Bad news, good coverage

Steve Gilliard, The News Blog, is providing a good roundup of news coverage of New Orleans. (scroll down)

Barber adds more wind

Professional blowhard, political hack and, unfortunately for Mississippi, Governor Haley Barber on CNN this morning said people had ample warning to evacuate New Orleans, and elsewhere, but chose to stay, thus completely ignoring the obvious fact that many people, the poorest people, and the sickest, had no means to evacuate.

Barber also said the Feds were doing a great job. Like most of today’s Republicans, when the facts are uncomfortable Barber resorts to lies.

At least, for once, a CNN interviewer (Miles O’Brien) pressed him.

Atrios asks, this morning, if anyone in the administration is competent enough to run even a lemonade stand and links to this, from Gilliard

My touchstone for this disaster is last winter’s ice storm that left me powerless for four miserable days. No heat. Flushed the toilets with stream water hauled up in buckets. Filled the small generator that kept the sump pumps running in two houses every three hours. No running water. It was miserable and cold and I felt very helpless. I can’t imagine sitting on a roof for days in hot sun and nights without water, night and day with mosquitoes, hoping for help, trying to decide whether to risk wading out or staying.

The feds lack of effective response is unforgivable. Before Bush took the helm I thought if it had to, the U.S military could move mountains on very short notice. All those fast little shallow draft boats for landing on beaches, squadrons of helicopters, huge trucks, big supply and hospital ships, bulldozers, giant airplanes stuffed with supplies, instant wireless communications networks…. I thought handling a disaster like this would be a cinch. Instead, we find ourselves doing no better than much poorer countries when faced with the tsunami.

Our helplessness should be an important wake up call. All we take for granted is on very fragile foundations and these foundations themselves are being left to rot or are willfully being whittled away by the nutcases in the White House.

Here’s a link to a Washington Post column, via Josh Marshall, that discusses the Bush gang’s trashing of FEMA, beginning in 2001.

Check out this story, "No one can say they didn't see it coming" by Sidney Blumenthal in Salon.

Everything Bush touches turns to shit.

I do not believe he gives a damn about what happens to the people of New Orleans.

We know where the National Guard is, but just what does Homeland Security do anyway?

I take instant access to information for granted. I sit here obsessively flipping from coverage to coverage, avoiding Bush, dodging the worst of hard hearted Paula and boot lick Wolf, and from time to time I have to remind myself that the people in New Orleans, with no TV’s, no phones, few radios, have no sense of the big picture of this disaster. Not that it would be a comfort, but I can’t help but think knowing water is everywhere and is going to be there for weeks would help people make good decisions about how best to survive. A cheap portable radio would be priceless.

I think there are an awful lot of people that are unaccounted for.

If families are separated, there is no way to find out who is alive, who is safe or where anyone is. Think of the heartache of that.

Get ready for the fuel crisis.

Haves leave. Have nots stay

When they give evacuation orders what do you suppose people do who don’t own automobiles or have enough money to buy tickets on public transportation?

Seems to me recent evacuations assume most people have cars or somehow can buy their way out. Looking at the videos from New Orleans it looks like there’s a lot of poor people that were stuck there. I guess the alternative for the largely invisible and rarely considered poor was walk to the Superdome.

Haves leave. Have nots stay.

Their ought to be a better way.

The Whisky Bar

Maybe it's the late hour, maybe it's too much time spent listening to blather, but tonight I read four of five posts at Billmon's The Whiskey Bar and was blown out of my socks by the insights and the skillful way they were presented. Go there, be amazed and be grateful Billmon's on our side.

Some lose, some win

Weapons labs, defense firms, and pundits who also have financial stakes in war-related venture funds and investments like James Woolsey clean up in times of low-trust and high-fear. If things go back to normal, these players lose. There is a zero-sum game underway where return to stability and normality is something that many in the Washington establishment will vigorously, though in nuanced and subtle ways, fight.

From Talking Points Memo (but not Marshall, from sub Clemons)

Secret truth you always knew

It is finally dawning on the Panglosses on the more centrist left that things are not what they seem. We do, in fact, live in a plutocracy; that the nuevo aristocrats in the media and government, Democrats and Republicans, are all in the same bed and conspiring to keep truth, wealth and power from you and me. It's for the good of the country, they tell themselves, when it is really for their own selfish interests. Hopefully this new realism showing up in posts by some of the super star leftist bloggers signals an awakening and raises some interesting questions. Is it at last a viable time for a third party to emerge? Should we oppose any and all insider candidates, Hillary and Biden, for example, and any other Democratic senators for that matter?

If you've been puzzled by the acquiescence of the Democratic Senators and the media, these two posts, Digby's (linked in the previous post) and The Tiny Revolution's will answer your questions, but not with answers you might wish to receive.

