Oh, so NOW things could get ugly, Senators?

Well, pardon me for not quite believing the suddenly brazen republican Senators like Richard Lugar (IN) and Arlen “Magic Bullet” Specter (PA) with their newest toothless threats to Bush about Iraq.

While it is nice to see some prominent republicans at least pretend to act like they don’t have their heads firmly planted in their own ass or their noses firmly entrenched in Bush’s ass, these latest words are not new, credible or believable. And frankly, in a time where we have seen empty rhetoric from Specter about how he would run his Judiciary Committee (only to cave in time and time again) or how he would stand up to the Bushistas (only to cave in time and time again), not to mention a time where Lugar rightfully criticized the US lack of planning for “postwar” Iraq (only to nearly never vote his conscience on Iraq or on “diplomats” like John Bolton) – these words ring even hollower.

You see, Senators, things have been ugly for quite some time, and you have written a blank check for Bush in Iraq for quite some time – whether you are just admitting it or not.

The two quotes (somewhat paraphrased due to no official transcript) are as follows (first Lugar):

“[I]n the past, the administration has been inclined not to disregard Congress but to not take Congress very seriously. I think this time Congress has to be taken seriously.”

If Bush ignores Congress, Lugar said he should expect “a lot of hearings, a lot of study, a lot of criticism,” and “demands for subpoenas.” Fox host Chris Wallace said, “You saying this could get ugly.” Lugar replied, “Yes, it could.”

And now Specter’s:

Specter went "on the record" as saying he did not support escalation, he is "inclined to support the conclusions of Jim Baker", and he is "not going to give the President a blank check."

See, here is the problem - We can flash back to April 2006 to find another time that Specter said this about Bush and Iraq. And this was just 2 months after Congress approved $60 billion or so for Iraq. This of course, doesn’t include the “other” $60 billion approved for fiscal year 2007, or any of the other “emergency bills” that will come out either.

Yes, it is apples/oranges, but early estimates were that it would take approximately $32 billion to rebuild New Orleans. Oh yeah, we can’t forget the $177 billion (yes, that is a B) in CORPORATE tax cuts from the 2002 and 2003 tax cuts. Sorry, Arlen, but that sounds like an awful lot of blank checks already.

As for you, Dick – it is nice that you have made some basic observations which even a child could have made over the past six years. But to say that “things could get ugly” now? Come on. And I’ll preface by saying that Lugar is one of the “better” republicans when it comes to foreign relations (but even a “better republican” has been a rubber stamp). But jeez – look at the stellar voting record when it comes to backing up the tough talk.

You would have thought that it got ugly when Congress didn’t exercise its oversight or due diligence regarding the lies and flimsy evidence rammed down its throat before marching into Iraq. And yes, that includes Democrats as well.

You would have thought that it got ugly when the US let Bin Laden slip away or when Bush purposely let Zarqawi slip away because it would “hurt the case for invading Iraq.

You would have thought that it got ugly when Paul Wolfowitz was listened to over General Shinseki about the troop levels required in Iraq.

You would have thought that it got ugly when the Iraqi army was disbanded without consulting the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

You would have thought that it got ugly when well over six months ago many people realized that Iraq was descending into a civil war.

You would have thought that it got ugly when over two years ago, the soldiers called bullshit on Rumsfeld for a lack of armor and equipment.

You would have thought that it got ugly when the republicans were swept out of Congressional control this past November – when the most important issue on people’s minds was the desire for a change of direction in Iraq.

So please, pardon me for not feeling the “warm and fuzzies” for your tired and old new and improved tough talk. Forgive me for not having that welcoming holiday cheer for your newest threats to Bush. Let’s see that talk backed up with action.

Let’s see you actually take Bush – or anyone else for that matter – to task for doing what We the People (as well as many experts, military leaders and other leaders/citizens around the world) are dead set against.

Let’s see things REALLY get ugly. Not for the Americans. Not for our troops. Not for the Iraqi civilians.

But for those who are responsible for this disaster we are in.

Saddam's Black Tie Gala

Cross posted from Article of Faith:

Did you know that the term "gala" originates from the gallows? Back in medieval England, crowds would dress up in their best clothes to attend the hanging, often followed by lavish parties where the decedent would be eulogized by the partiers. Invitations were often sent out: "We hang at eight, party at nine."

The events became known as "galas", replete with black ties for the gentlemen and ball gowns for the ladies. And if it was a really good execution, the condemned would make a lengthy farewell speech, telling observers not to mourn their passing, but martyr them, and look forward to an afterlife of riches and God's graces.

So it's no surprise that the black tie gala in Baghdad is being rushed in time for New Year's Eve. Out with the old, in with the new, justice and rule of law be damned.

As the Times notes in its editorial this morning, the kangaroo courts that both convicted Saddam and upheld his death sentence, replete with hand-picked stooges of the "Coalition Authority", is rushing to get this hanging in before more violence erupts from the Baathist loyalists, which will no doubt come anyway as soon as Saddam's death is announced.

Read this: "This week began with a story of British and Iraqi soldiers storming a police station that hid a secret dungeon in Basra. More than 100 men, many of them viciously tortured, were rescued from almost certain execution. It might have been a story from the final days of Baathist rule in March 2003..."

And then this: "Mowaffak al-Rubaie, the national security adviser, said there would be no advance notice of the execution because of fears that any announcement could set off violence. When asked who would be invited to attend the hanging, Mr. Rubaie said: "No television. No press. Nothing." He said that the execution would be videotaped but that it was unlikely the tape would be released. Saddam will be handed over to the Iraqi government, out of U.S. military custody, as he's being taken to the gallows."

And we wonder why they hate us.

To tie this in briefly with the passing of president Ford, I was struck by the refrain I've heard over and over regarding his pardon of Nixon, that the decision was in the best interest of the country because allowing Nixon to be hauled into the criminal docks and prosecuted for his crimes would have "destabilized the country futher".

In other words, convicting the president of his crimes and sentencing him to federal prison is something we just couldn't tolerate of the office or the men who have held it, so subverting the judicial process with the pardon was seen as saving the republic.

Yet in our bloodlust to bring another country's president to "justice" (even though their people never asked us to do so), we are once again subverting the rule of law and dirtying our hands in a perversion of bloodlust. Can you imagine if, say Canada, had launched an invasion of the U.S. in 1974 so that they could bring our president to justice?

As I've written time and again, this entire proceeding regarding Saddam Hussein is a sick joke. It makes a mockery of the rule of law and reduces our own bloodlust to that of Saddam's level.

Certainly his crimes are of a greater scale than Nixon's, but the point in comparison is that subverted justice is subverted justice. Nixon escaped and was allowed to rehabilitate himself over the next twenty years. Saddam escapes justice and becomes a martyr this weekend, sure to be eulogized by Iraqis for generations to come.

What price this "justice", in blood money? I calculate the ratio as roughly 3000 to 1. Three thousand U.S. deaths just so we could get "the man who tried to kill my daddy."

So put on your black ties and dance your jig as Saddam swings this weekend. Me, I'll be busy laughing, noting that the rope used to snap Saddam's neck was made of hemp.

Cross posted to The Dem Daily

The upcoming Iraqi piñata party

Former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, will receive the piñata treatment for his role in 148 killings in 1982 by Sunday. And get this, they will do it right before the start of a religious holiday! WOW! The "Eid religious holiday, which begins at sundown Saturday" to be exact. How's that for trying to stop the insanity? Lets kick off the holiday with a lynching! And what story would be complete without an anonymous source? Why that would just break my heart if someone was to have the guts to give their name in an artical. I would feel like I just got robbed.

Saddam to be hanged by Sunday

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, sentenced to death for his role in 148 killings in 1982, will have his sentence carried out by Sunday, NBC News reported Thursday. According to a U.S. military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity, Saddam will be hanged before the start of the Eid religious holiday, which begins at sundown Saturday.

