"That's J for Jacob"

"That's J for Jacob." Samantha had been busy making a mess out of a bag of buttons, and I almost missed what she said... then I looked over.

She's taken about 15 of the buttons - all the pink ones - and made the letter J.

"That's on his lunchbox" she tells me. (Jacob is one of the boys in her preschool.)

That's my girl!

NPR Rediscovered

One of the best things about spending 3+ hours a day in the car is that I've rediscovered NPR.

To me, NPR is long-distance entertainment. I can't listen to it while I'm, say, driving to the grocery store. The trip only takes me 4 minutes, and I end up sitting in the car for another 5 minutes while I listen to the end of the story. But the 30 to 40 minute haul into town, then back, twice a day is a perfect chance to really listen to some great reporting, interviews, slice-of-life stories, and all else that makes great listening.

Today's "Morning Edition" show was a great one. Steve Inskeep talked with Nancy Pearl, a librarian who gave some great picks on short story collections. I've busily added 6 of these to my library hold list (I was happy to find all the ones which intrested me are in our circulation) - I hope I'm as entertained by the books as I was by listening to her.

Writing of libraries... Our great city has spent $95 million building a new main branch downtown at Hemming Plaza. This new library will include

"300,000 square feet of space, including a cafe, bookstore and a 400-seat auditorium."

Unfortunately, building this wonder has left the budget in a shortfall, so all the other branches of the library are being forced to shorten their hours to compensate.

Duval county covers a huge geographic area. Most people won't be able to go downtown to use this marvel. Their busy days barely allow them the time to dash into to a convienently placed branch near their work or home. I'm happy for the few people who will be able to make use of the new main library; I'm frustrated that I will not be one of these people. The new hours will have my beaches branch shut during both of my key library-going times - right after dropping Samantha at school, and after she has gone to bed. When I do go now, it will likely be more crowded (and our branch already often has a full parking lot). Sad :(

My girlfriend Katie has had this chair for over 10 years. Every time I'd go to her house, apartment, boyfriends house, wherever she was living at the time, I'd wander over and sprawl like a 12 year old in it. I had a serious thing for this chair. Never could justify shopping for one myself; god knows I have enough mismatched furniture that goes with absolutely nothing. But I really, really like this chair.

Katie finally bought a house! And with her new house, she bought all new furniture. Casually I asked, what are you doing with "the chair".

"Oh, that thing is going to GoodWill. Why, do ya want it?"

Do St. Bernards drool? I more than fell over myself to say oh yes, I'd love to have it. Are you sure you don't...?

So today, it was my chair. For about 3 hours. Soon as Samantha saw it, she went running for it. She hasn't moved from it since.

The one thing that I had forgotten is just how really BIG this chair is. Took a bit of shuffling of the tables and couches. But it looks great in that corner. Eventually I need to recover The Chair and the recliner so they match, but for now.... comfort!

So much computing power

Beauty

DSCN3383
Originally uploaded by ksteele2.

$10 paperbacks. I'm not buying them.

I saw Northern Light on the rack at Publix today, and grabbed it up without a thought to add to my basket. Humming a happy tune at the thought of how I would spend my day, I went down the next isle ... my eye returns to the book... my happiness deflates. I see it's the new sized book, and the price on the spine is $9.99.

I'm mad at the publishers, so angry I have to take deep breaths as I go back to the shelf to return the book to it's spot. I came here in the first place to buy cold medicine for the husband, milk for the kids. An $8 book would have been a splurge, but I usually can justify that - one less bottle of Pinot in the cart this week. It's a balance of where my leisure money is going to go. At $9.99, they've pushed me to far.

This makes me angry, not for myself so much but for the authors. I will eventually read the book - I'll put myself on the wait list at the library, and I'll browse second hand books until I find a good quality copy. Neither of these methods are going to make the author money. Nor will they make the publisher any money.

No matter how much I love an author - and Nora, you are top of my list - I can *not* justify to myself $10 for a paperback book. The authors are the ones who will suffer, and the booksellers along with them. I'm not such a trendsetter as to think I'm going to change the world by refusing to buy a book, but I wonder, how many other readers have felt this pinch and decided they just can't afford to buy new books either?

I'm angry, and I'm sad, and I'm feeling more than a little guilty at not supporting an author I love to read, and one who has given so much to readers. Today I'll hit up the library and the used bookstore, and then I'll find something else to fill my afternoon with. But it won't be Northern Lights.

