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 ma