Only in America would there be Senate hearings while a disaster is still ongoing to see why the response to said disaster was inadequate. Brownie is trying to blame local officials for the fiasco. The man has no shame. Meanwhile, the war protest movement grows bigger every day. Bush's ratings are continuing to decline and there is no end to the insurgents killing Iraqi policemen and American soldiers pretty much at will. I don't see how our staying there any longer will have a positive outcome.

What's up with all of the foreign language blogs on this site? No offense or anything, but this blog originates in the United States. Or does it?
Poor New Orleans got soaked again. And they still think it's a good idea to put all the houses and buildings back where they were? About how many times should we do that? Two, five? I know it's hard to lose your home, but why the hell would you want to put yourself back in harm's way? Go someplace that isn't right smack dab in the path of hurricanes and that isn't below sea level and that doesn't border a lake held back by levies. Knowing the government, it won't be rebuilt in my lifetime anyway. Anyone who is displaced should take this as an opportunity to get the hell out of there and start a new life somewhere else. There is a kid who came to Illinois from New Orleans. He is in school here. He was not able to bring his saxaphone with him so he got 4 saxaphones from people here. He is in the marching band and having a really good time. A month ago, if you had asked him if he wanted to move away, he would have said no. Now? This might be a good thing.

I am reading "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson. It is about these two guys who decide to walk the Appalachian Trail. It is a funny book, but I could never do what the author did. He allowed an acquaintance to go with him and this is a guy he didn't even like. I would have said, "No." But that's me. Actually, it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. What I would like about hiking the trail is the solitude and beauty of nature. What I would hate is the other hikers. The fact that I would have to sleep in wooden shelters with ignorant strangers is not my idea of a good time. Being scared out of my wits thinking there was a bear outside my tent doesn't sound so good either. Hiking for hours at a time would be good for the soul, I think.

When is it okay to compromise your principles? Is living in a terribly disfunctional relationship in order to hold on to something we need, a justified compromise? Aren't we supposed to be happy most of the time? Maybe that isn't realistic. How much crap should we be willing to put up with? Should life be a day to day struggle to balance what we must do with what we need? Some people are all about how it looks. Some are all about how it feels. When those two types find each other, they are doomed from the start. The trip to the inevitable end can be exciting and even fun. But, the end...

Now the governor of Louisiana wants to accept responsibility for the poor response to the hurricane. Sorry! George got there first. You can't have the responsibility. Perhaps if you had spoken up sooner, but really, it's just too late.
I am bored to tears. I need something new in my life. I am in the lottery pool here at work. If we win, the company will have to close because there are so many people in the pool. I wonder if that has happened before? Anyway, all I want is a house far away from everyone and everything. I need quiet.

I just really love the shit out of Green Day right now. I know I am going to burn out on the song, Wake Me Up When September Ends, but right now I feel like it's our anthem. The anthem for all of us who think Bush is an immoral fool, those of us who hate the war and everyone who feels disgust at the way the people suffered needlessly after the hurricane in the Gulf. These are some pretty dark days in our history. I guess we are nearing the American rock bottom, so things should get better soon, right?
Here's an idea for the next big hurricane that destroys part of our country. If the hurricane (or other natural disaster) affects more than one state, then the federal government is automatically in charge. No waiting to be asked. If there is only one state affected, then it should be up to the governor of that state to decide whether the feds need to take over. Think we can give that a try?
If I can just address the public meltdowns of several famous people lately, I want to ask what is up with Celine Dion? She went crazy on Larry King. Isn't she Canadian? Also, Kanye West melted down. But, I think he was truly overcome with grief and pain as well as anger. Poor Mike Myers will never do another live show again! As long as we are talking public meltdowns let's not leave Tom Cruise out. He has had some sort of psychotic break, I think. And where the hell is Katie Holmes' family. What about her friends? She needs to be deprogrammed, seriously. Well, I guess that will do for now.