The sky is mostly blue today, with big puffy clouds drifting slowly from horizon to horizon. Laptop in lap, coffee at my elbow, feet propped on the wicker coffee table. Ceiling fan set to "lazy" speed, but it's cool enough yet not to need it blasting. The patio is a great place to spend the morning.

Sean started coughing last night. Enough that he went to the store after I was in bed and stocked up on Orange juice and Gatorade. Terrible time for him to catch a cold. He's got the year ending National tournament starting Friday, and it will be 10 days of little sleep. Trying to please 400 grown men who act worse than 11 year olds won't make it easier. He usually gets sick after these huge events; going into it already not well is going to make for a rough time.

Samantha is telling me all about the bad wolf that is going to come blow our house down. We'll have to run away she says. And then she'll "stop that bad wolf". She's going to make him run away, but she can't remember how. So I'm off to find the book and remind her.

(The talk about the house being blown away has nothing to do with the recent weather events - we read "The Three Little Pigs last night. No traumatic issues here. Just in case you were worried :) )

Authors who care, Readers who care

I've been a big fan of Nora Roberts for somewhere near 15 years.  I actually started reading her books back when I was a teenager checking out a dozen or more romance's at a time from the library, but I don't think I hit "fan" status - searching out her books, and putting them in the keeper box (or shelf, depending on the house) til my 20's.

She is an active member of her fan web site, ADWOFF, and after meeting her at a book signing several years ago I can say she was as friendly, warm, and happy to meet her readers in person as she seems in print (and on screen).  She's been a private supporter of several charities over the years, with literacy being a pet cause.  But in the aftermath of Katrina, she has really stepped it up a notch.

Although she was in Europe when the hurricane struck, a drive by her fans was started to raise money for Habitat for Humanity.  A challenge was issued - "I don't mind the matching funds idea, but in point of fact, ADWOFF may not be able to raise the amount I was thinking of donating. Better yet, of course, if you guys surprise me." ~Nora Robert"

As of today, ADWOFF raised over $21,392 so far!

Nora more than matched that.  
“So as a member of ADWOFF, I'll be sending in a check for $500,000.”

To someone who is not only one of my favorite authors, but now has inspired me as a giving person – thank you.  

Don't be grumpy Mom

I was driving back home after dropping Montgomery off at school today, and I hear Samantha from the backseat. “Don’t be grumpy Mom.”

Ouch.

I *have* been grumpy this morning, I realize. Montgomery drug his heels getting out of bed (he stayed up way to late Wednesday night reading, and didn’t get to sleep until almost 11 last night). He spent almost 30 minutes in the bathroom, and then didn’t have lunch money -although I gave him enough on Monday to last all week – we’re going to have to have an accounting talk later today about that. Traffic was the usual horrid dash into town and over the bridge. And I’d fussed at Samantha for … I don’t even remember what.

But I also don’t want to be grumpy mom. So I slapped a smile and my face and said “OK Samantha, I won’t be grumpy today.”

I won’t be. Even if it kills me.

Chiropractors

Had my every-3-week adjustment at the chiropractor this am.  He stretched me out and lined me up, and I asked him how much he knows about carpal tunnel.  Smart girl I am.  He told me quite a lot, and asked me to tell him my pains and other symptoms.

Five minutes, several excruciating stretches and pulls later, and he tells me it’s not carpal tunnel, it’s tendonitis.  Much happier news.  He showed me some different stretches, but the most important part (and most painful) is that I need to spend at least 5 minutes several times a day doing deep muscle massage on my forearm – pretty much breaking down all the scar tissue that has formed in the muscle over the last 2 months.  The reason the pain hasn’t gone away he says is that by not using the muscle much, I’ve let the scar tissue build up more than it should have.  So it will probably take several weeks, maybe as long as several months, to get it back to normal.

But at least it WILL get back to normal, unlike if it were arthritis or carpal tunnel, without invasive surgery and such.  Life is good.

My grandmother

I was leaving the post office today and passed a woman as she was coming in. Probably in her late 60's, she was a tall woman, moving slowly with the stooped, rounded shoulders of arthritis and age. She kept her grey-white hair cut short, but it curled around her head in loose waves, and she had functional plastic rimmed glasses set firmly on her nose.

For just a second as I held the door, her eyes caught mine, and there was such happiness and peace, even while she moved stiffly in her body made painful by the years. And for just that second I could see my own grandmother standing there.

