Ann Coulter: Karl Rove as Bob Shrum?

BOB SHRUM WITH A GOOD CAUSE
By Ann Coulter
Wed Sep 28, 8:05 PM ET

Now Bush has Sandra Day O'Connor's seat to fill. For those conservatives confident that Bush won't betray them, let's review Bush's other ideas about what constitutes a good Republican.

In 2002, Bush backed liberal Richard Riordan in the Republican gubernatorial primary in California against conservative Bill Simon. This triggered a series of events that culminated in Arnold Schwarzenegger becoming the governor of California. But I don't think even liberals would claim Karl Rove had a plan for California voters to elect Democrat Gray Davis, erupt in a rage at him, and demand a recall election in which a famous Hollywood actor would enter the race and beat the sitting governor.

In 2004, Bush backed liberal Republican Arlen Specter over conservative Pat Toomey in the Republican Senate primary in Pennsylvania. Bush still lost Pennsylvania and, worst of all, Specter won. So that worked out well.

In 2004, Bush backed Mel Martinez for the open Senate seat in Florida and asked the magnificent Katherine Harris not to run against him, so she graciously bowed out. Martinez has since called on Bush to shut down Guantanamo. What's Spanish for "buyer's remorse"?

This year, rumors have it that Bush is again discouraging the magnificent Harris not to run for the Senate. Here's hoping she ignores him. How much would Bush's support be worth to Harris at this point anyway? If Bush really wants to keep Katherine Harris out of the U.S. Senate, maybe he should just endorse her.

It's not like Bush owes Harris or anything. If Harris were as pathetic as the typical Republican supported by Bush, she would have defied the law during the 2000 election crisis and proclaimed Gore the winner just to get the media to love her. Gore would be president now, and Harris would have her own show on MSNBC. I'd be storing away all my summer burkas and, accompanied by a male relative, taking my winter burkas to the dry cleaners to be freshened up.

Also this year, Bush is backing developmentally-disabled Lincoln Chafee over the only Republican in the race, Stephen Laffey, Harvard MBA and mayor of Cranston, RI. Chafee opposes Bush on taxes, Iraq, abortion and gay marriage. This man is literally too stupid to know he's a Democrat. If Chafee hadn't inherited hundreds of millions of dollars, he would be living in a shack tending weeds. In the last election, Chafee famously refused to vote for Bush, instead writing in Bush's father.

I still love you Ann. I guess I have more trust in Bush's promise than Ann Coulter, although I am still holding off on Roberts until I see his bona fides in action. I hope your wrong on this one. I'm pushing for Janice Rogers Brown.

Full Editorial: Ann Coulter

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Liberals Beside Themselves Over Roberts Votes

Roberts Draws 22 Democratic Votes
John Nichols
The Nation
Thu Sep 29, 6:06 PM ET

The stampede to confirm Judge John Roberts as the 17th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court roared through the full Senate Thursday as the chamber voted 78-22 to give President Bush's 50-year-old nominee a lifetime sinecure at the head of the nation's highest and most powerful court.

Roberts's record of opposing expansion of the Voting Rights Act, unyielding allegiance to the corporate interests he served as an attorney in private practice and extreme deference to executive power he served as an aide to President's Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush drew broad grassroots opposition.

People For the American Way, the National Organization for Women, the NAACP, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Human Rights Campaign, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Americans with Disabilities Watch, the National Council of Women's Organizations, the National Council of Jewish Women, Rainbow PUSH, the Fund for the Feminist Majority, Legal Momentum, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Abortion Federation, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and MoveOn.org all expressed strong opposition to the Roberts nomination.

But most senators listened less to the grassroots than they did to Inside-the-Beltway chatter. And the easy confirmation of Roberts indicated that he met the exceptionally low standards that now represent the two-party consensus in Washington when it comes to judicial selection.

Every member of the Senate Republican Caucus voted for Roberts, including Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee, a frequent dissenter from the party's conservative doctrines who is running for reelection in 2006 with the endorsement of NARAL Pro-Choice America, the reproductive rights advocacy group that strongly opposed the nomination because of Roberts's repeated refusal to answer questions about whether the Constitution's privacy protections extend to a woman's right to choose. (Notably, one Republican who is facing the voters this year, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, was an outspoken opponent of confirming Roberts because, Bloomberg indicated, he feared that the nominee could turn out to be a judicial activist who would use his position and attack precedents that guarantee reproductive rights.)

I LOVE IT! The Lie-berals at the Nation have got to be having kittens here. HAR-HAR-HAR-HAR. This is great. I can't wait when President George Bush nominates Janice Rogers Brown, Michael Luttig, or Priscilla Owen. The socialists at the Nation will probably implode. Filibuster? Bring it on!

Full Article: Vanden Huevals Nation Laments

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SCOTUS: Get Ready for Round 2

Bush Expected to Name High Court Nominee
By DEB RIECHMANN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - President Bush, closing in on another nomination of a new Supreme Court justice, has completed his consultations with the Senate about who should fill the seat of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a White House spokesman said Friday.

Bush was expected to announce his choice in the next few days. White House press secretary Scott McClellan ruled out an announcement Friday but otherwise indicated the nomination could come anytime.

The president, leaving the White House Friday afternoon for a weekend at Camp David, offered reporters only a slight grin and a shrug when asked if he had made a decision. He was returning to the White House Sunday to attend the Red Mass, a service for those in the legal profession.

On Monday, Bush will go to the Supreme Court for the investiture of John Roberts as chief justice. Roberts was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in at the White House on Thursday to succeed the late William H. Rehnquist.

McClellan said Bush and White House officials have discussed the next nomination with more than 80 of the 100 members of the Senate. He called the level of consultation unprecedented. He dismissed predictions that the next nomination would trigger a bruising confirmation fight.

"There was a lot of talk about that before," when Roberts was nominated, McClellan said. "It did not happen."

Advocacy groups on the right are expecting Bush to name a solid conservative. Liberal groups are making a late push for a moderate.

Senate Democrats say if the president submits the name of any previous judicial nominee whom they have filibustered — including federal appellate judges Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown, William Pryor and Hispanic lawyer Miguel Estrada — they will fight to the bitter end.

I sure hope President Bush appoints Janice Rogers Brown. She is the most qualified candidate for the SCOTUS. She has espoused the most precise summary of the judicial activism in support of the socialist Liberal agenda over the last 70 years I have read anywhere. Now is the time to press the battle against the Liberals. Make them declare themselves for what they are, anti-freedom, anti-constitution, anti-capitalism, anti-American fear mongers.

Full Story: Supreme Court Appointment II

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Press Continues to Twist Numbers on Military Recruitment

Army in Worst Recruiting Slump in Decades
By ROBERT BURNS
AP Military Writer
Fri Sep 30,10:57 AM ET

WASHINGTON - The Army is closing the books on one of the leanest recruiting years since it became an all-volunteer service three decades ago, missing its enlistment target by the largest margin since 1979 and raising questions about its plans for growth.

Many in Congress believe the Army needs to get bigger — perhaps by 50,000 soldiers over its current 1 million — in order to meet its many overseas commitments, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army already is on a path to add 30,000 soldiers, but even that will be hard to achieve if recruiters cannot persuade more to join the service.

Officials insist the slump is not a crisis.

Michael O'Hanlon, a defense analyst at the Brookings Institution think tank, said the recruiting shortfall this year does not matter greatly — for now.

"The bad news is that any shortfall shows how hard it would be to increase the Army's size by 50,000 or more as many of us think appropriate," O'Hanlon said. "We appear to have waited too long to try."

The Army has not published official figures yet, but it apparently finished the 12-month counting period that ends Friday with about 73,000 recruits. Its goal was 80,000. A gap of 7,000 enlistees would be the largest — in absolute number as well as in percentage terms — since 1979, according to Army records.

The Army National Guard and the Army Reserve, which are smaller than the regular Army, had even worse results.

The active-duty Army had not missed its target since 1999, when it was 6,290 recruits short; in 1998 it fell short by 801, and in 1995 it was off by 33. Prior to that the last shortfall was in 1979 when the Army missed by 17,054 during a period when the Army was much bigger and its recruiting goals were double today's.

Funny how they just seem to miss the fact that re-enlistment is through the roof. The Army is way over on those soldier who are re-upping and the numbers are especially high with those who have been stationed in Iraq. It is probable that this "shortfall" will not be measurably worse than the 1999 numbers listed above. AP also neglects to mention that all of the other services have all exceeded their recruiting goals. They even admit that since June the Army has been meeting its goals

Full Story: Army Recruiting

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This Won't Please Democrats

Bush poll numbers improve in Rita aftermath
Thu Sep 29, 7:53 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters)

President George W. Bush's job approval has risen after slumping to new lows on criticism of his handling of deadly Hurricane Katrina, two polls showed on Thursday.

Bush's approval rating climbed to 45 percent in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll taken September 26-28, up from 40 percent in a similar poll taken a week ago.

A Fox News poll also showed Bush with a 45 percent approval rating. That survey, taken on September 27-28, showed a rise in Bush's standing compared to a mid-month poll that gave him a 41 percent approval rating.

A high-profile response by Bush to Hurricane Rita, the latest storm to hit the Gulf Coast region, appeared to give him a lift.

Seventy-one percent of those polled by CNN/USA Today/Gallup gave Bush high marks for his handling of Rita, which hit Texas and Louisiana last Saturday.

Rita, however, caused little loss of life compared to Katrina, which killed more than 1,000 people and displaced 1 million.

You had to know that the people would quickly see through the anti-Bush propaganda in the press and from the Democrat mouth pieces at MoveOn.org, People for the American Way, dailyKos, and DemocratUnderground.

Full Story: Bush's Popularity Up

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Are We Seeing the Death of the MSM

Reports of New Orleans mayhem probably exaggerated, police say
New Orleans police now say that reports of crimes mostly exaggerated
By MICHELLE ROBERTS
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - On Sept. 1, with desperate Hurricane Katrina evacuees crammed into the convention center, Police Chief Eddie Compass reported: "We have individuals who are getting raped; we have individuals who are getting beaten."

Five days later, Mayor C. Ray Nagin told Oprah Winfrey: "They have people standing out there, have been in that frickin' Superdome for five days watching dead bodies, watching hooligans killing people, raping people."

The ugliest reports — children with slit throats, women dragged off and raped, corpses piling up in the basement — soon became a searing image of post-Katrina New Orleans.

The stories were told by residents trapped inside the Superdome and convention center and were repeated by public officials. Many news organizations carried the witness accounts and official pronouncements and in some cases later repeated the claims as fact, without attribution.

But now, a month after the chaos subsided, police are re-examining the reports and finding that many of them have little or no basis in fact.

The MSM are self-destructing. Their rampant rumor mongering, poor reporting and campaign of hate against President Bush is destroying any vestigial reputation they might have had. Reporters no longer care whether they are reporting the truth, they only care about sensationalism. The MSM is becoming the WWF of journalism.

Full Story: Rumors as News

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Congressional Callowness on Display in FEMA Hearings

Brown Shifts Blame for Katrina Response
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
Associated Press Writer
Wed Sep 28, 6:36 AM ET

WASHINGTON - A combative Michael Brown blamed the Louisiana governor, the New Orleans mayor and even the Bush White House that appointed him for the dismal response to Hurricane Katrina in a fiery appearance Tuesday before Congress. In response, lawmakers alternately lambasted and mocked the former FEMA director.

House members' scorching treatment of Brown, in a hearing stretching nearly 6 1/2 hours, underscored how he has become an emblem of the deaths, lingering floods and stranded survivors after the Aug. 29 storm. Brown resigned Sept. 12 after being relieved of his onsite command of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's response effort three days earlier.

"I'm happy you left," said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn. "Because that kind of, you know, look in the lights like a deer tells me that you weren't capable to do the job."

"You get an F-minus in my book," said Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss.

At several points, Brown turned red in the face and slapped the table in front of him.

"So I guess you want me to be the superhero, to step in there and take everyone out of New Orleans," Brown said.

"What I wanted you to do is do your job and coordinate," Shays retorted.

Well aware of President Bush's sunken poll ratings, legislators of both parties tried to distance themselves from the federal preparations for Katrina and the storm's aftermath that together claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Brown acknowledged making mistakes during the storm and subsequent flooding that devastated the Gulf Coast. But he accused New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, both Democrats, of fostering chaos and failing to order a mandatory evacuation more than a day before Katrina hit.

"My biggest mistake was not recognizing by Saturday that Louisiana was dysfunctional," Brown told a special panel set up by House Republican leaders to investigate the catastrophe. Most Democrats, seeking an independent investigation, stayed away to protest what they called an unfair probe of the Republican administration by GOP lawmakers.

"I very strongly personally regret that I was unable to persuade Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin to sit down, get over their differences and work together," Brown said. "I just couldn't pull that off."

This hearing was one of the worst displays of grandstanding and finger pointing I have seen in some time. It was a mad scramble to avoid being associated in any way with Katrina and FEMA's alledged failures. Scapegoating is a truly reprehensible form of avoiding being blamed yourself. Remember, it was this very same Congress which placed FEMA under the Department of Homeland Security. Which caused a redirection of priorities and funds. Brown successfully managed FEMA last year through four hurricanes in Florida. He was not unqualified. I am disgusted with the behavior of the Republicans on this committee.

Full Story: Callow Congress

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Senator "Right to Privacy" Hoisted by His Own Petard

GOP senators seeking Schumer's guarantee
By Peter Savodnik

Republican senators seeking reelection in 2006 are sending Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), a letter asking him to guarantee that Democratic campaign aides will not access their credit reports.

It is unclear who first drafted the letter, but Republican sources on Capitol Hill said all 13 GOP senators who face reelection battles this cycle were asked to lend their support.

“While the DSCC press secretary and counsel have publicly denied that the DSCC accessed the personal credit reports of any other Republican senators or candidates, the security of our families’ finances is too important to rely on the assurances of professional political staff and consultants whose primary focus is defeating us next November,” a copy of the letter circulated yesterday morning at a meeting of Republican press secretaries states.

“Therefore, we are seeking your personal assurance, as a colleague, that employees or agents of the DSCC did not access our personal credit history or the personal credit history of any of our family members.”

The original version of the letter also included this sentence: “In fact, we must confess our personal disappointment that we are forced to reach out to you on this matter and that you did not contact us and offer such assurances on your own volition.” That sentence was stricken from a later draft.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) said the senator would sign the letter. Santorum, who has lost ground to his Democratic opponent, state Treasurer Bob Casey, in recent months, is one of the Democrats’ top targets next year.

This is clearly a violation of ethics, and Senator Chuck needs to be forced to face the music. This is dirty politics in its most pernicious and dangerous form. The intentional violation of a citizen's privacy for the perpose of undermining his constitutional right to stand for office is unacceptable and Schumer needs to resign for this.

Full Story: Schumer's Schlime

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Hopefully Roberts Will Be What Conservatives Have Hoped For

Roberts Sails Toward Confirmation
By JESSE J. HOLLAND
Associated Press Writer Tue
Sep 27, 3:27 AM ET

WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee John Roberts may be on his way to easy Senate confirmation as the next chief justice, yet senators are focusing just as much — if not more — on President Bush's next nominee for the nation's top court.

Roberts' confirmation as the 17th chief justice of the United States and the successor to the late William H. Rehnquist is preordained, with more than two-thirds of the 100-member Senate already indicating plans to vote for him. But once he is confirmed later this week, the White House is expected to nominate someone to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, one of two women on the high court.

Bush said Monday he'll "pick a person who can do the job. But I am mindful that diversity is one of the strengths of the country."

The president is under pressure from many quarters — including his wife — to pick a woman or a minority. Democrats are trying to use floor speeches to pressure him into picking a mainstream conservative instead of a hard-line conservative.

"I encourage President Bush to nominate someone for Justice O'Connor's seat who will further unite the citizens of our great nation, rather than drive a political wedge between them," said Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota.

Senate floor debate on the Roberts nomination began Monday and was resuming Tuesday.

