Off to the Fair

Off to enjoy the Castro Street Fair in San Francisco. I'll return to the blogosphere on Monday. In the mean time, enjoy these early autumn tunes for your iPod:

Sunday Afternoon - Texas

Don't Look Back - Antigone Rising

Dreams - Deep Dish (featuring Stevie Nicks)

I Got Your Love - Donna Summer

Rome Wasn't Built In a Day - Morcheeba

Poseidon Journals, Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of the Poseidon Journals is now posted over at CHUD.com. The Journals are a weekly update on the making of "Poseidon," Wolfgang Peteresen's remake of "The Poseidon Adventure."

A different website hosts each new chapter, giving the reader an inside look at the making of a major studio release as it still in production. In an arrangement made through Warner Bros., each website will sit down with a different actor or crew member and discuss a different aspect of "Poseidon."

AND, each Journal will include exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, like this montage of Richard Dreyfuss at work on the set, along with some blue-screen footage of the capsizing.

A long time fan of the Irwin Allen original (his widow is Executive Producer on this project), I am reading these journals with great interest and look forward to seeing the final product next summer.

So take a look at a blockbuster in the making. (Links to Chapters 1 through 4 appear at the top of the CHUD Journal.) In addition to Dreyfuss, this remake stars Josh Lucas, Jacinda Barrett, Mike Vogel, Kurt Russell, Mia Maestro, Kevin Dillon, and Freddy Rodriguez.

Note: Hallmark Entertainment produced their own remake of "The Poseidon Adventure" late last year. NBC has bought the film and will air it on Sunday, 20 November. This made-for-TV version stars Adam Baldwin, Steve Guttenberg, and C. Thomas Howell. You can see a preview here.

A Red-State for Gay Marriage?

An Arizona poll done last week shows that 60% of voters would oppose the "Protect Marriage Arizona" initiative if it makes the November 2006 ballot and 33% said they would vote for it.

Arizona has gone Republican in every presidential election but one since 1948 (it went for Clinton in 1996). But the western red-states are more libertarian than Republican, with a "live and let live" attitude on social issues. (John McCain would never win a Republican Senate primary in Alabama or Mississippi.)

But 60% against writing bigotry into the state constitution, in a state George W. Bush carried by 10 points? That's a huge step in the right direction.

It Was Libby

Lewis Libby, Vice-President Cheney's chief of staff, was Judith Miller's source on the Plame story.

The White House is in this pretty deep.

Let the indictments begin.

"Your Package Is Dripping"

The cast and crew of "Will and Grace" began their final season with a bang. Two live episodes (one for the East Coast and another for the West) and I must say, they did a bang up job.

I've been to see three tapings of the show and there is an obvious chemistry among the cast members that showed in spades last night. With seven seasons behind them they were a well oiled machine. It didn't hurt that they were handed their best script in years, with many zingers and one-liners that had me howling. (My favorite: Will pointing at Alec Baldwin's bag of melting ice cream, which is being held at crotch level, and saying "your package is dripping.")

The giggling between Debra Messing and Sean Hayes never seemed uncomfortable, but rather added to the essence of a live TV performance. And Megan Mullally was brilliant given her physical limitations (she hurt her foot at the Emmys earlier this month and the "W & G" script had to be altered to accomodate her injury).

All in all, it was a great way to start off their final season.

Well, That Was Rather Blunt

Rep. Roy Blunt (Fascist-MO) will serve as acting majority leader in the House of Representatives while Rep. Tom DeLay (Fascist-TX) is under indictment. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (Republican-IL) had wanted Rep. David Drier (Republican-CA), but has obviously been vetoed by the radical extremists in his party.

Hmmm. I wonder why?

The Wright Stuff

The Bull Moose agrees with my assessment of Tom DeLay's troubles:

DeLay has become for the Republicans what Jim Wright somewhat unfairly became for the Democrats in the early '90s - a symbol of an entrenched, corrupt establishment.

