I know I should post - it's been since Wednesday. But, I have great excuses. First of all, I've been off reading other people's blogs. Why post when someone else is making my point?
My second excuse - I've been busy. Kids, etc, and now I have about 6 hostas on my front porch that I need to plant. I don't even know where to put them, but they are loverly. I also got a hydrangea. Oh, I'm so excited.
Fox news reports :
Vivienne Westwood has launched a line of T-shirts to take a stand against proposed anti-terror legislation.
"I am not a terrorist. Please don't arrest me," says one T-shirt, which Westwood designed to raise funds for Liberty, one of Britain's largest civil rights organizations.
Jeff is on hiatus. This cannot be tolerated.
Drat, just yesterday I was working up a big "blog crush" post dedicated to his Shape of Days.
Photographic proof that my description of last weekend's marchers as "communists" was not merely name calling :
Zombietime
I especially like the picture of the guy wearing a shirt featuring Marx, Lenin, and Mao.
Harry Belefonte and Danny Glover speak out :
When the hurricane struck the Gulf and the floodwaters rose and tore through New Orleans, plunging its remaining population into a carnival of misery, it did not turn the region into a Third World country - as it has been disparagingly implied in the media - it revealed one. It revealed the disaster within the disaster: grueling poverty rose to the surface like a bruise to our skin.
But the storm not only revealed the poverty of those most vulnerable, those left behind. It revealed the poverty of skewed priorities that put the shoulder of technology to the wheel of death rather than life, creating killing machines that are now called "smart" and surveillance systems that, in the words of the great Guyanese poet Martin Carter, "are watching you sleep and aiming at your dreams."
Now that they are chastising her EVEN on Kos (in the comments), can we officially move Cindy to the moonbat category w/o further debate?
From commenter "hibsnet" in reply to Cindy's whine (it was just a little wind and a little rain, sayeth Cindy) that the media was covering Rita instead of her anti-war fest:
Well Joan Baez sang for you today, and you got your smiling-happy picture taken with Jesse Jackson today, and your story is still front page on CNN.com today. So it was a very good day. Yes it was a beautiful day for Cindy wasn't it?
Except for a little wind and a little rain earlier.
Ack! Moment over here explaining why teenage motherhood for black young women might be a rational choice. It seems they have confused the "results" of teenage parenthood, with it's causes.
For those who bristle at my calling those participating in this weekend's protest "Moonbats", I offer this:
The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition organized the first national demonstration against war and racism following September 11 on September 29, 2001, which brought 25,000 people into the streets of Washington DC and 15,000 in San Francisco.
The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition gained prominence because the Coalition from its earliest days after September 11, 2001 provided a principled and activist orientation to organize political resistance through mass action, and created a forum for people of conscience to speak out when so many others were silent. Many of the national organizations that constitute the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition Steering Committee were those groups in the anti-globalization movement who - after September 11 and in the most difficult circumstances when people in the Untied States were subject to a carefully orchestrated round the clock campaign to create a war fever - initiated a strategy and mass mobilizations to counter the Bush Administration’s endless war drive, its so called war on "terrorism."
The Coalition has since then worked to build an anti-racist, peace and social justice movement. The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, thus, had initiated the mass anti-war movement in the United States. A central characteristic of the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition’s organizing strategy has been to work in partnership with the Arab American and Muslim community and other sectors in U.S. society who have been traditionally ignored. This has helped to create a truly multi-national anti-war movement.
So predictable that they would first blame Israel:
A pickup truck carrying masked militants and two homemade rockets blew up at a Hamas rally Friday, killing at least 10 Palestinians and wounding 85, hospital doctors said.
Hamas blamed Israel, but the Israeli military denied involvement and the Palestinian Interior Ministry said the blast was set off by the mishandling of explosives.
Well, perhaps I can obliged. A picture of a cat or something. I'm gonna try to muster up some outrage regarding the weekend's anti-war march. It's not that I'm not irritated, it just - I don't know what else there is left to say. Moonbats on parade.
I will quote Christopher Hitchens from last week's debate with certified looney George Galloway :
: If you examine the record of the so-called the anti-war movement in this country and imagine what would have happened had its counsel been listened to over the last 15 and more years, you would have a world in which the following would be the case...
