CBS Eye Lies

Hat Tip: Ink Pen at Free Republic

Louisianna's Looting Lawmakers

From Decatur Daily Democrat:

Louisiana's looting lawmakers

The nation is at war. It is mired in debt. It has been hit by floods and hurricanes. In the face of this adversity, congressional leaders have rightly dropped proposals for yet more tax cuts, and some have suggested removing the pork from the recently passed transportation bill. But this spirit of forbearance has not touched the Louisiana congressional delegation. The state's representatives have come up with a request for $250 billion in federal reconstruction funds for Louisiana alone -- more than $50,000 per person in the state. This money would come on top of payouts from businesses, national charities and insurers. And it would come on top of the $62.3 billion that Congress has already appropriated for emergency relief.

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Circus Turns Belly-Up

Cindy Sheehan - A Uniter, Not A Divider from Wizbang!
(Knight Ridder 09/22/2005) - As the anti-war movement arrives in Washington this weekend, many top Democrats are leaving.
Nationally known Democratic war critics, including Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin and John Kerry of Massachusetts, won't attend what sponsors say will be a big anti-war rally Saturday in Washington.
The only Democratic officeholders who plan to address the rally are Reps. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia and John Conyers of Michigan.

[Conyers and McKinney hardly qualify as significant, given their status in the tin foil wing of the party. ]


Cindy Sheehan Jealous Of Hurricane Rita from Flopping Aces:
[Sheehan wrote:] "I am watching cnn and it is 100 percent rita...even though it is a little wind and a little rain...it is bad, but there are other things going on in this country today...and in the world!!!!"
by CindySheehan on Sat Sep 24th, 2005 at 06:29:15 PDT

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Hard Times at Air America

From The Radio Equalizer:

PANHANDLING NEXT?

AAR Seeking 'Gifts'...

In what appears just short of outright panhandling, a desperate Air America Radio is now begging listeners for cash donations.

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Kofi Annan's Replacement

Amid mounting speculation on Kofi Annan's resignation as Secretary General of the United Nations, Miss Cleo has become the international favorite as his replacement, largely for the clarity of vision she is expected to bring to the beleaguered world organization.

MSM: Stuck on Stupid

Gen. Honore, in reply to an MSM question why the difference between Texas and Louisianna in preparing for hurricane threats:

“You are stuck on stupid, I’m not going to answer that question”

Bravo, Gen. Honore!

At last, someone with the spine to say it.

See the VIDEO here.

Hat Tip: The Political Teen

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Just Hate

No Sex, No WMDs Either

From Polipundit:
Bill Clinton Is Shameless, Too (What Evidence Of WMD?)

This post is the companion piece to my “Bill Clinton is no-class slime” post. Here, again, is the Clinton quote:

Breaking with tradition under which US presidents mute criticisms of their successors, Clinton said the Bush administration had decided to invade Iraq “virtually alone and before UN inspections were completed, with no real urgency, no evidence that there were weapons of mass destruction.”

Below are links to just a few of the many previous references to “evidence” that Bill Clinton has to be aware of, since many of them came from his own mouth. For example, in October 2003 he seemed to believe Saddam had WMD:

“When Clinton was here recently he told me he was absolutely convinced, given his years in the White House and the access to privileged information which he had, that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction until the end of the Saddam regime,” . – Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso said in an interview with Portuguese cable news channel SIC Noticias. Glenn Reynolds called this a blow to the “Bush lied” crowd.

