"I 100% agreed with the comments that he made, because again... it felt like it was being done to black people. Like all you saw on the news was black people with help signs... and then you have this picture of the commander in chief, who we all rely on, just flying by... Just the fact that [George W. Bush] thinks that the worst thing that happened to him is Kanye saying something about him… That alone shows you where his mind is."
Bush called West's accusation that Bush is racist the "low" point of his presidency. It is sad when Taylor Swift handles being dissed by West with more maturity than Bush. This man needs to grow up.
Rush Limbaugh is the last person to questions President Barack Obama's response to the Haiti disaster. Limbaugh went on a tirade about Obama responding too early to the Haiti crisis. Limbaugh laments that it took Obama 3 days to respond to the underwear bomber. Apparently, Limbaugh wants Obama to time his press conferences to his liking.
Obama discussed Haitian earthquake sooner than attempted Christmas bombing; "Did he apologize for America?"
Limbaugh has shown a lack of compassion for disaster victims. Limbaugh callously accused Katrina victims of "whining and moaning." Being stranded on rooftops gives people good reason to complain.
Limbaugh carried the Bush administration's water by mocking the laughable claim that Katrina was only to be a minor hurricane. The reason for this is Limbaugh defends FEMA providing a lack of food for the victims. Bush was forced to give a half-assed apology.
LIMBAUGH: I know they were told to go to the Superdome, but even then they had to walk to the Superdome. And they had to bring their own food and water to the Superdome. Why? Because even the local experts thought it was gonna be just a period of hours that they will spend shielded and protected from wind and rain and they'd come out and go home. We also know that when any level of bureaucracy fails, the first order of business is to point blame at some other bureaucracy. To try to take the heat off of the people who are directly responsible for the failure to enact already written, documented, and even tested evacuation plans.
These people didn't have food and Limbaugh wonders why they were complaining.
"Let's agree that we're going to have PAYGO enforcement. That we're not going to cry 'emergency' every time we have a Katrina, every time we have a Tsunami, every time we have a need for extra spending, that we don't go call for a special appropriation that allows us to circumvent the PAYGO rules."
Megan McArdle wrote a follow up post to her original Jindalmania piece. Both posts were originally writen last year.
But once you're past that, well, the guy just has skills. His message, like Obama's, is one of hope and actual change; he tends to emphasize the work he's done reforming Louisiana's notoriously corrupt political culture. And like Obama, he has the charisma to put it over. Nearly all prominent politicians are extremely charismatic. Being in a room with them is like being in a room with the sun; you can't really look anywhere else. But some have it more than others, and Jindal has a lot of it.
He's also a really good political organizer, which is how a Republican carries Louisiana (to be sure, the Democratic governor's monstrously incompetent performance during Hurricane Katrina helped quite a bit.) And on the other metrics by which Obama stands out--his academic chops, his meteoric rise--Jindal actually betters Obama. The guy was accepted to both Harvard Medical School and Yale Law School, but decided to go for a political career, and accepted his Rhodes Scholarship instead. At 25 he was appointed Lousiana's Secretary of Health and Hospitals; at 28, he became the youngest-ever president of the University of Louisiana system.
McArdle comparing Jindal's political skills to Barack Obama's takes nerve. Unpopular incumbant Kathleen Blanco did not seek re-election, in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Jindal ran in a nonpartisan blanket primary against eleven opponents. Only two were Democrats. Walter Boasso and Foster Campbell did not hold a Congressional seat or previously run for Governor. Jindal has. Boasso switched from a Republican to Democrat because the Republican Party of Louisiana endorsed Jindal. Short answer: Jindal had an easy race after Blanco dropped out. Jindal won David Vitter's Congressional seat. The seat has been red since 1977.
Another fun fact: George W. Bush won Louisiana in 2000 and 2004. Jindal ran in 2003. Louisiana had a serving Republican Governor in Murphy J. Foster, Jr.. Blanco beat Jindal in 2003 52 percent to 48 percent. John McCain beat Obama in Louisiana by 58.6 percent to 39.9 percent.
Barack Obama raised a record 750 million for his presidential campaign. Obama beat Democratic superstar Hillary Clinton and former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards in the primary. Obama beat Republican media darling John McCain in the general election. McCain could have been elected president in 2000, if not for the smear campaign waged during the South Carolina primary.
