The Bush Family Values are 100% Proof

There are a lot of important things to blog about right now, but I have to admit I was taken aback by the news of yet another Bush family member getting arrested. This is one troubled, substance abusive family. More disturbing they sit in the nation's White House and the Governor's mansion in Florida. Florida Governor Jeb Bush has most likely lost any chance of being the President of the United States, not because his brother is a complete failure, and both his brother and father like to invade Iraq, but because Jeb can't even parent his children, like his brother George. Last Friday Jeb's youngest son John, aka Jebby, was arrested for the 2nd time. This time it was for underage drinking. Four years ago he was arrested at the age of 16 for sexual misconduct when he was found naked from the waist down with a 17 year old girl in a mall parking lot. Jeb's so called telegenic son George P. Bush has also had a run in with the law when he broke into his ex-girlfriends house and confronted her father. Jeb's older daughter Noelle was arrested in 2002 for prescription drug fraud (maybe she learned that from Uncle Rush). Perhaps these two take after their Uncle George. Dubya was arrested in 1976 for drunk driving. Dubya's 2 daughters Jenna and Barbara have been cited for underage drinking as well back in May of 2001. Both were also cited for fake ID's, one is posted above. Listen to the 911 call from the restaurant manager here. What values are these? What kind of people, let alone parents are George and Laura and Jeb? George and Laura preach about family values and Christianity. Do Jeb and Dubya just not care? If you look at the blatant disregard Bush had when sending our trooops to die for a lie, it all makes sense. Wait, I forgot about Uncle Dick, he has 2 DUI's on his record. Their morality is Potemkin, 100% proof.

The Timeline of Bush's Deadly Failure

Friday, August 26
1. GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: [Office of the Governor]
2. 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. [Dept of Defense]

Saturday, August 27
1. 5AM — KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE [CNN]

2. 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]
3. 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.” [The White House]

Sunday, August 28
1. 2AM – KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 4 [CNN]
2. 7AM – KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 5 [CNN]
3. LOUISIANA NEWSPAPER SIGNALS LEVEES MAY GIVE: “Forecasters Fear Levees Won’t Hold Katrina [Lafayette Daily Advertiser]
4. 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]
5. PM: 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]
6. PM: 30,000 EVACUEES GATHER AT SUPERDOME WITH ROUGHLY 36 HOURS WORTH OF FOOD [Times-Picayune]

Monday, August 29
1. 7AM – KATRINA MAKES LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 4 [CNN]
2. 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”]
3. AM: BUSH CALLS CHERTOFF TO DISCUSS IMMIGRATION!!: “I spoke to 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.” [WH]
4. AM: BUSH SHARES BIRTHDAY CAKE PHOTO-OP WITH SEN. MCCAIN [WH]
5. 10AM — BUSH VISITS ARIZONA RESORT TO PROMOTE MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT [WH]
6. LATE AM – 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]

7. 11:30AM — MICHAEL 'BROWNIE' 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]
8. 2PM — BUSH TRAVELS TO CALIF TO DISCUSS MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT [WH]
9. 9PM — RUMSFELD ATTENDS SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL GAME [Ed & Publisher]

Tuesday, August 30
1. TUESDAY-AMERICANS ARE DROWNING - 9AM – BUSH SPEAKS ON IRAQ AT NAVAL BASE CORONADO [WH]
2. 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]
3. PENTAGON CLAIMS THERE ARE ENOUGH NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS IN REGION: “Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said the states have adequate National Guard units to handle the hurricane needs.” [WWL-TV]
4. 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]

5. 3PM – PRESIDENT BUSH PLAYS GUITAR WITH SINGER MARK WILLIS [AP]
6. BUSH RETURNS TO CRAWFORD FOR FINAL NIGHT OF VACATION!! [AP]

Wednesday, August 31
1. IT'S WEDNESDAY-AMERICANS ARE STILL DROWNING-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]

2. 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]

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

4. 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]

5. 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]

6. 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]

7. 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
1. IT'S THURSDAY-AMERICANS ARE STILL DROWNING-8AM — BUSH CLAIMS NO ONE EXPECTED LEVEES TO BREAK- LIE! I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.” [Washington Post]

2. 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]

3. 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]

4. 2PM — MICHAEL BROWN CLAIMS NOT TO HAVE HEARD OF REPORTS OF VIOLENCE: “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.” [CNN]

5. 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. [AP]

6. CONDOLEEZZA RICE GOES SHOE SHOPPING: “Just moments ago at the Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes. A fellow shopper went up to the Secretary and reportedly shouted, ‘How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!’” [Gawker]

7. IT'S THURSDAY AND 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
1. IT'S FRIDAY AND AMERICANS ARE STILL DROWNING...9:35AM — BUSH PRAISES MICHAEL BROWN: “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.” [WH, 9/2/05]

2. 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]
3. BUSH USES 50 FIREFIGHTERS AS PROPS IN DISASTER AREA PHOTO-OP: “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.” [Reuters]

Saturday, September 3
1. 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]

2. 9AM — BUSH BLAMES STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS. LIE!!!: “[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.” [WH, 9/3/05]

This timeline was documented by www.ThinkProgress.org

7 Days

NBC's Meet the Press

Yesterday morning, I watched this man, Aaron Broussard, the President of Jefferson Parish- cry uncontrollaby on Meet The Press that "no one is coming to get us". Watch here how he tearfully describes the conditions in Louisiana and the lack of federal rescue and questionable behavior by FEMA who cut JP's emergency phone lines.

