Marty Bahamonde, a FEMA regional director, told a Senate panel investigating the government's response to the disaster that he gave regular updates to people in contact with then-FEMA Director Michael Brown as early as Aug. 28, one day before Katrina made landfall.

In most cases, he was met with silence. In an Aug. 29 phone call to Brown informing him that the first levee had broke, Bahamaonde said he received a polite thank you from Brown, who said he would check with the White House.

So much for Chertoff and "Brownie" saying they weren't being told what was going on...

FEMA Official Says Boss Ignored Warnings

Spc. Robert Loria of Middletown, N.Y., lost his arm in Iraq, but instead of a farewell paycheck from the Army he got a bill for nearly $1,800

If this is not the most asinine thing I've seen this year, it comes damn close.

Lawmakers Help Wounded Soldier Get Home

It's not that I doubt that Karl Rove is capable of profound evil -- this is the man who used John McCain's adoption of a Sri Lankan orphan to spread the word in South Carolina that McCain was the father of an biracial bastard

Interesting analysis on Valerie Plame and why it was done. But the real point is, this was something done deliberately.

The Blog | Mark Kleiman: Why

ibenez wrote:

The results suggest that marijuana, or its derivatives, could actually be good for the brain.

Uhm.... sweet!

Unless of course you work with me, in that cause I deplore the use of all drugs... bad bad drugs!

Results also suggest that actual marijuana has no such effect. Doh!

RE: New Scientist Breaking News - Marijuana might cause new cell growth in the brain

"The militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate governments in the region and establish a radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia," Bush said.

Isn't this the same thing (from the other side of the fence) that Bush is trying to do? Throw down one country and rally the entire Muslim world to American style democracy? I hate to say this but being a betting man, I'd bet on the Muslims. You can sometimes rally nationalism to fight between countries, but you can always rally God to fight within them.

What's worse is that by now framing the war in this way, the Muslim fundamantalists can use this and say that this is a holy war, and that we've been lying about what it was the entire time. Whether they are right about that is another question, but they can point to it and scream we are against Allah, that everything that has happened is because of that and make that charge stick.

Bush: Radicals Seek to Intimidate World

"We are in end times," Wagner said. "This is Armageddon, the end of all things. Basically, what we're in right now is the appearance of the antichrist who we believe to be
Pope Benedict (XVI). ... That's the main reason we chose the Catholic church. It didn't have anything to do with the people in it."

He calls it a vision, I call it delusional psychosis. It also doesn't surprise me.

Suspect Says Vision Spurred Altar-Toppling

Bush made clear that the potential for an outbreak of avian flu is much on his mind, and has had him talking with "as many (world) leaders as I could find," consulting a book he read over the summer on the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic that killed 40 million and meeting with staff and experts.

Why not just watch Outbreak? Oh, because the government is involved, silly me.

And in response to the plan, NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. You want to get people to stay inside in case of a major flu outbreak? Go on TV and scare the crap out of them. They'll stay in. You want to make it hundreds of times worse? Put guys with guns on the street roaming around spreading the damn flu!

Bush Reads Book!

"The nominees will be people that, one, obviously can do the job and, secondly, will be independent," Bush said.

He's right. It's too bad there is no way in hell that he would ever choose such a person.

Bush Preparing for Greenspan Successor

City Manager Steve LeBlanc said the storm surge could reach 50 feet.

Holy crap!

Rita Could Be Strongest Storm to Hit Texas - Yahoo! News

This is going on RIGHT NOW

Okay, it's over, but... If you didn't see this, you will on the news or somewhere. Hands down this is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

I zapped the link because it was dead after the incident, I'll see if I can find footage of it.

I found footage! The link now goes to it!

Jet Blue Emergency