Tuesday, September 27, 2005

More to support the sound bite world we live in...

Katrina Takes a Toll on Truth, News Accuracy - Los Angeles Times

This article supports all the running around like chicken little that happened after Katrina. The News Media was trying to out perform each other so much that they actually self fulfilled their own prophecy.

-End of Ramble.

A sound bite nation!

Washington Monthly Article

This is exactly what the world is reacting to. We see sound bites and assume the worst. We here comments from people like Kanye West and think "Well maybe Bush does hate black people". We are like Brook Trout, or Lemmings, or any other comparison you want to make to animals who just suck in what is given to us.

Stop it... Stop assuming that a) everyone is out to get everyone else and b) what you here in the media is the end all beat all truth. You know what the best thing that could happen to this country is? The end of the force feeding of our brains from the Cathode Ray nipple.

Turn off the TV. I know, it hurts, but TURN IT OFF. Pay attention to your family. Go talk to others at the water cooler. Go toss a baseball with your kids.

- End of Ramble.

Monday, September 26, 2005

DRUDGE REPORT FLASH 2005�

DRUDGE REPORT FLASH 2005

Barbara, Barbara, Barbara...

What give you the right to say such crap? Are you a scientist? Nope. Your just a has been actor / singer. Get over yourself.

Friday, September 23, 2005

Independent Online Edition > Americas : app1

This is global warming, says environmental chief
JUNK SCIENCE is what this should be titled.

If this was global warming, then explain how it happened in 1900! Or before that!

Asked about characterising them as "loonies", he said: "There are a group of people in various parts of the world ... who simply don't want to accept human activities can change climate and are changing the climate."


Who, exactly, does not want to accept this? I don't think that anyone would ever agree with that statement. Human activity will continue to affect the environment and the climate. This is classic double speak. Say that people don't get it, but don't quantify what 'it' is exactly. Let's just make sweeping changes like getting rid of all hydrocarbons. But what will be there to replace them?

Sir John, do you like electricity? Do you like transporation? Do you really understand E=MC2?

Sir John said: "Increasingly it looks like a smoking gun. It's a fair conclusion to draw that global warming, caused to a substantial extent by people, is driving increased sea surface temperatures and increasing the violence of hurricanes."


It's a fair conclusion? Really? Sir John, you are making a statement about Global Warming based on data since 1970. The last time we had this many hurricanes in this part of the world was in the early 1900's!

It's cyclical. Get over it and stop pushing your agenda.

-End of Ramble

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Hurricane Rita spins toward Texas, Gulf Coast - Hurricanes' Wrath - MSNBC.com

Hurricane Rita spins toward Texas, Gulf Coast - Hurricanes' Wrath - MSNBC.com

This article is a good example of what a proper Mayor and Governor are supposed to do when faced with the knowledge of a huge storm.

You could say that this is because of Katrina... Or you could also say that they are just executing on their disaster plans... Either way, it is what should have happened in New Orleans.

Now, when this is all said and done, is the Government going to ask us for more money to rebuild? I don't know about you, but my wallet feels light already from all the Taxes I have to pay.

-End of Ramble

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

I found this quote at the Narrow blog...

Louis Farrakhan on the New Orleans flood and specifically the levee breaches:


"I heard from a very reliable source who saw a 25 foot deep crater under the levee breach. It may have been blown up to destroy the black part of town and keep the white part dry,"


Really?

Mr. Farrakhan, you have been known for some outrageous stuff, but who is your "Reliable Source"? Who has had the time to look?

Oh, and lets talk Fluid Dynamics and Physics for a second...

As the levies were topped by the water, they "Dug out" under the concrete wall. When the wall fell and the water continued to rush through the gap, it is going to pick up more sediment and send it all over the place (check out all the mud left after the water is pumped out...)

Get a grip. The Government, White people, whoever you are blaming, are not looking to save the white areas and destroy the black areas... Oh, by the way, Why would a BLACK mayor do this? Or, more to the point, why are there White and Black areas at all? Why is there this separation? Why see color in everything? Why can't we all just be Americans?

