Tuesday, September 13, 2005
"Lives were lost that did not need to be lost...."
As regular readers know, I've been preoccupied with the hurricane tragedy but there's been plenty of other stuff going on. A few things I missed along the way:
"Here’s the truth about Chief Justice Rehnquist you won’t hear on Fox News or from politicians. Chief Justice William Rehnquist set back liberty, equality, and human rights perhaps more than any American judge of this generation. His rise to power speaks volumes about the current state of American values."
Alan Dershowitz from "Telling the Truth About Chief Justice Rehnquist" (Huff Post)
Meanwhile, John Roberts' supreme court confirmation hearings have just begun but many of his key files have gone missing or been mislabeled after being reviewed by adminstration lawyers. Scary....
A legit power out just a little over two years after the nation's largest blackout made it clear that the national power grid infrastructure needed a serious injection of funding to be upgraded (hmm, just like the New Orleans levees...), one of Bush faux terror scares when his poll numbers dip or Al Qaeda testing the waters before making good on one of their terror warnings? Take your pick, it's even scarier....
Colin Powell admits he played himself with his WMD "presentation pitch" at the UN in the lead-up the Iraq war (and also turns on his former boss over his inept disaster response efforts down in the Gulf).
So getting back to Katrina:
Firing FEMA head Michael Brown was a good start but be clear, this failure stemmed from the top down. Newsweek breaks down "How Bush Blew it."
While NPR breaks down what went wrong before and after the storm (via Poplicks)
David Corn on the connection between Justice Rehnquist's Death and Hurricane Katrina.
Juan Cole compares the looting in Fallujah and New Orleans concludes that Bush cares deeply about the property of rich white people.
While probably related: the post-hurricane cronyism is already rampant.
I'd actually give Tom Delay the benefit of the doubt and assume he was trying to make some kids feel a little better about being in a terribile situation, but he still came off crazy with his recent comments. (Related: more compassionate conservatism in action - post Katrina)
'Racist' police blocked a bridge out of NOLA and forced evacuees back at gunpoint. Maybe I shouldn't be so tolerant after all....
An environmental experts alleges a cover-up and that "toxic waters 'will make New Orleans unsafe for a decade'."
While:
"Experts say it’s only a matter of time before a major hurricane strikes New York City. When it comes, you may want to have your evacuation plan nearby. If not, meet the fishes."
From "The Big One" I remember reading this a few months ago and being mildly interested. Now of course I'm a whole lot less blase.