Johnson is one of 13 Democrats on record as supporting Roberts. All 55 GOP senators are expected to vote for him.

Only time will tell how good Roberts is. Hopefully he will be a justice at least as conservative as Rehnquist. I still want Bush to appoint Janice Rogers Brown for the next vacancy.

Full Story: Roberts Approval

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Now This Really Is A Disaster.

Stunning LSU loss deals Louisiana latest blow
Tue Sep 27, 2005 6:29 AM ET
By Daisuke Wakabayashi

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (Reuters) - Louisiana State University's dream start turned into a nightmare finish, spoiling the Hollywood ending scripted for the most beloved football team in the hurricane-ravaged state.

In a game postponed two days by Hurricane Rita, the LSU Tigers squandered a 21-point, first-half lead in a 30-27 overtime loss to the University of Tennessee Volunteers in their home opener on Monday.

The loss against a Southeastern Conference rival puts a damper on the national championship aspirations of LSU, ranked No. 4 nationally before the game, and provided another disappointment to a state desperate for some good news.

"Our team will certainly regret the fact that we couldn't do it," said LSU Coach Les Miles. "This team will have an opportunity through a season to make a contribution (to lift people's spirits)."

The game was the buzz of talk radio all day and an evening curfew, in place for many of the flooded parishes in southern Louisiana, did not apply to Tiger fans with game day tickets.

Hurricane Katrina forced the postponement of the season opener against the University of North Texas, while LSU moved its second home game against Arizona State University to the opponent's home stadium in Tempe, Arizona.

"Katrina is gone and Rita is away. Dear God, let me see my Tigers play," read a sign held by one student in the crowd.

Forgive the self indulgence, but as a lifelong Tigers Fan, this is really bad news. Geaux Tigers! Come on you guys, pull it together and don't let this get to you.

Full Story: Tigers Lose

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Unbelievable! Imagine Reimbursing Christians Just Because They Helped Victims

FEMA to reimburse faith groups for helping victims
Tue Sep 27, 2005 2:22 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse churches and other religious organizations that have provided shelter, food and supplies to the victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

The payments with taxpayer money would mark the first time that the government has made such payments to faith-based groups at a time following natural disasters, the newspaper reported, citing FEMA officials.

FEMA is a division within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

According to the article, religious groups that operated emergency shelters, food distribution centers or medical facilities at the request of state and local governments in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama would be eligible.

Rita, packing winds of 120 miles per hour (193 kph), struck the Gulf Coast over the weekend. Katrina came ashore in Louisiana on August 29, killed more than 1,000 people and caused as much as an estimated $200 billion in economic losses.

Reimbursements would cover a "wide range of costs," FEMA spokesman Eugene Kinerney was quoted as saying.

Kinerney said they would include "labor costs incurred in excess of normal operations, rent for the facility and delivery of essential needs like food and water," the report said.

This is clearly a violation of the lead-lined, concrete-filled, cinder block wall separating church and state. How can they do this? Don't they know that our Founding Fathers wanted America to be an atheist nation. Just think if they had included any references to God in the Declaration of Independence...Oh wait, that's right they did. Imagine that. Well at least Jefferson never attended any church services in the Capitol building...Oh wait he did. Well nevermind.

Full Story: Reimbursing Religion

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Desperate For Attention, Cindy Finally Succeeds In Getting Arrested

Iraq war protester Sheehan arrested
Protest near White House aimed at refocusing attention on conflict

Updated: 5:47 p.m. ET Sept. 26, 2005
WASHINGTON - Cindy Sheehan, the California woman who has used her son’s death in Iraq to spur the antiwar movement, was arrested Monday while protesting outside the White House.

Sheehan and several dozen other protesters sat down on the sidewalk after marching along the pedestrian walkway on Pennsylvania Avenue. Police warned them three times that they were breaking the law by failing to move along, then began making arrests.

Sheehan, 48, was the first taken into custody. She stood up and was handcuffed, then led to a police vehicle while protesters chanted, “The whole world is watching.”

Others who were arrested also cooperated with police. Sgt. Scott Fear, spokesman for the U.S. Park Police, said they would be charged with demonstrating without a permit, which is a misdemeanor.

Park Police Sgt. L.J. McNally said Sheehan and the others would be taken to a processing center where they would be fingerprinted and photographed, then given a ticket and released. The process would take several hours, he said.

Sheehan’s 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in an ambush in Sadr City, Iraq, last year. She attracted worldwide attention last month with her 26-day vigil outside President Bush’s Texas ranch.

Cindy finally manages to get arrested. You can see the shock on her face as she is carted off by the police. She has been desperate for attention since she left Crawford, Texas last month. Darn those storms, poor Cindy has hardly been able to get her face on television since Katrina devastated New Orleans. It's just not fair, all of those annoying storm victims have just been getting all of the press coverage when we know that Cindy's suffering is much more important than their petty problems.

Full Story: Cindy Busted

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Hurricane RITA Public Advisory

000
WTNT33 KNHC 240250
TCPAT3
BULLETIN
HURRICANE RITA ADVISORY NUMBER 26
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
10 PM CDT FRI SEP 23 2005

...EYE OF MAJOR HURRICANE RITA JUST A FEW HOURS FROM LANDFALL NEAR
THE TEXAS/LOUISIANA BORDER...
...STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY RAINS BATTERING SOUTHERN LOUISIANA AND
SOUTHEASTERN TEXAS...

A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SARGENT TEXAS TO MORGAN
CITY LOUISIANA. A HURRICANE WARNING MEANS THAT HURRICANE
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN THE NEXT 24
HOURS. PREPARATIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY SHOULD HAVE
ALREADY BEEN COMPLETED.

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTHEASTERN
COAST OF LOUISIANA EAST OF MORGAN CITY TO THE MOUTH OF THE PEARL
RIVER... INCLUDING METROPOLITAN NEW ORLEANS AND LAKE
PONTCHARTRAIN... AND FROM SOUTH OF SARGENT TEXAS TO PORT ARANSAS
TEXAS. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN THE NEXT 24
HOURS.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE
INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED
BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.

AT 10 PM CDT...0300Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE RITA WAS LOCATED NEAR
LATITUDE 29.1 NORTH... LONGITUDE 93.2 WEST OR ABOUT 55 MILES... 90
KM... SOUTHEAST OF SABINE PASS ALONG THE GULF COAST AT THE
TEXAS/LOUISIANA BORDER.

RITA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 12 MPH... 19 KM/HR. THIS
GENERAL MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE UNTIL LANDFALL. A GRADUAL
TURN TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED ON SATURDAY.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 120 MPH...195 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS. RITA IS A DANGEROUS CATEGORY THREE HURRICANE ON THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. LITTLE CHANGE IN STRENGTH IS EXPECTED PRIOR
TO LANDFALL. GRADUAL WEAKENING IS EXPECTED AFTER RITA MOVES
INLAND.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 85 MILES...140 KM...
FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP
TO 205 MILES...335 KM. A WIND GUST TO 74 MPH WAS RECENTLY REPORTED
AT LAKE CHARLES LOUISIANA.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 931 MB...27.49 INCHES.

COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 15 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS...
LOCALLY UP TO 20 FEET AT HEAD OF BAYS AND NEARBY RIVERS...WITH
LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES...CAN BE EXPECTED NEAR AND TO
THE EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER MAKES LANDFALL. TIDES ARE CURRENTLY
RUNNING ABOUT 2 FEET ABOVE NORMAL ALONG THE LOUISIANA...MISSISSIPPI
AND ALABAMA COASTS IN THE AREAS AFFECTED BY KATRINA. TIDES IN THOSE
AREAS WILL INCREASE TO 4 TO 6 FEET AND BE ACCOMPANIED BY LARGE
WAVES... AND RESIDENTS THERE COULD EXPERIENCE COASTAL FLOODING.
LARGE SWELLS GENERATED BY RITA WILL LIKELY AFFECT MOST PORTIONS OF
THE GULF COAST.

SINCE RITA IS EXPECTED TO SLOW DOWN DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS...
RAINFALL TOTALS OF 10 TO 15 INCHES ARE EXPECTED OVER EASTERN TEXAS
AND WESTERN LOUISIANA. MAXIMUM RAINFALL TOTALS IN EXCESS OF 25
INCHES COULD OCCUR OVER LOCALIZED AREAS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 3 TO
5 INCHES WITH ISOLATED HEAVIER TOTALS ARE POSSIBLE OVER
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA INCLUDING METROPOLITAN NEW ORLEANS.

ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT...SATURDAY...AND SATURDAY
NIGHT OVER FAR EASTERN TEXAS...LOUISIANA...SOUTHERN ARKANSAS...AND
MISSISSIPPI.

REPEATING THE 10 PM CDT POSITION...29.1 N... 93.2 W. MOVEMENT
TOWARD...NORTHWEST NEAR 12 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED
WINDS...120 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE... 931 MB.

INTERMEDIATE ADVISORIES WILL BE ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE
CENTER AT MIDNIGHT CDT AND 2 AM CDT FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT COMPLETE
ADVISORY AT 4 AM CDT.

FORECASTER KNABB

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Good By Rita Now a 3

Rita Category 3 Hurricane
With 120 Mph Wind As It Sputters Towards Gulf Coast

HOUSTON, Tex. Sep 23, 2005 — Land fall is expected now West of Port Arthur and may occur as early as 2:00 AM

Rita was last reported as still a catagory 3 storm with 120 mph winds but forecasters are reminding residents that this is still a dangerous storm.

Map as of 10:00 PM CDT

NOAA [Link]

Houston/Galveston looks to have avoided the worst of this storm. Frankly, I'm a little dissappointed because it now looks like our area may not even get any much needed rain. It has been exceptionally dry here last couple of weeks and I was looking forward to a good soaking. There is a possibility of much heavier than I want rain later this week as models now have the storm stalling out over East Texas and possibly drifting back south, looking for steering currents.

Once more we are seeing just how unpredictable these things are.

Here in Houston, currently listening to: "Riding the Storm Out,"REO Speedwagon, "Riders on the Storm, the Doors," "Texas Flood, Stevie Ray Vaughan," "Stormy Monday Blues," Allman Brothers Band, and Look Out Cleveland," The Band.

Rock On!

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Global Warming on Mars

Orbiter's Long Life Helps Scientists Track Changes on Mars
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
September 20, 2005

New gullies that did not exist in mid-2002 have appeared on a Martian sand dune.

That's just one of the surprising discoveries that have resulted from the extended life of NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, which this month began its ninth year in orbit around Mars. Boulders tumbling down a Martian slope left tracks that weren't there two years ago. New impact craters formed since the 1970s suggest changes to age-estimating models. And for three Mars summers in a row, deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near Mars' south pole have shrunk from the previous year's size, suggesting a climate change in progress.

"Our prime mission ended in early 2001, but many of the most important findings have come since then, and even bigger ones might lie ahead," said Tom Thorpe, project manager for Mars Global Surveyor at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The orbiter is healthy and may be able to continue studying Mars for five to 10 more years, he said.

Global warming on Mars? Hmmm, seems to blow away the claims of man-caused globle warming. I've got it! Bush has secretly been building power plants and homes for the rich who are secretly driving the gas-guzzling SUV's and building up CO2 levels.
RIIIIGGGHHHTTT! Got Tin Hat?

Full Story: How About It Gore?

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Biloxi v. New Orleans: What Makes a Good Mayor

This just in.

In an interview this morning on C-span, Mayor A.J. Holloway was asked how he was going to deal with the loss of revenues from the Casinos, which are projected to take from 9-18 months to rebuild.

His answer, "Well, we're very fortunate, we just took out income insurance in July." The annual income for the city of Biloxi from casinos is about $20 million/year.

The insurance provides 6 months income minus a fifteen day deductable, meaning an influx of approximately $10 million.

This move by the mayor's office will provide the city with much needed funds while they recover from the ravages of Katrina. Cost of premiums, $125,000/month. As I do the math, thats an annual of $1.5 million/year.

Sounds like a good investment to me.

I wonder if Mayor Nagin thought that far ahead?

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Admiral Collins States the Obvious: National Security Difficult

Coast Guard Commandant Cites Security Risk
By PAT MILTON, Associated Press Writer
Tue Sep 20,10:21 PM ET

NEW YORK - The Coast Guard says millions of pleasure craft, fishing boats and ferries fall outside its security nets, hampering its ability to safeguard thousands of miles of coastline against terrorist attack.

"How do we include recreational boats — some 58 million in this country — into our security regime without infringing upon the liberty of boaters?" Admiral Thomas Collins, commandant of the Coast Guard, said Tuesday.

Boaters are proud people who "toot around on the water" and don't want the government to tell them where they can go, Collins said following an address at the U.S. Maritime Security Expo, a conference on protecting ports, harbors, ships and cargo against terrorists, thieves and other threats.

"But some of those yachts are big," he said, "and can hold lots of good stuff and bad stuff."

The Coast Guard has identified 50 areas in which the maritime system is vulnerable to a terrorist attack, Collins said. It is working on solutions to blend everyone's needs: to close the gaps and mitigate the risks while not impinging on boaters' rights or interfering with the flow of commerce.

Specific initiatives will be presented to President Bush as part of a National Maritime Security Plan.

Among the Coast Guard's targets are recreational boats, an estimated 110,000 fishing vessels, and ferries that carry tourists and commuters, Collins said.

"How do we screen for explosive devices on a ferry system that moves millions of people, particularly commuters, without constipating the whole system?" Collins asked.

This is the price we pay for our freedom. Just like gun violence, the price of freedom entails some risk. Even in a totalitarian regieme, it is impossible to stop crime and terrorism. That is why we cannot afford to surrender our rights to the Federal Government. Complete security is a myth. Complete safety is a myth. And as an aside, no one is immortal.

Full Story: Coast Guard Difficulties

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Clueless, Reid Calls for Another Roberts

Reid seeks 'mainstream' nominee for US courtReuters
Wed Sep 21, 3:28 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he will ask President George W. Bush on Wednesday that his second nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court be "mainstream, not extreme."

With the court's balance of power likely at stake, Reid said he will make his case at a White House breakfast meeting with Bush and fellow Senate leaders.

The president's first Supreme Court nominee, John Roberts, appears headed toward Senate confirmation next week as the nation's 17th chief justice. Attention now is beginning to focus on who Bush may offer as his second nominee. That person would likely face a tougher fight.

The president invited Reid to the White House to discuss the pending nomination. They were to be joined by Senate Republican leader Bill Frist along with Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, and Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record) of Vermont, the panel's top Democrat.

Easing Roberts' path toward confirmation is the belief he would not shift the balance of power on the nine-member court. He would succeed the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who had been the court's conservative anchor for three decades.

A tougher fight is expected over Bush's next nominee, who would replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a moderate conservative who has been the swing vote on the often bitterly divided court.

Reid doesn't even realize how far out of the "mainstream" he and his cadre are. Senator, Roberts is as mainstream as it gets. What you are calling for is an extreme left-wing activist like Ginsburg. You are absolutely clueless.

Full Story: Reid Clueless

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Hah! I knew Bush Blew Up the Levee.

Experts say Louisiana levees should have held: Post
Reuters
Wed Sep 21,12:51 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hurricane experts said Hurricane Katrina's storm surges were smaller than authorities have suggested and that poor design, faulty construction or a combination of the two were to blame for the failure of New Orleans' flood-protection system, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

Scientists and engineers at Louisiana State University's Hurricane Center -- with the help of computer models and visual evidence -- concluded the levee system should have been sufficient to keep most of the city dry.

They also said Katrina's storm surges did not come close to going over the floodwalls, contradicting statements from the Army Corps of Engineers, which has said the surges sent water from Lake Pontchartrain over the top of the concrete walls.

"This should not have been a big deal for these floodwalls," said oceanographer G. Paul Kemp, a hurricane expert who runs LSU's Natural Systems Modeling Laboratory. "It should have been a modest challenge. There's no way this should have exceeded the capacity."

Ivor van Heerden, the Hurricane Center's deputy director, said the real scandal of Katrina is the "catastrophic structural failure" of barriers that should have handled the hurricane with relative ease.