How MrArdle can compare Obama's political savvy with Jindal's is beyond me? Jindal's Republican support is soft. Louisiana is not representative of the United States electorate. There is no evidence Jindal can raise cash or harness the power of the internet the way Obama did. I have already written about the highly negative reviews of Jindal's SOTU response. I get the feeling McArdle knows her "puppy love" crush bombed. There isn't a single post in McArdle's February 2009 archives about Bobby Jindal. The thing about puppy love crushes is they don't tend to last very long.
Personally, I have no respect for a blogger that would let FEMA off-the-hook for the Katrina response.
One interesting thing I learned is just how far Jindal has come in fighting Louisiana's institutional problems. Bush detractors get mad when I say this, but it really is true that the total ineptitude of the state and local governments was a major reason that things went so tragically wrong during Katrina. FEMA is a small agency with a few thousand employees; it is a funding mechanism for recovery efforts, not some sort of Super EMT Squad. FEMA does well in states that have competent and responsive government agencies, and not so well in places that don't. (The staggering incompetence of rebuilding efforts is another rant--but also, a symptom of broader government problems rather than necessarily something specific to FEMA. But then as I say, that's another rant.)
Blanco's response was inexcusable. Is McArdle aware the New Orleans levees are a federal project under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers? In Augest 2008, the Bush administration did not finish repairing the levees.
In the Youtube video below: Homeland Security Director makes the insane argument he based his Katrina response on newspaper headlines. I feel better if the Chertoff knew more about disasters then the media.
Chertoff: "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees" -- was based on news reports from the morning after the storm indicating that New Orleans had "dodged a bullet."
The newspaper headlines from August 29th, 2005 reported Katrina badly damaging New Orleans. The Grenada, Mississippi Daily Star is the only newspaper to use the phrase "dodged a bullet." Is this where the Bush administration gets all it's news?
Reactions to Bobby Jindal's State of the Union Response
Bobby Jindal gave the worst State of the Union response in recent memory. Jindal's wooden response. Jindal used hurricane Katrina as a reason the government should not get involved in emergency management. Has Jindal remember Michael Brown's and Michael Chertoff's role in Katrina? Jindal is disingenuous about Obama's stimulus bill. As a member of Congress, Jindal voted against moving FEMA out of the Department of Homeland Security.
To solve our current problems, Washington must lead. But the way to lead is not to raise taxes and not to just put more money and power in hands of Washington politicians. The way to lead is by empowering you, the American people. Because we believe that Americans can do anything.
A "making work pay" refundable tax credit championed by Obama of up to $400 per individual and $800 for couples in 2009 and 2010. It is calculated at a rate of 6.2 percent of earned income and is phased out for individuals with adjusted incomes over $75,000 and couples with incomes over $150,000.
* A one-time payment of $250 to Social Security beneficiaries, railroad retirees and veterans receiving benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. State government retirees not eligible for Social Security would also get the $250 payment.
* Increases the earned income tax credit for low-income workers with three or more children.
* Increases eligibility for the refundable child tax credit to more low-income workers. The bill reduces the income floor to $3,000 in 2009 and 2010 from the current floor of $8,500.
* A new $2,500 tax credit for college education expenses. The credit phases out for individuals earning more than $80,000 and couples with incomes over $160,000.
An $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers for homes purchased between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2009. The tax credit phases out for individuals earning more than $75,000 and couples earning more than $150,000.
* Temporary relief from the alternative minimum tax for millions of middle-class taxpayers who otherwise would be ensnared by the tax originally meant for the very wealthy.
FOR BUSINESSES
* Small businesses with gross receipts of up to $15 million can write off 2008 losses against five previous tax years. Current laws allows a two-year carryback of losses.
Businesses will also be allowed to immediately write off more of their investments in computers and other equipment.
* Businesses that repurchase debt at a lower amount than when it was issued will be able to defer taxes on it. Usually reduced or canceled debt is treated as income and taxed. The break applies to debt repurchased adjusted after Dec. 31, 2008, and before Jan. 1, 2011.
* A tax break on capital gains from the sale of stock held in a small business for more than five years.
* The bill raises about $7 billion in revenues by repealing a Treasury Department decision last year to liberalize rules that were intended to prevent companies in a merger from taking huge tax breaks on losses of firms they were acquiring.