The hanging could take place as early as Friday, NBC’s Richard Engel reported.

But have no fear, some rags don't hide their leanings. You can see a very different view from some like the New York Daily News.

Saddam will dangle by Sunday, report says

Saddam Hussein, sentenced to hang for slaughtering Shiite civilians more than two decades ago, will swing from the gallows before the weekend is out, several reports said last night.

The deposed dictator will be executed by Sunday and could face the noose as early as today, NBC, CBS and Fox News reported, citing U.S. military sources.

Iraq's highest court on Tuesday rejected Saddam's appeal of his conviction and death sentence for the massacre of 148 Shiites in the northern city of Dujail in 1982, which came after a failed assassination attempt on the tyrant. The court said he should be hanged within 30 days.

I wonder if the New York Daily News will have a celebration party considering the tone of that article.

OOOOOPPSSS!!! My bad, wrong dictator in the pic above. *SMIRK*

Out of Iraq and into New Orleans

While that little slogan was something that I came up with totally by accident (thanks for pointing it out, Militarytracy), it did get me thinking that this really is one of the simplest ways to (1) point out the two most glaring and high impact mistakes of this administration and the rubber stamp republican Congress who supported this administration and (2) highlight two of the most pressing needs (and less controversial than other needs like universal healthcare, etc.) that must be addressed by the incoming Congress as well as any serious candidate for President.

wmtriallawyer wrote a diary earlier today that touched on rebuilding New Orleans and wrote it in a way that would save Bush’s legacy. While we all secretly or not so secretly want to see Bush go down in history as the worst president (or person) ever, that would also somewhat involve rooting for the continuation of his “reverse Midas” policies and another two years of absolute ruin and havoc. This is something that the country and world can hardly afford.

And while 2008 is a long way off, the foundation has already been laid by a number of prominent Democrats – not coincidentally some who have their eye on the White House. Now, at this point, I am not really playing favorites, although I think that Edwards and even Biden (yes, Biden) have a much better chance at showing real leadership of those who are likely candidates – for these reasons alone.

We all have seen how the “sound byte” or “catchy slogan” can go further than the most sane, rational policy. Witness “cut and run”, “flip-flop”, “fighting them over there...” and other gems that have been trotted out by the republicans and this administration to see how far a few empty words can take you. The difference here is that these words are not empty. They are words that are on every true American’s mind.

Also not coincidentally, these are probably two of the issues that I have written the most about over the past year so they are pretty important as much as I am concerned. And whether it is political more than it is genuine, the fact that Edwards made his announcement for his bid for President in New Orleans, or that Biden has come out very strong against an escalation in Iraq as well as having Rice testify before his Senate Foreign Relations Committee early next month.

These are two very simple issues that resonate with just about everyone here in the US. These are also two issues that (1) have impacted tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Americans in a very negative way, to say the least, (2) are absolute political disasters for republicans and embarrassments to this country and (3) must be addressed in a vastly different manner than they currently are being addressed. On top of these three points, these are probably the two issues that the overwhelming majority of Americans are in agreement on.

Sadly, even New Orleans residents are losing hope with respect to their current situation. According to a recent poll:

Even among the best-off post-Katrina returnees to New Orleans and neighboring Jefferson Parish - those living in houses or apartments, rather than trailers - about one-third say they may leave the area within the next two years, a small poll indicates.

As I diaried last week, the lack of any progress in the Ninth Ward is still an absolute disgrace. Even Mayor Nagin seemed to throw his hands up about the Lower Ninth Ward:

Mayor Ray Nagin, still vowing that the depopulated city will be rebuilt in its entirety, acknowledges that recovery will come in phases and that the market forces, in which his plan places great faith, will first favor the unflooded parts of town and then move to the areas west of the Industrial Canal.

"The Lower 9th Ward will probably be the last area," Nagin said at a forum held at Loyola University a few weeks ago. "That's just the way citizen investment has gone."

While early estimates indicated that it could cost up to $32 billion to rebuild New Orleans, there have been widespread reports of FEMA wasting tens of millions of dollars, trailers going unoccupied and fights between the state and federal officials about who is and is not doing what they should.

Of course, $32 billion SOUNDS like a lot of money (hell, it is a lot of money), we should remember that this little folly in Iraq is costing around $8 billion per month. Even if we still have to spend $1 - $2 billion per month after withdrawal for humanitarian efforts and rebuilding, that is still less than one year’s worth of Iraq costs that could be used to rebuild New Orleans.

I don’t really need to go into all of the reasons why New Orleans should be rebuilt or how many Americans want us the hell out of Iraq – these are very well documented and are frankly both “no brainers”. However, a Congress that addresses these issues and forces these issues to be dealt with will stay in the majority for a long time. And a candidate that takes the lead on these two issues will have fans for many years to come, not to mention a HUGE advantage come 2008.

Out of Iraq, into New Orleans – it even fits on a bumper sticker and rolls right off the tongue.

Bayou Blogging: Bush hearts dead babies

First, let me say that I am sorry for the pic and the low quality. That thanks can go out to the lunatic in the pick-up truck with the bright lights getting his drunk on. I got off work at midnight, and had to take that time to go and get a new puter desk at Walmart. The only place to get one at that time of the day. After getting what I needed, I headed home and found an area that acutally had a little place to pull over. A lot of the roads have little to no shoulder to talk about. So this one place was just right. It had a sign that I could try out the new clips I came up with. Pull over, and just clip it on a sign. How easy is that? So I get out and put the sign up and go back to get the camera out. Then I check both ways for traffic. By the time I got the camera out and tried to snap a pic, I hear the sounds of a maniac in the distance.

Now I have the sign up, and all I need is a quick pic. So I just try to rush the pic and I had to reset the camera. In my haste, I managed to change something. So I get it back to what it was supposed to be on and get blasted with bright lights from the maniac. I just snapped the pic and dove into the car. The maniac missed the car door within inches, and would have taken me out if I would have delayed much more. I was past the end of the door, and this jackass missed the door by mere inches! I saw the lights ahead of time, and they were all over the place which allowed me to duck for cover. I took off, and checked the pic while trying to drive back home with a big rush. The pic was not what I wanted. I thought about turning around, but thought I had pushed my luck. I will try to go back and get one in the daylight. As I look back, I wonder exactly how fast the idiot was going to be able to get to me after I had seen no lights before I hung the sign. There was not one bungee cord or the likes involved. It was just a simple clip to open up and put on a road sign. It was that quick! How fast was that Fool going? Keep in mind, in the pic, you can see the 55 mph sign!

If you will take a look close, you can see that my change to a night time mode was not needed. That sign is showing the glare of the bright lights from Mr. Asshat!!!!! I had planned to get a night photo and then go back to get it in the day time to have a clear pic. So what you see is the oncoming bright lights of a lunatic that almost took me out.

Since you can't see the sign, I will give the scene:

BUSH HEARTS DEAD BABIES

Left Side: Bush with a cross under it.

Middle: A red heart.

Right Side: Dead with Babies under it.

The "B" in Bush has bars like a prison in the center spots of the "B"



So my night photo that was just meant to show when it was hung turned into a big old shit storm!

UPDATE: I went back to get a pic of the sign in the daylight. The sign was twisted and flopping in the wind. But the clip did hold. I think it was just a little too long for only one clip. So I know they work now. So I took the sign and headed down the road to put it up at another place I have spotted. No need for clips here. Armed with the staple gun, I blogged!!!!!



So I got a pic of the primative sign and got back in the car right before a cop passed by. Somehow, I don't think that it was a good day to bayou blog. But I did it anyway!!!

Links updated

I still have not gotten to all the links that I wish to put up yet! But I took the time this morning after I got off work to update some links to the Louisiana bloggers. Make sure to take some time to check them out. There are a lot more than is listed. I added a link to the list of La. bloggers and it is worth time to check out the 100+ links.

