Would it be possible for people to call me this weekend and check up on me?

Sure. Just email me your phone number (hillaryre at gmail.)

What's happened in New Orleans will resonate as a direct indictment of Bush's leadership. And that's pretty much all he's got going for him.

I saw that the New Hampshire Union-Leader hammered him, saying the leadership he showed during 9/11 was nowhere to be found with this hurricane.

First off, the Union-Leader is hella conservative. Second off, they wrote this in Wednesday's edition.

Just. Wow.

Horse's mouth news - this is really good stuff: [link]

I'm just so disgusted I could spit. I haven't been this mad in ages. Most of what I would otherwise say has already been said here a few times. The whole response is just mind-boggling. I am especially pissed at how some are trying to blame this on the poor people who couldn't make it out and are doing their best to survive. My God. They knew there were lots of poor people without access to transportation out of there. Why the *&^%$ didn't they provide busses BEFORE the hurricane. Why weren't the hospitals evacuated before the hurricane? It's one thing when people refuse to evacuate, but honestly, shouldn't people who are willing to evacuate but don't have the means be helped out a bit?!

And who the *&&%$%#$ turns down help in a case like this?! It sure wasn't the people who are begging for it. If we can handle this ourselves, WHY AREN'T WE?

Sorry for the rant, but while there are sympathetic people here, I can't yell out loud at work, so some virtual yelling was necessary.

Brown: I've just learned today that we ... are in the process of completing the evacuations of the hospitals, that those are going very well.

The hell. If you are supposed to be in charge of something like this, you fucking do not "just learn" that "we" are in the process of doing anything. You do not get to be part of that "we," and you damn well better be questioning why you're not.

Tom, I would be happy to call this weekend. Just email my profile addy with your phone number.

What the fuck's up with this exchange?

*********

REPORTER: You talk about fixing what's wrong and you talk about the results not being acceptable. There are a lot of people wondering why you weren't fixing the problems yesterday or the day before, and why the richest country on earth can't get food and water to the people who need it.

PRESIDENT: Uh...the levee was broken on Tuesday in New Orleans. On Wednesday...uh...on Thursday we started evacuating people.(smiles) A lot of people evacuated that city - a lot of people left on buses.(smiles) It's...uh...You know, I am...uh...satisfied with the response, but I'm not satisfied with the results.(smiles)

What the fuck's up with this exchange?

Dammit, is Bush infected with spyware again?

Some good news:

3:03 P.M. - BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Three New Orleans-area hospitals remain open. The Louisiana Hospital Association says they're asking their workers to report.

Those are East Jefferson General Hospital in Metairie, West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero and Ochsner Clinic Foundation in Metairie.

The hospital association says all three have power, air-conditioning and security, and remain committed to serving their communities during these difficult times.

Some bad news:

2:54 P.M. - WWL Reporter Jonathan Betz says the refugees at I-10 and Causeway are standing in squalid conditions. He said there are only 10 portable toilets for thousands of people and the Interstate median is full of human waste.

And who the *&&%$%#$ turns down help in a case like this?!

I think Bush is afraid of looking weak. His main "Presidential" presence has been based on being the Big Strong Man who can take on all those nasty terrorists and by God shape up the UN and Social Security and whatever else the world might throw at him.

Of course, I don't think he's been doing a good job with any of those, either. But then, I'm sitting over here saying that if a person tosses a life jacket at you when you're drowning, you don't stop to ask if his government supports the War on a Noun.

And let's not forget that the people who weren't able to flee are exactly the people who aren't in Bush's "People Like Us" club and thus are completely off his radar. I suspect that if the president's daughters were in the Convention Center a) Everyone the federal government would have known there were people there and b) it would have been fully evacuated before the winds died down.