The librul medier and "wacko" leftists and Bush-haters

According to the most recent CBS News Poll....

"34 percent approved of how [Bush] is handling his job, down eight points from a New York Times/CBS News poll conducted in January.….In addition, 62 percent of those polled said the efforts to bring stability and order to Iraq were going badly, up from 54 percent last month….There has been a decline in Mr. Bush's support even among Republicans. In the January Times/CBS News poll, 83 percent of Republicans approved of the way he was handling his job; in the latest poll 72 percent approve. Approval among self-identified conservatives also dropped to 52 percent, from 62 percent.”

Hmmm......

Feels good to be part of the mainstream, the majority. I suppose those who still support this failed president (speaking of which, this is just UNBELIEVABLE) are now part of the fringe hard-core right wing. Why do the Joe Liebermans of the world keep behaving as if Bush is untouchable?

And for your dose of liberal media, according to Chris Matthews, the "left-leaning" host of "Hardball...." --> "Everybody sort of likes the President, except for the real whack-jobs."

P.S. For those who couldn't find what I was referring to parenthetically above, the 5-year old preznit is described by Paul Bremer thusly:

"The President's directions seem to have been limited to such slogans as "we're not going to fail" and "pace yourself, Jerry." In Bremer's account, the President was seriously interested in one issue: whether the leaders of the government that followed the CPA would publicly thank the United States. But there is no evidence that he cared about the specific questions that counted: Would the new prime minister have a broad base of support? Would he be able to bridge Iraq's ethnic divisions? What political values should he have? Instead, Bush had only one demand: "It's important to have someone who's willing to stand up and thank the American people for their sacrifice in liberating Iraq." According to Bremer, he came back to this single point three times in the same meeting. Similarly, Ghazi al-Yawar, an obscure Sunni Arab businessman, became Bush's candidate for president of Iraq's interim government because, as Bremer reports, Bush had "been favorably impressed with his open thanks to the Coalition."

Commence preparation of doomsday survival kit. We are screwed.

Just the facts, m'am......

Iraq by the numbers (as compiled by the Independent):


$204.4 billion: The cost to the U.S of the war so far.

2,339: Allied troops killed

15,955: US troops wounded in action

98: U.K troops killed

30,000 : Estimated Iraqi civilian deaths

0: Number of WMDs found

66: Journalists killed in Iraq.

63: Journalists killed during Vietnam war

8: per cent of Iraqi children suffering acute malnutrition

53,470: Iraqi insurgents killed

67: per cent Iraqis who feel less secure because of occupation

$343: Average monthly salary for an Iraqi soldier.

Average monthly salary for an American soldier in Iraq: $4,160.75

5: foreign civilians kidnapped per month

47: per cent Iraqis who never have enough electricity

20: casualties per month from unexploded mines

25-40: per cent Estimated unemployment rate, Nov 2005

251: Foreigners kidnapped

70: per cent of Iraqi's whose sewage system rarely works

183,000: British and American troops are still in action in Iraq.

13,000: from other nations

90: Daily attacks by insurgents in Nov '05. In Jun '03: 8

60-80: per cent Iraqis who are "strongly opposed" to presence of coalition troops

ManUre's preferred tactics in a nutshell

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Bush: Uniter of Wingnuts and the super-rich

Disgusting.

Bush Tax Panel Considers Limiting 2 Popular Deductions

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 - President Bush's tax advisory commission indicated today that it would not propose replacing the income tax with a national sales tax or a value-added tax but would recommend modifications in the popular tax deductions for mortgage interest and employer-provided health insurance.

Arrrggghhh....gas problems, part XXXIII

2:29 P.M. - GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency scrambled to quash a fast-spreading rumor today that Hurricane Rita would trigger a gasoline shortage, but not fast enough to prevent long lines and fears.

At lunchtime, dozens of motorists were reportedly lined up at gasoline stations along U.S. Highway 49 from Hattiesburg to the Gulf Coast. Nina Smith, 33, of Biloxi got a call from a friend who told her -- wrongly -- the pumps would be shut off at noon.