Jindal invokes 9-11. That didn't work for Rudy Giuliani. Jindal spoke about cleaning up corruption. He took money from Tom Delay, Roy Blunt, Jerry Lewis, and clints of Jack Abramoff. How can anyone whom took money from indicted men and is married to a lobbyist be a role model for anti-corruption.
The media reactions to Jindal's performance are hysterical. Rachel Maddow is literally speechless.
Conservative columnist David Brooks praised Obama's speech and panned Jindal's rhetoric.
Brooks called Jindal's reponse the worst ever by a Republican. Ouch.
Of course, I'm just in that first flush of puppy love, when a journalist meets a handsome young politician who just might be The One. Soon enough, I'll undoubtedly find things about him to hate. But frankly, it's rare enough to meet one I like. True love may have to wait.
I'm speechless. I wonder if Tas or Litbrit have a response to McArdle. This is too good to pass up.
"Does the governor have a volcano in his backyard?" Royce Pollard, the mayor of Vancouver, Washington, said on Wednesday. "We have one that's very active, and it still rumbles and spits and coughs very frequently."
Jindal singled out a $140 million appropriation for the U.S. Geological Survey as an example of questionable government spending during the GOP response to President Barack Obama's address to Congress Tuesday night.
The governor, a rising Republican star, questioned why "something called 'volcano monitoring' " was included in the nearly $800 billion economic stimulus bill Obama signed earlier this month.
Perhaps Jindal should find out before mentioning volcano monitoring in his speech.
Update: Fox News pans Jindal's speech.
Update:Paul Krugman perfectly mocks the stupidity of Jindal's speech.
And leaving aside the chutzpah of casting the failure of his own party’s governance as proof that government can’t work, does he really think that the response to natural disasters like Katrina is best undertaken by uncoordinated private action? Hey, why bother having an army? Let’s just rely on self-defense by armed citizens.
The intellectual incoherence is stunning. Basically, the political philosophy of the GOP right now seems to consist of snickering at stuff that they think sounds funny. The party of ideas has become the party of Beavis and Butthead.
"In truth, the federal response to Katrina was both the largest and the fastest response to any natural disaster in world history. Yet Bush was never willing to stand up to his critics and make the case in his own defense."
John Hinderaker, Power Line blogger engaging in revisionist history.
Bonus Hinderaker quote:
"President Bush directed a brilliantly successful invasion of Afghanistan and overthrow of the bitterly hostile Taliban regime. The effect was to deprive al Qaeda of its undisturbed training grounds and drive that organization into hiding in caves, to the great benefit of our national security."
Senator Joe Lieberman hints he will caucas with the Senate Republicans. Lieberman talks about being against partisanship. Lieberman has freely attacked Democrats since the start of the Iraq war. Lieberman is now paying the price for going against his caucas.
Bolstered by a newly expanded majority, Harry Reid met with Joe Lieberman on Thursday to sketch out the conditions by which the Connecticut independent could continue to caucus with Senate Democrats. But Lieberman did not accept Reid's initial offers, leaving his future in the caucus uncertain, and potentially setting off a campaign to pressure the Democratic steering committee to decide Lieberman's fate.
Reid offered Lieberman a deal to step down as chairman of the homeland security committee but take over the reins of another subcommittee, likely overseeing economic or small business issues officials said.
Lieberman's political instincts have been horrible. He was the only Senate Democrat to be openly friendly to President Bush's Social Security privatization plan. Both parties expected Republicans to lose Senate seats. Lieberman seems surprised that Reid is contemplating removing him from the caucas.
Firedoglake is running a petition asking the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee to remove Lieberman as chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee. Lieberman practiced his own brand of partisanship, at the expense of Katrina victims.
In a statement released by Leslie Phillips who is Senator Joe Lieberman’s chief committee spokeswoman and as reported by Newsweek she stated, “The senator now intends to focus his attention on the future security of the American people and other matters and does not expect to revisit the White House’s role in Katrina,”
Lieberman aligned himself with a highly unpopular President. There is no way he can not escape the political consequences.
To establish a congressional commission to examine the Federal, State, and local response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Region of the United States especially in the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and other areas impacted in the aftermath and make immediate corrective measures to improve such responses in the future.
The only Republican that didn't vote nay was Pete Domenici. The Senator from New Mexico failed to make roll call. The Senate Republicans voted in lockstep to protect the Bush administration.