The Genie and three wishes

A man is walking along the beach one day and comes across something sticking slightly out the sand. He takes a closer look and sees that it has a dulled shine to it. After digging the object up, he tried to clean it up some to further see what it might be. After rubbing on it for a few minutes, a Genie came out of the lamp. "Thank you for releasing me master, in return, you will receive three wishes." said the Genie. The man thinks for a few minutes and finally asks for 10 Million dollars. In an instant, the money appeared and the man was elated. He wondered how he could compete with that wish.

Right after this thought, he heard the sounds of someone celebrating! When he turned and looked, George W. Bush was yelling at the top of his lungs. He was jumping for joy and kept yelling "I didn't have to cut taxes on the rich to get this" and "20 Million dollars just out of the sky." Upon seeing this, the man was outraged! He asked the Genie why Bush got that money. The Genie told him that everything he wished for, was to be doubled for Bush. Now this came as an insult to the man. After all, it was he that found the lamp and did the cleaning and now this moron was going to reap the benefits of his labor once again.

The Genie then reminded the man that he had two more wishes to make. Upon being reminded of the other wishes, the man soon forgot his ire. He pondered for a while and thought that a home would be a good thing to have. "Genie, I wish to have a hugh home that covers a whole city block" he said. POOF! The home appeared and the man was shocked at the size of his new home. His celebration was soon cut short when he heard that familiar shout from behind. As he turned, he saw a two city block home with Bush welcoming his Neo-Con friends into his new estate to party. It was more than the man could stand! He went off on the Genie and gave him a good tongue lashing of epic proportions.


The Genie reminded him of the rule that Bush got double. Now the man was really angry! This was more than he could take and he spoke about this for some time. This time when the Genie reminded him of having another wish, the man did not lose his thoughts. He thought long and hard. What could he ask for, that he would love to let Dubya receive twice the amount of? After about two hours of real deep thought, the man looked up with a smirk on his face and asked "Mr. Genie, how would you like to beat me half to death?"

Like putting a band-aid on a shotgun wound

In all seriousness, all of this talk about and support (what little there is) for a “temporary surge” is absolutely asinine. Even if we take a high end estimate and talk about an additional 50,000 troops for a one year period of time (and you know damn well that if Bush gets his way here that it will NOT be for a short-prescribed period of time), then what will that really accomplish?

Earlier this week, we find that another suicide bomber killed 12 and wounded 24 (at least as of current count) in Baghdad. We have seen a Pentagon report which is chock full of horrific news about the completely deteriorating situation in Iraq. According to Tuesday’s Washington Post, we find out the following:

In its most pessimistic report yet on progress in Iraq, the Pentagon described a nation listing toward civil war, with violence at record highs of 959 attacks per week, declining public confidence in government and "little progress" toward political reconciliation.

And lest we forget General Shinseki’s warning in 2003 that we would need “several hundred thousand” troops to be successful, how would an increase of approximately 1/10 of the “necessary troops” to a level that would have only been around 40% - 50% of the acceptable troop level BEFORE Iraq descended into a bloody civil war on the brink of complete anarchy and hurtling towards genocide help the situation?

It is evident that, despite our troops best efforts, 140,000 troops is a miserably low level. It is further evident that an overwhelming majority of Americans want a pullout within six months. It is also evident that the Joint Chiefs of Staff think that a temporary increase in troop levels of 30,000 – 50,000 is a horrible idea:

The Bush administration is split over the idea of a surge in troops to Iraq, with White House officials aggressively promoting the concept over the unanimous disagreement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to U.S. officials familiar with the intense debate.

In fact, if you take the twisted logic of the Bush administration and apply it here, if we set a timetable for withdrawal then the “insurgents” will just wait us out until we leave – or so says the Decider. OK, fine. So if we have a “temporary increase” of 40,000 – 50,000 troops, then why wouldn’t these same “insurgents” just wait us out then as well?

waiting for answer....

......still waiting for answer...

Rehashing a statistic from above – there are now an average of 953 attacks per week. There are already 63 US military deaths this month alone in Iraq. An average of over 3 per day. This is the on pace to be the second highest month since January 2005.

The results of the vaunted “Baghdad offensive” was, well, offensive. Just yesterday, over $700,000 was stolen in a heist at gunpoint in Baghdad - the second such heist in a week:

The thieves escaped with more than one billion Iraqi Dinars (US$709,000), police said.

Hours later, guards at another downtown bank opened fire on a funeral procession, wounding a mourner. Police said the guards thought the coffin was fake, and that criminals were masquerading as mourners as part of an elaborate attempt to rob the bank. Police intervened and found the mourners to be genuine.

On December 11, gunmen disguised as Iraqi soldiers stopped a bank truck carrying US$1 million and stole the money.

Hell, we would need another 50,000 troops in Baghdad alone just to stop this type of violence – let alone the death squads, the Iraqi police and Shiite militia working in cahoots and the suicide bombings, kidnapping, torture and rampant revenge killings that are too numerous to even keep track of.

If anyone dares to seriously talk about increasing troop levels at this time – a time when nearly 80% disapprove of the way Bush is handling the “war” in Iraq, and right after an election where the overwhelming issue on people’s minds was Iraq and a new direction (not a “new way forward™”), then step up and be fair to our troops. Call for an increase of 300,000 troops. Hell, it would get more respect from me than this nonsense about trying to gain political points at the expense of our troops, even though my position on Iraq is clear as crystal.

If not, then there is only one option – listen to the American public, as well as our elected leaders (both Democratic and republicans) who are rightfully calling for an end to this disastrous no-win situation for our troops and get our troops out and redeployed as quickly as possible. Then, and only then, can we start to consider a multinational approach to stopping the genocide from continuing and help the Iraqi people in a manner that doesn’t put a target on our troops’ backs.

You don’t put a band aid on a shotgun wound. And you don’t send such an insanely inadequate number of troops into an already doomed-to-fail “mission”, especially against the overwhelming opinions and advice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, military leaders, Congressional leaders and the American public . To be fair to the troops, the Iraqis and the world, it’s either 450,000 troops, or none.

And we know it isn’t going to be 450,000.

FEMA's Christmas present

Merry Christmas! This is how much FEMA loves you!

Appeals Court Allows FEMA to Hold Off on Funding

The court suspended an order by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, who said last month that the Federal Emergency Management Agency violated the Constitution when it eliminated short-term housing assistance. Leon said the agency did not explain its reasoning and provided victims only confusing computer-generated codes to explain its decisions.

Under Leon's order, FEMA told officials in Texas early this week to expect federal money for housing about 4,200 evacuees.

Yesterday's ruling means FEMA can advise Texas that plans have changed.

"That's FEMA's Christmas present to the people of Texas and the United States," said Kevin Whelan, a spokesman for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which brought the lawsuit. "They managed to appeal long enough to be able to deny housing funding."

We're Not Winning, But We're Not Shopping

Cross posted from Article of Faith:

I love how this idiotic phrase has jumped into the lexicon, first uttered by General Peter Pace last week, and glommed onto by our Commander-in-Chief yesterday:

"We're not winning, but we'’re not losing."

Er, no. This isn't a game of Scrabble or tiddlywinks. This is WAR. The point of war is vanquishing your enemies by any means necessary. There are no ties in war. As Loren Thompson says in the article, if you can't prove you are winning (making progress), then you're losing.

One of my favorite writers Christian Parenti, writing in the Nation, argues that this entire hoopla is about setting up what is sure to labeled "defeat with honor", a way to pull the plug on this catastrophe and still maintain some kind of semblance of honor and dignity in the world (though I would assert that won't actually happen until January 20, 2009).

And that was the point of Bush's press conference yesterday, where he delusionally jumped from "we're not winning" to "victory is right around the corner" every other question. It was sad, really, watching the once self-assured cowboy from Texas, twist and choke on the cow chip sandwich he's been forcing down the country's throat the past six years.

