As someone who has a personal interest in light aviation I've been angry before because any time Air Force One flies into a city, light (private) aviation gets the shaft. There are flight restrictions, delays, you name it. Just as roads are blocked off when hizzoner comes to town, flying is inconvenienced. Now we hear this...
Food Delay
I guess that someone is afraid that somebody will drop a house on Mr. Bush or something from a Sikorsky?
Bush visit halts food delivery...
In St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, just south of New Orleans, victims of the hurricane are still waiting for food and water and for buses to escape the floodwaters, [ Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-La.] said. And for the entire time Bush was in the state, the congressman said, a ban on helicopter flights further stalled the delivery of food and supplies.
I'm getting this second and third hand, so I don't KNOW if the Representative actually said that or not. However, the www.nola.com link confirms that at least some food aid was left to sit while the President was on his photo-op.
A good BBC link:
BBC
AND... If they can't predict or plan for an emergency that EVERYONE IN THE REAL WORLD KNEW WOULD HAPPEN, how in the hell can they possibly have a plan for nuclear war, terrorist attack, famines, earthquakes, or an invasion of rabid alien butterflies? Good grief!
Chertoff
Defending the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Katrina, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff argued Saturday that government planners did not predict such a disaster ever could occur.
The rug has truly been pulled out. The man behind the curtain has been proven to be a fakir.
9.03.2005
Mr. President
Mr. President,
Why are fires being allowed to burn out of control on the waterfront and in the city of New Orleans? What is going on? Do you want to see the entire city burned to the ground? CNN and NOLA.com report that requests for water tanker aircraft have been ignored by FEMA. You can't be blamed for the hurricane itself sir, but this is a complete disgrace.
By the way, the FEMA head we have now? What EXACTLY was his qualification for that job besides being a Republican stooge? http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=100857
Senator Lugar. A few weeks ago you wrote me and said that, though I thought President Bush was incorrect in his choice of judges for the bench, you thought he should be able to pick his own choices? Senator, would you let a moron hold a loaded gun?
Mr. President, Senator, Representative Carson; You may think I am being rude and insufficiently respectful. However, I feel at this time that you, Mr. President have done far worse than what Mr. Clinton did that earned him years of legal problems and threats of impeachment. President Nixon was not guilty of what you have done. A city / cities and the United States citizens thereof are dying, a war was begun on false pretenses, the borders are not secure and you have appointed complete incompetents to high level positions, based on what? Loyalty to a political party? What is that called, Mr. President?
Mr. President. you have a lot to answer for. I can't - don't have the power to call for hearings to judge your competence to be President, but I suspect Senator Lugar can and Representative Carson can. If this were the British or Israeli system there could be a vote of no confidence in your Administration. I don't know what we can do to be rid of you and yours before your term expires, but I hope that someone in the House or Senate knows of a legal way to get that done.
Why are fires being allowed to burn out of control on the waterfront and in the city of New Orleans? What is going on? Do you want to see the entire city burned to the ground? CNN and NOLA.com report that requests for water tanker aircraft have been ignored by FEMA. You can't be blamed for the hurricane itself sir, but this is a complete disgrace.
By the way, the FEMA head we have now? What EXACTLY was his qualification for that job besides being a Republican stooge? http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=100857
Senator Lugar. A few weeks ago you wrote me and said that, though I thought President Bush was incorrect in his choice of judges for the bench, you thought he should be able to pick his own choices? Senator, would you let a moron hold a loaded gun?
Mr. President, Senator, Representative Carson; You may think I am being rude and insufficiently respectful. However, I feel at this time that you, Mr. President have done far worse than what Mr. Clinton did that earned him years of legal problems and threats of impeachment. President Nixon was not guilty of what you have done. A city / cities and the United States citizens thereof are dying, a war was begun on false pretenses, the borders are not secure and you have appointed complete incompetents to high level positions, based on what? Loyalty to a political party? What is that called, Mr. President?
Mr. President. you have a lot to answer for. I can't - don't have the power to call for hearings to judge your competence to be President, but I suspect Senator Lugar can and Representative Carson can. If this were the British or Israeli system there could be a vote of no confidence in your Administration. I don't know what we can do to be rid of you and yours before your term expires, but I hope that someone in the House or Senate knows of a legal way to get that done.
What the Hell is Going On?
Where is the fire fighting equipment?
Fires
Landrieu slams FEMA
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., Saturday accused the Federal Emergency Management Agency of failing to accept offers that would have eased post-hurricane problems in New Orleans -- including a plan for the Forest Service to douse fires in the city with aircraft used to fight fire.