Grandma, there's days when it hurts every bit as much as the day you left us behind. I love you and miss you.

Fall TV

I don't schedule much tv. In the past 3 seasons I can count on one hand the ones that made it to "must see tv" status for me. Oh, I'll *watch* a handful, if I can't find anything else to entertain myself that night - CSI (the original), Law and Order (the original), NCIS, Numb3rs, House. Not any comedy I go out of my way to watch, and I'd rather regrout the bathtub than watch "reality" tv. Joss Whedon's 3 series (Buffy, Angel, Firefly) were probably the last shows I made an effort to see, or Tivo. Also some of the only series TV we have on VHS or DVD.

So, now that you know how much I don't watch tv... here's how much I'll watch tv this month. A LOT.

I don't dislike tv watching. I just don't like watching complete crap. I look forward every fall to the start of a new season, looking for that diamond amongst the boart. If I can find one Sopranos or Buffy, the networks will have done better this year than they have in several years past.

Pass the remote. It's premier week.

Polls

President Bush’s Approval Ratings
Overall, do you approve, disapprove or have mixed feelings about the way George W. Bush is handling his job as President? (IF APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE, ASK:) Is that strongly (approve/disapprove) or somewhat (approve/disapprove)? (IF HAVE MIXED FEELINGS OR NOT SURE, ASK:) If you had to choose, do you lean more toward approve or disapprove?

Weekend

Sean had back to back tournaments this weekend - Jacksonville Saturday, Orlando Sunday. He should be home tonight though... yay!

I took the kids to Laura and Tim's for dinner last night. Tim is such a great cook. Grilled stuffed porkchops.... mmmm... making me hungry again to think about them. There's a few pictures on Flickr that I put up - I spent way to much time this morning playing with several different photo album programs. One only let's me put 12 pictures in an album unless I buy the registered version; one let's me use as many pictures as I want but it isn't as pretty; one makes great albums but puts them in 5 folders in 4 places on my pc, and when I try to upload it to my own server it becomes a serious pita. There went 2 hours of my life :/

Thilled my neighbors by using my new weedwacker at 9am this morning to. Go me! I can see my sidewalk now.

Tried not to watch the news so much this weekend. Still can't help but read all the news and blog listings recounting the daily horrors. There's a great piece on the "Physician who told Cheney to go F*ck Himself Lost his Home in Katrina, Detained, Cuffed by Cheney's M-16-carrying Goons" that was worth the time to read it; and if you didn't see my post earlier this week about Al Gore, CNN has now covered the story.

I don't think anyone's forgotten, but today is the 4 year anniversary of 9/11. Hug your loved ones.

Freedom March isn't so free

The Washington Post reports that the 9/11 memorial Freedom Walk on Sunday at the Washington Mall won't be so free after all. Anyone who has not registered with the Pentagon in advance will not be allowed within the "March" area. "Officers are prepared to arrest anyone who joins the march or concert without a credential and refuses to leave, said Park Police Chief Dwight E. Pettiford."

The Underwear Oracle

The Underwear Oracle

What Your Underwear Says About You

You're a total rebel who doesn't conform to any rules. P.S. - It's a jungle down there! You're also way too lazy to do your laundry more than a few times a year.

Much work to do today

Much work to do today.  
I’ve barely written all week.
I have at least 4 orders due out each of the next 3 days.
Four more orders on email waiting to be printed and processed.
Two golf tournaments to get ready for.  
Working the trivia show tonight (so I also need to call the babysitter and “remind” her).  Need to set up babysitting for next week.
Pool is a wreck from all the recent rain.  So is the yard.
House is still trashed from dog sitting – the vacuum cleaner is sitting in the hall waiting for a fresh bag.
Play room has toys everywhere.
Need to go ship the package for my EBay sale.

I kept Samantha home from school yesterday, but she seemed good to me – today she went.  Her teachers were so nice when I dropped her off… I really like her new school.  I liked the old one too, but this one seems to be doing great for her.

Weather channel says Ophelia’s winds are up to 60mph. They still don’t know where it’s going to go.  Lots of tree junk down all over the beaches area, and of course in my yard.  I think I’ll make Montgomery go clean some of it up today – he was a pain in the butt this morning.  Time to build a little character.

The man who might have been president vs the man who is.