To establish a congressional commission to examine the Federal, State, and local response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Region of the United States especially in the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and other areas impacted in the aftermath and make immediate corrective measures to improve such responses in the future.
McCain's statement that he voted against these bills because of pork doesn't laugh the laugh test. The two Katrina investigation amendments were offered as motions and rejected. The legislation never made it into the final bills.
McCain was in Louisiana and lied to the people. McCain could not tell the people of Louisiana that poltically aligning himself with President Bush was more important than the people left homeless because of a poorly built levee. McCain had to lie because his votes are morally indefensible. The sickening thing is McCain will tell voters this is straight talk.
This journey of ours began right here in New Orleans. It was a December morning in the Lower Ninth Ward when people went to work, not just me, but lots of others went to work with shovels and hammers to help restore a house that had been destroyed by the storm.
We joined together in a city that had been abandoned by our government and had been forgotten, but not by us. We knew that they still mourned the dead, that they were still stunned by the destruction, and that they wondered when all those cement steps in all those vacant lots would once again lead to a door, to a home, and to a dream.
We came here to the Lower Ninth Ward to rebuild. And we're going to rebuild today and work today, and we will continue to come back. We will never forget the heartache and we'll always be here to bring them hope, so that someday, one day, the trumpets will sound in Musicians' Village, where we are today, play loud across Lake Ponchartrain, so that working people can come marching in and those steps once again can lead to a family living out the dream in America.
Edwards used his farewell address to remind America how shamefully Katrina was handled. His campaign shined a spotlight on many people that were forgotten by both parties. Edwards message was not Obama's feel good mantra or Hillary's focus group driven drivel.
Edwards become the Howard Dean of 2008: the consious of the Democratic Party. Edwards was honest in admitting his Iraq vote was wrong. Politicians would rather walk on glass than admit a mistake.
Hillary and Obama took time out from getting specialinterest money are tripping over each other to fawn over Edwards.
I will celebrate the day when Joe Lieberman can no longer caucas with Democrats. The only reason Lieberman has power is by holding the Dems ransom and obstructing the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Lieberman's refusal to hold hearings on FEMA's and Homeland Security's handling of Katrina is a digrace.
"We don't want to play ‘gotcha' anymore" and that "looking back… would be a waste of Congress' time."
Senator, it is called oversight, which is Congress's responsibility in the Constitution. It is called checks and balances.
Eight years after campaigning in Florida as a Democratic virtual favorite son, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman is expected to campaign in the Sunshine State this month for Republican John McCain’s presidential bid, a source close to the McCain campaign says.
Details haven’t been announced, but Lieberman visits to Palm Beach and Broward counties are expected.
"We are not making any endorsement in Connecticut. The Republican party of Connecticut has suggested that we not make an endorsement in that race and so we're not," said White House spokesman Tony Snow.
Like Democrats Zell Miller and John Breaux, Lieberman can hold both parties hostage because of a razor thin majority. Miller is a former segregation. The New Republic's Jon Chait described Breaux as a "repellent sleazebag." Pls like this is why I don't support a Unity ticket.
Lindsay Beyerstein has a fascinating post on her encounters with Blackwater in New Orleans.
The Blackwater dude was acting as a glorified rent-a-cop on the sidewalk, about two blocks from the main media staging area for New Orleans, which was already amply secured by US military and law enforcement.
What I didn't realize at the time was that these Blackwater guys thought of themselves as frontline soldiers in a literal war zone, ready to use deadly force at the slightest provocation. That was an unfounded estimate, in the middle of the day in downtown New Orleans several days after the city had been secured by the legitimate authorities.
We certainly weren't seeing that level of aggression or anxiety from the 82nd Airborne or the NOLA police, or the National Guard, or anyone else in the vicinity.
Newsweek's Michael Hirsh wrote the best opening paragraph I have read in an op-ed in ages.
Imagine a universe where a man can gun down women and children anytime he pleases, knowing he will never be brought to justice. A place where morality is null and void, and arbitrary killing is the rule. A place that has been imagined hitherto only in nightmarish dystopian fiction, like “1984,” or in fevered passages from Dostoevsky—or which existed during the Holocaust and Stalinist purges and the Dark Ages. Well, that universe exists today. It is called Iraq. And the man who made it possible is George W. Bush.
