The Liberal Patriot Blog
 The Liberal Patriot Blog is dedicated to collecting and sharing information about National and State [New Hampshire] Political Action, News, and Events.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Reuben's Recommended Reading

Local Church's Sign Offends Evacuees

Gregg assures wealthy that despite hurricane, tax cuts will go forward

GOP Moves Ahead With Spending-Cut Plans

Investors eyeing French Quarter

Old-line families plot the future

Katrina's Silver Lining By David Brooks [a scum bag]

A response to David Brooks A Phoenix From The Mud by Patrick Doherty

Not Our America? By Bill McKibben

The Titanic Of Our Era By Bill Fletcher, Jr.

Rebuild The Gulf Coast -- And America By Roger Hickey


Friday, September 09, 2005

NH Republican Ray Burton employing known sex offender

Burton said that not only did he know Seidensticker had been convicted of attempted sexual assault on a 17-year-old boy in 1992, but he also had a vague knowledge of Seidensticker's 1998, 2002 and 2004 convictions for failing to register as a sex offender.

Seidensticker was arrested again in Concord last week for inappropriate contact with teenage boys. Concord police arrested and charged Seidensticker last week after a 14-year-old Concord boy reported being approached by a man offering beer and cigarettes.

He also said Seidensticker was not necessarily his top campaign worker, even though he was his highest-paid worker last year.

from Union Leader


FEMA strikes again....

Official: state's firefighters could have been put to better use

The state's deputy fire marshal is unhappy about the way New Hampshirefirefighters were recruited to help out in areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Rob Farley says the Federal Emergency Management Agency sought help directly from individual fire departments instead of requesting help at the state level.

"I won't say it was wrong for FEMA to do that," Farley said. "It just made it harder for us to be able to coordinate and monitor the resources going out of the state."

He also said firefighters who were sent are being used mostly for clerical work, diminishing the state's ability to deploy teams for actual firefighting.

from Boston.com


Thursday, September 08, 2005

Gas prices got you down?

Well, we at least can take comfort knowing that ExxonMobile’s profits are expected to exceed $10 billion this quarter — the most any company has ever profited in a single quarter.

from thinkprogress blog

Reuben's Recommended Reading

The 'Stuff Happens' Presidency By Harold Meyerson

It's Not a 'Blame Game' NY Times Editorial

Dying of stress? Let Uncle Sam pick up the tab by Carl Hiaasen

Editorial by Molly Ivins

New Orleans paper rips federal response

Frustrated: Fire crews to hand out fliers for FEMA

Why judicial philosophies matter. By Risa Goluboff and Richard Schragger


Not just FEMA inaction, but their actual actions helped obstruct local efforts.

FEMA not only did not help but actually got in the way of state efforts. Here are some articles on it.

FEMA won't accept Amtrak's help in evacuations

FEMA turns away experienced firefighters

FEMA turns back Wal-Mart supply trucks

FEMA prevents Coast Guard from delivering diesel fuel

FEMA won't let Red Cross deliver food

FEMA bars morticians from entering New Orleans

FEMA blocks 500-boat citizen flotilla from delivering aid

FEMA fails to utilize Navy ship with 600-bed hospital on board

FEMA to Chicago: Send just one truck

FEMA turns away generators (See entry from 3:32 P.M. by Ben Morris, Slidell mayor)

FEMA: "First Responders Urged Not To Respond"

from daily kos

[A laundry list of FEMA interference from the Constructive Interference blog]

Here's a blog covering the whole issue in depth: FEMA failures


Arnold still an asshole.

Schwarzenegger says he will veto gay marriage bill
By Steve Lawrence
ASSOCIATED PRESS
6:22 p.m. September 7, 2005
SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Wednesday he will veto a bill that would have made California the first state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage through legislative action.

Schwarzenegger said the legislation, given final approval Tuesday by lawmakers, would conflict with the intent of voters when they approved Proposition 22. That measure was put on the ballot in 2000 to prevent California from recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

from SignonSanDiego
via Daily Kos


Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Compassionate Conservatives.

In a weekend interview with WTAE-TV about the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Senator Rick Santorum said: "You have people who don't heed those warnings and then put people at risk as a result of not heeding those warnings. There may be a need to look at tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out and understand that there are consequences to not leaving."

Thanks for understanding Rick. You know, perhaps you could loan them some of you SUVs.

Reuben Rajala Recommended Reading

Katrina's truths By James Carroll

Editorial by Molly Ives

Apocalypse in the USA by Felipe Fernández-Armesto

Warnings Went Ignored as Bush Slashed Flood Defense Budget to Pay for Wars by Geoffrey Lean

An admission last week by a U.S. general confirmed that, while the U.S. Gulf Coast states were drowning in water, the Bush administration was planning a permanent force in the Persian Gulf.
By ERIC MARGOLIS,

Killed by Contempt By PAUL KRUGMAN


Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Suuh-prize SUH-prize...