-End of Ramble

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Excellent letter on the FairTax...

Fair Tax Link

Just some of the excellent letters being written to support the Fair Tax. Write your congress person! Right your Senator!

The Fair Tax puts us (Americans) back in control.

"Taxes should be continued by annual or biennial reeactments,
because a constant hold, by the nation, of the strings of
the public purse is a salutary restraint from which an honest
government ought not wish, nor a corrupt one to be permitted,
to be free."

-- Thomas Jefferson (letter to John Wayles Eppes, 24 June 1813)

Reference: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Library of Congress,
American Memory Collection

- End of Ramble

Friday, September 16, 2005

I, as a taxpayer, don't want any of my money going for this!

MTV.com - think - Headlines - Bush Unveils Ambitious Plan To Help New Orleans 'Rise Again'

I saw a bumper sticker today that said "If you are not outraged, you are not paying attention". I'm outraged, how about you?

Estimates for this "clean up" and New Orleans "Rising again" are $200 BILLION (yes, billion, with a B, or

$200,000,000,000!

Oh, yea, and poor old Florida, who also got hit with Katrina (Category 1, but still) ... GETS... NOTHING!

Now, here is a thought. How about this? Let's make the entire area a tax free zone and give business an excuse to come back. People will have to come back to support the businesses. Viola! Economy recreated, no tax dollars spent. And, on top of that, we could use it as a place to 'test out' the FairTax.

A little money to help these people get back on their feet is a good thing. Unless my math is wrong, $200 Billion dollars is not a little money.

And, what I find is funny as well is that a bunch of the evacuees are deciding to stay where they were evacuated too... why? Because they can get jobs! These people want to become regular members of society! They just didn't have the means or the gumption to get out of where they were living. Now that's the American spirit.

President Bush, ignore all the crap about you "hating black people" and "hating the poor"! Don't give in to the pressure like this! Help these people get back on their feet, but don't give away the farm! It is not the Government's job to rebuild businesses, it is the owner's of those businesses. Make it attractive for them, and they will do it all on their own.

-- End of Ramble

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

VW Polo Ad? Not Really!

Fake VW Polo Ad at Snoopes

And now for something completely different...

Just for fun... I was getting too serious. You can read the rest of the Snoops article if you want, but at least watch the ad...

Bush Accepts Blame for Slow Hurricane Response - Yahoo! News

Bush Accepts Blame for Slow Hurricane Response - Yahoo! News

Hmmm... What is happening here? Why would President Bush do this? Let's see what he actually said:

"Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government," he said. "And to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility."

"... to the fullest extent that the federal government didn't dully do its job right ..."

Yes, he takes the blame for the federal component... so he is taking "the high road", so where does that leave Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco? This humble blogger believes in the republic that was founded when this country was started over 200 years ago, to escape a monarchy. Why do we continue to look towards the oval office as if it was Buckingham Palace? There is no "king", or "queen" in the United States of America. We have local governments, who are responsible for the people. We have state governments who shoulder still other burdens FOR THE PEOPLE. We have the Federal government which shoulders even larger burdens FOR THE PEOPLE.

We have people everywhere running around looking to blame someone (Hey, even Robert Kennedy, Jr. is blaming Bush for the Hurricane itself! see “For They That Sow the Wind Shall Reap the Whirlwind”) instead of just helping those in need. We have people hurting. Instead of playing politics Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco, how about serving those who elected you?

As for the President taking blame... Yes, he was right to do that, but what are the politics in play here?

- End of Ramble

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Slowness of recovery of Katrina dead criticized - Yahoo! News

Slowness of recovery of Katrina dead criticized - Yahoo! News

Now FEMA can't clean up the dead fast enough. Never mind that the pumps are just now making headway.

