President Bush declares New Orleans federal disaster area, invasion of Syria

Posted by Ross

Addressing reporters today, President Bush, whose blissful vacation was thoughtlessly interrupted by one of the most horrific natural disasters in our nation's history, declared recovery of the thriving city of New Orleans will "take years. But in the meanwhile, rest assured this administration is doing everything in its power to make things right.

"Our strategy," the President continued, "is threefold. First we rescue the survivors. Then we rebuild the infrastructure. Then we bomb those Syrian bastards back to the stone age!"

When asked what this gruesome natural disaster had to do with America's admittedly unstable relationship with Iraq's neighbor to the west, the President simply replied, "Because they hate our freedom."

In a related story, funnyman/Christian Coaltition founder Pat Robertson mused whether the relief efforts might also include an assassination of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez.

New Orleans
Posted by Raznor

I've been meaning to post on New Orleans since the hurricane, but could never think of anything to say. I've never been to New Orleans, so imagining the damage Katrina has caused is quite difficult. What's striking me now, though, is how this once again demonstrates the unwavering cowardice and childishness of our Commander in Chief.

Over at This Modern World Bob Harris finds this relevant article. The whole thing is worth a read, but this is what struck me the most (emphasis mine):

When flooding from a massive rainstorm in May 1995 killed six people, Congress authorized the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, or SELA.

Over the next 10 years, the Army Corps of Engineers, tasked with carrying out SELA, spent $430 million on shoring up levees and building pumping stations, with $50 million in local aid. But at least $250 million in crucial projects remained, even as hurricane activity in the Atlantic Basin increased dramatically and the levees surrounding New Orleans continued to subside.

Yet after 2003, the flow of federal dollars toward SELA dropped to a trickle. The [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers] never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security -- coming at the same time as federal tax cuts -- was the reason for the strain.

Now, think about that. At a time of a very costly war, Bush continued to emphasize tax cuts. As a result he cut the funding for this project that's under the radar. Now, whether or not the war was a good idea is not the issue here. The issue is at the time of a costly war, Bush made the cowardly and irresponsible decision to cut federal revenues so he could help out his rich friends. And then, of course it wasn't any of the rich who suffered from this hurricane, but the poor who of course didn't benefit from these massive cuts.

Now, I'm not arguing that a well-funded SELA would have, by the time the hurricane hit, done a significant amount to reduce the damages the hurricanes caused. There's no way to know that. Nor was there any way for Bush to know that such a devastating hurricane was on it's way to Louisiana. But had Bush been a responsible president, he would have taken a look at the costs of the tax cuts he was proposing, and realized the importance of such programs as SELA and others, and made adjustments to his policies accordingly. I don't think, however, that the president is capable of such reflection.

CINDY CRAWFORD VISITS CINDY IN CRAWFORD
Posted by the Bekka
Okay, no real story. I just thought that headline would be funny. C'mon - you tell me the back of your brain doesn't briefly register "Cindy Crawford" whenever Mrs. Sheehan's story comes on the news.

Friday Dog-Blogging
Posted by Raznor


Hermes loves love.

This is late, but I had a busy day. It ended with a math department picnic, and I brought Hermes along. It was the first time he's been around little kids, and when a pair of girls started tugging at his ears and grabbing his paws I started to get worried, ready to tighten his leash and pull back should he start growling. But he just soaked it up. Soon he was lying on his back as two little girls just gave him all the loving they had to give.

Hermes just loves affection - no matter in which form he receives it.

There were pictures taken. I'll try to secure one for next week's dog-blogging.

Fox News Destroys Lives
Posted by Raznor

This has been making the rounds, but it bears noting here:

In what Fox News officials concede was a mistake, John Loftus, a former U.S. prosecutor, gave out the address Aug. 7, saying it was the home of a Middle Eastern man, Iyad K. Hilal, who was the leader of a terrorist group with ties to those responsible for the July 7 bombings in London.
Hilal, whom Loftus identified by name during the broadcast, moved out of the house about three years ago. But the consequences were immediate for the Voricks.

Satellite photos of the house and directions to the residence were posted online. The Voricks told police, who arranged for the content to be taken down. Someone even removed the street sign where the Voricks live to provide some protection.

Still, it has not been easy.

A driver yelled a profanity at the family and called them terrorists as they barbecued on their patio Aug. 14. Some drivers have stopped and photographed the house, Randy Vorick said.

Last weekend, someone spray-painted "Terrist" on their home. Police, who have regularly patrolled their house since the day after the broadcast, now station a squad car across the street.

Randy, a restaurant manager, and Ronnell, a manager at a staffing agency, have been married 19 years and met as teenagers when they worked at a local McDonald's.

They grew up in La Habra and bought the house three years ago after Hilal moved out so they could be close to Ronnell Vorick's parents.

