Hard Bigotry of No Expectations
New York Times editorial today:
Anti-War Demonstrators March on Washington
AP is reporting:
Crowds opposed to the war in Iraq surged past the White House on Saturday, shouting "Peace now" in the largest anti-war protest in the nation's capital since the U.S. invasion.
Does GOP STILL Want to Cut Taxes, Services for Poor?
New York Times editorial today:
JUST IN: New Orleans Levees Breaching
The Weather Channel just reported that the levee along the industrial canal in New Orleans has a 35 to 40-foot breach. There are other small breaches already.
As Rita Looms, Mississippi Fears Being Forgotten
Knight-Ridder is reporting:
No Way Out: Many Poor Stuck in Houston
AP is reporting:
September 22,2005 | HOUSTON -- Wilma Skinner would like to scream at the officials of this city. If only someone would pick up their phone. "I done called for a shelter, I done called for help. There ain't none. No one answers," she said, standing in blistering heat outside a check-cashing store that had just run out of its main commodity. "Everyone just says, 'Get out, get out.' I've got no way of getting out. And now I've got no money." With Hurricane Rita breathing down Houston's neck, those with cars were stuck in gridlock trying to get out. Those like Skinner -- poor, and with a broken-down car -- were simply stuck, and fuming at being abandoned, they say.
Poll: Katrina Changed Americans' Attitudes
AP is reporting:
A 64-year-old Alabamian frets about frayed race relations. A Utah software programmer ponders the slow government response to Hurricane Katrina and decides he'll turn to his church first in a disaster created by nature or terrorists. A woman scraping by on disability pay in northern Virginia puts her house on the market because of surging post-storm gas and food prices. Cheaper to live in Pennsylvania, she figures.
Glover and Belafonte on the ‘Poverty of Imagination'
Editor's Note: The following are texts of speechesdelivered by Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte at the Higher Ground Hurricane Relief benefit concert, an all-star jazz concert Live at Lincoln Center on Sept. 17.:
Lott: Scrap Medicare drugs, pay for storm
Gannett News Serviceis reportingt:
FEMA: Flood Insurance to Expedite Claims
[verbatim from FEMA/Homeland Security] September 20, 2005/Washington, D.C., – In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the National Flood Insurance Program will modify the way it settles claims to expedite the response to those policy-holders in storm-stricken areas under a new policy announced today by Acting Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response R. David Paulison.
Rita, Now Cat 4, Barrels Toward Texas
Here we go again. Pray, y'all.
New Poll: Katrina Raises Doubts About Bush
AP is reporting:
Hurricane Katrina and the bungled government response have weakened President Bush, raising questions among Americans about his Iraq and Gulf Coast spending plans and spreading fears among fellow Republicans that his troubles could be contagious. An AP-Ipsos poll shows a sharp increase in the percentage of people concerned about the economy since the storm. Less than half approve of Bush's handling of Katrina. Less than a third give him good marks on gas prices. As many Republicans fear, the survey shows signs of conflict between Bush's top two priorities: the Iraq war and post-Katrina recovery.
U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq Top 1,900
AP reports:
The war in Iraq passed a sobering milepost Tuesday when U.S. officials reported 12 more Americans were killed - eight of them members of the armed forces, raising to more than 1,900 the number of U.S. service members who have died in the country since the invasion.
The Real Test of Katrina
John Kerry in a speech at Brown University:
Melton Tells City Workers to Help Red Cross
Facing a growing crisis with evacuees who have been ejected from the Mississippi Coliseum and other shelters, with some now reportedly without a shelter over their heads and now sleeping in cars, Mayor Frank Melton told WAPT that he is going to send city workers to help the Red Cross speed the process:
TONIGHT: 4Tell Films, JFP & Crossroads Present French Quarter Film to Benefit Victims
Attend a special screening Monday night (Sept. 19) at 7:30 p.m. of "The Quarter by Carriage," the first of a multi-volume DVD project that explores the colorful history of the famed French Quarter of New Orleans. Post-production had just concluded on the documentary prior to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The screening is at Hal & Mal's restaurant located at 200 S. Commerce St.
‘He Thought He Had a Mandate'
AP is reporting:
Hurricane Katrina swamped President Bush's second-term domestic agenda, reordering his priorities and changing the political landscape. His open-ended commitment to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast has become his No. 1 domestic imperative. Swept away was Bush's pledge to cut the budget deficit in half. His centerpiece proposal to restructure Social Security - in trouble even before the storm - probably is a casualty, too. Also suddenly endangered are his proposals to make permanent certain tax cuts, repeal the estate tax, overhaul immigration law and rewrite tax laws.
T.G.I.F Humor Break
Quote o' the Week: The following statement is the funniest thing I've seen in a while, although The Onion is outdoing itself of late:
Iraq Edges Toward ‘Full Scaled Civil War'
Rory Carroll reports from Iraq:
Lott: Senate Passes Katrina Relief Measures
[verbatim/Sept. 15, 2005] The Senate on Thursday, by unanimous consent, passed a sweeping tax relief package, co-sponsored by Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, to provide tax relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Lott, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, provided significant input on the bill's provisions, tailored to Mississippi-specific needs. In addition to Lott, the bill, authored by Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Max Baucus of Montana, was co-sponsored by Senators Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, David Vitter of Louisiana, and Richard Shelby of Alabama.
Sign and Pass on the Katrina Pledge
Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute (Proverbs 31:8).