AMERICANS ARE STILL DYING
It's been 7 days of being a disgraced American watching New Orleans residents who are still stranded on rooftops, hospitals, nursing homes, left to die. This weekend, two N.O. Police Officers committed suicide this weekend out of sheer helplessness. More N.O. residents continue to die due to lack of medicine, food and medical care. It's funny, I don't ever recall seeing white Floridians being stranded without food, water and assistance after the many hurricanes that hit and flooded Florida.

HORSE BREEDER IS HEADING FEMA
Turns out the head of FEMA and a good friend of Dubya's, Michael Brown, has no experience in this type of job. Before Dubya paid him a favor (for what we may never know-rumor has it it's for scrubbing his National Guard record), Michael Brown for 10 years raised Arabian horses on a ranch. That's just plain disgusting. Especially after this country suffers the attack on 9/11, to put a buddy in charge of the national response, is beyond incompetent. That and the fact that N.O. residents are still waiting for food and rescue is proof that Bush just doesn't care and he never has cared about the American people, especially the middle class and below. He cares about the almighty dollar. Money is his Jesus. Chertoff and Brown appeared on the Sunday shows to express their 'lack of imagination' and 'shock' that the levees collapsed. Tim Russert on Meet the Press angrily pointed out to Chertoff that several studies were done and reported back to not only the department of Homeland Security but also to the White House. They're all a lying pack of thugs.It's revolting and nauseating to think that people died because Harry Connick Jr. and entire newscrews were the only first responders.

Enough of my ranting. Here is yesterday's open letter to Bush from the local N.O. paper:

THE TIMES-PICAYNE'S OPEN LETTER TO BUSH:
We heard you loud and clear Friday when you visited our devastated city and the Gulf Coast and said, "What is not working, we're going to make it right." Please forgive us if we wait to see proof of your promise before believing you. But we have good reason for our skepticism. Bienville built New Orleans where he built it for one main reason: It's accessible. The city between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain was easy to reach in 1718. How much easier it is to access in 2005 now that there are interstates and bridges, airports and helipads, cruise ships, barges, buses and diesel-powered trucks. Despite the city's multiple points of entry, our nation's bureaucrats spent days after last week's hurricane wringing their hands, lamenting the fact that they could neither rescue the city's stranded victims nor bring them food, water and medical supplies.

Meanwhile there were journalists, including some who work for The Times-Picayune, going in and out of the city via the Crescent City Connection. On Thursday morning, that crew saw a caravan of 13 Wal-Mart tractor trailers headed into town to bring food, water and supplies to a dying city. Television reporters were doing live reports from downtown New Orleans streets. Harry Connick Jr. brought in some aid Thursday, and his efforts were the focus of a "Today" show story Friday morning. Yet, the people trained to protect our nation, the people whose job it is to quickly bring in aid were absent. Those who should have been deploying troops were singing a sad song about how our city was impossible to reach.

We're angry, Mr. President, and we'll be angry long after our beloved city and surrounding parishes have been pumped dry. Our people deserved rescuing. Many who could have been were not. That's to the government's shame. Mayor Ray Nagin did the right thing Sunday when he allowed those with no other alternative to seek shelter from the storm inside the Louisiana Superdome. We still don't know what the death toll is, but one thing is certain: Had the Superdome not been opened, the city's death toll would have been higher. The toll may even have been exponentially higher.

It was clear to us by late morning Monday that many people inside the Superdome would not be returning home. It should have been clear to our government, Mr. President. So why weren't they evacuated out of the city immediately? We learned seven years ago, when Hurricane Georges threatened, that the Dome isn't suitable as a long-term shelter. So what did state and national officials think would happen to tens of thousands of people trapped inside with no air conditioning, overflowing toilets and dwindling amounts of food, water and other essentials?

State Rep. Karen Carter was right Friday when she said the city didn't have but two urgent needs: "Buses! And gas!" Every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be fired, Director Michael Brown especially. In a nationally televised interview Thursday night, he said his agency hadn't known until that day that thousands of storm victims were stranded at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. He gave another nationally televised interview the next morning and said, "We've provided food to the people at the Convention Center so that they've gotten at least one, if not two meals, every single day." Lies don't get more bald-faced than that, Mr. President.

Yet, when you met with Mr. Brown Friday morning, you told him, "You're doing a heck of a job." That's unbelievable.