Besides, FEMA is a money organization. There goal is to deliver the funds and hire the people to make this stuff happen. They don't actually go in and pick up the bodies! Or do any of the work. What is Ms. Blanco expecting?

I still maintain that we need to just keep the parts of New Orleans that are actually ABOVE water, and let the rest go. And how about that polluted cesspool known as Lake Ponchitrain? That has now got to be the ultimate Super Fund site (as if it wasn't before!)

Where are the Sierra Club? Where are the Environmentalists? Why aren't they DEMANDING that we don't rebuild?

- End of Ramble

Monday, September 12, 2005

MSNBC On the Scene: Katrina's aftermath

MSNBC Video Slideshow

One of the last statements in this slideshow is "We need think about how those levee's are built, and how they are rebuilt, and a public commitment to making that possible."

My Question: Why?

Why rebuild the Levee's? Why Rebuild all of New Orleans? This slideshow also talks about the 5 part series that the Times Picayune did on the vulnerability of the city. Part of that series talks about the environmental damage that has already been done to the outlying islands BEFORE Hurricane Katrina. Now they are probably completely gone. So the question becomes, is it worth it? Now that the damage is done, is New Orleans as it was, worth it?

How about moving it and it's port inland. How about building the oil refineries ABOVE sea level (as a requirement).

And is there an insurance company on the planet that will give insurance to these people after this?

What is the return on investment to rebuilding New Orleans? We live in a huge country. Couldn't these people rebuild in other parts of it? Places that intrinsically make more sense than living underwater?

- End of Ramble

Sunday, September 11, 2005

4th anniversary of the WTC bombing

9/11 Rememberance site

The Best Flash



On this, the fourth anniversary of the WTC bombing, I am moved to remember what happened to all of our fellow Americans. We must never forget that this act of war on our homeland was perpetrated by a ruthless, gutless bunch of scumbags who's only crazy, idiotic goal is to get into their version of Heaven where 72 virgins await them.

We really know that they are in hell, where they belong, as does their leader(s).

God Bless them, their families, and our troops who are fighting against these idiots.

- End of Ramble.

Friday, September 09, 2005

White House faces new questions on Katrina relief - Yahoo! News

White House faces new questions on Katrina relief - Yahoo! News

Like this is any different than any previous administration. They are all political appointees. Let's get real here -- We need to take back our country from these idiots. And no amount of idiots studing idiots to see what went wrong is going to solve this problem. ONLY WE CAN.

- End of Ramble

ABC News: Kanye West Rips Bush at Hurricane Aid Show

ABC News: Kanye West Rips Bush at Hurricane Aid Show

I know this has been covered over and over again, and I do not listen to this "persons" music, but what gives any celebrity the right to make the statements that Kayne West did? As Mr. West said "George Bush doesn't care about black people," the camera's cut away from him, but why would he feel this way?

I ask you, Mr. West, what prompted these statements? Has Mr. Bush shown some sort of disrespect for black people? People like Colin Powell? Condilezza Rice? I don't understand how you can claim that President Bush does not like black people, as he has shown no such tendancy.

All the comments I have seen in this area have been based on the fact that Florida (after getting hit with 4 hurricanes last year) got rapid response. Well, first off, Florida did not get any faster response than the states affected by Katrina. The difference here is that, at least in Florida, the community BANDED TOGETHER to help each other. They did not point fingers. They did not look for handouts. They picked themselves up, Black, White, Hispanic, Asian... didn't matter ... And got themselves back on track. Instead we see looting on TV. We see people looking for hand outs. I don't care what your race is, if you are looting TV's you are a thief. Thief's will be dealt with according to the law.

-End of Ramble

Thursday, September 08, 2005

go be stupid somewhere else on Flickr - Photo Sharing!




This man has it all figured out. His comments are right on, as is his sign in this picture.

We all need to be worried about how to help these people, not who to blame.

