We Will Not Stop Folks From Living On The Railroad Tracks…

…Just ‘cos a train may come through:

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) — All New Orleans residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina should be allowed to rebuild if they choose, and the city will not stand in the way of reconstruction in areas considered vulnerable to flooding in future storms, Mayor Ray Nagin announced Monday.

Now, I have to say I agree with this. If people want to take the risk and spend their own money, fine. But I really don’t want a lot of federal money going towards insuring them and billions going towards stopping a couple of square miles of swamp that are below sea level from getting flooded.
There’s also this little gem at the end of the story:

Nagin, who is black, has drawn 23 opponents in the April 22 municipal election. Many of his major challengers are white, reflecting the changed demographics of the city, which was two-thirds black before Katrina struck in August.

Oh really? Let’s look at the 2002 election: From what I can find, there were several white challengers then, too. Maybe there are more now because Nagin has shown himself to be not-quite-ready for prime time, not because of skin tone. Heck, maybe there are more vibrant candidates because they smell all that Federal money; what political wannabe can resist that?
But to blandly state that it reflects “changed demographics” when no one has any idea what the hell the demographics are seems a little silly.

Yup, That’s Mine and Right Where I Left It, Too!

Thank you very much.

Trista Wright was spending her spring break cleaning out hurricane-damaged homes when she discovered some unusual papers among the moldy plaster board and debris.
“I started raking it out of the air conditioner vent. I thought it was garbage and I was going to shovel it up, but I bent down to pick it up, and it was a stack of $100 bills, and then more and more kept coming,” the 19-year-old said Tuesday on CNN.
By an unofficial count, it was more than $30,000.

And just the right amount, give or take a dollar.

Free the Grapes Update

Free the Grapes.org

FLORIDA BILLS INTRODUCED
Floridians are now able to receive wine shipments based on a court order and a subsequent determination by state regulators. But three bills are in the legislature, which began its 3-month session last week. The bills, in general, intend to replace the existing structure with additional provisions for tax collection, reporting, etc. The wine industry is supporting Senate Bill 282 (Dockery) which tracks the model direct shipping bill working successfully in many other states.
Florida consumers will hear from us again soon.

Other state updates in the extended post.

Read more »

Quotes of the Weekend

Vice President Cheney on Face the Nation Sunday, in response to Bob Sheiffer’s, “Let me read to you what Senator Kennedy, a liberal Democrat from Massachusetts and a long-time opponent of the war, said on the third anniversary. ”

CHENEY: Well, I would not look to Ted Kennedy for guidance and leadership on how we ought to manage national security, Bob.
…And I think we are going to succeed in Iraq. I think the evidence is overwhelming. I think Ted Kennedy has been wrong from the very beginning. He’s the last man I’d go to for guidance in terms of how we should conduct U.S. national security policy.

I about spit out my Danish.

Doesn’t It Just Suck

…to have to deal with people you so thoroughly despise?

…The Democrats need to go after the group with whom they have not been connecting – the white middle class.
No Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson has won a majority of white voters. Yet even in an increasingly diverse America, and despite increasing voting participation by minorities, whites were still 77 percent of 2004 voters.
Democrats, who see themselves as looking out for the little guy, have sought a way around that problem without directly addressing the reality that “Jill and Joe Six-pack” have moved to the suburbs and become middle class.

Oh, I can’t wait ’til they come knocking…

Don’t Try This at Home

…or at the county fair.

Tiger Bites Man at County Fair in Florida
A trucker who transported a tiger to the Putnam County Fair was bit in the arm after he apparently stuck his arm in the big cat’s cage, officials said.
The man was drunk when he was bit Sunday, his sister, Heather Bass said.

This brings up another question ~ the trucker was DRUNK? Did the ‘drunk’ happen before or after the tiger delivery?
Anyways, thank God Fish and Wildlife have their heads about them.

“This was strictly human error and poor judgment,” she said. “These are wild animals, and no matter how tame they are, they’re still animals.”

Normally there’d be screaming to put the tiger down. (You know ~ destroy the animal instead of the jack-a$$ who offered the a la carte munchie.)