---------------------------

and here:
Rumor fuels run on gas stations
By Nell Luter Floydnlfloyd@clarionledger.com

Rumors about a gasoline shortage in advance of Hurricane Rita are untrue, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. William L. Carwile, federal coordinating officer for FEMA, said there is plenty of gasoline in the state, and neither FEMA nor the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency has the authority to commandeer gasoline supplies.

"Those rumors are absolutely untrue," he said. "The retail distribution system for petroleum products is fine."Milinda Evans, an employee at the Shell station on High Street in Jackson, said traffic at the station picked up about noon. A line had formed by 1 p.m. and there was a steady stream of drivers."We have gas," she said. "Our company said there isn't a problem."

Most drivers filled up their tanks, she said, noting the station had done double its normal business between noon and 1 p.m.Drivers also formed lines at the Texaco-Interstate Station across the street from the Shell station. Across town there were lines at the Pilot Travel Center on South Gallatin Street.

Latrichia Thurman of Jackson, a loan processor, stopped to gas up her 2002 Ford Escort after she saw the line at the Shell station on High Street. "I heard everybody was getting gas and that (Jackson mayor) Frank Melton was raising the price $1 a gallon," she said.

Kennedy Thomas of Jackson, who handles billing for anesthesiologists, filled up his 2000 Nissan Xterra at the Shell station."I was planning on getting gas and I went ahead and filled up," he said.

Will Morton of Magee, a third year student at Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson, said he went to fill up his Toyota Tacoma pickup after his wife called and told him FEMA planned to take all the gasoline."I drive back and forth from Magee every day," he said. Morton said the wait at the Shell station was only 15 minutes, about 30 minutes less than after Hurricane Katrina.


Please, people, will everybody just please calm down? Geez.

All four stations I passed on the way back to the office after lunch had long lines of stupid selfish weak pathetic people waiting for gas, probably to top off their @#$@#$@ Escalades so they can get their stupid fatasses to the buffet at Corky's or the Wal-Mart whenever they feel like it or something stupid like that.

They should re-deploy the cops who sit in the median of the interstate doing fundraising to each of the stations in town. If you have more than 1/4 of a tank, you get a $500 ticket and have to get out of line. The police department gets half the money for having to waste time policing these sorry sacks of #$#@$, and the other half can be given to people who lost their vehicles in the hurricane.

I hope like heck this is just a really short term thing and people will start behaving responsibly, but after the way these pathetic animals and reprobates acted last time I'm not betting on it.

(Ole Miss Update) Lane to start....but wait....

It's a good news/bad news situation. Robert Lane is set to start Saturday against Wyoming. The Clarion Ledger has a preview/Lane profile. The good news is Lane will probably start. The bad news is that Noel MazREDzone is our offensive coordinator.

I've wanted Lane to be the starter since he stepped on campus. Some of that is, for sure, this peculiar phenomenon among supporters and fans that when the team is playing poorly, the guy who's not playing is always better than the guy who is playing. Never mind that the coaches and the reporters and the people who make it their business to know these things think differently, I GO TO THE GAMES AND/OR WATCH THEM ON TV, so I know more and, more importantly, I can see the forest better (ie, the big picture) because I'm not deep in it all the time, blah blah blah. (Notice: digression over).

Anyway, Robert Lane is set to start, and I'm pretty excited about that. I think Robert Lane, while not the most accurate passer, is a winner. A winner like Tee Martin. A winner like Jason White. Not the most gifted passer or the most comfortable in the "system" but a winner. Someone who other players rally around. Someone who puts his head down and fights. That is what I've seen when he's been in there. You can sense the team playing just a bit harder. You can sense the crowd getting more into it.

The prospect of this season turning around with a gutsy winning performance from Lane is exciting. After his fumble on the last play of the last game (when he was rushed into service following the injury to Spurlock), he said "It was a tough situation to be put in, but I survived it, I learned from it and it'll make me a better quarterback. I plan to lead this team to victory." That's a winner talking.

Lane's NOT saying "I've learned the offense and am comfortable and I look forward to the challenge of implementing the system at full speed in game conditions." He's planning on LEADING the TEAM to VICTORY. That's what a quarterback should do. Whether he does that with his arm, his head or his legs doesn't matter. His familiarity with the "system" doesn't matter. Winning matters. Offensive coordinator Noel MazREDzone said of Lane ""He's got a bit of a bow in his neck ... he brings that to the team, a toughness at that position. He's got a little moxie. Now, we have to roll the ball out there and see what he knows for real."