Saddam Hussein would be the owner and occupier of Kuwait, he would have succeeded in the annexation, not merely the invasion, but the abolition of an Arab and Muslim state that was a member of the Arab League and of the United Nations. And with these resources as we now know because he lost that war, he was attempting to equip himself with the most terrifying arsenal that it was possible for him to lay his hands on. That's one consequence of anti-war politics, that's what would have happened.
In the meanwhile, Slobodan Milosevic would have made Bosnia part of a greater Serbia, and Kosovo would have been ethnically cleansed and also annexed. The Taliban would be still in power in Afghanistan if the anti-war movement had been listened to, and al-Qaeda would still be their guests. And Saddam Hussein, with his crime family, would still be privately holding ownership over a terrorized people in a state that's been most aptly described as a concentration camp above ground and a mass grave underneath it.
Those calls for help as Katrina hit the shore are very sad to listen to. But, there was no one there to help, because there was a MANDATORY evacuation. See, that means, you are supposed to leave. If the shit hits the fan, there won't be anyone there to help you. This includes (amazingly enough) the Federal Government. EVEN IF THE LEVEE BREAKS A HOURS LATER, because - you see- people are still evacuated and won't be there to help you.
It is just shameful what happened in New Orleans, and how George Bush did nothing to stop the misery. He should have acted as Bill Clinton did in 1995, when only 1000 people died in a heat wave.
If an elected politician or the media want to play a blame game then all natural disasters that resulted in hundreds or thousands of preventable deaths should be treated equally. If Hillary Clinton wants to shout from the rooftops and make demands for a "Katrina Commission" she should also demand a "Heat Wave Commission."
A disproportionate number of black people died in the heat wave of 1995. Yet, no one ever said, "Bill Clinton doesn't care about black people."
5 songs I know all the words to
Jeremy, Pearl Jam
Black, Pearl Jam
American Idiot, Greenday (JOKING)
This Night has opened my eyes, The Smiths
Pale Shelter, Tears for Fears
5 Snacks
Pretzels w/ hummous
Grapefruit
handful of cereal
slice of summer sausage
home made cookie
5 things I'd do with a $100 million
Move
Pay off debt
Donate a bunch
Save
Dream
5 Places I'd run away to
UP of Michigan
Any Mountainous region (in North America)
Banff (always wanted to go there)
5 things I'd never wear
Che Geuvara shirt
hemp clothing
Patchouli
anything Orange
A fedora
5 favorite tv shows
Battlestar Gallatica
House
24
(sorry, only 3)
5 greatest joys
beautiful weather
immediate family (including my dog)
A good run
My garden/ gardening in general
getting everything done in time (which rarely happens)
5 favorite toys
My iMac
My iPod
My camera
My pop-up campter
My new printer - I'm such a geek- but it really helps with our home schooling.
Now... who should I tag?? Oh, heck, if you have time, tag yourself. I don't want to bug ya if you're too busy.
One thing that truly troubled me about my visit to Louisiana was the level of the military presence there. I imagined before that if the military had to be used in a CONUS (Continental US) operations that they would be there to help the citizens: Clothe them, feed them, shelter them, and protect them. But what I saw was a city that is occupied. I saw soldiers walking around in patrols of 7 with their weapons slung on their backs. I wanted to ask one of them what it would take for one of them to shoot me. Sand bags were removed from private property to make machine gun nests.
My service as been turned off SINCE FRIDAY MORNING. Pay the bill a tad late, and apparently they still turn it off. EVEN IF WHEN THEY TURN IT OFF, THEY'VE ALREADY POSTED YOUR PAYMENT DAYS PREVIOUSLY. I called on friday, and got the run-around from a horrible customer service person. Today, I called, and they turned it on in about two minutes. She had no idea why is was still off.
Nice, huh?
Honestly, the only type of blog links I haven't done are the "Carnival style." Mostly because I'm just too lazy.
West accused Bush (and - by extension -white America in general) of helping the poor and black "as slow as possible." Matter of fact, according to West, Bush doesn't care about black people. Funny, then, along comes this story;
— Amid the chaos and confusion that engulfed New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina struck, a congressman used National Guard troops to check on his property and rescue his personal belongings — even while New Orleans residents were trying to get rescued from rooftops, ABC News has learned.