"We are absolutely convinced that those floodwalls were never overtopped," the newspaper quoted van Heerden saying.

Farrakan was right! Bush has a secret bomb which targets only black neighborhoods with floods. Have you got your tin-hat on? This is one more example of big government in action. This is not the first time that the Corps of Engineers has blown the job. Of course modelling is a limited technique, and it is only as the formulae used to model the phenomenon. I'll wait for the defininitve report.

Full Story: Levee Failure

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Iran Rattling Sabres Over Nukes

Iran Warns Against Referral of Nuclear Issue to the U.N.
By NAZILA FATHI and DAVID E. SANGER
Published: September 21, 2005

TEHRAN, Sept. 20 - Iran's chief nuclear negotiator warned Tuesday that the country would resume enriching uranium and restrict United Nations inspectors from critical information if the United States and its allies used the "language of threat" by referring Iran to the Security Council.

The negotiator's threat, which appeared to be backed by Iran's supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, came as a confidential draft resolution circulating at the governing board of the International Atomic Energy Agency included a call for the Security Council to take up "Iran's many failures and breaches of its obligations." But the draft makes no specific reference to sanctions, which are still opposed by China and Russia, both of which hold veto power in the Council. A copy of the resolution was provided to The New York Times by an official involved in the behind-the-scenes diplomacy over how the board should deal with Iran at its meeting this

The comments by the Iranian negotiator, Ali Larijani, in a news conference here on Tuesday were the first time that Iran had explicitly threatened to cut off inspections and resume enriching uranium - which it insists will be used for civilian reactor fuel, not nuclear weapons - if the atomic agency's board acts.

Mr. Larijani, who is also secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, is newly appointed to his post as negotiator on nuclear issues, and the news conference was his first since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office last month. In a fiery speech on Saturday in front of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Ahmadinejad criticized the United States and its allies and vowed to press ahead with Iran's nuclear program, noting that it had a right under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to produce nuclear fuel. The Bush administration maintains that Iran gave up that right by hiding, for more than 17 years, a range of nuclear activities that United Nations inspectors only discovered with the help of intelligence agencies and Iranian dissidents.

Can't the Mossad do something about these guys? Maybe us? They need to understand the seriousness of this game they're playing. Thanks to Clinton, the real nuclear option becomes more likely. Once again we see the false economy in cutting defense spending during peaceful times. Had Clinton no gutted the Military, we would have sufficient troops to be a genuine threat to these guys, without using the nuclear hammer. Clinton should be in prison for treason.

Full Story: Clinton's Folly

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Korea Continues the Dangerous Game

North Korea Accuses the U.S. of Plotting Nuclear Attack
Two Days After Disarmament Agreement
By JAE-SOON CHANG ting nuc
Associated Press Writer

SEOUL, South Korea Sep 21, 2005 — North Korea on Wednesday accused the United States of intending to disarm the communist country and then "crush it to death with nuclear weapons" two days after a landmark disarmament agreement that was expected to ease tensions.

North Korea pledged to give up its nuclear weapons program in return for economic aid and security assurances at six-nation talks in Beijing on Monday the first breakthrough in more than two years of negotiations.

However, the country's rhetoric since then has cast doubt on its commitment to the agreement and underscored its unpredictability, though none of its negotiating partners say they expect a breakdown in the disarmament talks, scheduled to continue in November.

"The ulterior intention of the United States talking about resolving the nuclear issue under the signboard of the six-party talks is as clear as daylight," the North's Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

"In a word, it intends to disarm and crush us to death with nuclear weapons," the commentary said.

Washington has repeatedly denied North Korean allegations that it is planning an attack.

Negotiation as usual with Pyong Yang. Maybe we should just Nuke'em now and get it over with. They do this same thing all the time. They're always jerking our chain, difference is, this is President Bush they're messing with, not Bubba Clinton.

Full Story: Korean Lies Continue

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...And So It Begins. Dems Positioning Themselves On Roberts

U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Reid Opposes Roberts
Robert Schmidt in Washington
Sept. 20 (Bloomberg)

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he will oppose John Roberts to be U.S. chief justice, citing the nominee's opposition to civil rights legislation when he was a young lawyer for President Ronald Reagan.

Reid announced his decision as other Democrats said they still haven't made up their minds on President George W. Bush's first Supreme Court nomination. Reid told reporters he won't make the Roberts vote an issue of party loyalty and expects "plenty" of Democrats to support the nominee.

Some undecided Democrats, particularly those representing states Bush carried in winning re-election last year, said they are studying Roberts's testimony at confirmation hearings last week. Several complained that Roberts had avoided answering questions on important issues such as abortion rights.

"This is really a leap of faith, isn't it?" said Massachusetts Democrat Edward Kennedy, who joined Reid in opposing Roberts. "There are those that took the leap in terms of the war. There are those who took the leap in terms of taxes, and now they are being invited to take the leap again in terms of Judge Roberts, and I don't think I am going to be among them."

Kennedy told reporters that Roberts was "on the wrong side of history" for opposing civil rights legislation as a young lawyer for the Justice Department and later Reagan's White House counsel's office.

You just knew that Reid had to go this way because he is the Dumocrat Minority Leader and this is one of their base issues with the special interest groups who pull their strings. This is all about Democrat Party's public image and nothing about Roberts qualifications.

Full Story: Reid on Roberts

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Some Good-Some Bad, Mostly Caving to Democrat Hype

Panel aims to restore confidence in voting
Carter-led group suggests paper trail for electronic voting, photo IDs
Updated: 3:36 p.m. ET Sept. 19, 2005

WASHINGTON - A commission seeking to restore confidence in the country’s election system gave President Bush proposals on Monday calling for improved voter registration lists and requiring photo IDs that voters could get for free.

Former President Carter noted that a commission he headed with former President Ford tried to resolve election problems after the 2000 election, but added, “There are still some remaining problems to be solved.” He said Bush “received it very well, though he can certainly speak for himself.”

The commission’s recommendations could finally resolve a long-standing debate about what causes the most problems with elections — voter fraud or inability to vote, said former Secretary of State James Baker, who chairs the commission with Carter.

Why are we still listenting to this traitor Carter? He should be in a federal penatentury for treason. Mostly this is the answer to a question that only Liberals asked. Carter was the worst president in past century, possibly of all time. Certainly he was the least effective president in history. Besides, we now know that the bulk of voter fraud was committed by the Democrats. On second thought I am thoroughly in favor of these reforms, except-provisional ballots need to be done away with. If you are too dumb to find your proper polling place then you are too dumb to vote anyway.

Full Story: The Carter Plan

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Gee, Congress is Returning Some of Our 5th Amendment Property Rights

House Bill Would Limit U.S. Power to Protect Species
By FELICITY BARRINGER
New York Times
Published: September 20, 2005

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 - The chairman of the House committee overseeing natural resources introduced a bill Monday that would make it more difficult for the federal government to set aside land it deems crucial to the health of endangered species.

The proposed amendments to the Endangered Species Act also increase the obligation of government agencies to tell landowners quickly if the law limits their development options, and to compensate them.

The measure, which drew quick denunciations from groups like Environmental Defense, Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural Resources Defense Council, was proposed by the House Resources Committee chairman, Representative Richard W. Pombo, Republican of California. It was immediately put on a fast track, which is expected to bring it before the full House early next week.

In a news conference Monday, Mr. Pombo said his legislation "will put the focus on recovery where it should be and will eliminate a lot of the conflicts we have had with private property owners."

The proposal was markedly different from draft legislation circulated earlier this summer, which put even greater restrictions on federal agencies that enforce the law, and which would have automatically taken the law off the books in 2015. The new measure abandons the latter goal but creates new hurdles for federal agencies - chiefly the Fish and Wildlife Service - as they take actions to protect species.

It has been one of the most unconstitutional laws on the books, the right to prevent a landowner from developing his land due to the presence of an "endangered species" and not pay him compensation for his loss. This amounts to the taking of property without just compensation in direct violation of the 5th Amendment. Our founding fathers considered property rights the most important of all rights and the source of all other rights.

Full Story: Save the Landowner!

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Absolutely! This Is Way Overdue: Moon or Bust

NASA Planning Return to Moon Within 13 Years
By WARREN E. LEARY
New York Times
Published: September 20, 2005

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 - Combining an old concept, existing equipment and new ideas, NASA gave shape on Monday to President Bush's promise to send humans back to the Moon by the end of the next decade.

Michael D. Griffin, the agency's new administrator, detailed a $104 billion plan that he said would get astronauts to the Moon by 2018, serve as a steppingstone to Mars and beyond, and stay within NASA's existing budget.

The plan would use a new spacecraft similar to the Apollo command capsule of the original Moon program, and new rockets made up largely of components from the space shuttle program.

"It is very Apollo-like," Dr. Griffin said, "but bigger. Think of it as Apollo on steroids."

The plan drew a mixture of praise and criticism from lawmakers and space experts. (News Analysis)

The chairman of the House Science Committee, Representative Sherwood Boehlert, Republican of New York, said it appeared to be "the safest, least expensive and most efficient way" of moving forward in space exploration, but added that current cost overruns in other NASA programs might make it hard to develop the new vehicle on schedule.

The outlines of the plan had been disclosed informally over the last two months by NASA officials and space experts. But Dr. Griffin's announcement laid out a timetable and a budget, putting flesh on the bones of a proposal that Mr. Bush announced in January 2004 but had never described in detail.

Dr. Griffin said that after adjusting for inflation, the program would cost just 55 percent of what it cost to put a dozen men on the lunar surface from 1969 to 1972.

Space exploration is one of the most important endeavors we can undertake. Without a "Frontier" to explore, without a goal for which to strive, we grow weaker, duller, less adventurous. We need a great national goal which will inspire our next generation to pursue science and mathematics in school. This is a wise expenditure for the future of our nation.

Full Story: Space Now!

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Rita Forcing Nagin to Reverse His Call for Early Return

New Orleans mayor orders evacuation
By Ellen Wulfhorst and Andy Sullivan

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on Monday suspended a plan to bring residents back to New Orleans and told all those now in the stricken city to leave because of fears a new storm headed into the Gulf of Mexico could swamp damaged levees and wreak new havoc.

Tropical Storm Rita was moving west from the Atlantic Ocean and expected to enter the Gulf this week, where forecasters said it could grow into a major hurricane.

Current predictions point to a Texas landfall for Rita at week's end, but Nagin said there was a chance it could hit a New Orleans, still reeling from Hurricane Katrina three weeks ago.

"We are suspending all re-entry into the city of New Orleans," Nagin said in a news conference.

"Our levee systems are still in a very weak condition, our pumping stations are still not at full capacity and any type of storm that heads this way and hits us will put the east bank of Orleans Parish in very significant harm's way, so I'm encouraging everyone to leave," Nagin said.

"If we have anything over nine inches of rain and a three-foot surge in any storm we will once again have significant flooding on the east bank," he said.

"Prepare yourself to evacuate Wednesday or even earlier."

Residents who have come back since Katrina hit sounded reluctant to leave again.

"We have plenty of supplies and have no plans to leave," said R.R. Lyon, a 49-year-old art gallery owner in the historic French Quarter. "I think being here and staying is going to be easier than getting back in."

But Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said people should take warnings seriously.

"Every citizen who is able needs to be making preparations," she said at a news conference in Baton Rouge. "We would like anybody below I-10 to think about getting yourself to a safer place."

So Mother Nature has forced that idiot mayor to change his mind about calling for people to come back. The admiral was trying to disuade people from coming back at the same time Nagin was calling for them to return. I understand Nagin's desire to return to normalcy as soon as possible but the safety of the people, who would be returning to a still toxic evironment, must be considered.

Full Story: Nagin Says Evacuate

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Here We Go Again: Korea Beginning to Back Peddle

North Korea Demands Nuke Reactor From U.S.
By JAE-SOON CHANG, Associated Press Writer

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea insisted Tuesday it won't dismantle its nuclear weapons program until the U.S. gives it civilian nuclear reactors, casting doubt on a disarmament agreement reached a day earlier during international talks.

Washington reiterated its rejection of the reactor demand and joined China in urging North Korea to stick to the agreement announced Monday in which it pledged to abandon all its nuclear programs in exchange for economic aid and security assurances.

North Korea's new demands underlined its unpredictable nature and deflated some optimism from the Beijing agreement, the first since negotiations began in August 2003 among the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

"The U.S. should not even dream of the issue of (North Korea's) dismantlement of its nuclear deterrent before providing (light-water reactors), a physical guarantee for confidence-building," the North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

U.S. officials dismissed the demand.

"This is not the agreement that they signed, and we'll give them some time to reflect on the agreement they signed," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in New York on Monday.

The announcement Monday that North Korea would dismantle existing weapons and stop building new ones, culminating two years of bargaining, contained no deadlines and few details. The six parties in the talks agreed to meet again in November, when the difficult questions of verification and timetables would be on the table.

The North had demanded since the latest round of six-party talks began last week in the Chinese capital that it be given a light-water reactor — a type less easily diverted for weapons use — in exchange for disarming. U.S. officials opposed the idea, maintaining North Korea could not be trusted with any nuclear program.

The issue was sidestepped Monday, with participants saying they would discuss it later — "at an appropriate time." The North, however, chose to immediately press the issue, essentially introducing a major condition on its pledge to disarm.

Japan swiftly joined the United States in rejecting the demand.

"The Japanese side has continuously said that North Korea's demand is unacceptable," Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said.

China, North Korea's closest ally in the talks, urged Pyongyang to join the other negotiating partners in implementing the commitments in "a serious manner."

Once again, Korea is attempting to change the agreement they've signed before the ink has dried. We are always going to face difficulty in trusting a totalitarian regieme. This is nothing new, Pyong Yang has done this everytime we've signed an agreement with them. We may need to go back to a hard line with them.

Full Story: Pyong Yang Balks

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I Love Anne Colter: Defining Judicial Activism

ACTUALLY, 'JUDICIAL ACTIVISM' MEANS 'E=mc2'
by Ann Coulter
September 14, 2005

Democrats are so excited about Hurricane Katrina, they're thinking of moving "Camp Casey" to an area outside the National Weather Service. What they haven't figured out yet is how Richard Perle and the "neocons" cooked up a hurricane that targeted only black people. Meanwhile, rescuers in New Orleans have discovered a lower-than-expected 424 dead bodies or, as they're known to liberals, "registered Democratic voters."

In liberals' defense, they've got a better shot at convincing Americans that Bush is responsible for a hurricane than convincing them that John Kerry was fit to be commander in chief. Compared to Kerry, Katrina is a blowhard they can work with.

Liberals think Hurricane Katrina means they get to pick the next Supreme Court justice. And as of today the smart money is on Cindy Sheehan — something about her moral authority being absolute.

It would be a lot of fun to watch liberals going through their "Howard Dean phase" right now, except liberal hysteria always frightens Bush. Instead of poking them through the iron bars of their cages with a stick like a normal person would, Bush soothes them with food pellets and reassuring words. What fun is that?

We're winning! This is no time to concede defeat.

If Americans loved judicial activism, liberals wouldn't be lying about what it is. Judicial activism means making up constitutional rights in order to strike down laws the justices don't like based on their personal preferences. It's not judicial activism to strike down laws because they violate the Constitution.

But liberals have recently taken to pretending judicial activism is — as The New York Times has said repeatedly — voting "to invalidate laws passed by Congress." Invalidating laws has absolutely nothing to do with "judicial activism." It depends on whether the law is unconstitutional or not. That's really the key point.

That's why we have a judicial branch, Mr. Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times. It's not a make-work program for the black robe industry. It's a third branch of our government. You'll learn more about this concept next year when you're in the seventh grade, Pinch.

Liberals always like to redefine words, especially comples concepts like Up and Down, Black and White, Liberal and Con...Oh yea, there no such thing as a Liberal, it's Progressive now...servative. It's because they're unable to win on the field of ideals, they have to resort to lies and cammoflage.