"i am fed up with all the dumb comments i am getting on my photos of the effects of hurricane katrina within my city. i've been trying to take photos of what has happened within baton rouge as a result of us attempting to absorb as many people as possible from the new orleans metro area. i've attempted to show some beauty in the midst of this tragedy - the faces of the kids, the story's of people making it through the pain, and tales of people sharing whatever they have. yet some people who have viewed these photos have taken these pictures as an opportunity to blame the conservative and the liberals, the blacks and the whites, the city of new orleans, state of louisiana, and the country. these pictures are not meant to be an opportunity for you to use this horrific event for your own racist or political agendas. now is not the time for blame or political posturing. now is the time to help as many people as possible. you can start a forum somewhere else later and blame as many people as you would like.so here's the one and only warning for the idiots among us. if you post a comment laying blame on anyone i will delete it. if you do it again i will put you on my block list. if you decided that these photos are the spot where you should post some dumb rumors that do nothing more than scare people you will be sadly disappointed because i will delete them. if you post more rumors i will block you. if you post a racist statement or a statement that tears into louisiana, baton rouge, or the new orleans metro area i will delete it and block you automatically.now GO BE STUPID SOMEWHERE ELSE!"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ratterrell/40634731/in/photostream/

-End of Ramble

Freedom, the gift to Americans paid for by Americans

Freedom is a gift, given by the blood of many Americans. What drives those who have given, and are willing to give their lives for our freedom? The values and morals of our American Society. If we continue to globalize our society, and erode our American society, what is there to fight for? What will drive anyone to protect what they don’t understand?

The real enemy is our own capacity to forget where we came from and that we are all AMERICANS.

America... What do we stand for anymore? When our schools teach liberal drivel centered on Secular Humanisim and Internationalism (and call it Multicultural Tolerance!). We currently have people willing to DIE for our freedom... But do we appreciate it? Do we know what it is about? Do we remember the FACT that this country was founded by a group of Puritans escaping persecution in the Europe that THE LIBERALS THINK WE SHOULD COW TOW TOO????

We are Americans. We used to be proud of this country. Of what we stood for. Of the melting pot of this society. What happened that now we blame the Democrats, or the Republicans? It is not one parties fault or another parties fault, it is our own apathy. We have brought this on ourselves by letting the foxes watch the hen house while they fill the young minds of this country with garbage. No single party, no single human, has gotten us where we are today. Stop blamestorming and look in the mirror... Go, be with your children. Teach them the proper history of this country. Show them the truth, for it will set you free. Teach them about right and wrong, based on the same thing that the founding fathers based this great country on.

"When values are clear, laws are unnecessary. When values are not clear, laws are unenforceable." -- Goethe.

If you Don't stand for something, you will fall for anything!

-End of Ramble

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

The Federal Government and Katrina

So, I can't take it anymore...

If you are an American taxpayer you need to be upset. Today, in the wake of hurricane Katrina, with people out of homes, looking for the basics of life, our Government is looking to form a commission to study what went wrong! You have GOT to be kidding me...

And how much will this commission cost? $10MM? $20MM? Wouldn't that money be better spent on the actual victims? All told four states experienced serious damage from Katrina...

1. Florida
2. Louisiana
3. Alabama
4. Mississippi

Of those four states, Louisiana is the only one that is having issues with the Federal Government response. I would bet that they are getting most of the resources right now because they are the proverbial "Squeaky Wheel".

Today I heard a quote from Nancy Pelosi where she is quoted as saying something to the effect that (I'm paraphrasing here) the President needs only to look in the mirror to see where the problem is. Really? FEMA has been doing a great job in the other three states. The problem is not with FEMA, nor the Federal Government on this one. Nancy, the persons that need to look in the mirror are the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of the state of Louisiana...

Let's not WASTE more money on another commission that will only try to point blame at the President. What good will that do for the people affected by Katrina? Who's pockets will get lined?

As a Taxpayer, I would like my money back so I can give it to the Red Cross, the United Way, or some other Charity that is actually interested in helping the people.

End of Ramble.