While the man we call president was lamenting his duty to make another PR trip to the Katrina-ravaged areas, the man who might have been was defying NDMS, FEMA, HHS, TRANSCOM, and every other DC acronym you can think of to charter airplanes for medical rescue missions. Told that

if we landed he would not put any patients on the plane and we should expect no cooperation and there was no place to store the plane so we would have to leave.

they went anyway, and

20 patients needing dialysis, many more needing insulin, a burn victim and many people needing to be back on their medications – and one boy with his dog.

were 2 hours later taken out of the hell that had become New Orleans.

One more rescue trip was made the next day, before doctors told them that the needs had been met.

Just the facts ma'am.
-----------------------------------------

Oprah for President

Katrina Timeline

I don't ever want to forget how the incompetence played out. So here it is.

http://www.thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline

KATRINA TIMELINE

Comment on the timeline here.

Friday, August 26

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: [Office of the Governor]

GULF COAST STATES REQUEST TROOP ASSISTANCE FROM PENTAGON: At a 9/1 press conference, Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, commander, Joint Task Force Katrina, said that the Gulf States began the process of requesting additional forces on Friday, 8/26. [DOD]

Saturday, August 27

5AM — KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE [CNN]

GOV. BLANCO ASKS BUSH TO DECLARE FEDERAL STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: “I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster.” [Office of the Governor]

FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARED, DHS AND FEMA GIVEN FULL AUTHORITY TO RESPOND TO KATRINA: “Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.” [White House]

Sunday, August 28

2AM – KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]

7AM – KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE [CNN]

MORNING — LOUISIANA NEWSPAPER SIGNALS LEVEES MAY GIVE: “Forecasters Fear Levees Won’t Hold Katrina”: “Forecasters feared Sunday afternoon that storm driven waters will lap over the New Orleans levees when monster Hurricane Katrina pushes past the Crescent City tomorrow.” [Lafayette Daily Advertiser]

9:30 AM — MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES FIRST EVER MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NEW ORLEANS: “We’re facing the storm most of us have feared,” said Nagin. “This is going to be an unprecedented event.” [Times-Picayune]

4PM – NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES SPECIAL HURRICANE WARNING: In the event of a category 4 or 5 hit, “Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer. … At least one-half of well-constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail, leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed. … Power outages will last for weeks. … Water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards.” [National Weather Service]

AFTERNOON — BUSH, BROWN, CHERTOFF WARNED OF LEVEE FAILURE BY NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER DIRECTOR: Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center: “‘We were briefing them way before landfall. … It’s not like this was a surprise. We had in the advisories that the levee could be topped.’” [Times-Picayune; St. Petersburg Times]

LATE PM – REPORTS OF WATER TOPPLING OVER LEVEE: “Waves crashed atop the exercise path on the Lake Pontchartrain levee in Kenner early Monday as Katrina churned closer.” [Times-Picayune]

APPROXIMATELY 30,000 EVACUEES GATHER AT SUPERDOME WITH ROUGHLY 36 HOURS WORTH OF FOOD [Times-Picayune]

Monday, August 29

7AM – KATRINA MAKES LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]

8AM – MAYOR NAGIN REPORTS THAT WATER IS FLOWING OVER LEVEE: “I’ve gotten reports this morning that there is already water coming over some of the levee systems. In the lower ninth ward, we’ve had one of our pumping stations to stop operating, so we will have significant flooding, it is just a matter of how much.” [NBC’s “Today Show”]

MORNING — BUSH CALLS SECRETARY CHERTOFF TO DISCUSS IMMIGRATION: “I spoke to Mike Chertoff today — he’s the head of the Department of Homeland Security. I knew people would want me to discuss this issue [immigration], so we got us an airplane on — a telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. I said, are you working with the governor? He said, you bet we are.” [White House]

MORNING – BUSH SHARES BIRTHDAY CAKE PHOTO-OP WITH SEN. JOHN MCCAINWhite House] [

11AM — BUSH VISITS ARIZONA RESORT TO PROMOTE MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: “This new bill I signed says, if you’re a senior and you like the way things are today, you’re in good shape, don’t change. But, by the way, there’s a lot of different options for you. And we’re here to talk about what that means to our seniors.” [White House]

LATE MORNING – LEVEE BREACHED: “A large section of the vital 17th Street Canal levee, where it connects to the brand new ‘hurricane proof’ Old Hammond Highway bridge, gave way late Monday morning in Bucktown after Katrina’s fiercest winds were well north.” [Times-Picayune]