Full Editorial: Actually,

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Progress in Afghanistan, Even If by Fits and Starts

Afghan ballots boxes make way to count centers
By Robert Birsel
Reuters

KABUL (Reuters) - Across Afghanistan on Monday donkeys, camels and trucks carried sealed ballot boxes to counting centers where the results of Sunday's landmark elections will be determined.

World leaders hailed the vote, saying Afghans had braved Taliban violence in a show of determination to build a peaceful future although many fewer people turned out for the legislative elections than last time.

The election commission estimated turnout at just over 50 percent, significantly lower than in last year's presidential poll.

The elections for a national assembly and provincial councils went ahead despite threats by Taliban guerrillas to disrupt the vote. At least 14 people were killed in violence but voting was overwhelmingly peaceful and went ahead in all districts.

It's a long road to a democracy in a nation that has never seen one. This is their second election. Let's hope they continue to progress, better for them, better for us.

Full Story: Afghan Election No.2

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Here We Go Again? Gulf Entry Expected!

Tropical Storm Strengthens Over Bahamas, Heads for Florida Keys
Sept. 19 (Bloomberg.com)

Tropical Storm Rita gained strength over the Bahamas as it headed toward southern Florida, with forecasters warning it may become a hurricane within a day.

Rita's maximum sustained winds strengthened to 60 miles (97 kilometers) per hour as of 5 a.m. Miami time, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an online advisory. The center of the season's 17th named storm was about 250 miles southeast of Nassau, the Bahamas, and Rita was heading west at 9 mph.

Rita's maximum sustained winds have strengthened by 10 mph in three hours. "Additional strengthening is expected, and Rita could become a hurricane during the next 24 hours,'' the hurricane center said.

Rita's course would see the storm sweep just south of the Florida Keys between 2 a.m. tomorrow and 2 a.m. Sept. 21, before heading into the Gulf of Mexico toward the Texan coast by Sept. 24, according to the center's 5-day ``probability cone.'' Such a path would see Rita threaten Texan oil facilities, including the refineries of Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Batten down the hatches Gulf Coast it's gonna be a bumpy week. I would suggest that everyone on the Gulf Coast take a lesson from Katrina and stock up now on supplies. Water, at least a gallon/day/person, food (remember no electricity, no powered can opener), and don't for get the pets' needs.

full Story: New Gulf Hurricane

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Now They Offer!

OPEC may lift output by 2m barrels
CNN.com
Monday, September 19, 2005 Posted: 0942 GMT

VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- OPEC oil ministers were considering offering 2 million extra barrels a day in an effort to calm a market rattled by refinery shutdowns and concerns over supplies ahead of the winter heating season, the cartel's president said Monday.

Sheik Ahmed Fahd Al Ahmed Al Sabah, who is also Kuwait's oil minister, said some members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries were backing a plan to keep the output ceiling unchanged at 28 million barrels a day, but make a one-time offer of an additional 2 million barrels to test demand for crude and cool near record-high prices.

Others supported a move to hike the quota by 500,000 barrels a day, or 2 percent.

"Consultations are going in a positive way," said Sheik Ahmed. He said a decision on OPEC's output quota could come later Monday.

Libyan Oil Minister Fathi Hamed bin Shatwan said OPEC was likely to test the market first.

"We'll say there is 2 million barrels a day available here," he said. "Who will buy it is welcome; to test the market and to show that there is no need (for a output hike). We say the market is well supplied and people don't believe us."

Nah, nobody needs more oil. It's just a figment of our imagination that oil has gone to $60+/bbl. China's not buying any oil. America's oil industry didn't just get hit by a hurricane, everything is just fine...NOT! I would assume that this oil will be snapped up as soon as it hits the market. Refining capacity may be insufficient in America, but somewhere they'll find a use for it.

Full Story: OPEC Tests Market

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No Nukes in North Korea?

US hails breakthrough in NKorea nuclear talks
AFX News Limited (via Forbes.com)
09.19.2005, 05:10 AM

BEIJING (AFX) - The US has hailed an agreement reached at talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions, calling it a win-win deal with the next stage a verification regime.

'We had a great day. We finally have an agreement. It wasn't easy, but I think important things often don't come easily,' US envoy Christopher Hill said, according to Agence France-Presse.

'Everybody is the winner. This is a win-win situation. We got agreement on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.'

In the agreement reached today, North Korea pledged to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for promises of aid and security. The deal also said the US would respect the North's sovereignty and not attack it.

In return, the other nations agreed to 'recognise' the North's demand for nuclear energy and said Pyongyang's request to have a light-water nuclear reactor for peaceful purposes would be revisited 'at an appropriate time.'

Hill said a verification regime was the next step when the talks reconvene for a fifth round in November.

'We are really going to be working very hard. The next stage is the implementation of this agreement. A key element will be a verification regime,' he said.

It's too early to celebrate, often it's the small things, like verification for instance, that throw things off track, but It does sound hopeful. I only hope that this is not another "Jimmy Carter" deal. I believe that President Bush wouldn't accept any agreement that didn't have teeth, but I will still adopt a wait and see atitude.

Original Post: N. Korea Deal

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Two Party Politics is Bad, but This Is Definitely Worse

Press gloom on election stalemate
BBC NEWS

German papers worry about the future of social and economic reform in the wake of the inconclusive Bundestag election.

Some papers see the result as a personal setback for Christian Democrats' (CDU) leader Angela Merkel, though others suggest the future may yet belong to her.

There is little enthusiasm for a 'grand coalition' between the CDU and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats (SPD).

The business paper Handelsblatt ran the headline "Coalition chaos in Berlin".

A remarkable election campaign has ended with a fatal result for Germany," it says. "Never before in post-war German history has a Bundestag election been so clearly about a decision for or against further economic reforms", it adds.

But after the elections it is difficult to imagine a reform scenario for Germany, the paper goes on.

Although economic restructuring will continue, it says, "things cannot move forward without political support".

"We cannot afford to stand still," the paper warns. "Courageous politicians in the next government coalition will have to fight to ensure that even the slightest scope for reforms is utilised."

A lot of people, imperfect themselves, for some odd reason expect perfection from a government. Failing to see that, they call upon American voters to create third and fourth parties so that they may have more alternatives. They are entitled to their wishes, but I have yet to see a multi-party system (multi- in this case meaning more than two) that functions even half as well as our own flawed system. From where does the logic arise that, if two mildly corrupt political parties don't work, then three or four (or more) will work better? As far as I am concerned a less diverse but semi-functional system is much preferable to the chaos that Germany, France, and Britain (among others) have. Coalition governments are a disaster.

Full Story: German Elections

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Time for a Head-Shake: Some People!

Well, if you can't even trust a hitman..
Fri Sep 16,10:27 AM ET

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese woman called in the police after a hitman she paid to kill her lover's wife failed to carry out the job.

The 32-year-old Tokyo woman was arrested Wednesday for incitement to murder, the Daily Yomiuri newspaper said Friday.

The woman contacted a private detective through a Web site last November and paid him 1 million yen in cash to murder her love rival, the paper said.

The 40-year-old detective accepted the money and suggested he could carry out the job by chasing the victim on a motorcycle and spraying her with a biological agent in a tunnel.

Police also arrested the private detective and found the alleged target safe and well, the paper said.

What can I possibly add to this? I tell you, you just can't trust anybody these days.

Original Story: Twilight Zone

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President Bush Has A "DUH!" Moment

Bush Says Spending Cuts Will Be Needed
Tax Increase Not Part Of His Gulf Relief Plan
By Michael A. Fletcher and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, September 17, 2005; Page A01

One day after pledging to undertake one of history's largest reconstruction efforts, President Bush served notice yesterday that rebuilding the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast will require spending cuts elsewhere in the federal budget.

Amid growing concern among congressional Republicans about the huge cost of the planned reconstruction effort, Bush said the federal government can foot the bill without resorting to a tax increase. "You bet it's going to cost money. But I'm confident we can handle it," Bush said. "It's going to mean that we're going to have to cut unnecessary spending."

Bush has refused to put a price tag on the reconstruction plan, which he outlined in a prime-time speech Thursday night, although members of Congress and others have predicted that it could cost as much as $200 billion. The plan was assembled by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and Claude Allen, Bush's top domestic policy adviser.

Republican Congressmembers should be ashamed of the level of pork in this last session. DeLay is delusional, saying earlier this week that "all the fat has been trimmed" from the budget. Rush believed that he was being sarcastic, but I read the entire statement, and I disagree. He's simply a fool.

Full Story: Bush Calls for Cuts

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Astoundingly Candid and Honorable Statement by Donna Brazile

I Will Rebuild With You, Mr. President
By Donna BrazileSaturday
September 17, 2005; Washington Post Page A21

New Orleans is my hometown. It is the place where I grew up, where my family still lives. For me, it is a place of comfort and memories. It is home.

Now my home needs your help, and the help of every American. Much of my city is still underwater. Its historical buildings have been wrecked, its famous streets turned to rivers and, worst of all, so many of its wonderful people -- including members of my own family and my neighbors -- have lost everything.

On Thursday night President Bush spoke to the nation from my city. I am not a Republican. I did not vote for George W. Bush -- in fact, I worked pretty hard against him in 2000 and 2004. But on Thursday night, after watching him speak from the heart, I could not have been prouder of the president and the plan he outlined to empower those who lost everything and to rebuild the Gulf Coast.

Bush called on every American to stand up and support the rebuilding of the region. He told us that New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast would rise from the ruins stronger than before. He enunciated something that we all need to remember: This is America. We are not immune to tragedy here, but we are strong because of our industriousness, our ingenuity and, most important, because of our compassion for one another. We are a nation of rebuilders and a nation of givers. We do not give up in the face of tragedy, we stand up, and we reach out to help those who cannot stand up on their own.

I have never had much respect for Donna Brazile, primarily because of her work for Clinton/Gore/Kerry, but this is a breathtaking step away from partisanship by a very partisan Democrat. I can only applaud Ms. Brazile for this statement of truth. For once, truth trumps politics.

Full Story: Bravo Donna Brazile

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Cindy Finally Flipped Her Lid: Michael Moore Has Succeeded

Sheehan: Get troops out of 'occupied New Orleans'
Mother of slain soldier decries 'military and governmental fascism'
Posted: September 16, 2005
3:29 p.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

Fresh from a visit to hurricane-ravaged Louisiana, anti-Bush activist Cindy Sheehan is demanding the U.S. military be removed from "occupied New Orleans."

In a dispatch on leftist filmmaker Michael Moore's website, Sheehan said she was troubled by the "level of the military presence" in the Gulf Coast state.

"George Bush needs to stop talking, admit the mistakes of his all around failed administration, pull our troops out of occupied New Orleans and Iraq, and excuse his self from power," she said. "The only way America will become more secure is if we have a new administration that cares about Americans even if they don't fall into the top two percent of the wealthiest.

The Vacaville, Calif., woman, whose son was killed fighting insurgents in Iraq, launched an anti-war movement last month when she camped outside Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch and demanded to meet with the president, drawing national media attention.

In her Internet posting today, Sheehan said she had "imagined before that if the military had to be used in [continental U.S.] operations that they would be there to help the citizens: Clothe them, feed them, shelter them, and protect them. But what I saw was a city that is occupied."

This is one very sick puppy. Congratulations Michael Moore, you and your ilk have finally succeeded in destroying this woman for your own personal gain. You, Mr Moore are a pitiful excuse for a human being. You bring shame to everything you touch and should be taken out and shot for this act of inhumanity.

Full Story: Cindy's Rant

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Further Proof of Over Reaction by Left

New Orleans Air Found Not Overly Polluted
By CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press Writer
Wed Sep 14, 7:04 PM ET

NEW ORLEANS - The putrid air rising from New Orleans' slowly receding floodwaters was found Wednesday not to be overly polluted, encouraging news for a mayor weighing the reopening of the French Quarter and other dry parts of the city.

Mayor C. Ray Nagin had said a clean bill of health for the air would allow the tourist-friendly French Quarter and central business district to open as early as Monday. And while the Environmental Protection Agency still found the floodwaters contained dangerous levels of sewage-related bacteria, the air pollutants were found to be at acceptable levels.

"We're bringing New Orleans back," Nagin promised earlier. "We're bringing this culture back. We're bringing this music back. I'm tired of hearing these helicopters. I want to hear some jazz."

About 40 to 50 percent of the city was still flooded, down from 80 percent after Katrina hit, as 53 permanent and temporary pumps worked to siphon off 8 billion gallons a day.

On the hard-hit east side, block after block of once-flooded neighborhoods gave way to a slimy, putrid muck, ruined cars, snapped utility poles and collapsed houses.

Again the MSM and local Democrat Officials were overhyping the extent and dire nature of the damage. Are you surprised? Liberals always over react because they react out of emotion rather than logic.

Full Story: More New Orleans Truth

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Brown Blames Locals for Failures

Ex-FEMA Director Blames State Officials
Associated Press

NEW YORK - The former FEMA director who became a lightning rod for the sluggish federal response to Hurricane Katrina puts the blame on state officials.

Michael Brown tells The New York Times that within hours of Katrina's attack on New Orleans he told the White House that state officials couldn't get their act together.

Brown says he called Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and White House chief of staff Andrew Card to let them know the situation was out of control.

His account suggests the White House knew right away that the storm was leaving the coast in shambles.

A top administration official tells the Times that White House officials remember Brown's calls, but don't think they had the urgency he recalls.

Brown resigned this week, days after being from the Katrina mission.

Once again, I believe that Brown was railroaded by the Democrat's smear campaign in an attempt to provide cover for the local Democrat Party Officials. It is completely clear that local incompetence was the primary source of problems in Katrina.

Original Story:FEMA Director Speaks Out

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Camp Casey Restrictions

Texas County Bans Parking Near Bush Ranch
Associated Press

WACO, Texas - Two weeks after Cindy Sheehan left her anti-war campsite by the road leading to President Bush's ranch, county commissioners have banned parking along 23 miles of roads in the area.

Before the 4-1 vote Tuesday, McLennan County Commissioner Ray Meadows said about 80 residents had complained of blocked roads, loud music and public health and safety concerns during the 26-day protest near Bush's ranch outside Crawford, about 20 miles west of Waco.

"It's not a First Amendment issue. It's a safety issue," Meadows said, adding that "no parking" signs could be put up this week.

Sheehan began camping in ditches near Bush's ranch Aug. 6, vowing to stay until his monthlong vacation ended unless he talked to her about the Iraq war that claimed her son Casey's life.

A little late, but still a good idea. It is absurd for residents to have to put up with that kind of nonsense. An individuals rights are only limited at the point at which they impinge on those of other citizens. Clearly cluttering up the road interferes with the resident's ability to move through the areas unimpeded and safely.

Full Story: More Difficulty for Camp Casey

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Disaster Apparently Overhyped by MSM Press

Nagin: French Quarter May Reopen Monday
By CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press Writer
Thu Sep 15, 5:48 AM ET

NEW ORLEANS - Although the cleanup will likely take months, Mayor Ray C. Nagin said the tourist-friendly French Quarter and central business district may reopen as early as Monday after the Environmental Protection Agency said the foul-smelling air in the city was not overly polluted.

Nagin said he expects about 180,000 people to return to the city within a week or two, when power and sewer systems are restored. Some retailers should be operating by then, as well as two hospitals.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard and other rescue teams continued searching for bodies by boat and helicopter in areas that were still under several feet of water. A few homes in the area bore spray-painted marks indicating that bodies were inside.

The body count in Louisiana climbed to 474 on Wednesday, and it was expected to rise further as state and federal officials went about the tedious task of collecting bodies and identifying them through DNA tests. The total death toll in five states reached 710.

So...what happened to the six months to dry out and years to recover? Apparently, for 180,000 will be going home a little bit sooner...hmm, can you say "Democrat hyperventilating?" As more and more information gets out, it looks more and more like maybe Landrieu, Blanco, and Nagin way over reacted in blaming President Bush and former director Brown.