And I agree with the Bull Moose: The 1994 "Republican Revolution" is officially dead.

DeLay Indicted

From NBC News: "A Texas grand jury on Wednesday charged Rep. Tom DeLay and two political associates with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme, an indictment that could force him to step down as House majority leader."

DeLay's response? "It’s a skunky indictment..." DeLay's attorney told reporters. "Like a dead skunk in the middle of the road. It stinks to high heaven."

DeLay's tactics have stunk to high heaven for a long time, now. This indictment was too long in coming. It's time to scrape the road-kill off the street and dispose of it. As DeLay would demand of a Democratic congressional leader under these circumstances, he should step down as majority leader and resign his House seat.

Memo to the Democrats: It's time to grow some cajones and fight for DeLay's removal from power. If the Republican minority of 1989 could remove a Democratic House Speaker over lesser charges, then your party should be able to rid the chamber of this idiot without much of a sweat.

UPDATE: CNN is reporting DeLay will "will step aside as House majority leader following his indictment." Not enough. He should resign his seat. (Thanks to Gil.)

Passing the Buck

In testimony before Congress today Michael Brown, the former head of FEMA (but still on the payroll as a "consultant"), blamed Gov. Kathleen Blanco, Mayor Ray Nagin, and HLS Secretary Michael Cherthoff for the poor response to Hurricane Katrina.

Isn't that just like a Bush administration official? Blaming others for their incompetence?

Give it a few more days and they'll be pinning this whole fiasco on Bill Clinton.

Whopper of the Week

"I know what I'm doing, and I think I do a pretty darn good job of it."
-Former (but still on the payroll) FEMA Director Michael Brown, earlier today at congressional hearing, regarding his performance in the clean up of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama following Hurricane Katrina.

And exactly what color is the sky in your world, Brownie?

Hill-Billy in 2008

I don't necessarily agree with his assessment that the Republicans are a shoo-in for the 2008 presidential contest (we would need to see who the Fascist-wing of the party will nominate), but David Martin has an excellent idea for the Democrats: A Hill-Billy ticket. It's a pipe-dream, but it's feasible and it would steamroll over the Republicans. Details here.

File Under "What the Fuck !?"

CBS News, Keith Olbermann, the AP, and NBC News are reporting that Michael Brown has returned to FEMA in a consultant roll. Homeland Security Department spokesman Russ Knocke said Brown will advise the department on "some of his views on his experience with Katrina."

Soooo...he's gonna...what?...advise them on how to totally fuck up emergency management. Sorry, guys. You already have that one in the bag.

I would say I was surprised that "Brownie" is back, but we are talking about the Bush administration.

There is no reason for Brown to stay on the FEMA payroll. None. He should just fade into the rotting woodwork of the destroyed homes of Louisiana.

Food for thought: What does Brown have on Bush (or Cheney or Rove, et al) that they would feel the need to keep him on the payroll?

Chicago's New York State of Mind

Federated Department Stores announced last week that they were changing the name of their Chicago stores from Marshall Field's to Macy's. It's their right, I guess, but believe me...as a former Chicagoan, this ain't gonna fly so well with the Second City natives. As Preservation Chicago Chairman Jonathan Fine said, it's like renaming the Eiffel Tower.

Thoughts on the name change from Chicago's very own Noel and from the respected veteran of Chicago news, Carol Marin.

If I Were a Senator: No on Roberts

On 20 July 2005, the day after President Bush nominted John Roberts to be an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court, I wrote:

If I were a senator I’d be withholding any sort of judgment. Granted, a Republican president sits in the White House. As such we should expect a conservative nominee (just as we would expect a more center-left candidate from a Democratic president). But plenty of questions need to be asked of [Roberts] – and answered by him.

If confirmation hearings show that he is a strong federalist and a defender of judicial restraint, then the Senate should give the Republican president his associate justice."