Here's a couple of paragraphs from A Tiny Revolution

...I grew up in the Washington area and went to school with lots of children of government and media types. Then I went to Yale, which is also full of such offspring. What I saw was that the corporate media—places like the New York Times, Washington Post, the networks, etc.—and government figures are blatantly, brazenly in bed with each other. And not just metaphorically; it's often literally true. There's Andrea Mitchell & Alan Greenspan; James Rubin & Christiane Amanpour; Judith Miller & a cast of thousands; and so on.

In any case, whoever they're shtupping, they share a mindset: the government and corporate media self-consciously see themselves as a governing elite that runs things hand in hand. That's why Nicholas Kristof is anxious that if the hoi polloi keep calling George Bush a liar, it may make America "increasingly difficult to govern."

From near the end of The Tiny Revolution's post:

...If you're not part of their little charmed circle, believe me, all your worst suspicions about them are true. They do think you're stupid. They do lie to you. They do hate and fear you. Most importantly, they think you can't be trusted with the things they know—because if you did know them, you'd go nuts and break America. ...

That would be their America. The America many of us live in is already broken.

Digby

Digby has a clear vision of what Washington and the press are all about. You should read it all.

Poetry

Sometimes you come across something that is just too good to let go by. Here's a post by someone looking at Van Gogh looking at the world. Pretty fine stuff.

A Hole in Vincent's Head

A special post.

Gas from coal

Here's something that might give pause to even the darkest views of the most hardened pessimists.

Montana's governor wants to solve America's rising energy costs using a technology discovered in Germany 80 years ago that converts coal into gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel.

The Fischer-Tropsch technology, discovered by German researchers in 1923 and later used by the Nazis to convert coal into wartime fuels, was not economical as long as oil cost less than $30 a barrel....

...Montana is "sitting on more energy than they have in the Middle East," Schweitzer told Reuters in an interview this week.

"I am leading this country in this desire and demand to convert coal into gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel. We can do it in Montana for $1 per gallon," he said.

"We can do it cheaper than importing oil from the sheiks, dictators, rats and crooks that we're bringing it from right now."

The governor estimated the cost of producing a barrel of oil through the Fischer-Tropsch method at $32, and said that with its 120 billion tons of coal -- a little less than a third of the U.S total -- Montana could supply the entire United States with its aviation, gas and diesel fuel for 40 years without creating environmental damage.

From here via Kos

American Legion

If you missed the American Legion's fascist like call for suppression of dissent you can go to Billmon and catch an interesting juxtaposition of their position today and their position when Clinton was facing the mess in Yugoslavia.

Needless to say, it's a 180 degree change of direction.

What's a blog?

One more point -- people fundamentally misunderstand this medium. Blog writing isn't like any other kind of writing. There are no drafts, no editors, no time buffers that allow for more careful consideration of the words used. So people latch on to posts and say, "oh, if only these three words weren't used, then this post would've been fine". That's not how this medium works. It's raw. It's immediate. And sometimes, that one "offending" word gets in. It's an occupational hazard, and one I'm comfortable with.

And ultimately, it's a package deal. You get the good and the bad.

from Kos

Nutcase mullah revealed to be lying weasel

Not only is Robertson a nutcase, blood thirsty fanatic, he also reveals himself to be a lying weasel.

"I didn't say 'assassination.' I said our special forces should 'take him out.' And 'take him out' can be a number of things, including kidnapping; there are a number of ways to take out a dictator from power besides killing him. I was misinterpreted by the AP [Associated Press], but that happens all the time," Robertson said on "The 700 Club" program.

Here's what Robertson said Monday:

"If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it," said Robertson on Monday's program. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war."

Both quotes from CNN

Dumb

Digby (Hullabloo) sums it all up very nicely and indirectly helps me understand the phenomenon of "Sportsmen for Bush." Armed with Digby's analysis and given what I know about Americans, I won't be surprised if they win it all next time without even having to fix the election.

From the Digby link:

I keep hearing that the beltway insiders have their money on George Allen to be the Republican nominee in 2008. I assume it is because he is just as stupid as George W. Bush....

...The Republicans have determined that they do better with nominees who make their constituents believe they are smart enough to be president. It's the right's version of the self-esteem movement.

George Allen is an extremely dumb guy. Really dumb. Awesomely dumb.

Who do we have that's dumb enough to beat him?

I've been trying to think of a way to make this simple little point for quite a while. Maybe I'm dumb enough to win some votes from people pleased to discover they are as smart as I am.

Christianity, right wing style

Here's an illuminating quote from Pat Robertson made today on the 700 Club broadcast, from Media Matters via Atrios.

You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he (Chavez, President of Venezuela) thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop. But this man is a terrific danger and the United ... This is in our sphere of influence, so we can't let this happen. We have the Monroe Doctrine, we have other doctrines that we have announced. And without question, this is a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us very badly. We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.