Full Story: Democrat Hype

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Blanco's Territorial Imperative

Blanco Refused To Act...
Governor’s Indecision Cost Precious Time

Northside Journal

Just before midnight on August 26, three days before Katrina was to make landfall, Kathleen Blanco received a phone call from George Bush. The president had been through a series of briefings from Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin and knew the potential dangers to New Orleans and the surrounding area from a storm the size of Katrina. Now he was attempting to convince the Governor of Louisiana that she needed to take immediate action. His pleas fell on deaf ears. It seemed that the Governor was more concerned with the legalities of accepting federal assistance, and the appearance that her office could not handle the emergency.

Despite Governor Blanco’s reluctance to coordinate the state’s efforts with federal assistance, President Bush declared a state of emergency for Louisiana two full days before Katrina hit the Louisiana coast. The move allowed FEMA to begin staging relief supplies for immediate distribution in New Orleans once the storm had passed. The president's emergency declaration also allowed FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts and to provide appropriate assistance in a number of Louisiana parishes. All that was left to do was wait for Kathleen Blanco to request Federal assistance. Under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which was revised after 9/11, the Federal Government and FEMA are not allowed to interfere with local operations unless they are authorized by state and local leaders.

Meanwhile Blanco had her own advisors insisting that the President was actually making a request for federal takeover of the Louisiana National Guard, and asking to put Louisiana State Police under federal control. They were concerned that this would be the same as martial law and lead to abuse of power by the federal government.

The next day, August 27, Bush called Blanco again and urged her to order a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans, she refuses.

By August 28, with Katrina less than 24 hours away, Governor Blanco had not made the decision to allow FEMA workers to assist with relief efforts.

Gross incompetence and petty local politics are what killed people in New Orleans. The stranded residents were victims of their own voting decisions. They are a perfect illustration of the dependency society promulgated by the Left.

Full Story: Blanco Incompo

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The Many Ills of the U.N.

UN members a bigger problem than Kofigate
JANET ALBRECHTSEN
THE AUSTRALIAN
September 07, 2005

A FEW weeks back, when US President George W. Bush picked John Roberts to be the next Supreme Court judge, he reportedly warned the judge he was about to suffer an examination much like one gets from a proctologist. Bush was right. The media went mad. And they are still scooting down every warren. For days, The New York Times even obsessed over whether Roberts was a member of the Federalist Society, a legal group that believes in upholding the original interpretation of the US Constitution. Scary, huh?

It's funny then that the media proctologists fail to display the same zeal on a genuine scandal. Around the same time an inquiry set up by the UN and headed by former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker found, in its third interim report, that the Iraq oil-for-food program was riddled with corruption and fraud. Media scrutiny lasted all of a day or two.

Perhaps like groping on Big Brother Uncut, graft at the UN is a little ho-hum these days. But it's worth getting on top of this oil-for-food story because Volcker's latest report exposes all the dirty bits of UN business. And it's not just about a few corrupt cronies with Egyptian accents. This scandal exposes the inherent flaws in the UN, a body routinely accorded more legitimacy than it deserves.

Republicans in the US have been keen to turn the scandal into Kofigate. And it is true that under Kofi Annan's stewardship, the oil-for-food program, which ran from December1996 until November 2003, was mired in corruption. The Volcker report found that Benon Sevan, the former director of the program handpicked by Annan, received $US150,000 in kickbacks, and a procurement officer, Alexander Yakovlev, was attempting to solicit bribes. A final report due out soon will decide on Annan's role in Cotecna, a Swiss company that secured an oil-for-food contract and paid his son, Kojo, $US370,000 between 1996 and 2005.

The evidence so far suggests that half of the 4500 companies that took part in the $US110 billion oil-for-food program - the world's largest humanitarian program - were paying kickbacks to Saddam Hussein. That's a lot of fraud and corruption under Annan's watch. Were he the chief executive of a public company, he would be booted out before you could say humanitarian relief.

I don't know if the UN is beyond repair, but it will never be more than a palace of palaver with many talking and few listening...or seeking to solve real problems.

Full Story: UN Failures

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Even In Australia, Influence of Left Dying

Left unread on the shelf
JANET ALBRECHTSEN
THE AUSTRALIAN
September 14, 2005

GO into most bookshops and on the shelf headed "Australia" is a growing genre of books written by academics on the Left and devoted to their version of the culture wars. A stranger to this country might imagine that the number and prominence of these books mark a leftist ascendancy in Australia, a triumph of collectivism over individualism. Anyone living here, of course, knows the truth.

Far from this plethora of books and essays being written by academic comeback kids with a progressive bent, these books represent the Left's last hooray. Anyone seeking to understand why the Left has utterly failed to connect with the people need only read a selection, such as Marion Maddox's God Under Howard, David Carter's (ed) The Ideas Market and Robert Manne's (ed) Do Not Disturb: Is the Media Failing Australia?. Pressed for time? Try Scribe's short book series. Or Dissent, Arena, Overland, Quarterly Essay, The Monthly or New Matilda online.

Reading these you get the feeling left-wing academics and commentators have been reduced to writing for each other. Not only do they appear in each other's publications but their audience is each other, stretching perhaps to their students.

That might be a market in publishing terms, but in the wider market of political ideas, they are singing from the sidelines. They resemble nothing so much as a high priesthood, keeping the faith as a godless populace sinks further into depravity. Or so they think. And that is why, going by the last four elections, the populace doesn't think highly of them, if it thinks of them at all.

We are witnessing the fading of the Left and its bankrupt philosophy of Socialism and Entitlement. Good riddence to bad rubbish! Socialism is an abomination which perpetuates the illusion that you can inspire innovation and success while stripping away the incentive to do so. It is a system which seeks to bring all in the society down to the lowest common denominator.

Full Story: Left Fading Influence

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Poll Numbers You Won't See In the Main Stream Media

Blacks Blast Bush for Katrina Response
Most believe racism was responsible for delays in providing relief
by Lydia Saad
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
September 14, 2005

PRINCETON, NJ -- Whites and blacks have sharply differing reactions to the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina, with blacks more likely than whites to believe that racial bias was a factor in slowing the government's response, and blacks especially critical of President Bush's performance.

Aside from Bush, whites and blacks have similar perspectives on how various entities handled themselves in the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Most whites and blacks agree that FEMA, state and local Louisiana authorities, and New Orleans residents did a poor job initially, but that in recent days each has been doing a good job.

There is much more of a racial divide in assessments of Bush. Only 15% of blacks versus 49% of whites say Bush did a good job initially. Only 36% of blacks versus 63% of whites say Bush has been doing a good job in recent days.

Apparently the President is not as unpopular as the MSM would have us believe. It's amazing what a fair poll will show. Those which I have seen before all had a skewed spampling population with about 10% more self-professed Democrats than Republicans.

The statistical analysis:
GALLUP POLL RESULTS

Initial Response (total good)
44% (good) George W Bush
39% (good) Residents of New Orleans
38% (good) State and local officials in Louisiana
36% (good) FEMA/federal agencies
NOTE: The President's INITIAL response to Katrina was rated higher than ANY of the other options

Recent Response (total good)
58% (good) George W Bush
59% (good) Residents of New Orleans
57% (good) State and local officials in LA
56% (good) FEMA/federal agencies

Federal Government:
Despite the Mediacrats best efforts, Gallup discovered that 60% of repondents still had confidence in the federal government's ability to handle natural disasters and 63% had confidence in the government's ability to handle terrorist attacks.

The President's Job Approval:
46% approve
[UP from last week's 45% and last month's 40% . . . similar to Rasmussen's 47% approval (50%/likely voters)and certainly much higher than the BOGUS ratings recently published by AP, Newsweek and ABCNews/WashPost]

The Blame Game:
49% of Americans say the media are spending too much time trying to affix blame
48% say the same about Democrat leaders in Congress
31% say the same about Republican leaders in Congress

Full Story: President Still Popular

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Monty Python Bureau of Silly Names?

British Office Compiles List of Odd Names

LONDON - Horatio Hornblower is an odd name, but consider his siblings: Azubia, Constantia, Jecoliah, Jedidah, Jerusha and Erastus.

Rene Jackaman, archive assistant at Cornwall County Record Office, found all those names after coming across a real-life namesake of C.S. Forester's fictional naval hero in county census records. The Hornblower name has been on record for centuries.

Inspired by that discovery, staff and researchers at the Cornwall Record Office compiled a list of more than 1,000 unusual names found in censuses as well as in births, deaths and marriage records going back as far as the 16th century.

"My all-time favorites are Abraham Thunderwolff and Freke Dorothy Fluck Lane," she said.

Other discoveries included Boadicea Basher, Philadelphia Bunnyface, Faithful Cock, Susan Booze, Elizabeth Disco, Edward Evil, Fozzitt Bonds, Truth Bullock, Charity Chilly, Gentle Fudge, Obedience Ginger and Offspring Gurney.

Levi Jeans was married in Padstow, Cornwall, in 1797.

Other remarkable duos in the marriage records included Nicholas Bone and Priscilla Skin, joined in wedlock in 1636; Charles Swine and Jane Ham in 1711; John Mutton and Ann Veale in 1791, and Richard Dinner and Mary Cook in 1802.

Purely for your amusement. What can I add to this? I alway thought that Englebert Humperdink was pretty strange, but what do I know?

Original Post: Silly Names

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Exaggerated Death Toll Coming Down: Possibly Less Than 1000

Death Toll in New Orleans May Be Lower Than First Feared

By SEWELL CHAN and MICHAEL LUO
Published: September 10, 2005

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 9 - The first organized effort to scour the city for its dead has turned up far fewer bodies than expected, officials said Friday. That raised hopes that the death toll from Hurricane Katrina might be much lower than the 10,000 that the mayor and others had predicted.

As the floodwater continued to recede, police officers, National Guard members and members of the 82nd Airborne Division of the Army began to canvass street to street and house to house in the first phase of a hunt to find, remove and identify the dead.

"There's some encouragement in what we found in the initial sweeps," Col. Terry J. Ebbert, the city's director of homeland security, said. "The numbers so far are relatively minor as compared with the dire predictions of 10,000."

The specter of a five-figure toll was raised this week, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency ordered 25,000 body bags flown to a temporary morgue in St. Gabriel. The official state death count stood at 118. Mississippi reported 211.

Colonel Ebbert, who would not provide figures for New Orleans, said it would take two weeks before the search for the dead here could yield a reliable assessment.

As they looked for bodies, the officers and troops began to retrace steps that they had walked last week and this week as they searched primarily for the living, to try to persuade them to leave the city. Colonel Ebbert said the holdouts now numbered fewer than 5,000. About 484,000 people lived in the city before the hurricane struck.

Is it possible that the mayor was exaggerating these numbers for political reasons. The 10,000 death estimate provided black leaders and the MSM great fodder for attacking the President and the Republicans.

Full Story: Fewer Deaths

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FEMA Decides Against ATM Cards for Refugees

FEMA to stop giving out debit cards
Hurricane survivors relocated to Texas to get direct deposits instead

Updated: 4:13 a.m. ET Sept. 10, 2005

WASHINGTON - The federal government’s relief agency said Friday it will discontinue its program to distribute $2,000 debit cards to hurricane victims and use bank deposits instead, two days after hastily announcing the novel plan to provide quick relief.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it will scrap the program once officials finish distributing cards this weekend at shelters in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, where many of the evacuees were moved. No cards will be issued to victims in other states.

Hurricane victims at other locations will have to apply for expedited aid through the agency’s traditional route — filling out information on FEMA’s Web site to receive direct bank deposits, FEMA spokeswoman Natalie Rule said.

“We tried it as an innovative way to get aid to evacuee populations in Texas. We decided it would be more expeditious with direct deposits,” she said, citing the large staffing operation that would be required to replicate the Texas operation in other states.

It's good that this ATM idea has been withdrawn. Although it is more convenient, with so many reports of criminal activity, it is probably safer for the recipients to get their money via direct deposit.

Full Story: Not ATM, Direct Deposit

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At Last A Court Comprehends the Importance National Secuity

Court allows ‘dirty bomb’ suspect to be held
Lower court said Bush administration had to charge or free Padilla

Updated: 2:07 p.m. ET Sept. 9, 2005
RICHMOND, Va. - A federal appeals court Friday sided with the Bush administration and reversed a judge's order that the government either charge or free “dirty bomb” suspect Jose Padilla.

The three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the president has the authority to detain a U.S. citizen closely associated with al-Qaida.

“The exceedingly important question before us is whether the President of the United States possesses the authority to detain militarily a citizen of this country who is closely associated with al Qaeda, an entity with which the United States is at war,” Judge Michael Luttig wrote. “We conclude that the President does possess such authority.”

A federal judge in South Carolina had ruled in March that the government cannot hold Padilla indefinitely as an “enemy combatant,” a designation President Bush gave him in 2002. The government views Padilla as a militant who planned attacks on the United States.

Michael Luttig finds his voice along side Judge Blane Michael, and William B. Taxler. More conservative judges please. Maybe President Bush will nominate Luttig to the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States). We need a good conservative SCOTUS.

Full Story: Luttig Speaks Out

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Once Again ACLU Fights to Destroy America

Judge lifts Patriot Act gag order
Hall rules that order designed to shield librarians restricted free speech
Updated: 8:33 p.m. ET Sept. 9, 2005

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - A federal judge lifted a gag order Friday that shielded the identity of librarians who received an FBI demand for records about library patrons under the Patriot Act.

U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued that the gag order prevented their client from participating in a debate over whether Congress should reauthorize the Patriot Act.

“It’s fabulous,” said ACLU Associate Legal Director Ann Beeson. “Clearly the judge recognized it was profoundly undemocratic to gag a librarian from participating in the Patriot Act debate.”

The ruling would allow the ACLU and its client to identify who received the request for records, but Hall stayed her decision until Sept. 20 to give the government a chance to appeal. Prosecutors said they were reviewing the decision and considering an appeal.

Prosecutors argue that the gag order blocked the release of the client’s identity, not the client’s ability to speak about the Patriot Act. They said revealing the client’s identity could tip off suspects and jeopardize a federal investigation into terrorism or spying.

Yes friends, once again we find the ACLU doing its best to destroy America's security. In concealing the ACLU's client's identity, the government over-riding interest is in not tipping off potential terrorism suspects to where they might be detected by a records search. In this instance the right of the individual to participate in the Patriot Act debate, should be trumped by the need of the nation to monitor terrorist suspects. I'm not a big fan of the Patriot Act, but I believe that this is a very small sacrifice for the client to make. Nothing prevents the individual from participating in the debate, only in identifying him/herself as a librarian who has received such a request.

Full Story: ACLU Against America

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13% Believe President Bush is Responsible for Katrina Mess

Poll: Most Americans believe New Orleans will never recover
Still, 63 percent of respondents say city should rebuild
Wednesday, September 7, 2005

(CNN) -- A majority of Americans believe the city of New Orleans will never completely recover from the effects of Hurricane Katrina and the resulting flooding, according to results of a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Tuesday.

Fifty-six percent of 609 adults polled by telephone September 5-6 said they believe the hurricane devastated the city beyond repair. And 93 percent of poll respondents said they believe Katrina is the worst natural disaster to strike the United States in their lifetime.

But a majority of respondents -- 63 percent -- said they believe the city should rebuild. And 66 percent said they believe all New Orleans residents should evacuate the city.

Opinions varied widely, however, on the response of federal, state and local officials regarding Katrina. Forty-two percent of respondents characterized President Bush's response to the disaster as "bad" or "terrible," while 35 percent said it was "good" or "great."

Federal government agencies' response was described as "bad" or "terrible" by 42 percent, and "good" or "great" by 35 percent. State and local officials' response was described as "bad" or "terrible" by 35 percent and "good" or "great" by 37 percent.

Respondents also disagreed widely on who is to blame for the problems in the city following the hurricane -- 13 percent said Bush, 18 percent said federal agencies, 25 percent blamed state or local officials and 38 percent said no one is to blame. And 63 percent said they do not believe anyone at federal agencies responsible for handling emergencies should be fired as a result.