Following are links to just a few of many other examples.
The Democrats’ Greatest Hits: The WMD Collection – Power Line (from Laurie Mylroie)

If The Bush Administration Lied About WMD, So Did These People – Version 3.0 – John Hawkins

On Iraq and WMD: Did the president lie? – Larry Elder

Lies About Iraqi Nukes – Mark Levin

Mad Times

Times Watch for September 15, 2005

Times Uses Skewed Poll to Claim Falling Bush Support
The Times tries its best to spin anti-Bush results out of a new poll: "A summer of bad news from Iraq, high gasoline prices, economic unease and now the devastation of Hurricane Katrina has left President Bush with overall approval ratings for his job performance and handling of Iraq, foreign policy and the economy at or near the lowest levels of his presidency." Only in the fine print does the Times admit its poll is skewed toward Democrats. See TW Article

Flashing the Post-Katrina Race Card
White House correspondents Elisabeth Bumiller and Richard Stevenson gang up on the president in Thursday's warm-up story for Bush's speech from New Orleans tonight. See TW Article

Quotes of Note: SPECIAL HURRICANE KATRINA EDITION

Bad News for USA is Good News for Left Wing

Celebrating the Media's Bush-Bashing Passion, Media Research Center, September 19, 2005

The misery and loss of life following Hurricane Katrina make it the worst calamity to hit the United States since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. But after 9/11, many journalists insisted that their correct stance was rigid neutrality, refusing to call terrorists "terrorists" and insisting objectivity would be compromised by wearing lapel pins with the American flag. In contrast, journalists showed no similar desire for neutrality in covering this disaster -- and many media critics praised the "activism" and "passion" of TV's Bush-bashing coverage.

Hurricane of Hate

Media Research Center, Special Hurricane Blame Game Edition

After the storm and the slowness in getting relief to survivors, liberal journalists pointed an accusing finger at everything liberals griped about before Katrina: America's supposed racism, an uncaring middle class, the war in Iraq, tax cuts, Big Oil, global warming and George W. Bush. CBS commentator Nancy Giles blamed American society, insisting: "If the majority of the hardest hit victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans were white people, they would not have gone for days without food and water....Their bodies would not have been left to float in putrid water."

MSM Spin

Race Card Not Working

Best of the Web Today
BY JAMES TARANTO
Tuesday, September 13, 2005

The Truth about Race in America

What does Hurricane Katrina tell us about race in America? A new Gallup poll is informative:

"Six in 10 African-Americans say the fact that most hurricane victims were poor and black was one reason the federal government failed to come to the rescue more quickly. Whites reject that idea; nearly 9 in 10 say those weren't factors. . . .

"Republican efforts this year to reach out to black voters have not been helped. . . . By more than 3-to-1, [blacks] say Bush doesn't care about black people. By more than 2-to-1, whites say he does."

Let's look more closely at these two questions, which are questions 14 and 3, respectively, in the poll results. By 60% to 37%, blacks think the government was slow in rescuing Katrina victims for racial reasons; by 86% to 12%, whites do not think so. By 72% to 21%, blacks think President Bush does not care about black people. By 67% to 26%, whites think he does care.
...
...[A] vast majority of blacks (72%) disagree with a solid majority of the overall population (60%) on the question of whether Bush cares, and a solid majority of blacks (60%) disagree with an overwhelming majority of the overall population (78%) on the question of whether the rescue was racist.

The truth about race that Katrina illuminates, then, is that, at least when it comes to matters involving race, black Americans are extreme political outliers. This is why attempts to play the race card are politically futile: They have to appeal not just to blacks, but to a substantial minority of whites. The Gallup poll results makes clear that the current racial appeals are not resonating with whites.


See also The Truth about Race in America-- II, and

The Truth about Race in America-- III

MSM on Showing Dead Bodies

Go to the PajamasMedia 9-11 Memorial Slideshow.

From Powerline:

Glenn Reynolds makes a great point this morning:

"THE PRESS WANTS TO SHOW BODIES from Katrina. It didn't want to show bodies, or jumpers, on 9/11, for fear that doing so would inflame the public.

"I can only conclude that this time around, the press thinks it's a good thing to inflame the public. What could the difference be?"