Well, sad, but not really. Naturally he had to remind eveyrone what a complete doofus he actually is by concluding the press conference with this admonition for the American public, when asked what sacrifices we should make for Iraq and how to get our economy going again: "I encourage you all to go shopping more."

Because nothing says "support the troops" quite like a binge at Wal-Mart.

Cross Posted to: The Dem Daily

Ava Lowery: Teenage activist has new animation out

Big tip of the hat to Peacechick Mary

Ava Lowery, the teenage peace activist that got media attention and death threats after starting a website called Peace Takes Courage and making an animation called WWJD? has a new animation out. Pamela had posted on that first video in May.

Peace Takes Courage is a project by Ava Lowery, a 15-year-old student and peace activist from Alabama. In mid-March 2005, she created her first animation. Since then she has made over 70 animations, many of them about the war in Iraq.

The young wonder teen has put out the new animation called Christmas at War. On her blog, she has this to say:

NEW VIDEO - Christmas at War

It's one week before Christmas. 2,948 American families will be missing a family member this Christmas due to this immoral war in Iraq. According to a recent study it is estimated that around 650,000 Iraqis have also died since the war begin. This Christmas we need to all take time out of our busy holiday schedules to think about those who have been killed in the Iraq war. It is up to us to make sure that this coming year brings many changes to help get our country back on track. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ - who taught love, compassion, understanding, and most of all PEACE. Let this holiday remind us that peace is a possible goal and that we have much work to do in order to achieve it.

It just amazes one to see that someone her age can be so tuned in. She goes as far to also put this post on her blog:

Christmas cards

I'm sending out Christmas cards and I would love to send one to all of you. If you'd like me to send you one please send me an email with your mailing address. Merry Christmas!

Thank you so much Ava! You are a very special kind of person. Don't ever change. We support you and love you for all that you do.



Cross Posted from The Democratic Daily

Not a Merry Christmas in the Ninth Ward

Well, just as there wasn’t much joy in Whoville, thus is life in the Lower 9th Ward nowadays – nearly eighteen months after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the Gulf Coast – nearly a year and a half after Bush stood in New Orleans (finally, after his criminal negligence) and proclaimed that New Orleans will rise again.

The most famous of the destroyed areas outside of New Orleans has little to show for it other than desolation, weeds and debris as we approach the second holiday season after the levees around New Orleans (that this administration knew wouldn’t hold but still underfunded them) were breached and one of America’s most historic and cultural cities was no more – at least as far as anyone who ever lived or visited there would attest to.

A heart-wrenching article in today’s Times-Picayune has interviews, stories, examples and mind boggling statistics that paint a picture that is emblematic of just why this is the worst, most uncaring and selfish administration many of us will see in our lifetimes.

The stream of tourists has dried to a trickle from the torrent that once came by cab or in rented cars. They called it simply the Lower 9th, referring not to the political jurisdiction that stretches all the way through eastern New Orleans but to the devastated grid of about 20 by 25 blocks that had been embraced by worldwide media as the emblem of Katrina's assault on the city's working poor.

There is the story of 83 year old Herbert Gettridge, Sr. whose block is pretty much barren and whose wife is over a thousand miles away and can’t come back until the house is rebuilt:

Sixteen months after the floodwaters tore through his stucco-coated shotgun, Gettridge's neighbors haven't returned, and most of them probably never will.

"A lot of people can't come back," said Gettridge, a stubborn 83-year-old who has been rebuilding to provide a home for his ailing wife, who yearns for him in Madison, Wis. "In some cases, some people are better off now than they were before the storm."

Out of the more than 5,500 homes in the Lower 9th Ward before Katrina struck, there are demolition permits outstanding for around 1,300 of them – the highest of any area in New Orleans. Sadly though, demolition permits don’t necessarily mean that there will be rebuilding. The telling sign here is the number of electrical permits that have been applied for

[o]nly 3 percent (of homes) in the Lower 9th (have applied for electrical permits), enough to power only 152 houses, three of them belonging to Gettridge.

"When you open the door at night, you don't see nothing but broken-down houses. There's nobody to talk to," said Gettridge, who contents himself with his television, a crank radio and a King James version of the Bible.

And in true Christmas spirit – the grinches are back – thieves who are stealing whatever is left from people’s property. Like Gettridge’s $800 generator, which was stolen right out of his backyard recently along with some plywood.

Just over two weeks ago, another body was found in the Lower 9th Ward during a demolition. Officials think that it could be yet another victim of Katrina. Mind you – this is over sixteen months later – after the search for bodies was abandoned – much like the city was in the lead up, wake of and aftermath of the Hurricane.

An article in yesterday’s Seattle Times talks about reaching out to those in the Gulf Coast who the author had met with last year. And, similar to all of the other stories, this isn’t chock full of holiday cheer:

I called Ernest Ratliff at his service station in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward. He said so little I thought the phone had gone dead.

But no. Just his hope.

---snip---

"Everything is about the same," Ratliff told me the other day. "We ain't got no help yet. The only insurance we had was on the cars."

Christmas? Too much to think about.

"We take it one day at a time. We just keep on going."

As for the icing on the cake, NPR reported last week that FEMA, the organization that wasted tens of millions of dollars, according to a recent GAO report, is now fighting a federal order to pay Katrina victims.

This city – these people – whose lives were ruined in the course of hours, have been pushed to the back burner. Treated as an afterthought for well over a year now. But during this holiday season, please take a moment to think about these Americans who deserve much better than what life has thrown at them.

May the new year bring them some level of peace and happiness.

Colin L. Powell: U.S. losing "civil war" in Iraq

Former secretary of state, Colin Powell, broke his long silence on the situation in Iraq and put himself at odds with the Bush administration once again. Powell went as far as to say that the U.S. is "losing what he described as a "civil war" in Iraq" and that "he is not persuaded that an increase in U.S. troops there would reverse the situation." He also called for "a new strategy that would relinquish responsibility for Iraqi security to the government in Baghdad sooner rather than later, with a U.S. drawdown to begin by the middle of next year."

Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell said yesterday that the United States is losing what he described as a "civil war" in Iraq and that he is not persuaded that an increase in U.S. troops there would reverse the situation. Instead, he called for a new strategy that would relinquish responsibility for Iraqi security to the government in Baghdad sooner rather than later, with a U.S. drawdown to begin by the middle of next year.

Powell's comments broke his long public silence on the issue and placed him at odds with the administration. President Bush is considering options for a new military strategy -- among them a "surge" of 15,000 to 30,000 troops added to the current 140,000 in Iraq, to secure Baghdad and to accelerate the training of Iraqi forces, as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and others have proposed; or a redirection of the U.S. military away from the insurgency to focus mainly on hunting al-Qaeda terrorists, as the nation's top military leaders proposed last week in a meeting with the president.

Considering that Bush and friends have "insisted that the violence in Iraq is not a civil war," this speaks volumes. Bush has not only denied that a civil war exists there now, but goes as far as to reject the dire conclusions of the Iraq Study Group. Not to be outdone in the dunce department, Senator John McCain, proposes a "surge" of 15,000 to 30,000 more troops to be added to the 140.000 already in Iraq.

“The American people are disappointed and frustrated with the Iraq war, but they want us to succeed if there is any way to do that,” Mr. McCain told a news conference. Unlike some American military commanders who have said any troop increase should be temporary, he said any increase should last “until we can get the situation under control, or until it becomes clear that we can’t.”

That is a far cry from the words spoken by the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former Secretary of State.

Speaking on CBS's "Face the Nation," Powell seemed to draw as much from his 35-year Army career, including four years as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as from his more recent and difficult tenure as Bush's chief diplomat.

The summer's surge of U.S. troops to try to stabilize Baghdad failed, he said, and any new attempt is unlikely to succeed. "If somebody proposes that additional troops be sent, if I was still chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, my first question . . . is what mission is it these troops are supposed to accomplish? . . . Is it something that is really accomplishable? . . . Do we have enough troops to accomplish it?"