11:30AM — MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY REQUESTS THAT DHS DISPATCH 1,000 EMPLOYEES TO REGION, GIVES THEM TWO DAYS TO ARRIVE: “Brown’s memo to Chertoff described Katrina as ‘this near catastrophic event’ but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, ‘Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities.’” [AP]

2PM — BUSH TRAVELS TO CALIFORNIA SENIOR CENTER TO DISCUSS MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: “We’ve got some folks up here who are concerned about their Social Security or Medicare. Joan Geist is with us. … I could tell — she was looking at me when I first walked in the room to meet her, she was wondering whether or not old George W. is going to take away her Social Security check.” [White House]

9PM — RUMSFELD ATTENDS SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL GAME: Rumsfeld “joined Padres President John Moores in the owner’s box…at Petco Park.” [Editor & Publisher]

Tuesday, August 30

9AM – BUSH SPEAKS ON IRAQ AT NAVAL BASE CORONADO [White House]

MIDDAY – CHERTOFF FINALLY BECOMES AWARE THAT LEVEE HAS FAILED: “It was on Tuesday that the levee–may have been overnight Monday to Tuesday–that the levee started to break. And it was midday Tuesday that I became aware of the fact that there was no possibility of plugging the gap and that essentially the lake was going to start to drain into the city.” [Meet the Press, 9/4/05]

PENTAGON CLAIMS THERE ARE ENOUGH NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS IN REGION:WWL-TV] “Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said the states have adequate National Guard units to handle the hurricane needs.” [

MASS LOOTING REPORTED, SECURITY SHORTAGE CITED: “The looting is out of control. The French Quarter has been attacked,” Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson said. “We’re using exhausted, scarce police to control looting when they should be used for search and rescue while we still have people on rooftops.” [AP]

U.S.S. BATAAN SITS OFF SHORE, VIRTUALLY UNUSED: “The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious assaults, has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water. It also can make its own water, up to 100,000 gallons a day. And it just happened to be in the Gulf of Mexico when Katrina came roaring ashore. The Bataan rode out the storm and then followed it toward shore, awaiting relief orders. Helicopter pilots flying from its deck were some of the first to begin plucking stranded New Orleans residents. But now the Bataan’s hospital facilities, including six operating rooms and beds for 600 patients, are empty.” [Chicago Tribune]

3PM – PRESIDENT BUSH PLAYS GUITAR WITH COUNTRY SINGER MARK WILLIS [AP]

BUSH RETURNS TO CRAWFORD FOR FINAL NIGHT OF VACATION [AP]

Wednesday, August 31

TENS OF THOUSANDS TRAPPED IN SUPERDOME; CONDITIONS DETERIORATE: “A 2-year-old girl slept in a pool of urine. Crack vials littered a restroom. Blood stained the walls next to vending machines smashed by teenagers. ‘We pee on the floor. We are like animals,’ said Taffany Smith, 25, as she cradled her 3-week-old son, Terry. … By Wednesday, it had degenerated into horror. … At least two people, including a child, have been raped. At least three people have died, including one man who jumped 50 feet to his death, saying he had nothing left to live for. There is no sanitation. The stench is overwhelming.”" [Los Angeles Times, 9/1/05]

PRESIDENT BUSH FINALLY ORGANIZES TASK FORCE TO COORDINATE FEDERAL RESPONSE: Bush says on Tuesday he will “fly to Washington to begin work…with a task force that will coordinate the work of 14 federal agencies involved in the relief effort.” [New York Times, 8/31/05]

JEFFERSON PARISH EMERGENCY DIRECTOR SAYS FOOD AND WATER SUPPLY GONE:WWL-TV] “Director Walter Maestri: FEMA and national agencies not delivering the help nearly as fast as it is needed.” [

80,000 BELIEVED STRANDED IN NEW ORLEANS: Former Mayor Sidney Barthelemy “estimated 80,000 were trapped in the flooded city and urged President Bush to send more troops.” [Reuters]

3,000 STRANDED AT CONVENTION CENTER WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER: “With 3,000 or more evacuees stranded at the convention center — and with no apparent contingency plan or authority to deal with them — collecting a body was no one’s priority. … Some had been at the convention center since Tuesday morning but had received no food, water or instructions.” [Times-Picayune]

5PM — BUSH GIVES FIRST MAJOR ADDRESS ON KATRINA: “Nothing about the president’s demeanor… — which seemed casual to the point of carelessness — suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis.” [New York Times]

