All creatures great and indicted.

Animal lovers (in a non-Santorum way) have much to be happy about this week.

Giant squid caught on camera:



The baby panda has taken his first steps:



Kermit turns 50 and gets his own stamp:



Notable bugman gets squashed:

Bush to US: Fuck You.

In a development worthy of The Onion, Michael Brown has been rehired as a consultant with FEMA:

CBS News' Bob Schieffer just announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has rehired ex-FEMA chief Michael Brown-- as a consultant to evaluate the agency's response to the disaster

Every time you think this administration has jumped the shark, there is yet another set of fins in the water.

And if the Democrats don't raise holy hell over this, they are not worthy of the name "opposition party." This is exactly why every single one of them should vote against John Roberts. This is exactly why every single one of them should vote no on every legislative initiative that comes down from the White House. They will be called "partisan" and "obstructionist." but they will be called that no matter what they do. Might as well make it count for something.

They owe this administration nothing. Bush and his cronies have no shame, no remorse, no sense of decency and no compunction about rewarding themselves at the expense of the rest of us. They are amoral, deceitful criminals and impeachment would be a good start.

Beertender! One for my reporter friend here!

I just read the transcript of the daily press gaggle, so I don't know who this reporter is. But whoever he or she is, the next round is on me:

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the American people recognize the importance of what we are working to accomplish in the broader Middle East. Iraq is a key part of establishing a foundation for lasting peace and security. What we're working to do is lay a foundation of peace for our children and grandchildren. And the President has made it very clear that his number one priority is the safety and security of the American people. And we are engaged in a global war. It is a war that is -- that continues. The President said after September 11th, that some would tend to forget. He will not. We are going to stay on the offensive until we win this war, and we're going to work to spread freedom and democracy to address the --

Q How many are you going to kill, in the meantime?


Scotty:C'mon guys, you know I can only count this high without taking off my shoes.

Is that a light at the end of the tunnel? And is that a train whistle I hear?

You remember Iraq, don’t you? It’s that country on the other side of the world that we invaded because they had weapons of mass destruction to remove a cruel dictator to establish democracy because we want their oil. It’s understandable if you haven’t been paying attention. But never fear, it seems things are still going swimmingly:

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sept. 14 - Insurgents staged at least a dozen suicide bombings that ripped through Baghdad in rapid succession on Wednesday, killing almost 150 people and wounding more than 500 in a coordinated assault that left much of the capital paralyzed.

Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia claimed responsibility for the assault, which inflicted the biggest death toll in Baghdad since the American-led invasion of Iraq toppled Saddam Hussein more than two years ago.

…

Iraqi and American officials have also been anticipating a rise in violence in reaction to Iraq's new constitution, which has provoked angry opposition from many Sunni leaders and demonstrations in several cities since it was presented in the National Assembly last month. The attacks on Wednesday came as the acting speaker of the National Assembly announced that an amended version of the constitution was complete, clearing the way for five million copies to be printed and distributed.


From March, 2004:

Many Iraq watchers are expecting a rise in violence around 10 April, which marks the one-year anniversary of the fall of Baghdad and the culmination of the Muslim religious festival of Ashura.


From April, 2004:

More than 100 American soldiers have died thus far in the month of April. That’s a single month record in Iraq and nearly as many as those killed during the invasion that began a year ago. That sharp rise in deadly violence led the top US administrator in Iraq to admit that Iraqi security forces wont be ready by the scheduled handover of power on June 30th

From September, 2004

On September 12, fifty-nine Iraqis died (twenty-five in Baghdad) in a series of attacks by insurgents that seemed to indicate that the insurgency had grown and had become better organized and more widespread. Scores more were killed in subsequent attacks throughout that week. Violence continued to escalate through September with at least 41 killed - including at least 34 children - in a series of explosions detonated in Baghdad by insurgents on September 30. The same day, U.S. forces launched a major operation against insurgency forces in Samarra and by Oct. 4 had reportedly gained control over 70% of the city.


From April, 2005:

Top Pentagon officials yesterday acknowledged a recent jump in insurgent violence in Iraq but described the escalation as nowhere near the peak levels of the past year and disputed suggestions that it represents a lack of progress.

