Disconnected Rumblings

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Big Developments

Well today had two big developments in politics. First John Roberts was confirmed as Supreme Court Chief Justice by a margin of 78-22.

Roberts Takes Oath as Chief Justice
"John G. Roberts Jr., a conservative protege of the late William H. Rehnquist, succeeded him Thursday and became the nation's youngest chief justice in two centuries, winning support from more than three-fourths of the Senate after promising he would be no ideologue.

Roberts, at 50, becomes the 17th chief justice, presiding over a Supreme Court that seems as divided as the nation over abortion and other tumultuous social issues. The court opens a new term on Monday."
Well an interesting side note is that a man of 50 years is the Chief Justice and yet there are several judges with 15+ years of supreme court experience that are now going to basically be taking cues from this youngin'. Interesting.

Next big development:

Miller Agrees to Testify in CIA Leak Probe
"After nearly three months behind bars, New York Times reporter Judith Miller was released Thursday after agreeing to testify about the Bush administration's disclosure of a covert CIA officer's identity.

Miller left the federal detention center in Alexandria, Va., after reaching an agreement with Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald. She will appear Friday morning before a grand jury investigating the case.
...
Her source was Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, reported the Times..."
Oh boy. This could get interesting. I hope Rove and Libby both go down, they are everything that is disgusting about politics these days. It seems like we are quickly moving back to the times of Nixon, and I hope these guys get what is coming to them if they compromised the security of this country.

The AP actually ended this story with a point that I have been trying to make to people who try to say that Judith Miller should not have been jailed, and that this is an attack on the media.
"The news media is in a less-than-ideal position in the Plame probe.

The reporters' sources — rather than being whistle-blowers exposing wrongdoing and facing retaliation if identified — are government officials whose motives in leaking appear to have been to undermine the credibility of a critic of the Bush administration."
YES this is what this is truly about.
posted by digitaljay @ 11:17 PM MST | link | 0 comments

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Other Shoe Drops

Well today is a good day. FINALLY the other shoe has dropped.

Indicted DeLay Steps Down From House Post
"House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was indicted by a Texas grand jury Wednesday on a charge of conspiring to violate political fundraising laws, forcing him to temporarily step aside from his GOP post. He is the highest-ranking member of Congress to face criminal prosecution.

A defiant DeLay said he had done nothing wrong and denounced the Democratic prosecutor who pursued the case as a 'partisan fanatic.' He said, 'This is one of the weakest, most baseless indictments in American history. It's a sham.'"
Hmmm mighty feisty you are for just being indicted aren't you Mr. DeLay?

So I immediately noticed that the new mantra from the republicans is "this man is a political hack, and its a partisan axe grinding etc." Well you know what I decided to read up on this prosecutor, who may I note has been investigating these charges for some two years. Seems like a partisan fanatic would rush to have this indictment before last year's election, but eh what do I know?

So I went here

So how about the fact that,
"EARLE HAS PROSECUTED FOUR TIMES AS MANY DEMOCRATS AS REPUBLICANS: 'Over Earle'’s 27-year tenure, his Public Integrity Unit has prosecuted 15 elected officials, including 12 Democrats.' [Los Angeles Times, 5/15/05]"
Or how about the fact that,
"EARLE PROSECUTED DEMOCRATS AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF STATE GOVERNMENT: 'Some of the Democrats prosecuted by Earle and his Public Integrity Unit are former Texas House Speaker Gib Lewis, former Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox, former State Treasurer Warren Harding and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Yarbrough.' [AP, 12/12/04]"
Read some more retorts at the link above. All I have to say is good luck Tom DeLay, I hope you get thrown in the slammer is you did do what you are indicted for.
posted by digitaljay @ 10:20 PM MST | link | 0 comments

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Brown is a Cocky Bastard

Yes that is what I said. Brown testified before a sort of joint congressional inquiry today, and he was belligerent as hell.

Brown Shifts Blame for Katrina Response
"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.
...
'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.
...
'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.'"
I would like to slap the taste out of that bastard's mouth. Not even a hint of a conciliatory tone. Throw the blame to EVERYONE except yourself, it makes me sick.

You are going to have to ultimately answer for the responsibility that you have shirked, and I don't think it will be pretty. To be sure, local, state, AND federal levels of government failed. But to claim that you are not to blame is ridiculous.
"Brown, who remains on FEMA's payroll for two more weeks before he leaves his annual $148,000 post, rejected accusations that he was inexperienced for the job he held for more than two years...