In recent days, 62 percent said they believe progress made in dealing with the situation is satisfactory.

However, a resounding 79 percent said they believe gas companies are taking advantage of the situation and charging unfair prices to consumers as a result of the hurricane.

For poll results based on the total sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points. For results based on the 268 respondents who say the city of New Orleans will completely recover from the effects of Katrina, the maximum margin of sampling error is plus or minus 6 percentage points.

Why is it that CNN felt it necessary to bury the real story of this poll, that their effort to turn the blame for this mess into a political liability for the Republicans, has been a total failure. Sure 42% say Bush's handling was bad or terrible, but he's the most visible target for their ire, and that's about the number of Democrat voters in America. The big story is that in spite of that 42% figure, only 13% are willing to go so far as to blame the President for this.

Original Story: CNN Poll, Bush Not to Blame

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The Word Is "REFUGEE," White, Black, or Purple

Use of Word 'Refugee' Stirs Race Debate
By JOCELYN NOVECK, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - What do you call people who have been driven from their homes with only the clothes on their backs, unsure if they will ever be able to return, and forced to build a new life in a strange place?

News organizations are struggling for the right word.

Many, including The Associated Press, have used "refugee" to describe those displaced by the wrath of Hurricane Katrina.

But the choice has stirred anger among some readers and other critics, particularly in the black community. They have argued that "refugee" somehow implies that the displaced storm victims, many of whom are black, are second-class citizens — or not even Americans.

"It is racist to call American citizens refugees," the Rev. Jesse Jackson said, visiting the Houston Astrodome on Monday. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have expressed similar sentiments.

Others have countered that the terms "evacuees" or even "displaced" are too clinical and not sufficiently dramatic to convey the dire situation that confronts many of Katrina's survivors.

President Bush, who has spent days trying to deflect criticism that he responded sluggishly to the disaster, weighed in on Tuesday. "The people we're talking about are not refugees," he said. "They are Americans and they need the help and love and compassion of our fellow citizens."

The 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention describes a refugee as someone who has fled across an international border to escape violence or persecution. But the Webster's New World Dictionary defines it more broadly as "a person who flees from home or country to seek refuge elsewhere, as in a time of war or of political or religious persecution."

The criticism has led several news organizations to ban the word in their Katrina coverage. Among them are The Washington Post, The Miami Herald and The Boston Globe.

"A number of people — from officials speaking publicly to colleagues here — said the term `refugees' appeared to imply that people displaced from New Orleans ... were other than Americans," Leonard Downie Jr., the Post's executive editor, wrote in an e-mail to his staff.

At the Herald, said executive editor Tom Fiedler, "it began to feel odd, describing people huddled in New Orleans' convention center as refugees. It felt inadequate to the situation. ... It wasn't as precise as `evacuees.'"

This is the most pointless, inane argument I have ever seen. Jesse Jackson is a media whore as are the members of the CBC. How does this discussion help any of the refugees? What is really sick, is that these complaints have the press scrambling to find an inoffensive term. Political correctness is the ultimate in asinine pursuits. It is ridiculous for the CBC or Jesse Jackson to hold such sway over the MSM. Have you ever seen them respond in that manner because the offended the President or Republicans?

Full Story: Their Called Refugees

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Face Saving Is Unacceptable at All Levels of Government

FEMA Chief Sent Help Only When Storm Ended
By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The top U.S. disaster official waited hours after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast before he proposed to his boss sending at least 1,000 Homeland Security workers into the region to support rescuers, internal documents show.

Part of the mission, according to the documents obtained by The Associated Press, was to "convey a positive image" about the government's response for victims.
Acknowledging that such a move would take two days, Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sought the approval from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff roughly five hours after Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29.

Before then, FEMA had positioned smaller rescue and communications teams across the Gulf Coast. But officials acknowledged the first department-wide appeal for help came only as the storm raged.

Brown's memo to Chertoff described Katrina as "this near catastrophic event" but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, "Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities."

The initial responses of the government and Brown came under escalating criticism as the breadth of destruction and death grew. President Bush and Congress on Tuesday pledged separate investigations into the federal response to Katrina. "Governments at all levels failed," said Sen. Susan Collins (news, bio, voting record), R-Maine.

Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said Brown had positioned front-line rescue teams and Coast Guard helicopters before the storm. Brown's memo on Aug. 29 aimed to assemble the necessary federal work force to support the rescues, establish communications, and coordinate with victims and community groups, Knocke said.

It sure seems to me that Brown for sure and maybe Chertoff need to go. This whole mess speaks of incompetence in handling the disaster. Too often in the past, we have seen appearance take precedence over substance. "Conveying a positive image" should be the last consideration in a situation like this.

Full Story: Fire the Image Makers

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Mayor Threatens "Forced" Removal of Remaining Residents

New Orleans Mayor Orders Forced Evacuation
By CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS - To the estimated 10,000 residents still believed to be holed up in this ruined city, the mayor had a blunt new warning: Get out now — or risk being taken out by force.

As floodwaters began to slowly recede with the city's first pumps returning to operation, Mayor C. Ray Nagin authorized law enforcement officers and the U.S. military to force the evacuation of all residents who refuse to heed orders to leave.

Police Capt. Marlon Defillo said that forced removal of citizens had not yet begun. "That's an absolute last resort," he said.

Nagin's order targets those still in the city unless they have been designated as helping with the relief effort. Repeated calls to Nagin's spokeswoman, Tami Frazier, seeking comment were not returned.

The move — which supersedes an earlier, milder order to evacuate made before Hurricane Katrina crashed ashore Aug. 29 — comes after rescuers scouring New Orleans found hundreds of people willing to defy repeated urgings to get out.

They included people like Dennis Rizzuto, 38, who said he had plenty of water, food to last a month and a generator powering his home. He and his family were offered a boat ride to safety, but he declined.

"They're going to have to drag me," Rizzuto said.

That's a sentiment Capt. Scott Powell, of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, has heard before as he tries to evacuate people by air boat.

"A lot of people don't want to leave. They've got dogs and they just want to stay with their homes. They say they're going to stay until the water goes down," he said.

In Washington, D.C., President Bush and Congress pledged Tuesday to open separate investigations into the federal response to Katrina and New Orleans' broken levees. "Governments at all levels failed," said Sen. Susan Collins (news, bio, voting record), R-Maine.

Where does rescuing end and loss of freedom begin? I honestly don't know whether this order is right or wrong. If people were truly required to take responsibility for their decisions and forced to pay the price for their decisions, then I would say let them stay to live or die on their own volition. In this society, all too often the same people who scream about freedom and independence start screaming for help when they realize that they've made a mistake. That begs the question, "How much freedom is too much freedom?"

Full Story: Freedom Dying in New Orleans

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Could a Barge Be Responsible: The Plot Thickens

Corps trying to find reasons for collapse
Barge may have caused breach in floodwall
By John McQuaid
Washington bureau

WASHINGTON - A loose barge may have caused a large breach in the east side of the Industrial Canal floodwall that accelerated Hurricane Katrina's rising floodwaters in the Lower Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish, Army Corps of Engineers project manager Al Naomi said Monday.

Naomi said the barge was found on the land side of the floodwall, leading corps officials to believe it could have crashed through the wall and sent a huge amount of water - which was already pouring over the top of the wall - into the neighborhoods immediately downriver.

"We have some pictures that show this very large barge inside the protected area. It had to go through the breach," Naomi said. "The opening is a little bit wider than the barge itself. One would think it's the barge that did it."

If it did strike the floodwall, Naomi said, the barge would have "precipitated a tremendous collapse" that would have quickly flooded the Lower Ninth Ward and then St. Bernard Parish. The breach is "ultimately in my opinion what got (St. Bernard) Parish flooded," Naomi said.

Clearly it is too early to accept this explanation at face value, but this would explain the sort of delayed reaction of the levee collapse. Very interesting and worth looking into.

Full Story: Corps Examines Levee

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More Graphic Evidence of Nagin's Incompetence

145 buses X 80 passengers/bus = 11,600 evacuees !!! What Up, Mayor Nagin?



Can you say INCOMPETENCE Mr. Democrat Mayor?

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Hurricane Katrina's First Public Civilian Hero

My hero is a bus thief
By RICK CASEY
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

When I heard President Bush on Thursday morning call for "zero tolerance of people breaking the law during an emergency such as this," it gave me shivers.

I know he wanted to send a tough message to thugs stealing guns, drugs and flat-panel televisions, holding up hospitals, shooting at helicopters.

But doesn't he realize he would be heard by the moral equivalent of school administrators?

These are people who suspend girls for bringing Midol in their purses or butter knives in their lunchboxes.

What would they do to a kid who steals a bus?

When he arrived at the Astrodome about 10 p.m. Wednesday, 20-year-old Jabbar Gibson modestly confessed that he had commandeered a school bus in New Orleans, then picked up about 70 passengers before heading out for the 13-hour trek to Houston.

Stealing a bus is a felony.

It's also an act of heroism.

Attention Mayor Nagin, seems that young Jabbar Gibson didn't need any federal help to rescue people from New Orleans. Maybe New Orleans needs to elect him Mayor. What about these Mr. Mayor?

Still want to blame President Bush? How many Buses do you count flooded out here? I count over 300 buses in these 2 pictures. Let's see 70 X 300 = can you count Mr. Mayor?

Full Story: Heroic Young Man

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Sean Penn Shows America How to Conduct a Rescue

Sean Penn's rescue bid sinks
From correspondents in New Orleans
05-Sep-05

EFFORTS by Hollywood actor Sean Penn to aid New Orleans victims stranded by Hurricane Katrina foundered badly overnight, when the boat he was piloting to launch a rescue attempt sprang a leak.

Penn had planned to rescue children waylaid by Katrina's flood waters, but apparently forgot to plug a hole in the bottom of the vessel, which began taking water within seconds of its launch.

The actor, known for his political activism, was seen wearing what appeared to be a white flak jacket and frantically bailing water out of the sinking vessel with a red plastic cup.

When the boat's motor failed to start, those aboard were forced to use paddles to propel themselves down the flooded New Orleans street.

Asked what he had hoped to achieve in the waterlogged city, the actor replied: "Whatever I can do to help."

With the boat loaded with members of Penn's entourage, including a personal photographer, one bystander taunted the actor: "How are you going to get any people in that thing?"

Liberals are so transparent. Penn thinks that having your picture taken rescuing a someone amounts to a rescue mission. How do you rescue people when the boat is already full Sean? This is typical of Liberals, symbology over substance. What a loser! My God, I hope none of the real rescuers have to endanger themselves saving his rear end.

Original Story: Sean Penn's Big Rescue

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The New Official Democrat Party Seal

The Democratic National Committee has just released it's new official party seal. It appears as though National Party Chairman Howard Dean posed for the featured portrait.

Need I say more?

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Katrina Houston Refugee Emergency Information

MAYOR’S OFFICE OF IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE AFFAIRS (MOIRA)
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE CONTACTS FOR FLOOD VICTIMS

Oficina del Alcalde de Houston para Inmigrantes y Refugiados (MOIRA)
CONTACTOS PARA ASISTENCIA DE EMERGENCIA PARA LAS VICTIMAS DE LA INUNDACION

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE/SHELTER

Information and Referral: Dial United Way Help Line 2-1-1 for around-the-clock information about evacuations, shelters, and other resources. Due to the uncertainty of cell phone access from providers outside of Texas, the 2-1-1 Texas system has implemented a toll-free number.

The Hurricane Evacuation number is:…. 1-888-312-4567.

American Red Cross:………… 1-866-GET-INFO/713-313-5480
Clothing: Individuals wishing to donate food stuffs or clothing to those fleeing Katrina can drop those items at the following locations:

Salvation Army:…………. 713-752-0677
The "quick response" arm of The Salvation Army, provides temporary emergency assistance to individuals and families. Provides rent, mortgage, utilities, food, and clothing assistance to qualified adults, as well as referrals to other collaborating agencies.
Salvation Army locations:(Please call the location for their hours of operation)

· 2600 Aldine Westfield RoadHouston, Tx 713.694.5688
· 364 Ave "E"Conroe, TX956.760.2440
· 2762 Cherrybrook LanePasadena, TX713.378.0020
· 4516 Irvington Blvd.Houston, TX713.692.0522
· 2407 North MainHouston, TX713.224.2875

Federal Emergency Management Assistance (FEMA):
· Call to Apply for Assistance 1-800-621-FEMA (3362).
· The speech or hearing impaired may call (TTY) 1-800-462-7585.
· You may also register online.
· For use ONLY by people in designated federal disaster areas.
· Be prepared to give your Social Security number, describe your losses, provide financial information, and give directions to the damaged property.
What You Can Do If You're Having Trouble Getting Through
· If you get a busy signal, try to call in the evening after 6:00 p.m. or on the weekends when call volumes tend to be lighter.
· The information you provide is put into the computer
· You are now in the system
· The recovery process begins
· If you have questions, review the Applicant Assistance Guide or visit Frequently Asked Questions.

HEALTH ASSISTANCE:
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is working with the State of Louisiana and our federal partners to provide assistance to those displaced by Hurricane Katrina and recent flooding as quickly as possible.
· Pharmacies: To fill a prescription for Louisiana Medicaid participants, please complete the enrollment forms posted on the HHSC website. Pharmacies needing to verify eligibility can do so by calling 1-800-473-2783.
· Healthcare providers: You can verify Louisiana Medicaid and CHIP enrollment information and procedures to process claims at 1-800-473-2783.
Impacted HHSC eligibility offices will have extended hours during the duration of this situation. To find out more on Medicaid Eligibility go to: http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/medicaid/cs/Medicaid_FAQ.html

Source: HHSC Website: Louisiana Medicaid Prescription Drug Information
· The State of Louisiana asks Texas pharmacies filling prescriptions for Louisiana Medicaid participants to complete and fax the following enrollment forms to (225) 216-6392 or (225) 216-6335.
· Louisiana Medicaid Pharmacy Forms (pdf)
· Instructions for Louisiana Medicaid Pharmacy Forms (pdf)
· The State of Louisiana has instructed pharmacies to disregard the prohibition of faxed applications stated in the instructions.

FOOD ASSISTANCE:
All individuals that are displaced by Hurricane Katrina and appear in HHSC eligibility offices are being treated as expedited Food Stamp applicants, regardless of previous receipt of benefits in another state, and regardless of some eligibility factors.
Food Stamps:…………………………………………………. 1-800-500-4266
WIC:…………………………………………………………….. 1-800-942-3678
Houston Food Bank:……………………………………………………………. 713.223.3700
3811 Eastex FreewayHouston, TX 77026
Hours: 7 am - 8 pm

SCHOOL Enrollment Information for Students Displaced by Hurricane Katrina
August 31, 2005
(En Español I Vietnamese (pdf)) The Houston Independent School District, with approval from the Texas Education Agency, is accepting students from the areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina who have come to Houston seeking shelter.
Students living in temporary living arrangements due to loss of housing will most likely qualify as "homeless" students and may enroll in the school district where they are physically present without proof of residence. Parents temporarily housed within HISD's borders can go to the school nearest their temporary residence to enroll their school-age children. For assistance in identifying the closest school to your location, call 713-892-6699 weekdays from 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Homeless students who are 4 years old on September 1 qualify to attend prekindergarten. In some HISD schools, prekindergarten classes are also available for homeless students who are 3 years old on September 1.

Parents will be asked to complete a Student Residency Form (available at schools) to document where they are currently residing and verify that they qualify for "homeless" status under federal law.

Enrolling in an HISD school requires students to follow immunization guidelines, but in an effort to assist families affected by Hurricane Katrina, the Texas Department of State Health Services is permitting temporary provisional enrollment for students transferring from Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama. State and federal guidelines permit enrollment of these students for 30 days pending initiation of vaccinations or receipt of vaccination documentation and school records—a provision already provided to students who transfer from one Texas school to another. HISD will seek further guidance from the Texas Education Agency for helping the children after the 30-day period.