Powell goes on to speak the one thing on the minds of anyone with common sense. After all, word is out on Dissent In The Ranks.

Before any decision to increase troops, he said, "I'd want to have a clear understanding of what it is they're going for, how long they're going for. And let's be clear about something else. . . . There really are no additional troops. All we would be doing is keeping some of the troops who were there, there longer and escalating or accelerating the arrival of other troops."

He added: "That's how you surge. And that surge cannot be sustained."

The "active Army is about broken," Powell said. Even beyond Iraq, the Army and Marines have to "grow in size, in my military judgment," he said, adding that Congress must provide significant additional funding to sustain them.

Oh and one more thing! About those open talks:

Powell also agreed with the study group's recommendation that the administration open talks with Syria and Iran as it seeks a solution to the Iraq problem. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have explicitly rejected talks until Syria ends its destabilizing influence in Lebanon and its support for anti-Israel militants, and until Iran suspends its nuclear enrichment program. The administration has charged both countries with aiding the Iraqi insurgency.

Now where did I hear about someone making a little trip. Hmmmm! Maybe it was here and here. Oh wait just one minute, I almost forgot the mention in the post on Julie-boy.

Dissent In The Ranks

Cross Posted From Article of Faith:

While the press was falling all over itself yesterday covering Dumsfeld's departure from the Pentagon, a more interesting and compelling story seems to be developing in the ranks of our military concerning Donny's failed leadership and this lame-brained idea of sending more troops into the catastrophe known as Iraq.

But first, Rummy's valedictory: "A conclusion by our enemies that the United States lacks the will or the resolve to carry out missions that demand sacrifice and demand patience is every bit as dangerous as an imbalance of conventional military power," Mr. Rumsfeld said in a buoyant but sometimes emotional speech.

Yeah, weep for those 2900 dead Americans, you doddering old fool.

Maureen Dowd: "Far from being run out of town, the defense czar who rivals Robert McNamara for deadly incompetence has been on a victory lap in Baghdad, Mosul and Washington. Yesterday'’s tribute had full military honors, a color guard, a 19-gun salute, an Old Guard performance with marching musicians - including piccolo players -— in Revolutionary War costumes, John Philip Sousa music and the chuckleheaded neocons and ex-Rummy deputies who helped screw up the occupation, Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, cheering in the audience.

"It was surreal: the septuagenarian who arrogantly dismissed initial advice to send more troops to secure Iraq, being praised as "the finest secretary of defense this nation has ever had"” by his pal, the vice president, even as a desperate White House drafted ways to reinvade Iraq by sending more troops in a grasping-at-straws effort to reverse the chaos caused by RummyÂ’s mistakes."

LOL. Best Secretary of Defense Ever!

Meanwhile, the ranks...Marc Cooper has a barn burner of a scoop: "For the first time since Vietnam, an organized, robust movement of active-duty US military personnel has publicly surfaced to oppose a war in which they are serving." Not since 1969, when some 1,300 active-duty military personnel signed an open letter in the New York Times opposing the war in Vietnam, has there been such a dramatic barometer of rising military dissent."

Cooper goes on to note that this is even more interesting in the sense that this dissent is coming from an all-volunteer army, making the criticism in some ways even more prescient and damning.

It's one thing for the anti-war left and those of us who have opposed this misguided adventure since the beginning to decry and bleat about sending more troops over there. But when the ranks of the military are openly opposing their invitation to continue dying for this savant in the Oval Office, we got real problems.

Farewell, Rummy. Like Ebeneezer, may you be haunted by the ghosts of the dead, who have died on your order and watch, for the rest of your miserable days.

Subic Sally is going to Iraq, Maybe

Oh My!! My lil bar girl is thinking of going to Iraq. What will I do if she gets a bullet in her head or finds herself in many pieces from a roadside bomb? I may not sleep till she returns. Oh dear Michelle, do be careful, because I would have fits if something was to happen to you. I would be absolutley destroyed if you even got a scratch my love. I will of course, be on pins and needles while you go to a place that may very well find you having your body ravaged. I shudder to think about it. My dear Michelle, do take care to come back to me. I will miss you while you are gone. I don't know what I would do without you my dear sweet Subic Sally.

What's so funny about going to Iraq?

There are people on both sides of the blogosphere who think this is some kind of joke. Others are using it as yet another opportunity to hurl slime, hate, and stupidity. You want to see me shot in the face or dead. Ha, ha, ha.

I know that neither Curt nor my co-workers nor I--nor our families--is taking this lightly. There's nothing funny about this undertaking. When I have more I can tell you, I'll let you know.

Dear Michelle, I do take this serious, and I am really worried about you. I would cry if something happened to you my dear. I just love my special lil bar girl. Here is a song in honor of you my love. Do take care and know I love you my dear one. You're my crazy bitch, and I love you! Now go get me a beer!!!!!

Happy Xmas (War is Over)

...if you want it.

Those words first hit the airwaves almost 37 years ago to the day. And maybe it is just me, but I seem to be hearing this song more this holiday season. Maybe it is because of the cover version by Sarah McLaughlin that was released this year. Maybe it is because I am more in tune with John Lennon songs in general. Or maybe it is because of the times we live in now – times that are as eerily similar to when those first words left the mouth of one of history’s greatest songwriters and most influential people.

Either way, the song feels a bit more important this year – even more so than last year or 2004. Maybe it is because of the democratic sweep in the November elections. Maybe it is because I am much more aware and in tune with what is going on in the world. Maybe it is because of the direction my life has taken me these past 12 months.

Maybe it is because there is some hope for the first time in years that we truly will see some sort of real push toward accountability on the lies that led us to this point (note how the “I” word is “investigation” at this early point).

But each time I hear that song these past few weeks, the radio gets a bit louder and I start reflecting more and more – certainly as compared to prior years. The words, even though they were written nearly four decades ago, are just as poignant – just as powerful today.

And so this is Xmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong

Even though I wasn’t born until nearly a year after that song was written, I became a huge Beatles fan in my early childhood. Obsessed, you might say (and not in the “1964 shrieking girl” kind of way). But by age 11, I knew all the words to probably over 100 of their songs, more than a few Wings and John Lennon songs as well. This one was one of my early favorites too. But I never really appreciated it as much as I have over the past few years until living through these times.

Times when torture, waterboarding, rendition, FISA, the IIPA, white phosphorus and “free speech zones” are terms that are known by and discussed all too casually by way too many people in this country. Times when xenophobia, fear and hatred are only matched by corruption, war crimes and criminal indifference to our own citizens when true homeland security is needed.

And so happy Xmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight

A time where our citizen’s right to vote is still suppressed and disenfranchised based on racial factors. When chest thumping and empty rhetoric like “bring em on” or “cut and run” or “fight em over there so we don’t have to fight em over here” are the norm, despite the fact that 3/4 - 4/5 of Americans believe that it is time to get serious and talk to Syria and Iran about the least horrible way to prevent the complete destruction of the Middle East.

A very Merry Xmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

Let’s hope that we truly are turning the corner. The next year brings a Democratic Congress. It brings oversight (that one is for you, BTD if you are reading this). It brings investigations. It brings accountability. It brings sanity. It brings reason. It brings hope for minimum wage earners. It brings serious talk about picking America up off its ass and getting back towards a government “of the people, by the people and for the people”. Hopefully it brings an end to governing by fear.

War is over, if you want it
War is over now

Yes, John. I want it over.

Now

Laura Bush, would you please SYFPH

Think Progress had a write up yesterday about Her Majesty, Queen Laura Bush, slamming the media for Ignoring Good News In Iraq. They also have a video there. Be sure to watch it.

Mrs. Bush placed the blame squarely on the media. She said, “I do know that there are a lot of good things that are happening that aren’t covered. And I think that the drum beat in the country from the media, from the only way people know what is happening…is discouraging.”