BUT WAIT

That's not the whole picture. MazREDzone has to get him in the stupid "system." MazREDzone also said: "There are all kind of wrinkles in that offense, we're trying to iron them all out." (As if it's the execution, rather than the stupid "system" that's to blame for our poor offensive performance thus far. Why does there have to be a system? NASA needs systems, computer networks need systems. Offenses need plays. Anyway, I digress).

What really gives me pause, however, is this "Mazzone said Lane is "night and day different" from the player he saw on film last season and early in fall camp — a quarterback who struggled to throw the ball downfield and often took off to run too soon. " Oh no, MazREDzone is taking that square peg, moving it toward his round hole. He's gotta stay in the "system" even if his talents aren't suited for it. Look, Mazzone's been mediocre with that offense everywhere he's been and he's not gonna change the "system" just to adapt to the personnel he has right now, no siree.

MazREDzone goes on: "I don't know how much they asked him to step back and read coverages last year, but we've been working with him on staying on his progressions and getting to the third reads. At times, he's too anxious to take the football and show everybody he can run over people." Translated "I know he's a better runner than passer. But that doesn't matter to me. What matters is he runs MY offense (so I get the credit when we succeed). If we don't, it'll be a matter of EXECUTION. It won't be because i'm asking a running, scrambling quarterback to stand back in the pocket and make 3 and 4 reads even though I know it's not his strong suit."

The point is Lane CAN run over people (and Spurlock can run around people), so why not just let him do it? Is that such a difficult thing to understand? Will the world come to an end, will the offense and team just completely break down into chaos and anarchy if he only makes TWO reads and then takes off for a 6 yard gain running the ball? Isn't that the point, to go forward toward the end zone? Is it better for him to make his third read and throw it away than make 2 reads and run for 4 yards? If he takes off and runs a few times, won't there be more receivers open later when LBs and DBs cheat up to stop that (like they do when you have a traditionally effective running game)? I'm no expert, but will someone point out the flaw in this approach? I must be too much of a simpleton, because I can't fully comprehend the "system" It's almost as if the "system" is more important than first downs and points.

I wonder what would have happened had Ole Miss brought in an option-oriented OC when Eli was here. Would they have made Eli run the option? That makes about as much sense as asking Lane or Spurlock to sit back in the pocket and make 3 or 4 reads when their strengths are running, scrambling and improvising. Apparently, MazREDzone (and Cutcliffe last year, who started Flatt over Lane and also insisted on a slavish devotion to a stupid "system") is more concerned with Lane staying in the "system" than actually moving the ball and scoring points. Of the three touchdowns we've scored on offense (that's 1.5 per game against powerhouses Memphis and Vandy), 2 have been players improvising (Spurlock and Mico), not flawless execution of some stupid wrinkle in MazREDzone's super-crafty "system."

So I'm excited, but I sure hope Lane just goes out there and plays on gut and instinct. We'll see Saturday.

AP is crap

I expect this sort of tripe from TimeWarnerCNNCorp, MicrosoftGENews, DisneyNews, etc. but the AP is supposed to be a legitimate news outlet.

Check out this "report" from AP, which is nothing more than a poorly disguised hatchet job on New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. This is clearly just an opinion piece. And it's not credited, either. So called "liberal media" strikes again.

First, the headline: "Mayor's handling of crisis questioned"

Really? by whom? The classic use of the passive voice. Who, exactly, has questioned the mayor's handling of the crisis? Name someone. The reason no one is named is either a) the author hasn't bothered to run a google search to find and/or interview someone or b) the only people the writer found were republicans and divulging only their viewpoints would expose the bias of the writer.

---

Then, about 5 paragraphs in, "Some observers from outside New Orleans say, Nagin's handling of the crisis has created the perception of a leadership void in this city at precisely the time it requires a steady hand."