...'I know what I'm doing, and I think I do a pretty darn good job of it,' he said."
You cocky son of a bitch! You can rot! Who puffed up your resume? Hmmm? Why are you still on the payroll? Hmmm? Man I wish you would get beat BAD. Yeah I want you to get a good old fashioned beat down. Take some god damn responsibility dammit! EVERYONE must be held accountable for their actions, and NON actions.
posted by digitaljay @ 10:30 PM MST | link | 0 comments

Monday, September 26, 2005

Conserve Gasoline

So I read this today.

Bush urges US to conserve gasoline
"US President George W. Bush urged Americans alarmed by sky-high gasoline prices to cut back on driving as he laid out steps to fix supply problems in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita."
The only question I have to ask is, then why the hell do you and your party REFUSE to even discuss further the possibility of raising gas mileage standards across the board?

Seriously, this is just not making sense. Someone stop and think for a second. Gas mileage standards have been pretty stagnant for the last decade or so I believe. And there was a few mileage standards increases recently enacted, but minimal in actuality.

Just a thought.
posted by digitaljay @ 11:24 PM MST | link | 0 comments

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Abramoff Probe Arrest

Ok short and sweet tonight, I have to get up early for a conference tomorrow.

Abramoff Probe Moves Forward With Arrest
"The arrest of a former White House official marks a new phase in the investigation of Jack Abramoff in which authorities seek to extract information about the high-powered Republican lobbyist.

David Safavian was arrested Monday and charged with making false statements and obstructing a federal investigation relating to a 2002 golf outing to Scotland with Abramoff, former Christian Coalition executive Ralph Reed, Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, and others.

Safavian is the first person to face charges arising out of the probe of Abramoff, a major Republican fundraiser with close ties to GOP leaders in Congress.

Investigators frequently seek to pressure minor players in complex federal probes as they build a case against their principal target."
Hmm I wonder who that principal target is? Could it be Tom Delay? Interesting, we shall find out soon I suspect. Along with some other surprises such as the CIA leak case. Can't wait to see what happens.
posted by digitaljay @ 10:32 PM MST | link | 0 comments

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Iraq Support Waning

Well it was bound to happen:

Support for Bush's Iraq policy dives after Katrina
"U.S. public support for President George W. Bush's Iraq policy has nosedived in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina...

...A Gallup poll published on Monday found 66 percent of respondents favored the immediate withdrawal of some or all of the U.S. troops in Iraq, a 10 percentage point jump in two weeks."
Wow, a 10% increase in two weeks. That is saying something.
"For many Americans, the connection between Katrina and Iraq comes down to one word -- money.

"Americans want to attend to the needs of people at home before we take care of people overseas," said Steven Wayne, a political scientist at Georgetown University."
Yeah, at some point we have to stop just borrowing, borrowing, borrowing from our future. Good god.

Ok I am tired good night.
posted by digitaljay @ 10:25 PM MST | link | 0 comments

Monday, September 19, 2005

Breakthrough?

Well I was all set to write about the breakthrough in negotiations with North Korea, but then I saw this:

North Korea says no disarmament without light-water reactor
"North Korea said that it would not dismantle its nuclear arms programme until the US provides it with a light-water reactor to generate electricity, one day after agreeing to disarm in return for pledges of aid and security.

The statement dented hopes of progress towards ridding the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons less than 24 hours after the biggest breakthrough in two years of six-party talks."
Well here's hoping they can figure out a way to work this out. But after the North Koreans made a similar demand last month that broke down talks.
"A joint statement issued by the six nations -- North and
South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia -- said the other five countries would respect Pyongyang's demand for a light-water reactor and discuss it at 'an appropriate time'.

But the foreign ministry spokesman said that North Korea, a self-avowed nuclear power, would only disarm and return to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) when it gets the reactor."
Well I don't know much about it, but it seems to me that maybe we should give them a light water reactor. It seems like extortion to me, but if this will actually get them to destroy their nuclear weapons, then ok maybe we should do it.

We could always just bomb them to hell with our nukes. That would be ironic wouldn't it? Eh I don't know maybe not.

Lets bomb France instead, ah yeah.
posted by digitaljay @ 10:42 PM MST | link | 1 comments

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Probes and Investigations

Some non Katrina related news tonight.