Wicked Good

Ho My God was this show phenomenal!
The number right before the intermission was one of the finest numbers I’ve ever seen on stage.
Simply awesome.
Update below the fold

Read more »

Keep Australia In Your Prayers

They are going to get pounded by Cyclone Larry:

The Bureau of Meteorology last night warned that it was likely to intensify into a category-five cyclone before hitting the coast south of Innisfail between 7.30am and 8.00am today.
If it is upgraded, the storm could unleash greater fury than Cyclone Tracy, the category-four storm that killed 64 people and destroyed most of Darwin in 1974.

As Far As the Iraq War Protests in Pensacola

…they must have had a glimmer of the participation ennui, since they decided to combine it with a group protesting local police brutality.

Movement for Change and Veterans for Peace are combining for the demonstration because “violence is happening in Iraq, but it’s also happening in our community,” Satterwhite said.

So mortars are falling and IED’s are rampant in Bangla-cola. I hadn’t heard that, but I also don’t get out much. Major Dad and I went past their earnest but meager gathering just as it was breaking up. I didn’t have my camera…but there wasn’t much to snap.

Far Be It From Us

…not to note his passing.

Tens of thousands of mourners packed a square in front of Belgrade’s federal parliament Saturday to bid a final farewell to Slobodan Milosevic, who died while on U.N. trial for war crimes.
“Today we are bidding farewell to the best man among us,” Milorad Vucelic, a senior official from Milosevic’s Socialist party, told the crowd estimated by police at around 80,000, Reuters reported.

In memory of that murdering, heartless bastard we offer…an old favorite.

Good Job, Tom!

The question at hand is, did Tom threaten to derail his own movie in order to have a Scientology spoof taken off the air?
…The episode first aired in November and was scheduled to re-air on Wednesday night, March 15. But Comedy Central (which is owned by Viacom), abruptly pulled a repeat of the episode.
But why?
Reportedly, because Tom objected, threatening not to promote the Paramount film “Mission: Impossible III” if the episode wasn’t pulled.
The connection between the two? Paramount is owned by Viacom.
…In true “South Park” form, show creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker issued the following statement:
“So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies.”

Pitiful man body, indeed. And what a dope.

Dennys: It’s Californian For…

Post Office

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – A gunman opened fire early Friday morning at a Denny’s restaurant and one man was killed and another seriously wounded, police said. It was the third fatal shooting to occur at the restaurant chain in Southern California this week.

Geesh.
Oh, and nice editorial work on the headline, there, AP: “Anaheim shooting is third at a SoCal Dennis”
Goobers.

Ummm, Lunch Was Good

Oh, God Bless Him

…and his brave heart.

As a homeless man opened fire in a Denny’s restaurant, a patron’s decision to try to stop the gunman cost him his life, but allowed others to flee to safety, authorities said Thursday.
According to police, a surveillance video showed Harold Hatley, 73, leaving his seat at the counter and getting in the line of fire, which enabled others to flee.
“Like many brave soldiers and peace officers, Mr. Hatley was walking toward trouble rather than away from it,” Police Chief Joe Cortez said.

Damn. Makes me cry.

You Waited Too Long To Act Too Quickly

I guess that sums up this latest scandal in how contracts were awarded on the chaos after Katrina hit. Of course, we mustn’t forget that this is all GWB’s fault, as the throw-away line at the end of the article helpfully reminds us:

Some of the firms, including Gulf Stream Coach and Bechtel, have close ties to the Bush administration or have contributed significantly to the GOP.

Update: Great minds think alike! When I saw this story, I spent some time trying to follow this contribution angle. Well, our good friend Gateway Pundit does the work so I don’t have to! Go read!

They Announced This Last Night

…and it is SOOOO cool!