There were thousands of people at the Convention Center because the riverfront is high ground. The fact that so many people had reached there on foot is proof that rescue vehicles could have gotten there, too. We, who are from New Orleans, are no less American than those who live on the Great Plains or along the Atlantic Seaboard. We're no less important than those from the Pacific Northwest or Appalachia. Our people deserved to be rescued.

No expense should have been spared. No excuses should have been voiced. Especially not one as preposterous as the claim that New Orleans couldn't be reached. Mr. President, we sincerely hope you fulfill your promise to make our beloved communities work right once again. When you do, we will be the first to applaud.

3 Days

For the past 3 days, we've seen absolute devastation and death from Hurricane Katrina. Bush was on Good Morning America this morning to answer why it took him 3 days to respond to this disaster, knowing when and where the hurricane would strike, days before. His answer: "I fully understand people wanting things to have happened yesterday" NO. They wanted things to happen BEFORE the disaster happened. The thug went on to say: "I understand the anxiety of people on the ground. … So there is frustration. But I want people to know there's a lot of help coming." You hear that New Orleans residents? Help is coming. Hang on to your rooftop a little longer. Stay in your floating car another day. You haven't showered or changed your clothes since Monday, but help is coming. You lost everything you've ever owned, get over it.

Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi on Monday, while Bush hit some golf balls. On Tuesday, we find out that another 1.1 million Americans have entered poverty, bringing the total to 37 million Americans living in poverty today. The poverty rate rose for only white Americans. Also on Tuesday, Bush had cake with McCain in Arizona. Wednesday the flood waters continued to rise with the dead floating in the water alongside cars. Dubya decided to cut his vacation short by a couple of days. WHAT A SACRIFICE. No more traveling the country, staying at exclusive resorts and facing the American public (a prescreened American public). So, Dubya supposedly flies over the areas ravaged by Katrina to survey the damage like a President should. Was it in a helicopter? No, it was in Air Force One- the airplane. They never went below 27,000 feet. Now he's doling out funds, soldiers, buses, and supplies... THREE DAYS LATE. Thousands may have died, horrible deaths. Hundreds of thousands have lost everything. And Dubya takes THREE days to ACT. Where were the buses the days before Katrina hit, to take the poor and disadvantaged to higher ground? The poor and disadvantaged who can't afford cars, let alone a train ticket out of town. Where was this Christian president? Golfing, biking, napping, and selling.

IRAQ COMES FIRST- LEVEES LAST
Well, Iraq comes first. The Bush donor jackpot. That bill is close to $200 billion dollars and set to exceed the cost of the Vietnam War. Bush cut $71,2 million dollars from the Army Corps of Engineers- the group in charge of building and maintaining the levees that protect New Orleans from flooding. Walter Maestri, the Emergency Management Chief for Jefferson Parish, LA was quoted in the New Orleans Times on 06/08/04: "It appears that the money has been moved in the president’s budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that’s the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can’t be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us." What's that? The ACE was not able to FINISH THE LEVEES? Because of why? BECAUSE OF IRAQ? That was a record $71.2 million reduction in federal funding for the ACE. The cuts meant major hurricane and flood protection projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms. Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane were also shelved due to the cuts. Back in 2004, Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu said the Bush administration is not making Corps of Engineers funding a priority. “I think it’s extremely shortsighted,” Landrieu said. “When the Corps of Engineers’ budget is cut, Louisiana bleeds. These projects are literally life-and-death projects to the people of south Louisiana.” For years, engineers up and down the Mississippi River have warned about the disaster that would result if New Orleans' bulwark of levees and flood walls were hit by a hurricane like Katrina. But when it was time to find money to strengthen them, the city's defenses ended up far down the federal government's priority list.

IRAQ COMES FIRST-WHERE'S THE NATIONAL GUARD
"Missing the personnel is the big thing in this particular event. We need our people," said Lt. Andy Thaggard, a spokesman for the Mississippi National Guard, which has a brigade of more than 4,000 troops in central Iraq. Louisiana also has about 3,000 Guard troops in Baghdad. Bush ended his interview this morning by feigning compassion again: "I just can't imagine waving a sign that says `Come and get me now.'" Oh, no sir, I can only hope that becomes a reality for you.

Does anyone remember how fast Bush ended his last vacation? In fact, it took him minutes to jump on a plane out of Crawford to rape our Constitution by signing a bill for ONE PERSON, the one person the Republicans used and regurgitated to appeal to the evangelical voters, Terri Schiavo. Our founding fathers must have rolled in their graves. This man will whore himself and a brain dead woman to gain votes for the Republicans. These thugs only care about the almighty, powerful, DOLLAR. They seek power, wealth, and oil. They give tax cuts to energy corporations, millionaires and big business- those who don't need a hand out. These thugs have come to Washington to rape our constitution for votes, steal our tax dollars and hand them over to their big corporate donors with contracts in Iraq. Billions of dollars that we need here at home for our Hurricane victims and the 37 million Americans in poverty.