Again, really? Who exactly are these OBSERVERS (plural) The OBSERVERS is/are 1 person, Melissa Harris Lacewell, a political science professor with the University of Chicago's Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture. First, what exactly about his "handling" of the crisis would a political science professor know anything about? Is she trained in engineering? Is she trained in emergency management? She's speaking to a "political crisis," not the Katrina crisis. This suggests, to me, again, that the writer is coming from a political angle, not an emergency management or policy angle. (Lacewell is probably considered a liberal, from what I can tell based on the little research I did on her.)

---

"Others have said in Nagin's defense that he is dealing with an enormous and unprecedented crisis" Again, who exactly are these "others?" Care to name even ONE?

Lazy, shoddy reporting. Pathetic.

Bush on the Wing

A must see. Here.

Bush + Air Force One + Katrina = Pigs on the Wing

We were right, part 776

New CNN/Gallup Poll:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush's vow to rebuild the Gulf Coast did little to help his standing with the public, only 40 percent of whom now approve of his performance in office, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Monday.

Just 41 percent of the 818 adults polled between Friday and Monday said they approved of Bush's handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, while 57 percent disapproved. And support for his management of the war in Iraq has dropped to 32 percent, with 67 percent telling pollsters they disapproved of how Bush is prosecuting the conflict.

The survey had a sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Fifty-nine percent said they considered the 2003 invasion of Iraq a mistake, 63 percent said they wanted to see some or all U.S. troops withdrawn from that country and 54 percent told pollsters they favor cutting spending on the war to pay for disaster relief.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Will someone please pass this on to the SCLM?

New Ryan Adams CD

is just a straight ahead country record. That's good news.

More here.

Louisiana 1927

by the Drive By Truckers.

Download here.

More Blame Game Lies

Remember how the good folks at the WH were not going to play the blame game?

Well, we already know that means "except for local and state officials" and the people who didn't evacuate.

Now it means environmental groups, as well.

10:31 A.M. - JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- The federal government is trying to find evidence of any past efforts by environmental groups to block work on New Orleans' levees, according to a published report.

The Clarion-Ledger said Friday it obtained an internal Justice Department e-mail sent out this week to U.S. attorneys that asks: "Has your district defended any cases on behalf of the (U.S.) Army Corps of Engineers against claims brought by environmental groups seeking to block or otherwise impede the Corps work on the levees protecting New Orleans? If so, please describe the case and the outcome of the litigation."

Full account here.

Pathetic.

This is why I like lawyers

5:55 P.M. - BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- A group of Louisiana homeowners sued 16 insurance companies Thursday, asking a state district court to rule that neglect and wind damage caused the flood that inundated thousands of homes in Orleans and Jefferson parishes.
Breaches in the levees which ring the city allowed the water in, so the floods were not caused by an "act of God," contends the lawsuit filed Thursday in 19th Judicial District Court.

from WWL's excellent Katrina blog.

Why do a majority of Americans hate America?

The "stay the course" folks are now squarely in the minority. The rest of us in reality want withdrawal from the Iraq quagmire:

As Kos notes:

42 percent of Republicans want us to start pulling troops out. Message to the idiots at the DLC and the rest of the timid DC Democratic establishment -- there's nothing radical or extreme about the growing anti-war sentiment in this nation. The position in favor of withdrawal is now supported by a 3-2 margin. Those advocating staying the course are now the extreme on the issue, marginalized to the fringes.

In the laa-aand of the

Free.......Not.....

Is this the freedom we're trying to spread in the Middle East? Is this the freedom people are so hungry for? Is this the freedom people are dying for?

Worst. President. Ever.

Wow.

"At a news conference, Pelosi, D-Calif., said Bush's choice for head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency had ''absolutely no credentials.''She related that she had urged Bush at the White House on Tuesday to fire Michael Brown...

He said 'Why would I do that?''' Pelosi said.'

''I said because of all that went wrong, of all that didn't go right last week.'

And he said 'What didn't go right?''

'''Oblivious, in denial, dangerous,'' she added."

Does BushCo EVER Stop Lying? Ever?

These guys are downright pathological. They are LIARS. Scumbags.