Weldon: Atta Papers Destroyed on Orders
"A Pentagon employee was ordered to destroy documents that identified Mohamed Atta as a terrorist two years before the 2001 attacks, a congressman said Thursday.

The employee is prepared to testify next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee and was expected to identify the person who ordered him to destroy the large volume of documents, said Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa."
This should be interesting. I hope this opens up our intelligence gathering to see where we have fallen down, and how we can fix it to prevent future attacks against our country. This is of utmost importance.

Also looking forward to the upcoming end to the CIA leak investigation.

CIA leak probe may be nearing end game: lawyers
"...lawyers close to the investigation say there are signs that the 20-month-long inquiry could be wrapped up within weeks in a final flurry of negotiations and legal maneuvering."
Should be an interesting next couple of months in the political world.

Stay tuned!
posted by digitaljay @ 10:09 PM MST | link | 0 comments

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

More Fish to Fry

Ok, so as I follow the trail of mistakes during the hurricane Katrina response, here is another one.

Chertoff delayed federal response, memo shows
"The federal official with the power to mobilize a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina was Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff...

Even before the storm struck the Gulf Coast, Chertoff could have ordered federal agencies into action without any request from state or local officials."
Ok, I need to know more, this is quite a complicated ball of wax so to speak.
"White House and homeland security officials wouldn't explain why Chertoff waited some 36 hours to declare Katrina an incident of national significance and why he didn't immediately begin to direct the federal response from the moment on Aug. 27 when the National Hurricane Center predicted that Katrina would strike the Gulf Coast with catastrophic force in 48 hours. Nor would they explain why Bush felt the need to appoint a separate task force.

Chertoff's hesitation and Bush's creation of a task force both appear to contradict the National Response Plan and previous presidential directives that specify what the secretary of homeland security is assigned to do without further presidential orders. The goal of the National Response Plan is to provide a streamlined framework for swiftly delivering federal assistance when a disaster - caused by terrorists or Mother Nature - is too big for local officials to handle."
I predict more heads will roll. And rightly so.

And just for you rep bud, like I have said in earlier posts, this responsibility extends to state and local officials as well. If they have made mistakes, they should be held accountable too.

Don't know if that is clear enough. Should I say it one more time and maybe bold it and put it in color?
posted by digitaljay @ 10:51 PM MST | link | 0 comments

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Finally

Well he did what you apologists refused to do. He, gasp, sacked up and took some responsibility for the federal response to Hurricane Katrina.

Bush: 'I take responsibility'
"President George W. Bush took responsibility on Tuesday for any failures in the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and acknowledged the storm exposed serious deficiencies at all levels of government four years after the September 11 attacks.

'To the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility,' Bush told a White House news conference at which he openly questioned U.S. preparedness for another storm or a 'severe attack.'

Bush's rare admission of 'serious problems in our response capability' came as the White House stepped up efforts to repair his public standing."
Thank you. For once you did something right. Now follow through and find out EXACTLY what went wrong. Form an independent commission. Don't try to cover anything up. Answers across the board, Federal, State, and local. Everyone who made serious errors, needs to be held accountable. Everyone. People died, and whoever made errors must be held accountable.
posted by digitaljay @ 10:06 PM MST | link | 0 comments

Monday, September 12, 2005

Good Riddance

The head of FEMA has resigned! Thank god, he will no longer be a stain on government, well on FEMA at least.

Head of US disaster agency quits after hurricane chaos
"The head of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) quit, yielding to a torrent of criticism over the government's response to the Hurricane Katrina crisis.
...
Time magazine said Brown lacked emergency relief experience before he joined the agency as a Bush appointee in 2001 and that there were discrepancies in his official FEMA resume and a White House press release from 2001.

The Washington Post said that five of eight top FEMA officials, including Brown, had virtually no experience in handling disasters.

The agency's top three leaders had ties to Bush's 2000 presidential campaign or to the White House advance operation, the Post said."
You know, Brown finally did the right thing in resigning, because I don't think the president would have had the balls to do it. Yeah I said that, I did. He would never admit a mistake such as hiring a completely inexperienced man to head FEMA. No, no he would not do that, so thanks Mike Brown, for finally doing something right, because god knows you certainly didn't do anything right in the last 2 weeks.

And can we talk about how the hell five of the top eight FEMA officials have virtually no experience in disaster handling? Hey shrub apologizers, what do you have to say about this one? Seriously I have heard so many excuses for this sorry excuse for a president from these people who shrub could do no wrong with. It just makes me sick that you people can't just admit when he makes a mistake, what is the harm? Seriously?

Oh and Rep Bud, instead of sending me an email why don't you post a comment? The email you sent me makes me sick. It is so partisan and the underlying racism makes me want to vomit. I'm sorry I'm not going to hold back anymore, I have tried to be as non-partisan in the last two weeks as I could, but I have had it.

So to answer you wing nuts, yes response to this hurricane was a failure all across the board from local to state, to federal. But as the idiot has said before; "the buck stops here (at the prez's desk)" So take some f**king responsibility and stop trying to counter blame EVERYONE else.

So to Mike Brown, GOOD RIDDANCE!
posted by digitaljay @ 10:54 PM MST | link | 1 comments

Sunday, September 11, 2005

4 Years

It's hard to believe that it has been four years since September 11th, 2001. Today is a day to remember what we lost, and a day to realize where we are going in the future. To also reassess where what still needs to be done to protect us from another attack.

posted by digitaljay @ 6:47 PM MST | link | 0 comments

Friday, September 09, 2005

About F**KING Time!


Embattled FEMA Chief Removed from Hurricane Relief Efforts

"Michael Brown, the embattled head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was removed today from a direct role in running the relief and recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, announced.
...
He was replaced by Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen, Chertoff said.
...
Chertoff made the announcement at a brief, hastily announced press conference in Baton Rouge, La., with Brown at his side. He would not let Brown respond to questions."
Next fire his unqualified ass!!!!

God I am STILL seething mad about all of this. I don't know what else to say. The reports today are saying, based on visual inspection, that they believe the body count is much lower than initially thought. I can only hope that this is the case.

As you all know this weekend we observe the 4th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. What a horrible time for our country, remembrance of this tragedy in the midst of this current tragedy.

I am going to Denver this weekend to visit my friend Ron who is up there for the Dave Matthews concert. So I would normally post on September 11th, but I will be driving back late that day. I will try to post that night if I can. Until then I wish you all the best, in this difficult weekend.
posted by digitaljay @ 8:38 PM MST | link | 0 comments

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Slog

Well I don't know what to say. I have been quite depressed thinking about what has happened, and continues to happen in the gulf. I feel like this is a tragedy on par with September 11th, but I don't feel like America puts this on the same level. It seems like people are forgetting this tragedy already. They are turning away from it, going on with their lives.

My heart ACHES for these people, for what brutal realities it has revealed in this country of mine. It makes me sad for our future, it makes me sad to realize just how incapable our government is at protecting US. That, I believe, is government's central role in society, to protect us, protect us the best they can. I don't believe they can anymore.

And don't call me a silly idealist, I am no idiot, I know the government can't protect us from everything, I am not asking for that, I am asking for them to protect us from known threats, like HURRICANES, and terrorist attacks, to the best of their ability.

So I don't know what else to say. This is absolutely heartbreaking.

Pile it on:

How Reliable Is Brown's Resume?
A TIME investigation reveals discrepancies in the FEMA chief's official biographies


RESIGN!!!!! The only honorable thing to do you BASTARD!
posted by digitaljay @ 10:32 PM MST | link | 0 comments

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Some Quotes

I just wanted to record some quotes for all of you to think about in the days and weeks ahead of us.

First, Patrick Rhode, FEMA's deputy director, insisted that
"this has been probably one of the most efficient and effective responses in the country's history."
You are DONE!!! Fired, complete incompetence, I don't care what any of you damn wingnuts say to try to spin it, complete incompetence!
"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."
- shrub BULLSH*T!!! What planet are you from?! This story was everywhere before this tragedy. We KNEW the levees would break with a category 4 or 5 hurricane hitting New Orleans. How the hell can you get away with saying something like this?
"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."
- shrub speaking to FEMA head Michael Brown, who has done ANYTHING but a "heck of a job".
"What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this...this is working very well for them."
- Barbara Bush What to say? It shows me that these people really have no idea how much of this country lives.