On Friday, Landrieu asked President Bush to appoint a cabinet-level official to oversee Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery efforts. She reiterated that request on Saturday.
"Yesterday, I was hoping President Bush would come away from his tour of the regional devastation triggered by Hurricane Katrina with a new understanding for the magnitude of the suffering and for the abject failures of the current Federal Emergency Management Agency," Landrieu said. "Twenty-four hours later, the President has yet to answer my call for a cabinet-level official to lead our efforts. Meanwhile, FEMA, now a shell of what it once was, continues to be overwhelmed by the task at hand.
Landrieu said that FEMA has inexplicably failed to take advantage of offers of help.
"I understand that the U.S. Forest Service had water-tanker aircraft available to help douse the fires raging on our riverfront, but FEMA has yet to accept the aid. When Amtrak offered trains to evacuate significant numbers of victims - far more efficiently than buses - FEMA again dragged its feet," Landrieu said. "Offers of medicine, communications equipment and other desperately needed items continue to flow in, only to be ignored by the agency.
Landrieu said that her "greatest disappointment" is the lack of progress fixing the breached 17th Street levee.
"Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment. The good and decent people of southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast - black and white, rich and poor, young and old - deserve far better from their national government," Landrieu said.
Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which is directing FEMA in its recovery efforts in New Orleans, has said that the federal government is committing more and more resources to what is the worst natural disaster in the nation's history.
NOLA
Fires
Landrieu slams FEMA
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., Saturday accused the Federal Emergency Management Agency of failing to accept offers that would have eased post-hurricane problems in New Orleans -- including a plan for the Forest Service to douse fires in the city with aircraft used to fight fire.
On Friday, Landrieu asked President Bush to appoint a cabinet-level official to oversee Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery efforts. She reiterated that request on Saturday.
"Yesterday, I was hoping President Bush would come away from his tour of the regional devastation triggered by Hurricane Katrina with a new understanding for the magnitude of the suffering and for the abject failures of the current Federal Emergency Management Agency," Landrieu said. "Twenty-four hours later, the President has yet to answer my call for a cabinet-level official to lead our efforts. Meanwhile, FEMA, now a shell of what it once was, continues to be overwhelmed by the task at hand.
Landrieu said that FEMA has inexplicably failed to take advantage of offers of help.
"I understand that the U.S. Forest Service had water-tanker aircraft available to help douse the fires raging on our riverfront, but FEMA has yet to accept the aid. When Amtrak offered trains to evacuate significant numbers of victims - far more efficiently than buses - FEMA again dragged its feet," Landrieu said. "Offers of medicine, communications equipment and other desperately needed items continue to flow in, only to be ignored by the agency.
Landrieu said that her "greatest disappointment" is the lack of progress fixing the breached 17th Street levee.
"Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment. The good and decent people of southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast - black and white, rich and poor, young and old - deserve far better from their national government," Landrieu said.
Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which is directing FEMA in its recovery efforts in New Orleans, has said that the federal government is committing more and more resources to what is the worst natural disaster in the nation's history.
NOLA
To lighten the mood... Again...
AND now for something completely different - to lighten the mood (and appropriate for the Big Easy...)
When I first came here, this was all swamp. Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built in all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up. And that's what you're going to get, Lad, the strongest castle in all of England.
(Monty Python - Holy Grail)
When I first came here, this was all swamp. Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built in all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up. And that's what you're going to get, Lad, the strongest castle in all of England.
(Monty Python - Holy Grail)
Blanco Appoints Witt
Gov. Kathleen Blanco has appointed former FEMA Director James Lee Witt as a special adviser to help her manage the recovery and restoration efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Witt was FEMA director under former President Clinton, serving in that position from 1993-2001
(I heard he did very well in that post too.)
Meanwhile the current head of FEMA was, shall we say, run out on a rail from his last job and then snuggled into his current post thru favoritism.
He Was FIRED!
Money quote:
"Before joining the Bush administration in 2001, Brown spent 11 years as the commissioner of judges and stewards for the International Arabian Horse Association, a breeders' and horse-show organization based in Colorado."
How did this QUALIFY him to run FEMA?!
Maybe we CAN blame the President... Ah well. Off to a Bar-B-Que! Yummy.
Witt was FEMA director under former President Clinton, serving in that position from 1993-2001
(I heard he did very well in that post too.)
Meanwhile the current head of FEMA was, shall we say, run out on a rail from his last job and then snuggled into his current post thru favoritism.