8:00PM – CONDOLEEZZA RICE TAKES IN A BROADWAY SHOW: “On Wednesday night, Secretary Rice was booed by some audience members at ‘Spamalot!, the Monty Python musical at the Shubert, when the lights went up after the performance.” [New York Post, 9/2/05]

9PM — FEMA DIRECTOR BROWN CLAIMS SURPRISE OVER SIZE OF STORM: “I must say, this storm is much much bigger than anyone expected.” [CNN]

Thursday, September 1

8AM — BUSH CLAIMS NO ONE EXPECTED LEVEES TO BREAK: “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.” [Washington Post]

CONDOLEEZZA RICE VISITS U.S. OPEN: “Rice, [in New York] on three days’ vacation to shop and see the U.S. Open, hitting some balls with retired champ Monica Seles at the Indoor Tennis Club at Grand Central.” [New York Post]

STILL NO COMMAND AND CONTROL ESTABLISHED: Terry Ebbert, New Orleans Homeland Security Director: “This is a national emergency. This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can’t bail out the city of New Orleans.” [Fox News]

2PM — MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES “DESPERATE SOS” TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: “This is a desperate SOS. Right now we are out of resources at the convention centre and don’t anticipate enough buses. We need buses. Currently the convention centre is unsanitary and unsafe and we’re running out of supplies.” [Guardian, 9/2/05]

2PM — MICHAEL BROWN CLAIMS NOT TO HAVE HEARD OF REPORTS OF VIOLENCE:CNN] “I’ve had no reports of unrest, if the connotation of the word unrest means that people are beginning to riot, or you know, they’re banging on walls and screaming and hollering or burning tires or whatever. I’ve had no reports of that.” [

NEW ORLEANS “DESCEND[S] INTO ANARCHY”: “Storm victims were raped and beaten, fights and fires broke out, corpses lay out in the open, and rescue helicopters and law enforcement officers were shot at as flooded-out New Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday. ‘This is a desperate SOS,’ the mayor said.” [AP]

CONDOLEEZZA RICE GOES SHOE SHOPPING:Gawker] “Just moments ago at the Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes (we’ve confirmed this, so her new heels will surely get coverage from the WaPo’s Robin Givhan). A fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice’s timing, went up to the Secretary and reportedly shouted, ‘How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!’” [

MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY LEARNS OF EVACUEES IN CONVENTION CENTER: “We learned about that (Thursday), so I have directed that we have all available resources to get that convention center to make sure that they have the food and water and medical care that they need.” [CNN]

Friday, September 2

ROVE-LED CAMPAIGN TO BLAME LOCAL OFFICIALS BEGINS: “Under the command of President Bush’s two senior political advisers, the White House rolled out a plan…to contain the political damage from the administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina.” President Bush’s comments from the Rose Garden Friday morning formed “the start of this campaign.” [New York Times, 9/5/05]

9:35AM — BUSH PRAISES MICHAEL BROWN:9/2/05] “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.” [White House,

10 AM — PRESIDENT BUSH STAGES PHOTO-OP “BRIEFING”: Coast Guard helicopters and crew diverted to act as backdrop for President Bush’s photo-op.

BUSH VISIT GROUNDS FOOD AID: “Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted because of President Bush’s visit to New Orleans, officials said.” [Times-Picayune]

LEVEE REPAIR WORK ORCHESTRATED FOR PRESIDENT’S VISIT: Sen. Mary Landrieu, 9/3: “Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment.” [Sen. Mary Landrieu]

BUSH USES 50 FIREFIGHTERS AS PROPS IN DISASTER AREA PHOTO-OP: A group of 1,000 firefighters convened in Atlanta to volunteer with the Katrina relief efforts. Of those, “a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew’s first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.” [Salt Lake Tribune; Reuters]

3PM — BUSH “SATISFIED WITH THE RESPONSE”: “I am satisfied with the response. I am not satisfied with all the results.” [AP]

Saturday, September 3

SENIOR BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL LIES TO WASHINGTON POST, CLAIMS GOV. BLANCO NEVER DECLARED STATE OF EMERGENCY: The Post reported in their Sunday edition “As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.” They were forced to issue a correction hours later. [Washington Post, 9/4/05]

9AM — BUSH BLAMES STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS: “[T]he magnitude of responding to a crisis over a disaster area that is larger than the size of Great Britain has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities. The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need.” [White House, 9/3/05]

When is your kid to sick to go to school?

