'Best of TBH Politoons'
Tonight & Monday
Erin Hart Show
710 KIRO - 9pm to 1am (pdt) Weekend Nights
Please join Erin Hart on 710 KIRO, Saturday and Sunday nights from 9pm to 1am
PDT And on Boulder's Progressive Talk, AM760.net Labor Day from 6am To 10am (mdt).
Talk to Michelle LaFrance of UW's Dept of English who moved to New Orleans
to marry and teach and now writes in her blog about her exodus from NOLA to
Texas.
Listen to Eric Holdeman, Director of King County's Office of Emergency
Management who says FEMA has been eviscerated by the Bush Administration and
why the tragedy of the Gulf, that's our Gulf, shows why that is so true.
And then we will talk and talk and talk. If you have room there is
hurricanehousing.org, and marty of Bartcop.com provided a list of links to
find out all we need to know, even though it's her bye week.
Monday, Ken Gordon, CO Senate Majority Leader checks in-- is walking the
state in an effort to get out the vote for much needed state funding reform
and to John Dicker, author of "The United States of Wal-Mart".
Reader Comment
Re: Trent Lott cartoon
I know he deserves it, but Trent Lott had his house in Mississippi flattened in the storm so it would be nice to pick other worthy republicans for a couple days.
Lynn
Thanks for the comment, Lynn.
Trent Lott, with the well-trained ferret-perched-on-top-of-his-head, has more than 1 house.
Yes, losing a house is sad, but he'll be able to re-build, at will. He didn't lose all his worldly possessions. He has more clothes than what's on his back.
He has the best medical insurance in the world, so he won't have to stand in line for basic care.
And, he got to keep his dignity, unlike
those poor, wet, un-fed, unwashed masses in the SuperDome or the Convention Center. He didn't sleep next to uncovered corpses. No one put him on a bus without knowing the destination.
Hell, he's in great shape compared to the poor bastards in the hinterlands - the one's who live off the beaten path and have seen no assistance at all.
My neighbors still don't know if their siblings & respective families are safe, let alone alive.
Crooks and Liars offers
this clip of Anderson Cooper with Trent Lott - Anderson ain't drinking the Kool-Aid anymore.
AmericaBlog provides observations on the interview, too, because
Trent Lott Thinks Bush Is Doing Dandy.
Anyone who thinks bunnypants is doing a swell job is worthy of being picked on.
However, I did consider issuing a day-pass for Sen. Frist, but
his photo op didn't last that long.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Mrs. Betty Bowers: Katrina, the Terrorist Who Snuck Past the Metal Detector
I see that our gallant President has decided that it is taking far too long for Iraq to look like America. So he has decided to meet them halfway by making New Orleans look like Baghdad.
Molly Ivins: New Orleans: It's about us ( Creators Syndicate)
Iraq war didn't cause the hurricane; it just drained resources from flooded city.
Arianna Huffington: Are People Dying Over Here Because We're Fighting Them Over There? (huffingtonpost.com)
Is the aftermath of Katrina part of the price we are paying for Iraq? To the growing list of collateral damage caused by the Iraq war and Bush's stunningly inept leadership, we can now add the city of New Orleans. It's no surprise that RNC chairman Ken Mehlman doesn't want "politics" injected into the national discussion about Katrina.
Vacation is Over... an open letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush (michaelmoore.com)
Dear Mr. Bush: Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers?
Mark Benjamin: Army sent mentally ill troops to Iraq (United Press International)
WASHINGTON, March 12 (UPI) -- The Army appears to have "inappropriately" deployed soldiers to Iraq who already were diagnosed with mental problems, according to documents obtained by United Press International.
Robert Scheer: Another Embarrassment for Bush
No amount of crowing over a fig leaf Iraqi constitution by President Bush can hide the fact that the region's autocrats, theocrats and terrorists are stronger than ever.
Google Bomb
'Failure'
1. Go to Google
2. Type in the word 'failure' - no need for quotation marks, just the word 'failure'
3. Then click on 'I'm feeling lucky'
Thanks, JD!
Commentary
Rants from Bruce
* President Bush says that if something went wrong in getting
emergency relief services quickly to New Orleans, he would see that
the problem is solved.
To which Americans everywhere said, "IF?"
* Q: Why do we need government?
A: To help people when disasters such
as Hurricane Katrina hit.
* Q: Does government often not do a good job when it comes to helping
people?
A: Yes. It is four years since 9-11, yet our government was
unprepared for the emergency that was Hurricane Katrina.
* Q: Why don't Republican politicians at the national level want
Hurricane Katrina to become a political issue?
A: Because they
screwed up and got people killed through lack of preparation and slow
response time.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Another sunny, but mild day.
Bought the kid pants & shirts for school. And backpack, binders, folders, pens, pencils, erasers, paper...the list grows every year.
Michael Chertoff is a scheduled guest on
ABC's "This Week",
CBS' "Face the Nation",
NBC's "Meet the Press",
CNN's "Late Edition", and
"Fox News Sunday".
Goes Off Script, Rips Bush
Kanye West
It began, fittingly enough, with jazz from New Orleans natives Harry Connick Jr. and Wynton Marsalis. But "A Concert for Hurricane Relief," a heartfelt and dignified benefit aired on NBC and other networks Friday night, took an unexpected turn thanks to the outspoken rapper Kanye West.
Appearing two-thirds through the program, he claimed " George Bush doesn't care about black people" and said America is set up "to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible."
The show, simulcast from New York on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and Pax, was aired live to the East Coast, enabling the Grammy-winning rapper's outburst to go out uncensored.
There was a several-second tape delay, but the person in charge "was instructed to listen for a curse word, and didn't realize (West) had gone off-script," said NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks.
West's comment about the president was cut from NBC's West Coast airing, which showed three hours later on tape.
Kanye West
Watch the video
Man With An Opinion
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan lobbed sharp criticism at resident George W. Bush for his environmental policies and his handling of the hurricane catastrophe in the United States.
"This man called resident Bush has a lot to answer for," the former James Bond actor told journalists as he presented his latest movie at a French festival of US film in this Normandy resort town.
He was responding to a question about the Bush administration's response to Hurrican Katrina, which has wreaked massive destruction and loss of life in the southern US.
"This government has been shameful," Brosnan said.
The outburst revealed a rare moment of passion for the actor, who had been fielding questions mostly about his new film, "The Matador", and about his career now that he has refused to play in any more James Bond films.
Pierce Brosnan
Slams Storm Aid Efforts
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie says she is happy aid is getting to the hurricane-ravaged New Orleans area, but that "it is simply not going to be enough."
The 30-year-old actress issued a statement late Friday that she was "shocked" at the images coming from New Orleans, a city she said is "very close to my heart."
"The federal government's response must be dramatically increased in order to prevent a further loss of life."
Angelina Jolie
Postpones Letterman Appearance
Rumsfeld
Due to hurricane relief efforts in the Gulf Coast, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has postponed an appearance on the "Late Show With David Letterman" that had been set for this coming week.
Rumsfeld was to appear Tuesday night. He will reschedule his visit at a future date, CBS said Friday.
Rumsfeld
Plays Outside Roman Colosseum
Elton John
Elton John played the piano and delighted hundreds of thousands of fans with old hits such as "Daniel" at a concert outside the Colosseum on Saturday night.
People of all ages clapped and danced at the free concert on the Via dei Fori Imperiali, the large boulevard that leads to the Colosseum and is lined with ancient Roman relics.
Last year, a Simon and Garfunkel concert on the same stage drew hundreds of thousands of fans. In 2003, Paul McCartney also performed on the Via dei Fori Imperiali.
Elton John
Wins Another Poker Tournament
Jennifer Tilly
Jennifer Tilly has won her second major poker tournament, and confidence in her playing ability.
"I felt like I was suffering from the 'impostor syndrome,'" said Tilly, who jumped from the table after her win. "I had these niggling self doubts. But now I know I can really play. These women were extremely tough pros with blood lust at the poker table."
Tilly's victory at the World Poker Tour Ladies Night III at the Bicycle Casino on Thursday makes her the first woman to win that title and the World Series' Ladies World Poker Championship held in June.
Jennifer Tilly
Painkiller Blamed In Death
Domino Harvey
An accidental overdose of a powerful painkiller killed Domino Harvey, a model-turned-bounty hunter whose life is depicted in the upcoming action movie "Domino," according to a coroner's report.
Fentanyl, a drug more potent than morphine, was found in her heart, blood and liver, according to a toxicology report released Friday by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.
Harvey, 35, was found unresponsive June 27 in the bathtub of her West Hollywood home and was pronounced dead at a hospital. Neither drowning nor foul play contributed to her death, the report said.
Domino Harvey
Embezzlement Scandal
Songwriters Guild
A federal criminal investigation is under way after $1.25 million in songwriter royalties allegedly were embezzled from the Songwriters Guild of America by its royalty manager and her family members.