And had that nomination gone to the Senate floor this week, I would be endorsing Judge Roberts' confirmation. But as Chief Justice of the United States? I urge the Senate to reject the nomination.

At the risk of sounding Kerry-esque, let me explain. During confirmation hearings earlier this month, Roberts showed no signs that he would legislate the Republican Party's fascist agenda from the bench; he seemed to be respectful of precedent and acknowledged a right to privacy. As a nominee for the associate seat, those qualities would lead me to support a "yes" vote from the Senate.

Don't get me wrong, Judge Roberts is not my number one choice for the job. Nobody George W. Bush nominates to the federal bench would be. But my guy lost the last presidential election and Mr. Bush was victorious. One of the perks of winning the presidency is the ability to nominate judges to the federal bench. And John Roberts is about as good as we're going to get from a conservative like George Bush.

Thus, my endorsement to reject Roberts as Chief Justice doesn't come from a partisan angle. My problem with this nomination is the judge's experience - or rather, his lack of it.

In the halls of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice is considered to be the justice with most seniority, independent of the number of years he or she has served. He or she chairs the conferences where cases are discussed and voted on and thus has great influence in framing the discussion. And while there is precedent for the nomination of a novice to this position (Earl Warren was elevated to Chief with no judicial experience), surely there are other candidates the President can nominate to the high seat. This is just another example of George W. Bush nominating an unexperienced Republican insider to a job they're not completely qualified for.

The leader of the Court should have a certain judicial gravitas; a level of maturity with which to steer the Constitutional issues of the day through the court to just outcomes.

John Roberts has been a judge for two years. He is not qualified for the high seat. Not by a long shot. The Senate should reject his nomination.

The Plame Affair

The Next Hurrah has an excellent analysis about what John Bolton's testimony tells about the Rove-Plame Affair.

Let's Do the Time Warp Again

Today's birthdays:

"The Brady Bunch," 36;
"The Rocky Horror Picture Show," 30
Jack LaLanne, 208

Sorry...

...for the lack of posts. Work has been super busy and seems to have got the best of me. I will return on Sunday with my final thoughts on the Roberts nomination.

Collateral Damage

The more we learn about Katrina's wrath, the uglier it gets. Four million gallons of oil have spilled into the Gulf.

Why Brownie Couldn't Cope

Well, the Hurricane kept him from dealing with the Hurricane.

Kapish?

Details in the NY Times, via AmericaBlog.

Katrina, that Bitch or Iraq and a Hard Place

Tell Dick he's in charge. I need to step off the wagon for a while.

The Main Vein

This picture is from Reuters - a legitimate international news agency - taken of President Bush during yesterday's U.N. World Summit, asking Coni Rice if he can be excused to drain his main vein.

'West Side Story' Director Dies

Robert Wise, the Academy Award winning director of "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music" died Wednesday. He was 91.

Quote of the Day

"The President has done the obvious, only after it was clear he couldn’t get away with the inexcusable."
-Senator John Kerry (Democrat-MA), on President Bush's statement yesterday taking "responsibility" for the federal government's failure to act in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

The President turned FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security into patronage hiring firms. Those hires - of people who had no business being there - caused this calamity.

We're talking the Department of Homeland Security, for crying out loud. I go back to my posts of the the last couple of days (scroll down a bit): George W. Bush is not the leader the United States needs at this moment in history. And there are 62,040,610 Americans I would like to talk to about that. Your vote placed a man in the White House who is so obviously ill-equipped to be there.

Al Gore and John Kerry, while not the most exciting candidates, had the gravitas for the job. And, in my opinion, America and her place in the world would be much better off today had one of them been sitting in the Oval Office.

Quote of the Day 2

"We were shocked at what we saw... If America becomes so unglued when bad things happen in its own backyard, how can it fulfill its role as leader of the world?"
-Sumiko Tan of The Straits Times in Singapore, as quoted by Thomas Friedman in today's New York Times.