Brownie Describes Frustration and Chaos
In his first extensive interview since resigning as FEMA director Monday, Michael Brown blames Gov. Blanco, tried to deflect criticism from the White House—and raised the spector that the administration may have known much more, much sooner than they reacted:
God's Country: Katrina Sows Uncertainty In The Eye of The Storm
This story appeared five years ago in the days after Hurricane Katrina as many Gulf Coast residents sat waiting for help
Another Storm Brewin'
David Baria says he's one of the lucky ones. That's a bit hard to fathom. After evacuating from Bay St. Louis with his wife, three children and their pets to family in Pascagoula, he returned the morning after the storm to see what was left, working through the maze of roads, around debris and then walking down the railroad track to get to his home.
Bush Admits Response Blunders
Good. This is what he should have done in the first place rather than blaming the victims. AP is reporting:
Lott Wants Pascagoula Naval Station Left Open
[verbatim statement] September 12, 2005—WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the wake of problems with the Administration's response plan to Hurricane Katrina, U.S. Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi has asked President Bush to review the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) recommendations to close the Gulf region's two naval bases – including Naval Station Pascagoula, located in one of Mississippi's storm-devastated counties.
Brownie Resigns from FEMA Post Altogether
MSNBC is reporting:
WASHINGTON - Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Brown said Monday he has resigned "in the best interest of the agency and best interest of the president," three days after losing his on-site command of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
Homeland Insecurity
Award-winning reporter Eileen Lou Harrist wrote this story a year ago for The Gambit Weekly, the alternative newsweekly in New Orleans:
Names of First Coast Victims Released
The Sun-Herald is reporting:
JFP Art Show/Benefit Raises More Than $3,300!
Update: As of right now, the take from the art show last night is coming in over $3,300 for John Grisham's Rebuild the Coast fund, as well as to purchase art supplies for the Arts Alliance "Express Yourself" program.
Mississippi Gulf Coast in the Shadows
The New York Times reports today on the largely overlooked devastation on the Gulf Coast:
The Storm Next Time
Nicholas Kristoff writes in The New York Times:
Overwhelmed Locals, Hesitant Feds
A New York Times analysis dissects what went wrong last week in Louisiana:
UPDATED/URGENT: What to Donate NOW in Jackson/on the Coast
This thread orginally started Tuesday, Aug. 30, and has been updated over the last several days. Be sure to read the comments to the bottom to determine the way you can help as the needs change. And please post information here about donations, specific needs and where to take them.
Hark: Who Goes There?
Here's an account by two paramedics in New Orleans to attend a conference who were trapped during the hurricane. It rather debunks the excuse that the people stranded there could have just walked across the bridges to safety. The entire story is chilling, but here is the part about being blocked from crossing the bridges; this has also been reported in media reports:
Voices in the Storm
The Nation has a collection of very telling quotes from the last two weeks:
Bush's ‘Shameful Proclamation'
New York Times editorial today:
TRUTHWATCH: Is E-mail About Bush Response to Katrina Factual?
Please click here to read a new JFP Truthwatch thread that presents unattributed "facts" about the White House's response to the Katrina disaster. You can also help factcheck the e-mail by clicking on the link to it in our Truthwatch Blog. Also, here's a second one culled from the Freeper site, claiming that the state of Louisiana refused assistance from the feds. Let's vet it, too.
Don't Miss Killen Cover Story, Irby Column
Note: For now, the JFP's current 4,000+ word cover story, "After Killen: What's Next for Mississippi?", is not posted here in the Killen trial blog. Click here to access that story, read the more than 100 comments to date and add your own comments. Also don't miss Natalie Irby's column this week about Killen attorney James McIntyre's closing statement, which she says represents the "worst Mississippi has to offer."
Point That Finger Somewhere Else, Wouldya?
Watch this eight-minute compilation of clips showing how the spin cycle is working the phrases "blame game" and "finger-pointing." Very interesting.
JPS Athletic Events Rescheduled
JPS Athletics has rescheduled events for high school football, B-team football, middle school football, and middle school volleyball. High school volleyball will resume its original schedule on Monday, September 12. Cross-country track and softball will resume their regular schedules on Tuesday, September 13. Division softball and volleyball games will be rescheduled. Please visit the Athletics page for complete schedules.
Mayor Lifts Jackson ‘Curfew'
The city of Jackson today lifted an emergency "curfew" that they told the JFP a week ago was not enforceable for either individuals or businesses. Here's the press release:
Edgar Ray Killen Back In Prison
AP is reporting:
A judge Friday revoked the bond that allowed Edgar Ray Killen to stay out of prison while he appealed his manslaughter conviction for the 1964 slayings of three civil rights workers. Circuit Judge Marcus Gordon ordered Killen returned to prison after a court hearing where District Attorney Mark Duncan said the 80-year-old Killen may have misrepresented his physical condition.
FEMA Chief Relieved of Katrina Duties
Good news: Brownie's off the case. MSNBC is reporting:
Diarrhea kills 4 in Katrina's wake
Deadly disease is spreading on the Gulf Coast:
Feds Trying to Block Media from New Orleans?
NBC's Brian Williams write on the site blog:
An interesting dynamic is taking shape in this city, not altogether positive: after days of rampant lawlessness (making for what I think most would agree was an impossible job for the New Orleans Police Department during those first few crucial days of rising water, pitch-black nights and looting of stores) the city has now reached a near-saturation level of military and law enforcement. In the areas we visited, the red berets of the 82nd Airborne are visible on just about every block. National Guard soldiers are ubiquitous. At one fire scene, I counted law enforcement personnel (who I presume were on hand to guarantee the safety of the firefighters) from four separate jurisdictions, as far away as Connecticut and Illinois. And tempers are getting hot.