Middlemostpost
Common sense should be this common!

August 29

• 4 a.m.: Hurricane Katrina is downgraded to a strong Category 4 storm.

• 7 a.m.: Katrina makes landfall on the Louisiana coast between Grand Isle and the mouth of the Mississippi River.

• 11a.m. Katrina makes another landfall near the Louisiana-Mississippi state line with 125 mph winds. The storm's daylong rampage claims lives and ravages property in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, where coastal areas remained under several feet of water.

• Two major flood-control levees are breached, and the National Weather Service reports "total structural failure" in parts of New Orleans. A section of the roof of the Louisiana Superdome, where 10,000 people are taking refuge, opens. Many are feared dead in flooded neighborhoods still under as much as 20 feet of water.

"Our most solemn duty in the federal government is to protect the American people,"
U.S. President George W. Bush

7:30 AM CDT — BUSH ADMINISTRATION NOTIFIED OF THE LEVEE BREACH: The administration finds out that a levee in New Orleans was breached. On this day, 28 “government agencies, from local Louisiana parishes to the White House, [reported that] that New Orleans levees” were breached.

"Our most solemn duty in the federal government is to protect the American people,"
U.S. President George W. Bush

WASHINGTON --Twenty-eight government agencies, from local Louisiana parishes to the White House, reported that New Orleans levees were breached Aug. 29, the day Hurricane Katrina roared ashore, documents released Thursday show.

A timeline of e-mails, situation updates and weather reports, pieced together by Senate Democrats, indicates the Bush administration knew as early as 8:30 a.m. EST about levee failures that would ultimately lead to massive flooding of the city and its surrounding parishes.

On the September 1 broadcast of ABC's Good Morning America, President Bush told host Diane Sawyer, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees" that protected New Orleans from flooding.

"Our most solemn duty in the federal government is to protect the American people,"
U.S. President George W. Bush

BROWN WARNS BUSH ABOUT THE POTENTIAL DEVASTATION OF KATRINA: In a briefing, Brown warned Bush, “This is, to put it mildly, the big one, I think.” He also voiced concerns that the government may not have the capacity to “respond to a catastrophe within a catastrophe” and that the Superdome was ill-equipped to be a refuge of last resort.

"Our most solemn duty in the federal government is to protect the American people,"
U.S. President George W. Bush

So where was George Bush when all this was happening?
Where was the man who could have stepped in and turned the entire force of the country to assist New Orleans?
Where was the only person who seemed to not understand the magnitude of this crisis?

President George W. Bush joins Arizona Senator John McCain in a small celebration of McCain's 69th birthday Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, after the President's arrival at Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix. The President later spoke about Medicare to 400 guests at the Pueblo El Mirage RV Resort and Country Club in nearby El Mirage.

"Our most solemn duty in the federal government is to protect the American people,"
U.S. President George W. Bush

Unless of course there's cake involved!

i had a wedding in that park
i had a baby in that hospital
i had a house on that steet
i got broke on that levee

i ate a bug from that river
i caught the flu in that house
i snuck out of that window
broke my spirit on that levee

rode the trolley on that track
bought the bread in that shop
my wedding ring in that market
that got broke by that levee

i saw fugazi in that place
felt the moon in that place
i met my love in that place
that got broke by that levee

i went to school in that place
walked the stage in that place
i saw the sun in that place
shine on the broken levee

my friend died on that street
my feet ran on that street
young hands raised to that sky
just above that levee

i grew up in that place
spirit flew in that place
i flew far from that place
spirit broke on the levee


Debbie Carry


New Orleans isn't only Mardi Gras, or Jazz Fest, or Southern Decadence. New Orleans is as much a state of mind as it is a city. It cannot be killed by this administration. It cannot be killed by criminals and thugs. It will rise once again and the stories, both horrible and uplifting will become part of a long long line of New Orleans lore. Along with pirates and thieves and murderers and philanthropists and martyrs and heroes, will come Katrina. She has brought with her both the best and the worst of humankind. She has shown this entire country what it is made of. She has laid bare our faults and our potential. Katrina will always be the two-faced mask that has made up this city. She will live in legend and truth for centuries and will hopefully teach us tiny humans a valuable lesson.

If you have been fortunate in your life to have a place to live and food on your plate. If you can send your kids to school and take a vacation then you have enough to help someone who is trying to better themselves. Might I suggest a great idea, Kiva.org.

We let you loan to the working poor

Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.

Woman sets fire to ex-husband's penis
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A woman set fire to her ex-husband's penis as he sat naked watching television and drinking vodka, Moscow police said Wednesday.

Asked if the man would make a full recovery, a police spokeswoman said it was "difficult to predict."

The attack climaxed three years of acrimonious enforced co-habitation. The couple divorced three years ago but continued to share a small flat, something common in Russia where property costs are very high.

"It was monstrously painful," the wounded ex-husband told Tvoi Den newspaper. "I was burning like a torch. I don't know what I did to deserve this."

"clearness or lucidity as to perception or understanding; freedom from indistinctness or ambiguity."

You know, I've heard this theory about everything was just fine until we arrived, and kind of "we're going to stir up the hornet's nest" theory. It just doesn't hold water, as far as I'm concerned. The terrorists attacked us and killed 3,000 of our citizens before we started the freedom agenda in the Middle East.