And that's the view from a man in Singapore. I shudder to think how another man - about 6 feet, 5 inches tall, with a long white beard, probably carrying a dialysis machine, sitting in the mountains of Pakistan - views this mess.

Haven't We Been Saying This All Along?

From Dan Froomkin at the Washington Post:

President Bush is no longer "the commanding, decisive, jovial president you've been hearing about for years in so much of the mainstream press."

"...it turns out that Bush is in fact fidgety, cold and snappish in private. He yells at those who dare give him bad news and is therefore not surprisingly surrounded by an echo chamber of terrified sycophants. He is slow to comprehend concepts that don't emerge from his gut. He is uncomprehending of the speeches that he is given to read. And oh yes, one of his most significant legacies -- the immense post-Sept. 11 reorganization of the federal government which created the Homeland Security Department -- has failed a big test."

Umm, I'm sorry, but I have been rolling that sort of stuff off my tounge since the 2000 presidential election campaign. Now, five years and another presidential campaign later, we are still stuck with the man (and have three long years to go).

Challenge - Re-read the Froomkin passage above and then answer this question: Is that really the type of personality best suited to lead the United States of America in a post-9/11 world? I think the answer from most Americans on that question would be a resounding "no."

But voters insisted on "restoring dignity" to the White House, placing their own personal morals over the best long term interests of the country. A president who is "cold and snappish," slow on the uptake, and unwilling to listen to bad news? That seems more like the "un-dignity" to me, not to mention dangerous. (For my money a "President Gore" would have us standing tall and proud right now.)

America is strong and will survive someone like George W. Bush. But be prepared...she will look pretty battered come 2009.

Comments

Comments are back. I turned them off last week because they were getting spammed. I've signed up with Haloscan and we'll see what happens.

Michael Brown Resigns

FEMA director Michael Brown resigned his post today. As I said a few days ago when he removed himself from the Katrina clean up, it's too little too late. The damage is done. The Texas cowboy should have fired him, but no one is held accountable in this administration.

I would give Brown credit for quitting, but he refused to admit his failure. Instead, he says his resignation is "in the best interest of the agency and the best interest of the President to do that and get the media focused on the good things that are going on, instead of me."

Gee. What a guy.

Quote of the Day

"All our great presidents were leaders of thought at times when certain historic ideas in the life of the nation had to be clarified."
-Franklin D. Roosevelt, September 11, 1932

On the same date four years ago - a time in which thought and clarity were of the upmost importance - George W. Bush had an opportunity to become one of the great presidents in our nation's history. The tragic events of that day made it perfectly clear that we had started an era in which the responsibilities for the United States were never greater. Never has a president been called on to meet such extraordinary responsibilities for the homeland and the world. And Mr. Bush failed.

During the dark days of September, 2001 - with 3,000 of our own citizens dead - we Americans were desperate for true leadership. We wanted - we needed - a president who, in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt, would rally the nation to our new calling. Instead, all we got from President Bush was a request to "go shopping." As an American, I couldn't have been more insulted. As a member of the world community, I couldn't have been more embarrassed.

Instead, Bush used the tragedy to ram irresponsible and dangerous social and fiscal policy down our throats. Despite an election campaign in which he touted himself as a "uniter, not a divder," as President Mr. Bush has governed the other way around, causing deep divisions in a wounded nation; the sort of divisions not seen since the Civil War.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks we demanded a president who would hunt down al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden, taking the important war of ideas straight to the Muslim world in an effort to defeat the root causes of terrorism. While the Taliban have been removed from power, bin Laden still remains at large and our military is bogged down fighting a guerilla insurgency in Iraq, a nation that had nothing to do with 9/11.

Yet, amazingly, the American people returned Mr. Bush to office - an election decision that will boggle my mind until my last days. The President's incompetent performance in the wake of Hurricane Katrina shows exactly how wrong the American people were when they voted for his re-election.

And to think we have three years to go. Three long years without clarity or thought. And that thought sends chills down my spine.