Today, September 6, 9:22 A.M. - WHITE HOUSE (AP) -- The White House is rebuffing calls to fire the federal disaster chief in the aftermath of Hurrican Katrina. Press Secretary Scott McClellan says, "We're not going to engage in the blame game."

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4th (NYT) - Under the command of President Bush's two senior political advisers, the White House rolled out a plan this weekend to contain the political damage from the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina.

It orchestrated visits by cabinet members to the region, leading up to an extraordinary return visit by Mr. Bush planned for Monday, directed administration officials not to respond to attacks from Democrats on the relief efforts, and sought to move the blame for the slow response to Louisiana state officials, according to Republicans familiar with the White House plan. The effort is being directed by Mr. Bush's chief political adviser, Karl Rove, and his communications director, Dan Bartlett.

And, oh yes, in case anyone forgot. From Shrub's inaugural address:

"Encouraging responsibility is not a search for scapegoats, it is a call to conscience. . . .I will live and lead by these principles: . . . to call for responsibility and try to live it as well."



See also this.

Scumbag Assholes

Thousands dying in New Orleans....

Here's your president. First it was blame the victimes (see "Chuck and Duck")

Now it's blame state officials. This is what the WH is concerned about. This is the only thing it's ever concerned about.

Scumbag sociopathic lying liars.

It took them days to come up with a rescue and relief plan but it only took them a few hours to come up with a political salvage plan for their Dear Leader.

Scumbag sociopathic lying liars.

From the NYTimes:

Under the command of President Bush's two senior political advisers, the White House rolled out a plan this weekend to contain the political damage from the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina.

It orchestrated visits by cabinet members to the region, leading up to an extraordinary return visit by Mr. Bush planned for Monday, directed administration officials not to respond to attacks from Democrats on the relief efforts, and sought to move the blame for the slow response to Louisiana state officials, according to Republicans familiar with the White House plan.

The effort is being directed by Mr. Bush's chief political adviser, Karl Rove, and his communications director, Dan Bartlett. It began late last week after Congressional Republicans called White House officials to register alarm about what they saw as a feeble response by Mr. Bush to the hurricane, according to Republican Congressional aides.

As a result, Americans watching television coverage of the disaster this weekend began to see, amid the destruction and suffering, some of the most prominent members of the administration - Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Donald H. Rumsfeld, the secretary of defense; and Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state - touring storm-damaged communities.


Yep. Scumbags. More here.

As bad as it appears to be in New Orleans...

I think that great town will recover.....

Why? Well there's this:

from here:

Scenes from New Orleans
Sunday Sept. 5, 2005 10:45 p.m.
By Jim Varney

In the midst of this, Joann Guidos, 55, perched on a bar stool in the front door of Kajun’s Pub on the 2200 block of St. Claude Avenue. She brandished her pump action shotgun at any unknown vehicle or pedestrian, but said she did so with good reason.“If you noticed, every place around here has been looted, except this one,’’ she said, noting proudly that she never closed during or since Katrina.

and this:

3:15 A.M. - (AP) -- Not even Hurricane Katrina could prevent the Decadence Parade from being staged in the French Quarter. The annual Labor Day gay celebration drew about two dozen people. Street musician Matt Menold summed it up best: "It's New Orleans, man. We're going to celebrate."

On a related note:

6:24 P.M. – Saints GM Mickey Loomis – we would like to play our games in Baton Rouge but we have to see what is possible. The NFL will have a lot of say. No decision has been made.

I had seen on television news that the Saints would play the season in San Antonio. I hope they stay in the state.

Ole Miss Quarterback Race a "Tie"

OXFORD — The Ole Miss starting quarterback job remains a toss-up with three days left until Monday's season opener.Senior Micheal Spurlock and sophomore Robert Lane are in a dead heat, coach Ed Orgeron said after Thursday's practice.

The Rebels are preparing to face Memphis on Labor Day at the Liberty Bowl in a game that will televised by ESPN."I think they're both playing well; it looks like a tie " said Orgeron, who had hoped to name a starter last Monday but said the competition has been too close to call. "We're going to have to make a decision, but it's really close in our minds. The (decision) will come down to the intangibles and looking at the whole picture."

Read more here.

C'mon Robert C'mon Robert: