Everybody Likes to Pitch In

The right wing Heritage foundation has some suggestions on how to best rebuild New Orleans. They'd like to see us drill in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and institute a school voucher program. Don't believe me? Check out this memo.

There's some comfort in knowing that no matter what the tragedy, the Right Wing always has the same damn answer.

Got this from Salon's War Room.

Questions

Good Morning all!!! Hope you are having a nice Saturday

Kathleen Parker, a right wing commentator, is a little frustrated with her side right now.

We can have a contest for a pithy title, but meanwhile, ignoring legitimate questions about national security at a time of cataclysmic disaster is playing some other kind of game.

Defenders of the Bush administration, some of whom seem pathologically unable to see mistakes no matter what the evidence, have winced at the notion that the federal government should have done more in Katrina's aftermath.

I have to say I think she's right. I don't know that the left wing needs to be as negative about President Bush as we have been, but certainly, in the wake of this tragedy in New Orleans, we need to ask a few questions.

The Mentality of Bush

Well we are going to rebuild New Orleans. President Bush said so. Hooray. But wait, maybe we should consider the words of Paul Krugman.

President Bush subscribes to a political philosophy that opposes government activism - that's why he has tried to downsize and privatize programs wherever he can. (He still hopes to privatize Social Security, F.D.R.'s biggest legacy.) So even his policy failures don't bother his strongest supporters: many conservatives view the inept response to Katrina as a vindication of their lack of faith in government, rather than as a reason to reconsider their faith in Mr. Bush.

And to date the Bush administration, which has no stake in showing that good government is possible, has been averse to investigating itself. On the contrary, it has consistently stonewalled corruption investigations and punished its own investigators if they try to do their jobs.

Interesting. But it does seem to follow a pattern.

Back on the Road

Well we are on our way back to Tallahassee - in the same care we came down here with. How did I know this was going to happen? We did get some nice pictures out of it - which I will be posting later.

I did catch some bits of the speech last night - I have to say I agree with the analysis in this New York Times Editorial.

Last night, the president was particularly strong when discussing the nation's shocking lack of preparedness for disaster, and the stark fact - obvious to every television viewer around the globe - that the people left homeless and endangered by Katrina were in the main poor and black.

The entire nation, he said, saw the poverty that "has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America." Polls show that black Americans are far angrier and more skeptical than whites about the administration's actions since the storm. Mr. Bush's words could begin a much-needed healing process. But that will happen only if they are followed by deeds that are as principled, disciplined and ambitious as Mr. Bush's speech.

A lot of people will say that this President does what he says. I say, well, not necessarily. Take the aid to Africa to fight AIDS. Only a fraction has gone through because of stringent rules on how the money is to be spent; not to prevent waste but to prevent even an acknowledgement of the existence of abortion.

On the other hand, it's safe to say nobody was watching Bush at that time - and now plenty of people are watching him. So maybe he will fill compelled to live up to his promises.

How Hard Is It?

Parenthetically I want to say most of what Bryant says is TOTAL CRAP, but you already know that. I will agree that one major difference between Democrats and Republicans is that Democrats favor making government the power and Republicans doubt the power of the government to help people.

The people of New Orleans had government largesse for a few generations and it failed to prepare them to face Hurricane Katrina. Bryant's solution is to try for another few generations. Conservatives on the other hand want to see a New Orleans where every individual is strong enough, prepared enough to face Hurricane Katrina. This is a THREAT to Democratic Power so naturally they oppose it.

But that is a handy summary of what the parties want. The Democratic Party wants Government to be Strong; the Republican Party wants YOU to be strong.

Sidney Blumenthal's latest article is a typical liberal castigation of President Bush. Blumenthal goes so far as to suggest that the last few weeks have doomed the Bush administration.

The deepest wound is not that he was incapable of defending the country but that he has shown he lacks the will to do so. In Bush's own evangelical language, he revealed his heart.

Overnight, the press disclosed a petulant, vacillating president it had not noticed before. It was as if there were a new man in the White House. Time magazine described a "rigid and top-down" White House where aides are petrified to deliver bad news to a "yelling" president. Newsweek reported that two days after the hurricane, top White House aides, who "cringe" before the "cold and snappish" president, met to decide which of them would be assigned the miserable task of telling Bush he would have to cut short his summer vacation.

By the way, does anybody else find that Newsweek story a bit unbelievable? My guess is they talked to a few malcontents, but nobody of significance. So of course they want to remain anonymous. Who would want to reveal their key source in the study of Bush's character to be window washer number three?