The link is to a CNN story about how the network has gone to court to get an order requiring the U.S. military to give it access to dead bodies so it can film them. Quite a different attitude, wouldn't you say, from the press's reluctance to show us the full horror of the September 11 attacks? Remember, too, the press' outrage when it wasn't able to shoot footage of caskets of soldiers that were flown back from Iraq. Somehow a different standard applied there, also.

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The link is here.

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Blanco: "HEY CULLIGAN MAN!"

Governor Blanco: "Hey Culligan Man!"


Today Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco unveiled her disaster relief plan at a press conference, held in her office in Baton Rouge. The comprehensive five-year plan is designed to restore air and water quality in New Orleans and environs ravaged by hurricane Katrina.

In the proposal made jointly with Mayor Ray Nigan, Sharper Image will be the prime contractor for air purification and disease prevention. The prime water contractor for drainage pumping, levee reconstruction, and water purification will be The Culligan Man .

Blanco is applying for $4.5 billion in federal funds for the construction of twin Quadra Towers to house the massive Ionic Breeze Purifiers developed by the Sharper Image, Inc. As part of the development package, Sharper Image has guaranteed that all residents of New Orleans will sleep better at night, regardless of race, and wake up feeling more rested.

Blanco said she and her staff of experts have been working on this plan since taking office, and its imminent release is the reason she first refused Bush's urging to call up the National Guard.

Mayor Nigan was in Las Vegas with the New Orleans Police, and could not be reached for comment.

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Political Sharks Feed in New Orleans

NOT ANOTHER DAMNED COMMISSION

By Michelle Malkin · September 07, 2005 09:02 AM

That's the subject of my latest syndicated column on Hillary, Hurricane Katrina, and the soiled legacy of the 9/11 Commission. Excerpt:

Sen. Clinton's "Katrina Commission" would be modeled after the "independent" 9/11 Commission. I can see it now: Democrat Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, whose main imperative is covering up her own culpability, will be the next Jamie Gorelick; Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard, the local corrupt-o-crat who got his 15 minutes of fame on "Meet the Press" last week, will be the next Richard Ben-Veniste.

And this time for "diversity," maybe they'll call on Randall "Black people are eating corpses…oh, never mind" Robinson and rapper Kanye "It's all about me" West to share their deep expertise.
Despite the abject failures of local and state officials to prepare for the worst, abide by their own evacuation plans, maintain an effective police force, and crack down on looters, Sen. Clinton's commission would only examine the "adequacy of federal response efforts."

Translation: Bash Bush.
...
As military leaders now spearhead bureaucratically-delayed recovery efforts and private citizens and corporations lead the way on massive charitable relief campaigns, the last thing this country needs is another grand-standing panel of blowhards to soak up public resources to restate the obvious. There isn't a single Katrina victim who will benefit from hindsight hound dogs publishing thousand-page tomes with cherry-picked evidence that distorts the true narrative of what happened and why.

Hillary's wafffle on FEMA: She voted FOR the legislation (putting FEMA under Homeland Security) that her current proposal would reverse.

Clinton Legislation to Restore Independence to FEMA
WNYC NewsroomNEW YORK, NY, September 06, 2005 —

Senator Hillary Clinton wants an independent commission to investigate the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina. Clinton is introducing legislation that would also restore independence to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

REPORTER: In a conference call with reporters, Clinton said FEMA did a better job before it was swallowed up into the Department of Homeland Security.

New Orleans/FEMA

From Captain's Quarters:

Katrina: The Memes Die Last

The notion that the federal government has primary authority over
cities and states, an error that any high-school graduate should recognize,
has slowly begun to fade from media coverage of Hurricane Katrina.
In its place comes dawning realization of the massive failure of Louisiana
and New Orleans to initiate their own disaster plans and to use their
available assets to maintain control in New Orleans. On CNN yesterday,
even Mayor Ray Nagin now recalls his civics classes, although he still
hasn't done much to take responsibility for his own failures to
follow his own detailed emergency response plan.

From Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

FEMA is not a first responder

Don't be so quick to pillory the federal response in New Orleans.
Immediate emergency management is primarily a local and state
responsibility

The key to emergency management starts at the local level and expands
to the state level. Emergency planning generally does not include any
federal guarantees, as there can only be limited ones from the federal
level for any local plan. FEMA provides free training, education,
assistance and respond in case of an emergency, but the local and
state officials run their own emergency management program.

Prior development of an emergency plan, addressing all foreseeable
contingencies, is the absolute requirement of the local government
--and then they share that plan with the state emergency managers
to ensure that the state authorities can provide necessary assets
not available at the local level. Additionally, good planning will include
applicable elements of the federal government (those located in the
local area). These processes are well established, but are contingent
upon the personal drive of both hired and elected officials at the
local level.

I've reviewed the New Orleans emergency management plan.
Here is an important section in the first paragraph:

"We coordinate all city departments and allied state and federal agencies
which respond to citywide disasters and emergencies through the
development and constant updating of an integrated multi-hazard plan.
All requests for federal disaster assistance and federal funding
subsequent to disaster declarations are also made through this office.

Our authority is defined by the Louisiana Emergency Assistance and Disaster
Act of 1993, Chapter 6 Section 709, Paragraph B, 'Each parish shall maintain
a Disaster Agency which, except as otherwise provided under this act, has
jurisdiction over and serves the entire parish.' "
................................................

Read New Orleans emergency management plan (which was never
implemented by Mayor Nigan).

Kennedy, Frist Volunteer in New Orleans

Senators apply prior experience to rescue victims of Katrina.

Based on article in BREITBART.com, Senator Frist Becomes Medical Volunteer.

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Annan Offers Katrina Disaster Relief

It's the small print that gets ya.
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The U.N.'s Spreading Bribery Scandal: Russian Ties and Global Reach

By Claudia Rosett, George Russell
FoxNews.com
September 6, 2005
Web site: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,168591,00.html

How widespread is the corruption at the United Nations? The multibillion-dollar Iraq Oil-for-Food scandal was just the beginning.

Now the issue is becoming the scale of corruption in the U.N.'s normal operations — and which individuals and corporations are reaping the benefits of a network of bribery and conspiracy that investigators have just begun to uncover. So far, those identities are still a mystery — but perhaps not for much longer.

Last Friday, federal prosecutors in Manhattan indicted the head of the U.N.'s own budget oversight committee, a Russian named Vladimir Kuznetsov, on charges of laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes paid by companies seeking contracts with the United Nations.

...Kuznetsov's arrest is the latest twist in the scandal involving the U.N. procurement department, which was the longtime post of Alexander Yakovlev (search), another Russian U.N. official recently fingered by U.S. federal investigators.

More at Gateway Pundit, Kofi Braces for More Criticism

Hat tip: Instapundit

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Jesse Does Katrina

Another Karl Rove trick?

Birds of the Feather

The Paranoid Style

Iraq: Where socialists and anarchists join in with racialists and paleocons.

By Victor Davis Hanson, NationalReview.com, August 26, 2005

It is becoming nearly impossible to sort the extreme rhetoric of the antiwar Left from that of the fringe paleo-Right. Both see the Iraqi war through the same lenses: the American effort is bound to fail and is a deep reflection of American pathology.

An anguished Cindy Sheehan calls Bush "the world's biggest terrorist." And she goes on to blame Israel for the death of her son ("Yes, he was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel. My son joined the Army to protect America, not Israel").

Her antiwar venom could easily come right out of the mouth of a more calculating David Duke. Perhaps that's why he lauded her anti-Semitism: "Courageously she has gone to Texas near the ranch of President Bush and braved the elements and a hostile Jewish supremacist media."

This odd symbiosis began right after 9/11. Then the lunatic Left mused about the "pure chaos" of the falling "two huge buck teeth" twin towers, lamented that they were more full of Democrats than Republicans, and saw the strike as righteous payback from third-world victims.