U.S. military personal has been in shootouts with Blackwater. Servicemen view mercenaries with complete disdain. The Iraqi people hate Blackwater even more intensely. The Bush administration simply makes matters worse by allowing Blackwater to do what they want without fear of criminal prosecution. Bush refuses to public chastise the security firm. The White House wonders why things work out poorly for them. Blackwater is a classic example.
In related news: the Iraqi government claims they have a video of Blackwater security personal opening fire at civilians.
“I made a decision to lead,” he said, “One, it makes you unpopular; two, it makes people accuse you of unilateral arrogance, and that may be true. But the fundamental question is, is the world better off as a result of your leadership?”
There are so many things wrong with this quote. Bush practically brags about his agrogance. He asks a rhetorical question he has shown no desire to have answered. Bush has shown no patience to the voices of those that disagree with him. Bush has never taken into account that his domestic and foreign policies have been a disaster. The increased military death toll and credit-lending crisis are just two examples.
Another unsurprising fact is that Bush was enjoying his vacation as Katrina was nearing New Orleans.
Word is Michael Chertoff is the leading candidate to replace Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General. It is easy to see why Bush would pick Chertoff. Here is a man who will not let things like the Constitution get in the way of pleasing his boss. Chertoff would provide the same problems that marked Gonzales's tenure.
Chertoff is also an incompetent manager. Shakes has a several quotes that shows how embarrassing the man is. His ineptitude in handling Katrina was all excuses and no accountability.
"I Was Very Disturbed to Learn Early Tuesday Morning That There Had Been a Substantial and Irreparable Breach"
"I Have Not Heard a Report of Thousands of People in the Convention Center Who Don't Have Food and Water"
"Well, I Said in July Before Katrina That We Had a Lot More Work to Do in Preparedness and I Think That Was Borne Out, Obviously, A Month Later"
"Essentially the Lake Was Going to Start to Drain into the City. I Think That Second Catastrophe Really Caught Everybody By Surprise"
"One of the Things I Said Was We're Racing the Clock. Unfortunately, the Hurricane Beat Us"
Finally, my favorite quote.
"Mike Brown Has Done Everything He Possibly Could to Coordinate the Federal Response to This Unprecedented Challenge. I Appreciate His Work, as Does Everybody Here"
There is this lie that Chertoff told on Meet the Press.
"Tuesday morning I opened newspapers and saw headlines that said New Orleans dodged a bullet."
There were never numerous newspaper headlines stating that New Orleans "dodged a bullet." What journalists should have asked Chertoff if he gets his disaster management information from the media.
A few hours later, former U.S. Sen. and onetime Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Bradley — whose nickname as a New York Knicks basketball star was “Dollar Bill” — told the Palm Beach Democratic Club that a $1-a-gallon tax on gasoline and a “big fee” on SUVs and other gas-guzzling vehicles would be good ways to encourage fuel-efficiency and combat global warming.
There are several reasons why this is a bad idea. Consumers are being hit with increasing high gas prices. Making motorists pay more will punish them. There is no proof that they will moderate there driving use. Increased gas prices have proven to make inflation worse.
Prices in the chart spiked from decreased Gulf Coast production due to Hurricane Katrina. Gas prices have since topped the 2005 high.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. average gasoline price set a record Monday, eclipsing highs seen following Hurricane Katrina. To have your say about the spiraling costs, click on the link below. A number of analysts, including those at the Oil Price Information Service and A.G. Edwards, say a peak should come soon.
The U.S. average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.073 Monday, up a little less than a penny from Sunday, when the record was first broken, according to a daily survey from motor club AAA and OPIS. Prices are still below the all-time high when adjusted for inflation, $3.223 in today's dollars set March 1981, according to the Energy Department.
Technically, Wal-Mart's 3.5% April decline ranks as Wal-Mart's worst monthly showing in the 28 years it has reported such figures, handily outpacing the previous worst 0.6% decline in April 1996. In a broader context, the result was pulled down by scheduling quirks in addition to Wal-Mart's increasing difficulty in topping its own year-ago numbers.
In 2003, Wal-mart was 2.5 of America's GNP. The business titan can be hurt by increased gas prices. Bradley hasn't calculated how a dollar gas tax will affect smaller businesses and consumers.