Too Little, Too Late

CNN is reporting that FEMA director Michael Brown has been removed from on-site operations in the South and called back to Washington, D.C. to "oversee the big picture," a senior White House official said. Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen will head up the ground operations in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Sorry, Mr. President. This is way too little, way too late. The only proper thing to do at this point is fire Brown. Period.

Shameful

Another member of the Bush administration that should be fired is Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Because someone needs to be held accountable for this.

Ain't That the Truth

(From JayWillie, via Kos.)

Rewarding Failure

I expressed doubts yesterday that President Bush would ever fire FEMA director Michael Brown: "This is, after all, a president who rewards failure, demanding loyalty over competence," I said.

Andrew Sullivan agrees:

"I predict [Brown will] be in his job for a long, long time. This is the Bush administration. Brownie did a "heck of a job." So did Bremer, remember?"

And Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleeza Rice and Alberto Gonzales and...

Rescue Planes Turned Away

Another reason President Bush must fire FEMA Director, Michael Brown.

The more we learn, the more I wonder whether Brown's continued failures amount to criminal negligence.

Auh-nuld Will Veto Gay Marriage Bill

Kowtowing to conservative pressure, and with approval ratings dropping faster than the President's, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Republican-CA) will veto the gay marriage bill that passed yesterday in the state legislature and last week in the state senate.

I wish I could say I was surprised. But I'm not.

Contemptuous George Springs Into Action

Brilliant new site from Scott Bateman, who intends to post an animated short every day for the next year.

Watch George spring into action as Katrina hits the Gulf coast. It had me spitting my Two-Buck-Chuck across the keyboard!

Scott is already 22 days into his project, so make sure you check out the shorts in his archives. Again...brilliant.

(Thanks, Noel.)

Quote of the Day

"To my country I want to say this: During this crisis you failed us. You looked down on us; you dismissed our victims; you dismissed us. You want our Jazz Fest, you want our Mardi Gras, you want our cooking and our music. Then when you saw us in real trouble, when you saw a tiny minority preying on the weak among us, you called us 'Sin City,' and turned your backs."
-Author, and New Orleans native, Anne Rice, in Sunday's New York Times

Quote of the Day 2

"We rejoice that Rehnquist is dead and in hell. It is a sin NOT to rejoice when God executes His wrath and vengeance upon a sorry, faggyass judge."
-Fred Phelps, announcing that he will picket the funeral of Supreme Court Chief Justice William Renquist.

(Both quotes via Andy Towle).

California Legislature Passes Marriage Bill

Following the lead of the state senate, the California legislature passed a bill that would allow gays and lesbians to marry in the nation's largest state. The vote in the lower chamber was 41-35 (it failed earlier this summer by a single vote).

The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose office had no comment on the bill when it cleared the state Senate last week.

Roberts Not Qualified ... for Chief

When the President announced his nomination of John Roberts to be an associate justice on the United States Supreme Court last July, I decided to take a "wait and see" approach before blogging about whether or not he should be confirmed. Roberts has only been a judge for a short time, but (for a conservative) had a decent resume for the ASSOCIATE position. I was going to make my call after the Senate hearings next week, after (if) he answered a few questions.

But the call on whether or not he should be confirmed as the CHIEF Justice is easy.

John Roberts is nowhere near qualified for the top job. Not by a long shot. And the Senate should reject the nomination promptly.

Farewell, Gilligan

Bob Denver, who played the goofy but loveable Gilligan on TV's "Gilligan's Island," died Friday. He was 70. Details here.

Actions Have Consequences

The Quotidian Meander, by way of Kevin Drum, lays out the Katrina timeline for you. It boils down to this:

A crony with no relevant experience was installed as head of FEMA. Mitigation budgets for New Orleans were slashed even though it was known to be one of the top three risks in the country. FEMA was deliberately downsized as part of the Bush administration's conservative agenda to reduce the role of government. After DHS was created, FEMA's preparation and planning functions were taken away.