You good Christians might want to let us know where assassination fits into the gospels.

Y2K

Computerized voting machines and other instruments of voting for funsies are in place, or are about to be, even here in Pennsylvania.

Many Democrats continue to believe those presently running our country can be voted out of power. These Democrats will soon be energetically whirling around gathering votes and contributions as if votes will be fairly cast and honestly counted and we will all get sucked into particpating in the charade. Unfortunately, fair elections are not going to happen again. The Republican extremists have been in power long enough to perfect their vote fraud techniques and they do not intend to let go of control.

Maybe the reason Democrats choose not to face election theft issues is because they have no answers. Pretending there are no problems makes the issue go away for awhile. And, for those of us with no power whatsoever, but nonetheless looking eagerly forward to the next election, what fun it is to take polls with our blogs, have serious discussions about positions and imagine fantasy candidates cruising to victory, or to losses by respectable, better than anticipated margins, and oh what unbridled joy it is to pretend the loony nitwit Santorum is humbled in defeat and the freshly discovered Hackett celebrates a Senate victory in Ohio....

We better wake up.

Election 2000 was stolen, more coup than election. Election 2004 was also stolen, though more smoothly. The plain truth is: once in power fascists are difficult to dislodge.

Read Krugman.

Sweet dreams.

Bush supports Islamic Republic of Iraq.

It really doesn't get much nuttier than this, from Talk Left and, via link there, to Juan Cole.

In Iraq, the U.S. is now supporting formation of a fundamentalist Islamic state, like Iran and similar in function (though not in sect) to Taliban Afghanistan. This is not good news for Iraqi women, nor for secular Iraqis. Thanks to us, many Iraqis will be worse off without Saddam than they were with him.

Support for Bush has become support for a crazy Sharia governed state. I wonder how many Senators would have voted for the war if they were told it was being fought to establish a fundamentalist Islamic republic.

Bush will take anything that lets him get out of Iraq; anything that provides enough cover for him to call Iraq a democracy and say "mission accomplished". No doubt many Americans will admire these new clothes our naked emperor will wear, including many of our "centrist" Democrats. The Right will claim victory. Centrist Democrats will say "it's not a complete victory, but Saddam no longer threatens us and that is at least a small victory." And the decks will be cleared of Iraq and we will be off to more manageable invasions. Cuba for example, or better yet Venezuela, because it has oil and because Chavez pisses Cheney off.

If you are interested in keeping track of events in Iraq, the great Juan Cole is the best. After checking out Juan Cole, read a few of the also great Billmon's recent posts. Following these two bloggers keeps you on an easy path to being an expert. For informed takes on breaking news before it breaks, stick to Atios, Kos and Talk Left (see right margin). To gain wisdom while being entertained, go to Noutopia.

If you prefer to be a fool or simply well versed in the administration's positions, watch and believe CNN, FOX and the New York Times. That course will keep you brain dead.

Judy Miller

For a comprehensive, but brief, update on the Judy Miller drama, go to Talk Left. If you want more follow the links to Ariana.

Wal-Mart blues

Wal-Mart is worried about rising gas prices, as well they should be. Most of their stores are completely car dependent and as gas prices rise it becomes less attractive to motor to a store in a paved over corn field to do some recreational shopping and savor the free air conditioning.

Also, we all know the people who feel the gas price (and rising interest rates) squeeze first fit the profile of typical Wal-Mart shoppers and employees-- hard working people who are paid shit, are treated like shit, and operate with no financial safety net at all; people who rely on hope and day dreams fueled by lottery winning fantasies to maintain some sanity and remain compliant participants in a brutally unfair society.

Tough shit Wal-Mart. Maybe you should offer free fill ups.

Back

I am back from Reno/Tahoe. In the first hour I won $425 dollars at the Siena crap table and walked away with it. Their 10X odds are the best I’ve ever seen and Siena is my favorite, hotel—on the high side of my budget ($99 weeknights, $149 weekends) but in range for vacation splurges.

(on edit: rates change with the seasons and how you order. Do so on line seems to be the cheapest.)

While in Reno I saw regular gasoline as high as $290. I got my best flight rates from America West and found myself better treated and slightly less jammed in than on recent trips on American and United. I spent time at Squaw Valley which is a great place to sit outside, drink coffee, shoot the shit and enjoy wide mountain vistas and light air which seemed to open me up and send thoughts soaring. Unlike the thick, heavy, humid air recently dumped here in Pennsylvania that closes you in and pushes you down.

This morning I looked around and read two great posts at Billmon (today and yesterday's) and found out that Ambassador Bolton recently visited Judy Miller in jail.

By the time I left Reno I gave back the $425.

(On edit: Make that three great posts by the absolutely awesome Billmon.)