He Was FIRED!
Money quote:
"Before joining the Bush administration in 2001, Brown spent 11 years as the commissioner of judges and stewards for the International Arabian Horse Association, a breeders' and horse-show organization based in Colorado."
How did this QUALIFY him to run FEMA?!
Maybe we CAN blame the President... Ah well. Off to a Bar-B-Que! Yummy.
To Lighten up the mood
Something pretty... (note - fashion model content, may not be appropriate for small children, Republicans or televangelists)
Eugen
Eugen
9.02.2005
Good guys
You know, this country, the military, the President, us, we are supposed to be the good guys. We've supposed to fight the good fight, defeat the alien invaders, invent technologies to save the planet.
I don't think that the government we've elected gets it.
That's our fault, we the people. We've been lazy. We've been stupid. This has to change.
I don't think that the government we've elected gets it.
That's our fault, we the people. We've been lazy. We've been stupid. This has to change.
Well, that explains why no fire fighting aircraft...
Friday, September 02, 2005
Forest Service offers planes to help fight fires
The Forest Service has offered fixed plane aircraft used to fight forest fires to help extinguish blazes in New Orleans, according to two congressional sources. But the sources said the planes, which can pour large amounts of water on fires, remained grounded in Missouri Friday because the Department of Homeland Security hasn’t authorized their use.
The department is overseeing federal hurricane relief and rescue operations.
"We’ve been asking them to request that the planes be used, but nothing has happened,” said one of the two congressional sources, both of whom asked to remain anonymous. The planes were offered by the Forest Service because of news reports that firefighters in New Orleans lacked adequate water pressure to fight a number of fires in the city.
There was no immediate comment from the Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department, or the Department of Homeland Security.
Forest Service
Forest Service offers planes to help fight fires
The Forest Service has offered fixed plane aircraft used to fight forest fires to help extinguish blazes in New Orleans, according to two congressional sources. But the sources said the planes, which can pour large amounts of water on fires, remained grounded in Missouri Friday because the Department of Homeland Security hasn’t authorized their use.
The department is overseeing federal hurricane relief and rescue operations.
"We’ve been asking them to request that the planes be used, but nothing has happened,” said one of the two congressional sources, both of whom asked to remain anonymous. The planes were offered by the Forest Service because of news reports that firefighters in New Orleans lacked adequate water pressure to fight a number of fires in the city.
There was no immediate comment from the Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department, or the Department of Homeland Security.
Forest Service
Fires
As you've probably heard, parts of New Orleans are on fire now, and of course there is no water pressure, and probably no way to get by land to some of these places anyway.
So... In another obvious blind spot by the Administration and Homeland Security, who should have had a contingency plan, why aren't we using forest fire fighting aircraft to drop flame retardant?
Why not? Because the Country is run by morons.
What are we going to do if there is a major terrorist strike? Run around and scream most likely because these people couldn't find their butts with both hands.
So... In another obvious blind spot by the Administration and Homeland Security, who should have had a contingency plan, why aren't we using forest fire fighting aircraft to drop flame retardant?
Why not? Because the Country is run by morons.
What are we going to do if there is a major terrorist strike? Run around and scream most likely because these people couldn't find their butts with both hands.
9.01.2005
Night of the Living Dead
8.31.2005
THIS IS IMPORTANT (says the government)
Did you know we had a Deputy Chief for Obscenity? I didn't.
Must Get Rid of Porn
U.S. Attorney's Porn Fight Gets Bad Reviews...
Must Get Rid of Porn
U.S. Attorney's Porn Fight Gets Bad Reviews...
So, why didn't God wait?
Gays Bring Wrath of God
So, why didn't God wait?
You would think that if God was really angry, He would have waited a week so He could have killed all the gays AT Southern Decadence, instead of the old, sick, poor (etc) that had nothing to do with the festival. Just one more week, and God could have gotten a whole passel of queers!
Did God get the weekend wrong? Was His calendar booked for this weekend (maybe causing chaos at a religious festival in Iraq)?
I guess San Francisco had to wait?
So, why didn't God wait?
You would think that if God was really angry, He would have waited a week so He could have killed all the gays AT Southern Decadence, instead of the old, sick, poor (etc) that had nothing to do with the festival. Just one more week, and God could have gotten a whole passel of queers!
Did God get the weekend wrong? Was His calendar booked for this weekend (maybe causing chaos at a religious festival in Iraq)?
I guess San Francisco had to wait?
Trouble
Well, ya got trouble, my friend.Right here, I say trouble right here in River City...
