Isaac will apparently disappoint

The good news: Hurricane Isaac shortened a political convention.

The bad news? It's going to hit New Orleans--and apparently on the 7th anniversary of category 5 Hurricane Katrina.

Yet more bad news--it's apparently not going to bring precipitation to our area.

Dangit.

Mitt and Isaac

"Republican nightmare Monday: Tropical storm Isaac heads into Gulf, gathering hurricane winds. Reminds people (and the media) of Hurricane Katrina, which reminds them of George W. Bush -- the last Republican to occupy the White House.

But George W. is the last person Romney and Ryan want America to remember, because he brought on the Great Recession, turned a $5 billion surplus into a $6 trillion deficit, told America there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and didn't respond to Katrina for weeks.

Romney never speaks George W's name. Bush won't even appear at the GOP convention. But Hurricane Isaac may bring him back nonetheless."

--Robert Reich, American political economist, professor, author, and political commentator.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/posts/489677981044803

Yet another well done and important story from Frontline on PBS

Last evening, PBS ran another "Frontline" story, this one on Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant disaster after the tsunami they experienced last March 11. Besides telling an important story and getting the details of what happened to all these people, it also struck me how their Prime Minister Naoto Kan seemed to take charge of the situation, along with taking responsibility. I also respected and appreciated the honor he seemed to take in what became his job. I would love to see that from our elected officials, of course, at all times, but especially in times of these national emergencies and catastrophies. It would have been really nice to have seen when Hurrican Katrina hit the Gulf states here. What strikes me now, however, is that I'd like to hear the truth about what radioactive fallout hit the US and in what amounts, from the West Coast to East. Anyone? News media? Link: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/japans-nuclear-meltdown/

The sky is falling

Not to mock the severity of this or any other hurricane but the sky is falling, basically. Where the hell was this kind of concern when a category 5 hurricane was bearing down--for days--on New Orleans and the Gulf states? Check out the coverage in the media right now. You really would think it's the end of the world. Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/27/hurricane-irene-2011-2-million-told-to-move_n_938740.html

Vote Tuesday---and remember

Ten Things You Should Know About Hurricane Season

With the beginning of hurricane season and because a)there has been a prediction of an active season and b) we're concerned about the oil in the Gulf of Mexico right now and through the end of the year (by Sarah Nelson):

1. Hurricane season takes up nearly half the year. Typically it last from June 1 through the end of November. Approximately 97 percent of all hurricanes occur during the official hurricane season.

2. Across the country, 12 percent of Americans live in hurricane-prone regions.

3. Hurricanes are categorized by their wind force and storm surge (the height of water pushed ashore). The weakest hurricane has winds ranging anywhere from 74 to 95 miles an hour. A category five hurricane has winds of more than 155 miles per hour. Major hurricanes are ranked as either category three, four or five storms.

4. Experts anticipate an active 2010 hurricane season. Current estimates predict 14 to 23 named storms, and three to seven major hurricanes. The annual average is 11 named stormed with six hurricanes – two of which are major.

5. The year 2005 was the most active hurricane season in recorded history with 28 named storms. Including Katrina, 2005 had 15 hurricanes, seven of which were major. Prior to that year, the most active season on record was 1933 which had a total of 21 storms.

6. The longest category five hurricane was Hurricane Allen in 1980. The storm lasted 12 days and moved from the coast of Africa all the way to Northern Mexico before dissipating into a tropical depression.

7. Hurricane evacuation orders are serious business. If local authorities evacuate a region, following instructions can be a matter of life and death. Ninety percent of hurricane-related deaths are caused by storm surge, not winds.

8. When a hurricane causes severe damage to region, a request is often made to retire that hurricane’s name. Retirement means the name cannot be used for at least ten years after the storm. In 2005, five hurricane names were retired – the most names ever retired in a single year.

9. Most hurricanes occur in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, and less frequently in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Major storms that cross between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are renamed. Only nine storms have ever crossed oceans. The most recent major hurricane to cross oceans was Atlantic Hurricane Cesar, which became Northeast Pacific Hurricane Douglas, in 1996.

10. The frequency of tropical cyclones (a term that includes hurricanes and typhoons) over the last 35 years. Whether or not global climate change is driving the increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes and other stories remains a topic under debate – much like the ongoing and highly politicized struggle over climate change science itself.