Scott shares with me some information he came across regarding the key to a good relationship: Pretending to give a shit.
"If I didn't sit there in total silence, staring off into the distance but occasionally grunting out an 'Oh yeah?' or a "No kidding,' Jena would probably start to think we have a communication problem," said Woodman. "Sure, I could just walk out of the room when she starts barking out her meaningless ramblings, but that would be equivalent to just coming right out and saying that she's boring me."
But, according to this survey I certainly don't qualify as an "anti-Huffpo" blogger, and by extension - a conservative.
Particularly interesting was this:
Fred Phelps says "New Orleans, symbol of America, seen for what it is: a putrid, toxic, stinking cesspool of fag fecal matter."
-is this an example of what Bush calls "Compassionate Conservatism?"
-Do you think Phelps's desire to demonize gays exposed his own delusional fantasies?
-Do you think Phelps's pants were on when he wrote that fantasy?
-do you understand the motivations and feelings of working people?
-because you own a maid?
-do you like to put outfits on your maid?
-and take pictures?
Do you have a trust fund, a yellow magnet on your car, and a golfing buddy who knows somebody who knows somebody whose cousin is in the National Guard?
Do you celebrate "political incorrectness" above all?
And you're pushing 40?
Blair's advisors are proposing the elimination of "Holocaust Remembrance Day" because, get this, Muslims are offended by it.
The draft proposals - which provoked a backlash from British Jewish leaders - want to replace Holocaust Memorial Day with a Genocide Day that would include recognition of Muslim deaths in the West Bank and Gaza, Chechnya and Bosnia, the Times said.
A Home Office spokesman said it would consider the proposals but said it regarded the Holocaust as a "defining tragedy in European history," according to the report.
"The very name Holocaust Memorial Day sounds too exclusive to many young Muslims," a member of one of the committees was quoted as saying. "It sends out the wrong signals: that the lives of one people are to be remembered more than others. It's a grievance that extremists are able to exploit."
They're on to us over at Daily Kos:
I am happy to hear that there are only 200 people dead in NO, but this doesn't sound right. If the people didn't leave and didn't get evacuated then what happened to them?? I hope there are no evil doings going on.
This just in: George Bush eats brown babies. The report, at this point, is unconfirmed .
Related
Bryon York's piece in NRO on yesterday's Moveon.org rally in Washington DC, describes an interchange between a Moveoner and a Bush supporter.
Just then, a man walked up to Taylor and said, "If George Bush ate a baby, would you defend him?"
"That's absurd," Taylor answered.
"Well, that's kind of where you're at right now," the man said.
"So you're saying George Bush eats babies?" Taylor responded. "That's absurd. And it's exemplary of the mindset of the MoveOn crowd. These guys are so far out from reality, it's pathetic."
With that, Taylor began an impassioned, impromptu speech. "Now, please try to figure out what's going on in this country," he said, his voice booming. "There has been an enormous outpouring of goodwill from people on both sides of the political spectrum. You know, when those soldiers and national guardsmen go into the homes of the victims, they don't ask, are you Republican, are you Democrat. They ask, do you need help? What can we do to help you? I wish that this crowd out here would have the same attitude, because all you're doing is trying to tear the country apart for political purposes."
Greg Gutfeld has a nice little survey to see if you have "what it takes" to fit in. A little sample:
Do you believe people are too afraid to discuss the "taboo" of race?
Yet you can discuss it for hours, insert it into any topic, from natural disasters to footwear?
Do you feel compelled to let blacks know immediately where you stand on the topic of race?
Do you feel compelled to tell blacks how much you admire Spike Jonze?
Do you realize the next day that you meant Spike Lee?
Is there anything racist about the fact that Oprah Winfrey talks black to black people, and then talks differently to white people?
-And what's up with Steadman, anyway?
-He's really taking care of himself!
Attention race baiters, and the "Blame Bush" crowd this just in.
H/t - shamelessly stolen from Protein Wisdom.
"To my country I want to say this: During this crisis you failed us. You looked down on us; you dismissed our victims; you dismissed us. You want our Jazz Fest, you want our Mardi Gras, you want our cooking and our music. Then when you saw us in real trouble, when you saw a tiny minority preying on the weak among us, you called us "Sin City," and turned your backs.”