The transcript gives us this Gem:

LAURA BUSH: It is not encouraging coverage for sure. There’s no doubt about it. But I do know that there are a lot of good things that are happening that aren’t covered. And I think that the drum beat in the country from the media, from the only way people know what is happening unless they happened to have a loved one deployed there, is discouraging.

Now given who she is married to, it is no wonder that she has her head so far up her ass. To make this clear for you Mrs. Decider, I'm not the only one that sees how damn stupid you really are to make this comment. Just take some of the comments at Think Progress as an example:

Could someone hook me up with Laura’s pharmacist — I want some of what she’s takin’…

Comment by Kay — December 14, 2006 @ 11:21 am

---

You mean good news like the second mass kidnapping in a month in Baghdad by gunmen in military uniforms? That good news? Or the good news that 30 people were killed or found dead elsewhere in Iraq?

It’s so hard to keep up with all the good news coming out of Iraq, Laura. Thanks for helping.

Comment by corinne — December 14, 2006 @ 11:26 am

---

If things are so great in Iraq then why not place the journalist in with the troop to get a look at all the great things?? This bitch is as goofy as that no good bum of a president she sleeps with every night.

Comment by marcus robinson — December 14, 2006 @ 11:31 am

---

Jim reporting from Baghdad:

“Yes, good morning. Well today I saw three men buying fruit at a market. They looked extremely happy. They couldn’t wait to get the fruit home and ran home to their families as I approached to talked to them.

Last night I went to a performance center where men looked to be rehearsing for a new play to open soon. They were wearing these neat head garbs - must be part of their heritage. The props they use are awesome real looking too just like weapons our soldiers use.

Tonight I’m going to see a performance by the Baghdad Chix. They tell me that, although they are all male, they sing like they are praying to Allah. Should be good.

By the way, I heard that a group of 30 were selected for the next performance of ‘Now you see’m, Now you don’t”. What a blast I’m having here in the heart of Mesopotamia.

Thanks Jim we hope to talk to you tomorrow. That report sponsored by Laura ‘just the fact maam’ Bush.

Comment by Yikes — December 14, 2006 @ 11:33 am

---

that stepford wife is running on very short fuses.

Comment by sd — December 14, 2006 @ 11:41 am

---

This lady is a complicitous, ignorant airhead. She had vehicular homicide scoured from her criminal record long ago, has a history of dealing in drugs in college, and is now coming out of her cockroach-infested nest to criticize the media whores who have done nothing but prop up this administration by spewing the propoganda coming from her house?? Give me a break, twisted sister! You not only do not deserve the integrity of being heard, you are just as guilty of what’s happening to this country as your partner is. Does she have a brain? I suspect not. Either that or she suffers from mental spousal abuse. She’s a nitwit of the first order.

Comment by veritas — December 14, 2006 @ 11:48 am

I think it's safe to say that those people will agree with me when in the words of Clammyc, I say, SYFPH! Or in the words of the Great Ashley Morris, FYYFF!

Street signs we would like to see

I would love to see these put up. Just imagine the traffic that would be on these roads if they existed. Imagine the impact! We can still dream.

Note to contributors: Do Not upgrade your blog!!!

Blogger has really freaked out this time!! Clammyc upgraded his blog and cannot post here as of now. Beta has really done us a big one this time. I am having problems even commenting on those blogs that are Beta. I have to use the Anon right now, and I damn well hate Anon comments. We might have to get Clammyc to redo his name and resend the invite. Till they get the problem resolved with blogger upgrade, I would not advise doing it. We ran across this problem before when Dizzy Dezzi came aboard and had to make a new name to be able to do it. I will have to look into this and see what can be done to get around this. The upgrade to a blog cannot be undone. At least that is what it said when the offer popped up when I logged on. Another alternative is to move everything over to my Wordpress site. Going to have to think on this one.

The Re-Election of Jefferson was Predictable

Today we know that Karen Carter, by all accounts a good candidate, lost against 'nearly indicted' Congressman Jefferson. And throughout the Blogsphere people with no experience in Louisana politics are stunned.

'How could a man with $90,000 in his freezer, with staffers who have plead guilty still get elected?" Personally, I thought he would win all along. That prediction was based on my experience in LA-1.

Louisiana, based on my experience with Stacey Tallitsch, a defeated candidate for LA-1 and a terribly good man, is the most unusual political place in America. One simple statistic will bear out my comment:

After seeing their brothers and sisters die in Katrina and Rita,
After seeing their city nearly destroyed,
After the maladministration of help at State as well as Federal levels...

In the election of 2006 not one incumbent in the State House or in Congress was replaced. Every single one that was in office when the disasterous decisions where made is still there enjoying the perks of office!

Do I understand this statistic? No. Even with nearly 40 of political experience I don't get it! I can only say that I don't have the live-in-New-Orleans experience to help me understand.

I hope we have some New Orleans citizens that can bluntly help us understand. It is a mystery to me. Frankly, when I took on Stacey Tallitsch as a client I assumed this would be a cake walk! Who would keep the incumbents in office after such a tragedy? I was wrong

The incumbent won with 88% of the vote and announced his run for Governor less than a week later. So LA-1 won't really have a Congressman...only a candidate for higher office. And Stacey has a big campaign debt. I never would have guessed at the outcome.

And now Congressman Jefferson continues on his path.

I hope someone from NOLA can bring some light to all these things that are so hard for the rest of us to understand.

Oil money approved for La. coast

This Just came out, and I have not yet found other links for it. Will have to watch this one. I expect the rest of the fellow Pelicans to be soon giving their reactions to it. More to come.

Legislation that sends billions of dollars in offshore oil revenue to help repair Louisiana's vanishing coast won final congressional approval today.

The Senate approved the measure 79-9 as part of a multi-purpose package that included tax cuts and other measures.

Approved by the House Friday by a vote of 367-45, the bill would greatly increase Louisiana's share of federal offshore oil revenue, which Louisiana lawmakers say has long been an inequity.

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., a sponsor of the Senate legislation, said it will send Louisiana an estimated $13 billion over the next 30 years.

That comes on top of $12 billion for hurricane protection, wetlands restoration and navigation projects in the next 10 years expected to accrue to the state through previously approved legislation and the regular federal budget process, she said.

SNIP

Initially, Louisiana would receive about $100 million a year under the legislation, but that amount is expected to increase to more than $650 million a year by 2017.

That money now goes into the federal treasury, but Congress has become more open to sharing the royalties with the Gulf states that allow drilling off their shores.

SNIP

Louisiana's delegation has sought a greater share of offshore royalties for years, arguing that coastal states are entitled to the money to repair damage the industry does to the coastline. By comparison, interior oil-producing states have long received half of federal royalties.

The new money would still fall short of fulfilling the state's needs. Scientists estimate that it would cost more than $20 billion to re-engineer the Mississippi River and build levees to better protect the lower parts of Louisiana vulnerable to catastrophic flooding.

Oh the Horror!

Caption this photo:

Priceless

Poor guy, have a heart ladies.

Dinner With Girlfriend:........$68.75 Plus Tax

Drinks After Dinner:.............$60.00 Plus Tip

Finding Out You're Not Getting Laid Because You're Girlfriend Has a Lesbian Lover......PRICELESS!!!!!!

Mary Cheney to give "Buckshot" a grandchild

Man, oh man! Get out your popcorn and drinks for this show. Mary Cheney, the Veep's openly gay daughter is PREGNANT! I can't wait to see how the religious right acts with this one. Congratulations Mary and Heather!

Mary Cheney, the vice president's openly gay daughter, is pregnant. She and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, are "ecstatic" about the baby, due in late spring, said a source close to the couple.

It's a baby boom for grandparents Dick and Lynne Cheney: Their older daughter, Elizabeth, went on leave as deputy assistant secretary of state before having her fifth child in July. "The vice president and Mrs. Cheney are looking forward with eager anticipation to the arrival of their sixth grandchild," spokesman Lea Anne McBride said last night.

