Saturday, September 03, 2005

Your Contribution is at Work.

Certainly, this is just the start.

American Red Cross shelters:

-- Louisiana: 127 shelters; 51,480 people
-- Mississippi: 102 shelters; 13,510 people
-- Texas: 49 shelters; 23,850 people
-- Alabama: 47 shelters; 3,760 people
-- Georgia: 17 shelters; 880 occupants
-- Tennessee: 9 shelters; 70 occupants
-- Florida: 8 shelters; 1,380 occupants
-- Arkansas: 1 shelter; 1,250 occupants
-- Missouri: 1 shelter; 0 occupants
Lock the Doors.

When NASA has had its two Shuttle accidents, at one point the Flight Director orders the doors to Mission Control to be locked: no one goes in or out until all the data of the flight has been secured. It is essential for a successful accident investigation.

The same should hold true for all of the data pertaining to the Katrina Catastrophe. Let's not have any city, state, or federal documents that pertain to the planning and preparations for this disaster to suddenly come up "missing".
For example, the City of New Orleans' disaster plan...(courtesy Bush in a Tree)
The Economic Backwash from Katrina.

Stratfor summarizes the consequences of the loss of New Orleans, the most critical port of the American economy.
"Ironpants" Honore' Takes Command.

Ooorah! Lt. General Honore' and his Task Force Katrina is getting the job done. In the process he blows the air clear of wouldshouldcoulda: when asked why troops weren't just thrown in earlier, the General stated clearly: because they would have become causalities themselves. This guy knows when it's time to kvetch and when it's time to shut up and work.
Jesse, can you just shut up?

Or at least get the facts straight:

Jesse Jackson lashes out at Bush over Katrina response
Doug Simpson / Associated Press


BATON ROUGE -- Racism is partly to blame for the deadly aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said, calling President Bush's response to the disaster "incompetent."...

...Jackson questioned why Bush has not named blacks to top positions in the federal response to the disaster, particularly when the majority of victims remaining stranded in New Orleans are black: "How can blacks be locked out of the leadership, and trapped in the suffering?"


"It is that lack of sensitivity and compassion that represents a kind of incompetence."


U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Russell Honore, head of the military task force overseeing operations in the three states, is black. His task force is providing search and rescue, medical help and sending supplies to the three states in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency...

Thursday, September 01, 2005

A Time for Unity.

Lincoln's allusion has been overused, but it really is time for us to appeal to the better angels of our nature. A reckoning of accountability will one day occur, but we are many months from it, despite the goading by the MSM. Let keep our mouths shut and instead open our checkbooks.

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Catastrophe.

Since 911 most Americans have probably wondered when the crippling of an entire city and economic center would occur. Nature has provided the answer - it has happened now. All of New Orleans has gone offline...and it's almost impossible to comphrehend. God be with all of them. And let's roll up our sleeves, even if it's only to write a check.

A blog from WWL-TV New Orleans, located in the French Quarter, tries separate the fact from rumor of events in that stricken town. The station also features streaming video.

Keep your help simple: if your circumstances are such that you can't volunteer for service in the Gulf Coast, just give money to the Red Cross.

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Learning the Wrong History.

Chuck Hagel missed an important point in his Iraq-as-Vietnam arguement: the US cutting and running, and leaving people who put their lives on the line on our word to the wolves...and feeling morally self-satisfied while doing so.
Is "Chippewa" is a Four-Letter Word?

The Sensitivity Flying Squad of the NCAA threatens Central Michigan University with sanctions if they don't abolish the "Chippewa" nickname. It seems however, the local tribe sides with CMU in defending its use:

...The university said the nickname was adopted in 1942 "to reflect the rich Native American heritage of the mid-Michigan region" and its use has been approved by the area's Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.
"CMU's continued use of the name is dependent on whether the Chippewa people in our region continue to feel that CMU's use of the name is in fact a proud reflection and is used with dignity and respect," the university said in a joint statement with the tribe...
Perhaps it is the NCAA bureaucrats who associate "Indian" with a Looney Tunes charicature?
Hitchens Makes the Case.

Christopher Hitchens defends the overthrow of Saddam, filling the inexplicable vaccum left by the White House.