Actions have consequences. No one could predict that a hurricane the size of Katrina would hit this year, but the slow federal response when it did happen was no accident. It was the result of four years of deliberate Republican policy and budget choices that favor ideology and partisan loyalty at the expense of operational competence. It's the Bush administration in a nutshell.

Frankly, Bush's minions should stop making excuses and fix the problem...fast. I would hate to think how this lack of leadership looks to a certain tall, white-bearded man hiding in an Afghan-Pakastani cave.

Brown Should Go

I join the chorus: Michael Brown needs to go.

But will President Bush fire him?

I doubt it. This is, after all, a president who tends to reward failure, demanding loyalty over competence.

Kudos to the media for not dropping the ball on this one...

News item: FEMA rejects Amtrack's offer to help in evacuations.

News item: FEMA to Wal-mart: "We don't need your help."

News Headline: "Homeland security won't let Red Cross deliver food"

News Headline: "First Responders Urged Not To Respond To Hurricane Impact Areas"

More on FEMA's incompetence Sunday on "Meet the Press" (Via Andrew Sullivan):

TIM RUSSERT: "Hold on. Hold on, sir. Shouldn't the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of New Orleans bear some responsibility? Couldn't they have been much more forceful, much more effective and much more organized in evacuating the area?

AARON BROUSSARD (President, Jefferson Parrish): . . . Let me give you just three quick examples. We had Wal-Mart deliver three trucks of water, trailer trucks of water. FEMA turned them back. They said we didn't need them. This was a week ago. FEMA--we had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on a Coast Guard vessel docked in my parish. The Coast Guard said, "Come get the fuel right away." When we got there with our trucks, (they said) "FEMA says don't give you the fuel." Yesterday--yesterday--FEMA comes in and cuts all of our emergency communication lines. They cut them without notice. Our sheriff, Harry Lee, goes back in, he reconnects the line. He posts armed guards on our line and says, "No one is getting near these lines." Sheriff Harry Lee said that if America--American government would have responded like Wal-Mart has responded, we wouldn't be in this crisis."

Those are just a few examples of the complete and utter failure of the federal response to this disaster. Many have already brought it up, bit I'll repeat it: Why, after 9/11, is the federal government so damn slow to respond to a large scale disaster?

Quote of the Week

"The good news is - and it's hard for some to see it now - that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house - there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch."
-President George W. Bush, 02 September 2005

The pud-fucker really has no clue.

Holding Out For a Hero

Obviously there are no words to properly describe the devastation in New Orleans this week. The breakdown of the human spirit there is heartbreaking. But while I was watching the news this morning something else struck me as terribly wrong. As buses arrive to take refugees to Texas, the citizens of this crippled city - their earthly possessions forever gone, their homes destroyed, their lives turned upside down - are being told that their pets are not allowed on the buses. In one case a family pet of 9 years was turned away - suddenly orphaned on the streets of a flooded, increasingly violent city.

My heart sank. My stomach turned.

How vile. How utterly cold-hearted of the bus companies. The people of New Orleans have lost everything. EVERYTHING! Homes, clothes, parents, children. As they fight to survive, as they struggle to make their way to warm, dry shelters, their pets are, quite literally, the only thing they have left. And the bus companies have the nerve to enforce their no pets rule?

TV cameras have captured dogs sitting on roof tops with their owners awaiting rescue. I am sure countless others sit alone, awaiting the return of a master who will never come home.

So my request to you this morning is this: Please dig just a little deeper and make another donation to the Humane Society of the United States Disaster Relief Fund. A dollar, ten dollars, twenty dollars...whatever you can afford. These homeless loved ones need all the help we can muster.

As for the bus companies? There is no reason - NONE - why they couldn't suspend their no pet rule during this crisis. They should be ashamed.

A Step In the Right Direction

The California state senate approved legislation that would legalize gay marriage in the nation's largest state. The vote in the chamber was 21-15. Details here.