I imagine the "Family Values" knuckleheads are going to be in their Froth at the mouth mode.

News of the pregnancy will undoubtedly reignite the debate about gay marriage. During the campaign, Mary Cheney was criticized by gay activists for not being more publicly supportive of same-sex marriage. Her father said people "ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to" but deferred to the president's policy supporting a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages. Cheney herself called the proposed amendment "a gross affront to gays and lesbians everywhere" in her book, "Now It's My Turn: A Daughter's Chronicle of Political Life," which was published in May.

Flatulence on a plane!!!

I know this sounds crazy, but forget about the snakes on a plane! You can't make this kind of stuff up. Some woman farted on an American Airlines flight and caused the plane to make an unscheduled landing. The real problem started when she lit matches to cover up the offending odors. Again, I am not kidding you!

Flatulence, not turbulence forces plane landing in Nashville

Flatulence brought 99 passengers on an American Airlines flight to an unscheduled visit to Nashville early Monday morning.

American Flight 1053, from Washington Reagan National Airport and bound for Dallas/Fort Worth, made an emergency landing here after passengers reported smelling struck matches, said Lynne Lowrance, a spokeswoman for the Nashville International Airport Authority.

---snip---

The FBI questioned a passenger who admitted she struck the matches in an attempt to conceal body odor, Lowrance said. The woman lives near Dallas and has a medical condition.

The flight took off again, but the woman was not allowed back on the plane.

"American has banned her for a long time," Lowrance said.

The face of a killer: Ronald Joseph Dominique

I posted on the serial killer that was arrested here in Houma before, Here, Here and Here. Now the story gets really disturbing. Ronald J. Dominique has now confessed to 23 murders. On the last post, I covered the stories of his arrest. This time, I will get more into the story and the turn of events since his arrest. This really is disturbing on so many levels. Ronald seems to be a person that was an outcast that was gay, and seems to also be an outcast within the gay community. While that remains to be really looked into, I will cover some facts that have come to light on his background. Like the fact that Dominique was previously charged with rape of another man in 1996, but was not prosecuted because the victim could not be found.

An update yesterday evening, brings the official charges of murder to 11, while he has confessed to killing 23. With so much info to go over, I will have to treat this one as a series. Consider this just one more in that series. I know someone who's brother fell prey to this man. I will continue to process the info and report on this story as it goes on.

Serial-killer suspect tells police why he did it

The man who allegedly admitted to murdering nearly two dozen men told authorities he did so to keep them quiet after raping them.

Ronald Joseph Dominique, 42, of Bayou Blue, is formally charged with killing 11 men over a period spanning nearly a decade. Police say he’s admitted to killing 23, and there may be others whose deaths haven’t been discovered yet.

---snip---

Earlier this year, The Courier compiled a list of 23 men whose bodies were found dumped in remote areas, mostly ditches and sugar-cane fields. The most recent murder occurred two months ago. The earliest attributed to Dominique was in 1997. Police said today that Dominique confessed to all those murders.
Sources close to the investigation have said he may have killed more men whose bodies were never discovered.

For special coverage by the Houma Daily Courier, you can go Here.

Photos from the Houma Daily Courier.

UPDATE: CNN has something on the story.

HOUMA, Louisiana (AP) -- A man has confessed to strangling or suffocating 23 men during an eight-year killing spree and dumping their bodies in remote spots in seven parishes, police said.

Ronald J. Dominique, 42, was charged with nine additional counts of murder on Monday, bringing the total to 11 counts against him -- 10 for first-degree murder and one for second-degree murder.

Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Jerry Larpenter said Dominique confessed to killing 23 men, all males between the ages of 16 and 46, between 1997 and 2005. (Watch what led a task force to Dominique Video)

"He stated how, when and where they were killed," Larpenter said.

Joseph Waitz, the parish's district attorney, said his office will seek the death penalty against Dominique, who was being held Monday in Terrebonne Parish jail.

Are we on our own?

The one thing that has been on my mind since the fateful days after Katrina, is the fact that yes, we are on our own down here. While there are other bloggers across the nation that care and want change, it is up to us, the people of our state to try and make this a better place. Given the scope of how this will come back to once again deal problems out to the rest of the country, it amazes me at how some either don't care or find that their hands are tied. My brothers and sisters in NOLA are fighting for their very existance, and yet it sometimes feels like the rest of America has forgotten what is going on down here. Are we not a part of this nation? Are my brothers and sisters in NOLA not deserving of respect and the dignity that they deserve?

Take time to reflect on this, and don't wait till another anniversary comes around to post on it. Every day is a reason to speak about it. We may get wrapped up into our lives and other things, but remember that some fight right now in this country to exist! Take the time to visit the NOLA bloggers and the rest of the Pelicans. Let them know you still care.

Stupid Spoiled Whores

OK, so the “whores” part is really only confirmed by such sources as Page 6 and Wonkette, and the title is from one of the best South Park episodes in a long time. And while offspring of prominent politicians are generally off limits as far as being targeted goes, I think that once you reach your mid-twenties, you are old enough for your behavior to speak for itself. Besides, that didn’t stop the very classy folks from mean spirited skewering of poor Chelsea Clinton during her teenage years.

But with the recent developments regarding President Jockstrap and his “boorish” behavior (to say the least) towards Jim Webb regarding his son who is in the Marines and was almost killed last week I think it is long past time for someone to truly give Jenna and NotJenna the credit they deserve, given the times we live in. And I am all too happy to provide that service.

While daddy sends many of their fellow Americans off to kill and die for a lie, we find out how these two 25 year olds (prime military age, I might add – given the large number of our troops who lost their lives at a younger age than that in Afghanistan or Iraq) serve their country. Just last week (at the same time that Senator-elect Webb’s son stared death straight in the eye), we have to hear stories about how NotJenna’s purse was stolen, as well as these two fine upstanding citizens go partying around Argentina (leading to the whole “did they or didn’t they run naked through their hotel") and be “asked” to leave the country.

Lost in all this is the fact that if the Secret Service can’t even stop someone from stealing from a member of the first family then what is to say that the Secret Service can protect them from having something even worse happen to them?

Those poor things. So upset that they are “victims” of daddy’s job, and unhappy about the limelight which has been thrust upon them. Of course, they are quick to follow in Chelsea’s footsteps of, you know, actually being a grown up:

Jenna and Barbara Bush "have not campaigned or reined in their adolescent rebellions," Washington Post reporter Ann Gerhart says in the book published this week, "The Perfect Wife: The Life and Choices of Laura Bush."

"They have not appeared engaged in any of the pressing issues their generation will inherit, nor shown empathy for the struggles facing their mother and their father," Gerhart says. "They don't show their faces at the White House often."

And that was two years ago. My, how they have grown since then. It must be nice to not feel up to getting a job for the couple of years after graduating college, all while still being able to jet around the world, partying in NYC every night and have college graduation trips to Spain, Moscow and Prague. And even now, while more and more of our fellow citizens are on their third and fourth tours in combat, it must be oh-so-nice to have the luxury of just hanging around and partying until maybe deciding to find a teaching job in Latin America.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with having a little fun or blowing off steam. Hell, I won’t even hold the “fake ID” incident against them – since so many people have fake IDs in college. But at a time when the president – their father, doesn’t think twice about sending other people’s children off to die, and at a time when many families have to work two or three jobs just to put enough food on the table, you would think that there may be a slight sense of responsibility to set some sort of example (and yes, the entire Bush family has done a real bang up job of that over the years) of maturity or responsibility.

And since I am being chartiable, I won’t even take the cheap shot of saying that they should enlist in the military, even though that would be the only moral thing for these two to do. But damn, they are in their mid-twenties already. A time that thousands of our own troops will either never get to see, or never get to enjoy – all because of the stubborn “oopsies” of President petulant poopie pants. While I don’t expect them to have one shred of decency since the apples don’t fall too far from the tree, there are some very basic questions and telling actions. Have they attended one military funeral? Have they spoken up once about the service that our troops are providing for this country? Do they even know that a “war” is going on at all – started by their own father? Do they even care?

