility in the document:As established by the City of New Orleans Charter, the government has jurisdiction and responsibility in disaster response. City government shall coordinate its efforts through the Office of Emergency Preparedness.

The city document also makes clear that decisions involving a proper and orderly evacuation lie with the governor, mayor and local authorities. Nowhere is the president or federal government even mentioned:

"The authority to order the evacuation of residents threatened by an approaching hurricane is conferred to the Governor by Louisiana Statute. The Governor is granted the power to direct and compel the evacuation of all or part of the population from a stricken or threatened area within the State, if he deems this action necessary for the preservation of life or other disaster mitigation, response or recovery. The same power to order an evacuation conferred upon the Governor is also delegated to each political subdivision of the State by Executive Order. This authority empowers the chief elected official of New Orleans, the Mayor of New Orleans, to order the evacuation of the parish residents threatened by an approaching hurricane."

  ¶ Wednesday, September 07, 2005 8 comments

  Gutless Cowards On The Run It shouldn't surprise me that one of the most striking differences between conservatives and liberals is the way they approach discussion.

Those on the right will present facts, well-reasoned opinions, and will often politely agree to disagree. But not the fringe left liberals. Show them facts and they blindly ignore them. Offer an argument to their precious tenets of faith (abortion on demand, we-hate-Bush, Freedom for Iraq is wrong, etc) and they resort to name-calling and whining.

I've had a good time the last day or so beating up on "Jay" at "One Way Or Another". I can't really call it a debate, since it consisted of him making assertions, me knocking them down with documented facts and sources, and him deleting all the comments that exposed him as a completely clueless liberal wing-nut.

It all started with his post in which he claimed that the problem in New Orleans & South La. is there are "No local guard units to assist....most of them are in Iraq. ... It's Bush's fault that most of the National Guard is in Iraq rather than doing something wild and crazy like guarding the nation."

Now, when I went to school "most" meant a majority, more than half. So I tried to show Jay that rather than "most" of the guard being in Iraq, most of the guard (about 3/4) is still stateside. I further showed him several sources that prove that the guard troops still here are under the control of the various governors, not the DoD. He continued to offer his uninformed, false assertions that because it's called the NATIONAL Guard it must be under the command and control of the President.

Finally I posted links to several sources that said things like, ""(AP) - Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco has refused to sign over National Guard control to the federal government and has turned to a Clinton administration official, former Federal Emergency Management Agency chief James Lee Witt, to help run relief efforts." -Source

"(AP) - A senior administration official said that Bush has clear legal authority to federalize National Guard units to quell civil disturbances under the Insurrection Act and will continue to try to unify the chains of command that are split among the president, the Louisiana governor and the New Orleans mayor." -Source

"During peacetime the governor commands the Guard forces of his or her state. He or she can call them into action during local or statewide emergencies like storms, drought, and civil disturbances. " -Source

"...the Governor through the State Adjutant General commands Guard forces. The Governor can call the Guard into action during local or statewide emergencies, such as storms, drought, and civil disturbances, to name a few." -Source

Once the facts had finally backed Jay into a corner he couldn't rant or squirm out of he began to delete my rebuttals and cast aspersions on my own military service. He even got so nervous he took all comments off his blog. Typical childish tactics from a typical liberal fringe nut.  ¶ Tuesday, September 06, 2005 11 comments

  "This Is Captain America Calling..." In a recent post I asked "Where's Our Foreign Aid?" Black Five provides the answer. Here a few of the highlights, beginning of course, with our truest friends, the UK:

Britain - 500,000 military (meals) rations

Australia - eight million dollars

Canada - thousands of camp-beds, blankets and medical supplies(A Canadian Coast Guard ship is bringing 1,000 troops.)

Afghanistan (that's right, Afghanistan) - 100,000 dollars

India - five million dollars, essential medicines and water purification systems

Indonesia (one of the countries hit by the Tsunami) - 40 medical doctors

Sri Lanka (one of the countries hit by the Tsunami) - 25,000 dollars  ¶ Sunday, September 04, 2005 2 comments

  Does This Count... ...as part of my 15 minutes? Horse Blog  ¶ Sunday, September 04, 2005 0 comments

  Who's To Blame Much is being made over President Bush's "failures" after Katrina and the political fallout. But who is really to blame for the situation in New Orleans?

SondraK says, "On Saturday, two days before the storm, The Director of the Hurricane Center called Mayer Nagin and Gov.. Blanco pleading with them to evacuate. Nothing. The President personally called and strongly urged Mayor Nagin and Gov. Blanco to order evacuations. Finally, on Sunday, less than one day before the storm hit, evacuations were called for.
"However, The Mayor and the Governor failed to provide any form of transportation for the poor and the needy. There are hundreds of school buses in the New Orleans Metro area that could have been put into use. Instead those buses sit under water, destroyed. And the good citizens of New Orleans were left to fend for themselves while the Mayor hid in another city.
"After the storm passed, Mayor Nagin was clueless as to what was happening in New Orleans. Why? Because he was sitting in Baton Rouge, not in New Orleans where he should have been. You cannot lead disaster recovery from out of town. From the time the storm left the area on Monday night until Thursday afternoon, Mayor Nagin stood in another City and complained that he was not getting any assistance when he never asked for it in the first place! Once Mayor Nagin and Gov. Blanco asked for Federal Assistance, that assistance was set in motion within an hour.
"FEMA had pre-positioned equipment and personnel before the storm hit. FEMA could not legally act without being asked. The majority of the Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Gulfport and Biloxi are cleaning up. Emergency Services are being restored. The difference between Gulfport and Biloxi and New Orleans is that the Mayors and the Governor of Mississippi reacted properly and asked for aid right away. In New Orleans, the elected Officials failed to act in the Public Interest, before, during, and after the storm.
"You can’t blame the Federal Government for the failures of the Local and State elected Officials. There is no excuse for Gov. Blanco not ordering the LA NG into the afflicted areas on Monday evening to provide aid and security. That responsibility falls on the Governor’s shoulders and no where else. The failure to mobilize the school buses to evacuate those without transportation falls on Mayor Nagin and nowhere else."