I am so relieved that Bush has accepted responsibility for the federal government's molasses- like response to the hurricane crisis. And it was swell of Mike (Brownie) Brown to resign. You know, it really was not Bush's fault things went so badly. See, he doesn't watch the news and he really didn't understand how desperate the situation was until a few days later when his staff showed him a DVD they put together for him. They got all of the highlights from the news programs and made a little show for the president. After he saw that, well things just started moving at lightening speed. So let's all hope that the next big disaster or terrorist attack can be quickly shown to him on DVD. Otherwise, he might not realize until several days have gone by, and by then, well people could be dead or something.
Now to a brighter subject, the new television season is upon us. Prison Break is very good. I am a Lost fan, so I can't wait for that to start. I also like Gilmore Girls, very good premier last night. I watched Supernatural, which I didn't expect to like, but I did. What I am really waiting for is Deadwood, which unfortunately won't be back until March. That is a sin. Football season is here of course. Our Bears are our Bears. They look good, then bad, then good...

September 11th. Four years ago, our world turned upside down. I watched some programs about that day and was reminded of some pretty incredible things. Like all of the aircraft (about 4000) having to land within 3 hours time. The president flying around in Air Force One so he wouldn't be a sitting duck. The pilots who were given orders to shoot down any commercial airliner that came within 30 miles of the White House. But, the thing that stays with me and makes me angry is the callous way the Bush administration dismissed warnings from the Clinton people and then from the intelligence community about the very real threat of a terrorist attack. I don't understand how the people who voted for Bush thought he would be the best qualified to keep us safe. He is the one who is responsible for the attacks of 9/11 taking place. He hated Clinton so much, that he and his staff would have nothing to do with anyone or anything Clinton. Even though they were talking about threats to the security of our country. On 9/11 Bush sat frozen in a chair in a kindergarten class, unable to think or react at all. This is the guy who about half of the people who voted in the last election think is up to the task of protecting us. How can that be? Now 4 years later, we face another kind of crisis. The storm itself was not the crisis, FEMA was. Because Bush can only imagine danger coming from Iraq, he cares only about the Homeland Security bureaucracy. He folded FEMA into Homeland Security and everyone who knew anything that may have been helpful after the hurricane hit, has left the agency.
George has one concern, Saddam Hussein. Maybe if we name the next hurricane Saddam?

Finally! A new FEMA head was appointed, someone with actual experience in managing disasters! Instead of feeling grateful, all I can think is "about ******* time!" I can't understand how Bush gets away with being so incompetent. He is a moron. Grandma Bush demonstrated the entire family's distance from the real world with her unfortunate remarks regarding the poor. I don't understand why Americans will stand for just about any type of nonsense from Bush and his minions. No other president would have gotten away with this.

Some of the hurricane victims, when asked if they would like to go to Chicago, said "No." I guess I can't blame them. It's frightening enough to see your home destroyed, your city in chaos. To have to get on a plane and go to a place you have never even seen? On the other hand, imagine if you are a poor person made homeless by the hurricane. You choose to go to Chicago and when you get there, you meet a lot of nice people. You go for a ride with some other folks to see a little bit of the city. Someone offers you a job. Next thing you know, you are renting an apartment. You join a church. Your life is good and all because you said "Yes" when they asked you if you would like to go to Chicago. The hurricane is life changing for everyone involved. How it changes your life is not entirely up to you, but part of it is.

The whole hurricane thing is such a mess. Other countries actually feel sorry for us. They can't believe America is so disorganized and stupid that its citizens are dying of neglect. I can't believe it either. I hope this changes the way we respond to disasters. If it doesn't, heaven help us. The hurricane season is not over yet, folks.

Hurricane Katrina is a horrific disaster. The lack of response by the federal government is a national disgrace that will forever blacken the reputation of Bush's administration like nothing else. Even 9/11 will not be remembered as the display of incompetence that this hurricane disaster will be. Americans died in the street, died in the very place that they were told would shelter them. They didn't die from the wind or rain. They died of neglect. I am sure that if this disaster had occurred in a foreign country, the helicopters delivering food and water would have been on the scene in 24 hours max. How can anyone justify the neglect that the people of Mississippi and Louisiana have suffered at the hands of those who are paid to provide help. George Incompetent Bush was the president on duty the day our country was attacked by Saudi terrorists. He sat on his little kindergarten chair, frozen, unable to do anything until someone told him to leave. How can people give him any credit for the country's ability to recover? He didn't do anything. The systems we have in place worked. This time, they didn't. That pretty much sums up his presidency. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don't. He accepts no blame, seems surprised in fact, when things go wrong. George, you messed up big time. Clinton was impeached for getting oral sex. George should be impeached for being a dolt.