It is absolutely appalling that in the very same week, we have to hear stories of two ripe-for-the-military aged spoiled brats go parading and partying around a foreign country – a country that (regardless of whether there are denials or not) has at least raised the specter that they are not welcome, all while their father the “commander” in chief willingly insults a Senator-elect about his son who is serving in a bogus “war”.

The contrast couldn’t be more clear as it was over the past few days.

OMFG! He was here!

The sick and twisted bastard that may be responsible for over 20 killings in Southeast Louisiana has been captured and has now confessed to more murders, beyond the only two that he has been officially charged with. So I will start this with the first headlines, and work my way down to the newest ones that have come out.

First, the Houma Daily Courier and The Times-Picayune covered the story of the arrest.

From The Times-Picayune:

Serial killer suspect arrested

A statewide investigation into nearly two dozen slayings of men, most around the southeastern Louisiana town of Houma and in neighboring parishes, led police to arrest a suspect Friday who they think is a serial killer, booking him in the deaths of two men from New Orleans.

Houma police arrested Ronald J. Dominique, 42, on Friday at a homeless shelter run by the Police Department and accused him of leaving two dead bodies in Jefferson Parish in the late 1990s.

Dominique was booked with first-degree murder and aggravated rape in the death of Manuel Reed, 20, whose body was found in a garbage bin May 30, 1999, at 2433 Bainbridge St. in Kenner. He was also booked with second-degree murder in the death of Oliver "Boe" LeBanks, 27, found Oct. 5, 1998, in the 6900 block of Stable Drive in Metairie.

From the Houma Daily Courier:

Suspected serial killer arrested in Houma

The man possibly responsible for a decade-long series of more than 20 killings across southeast Louisiana was arrested Friday afternoon in Houma, where about a dozen possible victims connected to the investigation were last seen.

Around 3 p.m., a handful of plain-clothes detectives quietly led Ronald Joseph Dominique, 42, away from the Bunkhouse, a homeless shelter in east Houma at the foot of the Main Street side of the twin spans, where authorities say he had been staying for several days.

Then comes this artical from the Houma Daily Courier:

Suspect’s life disintegrated as arrest neared


Whether 42-year-old Ronald Joseph Dominique, arrested Friday on two murder charges and the suspicion of killing 20 more men, is originally from Bayou Blue remains unclear. But a picture of his life over the past several years, charming most people he knew, ends in a portrait of a man similar to many of his alleged victims: homeless, poor, sick and alone.

Until the week before his arrest, Dominique was living with his sister and mother’s family on property midway up Bayou Blue Road, directly across from St. Louis Catholic Church. A single-wide trailer covered by a broad, wooden roof sits in the middle of a yard large enough to accommodate the 18-wheelers neighbors say sometimes park there, but a man in the yard said the family had no desire to speak to the media.

The shock is still settling in, the man said. The family is still hurting.

Two days before his arrest, Dominique left his family’s home and checked into an east-Houma homeless shelter. That move, several people said, was precipitated by the growing awareness that the family was being watched – 24-hour surveillance, police have since said – and that Dominique might be a suspect in one of the area’s most troubling crimes.

Then comes the news that he has confessed to more killings:

Suspect confesses to more killings

A serial-killer suspect has confessed to the murders of more men, some of whom were from Terrebonne, in addition to the two Jefferson Parish slayings he was charged with upon his Friday arrest, four officials familiar with the investigation said.

Following his afternoon arrest from an east-Houma homeless shelter, Ronald Joseph Dominique was interviewed by detectives until nearly midnight Friday and spoke to them again Saturday, officials said. During that time, he has gradually admitted to killing as many as 11 as-yet-unnamed men, said the officials, whose names are being withheld by The Courier because they said they are not allowed to speak publicly about the investigation.

And what story of human tragedy would be complete without the savage and mean spirited rantings and putrid spew of the Freepers?

The worst president in U.S. history

Eric Foner at WaPo brings us "He's The Worst Ever" and I could not agree more with that assessment.

Ever since 1948, when Harvard professor Arthur Schlesinger Sr. asked 55 historians to rank U.S. presidents on a scale from "great" to "failure," such polls have been a favorite pastime for those of us who study the American past.

---Snip---

Most presidents are ranked "average" or, to put it less charitably, mediocre. Johnson, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Richard M. Nixon occupy the bottom rung, and now President Bush is a leading contender to join them. A look at history, as well as Bush's policies, explains why.

At a time of national crisis, Pierce and Buchanan, who served in the eight years preceding the Civil War, and Johnson, who followed it, were simply not up to the job. Stubborn, narrow-minded, unwilling to listen to criticism or to consider alternatives to disastrous mistakes, they surrounded themselves with sycophants and shaped their policies to appeal to retrogressive political forces

---Snip---

they ignored major currents of public opinion and clung to flawed policies. Bush's presidency certainly brings theirs to mind.

---Snip---

Harding and Coolidge are best remembered for the corruption of their years in office (1921-23 and 1923-29, respectively) and for channeling money and favors to big business. They slashed income and corporate taxes and supported employers' campaigns to eliminate unions. Members of their administrations received kickbacks and bribes from lobbyists and businessmen.

---Snip---

Usually, during wartime, the Supreme Court has refrained from passing judgment on presidential actions related to national defense. The court's unprecedented rebukes of Bush's policies on detainees indicate how far the administration has strayed from the rule of law.

---Snip---

One other president bears comparison to Bush: James K. Polk. Some historians admire him, in part because he made their job easier by keeping a detailed diary during his administration, which spanned the years of the Mexican-American War. But Polk should be remembered primarily for launching that unprovoked attack on Mexico and seizing one-third of its territory for the United States.

---Snip---

Historians are loath to predict the future. It is impossible to say with certainty how Bush will be ranked in, say, 2050. But somehow, in his first six years in office he has managed to combine the lapses of leadership, misguided policies and abuse of power of his failed predecessors. I think there is no alternative but to rank him as the worst president in U.S. history.

The Worst President Ever!!!!!

Cross Posted to The Democratic Daily and Katrinacrat

Kerry: Reevaluating '08

Cross Posted From Article of Faith:

Associates Say Joke Fallout Stunned Him:

"Senator John F. Kerry's election-eve "botched joke" about the war in Iraq -- and the fierce denunciations his comments drew from fellow Democrats -- has led him to reevaluate whether to mount a run for the presidency in 2008 and has led him to delay an announcement about his decision, according to Kerry associates.

"The Massachusetts Democrat is now leaning toward waiting until late spring before declaring his intentions, even as other candidates jump into the race and begin building organizing and fund-raising teams in early-primary states. Before the joke derailed his comeback, Kerry had signaled that he would decide whether to run by the end of January.

"Kerry -- who had methodically resurrected his political standing after a tough loss to President Bush in 2004 -- was stunned by the swift, angry reaction to his Oct. 30 statement that underachieving students would end up "stuck in Iraq." Aides and friends say the senator was particularly stung by the fact that so many Democrats had joined Republicans in rebuking him."

As we've all been writing in the month since this happened, the most stunning aspect of the whole over-reaction was that of fellow-Dems like Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Harry Reid and others who jumped at the chance to "distance themselves" from Kerry and his comments. All over an "incident" which was nothing more than a missing pronoun.

Losers. How funny will it be if the 2004 nominee ends up running an "outsiders" insurgency campaign for the nomination in '08? "I'm John Kerry and I'm not a neophyte, nor am I a mealy-mouthed triangulator who will say anything to get elected. I'm a guy who stands for what he believes, missing pronouns and all."

Either way, it looks like we have several more months of speculation to endure about another run.

Cross Posted to: The Dem Daily