So, thanks for the thought. Oh wait, the thought ain't so great either. I've got my eye on Canada too.
Bill Whittle's essay Tribes. It's hard to pick what to excerpt, but here is a bit- comparing the reaction to crises of NO to that of NYC:
[I]n Louisiana last week the governor cried and the mayor blamed everyone but himself, and half the country bought every single stinking Pink lie about global warming and missing National Guard units and blamed the sheepdogs while the wolves raped and pillaged and looted everything in sight.
Hundreds of New York firemen and policemen never came home, never came home, but New Orleans Police Chief P. Edwin Compass III said, of his men, “If I put you out on the street and made you get into gun battles all day with no place to urinate and no place to defecate, I don’t think you’d be too happy either… Our vehicles can’t get any gas. The water in the street is contaminated. My officers are walking around in wet shoes.”
Well, Chief, I’m sorry your men’s feet are wet, but getting their feet wet is part of their fucking job. New York’s Finest aren’t complaining about wet feet or places to pee because they died doing their jobs. They were sheepdogs.
This is unbelievable. No wonder there were not enough cops in NO to keep "control."
I am so irritated by "events" that I can hardly blog. Kate at Small Dead Animals expresses so much of what is pissing me off. As does Jeff. There is insanity out there.
I want to ask, though - if Bush (and by extention - Republicans) hate black people (and thus haven't tried to "save" them) - why is it that Texas is offering so much help? One of the reddest "Red States?" Don't make this "about race", or it's gonna be about race.
And sorry, but the cold hard facts are that many of those who were trapped in NO, without food or water, did absolutely NOTHING to aid in their own survival. They were WARNED to leave (their own Mayor left!) And, I've heard the tales of many in the city who did prepare - who had food and water, and merely waited for rescue. Uncomfortable, but relatively save (unless, of course, you count the roaming gang of thugs who threaten to rape the women, and steal the food.)
Despite being very "Red" (which must mean I hate brown babies) - I will do what I can to help. I've given money, and I will continue to give money. I'm trying to get my husband to talk his company into doing some sort of collection of material goods that can be sent South. If refugees make it this far north, I will do what I can to help them. I am sympathetic not because of their color, but because they are HUMANS. Period. Now, I wish people would just STFU about this being a racial issue.
Good imaging of New Orleans from above here. I think I know where the French Quarter is - and I was looking for the Cafe du Monde - they are all dry, I believe??
H/t: the corner.
Per the train of thought at Aravosis's AMERICAblog, shame on EVERY ONE OF YOU going away this weekend! How dare you when people in Louisiana are dying on the street.
More at Protein Wisdom
"If Zarqawi and bin Laden gain control of Iraq, they would create a new training ground for future terrorist attacks," Bush said. "They'd seize oil fields to fund their ambitions. They could recruit more terrorists by claiming a historic victory over the United States and our coalition."(George Bush, August 30, 2005 in San Diego.)
So it is official, Casey had his blood shed in Iraq for OIL. He died so we could pay over 3.00/gallon for gas. Like I suspected all along, my dear, sweet son: almost 1900 others; and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis died so the oil fields wouldn't "fall into the hands of terrorists" and so George and his immoral band of greedy robber barons could become wealthier. Like I have said all along: how can these people sleep at night and how can they choke down their food knowing it is purchased off of the flesh and blood of others? We have found our "Noble Cause." And it is OIL. This man and his handlers need to be stopped.
I'm not the only one REALLY REALLY irritated by Randi Rhodes. Take a listen to her comments:
"This President is never gonna do the right thing. I think somewhere deep down inside him he takes a lot of joy about losing people, if he thinks they vote Democrat or if he thinks they're poor, or if he thinks they're in a blue state, whatever his reasons are not to rescue those people who are (planning?) for their safety."
I don't care what gas costs today. I have a home, I'm dry, and looters aren't destroying what's left. Just FTR- the Hurricane wasn't Bush's fault. Exon and Cheney did NOT orchestrate this whole thing for profit. People WERE warned to leave. New Orleans is BELOW sea level, so a precarious existence as it is.
Now, I'm gonna be busy all day, so go read something positive and come back and tell me about it.
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