It’s an unexpected find that is keeping archeaologists busy at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Construction on a building was stopped today after the remains of what is believed to be a historic ship were found.
…Number one: could this ship be part of the fleet lead by Don Tristan De Luna as he lead the first group to settle pensacola?… the answer is… maybe.
Winter: “Could it possibly be the de luna ship? Yes.“

Holy schamoly, makes goosebumps break out! Why is a Tristan De Luna ship a big deal? Well, first and foremost, the year of his landing ~ 1559 ~ which gives Pensacola it’s place in the history books as America’s First Settlement. But, in typical Pensacola fashion, we’re not America’s oldest city by virtue of some…ahem… unfortunate weather.

The party anchored in Pensacola Bay, called by them “Ochuse”, and set up the encampment of Puerto de Santa Maria during the summer of 1559 at the site of the modern Naval Air Station Pensacola. With much of the stores still on the ships, Luna sent several exploring parties inland to scout the area; they returned after three weeks having found only one Indian town. Before they could unload the vessels, a hurricane swept through and destroyed most of the ships and cargo. The colony in serious danger, most of the men traveled up the Alabama River to the village of Nanipacana (Nanipacna or Ninicapua), which they found abandoned; they renamed the town Santa Cruz and moved in for several months. Back in Mexico, the Viceroy sent two relief ships in November, promising additional aid in the spring.
The relief got the colony through the winter, but the supplies expected in the spring had not arrived by September. Luna ordered the remainder of his force to march to the large native town of Coca, but the men mutinied. Bloodshed was averted by the settlement’s missionaries, but soon after Ángel de Villafañe arrived in Pensacola Bay and offered to take all who wished to leave on an expedition to Cuba and Santa Elena. Luna relented and agreed to leave, eventually moving back to Mexico, where he died in 1571. The Pensacola colony was inhabited for several more months by a detachment of 50 men Villafañe had left in case further orders arrived from Viceroy Velasco; when they left the area was not populated again by Europeans until 1698, when the Spanish founded the city of Pensacola.

But ‘twould seem we have the hurricane to thank for this wreck, if it indeed turns out to be a De Luna ship. It’s sitting about 300 yards from the present day bay front and under 20 odd feet of white sand ~ just as if it’d blown up onshore during the gale. Can’t wait to hear the rest!
A side note: Speaking of wrecks, Oriskany has finally left Beaumont, Texass on her way here. Play it again, Sam.

Why I Like Tiger, Part 97

He’s got a sense of humor:

Woods never looked comfortable, especially on the 18th hole (his ninth of the first round). His approach was just over the green in the first cut, and he stubbed a chip that went 4 feet and led to bogey.
“I had a hard time making a decision what I was going to do,” Woods said. “Am I going to throw it up in the air? No, I’ll let it roll. No, I’ll throw it up. No, I’ll let it roll. Decided to go with the flub, instead.”

Heh. I use that shot a lot.

World Baseball Thingy

Sorry. I just can’t care. Much like Olympic hockey or basketball, it’s a bunch of pros who are just wearing different uniforms. Yawn.

Word of the Day

doch-an-dorris \dahkh-un-DOR-is\ noun
Scottish & Irish : a parting drink : stirrup cup

We’ll raise a glass and ask you to join us, on this most festive of days.

Dum dum, dum dum, dum dum, doodle oodle…

It’s Boiling Down to “Poop

…or get off the lot“.

State officials walked away from negotiations with the World Trade Center site developer Wednesday after failing to agree on who should build the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower and how to split billions of dollars in rebuilding money.
The dispute threatens to hold up the entire project.

Them and Us

The French, I mean.

Dominique de Villepin, France’s prime minister, faced a deepening crisis on Thursday as thousands of students stepped up protests over his labour reform plans.

The student are fixin’ to rumble ~ some have already started with the de rigueur smashed windows, setting fire to kiosks and cars, blahblahblah. Pencil in a geriatric beating for two thirty, Francois and Abdullah, in the name of your disenfranchisement. So, the frenzy’s all about what? A new national employment contract,

The proposed contract allows employers to dismiss staff under the age of 26 more easily during a two-year trial period. Mr de Villepin has argued that it wouldcut France’s crippling unemployment. But students say it will bring instability, making them “the Kleenex generation”, used and then discarded. The battle over the new contract has dragged the prime minister’s popularity to record lows.