So it seems that Rove's strategy of blaming the state government and lying about their requests for aid didn't work. Now it's time to change the plan, The new strategy is they can’t redirect the heat try to get it delayed until they can deal with it better. I posted below congressional democrats are on board, again. You know there is NO HOPE for accountability when Sen. Kennedy from MA is parroting White House talking points.

But here is what someone who has seen the horror of New Orleans has to say.

Local officials bitterly expressed frustration with the federal government's sluggish response as the tragedy unfolded.

"Bureaucracy has murdered people in the greater New Orleans area. And bureaucracy needs to stand trial before Congress today," Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parish, said on CBS' "The Early Show."

"So I'm asking Congress, please investigate this now. Take whatever idiot they have at the top of whatever agency and give me a better idiot. Give me a caring idiot. Give me a sensitive idiot. Just don't give me the same idiot.”

From yahoo news

White House: Leave Blame Game for Later AP - 1 hour, 12 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Criticized for its sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina, the White House said Tuesday that "we're not going to engage in the blame game" but instead would keep the focus on rescue and recovery efforts across the heavily battered Gulf Coast.

--snip---

"This is all looking at the blame game," McClellan said. "We're not going to engage in the blame game."

He also rejected suggestions that the poor, and particularly blacks, had been abandoned when New Orleans was evacuated. "I think most Americans dismiss that and know that there's just no basis for making such suggestions," McClellan said. "We are focused on saving and sustaining lives of all those who have been affected."

-snip---

During a stop at Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, several people ran up to meet Bush as he and first lady Laura Bush wandered around the room. But just as many hung back and looked on.

"I need answers," said Mildred Brown, who has been at the center since Tuesday with her husband, mother-in-law and cousin. "I'm not interested in hand-shaking. I'm not interested in photo ops."

--snip—

US Senate to examine Katrina responseAFP - Mon Sep 5, 8:48 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US senators will make the Hurricane Katrina disaster their first priority when they return to work this week after a month-long holiday, the Senate leader said.


Monday, September 05, 2005

With a mother like this....

In a segment at the top of the show on the surge of evacuees to the Texas city, Barbara Bush said: "Almost everyone I’ve talked to says we're going to move to Houston."

Then she added: "What I’m hearing is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality.

"And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this [she chuckles slightly]is working very well for them."

from Daily Kos

Democrats talking points are in.... "LAY DOWN!!"

Well, the talking points are out and all the democratic politicians are saying let’s not look into this until latter. Latter meaning [like the 911 report] when the public isn’t interested anymore OR when the republican spin machine has had enough time to caught up with and redirect public opinion. Thanks Congressional Democrats for towing the line for Bush. On a few occasions the Republicans actually get caught with their pants down and it sure is nice of Democrats to hold the towel up for them. People are howling for blood yet democrats are providing cover for this administration and acting like our country can’t do 2 things at the same time. So we can’t investigate this CATASTROPHIC FAILURE while [finally] providing people in Louisiana aid. I mean please tell me if I am wrong BUT is it really going to be the same people we currently need to pass out water bottles and drive buses THAT we will also need to running a congressional investigation. I have heard a lot of people say that if it wasn’t for the Republican controlled house and senate Bush would be impeached. That is true but what is also true is if we ONLY had democrats in the congress will still wouldn’t have enough democrats with the courage to just initiate impeachment proceedings.

I just ran across some great quotes from the BillMon Blog [ http://billmon.org/archives/002125.html ]. Some of you may remember that when Hurricanes where headed for Bush’s beloved Florida he was there before it stopped raining. Perhaps these Louisiana people have finally learned their lesson and will now move to Florida and become Hispanics.

Peace, Jon

===========================================================

Gov. Jeb Bush sought federal help Friday while [Hurricane] Charley was still in the Gulf of Mexico. President Bush approved the aid about an hour after the hurricane made landfall.

By Monday afternoon, the cavalry seemed to be in place . . . Cargo planes were shuttling FEMA supplies from a Georgia Air Force base to a staging area in Lakeland, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had shipped 11 truckloads of water and 14 truckloads of ice. The first assistance checks to victims were to be shipped Monday night.

St. Petersberg Times
Unlike Andrew, aid's right on Charley's heels
August 17, 2004

As of noon Monday [two days after Frances made landfall] FEMA and other Federal response agencies have taken the following actions:

White House
Responding to Hurricanes Charley and Frances
September 6, 2004

Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Ivan may count as some of the biggest political contributors to President Bush's reelection campaign, according to a poll.