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/trouble.htm
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/trouble.htm
Update on "leaks" into New Orleans
Canal breach update
Wednesday, 1:40 p.m.
By Jan Moller
BATON ROUGE - Water levels in Orleans Parish have crested and are beginning to slowly recede as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prepares to begin an unprecedented effort to fix a 200-foot breach in the 17th Street Canal that has inundated the city, state and federal officials said Wednesday.
State Secrertary of Transportation and Development Johnny Bradberry said Lake Pontchatrain has receded by two feet since yesterday as water levels equalized between the lake and the flooded city interior.
"The good news here is that we've stabilized. Water is not rising in the city," Bradberry said.
Maj. Gen. Don Reily of the Corps of Engineers said flood levels are now receding at a rate of one inch per hour, but that it's likely to take at least 30 days before all the water is gone from New Orleans. "Lake level has equalized with interior water inside the city,. which means that it won't be any more flowing into the city except for a high tide," Reily said...
www.nola.com
Wednesday, 1:40 p.m.
By Jan Moller
BATON ROUGE - Water levels in Orleans Parish have crested and are beginning to slowly recede as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prepares to begin an unprecedented effort to fix a 200-foot breach in the 17th Street Canal that has inundated the city, state and federal officials said Wednesday.
State Secrertary of Transportation and Development Johnny Bradberry said Lake Pontchatrain has receded by two feet since yesterday as water levels equalized between the lake and the flooded city interior.
"The good news here is that we've stabilized. Water is not rising in the city," Bradberry said.
Maj. Gen. Don Reily of the Corps of Engineers said flood levels are now receding at a rate of one inch per hour, but that it's likely to take at least 30 days before all the water is gone from New Orleans. "Lake level has equalized with interior water inside the city,. which means that it won't be any more flowing into the city except for a high tide," Reily said...
www.nola.com
MR President...
Mr President,
I understand why you have to make the "war" in Iraq look good. I realize that you look really stupid and your poll ratings drop farther than even Rush Limbaugh will be able to help you with if Iraq collapses. However, despite you "cutting your vacation short" I don't think you have a clue as to what is going on HERE at home. Why should you? You've had it easy all your life.
Let me lay it out for you. New Orleans and half the Gulf Coast is GONE. We've got looters with guns stolen from Wal-Mart and who knows where running around that self-same coast setting up little feifdoms. It's going to cost probably fifty-billion dollars just to fix the mess, assuming no more hurricanes smash things this summer. What have you done? Released oil from some storage facilities?
Forget Iraq. Let them kill themselves off - I don't care. The money you were going to spend in Iraq HAS to be spent here. We may need the troops over there back here before this is said and done. You don't have to worry about getting elected again, and I don't care about the fate of the Republican Party. I do care about this country, and I don't see that you are the future of this country if we are going to make it thru this century.
Stop sending money overseas. Spend the money here, tell James Dobson and his little minions to go to hell, stop treating gays like 3rd class citizens, and stop being so partisan in your politics.
You had better get your head on straight, Mr. President. We've got problems right here, and Bin Laden, while annoying, isn't nearly the threat to the US that a bad economy and natural disasters are.
I understand why you have to make the "war" in Iraq look good. I realize that you look really stupid and your poll ratings drop farther than even Rush Limbaugh will be able to help you with if Iraq collapses. However, despite you "cutting your vacation short" I don't think you have a clue as to what is going on HERE at home. Why should you? You've had it easy all your life.
Let me lay it out for you. New Orleans and half the Gulf Coast is GONE. We've got looters with guns stolen from Wal-Mart and who knows where running around that self-same coast setting up little feifdoms. It's going to cost probably fifty-billion dollars just to fix the mess, assuming no more hurricanes smash things this summer. What have you done? Released oil from some storage facilities?
Forget Iraq. Let them kill themselves off - I don't care. The money you were going to spend in Iraq HAS to be spent here. We may need the troops over there back here before this is said and done. You don't have to worry about getting elected again, and I don't care about the fate of the Republican Party. I do care about this country, and I don't see that you are the future of this country if we are going to make it thru this century.
Stop sending money overseas. Spend the money here, tell James Dobson and his little minions to go to hell, stop treating gays like 3rd class citizens, and stop being so partisan in your politics.
You had better get your head on straight, Mr. President. We've got problems right here, and Bin Laden, while annoying, isn't nearly the threat to the US that a bad economy and natural disasters are.
8.30.2005
Maybe Ann Rice Knew Something the Rest of Us Didn't
8.28.2005
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