And Ed at Captains Quarters weighs in, "When the storm reached Cat-5 status in the Gulf of Mexico, what did George Bush do? He declared the entire Gulf coast an emergency area and mobilized FEMA. ... The city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana asked people to evacuate, but made no preparations to assist people in that endeavor. By Friday the outbound roads clogged with people in cars looking to escape, which all did. However, an entire fleet of school buses -- hundreds of them -- sat in their parking lots, gathering dust. Until George Bush called Governor Blanco personally and pleaded with her to make the evacuation order mandatory on Saturday, neither Mayor Nagin nor Blanco told people they had to leave. Apparently, that order only went out over the TV and radio from their press conference; no attempt was made to direct people out of their homes and onto the road.... Lousiana's governor had not called out her National Guard units, only 25% of which have deployed to Iraq. ... Nagin only ordered the PD to take on looting as a high priority on Thursday.
What did George Bush do? ... He does not have the authority to call out anyone's National Guard until he federalizes the units, a move usually reserved for use when governors prove recalcitrant in mobilization. Yet within three days of the levee burst and the drowning of New Orleans, Bush had 40,000 troops entering the city to take over the management from Nagin and Blanco...
"We work within a federal system, where cities and states control the allocation of resources used within their borders. We do this because we recognize that, for the most part, federalism works. Local decisions about resource allocation usually create better results than top-down bureaucratic management. The main requirement for that to work is local leadership. ... The main failure in New Orleans came when the local and state governments refused to recognize that the storm had a high chance to cause catastrophic damage and use its assets to get the poor and infirm out of its way. They had plenty of resources (in vehicles) with which to do that, but left them right where the floods would destroy them. All the rest of the damage would have been mere property destruction, difficult to rebuild but nonetheless easier to accept than the unbelievable hardship we've seen this week."  ¶ Sunday, September 04, 2005 5 comments

  We Shall Not Soon See His Like Again “We believe that Roe was wrongly decided, and that it can and should be overruled consistently with our traditional approach to stare decisis in constitutional cases."

Born October 1, 1924, the grandson of Swedish immigrants, William Hubbs Rehnquist was quite a character.

"He was the enthusiastic host of an annual, old-fashioned employee Christmas party at the court. At a time when many schools, government offices and private businesses quietly did away with overtly Christian holiday symbols, Rehnquist led the singing of traditional Christmas carols.
"Rehnquist has led a quiet social life outside the court. Until recently, he walked daily, as tonic for a chronic bad back, and played tennis with his law clerks. He enjoyed bridge, spending time with his eight grandchildren, charades and a monthly poker game with Scalia and a revolving cast of powerful Washington men. He liked beer, and smoked in private."(AP)

Rehnquist attended public elementary and high schools in Shorewood, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. Following his service in the air force during WWII, Rehnquist attended Stanford University, where he earned a B.A. and M.A. in Political Science in 1948; he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1948. He continued his education at Harvard University where he earned another M.A. in Government in 1950. He then returned to Stanford University to earn his LL.B.; he graduated first in his class in 1952. (Ironically, Rehnquist dated future Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor while they were students at Stanford)

"On issues of federalism, Rehnquist saw, from the beginning of his tenure, that Congress had usurped power - believing its powers, specifically enumerated in the Constitution, were somehow unlimited and unquestionable. Many law school professors, unfortunately, abetted the view that Congress's power was limitless.
"But Rehnquist exhibited a steadfast devotion to the notion that there must be some limit on Congressional power, else there would be no province for the States at all. He expressed this view, first, in dissent after dissent - and finally, during the 90s, his dissenting views became majority views.
"This was a welcome evolution of federalism doctrine. Now, Congress at least asks itself what the constitutional source of its authority is - if any -- before it legislates.
"This doctrinal evolution, as I explain in a previous column, was no revolution: It merely returned constitutional doctrine to its authentic origins. Congress is a body of enumerated, not plenary, power: The Constitution says as much, but until Rehnquist came to power, and other Justices like Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Antonin Scalia joined the Court, the Court had simply ignored what the Constitution had to say on this central topic.
"In addition to acting as a moderating force in his Chief Justice role, Rehnquist has been probably the most successful Chief in history, in terms of running the work of the Court with efficiency and dispatch.
"The loss to the Court if Rehnquist must step down will also be a tremendous personal loss. He is one of the nicest men you will ever meet - with a love of history, a great sense of humor, and a love of tennis, which serve to humanize his imposing presence.
"In sum, the Rehnquist-bashers need to think twice before they try to argue he is not a model to follow. I think he is.
"President Bush will face a difficult task in replacing Chief Justice Rehnquist, if and when he must. There may be a temptation within the Republican Party, with its power in the White House and both Houses of Congress, to go with a nominee who is a "true conservative." One can only hope that means a Justice like Rehnquist.(Marci Hamilton)

  ¶ Sunday, September 04, 2005 0 comments

  I Weep For The Future










Hilary Duff, speaking of boyfriend Joel Madden (of pseudo-punk band Good Charlotte,) and the decision to keep their romance a secret:

"And...um...just...you know, I, I didn't really wanna make like, um...We don't...we don't...we think it's kinda weird to make uh, ... a skeptical out of every...you know..."

A skeptical?  ¶ Thursday, September 01, 2005 2 comments