Basic questions about enrolling children displaced by Hurricane Katrina and the services they will receive, answered here.

Superintendent of Schools Abelardo Saavedra met briefly Tuesday, August 31, with a member of the New Orleans Board of Education and offered any assistance that HISD could provide. In addition, HISD assembled a team of technical experts Tuesday to work with New Orleans school officials on disaster recovery. Members of that team will confer by phone with New Orleans school officials Wednesday afternoon on issues that district will face before reopening its schools.
Answers to Basic Questions About Enrolling Children Displaced by Hurricane Katrina and the Services They Will Receive
September 1, 2005

Q. Which school should a displaced child attend?A. The school nearest his or her temporary Houston residence. For help in identifying the closest school, call 713-892-6699 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Q. Who is eligible to attend HISD schools?A. Special enrollment provisions have been made by the state for displaced students who are sheltering within the boundaries of HISD, are between the ages of 5 and 21, and have not graduated from high school. Three-year-old children may also receive Special Education services. Three- and four-year-old students are eligible for prekindergarten; however, four-year-old students have priority over three-year-olds in prekindergarten enrollment.To enter kindergarten, a child must be five years old no later than September 1 of a given school year. To be eligible for first grade, a child should be six years old by September 1 of a given school year.
Q. What documentation is needed?A. None. However, if parents have identification (e.g., driver's license) and birth certificates, immunization records, or school records (especially any Special Education records) for their children, they should bring them to the school.
Q. Are there special forms parents will need to fill out?A. Yes, there are a number of routine registration forms that parents will be asked to complete. Parents will receive the forms at the school where they are registering.
Q. Are displaced children eligible for free or reduced-price meals?A. Yes. Evacuated students will receive free breakfast and/or lunch immediately.
Q. What will happen with Special Education or limited-English-proficient students?A. Evacuated LEP students will be enrolled in the appropriate class on the basis of the information received from the parent. LEP students will need to be tested within 30 days for eligibility. HISD will enroll evacuated Special Education students in the appropriate class on the basis of the information received from the parent, using the established procedures for transferring students with disabilities. Parents should provide information regarding disabilities, types of services or assistive technology needed, and special diet or medical needs, plus an approximate description of the student's educational plan.
Q. Will evacuated students receive bus transportation?A. Yes, if they live two or more miles from the school and within its attendance zone. Note: Students who are sheltering in one school's attendance zone and choose to attend a different school are not eligible to receive transportation.
Q. Can classes exceed the regular 22:1 student-to-teacher ratio for elementary grades?A. Yes; however, principals will assess the educational environment for all students before extending class sizes. If a principal determines that a class does not have space, normal capping procedures will be followed.
Q. Does this information apply to the evacuees who are being sheltered at the Astrodome?A. Yes; however, where those students will be enrolled/receive instruction will be handled differently, since the schools closest to the Astrodome cannot serve that many students.

RELIEF EFFORTS:

United Way Katrina Refugee Relief Fund is accepting donations to assist local agencies that are caring for displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina. Monetary contributions can be made at any of the more than 80 Amegy Bank of Texas banking centers or by mailing to:
Attn Teller
Katrina Refugee Relief Fund
P.O. Box 27459
Houston, Texas 77227
· Visit any banking center and reference "United Way Katrina Refugee Relief Fund," Account #3601021.

SOCIAL WORKERS NEEDED:
The county needs licensed social workers at the Astrodome 24 hours a day for the next week to two weeks. Specifically, they need social workers to cover the following shifts at the Astrodome, beginning this afternoon (9/1/05).
4:00 pm to midnightMidnight to 8:00 am8:00 am to 4:00 pm

Those who are able to volunteer must do the following:
1. Fax a page with your name, credentials, contact information and shift preferences (as well as a copy of your license if you have it) to Susan at 713-986-3456.
2. Leave a message, with this same information, for Dr. Thompson (also at CAC) at 281-621-3808.
3. Go to the Children's Assessment Center at 2500 Bolsover (after you've faxed and called) to get your armband and to be certified to enter the Astrodome.
They need as many licensed social workers as they can possibly get right now.

OTHER SOURCES FOR EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE;
Programs and services that provide financial or emergency assistance for food, housing and/or utilities, call for eligibility requirements.

Southwest Area Ministry’s: Southwest Area Ministry is a non-profit emergency assistance agency, servicing the residents of Southwest Houston. All services are provided by a volunteer staff. We need you! We also have opportunities to volunteer for Special Events
For more information call 281-530-8167 info@southwestministry.org

Bear Creek Assistance Ministries 16209 Keith Harrow, Houston, 77084 (281) 855-0014
• Assistance for rent, utilities, food pantry, a home repair program, immunization clinic, gold card registration, school supplies, Christmas Express, childcare, medical, and transportation programs.

Braes Interfaith Ministries.......... (713) 723-2671
4300 WEST BELLFORT, HOUSTON, 77035
• Assistance with food, clothing, rent, utilities, and prescriptions. Financial aid application must be completed. Assistance given with preparing resume and with seeking employment.

Brazoria County Welfare Department ............ (979) 864-1427
313 W. Mulberry Angleton, 77515
Assistance provided for rent, utilities, food, medicine, and ambulance service.

Christian Community Service Center, Inc. ..................................................... (713) 961-3993 3230 Mercer, Houston, 77027
• Assist low-income clients with emergency food, clothing, and limited financial assistance.

Cypress Assistance Ministries.…................................ (281) 955-7684
11202 Huffmeister, Houston, 77065
• Food pantry, clothing, and household items, financial assistance, and employment counseling and training to assist residents in specific zip codes.

East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry, Inc. ...…........................................ (281) 261-1006
425 Stafford Run Road, Stafford, 77477

• A full service food pantry, financial assistance for rent and utilities, and the Tri-Cities Churches resale shop.

Emergency Aid Coalition ....................….............................. (713) 528-3663
5501 South Main, Houston, 77004
• Clothing, food, securing documents and special assistance to families in crisis. (No financial
assistance available.)

Fort Bend County Social Services ..................................................... (281) 342-7300
4520 Reading Road, Suite A Rosenberg, 77421
Groceries, medication, utilities, and rental/mortgage assistance.

Galveston County Social Services....................................... (409) 770-5583
123 Rosenberg, Suite 4020 Galveston, 77550
Assistance provided for housing, utilities, and food for residents of Galveston county.

Harris County Social Services .................................................... (713) 696-7900
9418 Jensen Drive, Houston, 77093
Assistance provided for rent/mortgage and utility bills.

Hobby Area Ministry.......…......... (713) 640-2767
7436 Park Place, Houston, 77061
• Food Pantry

Humble Area Assistance Ministries ..................................................... (281) 446-3663
1302 First Street, Humble, 77338
• A special fund for gas to get to job interviews or medical appointments, vouchers for clothing and household items by the HAAM resale shop, job bank, and emergency rent and utility assistance.

Interfaith Caring Ministries......... (281) 332-3881
631 Egret Bay Blvd., League City, 77573
• Assistance with food, rent, utilities, school supplies, and resale shop.

Katy Christian Ministries............ (281) 391-5261
5502 First Street, Katy, 77492
• Food pantry, periodic financial assistance on utilities and rent, employment assistance, and school supplies.

La Marque Aid & Guidance Service...................................... (409) 938-7852
2222 Cedar, La Marque, 77568
• Assistance with utility bills, rent, and food pantry.

Life Houston .............................. (713) 528-6044
277 West Gray Houston, 77019
Food and formula for infants only.

Memorial Assistance Ministries.. (713) 468-4516
9448 Long Point, Houston, 77055
• Assistance with groceries, rent, mortgage, job placement

North Channel Assistance Ministries..……… …………………………………………(713) 453-8028 13837 Bonham, Houston, 77015
• Assistance with utility bills, rent, and food pantry.

Northwest Assistance Ministries ..................................................... (281) 885-4555
15555 Kuykendahl, Houston, 77090
• Assistance with utility bills, rent, clothing, and food pantry.

Social Security Administration. 1-800-772-1213
10120 Northwest Freeway, Suite 100 Houston, 77092
Information Services
• Administers Social Security and Supplemental Security Income programs in Southeast Texas.

Texas Department of Human Services…................................... (713) 767-2000
5425 Polk Houston, 77023

Lone Star Help Desk ……………1-800-777-7328
Financial and medical assistance. (TANF, food stamps and Medicaid)

Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries….................................. (281) 351-6700
300 West Main, Tomball, 77375
• Assistance with prescriptions, rent, utilities, gas, and overnight lodging on a limited basis.

West Houston Assistance Ministries .................................................... (713) 977-9942
10501 Meadowglen, Houston, 77042
• Assistance with clothing,

CARING FOR OTHERS

A BETTER WAY, 4802 Caroline Blvd., Houston, Texas 77004; 524-0838. Provides residential treatment for chemically dependent men.

ASSOCIATED CATHOLIC CHARITIES, 2900 Lousiana Houston, Texas 77006: 713) 874-6752 Provides social services to young, old, sick and homeless. Needs food, people to adopt a family (provide food and gifts), volunteers, food baskets, gift baskets for women and girls, clothing and shoes, furniture, exercise equipment, toiletries and cash.

*BAY AREA MEALS ON WHEELS,1515 Bay Area Blvd., Houston, Texas 77058; 281-333-1275. Serves meals to elderly in Clear Creek School District and Bacliff. Needs volunteers and cash. Holiday needs: personal-care items, stationery, candy, and stamps.

BILLIEJOYCE LEARNING CENTER, 5300 Coke St., Houston, Texas 77020; 713-672-6614. Offers GED classes, job-skills training and tutoring. Needs children's furniture, toys, folding chairs, desks, sofa, office supplies and machines, TV, VCR, water coolers, bookshelves, kitchen appliances, handicapped-accessible water fountain.

CENIKOR, 4525 Glenwood Ave., Deer Park, Texas 77536; (281) 476-0088. Residential drug/alcohol treatment program. Needs cash, toiletries, socks, pantyhose, underwear, neckties, raincoats, alarm clocks, stationery, purses, briefcases, tickets to special events, 1985 or newer vehicles.

CHURCH IN THE EAST, 10222 Hirsch Road, Houston, Texas 77016; 713-633-8600. Needs cash, transportation, new children's clothing for ages 2-15, adult coats, toys, games, children's bikes, shoes, furniture, beds, blankets, towels, toiletries.
CRISIS INTERVENTION OF HOUSTON,
P.O. Box 130866, Houston, Texas 77219;
713-527-9864.
People in crisis talk through their problems with volunteer telephone counselors at this 24-hour emergency hotline. In-depth training prepares these counselors for the diverse range of calls they will handle during weekly four-hour duty shifts. Volunteers have their choice of two locations at which to perform this important service, one near River Oaks, the other in the Bay area.

END HUNGER NETWORK,
1770 St. James Place, Suite 204, Houston, Texas 77056;
713-963-0099.
Programs have provided more than 32 million pounds of donated food to Houston's hungry since 1985.

EVERGREEN COMMONS -- SOCIAL SERVICES,
8484 Jason; Houston, Texas 77074.
(281) 484-2097.
Spanish-speaking volunteers are needed one Wednesday a month at this southwest Houston apartment complex for low-income elderly and disabled persons. A contribution of a few hours anytime between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. is all that's asked.


FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND
7990 Glass Circle, Houston, Texas 77016
713-631-3369
Provides supervised living for the handicapped, veterans, recovering drug addicts/alcoholics and the homeless. Needs cash, toys, food, anything in working order.

HOSPITAL AUXILIARY
Memorial Hospital-The Woodlands
9250 Pinecroft, The Woodlands, Texas 77380
281-364-2458
Needs volunteers for gift shop, nurse's stations, emergency room, receptionist, and courier services.

HOUSTON CHALLENGE FOUNDATION
5615 Kirby Drive, No. 502, Houston, Texas 77005
713-523-8900
HIV/AIDS family pantry distributes food, hygiene products, and cleaning items to families with HIV. Also gives children Christmas gifts and school supplies. Needs volunteers, nonperishable food items (particularly tuna and meats), large baby diapers, hygiene products, and cash.

HOUSTON COMMISSION
2055 S. Gessner, Suite 200, Houston, Texas 77063
713-675-3787
Jesus Video Project networks with churches in the Houston area to meet community needs. Needs volunteers, cash, computer, computer paper, coffee, canned fruit, eating utensils, and paper cups, plates and napkins.

HOUSTON COMMUNITY VOICE MAIL
5220 Travis, Houston, Texas 77002
713-529-4190
Mission is to provide voice mail as a communication link to low-income families and homeless people seeking employment, housing, medical care, social services or safety from domestic abuse. Needs TV, VCR, computer with Windows '95, computer chair and volunteer graphic artist, photographer and office help.

HOUSTON COUNCIL ON ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ABUSE
333 Eastside St., Suite 111, Houston, Texas 77098
713-520-5502
Offers 24-hour bilingual drug-related counseling services, classes, workshops and speakers bureau. Needs companies to adopt a youth program; weekday clerical volunteers, volunteer librarian and cash.

HOUSTON INTERNATIONAL SEAFARERS' CENTER
upper level of Wharf 23, P.O. Box 9506, Houston, Texas 77261
713-672-0511
Needs toiletry items, pens and pencils, stationery, socks, calendars, Texas souvenirs, disposable cameras, sewing supplies.

INTERNATIONAL LEARNING CENTER
6605 Rookin; Houston, Texas (77081)
(713) 964-0229. Call for volunteer needs.

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF HOUSTON
5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, Texas 77096
713-729-3200, Ext. 3264
Delivers meals to homebound elderly. Needs volunteers to pack and deliver meals.

K NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES
5210 Northington; Houston, Texas 77039
(713)987-0300. Contact: Kaye Stovall
Clerical support is needed by an agency in the process of opening a new shelter in northeast Houston for indigent seniors. Duties will consist in helping organize records, filing, and typing of proposals and general correspondence. A commitment of one day a week, on weekdays or weekends, is asked.

LOU LAWLER SEAFARERS' CENTER
1700 E. Barbours Cut Blvd., La Porte, Texas 77571
713-470-2414
Provides seafarers with a place to rest, make calls, and buy personal supplies. Needs volunteers and cash.

MAKE READY
3333 Fannin St., No. 108, Houston, Texas 77004
713-520-5544
Provides job training and placement assistance to people with disabilities. Needs office furniture and cash.

MEDICAL BRIDGES
6727 Cadillac, Houston, Texas 77021
713-748-8131
Provides conduit for hospitals, clinics, and individuals to donate usable medical supplies and surplus medical equipment to impoverished areas of the world. Needs volunteers for pickup, sorting, and packing of donated items, warehouse/inventory management, and international shipping; also needs shelving, pallets and dolly.

MILAM HOUSE
4100 Milam, Houston, Texas 77006
713-520-9248
Residence for men with HIV. Needs cash, food, volunteers, sofa, and electric mixer.

THE NEAREST PLACE
Contact: 1-800-750-9212 or (in the 409 area) 770-0841. FAX: 409-762-7035.
Email: mailto:%20homecare@phoenix.net this non-profit corporation was founded to assist people with reduced physical abilities, temporary, or permanent, to remain in their homes. We do home assessments, adaptive design and modifications in the Houston/Galveston area using occupational therapists, registered nurses, and people from various building trades. Our volunteer needs are for occupational therapists, RNs, architects, carpenters, electricians, and plumbers.

NEW CANEY NEW HORIZONS
P.O. Box 711, New Caney, Texas 77357
713-354-7667
Benefits people with mental retardation. Needs volunteers for resale shop, social events and Special Olympics; donations to resale shop, financial sponsorships, clerical help.

OMEGA HOUSE, 602 Branard, Houston, Texas 77006; 523-7110. Needs copy paper, laundry soap, light bulbs, trash bags and volunteers.
PASADENA MEALS ON WHEELS, Peace Lutheran Church, 6435 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena, Texas 77505; 713-487-2328. Serves hot lunch to elderly and handicapped. Needs cash and volunteer drivers.