The SGA represents about 5,000 songwriter members and their estates. Members may elect to have the guild collect royalties for them from publishers, collecting societies and others. The SGA collects nearly $16 million in royalties annually and holds about 2 percent of that amount, when it cannot find current addresses for writers.
According to a federal civil lawsuit the SGA filed in July, Marsha Aiken became the guild's royalty manager in 2002 and created a fraudulent membership account under the name Anthony Ray, who the IRS later identified as her cousin. She began writing unauthorized royalty checks to Ray from the SGA's general account -- where the unlocated writers' funds are held -- and mailing them to him in Rhode Island.
Songwriters Guild
Zimbabwe: CIA Behind Movie
Nicole Kidman
President Robert Mugabe's government has attacked the suspense thriller "The Interpreter," starring Nicole Kidman, claiming it is part of a propaganda campaign by the CIA that shows "Zimbabwe's enemies did not rest."
In the film, Kidman plays a United Nations interpreter who overhears two people discussing an apparent assassination plot against the president of a fictional Republic of Matobo. The president, Edmond Zuwanie, is accused of ethnic cleansing and plans to address the U.N. General Assembly in an attempt to forestall indictment by the International Criminal Court.
Zuwanie and the fictional country he leads have been interpreted as caricatures of Mugabe and Zimbabwe.
Nicole Kidman
'Harmonica Wizard'
DeFord Bailey
When country music pioneer DeFord Bailey is officially inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in the fall, he will become just the second black performer to join its august 95-member ranks, joining 2000 inductee Charley Pride.
Bailey's name will enter the Country Hall's rolls November 15 during the Country Music Assn.'s awards ceremony at New York's Madison Square Garden. It will be close to 80 years after country's "Harmonica Wizard" and first black star made his 1925 debut on the Grand Ole Opry, the venerable weekly showcase on radio station WSM in Nashville.
Born outside Bellwood, Tenn., on December 14, 1899, Bailey taught himself to play the harmonica while recovering from a childhood bout of polio that left him with a hunched back and a stunted height of 4 feet, 10 inches. He learned to make his harp bark like a dog, moan like a freight train and cluck like a chicken.
He was one of the Opry's most popular early attractions. When the program inaugurated a touring show in 1933, in an era when mixed-race performances were verboten, Bailey became the first artist to break the onstage color barrier.
Except for a four-month detour at a Knoxville, Tenn., station, he starred at the Opry for 15 years. In 1941, Bailey was fired after being innocently caught in the middle of a music licensing dispute between ASCAP and its newly founded rival, BMI. That year, he opened a shoeshine parlor on 13th Avenue in Nashville. He seldom looked back at his music career, though he guest-starred at the Opry a few times before his death in July 1982.
DeFord Bailey
Pottery To Auction
Pablo Picasso
A collection of pottery made by artist Pablo Picasso will go up for auction in London in October, Sotheby's said.
More than 100 plates, bowls, jugs, tiles and vases decorated with classic Picasso motifs will go under the hammer on October 26.
Picasso, who lived from 1881 to 1973, became interested in ceramics after seeing the work of a workshop called the Madoura Pottery at a craft fair in the south of France in 1946.
Picasso went on to produce more than 600 different pieces with the Madoura Pottery, most of which are in the hands of his family and museums.
Pablo Picasso
Mandatory Reading
The Potemkin Photo Op
It was a full-on effort to change the subject of discussion from the utter failure of the Bush administration to handle the crisis with even a hint of competency, and in true Bush fashion, he wrapped it up at 5:00 PM and announced that he was 'Flyin' out of (t)here.'
But from beginning to end, the entire exercise was a series of lies - a Potemkin photo op designed to fool those Americans who were not bothering to look closely at what was going on. Let's look at key aspects of Bush's trip that were covered by television.
The Briefing: There were a lot of questions asked yesterday morning about the phony briefing that Bush got in that hangar, featuring a backdrop of Coast Guard helicopters. People were wondering why those choppers were not out picking up flood victims or delivering supplies. The reason why is simple - Bush had the majority of helcopter traffic stopped while Marine One was in the Gulf Coast region. The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported this (Via AmericaBlog):
Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted because of President Bush's visit to New Orleans, officials said.
The provisions, secured by U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, and state Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom, baked in the afternoon sun as Bush surveyed damage across southeast Louisiana five days after Katrina made landfall as a Category 4 storm, said Melancon's chief of staff, Casey O'Shea.
"We had arrangements to airlift food by helicopter to these folks, and now the food is sitting in trucks because they won't let helicopters fly," O'Shea said Friday afternoon.
For the rest - Blah3 - The Potemkin Photo Op
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