And lastly, Jefferson Parish, La., President Aaron Broussard:
"It's not just Katrina that caused all these deaths in New Orleans here. Bureaucracy has committed murder here in the greater New Orleans area, and bureaucracy has to stand trial before Congress now."
This is what is so devastating, Bureaucracy and inaction have KILLED what will probably be thousands of our brothers and sisters. They are gone, forever, this will not be forgotten.
posted by digitaljay @ 4:20 PM MST | link | 0 comments

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Another Week, A Different Week

Well we open a new week, but quite a different week then the last. The first thing I want to talk about is something that I saw last week in the news.



I immediately latched on to the fact that the caption for the black person in the water said he was "looting" the groceries, while the caption for the white people was that they "found" the groceries. I was immediately beside myself.

Then I noticed that the captions were from two different news sources, the AP and AFP, so while that told me it wasn't the same caption editor that wrote the captions, it still made me mad that the word choices seemed to be racially motivated. Then I read this explanation on snopes.com
"The photographer who took the Getty/AFP picture, Chris Graythen, also posted the reasons behind his caption:

I wrote the caption about the two people who 'found' the items. I believed in my opinion, that they did simply find them, and not 'looted' them in the definition of the word. The people were swimming in chest deep water, and there were other people in the water, both white and black. I looked for the best picture. there were a million items floating in the water — we were right near a grocery store that had 5+ feet of water in it. it had no doors. the water was moving, and the stuff was floating away. These people were not ducking into a store and busting down windows to get electronics. They picked up bread and cokes that were floating in the water. They would have floated away anyhow."
So I won't call it racism anymore I'll just call it unfortunate.

Next:

FEMA Chief Sent Help Only When Storm Ended
"The government's disaster chief waited until hours after Hurricane Katrina had already struck the Gulf Coast before asking his boss to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security workers to support rescuers in the region - and gave them two days to arrive, according to internal documents.

Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, sought the approval from Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff roughly five hours after Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29. Brown said that among duties of these employees was to 'convey a positive image' about the government's response for victims."
YOU ARE FIRED!!!!! SO F*CKING FIRED!!!!! I want your head! It's disgusting! People DIED because you felt all you needed to do was project an "image" that you were being responsive!
"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.'

...Brown also urged local fire and rescue departments outside Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi not to send trucks or emergency workers into disaster areas without an explicit request for help from state or local governments."
It's broken folks, this is not time for politics, this is time for serious answers, serious work, serious consequences. We can NOT afford to sit back and let our government NOT work for us any longer. It is now costing us OUR lives!

WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by digitaljay @ 9:58 PM MST | link | 0 comments

Friday, September 02, 2005

Desperation

I have alot to say, but I am going to wait until next week until I calm down. But let me just link to a transcript of the radio interview last night of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. In case you haven't heard parts of the interview here it is in its entirety. I listened to the entire interview and it is quite emotional. There is a link to the audio from the link below.

Mayor to feds: 'Get off your asses'
"New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin blasted the slow pace of federal and state relief efforts in an expletive-laced interview with local radio station WWL-AM."
Just one more quote, read the entire transcript to get a feel for the desperation and frustration that the people of New Orleans are experiencing right now.
"WWL: What do you need right now to get control of this situation?

NAGIN: I need reinforcements, I need troops, man. I need 500 buses, man... ...they were talking about getting public school bus drivers to come down here and bus people out here.

I'm like, 'You got to be kidding me. This is a national disaster. Get every doggone Greyhound bus line in the country and get their asses moving to New Orleans.'

That's -- they're thinking small, man. And this is a major, major, major deal. And I can't emphasize it enough, man. This is crazy."
Indeed.
posted by digitaljay @ 6:35 PM MST | link | 1 comments

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Disaster

The news out of New Orleans is just so sad, and disturbing. I'm sure you all have heard the developments today. All I can say is good god. The details are gruesome.

Some positive news:

Senate Approves $10.5B in Hurricane Aid
"Congress rushed to provide a $10.5 billion down payment in relief aid for Gulf Coast victims of Hurricane Katrina on Thursday as President Bush ordered new action to minimize disruptions in the nation's energy supplies. The Senate approved the measure Thursday night, and the House will convene at noon on Friday to speed the measure to Bush's desk."
Now where the hell is the National Guard? Where the hell are the emergency services, food, water? God dammit it has been 5 DAYS since this storm hit. It looks like we are completely disorganized. The things I have seen on my television in the last 3 days I just can't believe is happening in my country.

I am frustrated, I want answers! Help these people, NOW.
posted by digitaljay @ 11:04 PM MST | link | 0 comments