At any rate the President I have seen has proven to be masterful. Rather than a death toll in the tens of thousands as Democrats predicted, we are having a death toll that might not break 100. And President Bush has admitted his errors. "To the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility." Those of us who know President Bush, who have watched his performance with eyes unclouded with PARTISAN HATRED, know that he has little enough to apologize for!

There are some in America who should consider apologizing though. But one doubts they will.

The Legend of Spoomonger the One Noble Soul in the Blog-O-Sphere

Gather real children and listen to the tale of Spoomonger.

It was in the wake of Hurricane Katrina that he revealed himself. Those were dark days for those virtuous souls who loved America. For President Bush's response to Katrina had been seen as base and ignoble, and Spoomonger's mighty heart was troubled. And he stepped to the Blog-O-Sphere and asked these immortal questions.

Am I the only one not buying all the mud slung at President Bush over Katrina? Am I the only one who is fed up with all the petty garbage the media seeks out in the midst of a serious catastrophe?

Yes poor noble Spoomonger was all alone in asking these questions. For behold an amazing thing - the Republican National Committee, the various Conservative Pundits in Print, on Radio, or on the Television, and his fellow conservative bloggers had all ignored these questions. They had all unquestioningly accepted the mud slung at President Bush. Only Spoomonger, the only noble soul in the internet, had stepped forward to ask these questions and to defend President Bush.

And if you believest that, you would also have no trouble believing the rest of his statement. But do not read such documents as this timeline, for this may cast doubts in your mind as to the truthfulness of the mighty Spoomonger, the one noble soul of the internet. Simply remember that not that many people died and the Mayor and the Governor are responsible for those dead.

Remember this question - are you going to be a citizen or a critic? A citizen of the United States would never question his president - particularly not in the middle of a tragedy like this.

In Sarasota

Hey all. We are in Sarasota now. The Monster got us into a pretty nice place. The Lido Beach Resort. Anyway it's pretty nice. All the shampoo and bath products have marine themes. We have Kelp Shampoo and Conditioner, Algea Body Wash, and Sea Cucumber Soap. I'm not sure what the properties of these various products are - but will be using them later on.

For now I'm going to catch some shut-eye while the monster goes down and hangs around the pool.

A Clarification

The Monster wanted me to reassure you all that we were swamped with animal impalas and not Chevy impalas.

He also wants to say that he has nothing against Chevrolets. In fact he really likes that Taj Mahal song "Chevrolet." I like it too.

Now he is saying that he likes that song so much that we need to drive to Sarasota and purchase a Chevrolet for the office. I don't know why we can't buy a Chevrolet here, but apparently Sarasota is the place to buy a Chevrolet.

So, uh, I guess we are going to Sarasota. The Monster does not always think in the same way you and I might think. Well I, at any rate. Anyway we'll have to see how this goes.

Oh, and I know President Bush took full responsibility for the screw-ups around New Orleans - I am not yet sure what to think of that, so don't have much to say. Part of it I think is very nice to see for a change and part of it reads like "I'm sorry those other guys screwed up; I guess I should have stopped them." Anyway I'll probably have more thoughts someday soon - but for the moment, I have to go pack so we can leave for Sarasota. In the middle of the night.

Yeah, I have a great gig here.

Low Posting today

Hey the office is being fumigated, due to an unexpected visit from a herd of impalas. Don't ask. Anyway these weren't particularly clean impalas, so we are getting fumigated - we might have posts this evening.

Yet Another Piece of the Puzzle

Conservatives like to believe they are the only virtuous people in America. Us liberals? We are scum sucking jerks who don't give a shit about anybody but ourselves. And don't get them started on anybody who isn't from the United States. Nope, Conservatives are pretty much the sum total of all virtuous people around.

Consider, for example, the comments of Ann Coulter on a recent episode of Hannity and Colmes.

Moveon.com is down protesting outside the White House today. How about putting together some evacuee bags? How about actually helping out? And you know, speaking of that, I think, you know, I'd like to see a breakdown at the end of this -- how much churches are contributing versus, say, Barry Lynn's church.

Of course Moveon.org did participate in hurricane relief - arranging for temporary residences for some 250,000 people. But that doesn't fit the pattern, so it's convienently edited out of Ann Coulter and other Conservative's realities. Instead, in their little mythology, we have the President valiantly trying to save people (instead of, you know, attending birthday parties and goofing around with Country Music stars) while pathetic liberals carp on what a jerk he is and do nothing of value.

Ann Coulter is, by the way, the id of the modern Republican / Conservative movement. If you want to know what your Conservative Friends think but are embarrassed to say outloud, just give her a listen.

Incidently for those of you who don't know who Barry Lynn is, he's the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ, another fact Ann was blissfully unaware of as evidenced by this exchange.