Link to original post:
http://www.causecast.org/news_items/9842-ten-things-you-should-know-about-hurricane-season?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+causecast%2Flatest_news+%28Causecast+-+Latest+News%29

Quote of the day

"Life throws a lot at you. Sometimes you don't like it."

--Frank Morris, KCUR FM News Director, paraphrasing Louisianans on the Gulf, after Hurricane Katrina, the cleanup (and lack thereof) and the current Gulf oil spill.



Have a great weekend, y'all.

Can we not agree that no one should be politicizing the Haitian earthquake?

From the blog: "POLITICS FROM THE EYES OF AN EBONY MOM"

Haiti is No Hurricane Katrina

Posted on January 14, 2010 by musesofamom

Over the past few days we have looked at the utter devastation of the island of Haiti. The images are heartbreaking, but we are heartened by the response of our government. President Obama’s response has been swift, coordinated and aggressive. He said that Haiti is our neighbor and we are here to help them. In spite of our country’s best efforts we still have detractors like Rush Limbaugh use this opportunity to inject race into the situation. Limbaugh said, “This will play right into Obama’s hands. Humanitarian, compassionate. They’ll use this to, to burnish their, shall we say, credibility with the black community, the both light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in, in this country. It’s made-to-order for him. That’s why he couldn’t wait to get out there, could not wait to get out there.” The other disturbing thing about this tragedy is the constant comparisons between the Haitian earthquake and Hurricane Katrina. This is truly like comparing apples to oranges. Haiti is our neighbor it is not a state. Katrina happened in the United States and we were unable to help our own citizens. The effort in Louisiana was flawed on every level: local, state and federal. We found it incomprehensible that we were hearing US citizens being referred to as “refugees.” We had a president who initially was disengaged and FEMA who was ill-equipped and unprepared to deal with the crisis, but this was an internal problem. These were our citizens and we were responsible for their well-being. Haitians are not our citizens they are our neighbors and we are doing everything to help them, but please stop comparing this disaster to Katrina they are two very different situations.

Original link here:
http://ebonymompolitics.wordpress.com/2010/01/14/haiti-is-no-hurricane-katrina/

___________________________

You wouldn't think Rush Limbaugh or any other "Right-winger" would want to politicize the Haitian earthquake anyway, Katrina comparison or no, for two reasons: 1) It's almost unthinkable to do so, since it is a horrific natural catastrophe and 2) The case can be made, I think, that the US is responding far better to this disaster, as "Ebony Mom" states above, to Haiti's troubles off our shore than we did to a disaster in one of our own major cities, in our own country.

"Ebony Mom" also points out that the Fox "News" network ignored the Haitian earthquake in it's coverage of world news (link here: http://ebonymompolitics.wordpress.com/2010/01/15/fox-news-top-shows-ignore-the-haiti-catastrophe/) and Glenn Beck also wanted to politicize the horrible tragedy that is Haiti right now, on his show (link: http://ebonymompolitics.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/glenn-beck-says-president-obama-is-%e2%80%9cdividing-the-nation%e2%80%9d-by-reacting-so-quickly-to-haiti/)

Then, not to be outdone in both the politicization or "I'm a ranting, raving lunatic" arena, "Venezualan President Hugo Chavez claimed yesterday that the US is trying to occupy Haiti "undercover"."

Then, "Former President George W. Bush weighed in on the matter (I can hardly believe I'm saying this) and denied that President Obama is "'politicizing' Haiti".

So, finally, I ask you: "Can't we all just get along?"

Cheers

Today, as you've likely heard, is the day of the final burial and memorial service for Senator Ted Kennedy, along with the 4th annual anniversary of Hurricane Katrina coming onshore in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

Raise a glass, sometime today, to the working class, the little men and women of our society--and the people who work for them, however few there are.




Have a great weekend, y'all.

Fantastic Ironies

I've written here before of my strong fondness for irony and ironies. Right now, three whoppers occurred to me so naturally I want to share.

The first is John McCain's pick for his Vice President.

Obama isn't an old white guy so he had to pick one as his VP. McCain isn't a reasonably young person, a minority to boot, with energy who might also have new ideas and creativity so that's what he picked.

How great is that?