The post-hurricane survey shows Bush surging ahead of his Democratic challenger by 49 to 41 percent -- an about-face from August, when Bush trailed Sen. John Kerry 41-47 percent, Quinnipiac University reported Thursday.

''The ill winds of the hurricanes have blown some political goodwill for President Bush,'' said Clay F. Richards, a pollster for the independent Connecticut university.

''You can't underestimate the impact of a president coming down and promising all this federal aid to people who need it,'' said Richards, noting that Bush toured hurricane-ravaged parts of Florida three times.

"It's like Rudy Giuliani at ground zero on 9/11. The commander in chief is there, on the ground, saying help is on the way.''

From Miami Herald Sep. 24, 2004




Don't let Bush off the hook.

The White House effort to blame the Governor of Louisiana ignores some critical facts:

The Governor of Louisiana declared a State of Emergency on 26 August 2005, which is a pre-requisite for invoking the Stafford Act:

Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco today issued Proclamation No. 48 KBB 2005, declaring a state of emergency for the state Louisiana as Hurricane Katrina poses an imminent threat, carrying severe storms, high winds, and torrential rain that may cause flooding and damage to private property and public facilities, and threaten the safety and security of the citizens of the state of Louisiana The state of emergency extends from Friday, August 26, 2005, through Sunday, September 25, 2005, unless terminated sooner.

The Governor, per the National Response Plan, followed this request with a letter on Saturday, 27 August 2005, invoking the Stafford Act.

from TPM Cafe

Just the kind of integrity you would expect from a republican

Jesse Lee catches Louisiana GOP Congressman Charles Boustany putting Party before country and state, as all Republicans seem to these days:

Boustany three days ago: Rep. Charles W. Boustany Jr., (R-La.), said he spent the past 48 hours urging the Bush administration to send help. "I started making calls and trying to impress upon the White House and others that something needed to be done," he said. "The state resources were being overwhelmed, and we needed direct federal assistance, command and control, and security -- all three of which are lacking." Boustany today: BOUSTANY: [M]ost of the red tape and problems have been at the state level. I have to say that the federal response has been focused on New Orleans with search and rescue operations which is going very, very well at this stage. But we've had a completely ineffectual state response and this is being borne by the local communities to help now. And I have asked the president to take this into consideration, consider that the state response is completely ineffectual and the full range of social and health care needs needs to be met.

from Daily Kos

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Why this is his fault, too

Tensions over funding for the New Orleans levees emerged more than a year ago when a local official asserted money had been diverted to pay for the Iraq war. In early 2002, Parker told the U.S. Congress that the war on terrorism required spending cuts elsewhere in government.

Situated below sea level, New Orleans relied on a 300-mile

network of levees, floodgates and pumps to hold back the waters of the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain.

Levees were fortified after floods in 1927 and 1965, and Congress approved another ambitious upgrade after a 1995 flood killed six people.

Since 2001, the Army Corps has requested $496 million for that project but the Bush administration only budgeted $166 million, according to figures provided by the office of Louisiana Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu (news, bio, voting record).

Congress ultimately approved $250 million for the project during that time period.

Another project designed to shore up defenses along Lake Pontchartrain was similarly underfunded, as the administration budgeted $22 million of the $99 million requested by the Corps between 2001 and 2005. Congress boosted spending on that project to $42.5 million, according to Landrieu's office.

from Yahoo news


Bush's Legacy

Charles Womack, a 30-year-old roofer, said he saw one man beaten to death and another commit suicide at the Superdome. Womack was beaten with a pipe and treated at the airport center, where bodies were kept in a refrigerated truck.

"One guy jumped off a balcony. I saw him do it. He was talking to a lady about it. He said it reminded him of the war and he couldn't leave," he said.

Three babies died at the convention center from heat exhaustion, said Mark Kyle, a medical relief provider.

from yahoo news



quotes and such....

  • "I don't think anyone could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center."
    Condoleezza Rice - May 17, 2002

  • "And the PDB was no indication of a terrorist threat. There was not a time and place of an attack... Had I known there was going to be an attack on America, I would have moved mountains to stop the attack. I would have done everything I can. My job is to protect the American people... And had there been actionable intelligence, we would have moved on it."
    Bush - April 11, 2004

  • "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."
    Bush - Sept 1, 2005

  • "Thank God, George Bush is President"
    Jerkoff Giuliani - Aug 30, 2004

  • "George Bush LOST NEW ORLEANS!"
    Pat Buchanan (on The McLaughlin Group) - Sept 2, 2005

  • "It's fair game for the Democrats to attack the president at this time
    Ed Koch – Sept 1, 2005

  • The missing demographic context to the images you`re seeing on Tv, 67 percent of the residents of New Orleans are black. Nearly 30 percent of the residents live below the poverty line. Half of all children in Louisiana live in poverty. (1) (2)

  • from daily kos

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