From May, 2005:

More than 50 people were killed on Monday as a result of bombings in Iraq targeting U.S. troops, Iraqi security forces, and Shi'ite Arab civilians. The bombings were the latest in a rising number of attacks that have led many to express fears that the country is on the verge of a sectarian war. However, analysts say it is too early to speak about a serious sectarian conflict.


Am I the only one detecting a pattern here?

Oh. I guess so.

From May, 2005

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The insurgency in Iraq is "in the last throes," Vice President Dick Cheney says, and he predicts that the fighting will end before the Bush administration leaves office.

We're saved!!!

Looks like NC has, to use the popular vernacular, dodged a bullet

WILMINGTON, N.C., Sept. 12 (AP) - Tropical storm Ophelia stayed along the coast of the Carolinas on Monday, dropping slightly in strength from a hurricane as it barely moved toward land.

Not that bullet, silly. Hell, we have pool parties during Category 1's. I meant this bullet

"FEMA is fully capable of handling multi-storm operations," Brown said in a written statement. "I am returning to Washington, D.C., to resume oversight over operations for the arrival of Hurricane Ophelia and the immediate response efforts."

With Brown’s resignation, all of us in the Tarheel State are sleeping more peacefully tonight.

The Blaaaaaame Game - Let's do Georgie!!!

The scum that’s floating in the streets of New Orleans is nothing compared to the scum that’s managing (and I use that word loosely) the relief and recovery efforts. Chertoff and Brown simply confirm their incompetence every time they open their mouths. The Little Prince says there will be an investigation into what went wrong with his administration’s response. Oh – and he’ll lead the investigation. The Democrats want an independent entity, like the 9/11 Commission, to do the investigating.

I just hope that whatever form it takes, the inquiry is as thorough as this one

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 7 -- A U.N.-appointed panel investigating corruption in prewar Iraq's oil-for-food program delivered a scathing rebuke of Secretary General Kofi Annan's management of the largest U.N. humanitarian aid operation and concluded that Kojo Annan took advantage of his father's position to profit from the system.


Because I am sure the reactions to findings of mismanagement at the DHS and FEMA will be just as swift and strong as those to the findings of mismanagement of the oil-for-food program:

U.S. Ambassador John R. Bolton seized on the report's findings to advance his case for greater independent oversight of U.N. spending, citing the need "to reform the U.N. in a manner that will prevent another oil-for-food scandal. The credibility of the U.N. depends on it."

Bolton accused dozens of developing countries "who are in a state of denial" with resisting attempts to agree on such changes before 170 world leaders arrive in New York next week for a summit on poverty and U.N. reform.
Congressional leaders said the report raises questions about Annan's capacity to lead the organization.

"The flagship of international diplomacy ran aground while Kofi Annan was at the helm," said Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), who is heading an investigation into U.N. corruption. "The critical question now is whether the secretary general can provide the management direction needed to restore U.N. credibility and effectiveness."

Maybe we should put Paul Volcker in charge of the investigation. Although that doesn’t guarantee we’ll still learn all the facts:

The report also criticized Russia and China for refusing to turn over documents to U.N. investigators or to require officials or businessmen to be interviewed.

It also accused U.S. officials of approving "the single largest episode of oil smuggling" out of Iraq, by Jordan, in the weeks before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The United States and Jordan declined Volcker's requests for interviews and documents, the report said, saying his panel had no authority to investigate oil smuggling outside the oil-for-food program.

Of Time and the River

I can't capture what I've been feeling this week. Despair, anger, grief -- the words aren't adequate.

New Orleans has always had a precarious relationship with the water that surrounds it. That was part of its character -- this precious fragility, this bargain with nature that everyone knew would someday have to be paid for. Maybe that's why the partying was so intense in the Quarter -- eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. The voodoo spiritualism of the city put us in touch with the next world, because Lord knows we may not last long in this one. Laissez les bon temps roulez, because the bad times will be here soon enough.

And yet, for all its precariousness, it is also a city of deep roots and families that go back generations. What you hold on to is your people and their history. Slave or free, Creole or French, your history keeps you bound to a city that celebrates your traditions in its music, its architecture, its food, and its speech. Because you know that the water will come and take away everything else, but it cannot take your history.

When this is all over, and the incompetence has been exposed and please God the indictments handed down, the people of New Orleans will incorporate their tales of horror and heroism into another chapter of their history.

And the Mississippi will roll on.