The real irony comes in the fact that McCain's been complaining of his rival's relative inexperience and lack of seasoning and testing. So who does he pick as a possible next VP should, God forbid, something happen to him, if he's elected President? (Again, God forbid). He picks a younger person (that isn't the hard part) with EVEN LESS experience than Obama.

How can he now complain of Obama's lack of experience?

It seems he's taken away one of his own talking points.

The second delicious irony comes from quite possibly a really terrible coincidence. I got to thinking how awful it is, right now, like everyone else, that this Hurricane Gustav seems to be headed straight for New Orleans at virtually the exact 3 year anniversary of devastating Hurricane Katrina.

How terrible for the people there.

But the irony here comes from the fact that the Republican Party may have to delay it's national nominating convention that's due to start Monday. Sure, part of it is because some of these party leaders are governors and other legislators who might need to be down there, in case of any emergencies.

But the biggest reason they may need to delay is because it points out how badly this Republican administration--and party, really--mismanaged and mangled the recovery efforts in New Orleans, those 3 years ago.

Can you imagine if there's many problems down there and they go ahead with their convention? The perfect part would be the day this chucklehead President would be giving his speech. Yow. It just couldn't get any better than that.

And then there's my third, final and, I think, best irony of the day/week/month. And that is that the Republican National Convention is being held in Minnesota.

Why, you ask?

Well, because this is the one place that Senator Craig, of Idaho, cannot possibly attend because it was at this airport that he solicited a male policeman for sex in a public bathroom stall and got caught.

One more Republican officeholder, caught in illicit, public, gay sex, when this is the intolerant party that hates gays.


So there you are campers--irony. Delicious, Republican Party irony.

Enjoy.

I know I am.

"W" in N'awlunz

So "W" is going back again--the 11th time--today, to New Orleans.

Wow.

The guy has nerve or is oblivious or was just forced to go, one--or more--of the three.

With what little he and his administration has done for that city and area since Hurricane Katrina, even he's got to be ashamed. Really.

Fortunately, it looks as though his administration is going to be defined, it's thought, by the Iraq War and this under-reaction to Katrina, at the very least. Oh, that and the corruption, you can't forget the corporate corruption and graft.

He's going down, apparently, to tell them to have hope and that better days are coming, according to the speech that's been released to the press.

Hmmm. Is that like the hope his Mom told the citizens of the city were to have, when they were at the Astrodome, just after the flooding? When she said it must be an improvement for them, compared to being safe and warm in their own homes?

Anyway, "W" says 126 BILLION DOLLARS has been invested in the area.

Yeah. From the pictures and video I've seen, most of the city is still destroyed.

It's 2008, for pity's sake.

This should have been taken care of already.

And for "W" to go now, saying they should still "have hope" rings horribly hollow.

I hope he's just bright enough to be embarassed.

Honestly, I doubt it.

(Original story here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080820/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_katrina;_ylt=AiO3jw_XrF.9YeilOadFG1ID5gcF)

Why aren't you people angry?

The following is an email written by Lee Iacocca, according to www.snopes.com. You remember Mr. Iacocca--the former President of Chrysler Motors. He turned that company around and has been straightening everyone out ever since.

It seems Mr. Iacocca asks the right question, and that is, why the heck isn't the American people out and out angry about the way their country is being run--and has been run ever since this knucklehead took over, having stole the election in 2000?

Really, why aren't you people aware and angry?

Herewith is the email:

Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He has a new book, and here are some excerpts.

Lee Iacocca Says:

"Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.

But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course"

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America not the damned "Titanic". I'll give you a sound bite: "Throw all the bums out!"

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.

The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions.

That's not the promise of the " America " my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.

I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
The Biggest "C" is Crisis!

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes.

A Hell of a Mess

So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way These are times that cry out for leadership.

But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker
for alliteration, but I think you get the point.

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo. We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.

Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.

Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.


Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when "The Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies? How did this
happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?

Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the
middle class dry.

I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.

What is everybody so afraid of?

That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?

Had Enough?

Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope I believe in America . In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America's greatest moments. I've also
experienced some of our worst crises: the "Great Depression", "World War II", the "Korean War", the "Kennedy Assassination", the "Vietnam War", the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing,
it's this: "You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action.

Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to "Action" for people who, like me, believe in America . It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had "enough."



That's it. That's the email. At its end, you are to email it on to other people on your email list.

I bet most people don't even do that... what with Nascar being on TV and everything.