COULTER: I'd like to see a breakdown at the end of this -- how much churches are contributing versus, say, Barry Lynn's church.

HANNITY: What church?

COULTER: Right, that was a joke.

HANNITY: Did he actually have one?

After all you can't admit that some liberals go to church can you? That would fly in the face of the self evident conservative truth that they are the only virtuous people in America.

Another Piece of the Puzzle

One of the issues I've been grappling with is how, given the massive incompetence of the Bush Administration in the face of Hurricane Katrina, people still continue to support him. One piece I already discussed; the fact that they are more focused on how much they dislike Liberals than they are on the President. According to Jinx, I am full of crap.

Another piece of the puzzle I've alluded to is this; Conservatives expect government to fail. They don't believe in the power of government to accomplish anything; so when the government fails in the face of Hurricane Katrina, they shrug their shoulders and say "It's tragic, but what do you expect?"

I don't know what they think about such events as the Normandy Invasion or the Apollo Program or the G.I. Bill.

I, on the other hand, believe that government can accomplish great things. So when the government fails so spectacularly; well, I'm upset. I want to see those leaders responsible held accountable. I'm not willing to just shrug and say, "Well that's the way the cookie crumbles."

All This Time

I strongly urge you to all read Joe Conason's latest article, even though doing so requires you to watch a short ad at Salon (unless you are a member).

It's strong indictment of the Bush Administration for it's failures and it's betrayal of the American people.

And we can have no doubt now, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, that critical agencies of the United States government are staffed by patronage hacks unable to fulfill the most basic responsibilities of the modern state. The outstanding example, of course, is Michael D. Brown -- apparently known as "Brownie" to the admiring president -- the FEMA chief whose résumé contains nothing to recommend him to one of the most critical positions in government, although he had amply padded it with unearned honors and bogus titles. He claimed, for instance, to have worked as an assistant city manager, when he was actually a glorified intern. (The holder of a degree from an unaccredited law school, Brown's most significant lifetime work experience was as a "commissioner" for a horse show association, a position he departed involuntarily and left off his official biography.)

For four years, since the tragedy of September 11th, President Bush and his followers have been resolute in telling us how lucky we are to have him in charge, in these dangerous and trying times.

I don't know about anybody else, but I don't feel all that lucky.

Incidentally you might also check out Paul Krugman's latest, in which he suggests that "Brownie" may not be an exception but an example of President Bush's hiring standards. It's always been clear that this president values loyalty and doesn't give a damn about any other qualities a person might have. So if you like how Michael Brown performed in the face of Hurricane Katrina just imagine how President Bush's other office holders are performing. Or instead of imagining, here's a quote.

Unfortunately, it's easy to find other agencies suffering from some version of the FEMA syndrome.

The first example won't surprise you: the Environmental Protection Agency, which has a key role to play in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, but which has seen a major exodus of experienced officials over the past few years. In particular, senior officials have left in protest over what they say is the Bush administration's unwillingness to enforce environmental law.

Maybe this is just me, but isn't there likely to be a lot of gunk floating around New Orleans? Isn't that sort of the Environmental Protection Agency's mandate, to clean up gunk? Hmmmmmm.

Still when you elect a President who doesn't believe in the power of Government to help people, I suppose it's no surprise that he appoints lunkheads to positions of power which, to him, are totally useless.

Charges of Racism

Good Morning all! : )

I am starting to wonder if Democrats and Liberals have been a little to free with the 'R' word in response to Hurricane Katrina. I mean it's obvious that the response to Katrina was not everything it should be. Star Parker acknowledges as such in her latest article.

The fact that the handling of the disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina was a massive botch job at all levels of government is beyond the doubt of any sober observer. Such operations demand precise cooperation and coordination among local, state and federal authorities. It appears evident that the performance at and between each of these levels of government was abysmal.

However, government incompetence isn't news. And, unfortunately, it's also not news when black politicians call it racism when the unfortunate victims of this incompetence, because they are poor and unprepared, are largely black.

It is inconceivable that there could have been some all-knowing racist guiding hand orchestrating the chaos and disorganization that characterized what occurred.

That's a good question. Do we have a department of racism in charge of making sure black people don't get the same services as the rest of us? Does that even make sense?

Ms. Parker's point that black America, and by extension all poor America, needs to get out of poverty in order to properly respond to such disasters. She doesn't offer many concrete suggestions, but I'd guess her methods don't involve using the Federal government in any way. So I'm not sure they would be adequate to the task at hand.

New Format

Hey You Guys!!! : )

Sorry electric company flashback there. Anyway just letting you know we have a new format and a new quote - as should be obvious. Hopefully we can have an updated quotes page later on today.