What a whacko system ~ I wouldn’t want it changed either, but they’re gonna be mighty surprised when it implodes. Grow up, France. I never got a trial period for any job I ever had. I did it until one of us decided I was gone. Free enterprise, capitalism, supply and demand, maybe a little worker productivity thrown in for the hell of it.

I…….Did NOT……DO THIS

…so help me, God. They were sent to us.

Yup. Pointed in the right direction.

I Can’t Find Anything About This

…on MSNBC or CNN, but it could be just me. RadioBlogger’s transcript of Hugh Hewitt’s show yesterday.

HH: Now John Eastman, this is fortuitous. About an hour ago, a release was made in Washington, D.C., announcing the formation of something called the Iraq Study Group, which will consist of James A. Baker and Lee Hamilton, former CIA director Robert Gates, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Clinton advisor Vernon Jordan, Clinton chief of staff Leon Panetta, Clinton Defense Secretary William Perry, Democratic Senator Chuck Robb, retired, Alan Simpson, a Republican, and allegedly, Sandra Day O’Connor is rumored to be about to join this as well. It has been put together under the auspices of the Congressional Institute of Peace, it will be funded by federal dollars. John Eastman, as a Constitutional scholar, what do you think of this, which smacks, I think, of the Committee of Reconstruction from the Civil War, and the Church Committee, and the 9/11 Commission?

UPDATE: Major Dad says he noticed something yesterday, so I came to it a smidge late, ‘twould seem. If the administration once again plays the “Storm? What storm?” “Stuttering economy? What economy?” “Ports? What Ports?” defensive game with this, letting the ‘study group’ dictate policy by virtue of superior airtime, they have no one but themselves to blame. Someone needs to shake the supergenius tree and see if anyone’s on a branch who has a clue.
UPDATE Mark Steyn on Hugh Hewitt, courtesy of the RadioBlogger.

HH:…What’s your reaction to the formation of this group?
MS: Well, the 9/11 Commission is the…I mean, you know me. I’m a foreigner, but I’m pro-American. And yet I must say, the 9/11 Commission is everything I loathe about the United States, in that its legalistic, retrospective, showboating blowhards, pompous people going on TV round the clock. And in effect, it becomes something in and of itself. It’s not just commenting on something like a play by play guy is, but it actually changes the course of the something its commenting on. And that’s what’s bad about this. You know, Iraq isn’t a Broadway play in previews. The show has opened, and it’s on now. So it’s too late to have arguments about this little weak spot in the first act, and we should get it re-written. The show has opened, and the responsibility of these people involved in this, James Baker, Lee Hamilton, Rudy Giuliani, all these people, is that they should now be saying let’s win it, and then have the arguments.

Quite a Lady, That Liberian President

I hope she gets a chance to straighten things out.

“Mismanagement, corruption, bad governance, massive looting of public treasury and assets,” she said. “Unlike the tsunami in Asia, and Katrina here in your own country, where the destruction and human casualty were caused by nature, we participated in, or stood silently by, in our own self destruction.”

Swill Salute to The Gateway Pundit.

They Better Not Pause For Any BULLSHIT “NEGOTIATING“

…this time.

U.S., Iraq Launch Major Air Assault

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — The American military said Thursday that U.S. and Iraqi forces had launched the largest air assault since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, attacking insurgents north of Baghdad.

Take them ALL out. There shouldn’t be a cessation of hostilities until all the hostiles are deceased.
UPDATE: MSNBC has more.

A military statement said the operation involving more than 50 aircraft and 1,500 Iraqi and U.S. troops as well as 200 tactical vehicles targeted suspected insurgents operating in Salahuddin, a province that includes Samarra, a town located 60 miles north of Baghdad.
“Initial reports from the objective area indicate that a number of enemy weapons caches have been captured, containing artillery shells, explosives, IED-making materials, and military uniforms,” the military said in a statement. IEDs are improvised explosive devices.

UPDATE: I didn’t see Helen Thomas do her thing like Mike did, but I DID see David Gregory ask if this operation had anything to do with Bush’s slumping poll numbers.