PROJECT CAPABLE
743 Zoe St., Houston, Texas 77020; 713-671-3700
Helps older adults to live independently. Needs blankets, cash, new electric heaters, and new women's cotton socks, food vouchers.

*ROBIN FOUNDATION
P.O. Box 3243, Texas City, Texas 77590
409-763-5129
Provides holiday toys to terminally ill children at UTMB Children's Cancer Unit in Galveston. Goal is to provide housing for outpatient children and families. Needs cash, toys, a building for housing, office supplies and equipment, electronics, refrigerators, electric stoves.

ROSENBERG-RICHMOND HELPING HANDS
802 Morton St., Richmond, Texas 77406
713-232-4904
A food pantry and clothing closet serving people in crisis. Needs volunteers, cash, clothing, and holiday foods.

ST. JUDE'S ASSISTED LIVING
205 Bayland; Houston, Texas 77009.
(713) 713-227-8246 Contact: Sharon Jordan
Take the wheel as a volunteer driver for disabled adults at this Heights area personal care center. If you are willing to transport one to two residents at a time, you can help them make it to off-site medical appointments or rehabilitation sessions. Your commitment can be on a regular weekly basis or you can agree to be on call for when occasional special needs arise.

*ST. PHILLIP'S UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
5501 Beechnut, Houston, Texas 77096
713-666-2175
Teaches English to Chinese- and Spanish-speaking adults and supports Seafarers' Center at Port of Houston by preparing Christmas gift boxes for seafarers. Needs teachers, personal-care items, pencils, pens, pads, puzzles, socks, Texas souvenirs, disposable cameras, and key chains.

SECOND MILE MINISTRIES
13213 Southwest Freeway, Sugar Land, Texas 77478
(281) 242-3240
Serves basic family needs of troubled neighbors; sponsors Share Your Gifts and Adopt a Family on Thanksgiving. Needs cash and new Christmas toys.

SHELTERING ARMS
701 N. Post Oak, #500; Houston, Texas.
(713) 685-6555.
Clerical support is wanted at the headquarters of this agency that provides a broad array of services to senior citizens. Duties will include word processing, phone work, and assistance with special projects. Shifts can be arranged for any weekday. The agency's office is near North Post Oak and I-10.

SOUTHWEST AREA MINISTRIES
8319 Beechnut St., Houston, Texas 77036
713-541-0523
Provides food, clothing, shelter, and assistance to needy. Needs cash, food, and volunteers.

SOCIETY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
2403 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, Texas 77021
713-741-8234
Ministers to those in need. Needs nonperishable food, personal-care items, cleaning materials, baby food, diapers, furniture, clothing, cash, and volunteers.

SOUTHEAST AREA MINISTRIES
2102 Houston, South Houston, Texas 77587
713-944-0093
Delivers emergency assistance and operates job program, food pantry and thrift store. Needs volunteers, food, and furniture.

SPANISH VILLAGE APARTMENTS
4000 Griggs, Suite 73, Houston, Texas 77021
713-741-8313
Mission is to empower residents to achieve self-sufficiency and enhance their community. Needs fax machine, typewriters, file cabinets, computers, and volunteers for office work and computer and after-school programs.

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Parole Division, 2410 Hamilton, Houston, Texas 77004
713-650-8429
Works with volunteers committed to making their communities safer by reducing repeat criminal behavior. Needs volunteers to teach typing and skills in job searching, budgeting, and parenting and to facilitate discussion groups and plan special events.

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PROTECTIVE AND REGULATORY SERVICES
5100 Southwest Freeway, Houston, Texas 77056
713-626-5701.
Works to reduce and alleviate abuse and neglect of children, elderly and disabled; regulates all child-care facilities. Needs volunteers in Family Outreach, Foster Parent Respite Program, PAL Mentoring Program, Teddy Bear Patrol, Friends Unlimited and Young at Heart. Needs volunteers, clothing, furniture, food, and items for elderly, fans, heaters, blankets.

WAM FOUNDATION
12401½ S. Post Oak Road, Suite 121, Houston, Texas 77045
713-721-2310
Provides help with rent and utilities, outreach, counseling, education and food pantry to people with HIV/AIDS. Needs cash and volunteers.

WESTHEIMER ECUMENICAL SOCIAL MINISTRY
9544-C Richmond, Houston, Texas 77063
713-977-9942
Offers short-term assistance to those in need. Needs volunteers, cash, food, furniture.

WOMEN'S HOSPITAL OF TEXAS
7600 Fannin; Houston, Texas 77054.
(713)791-7442
This women's hospital in the Medical Center is revamping its volunteer program and has numerous opportunities available, many involving direct patient and family contact, others involving supportive functions some of which can even be done from home. Daytime, evening, and weekend assignments are available. The hospital also has Junior Volunteer Program for young people between 14 and 18 years of age.

YMCA INTERNATIONAL
(713) 339-9015
6300 Westpark Dr Ste 600
Aids in refugee resettlement, job placement, and immigration services. Needs furniture, small appliances, kitchen items, lamps, linens, clothing, school supplies, and volunteers.

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Mayor Nagin "Pissed" at Feds/Bush for Failing to Do His Job

New Orleans mayor blasts federal response
'Flying over in Air Force One does not do it justice,' Ray Nagin tells Bush
The Associated Press
Updated: 9:15 a.m. ET Sept. 2, 2005

NEW ORLEANS - Ahead of President Bush's trip to the hurricane-ravaged South, Mayor Ray Nagin lashed out at federal officials, telling a local radio station “they don’t have a clue what’s going on down here.”

Federal officials expressed sympathy but quickly defended themselves, saying they, too, were overwhelmed by the catastrophe that hit the Gulf Coast region on Monday.
Nagin’s interview Thursday night on WWL radio came as President Bush planned to visit Gulf Coast communities battered by Hurricane Katrina, a visit aimed at alleviating criticism that he engineered a too-little, too-late response.

Bush viewed the damage while flying over the region Wednesday en route to Washington after cutting short his Texas vacation by two days.

“They flew down here one time two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters, all kind of goddamn — excuse my French everybody in America, but I am pissed,” Nagin said.

Tell me Mr. Mayor Nagin, why didn't you evacuate your city. You Democrats talk about how those people couldn't leave because they didn't have cars. Well Mr. Mayor why didn't you use these:



These buses now lie in ruins when they could have been used to evacuate your citizens.

Full Story: Nagin Guilty of Failure

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Cindy Sheehan Selfishly Continues Anti-Bush Crusade Ignores Disaster

Sheehan brings protest here
She makes a symbolic visit to DeLay's office, attends anti-war rally at a church
By KRISTEN MACK
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

Cindy Sheehan, now internationally known for her crusade to get President Bush to explain her son's death in Iraq, swung through the Houston area Thursday with a busload of anti-war protesters.

She went to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's office in Stafford and an evening anti-war rally at a local church.

At DeLay's office, she asked to meet with the Republican power broker and supporter of the Iraq war. But DeLay wasn't there to hear her plea.

"We didn't get an appointment. We were told by his staffer we could put in a request and perhaps we would get a meeting," Sheehan said in an interview with the Houston Chronicle.

She acknowledged that they didn't really expect a meeting and that the visit was largely symbolic.

Shannon Flaherty, DeLay's press secretary, said the group didn't request to meet with the congressman until Thursday.

"He already had a set schedule of packed events today," she said. "It's obvious they never wanted to meet with the congressman and were just looking for another publicity stunt."

DeLay, R-Sugar Land, was in town. He toured the Astrodome, which is sheltering Katrina evacuees, talked to Coast Guard officials at Ellington Field and participated in a conference call with Bush, Flaherty said.

Sheehan pulled up stakes Wednesday at Camp Casey, the site near Bush's ranch in Crawford named after her son, who was killed last year in Iraq.

It would appear that Cindy's preoccupied with her own selfish agenda. Where's the compassion Cindy? Couldn't the people in New Orleans use your bes to help in the evacuation? Her reaction is so typical of Liberal "compassion," "All Hat, No Cattle." Sound familiar Cindy? Why don't you contribute some of the money you've been receiving to help the refugees from the New Orleans disaster?

Full Story: Cindy's Selfishness

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Looting Caused By Resentment of Rich in Mississippi

Anger rises among Mississippi's poor after Katrina
By Paul Simao Wed Aug 31,10:11 PM ET

BILOXI, Mississippi (Reuters) - For about a decade this gambling town on Mississippi's Gulf Coast has been the place to be in the state if you were poor, down on your luck and looking for work.

That changed on Monday when Hurricane Katrina came ashore, leveling hundreds if not thousands of houses, stores and commercial buildings and killing scores of residents.

The legalization of gambling in Biloxi created an economic boom in the early 1990s and the city developed a reputation as a place where a person could get a decent-paying job in the casino or hospitality business.

But not everyone prospered. In the devastated streets and atop the rubble piles where their homes stood before Katrina blew through, a bitter refrain is increasingly heard. Poor and low-income residents complain that they have borne the brunt of the hurricane's wrath.

"Many people didn't have the financial means to get out," said Alan LeBreton, 41, an apartment superintendent who lived on Biloxi's seaside road, now in ruins. "That's a crime and people are angry about it."

Many of the town's well-off heeded authorities' warnings to flee north, joining thousands of others who traveled from the Gulf Coast into northern Mississippi and Alabama, Georgia and other nearby states.

If something goes wrong in your life, blame someone else. This welfare state has created a culture of entitlement. If I don't have as much as someone else, I am justified in stealing from them. Looting is "my right." Thank-you Liberals for giving us this insane society.

Full Story: Mississippi Resentments

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The "Thin Veneer" Has Been Ripped Away: Savagery Rules the Day

Superdome exodus on hold after shots, fires
Looting worse, more National Guard arrive; storm deaths may be thousands
NBC, MSNBC and news services
Updated: 9:15 a.m. ET Sept. 1, 2005

NEW ORLEANS - National Guard troops in armored vehicles poured into New Orleans on Thursday to curb the growing lawlessness that included shots reportedly fired at a helicopter airlifting people out of the Superdome and arson fires outside the arena.

The scene at the Superdome became increasingly chaotic, with thousands of people rushing from nearby hotels and other buildings, hoping to climb onto the buses taking evacuees from the arena, officials said. Paramedics became increasingly alarmed by the sight of people with guns.

The operation to bus more than 20,000 people to the Houston Astrodome was suspended “until they gain control of the Superdome,” said Richard Zeuschlag, head of Acadian Ambulance, which was handling the evacuation of sick and injured people from the Superdome.

He said that military would not fly out of the Superdome either because of the gunfire and that the National Guard told him that it was sending 100 military police officers to gain control.

“That’s not enough,” Zeuschlag. “We need a thousand.”

He said medics were calling him and crying for help because they were so scared of people with guns at the Superdome.

Lt. Col. Pete Schneider of the Louisiana National Guard said the military — which was handling the evacuation of the able-bodied from the Superdome — had suspended operations, too, because fires set outside the arena were preventing buses from getting close enough to pick up people.

Zeuschlag said shots were fired at a military helicopter over the Superdome before daybreak, adding that when another evacuation helicopter tried to land at a hospital in the outlying town of Kenner overnight, the pilot reported that 100 people were on the landing pad, and some of them had guns.

“He was frightened and would not land,” Zeuschlag said.

This insane behavior is the direct result of this permissive culture and their tolerance of bad behavior. You can hear it today, people excusing the looting because "these people have lost everything and they are just trying to get it back." What utter garbage. These people are no better than predatory animals, and they need to be treated like that. Anybody caught in the streets with a weapon or looting should be shot on sight, no questions asked. For too long the whiners in this society have coddled the looters who come out during riots. When the first looters appeared during the Watts riots, they should have been shot back then.

Full Story: Shooting Stops Rescue Efforts

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Oil Production Shut Down: Expect Much Higher Prices At The Pump

20 oil rigs missing in Gulf of Mexico
US Coast Guard
Wed Aug 31, 5:30 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - At least 20 oil rigs and platforms are missing in the Gulf of Mexico and a ruptured gas pipeline is on fire after Hurricane Katrina tore through the region, a US Coast Guard official said.

"We have confirmed at least 20 rigs or platforms missing, either sunk or adrift, and one confirmed fire where a rig was," Petty Officer Robert Reed of the Louisiana Coast Guard told AFP.

All of the missing rigs were in the Gulf of Mexico, Reed said citing Coast Guard overflights of the area and information from oil companies.

He could not confirm the location of the blaze but said it would "eventually burn out" and no fire-fighting intervention was needed.

"We are of course working on the environmental side of things but right now we are still concentrating on search-and-rescue missions to save as many lives as possible on land," said Reed, whose own Coast Guard team has been evacuated from the flooded city of New Orleans to Alexandria, Louisiana.

According to the latest tally Wednesday from the federal Minerals Management Service, a total of 561 platforms and rigs have been evacuated in the Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for a quarter of US oil production.

Over 91 percent of normal daily crude oil production in the Gulf -- 1.5 million barrels -- is now shut down, and more than 83 percent of natural gas production, the MMS said.

Among the firms reporting missing rigs was Newfield Exploration Company, which said an aerial survey of its operations in the eastern Gulf showed that one of its platforms at Main Pass 138 "appears to have been lost in the storm".

"As of this morning, boats and helicopters are mobilizing to better access damages, identify any environmental impacts and begin the repair process," Newfield said in a statement.

Noble Corp. said its semi-submersible rig Noble Jim Thompson, which was contracted to a unit of Anglo-Dutch giant Shell, had broken loose and was 17 miles (27 kilometers) adrift of its normal Gulf location.

Shell's giant Mars platform was said by analysts to have suffered "extensive damage".

"Some of our facilities have been damaged and production is halted while we begin assessments and run checks," Shell chief executive Jeroen van der Veer said.

This is going to be a major hit on our economy. With 91% of production shut down, get ready for exceptional prices. People throughout the Central Gulf Coast are going to be without jobs for the next quarter. Watch for the Liberals in Congress to call for tax increases, precisely the opposite of good economics.

Full Story: Rigs Down and Damaged

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Shoot On Sight? Martial Law Declared, but Looting Persists

Troops, Police Deployed to Stop Looting
By ADAM NOSSITER, Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS - National Guardsmen in armored vehicles poured into New Orleans on Thursday to curb the growing lawlessness as Mississippi's governor vowed to deal with looters in the neighboring state as "ruthlessly as we can get our hands on them."

An additional 10,000 National Guard troops from across the country were ordered into the Gulf Coast to shore up security, rescue and relief operations. The new units brought the number of troops dedicated to the effort to more than 28,000, in what may be the largest military response to a natural disaster.

"The truth is, a terrible tragedy like this brings out the best in most people, brings out the worst in some people," said Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour on NBC's "Today" show. "We're trying to deal with looters as ruthlessly as we can get our hands on them."

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin also ordered virtually the entire police force to abandon search-and-rescue efforts and stop thieves who were becoming increasingly hostile.

"They are starting to get closer to heavily populated areas — hotels, hospitals, and we're going to stop it right now," Nagin said.

said Thursday the federal government has launched the most massive relief effort in history to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, pledging to reach thousands of victims that still needed to be rescued. With more than a thousand people feared dead, some refugees that had been staying in increasingly deteriorating conditions at the Louisiana Superdome began arriving by bus at a new, more comfortable home at the Astrodome in Houston.

Conditions at the Superdome had become horrendous: There was no air conditioning, the toilets were backed up, and the stench was so bad that medical workers wore masks as they walked around. The first of 500 busloads of people arrived early Thursday at the Astrodome.

Bush expressed sympathy for those who were still suffering but also said there should be "zero tolerance" for breaking the law during an emergency situation.

Clearly, the looters who are stealing necessities should receive tolerance, but if their carrying a television, they ought to be shot on sight, no questions asked. Their have been reports that some NOPD members have been involved in looting. NOPD has long had a bad reputation and this does nothing to improve it. It is time for the guard to move in with "shoot on sight" orders for looters. America has tolerated looting during periods of unrest for way too long.

Full Story: Looting Rampant

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