Democrats should keep Bradley's proposal at arm's length. It is political suicide to support a gas tax. Barack Obama is pressing the automotive industry to make more fuel efficient cars. Senate Democrats have outlined a plan for cleaner renewable energy. That is a good place to start the dialogue.
It is amazing that the Dean of Comedy can pack so much humor into his September 4, 2005 column. Satirist David Broder never fails to provide the funny. He writes how Katrina will help President Bush's political standing.
We cannot yet calculate the political fallout from Hurricane Katrina and its devastating human and economic consequences, but one thing seems certain: It makes the previous signs of political weakness for Bush, measured in record-low job approval ratings, instantly irrelevant and opens new opportunities for him to regain his standing with the public.
Broder continues to be on a roll. He blames the Congressional Democratic, who were in the minority, for the lack of oversight hearings.
The decline of oversight hearings on Capitol Hill reflects what many of the commentators called a loss of institutional pride in Congress. Majority Republicans see themselves first and foremost as members of the Bush team -- and do not want to make trouble by asking hard questions. Democrats find it more rewarding to raise campaign funds and cultivate their own constituencies.
My guts are about to burst from so much laughter. The staff at The Onion have nothing on Broder. What other comedian would have the brilliance to go on Meet the Press to suggest the Democrats were hurt after Trent Lott stepped down for his pro-segregation remarks. Younger comics like Sean Hannity should take note of the Dean.
BRODER: I think there are two losers, Tim. I think the Democrats lost ground, in part. Former Senator Al Simpson from Wyoming said to me, “They have defanged Daschle now.” Daschle can go stand up there and point his finger and talk about those rotten evil Republicans, and people are going to see Bill Frist standing across the aisle from him, who doesn’t look rotten or evil.
The other reason I think the Democrats are losers is that when they had a moral issue in front of them with President Clinton, they denounced him, but they never acted against him. Indeed, they rallied around him. And I think that contrast is one that people will remember.
Not to be outdone, fellow funnyman Tim Russert called Broder "the most objective and respected reporter I know in this town."
Hollywood will never beat the Beltway in the humor department.
The Rev. Ron Sanders speaks about the Steve Stanton appeal tomorrow and takes the time to go on a hate-filled tirade.
During the City Commission meeting on March 20, the Rev. Ron Sanders, pastor of the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Largo, said God has protected Largo over the years from killer hurricanes because of the abundance of prayers.
But, he warned, “The Lord wants me to say some things.”
“God’s wrath is on America right now,” Sanders said.
He pointed to the 911 terrorist attacks and the devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina.
Sanders said the gay, lesbian and transgender lifestyle is “an abomination against God.” He said if the city allows Stanton to stay in office, “He will be a hero to all of those weirdos from New Orleans who are looking for a new home.”
What kind of Christian condems people who suffered and were left homeless during Katrina. Would Sanders feel the same way if he was stranded in the Superdome?
Sanders claims that every New Orleans resident is not a God-fearing Christian and deserved being displaced. I'm curious as to how Sanders was able to look into the souls of all these people and make this blanket judgement. For that matter: what does Steve Stanton's status have to do with Katrina?
Sanders says this stuff to the media. Imagine what he preaches in the confines of his church.
Update: What is interesting in the article is the lack of support other commission members have for Mary Gray Black.
Commissioner Mary Gray Black read a lengthy legal brief to the commission in which she argued that the hearing be quasi-judicial. She wants witnesses sworn and cross-examined and to have a legal transcription of the meeting.
City Attorney Alan Zimmet countered that this would give Stanton an easy avenue to appeal to the courts.
Several commissioners objected to having received Black’s prepared statement during the meeting and having to listen to her read it.
There was no support voiced for Black’s arguments.
To make matters more ridiculous, Largo has created a free speech zone. Those wishing to distribute literature will be fenced out. This is their reactionary idea to avoid another Nadine Smith incident.
"How can you have the mess we have in New Orleans, and not have had deep investigations of the federal government, the state government, the city government, and the failure of citizenship in the Ninth Ward, where 22,000 people were so uneducated and so unprepared, they literally couldn't get out of the way of a hurricane."
Newt Gingrich does realize he is saying that the people in predominantly black New Orleans are stupid? Gingrich's remark remind me of Wolf Blitzer's "so poor and so black" weirdness. What is it with how Beltway people view minorities?