Samantha has had this cough and runny nose for about a week now. No fever, no stomache ailments, just this nagging cough and the nose dripping. Sometimes dripping really nasty looking stuff, the way 3 year olds do.

Not sick enough to go to the dr. But is she to sick to go to school? Every morning for the past week I've had to ask myself this, balancing her fervent desire to go to school against that inner voice saying "Do you want the other parents sending their snotty nosed little brats off to share their germs?"

So far, her chanting "It's time to go to school" has won every day. Still not sure about today, since her teacher made a point of letting me know that my child had a runny nose and a cough yesterday. Was she warning me in case these symptoms had somehow escaped my notice? Or was she dropping me an obviously much to subtle hint that I shouldn't bring her back until these things have passed?

Already today she's asked 3 times if it's time to go to school yet. This would be a much easier decision if she didn't love the place so much. Sure, stay home and hang out with mom for the day. But she *wants* to go.

Rainy today. Orpelia is sitting out there deciding where she's going to go. It's not much of a tropical storm yet, but it's got a name and it's just a few hundred miles away. So we'll watch it.

Here we go again

Tropical Weather:

North Atlantic: Hurricane Maria Tropical Storm Nate Tropical Depression Sixteen Western Pacific: Tropical Storm Nabi Tropical Storm Khanun

One more thing...

One more thing... (because I just realized there was no outrage in that last post, and Outraged definately describes my attitude this weekend)

Things that made me wonder if we are really one country at all anymore :

An ABC poll released on Sunday shows a very unhappy American public when it comes to the response of the government to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. But the story accompanying the poll suggests "far fewer take George W. Bush personally to task for the problems, and public anger about the response is less widespread than some critics would suggest."

In a truly positive development, the poll reveals that hopefulness far outweighs discontent about the slow-starting rescue.

Numbers:

Blame President George W. Bush for the response to Hurricane Katrina?

55% No.

44% Yes.

Forty-six percent of Americans approve of Bush's handling of the crisis, while 47 percent disapprove, and the poll reports that of the 44 percent that do assign him blame, only about half of them, 23 percent overall, blame him "a great deal."

Only 46 percent holds our president accountable? The man who signed off on budget cuts that furthered the disaster's impact, and appointed the incompetent people who ended up in charge of this disaster?

Accountability.

That's all I have to say about that.

Weekend update

I've less than 5 minutes to try to summarize a weekend... here goes. (Warning, there will be no spell check. Or intelligence quota check either, for that matter.)

Sean had a tourny in Orlando Saturday, so he was gone Friday early and came home Saturday late. The kids and I had a quiet Friday night at home. Saturday we went over to Laura and Tim's so the kids could play (Laura's friend Kara was in town with her adorable little boy, so 3 kids ~ 3 years old, and Montgomery there just because he loves his Aunt Laura so much). We ended up staying and ordering Mexican take out, which was yummy, and getting home a bit after 8... made what is usually a long weekend with Sean gone speed by much faster.

I spent a large part of Thurs / Fri / Sat / Sun and a few hours today doing transcription of New Orleans / Baton Rouge / FEMA scanners. If you have felt the need to get up and do something for the Katrina survivors, but don't have the $ to donate... try to find a fewminutes and check out http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/ and then, if you have more time check out the Wiki and then, if you have a few hours, consider voluntering some time to transcribe (info is also at the wiki ). At any given time there are 1000+ people logged in to the chat rooms alone sharing info. It's a good thing.

We went tv shopping last night, and bought a tv today... more on that tomorrow, since my 5 minutes already became 10. Bedtime never goes as easy as it should *eyeroll*.

Anderson Cooper interviews Trent Lott

Unbelieveable interview. Among other things, Mr. Lott is very happy with the government response over the last 5 days, and feels that the people are doing to much complaining. Un-freakin'-believeable. He also says that "it's hard to put a positive spin on (the situation)." Ya think?

(Transcript now available at CNN Online )

Red Cross Donations

This week we've put out a collection jar at Sean's trivia shows to raise money for victims of Katrina. I was so proud of our players to see them reach, and reach deep, into their pockets. They donated over $500 combined - thanks to the people from Lynchs and Bob Marlins.

If the only thing stopping you from giving is you don't know how (!), you can visit the Red Cross web site for info and phone numbers.