La Habra Police Capt. John Rees said the department was "giving special attention to the family to make sure they're safe," but declined to elaborate.

Yeah, but at least John Loftus is sufficiently sorry about it. No wait, no he isn't:

Loftus said he gave out the address to help local police, and insisted that Hilal, a Garden Grove grocery store owner, was a terrorist.

"I thought it might help police in that area now that we have positively identified a terrorist living in [Orange County]," he said.

Okay, everyone else already said that if you want to help the police you should maybe, you know, call the police or something. Instead of broadcasting your wrong information to millions. But read that first excerpt again, and notice something.

Loftus has not only endangered the lives of law abiding citizens through his careless actions, he has hampered the local police. There's now a squad car that's forced to devote it's time to protect this family because an asshole went on national TV and called them terrorists. So all Loftus has done is hurt an innocent family while making everyone else slightly less secure. Good for you.

Letter from Reader
Posted by Raznor

Reader John Notmadeup wrote this

Why do conservatives hate babies and puppies. I was a waiter at a recent Heritage Fund dinner and the main course was several babies and puppies, still alive so that the conservatives could feed on their flesh while they were still alive and screaming. Then a bunch of them shouted "HEIL HITLER!! HEIL BUSH!! SIEG HEIL!" while saluting a bastardized American flag with all the stars replaced my little Nazi Swastikas and then summoned demons from hell to do their bidding.

Disturbing, if true.

Update: Reader Rachel Totallyexists chimes in:

This just proves that conservatives are truly the most evil sorts of people on earth.

Heh, indeed.

Update 2: Several doubtless pinko conservative readers were offended by my implying that conservatives are Nazis and Satanists. I never said that. I merely published a letter that asserted that without comment. Stop your smear campaigns against me.

Blog like a Conservative Day
Posted by Raznor

I see that Jesse Taylor has once again proven that liberal blogging is far superior to conservative blogging. His litany of links no doubt proves it. But if that's not the final nail in the coffin - take a look at Political Strategy, Sadly, No or even Roxanne.

This clearly proves the superiority of liberal blogging over conservative blogging, as no doubt a quick run over of Moderate Left will certainly prove if the above links plus Thou Shalt Not Suck are not sufficient.

Take that conservatives. You're a dying breed. Just ask this guy.

(For an idea of what's going on here, read this)

LOCAL JIHADIST MISUNDERSTOOD
Posted by The Bekka
In yet more secondhand news, a local Jihadist was recently overheard to say, "I hate freedom, and everything it stands for."

Upon further investigation, it turned out the local Jihadist was not referring to the almighty American vision of "freedom," but rather to the fair city Freedom, Indiana, where a bus driver had short-changed him once.

BREAKING NEWS:
Osama Bin Laden Converts to Scientology!
Rumored to be Tom Cruise's Hot New Squeeze
Posted by Ross

No more information at this time. Just wild speculation.

Friday Dog-Blogging
Posted by Raznor


What the hell is this thing pointing at me?

Here's another pic of the great Hermes. This was taken a couple days after getting him, when the anaesthetic from the neutering was wearing off.

Yep, these people sure understand teh GAY
Posted by Raznor

Via Jesse Taylor, this post is simply excellent.

One more for the non-existent blogroll . . .
Posted by Raznor

Apparently, my cousin Elyce has started her own blog, Elyce Elucidates. It's worth a read, so check it out.

Listen to the idiots
Posted by Raznor

Shorter Cindy Sheehan: the Iraq War was not worth the sacrifice of my son.

Shorter idiot anti-Sheehan protestors: we totally think the Iraq War was worth the sacrifice of your son.

These people remind me of a choice bit of dialogue from Futurama:

Soldier: Why is this god-forsaken rock worth dying for?
Zap Branigan: Don't ask me. You're the one who's doing the dying.

The Friday Dog-Blog
Posted by Raznor


No, really, he loves those toys he's currently ignoring.

So things continue to be slow here. I'm taking care of Hermes, while Ross and the Bekka are enjoying their honeymoon. Still, Friday will be the dog-blog day, so at least you know there we be at least one post, once a week.

Anyway, like I said, have to take care of the dog.

Dog Blogging #1

So I got the new dog. He's a black terrier mix. Picked him up today. Named him Hermes. Here's the two of us hanging out.

Be prepared for regular dog-blogging from here on out.


Hermes and me. (I'm the one with the purple hair)

Personal News Note
Posted by Raznor

Well, my two cobloggers got married yesterday, which gives us an actual excuse for not having any blogging since last week. So here's a little congrats to Ross and the Bekka.

Meanwhile, a new dog shall be joining me, likely tomorrow. A sweet little terrier mix who shall be named Hermes. With this, I hope to include a dog-blogging aspect to Raznor's Rants.