Q What did Iraq have to do with that?

THE PRESIDENT: What did Iraq have to do with what?

Q The attack on the World Trade Center?

THE PRESIDENT: Nothing

Welcome to Wonderland!

"2. any evil condition or thing that spreads destructively; blight."

"Thou burly-boned fool-born canker-blossom!"

Karl Rove quit today. Why should you care? Because this idiot is mostly to blame for the state of affairs in this country and abroad. Granted, Bush is an imbecile, however, Rove created and nurtured the imbecile.

From the stolen election to the division of the country to the out of control deficit to Iraq and Katrina, this sad, sad, little man typifies what happens when mass stupidity is allowed to take control.

In his lasting legacy one needs to look no further than Katrina to see exactly how our government in the hands of morons can go so wrong.

All you really need to know about the White House's post-Katrina strategy -- and Bush's carefully choreographed address on national television tonight -- is this little tidbit from the ninth paragraph of Elisabeth Bumiller and Richard W. Stevenson's story in the New York Times this morning:

"Republicans said Karl Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff and Mr. Bush's chief political adviser, was in charge of the reconstruction effort."

How's that working out??????
Good Riddance!

Well maybe not exactly like this

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) - The minister of a Baptist church has been charged with indecent exposure and driving under the influence, and police officers say he propositioned them.

Tommy Tester, 58, of Bristol, Va., was wearing a skirt when he was arrested last week after allegedly urinating in front of children at a car wash, police said.

Police also said Tester offered to perform oral sex on officers who were sent to the scene.

Authorities identified Tester as the minister of Gospel Baptist Church in Bristol and an employee of Christian radio station WZAP-AM in Bristol.

Some vacation pictures



We worked on some houses for Habitat For Humanity in New Orleans. If you have the time, I highly recommend it. You don't have to go to New Orleans, they are most likely doing stuff close to wherever you are.



Cafe Brazil is still going strong and looked better than ever.



The Superdome is looking good. One of the highlights of my trip was getting home because our tickets for the Saints Philly game were waiting on the table when we walked in.



We went from New Orleans to the Saints training camp in Jackson Mississippi. It was as hot as New Orleans but well worth it. We were getting ready to leave at the end of practice, as all the players had gone in and it looked like noone would be signing autographs. As we were getting ready to go, Coach Sean Payton came over and started signing stuff. I got a shirt that I had just bought autographed. I am not into autographs at all but this was extremely cool of him and a shirt which I will now hang up.



I followed along behind this truck for a good 50 miles and I believe I laughed the entire way. I am not sure if it was the road fatigue or just the fact that it was damned funny to me but I had more "shiny red balls", jokes popping in my head than you would believe.



We then made it to the Smoky Mountains. There were some beautiful streams to fish. I had a few good days on the water. The fish were small but very colorful and the rivers were extremely beautiful. It ended on a crappy note as I broke my rod but all the more reason to get a new 4 weight.

So now that summer vacation is over, it is almost back to school time for everyone else. We have the Rock,Paper,Scissors competition coming up so training has started.

This response by Mr. Obama to a question about diplomacy may just be the one that gets my vote.

The question that sparked the controversy at Monday's debate seemed simple enough: Would the candidates for president be willing to meet, within their first year in office, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea?

Obama said yes, while Clinton said no, arguing that the president should only meet with world leaders who are hostile to the United States after lower-level diplomatic contacts are conducted. In an interview today with the Quad City Times, Clinton more directly criticized Obama's answer.

"I thought that was irresponsible and frankly naive," Clinton said, according to a story posted on the newspaper's Web site.

Striking back, Obama called the newspaper Tuesday, saying what was "irresponsible and naive" was voting to authorize the Iraq war.

"What she's somehow maintaining is my statement could be construed as not having asked what the meeting was about. I didn't say these guys were going to come over for a cup of coffee some afternoon," he said, calling this a "fabricated controversy."

After the CNN/YouTube debate, both the Clinton and Obama camps pointed to the question about meeting with foreign leaders as key moments in defining the differences between the candidates.

Obama got the question first. As a candidate who has blasted the Bush administration for running a foreign policy that ignores diplomacy, Obama saw it as a no-brainer when asked whether he would meet with the leaders of nations that have been hostile to U.S. interests.

"I would," he said. "And the reason is this, that the notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them — which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration — is ridiculous."

What a novel idea....perhaps we can talk to some people. I for one say that they should be required to do bonghits together and perhaps a fishing trip. But that's just me.

Demonstrating once again how short life is and how it can be gone in the blink of an eye.

Tulsa Drillers' first base coach killed by line drive
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Tulsa Drillers coach Mike Coolbaugh died Sunday night after being struck in the head by a line drive as he stood in the first-base coach's box during a Texas League game with the Arkansas Travelers, police said.

Want to know what it is like in Iraq?
Want to know what is not being shown by our own media?
Want to know what is going on while Brittany and Vitter and Vick and all that other useless shit is all over our news?

WATCH THIS!

David Vitter then...............

Some current polls may suggest that people are turned off by the whole Clinton mess and don't care -- because the stock market is good, the Clinton spin machine is even better or other reasons. But that doesn't answer the question of whether President Clinton should be impeached and removed from office because he is morally unfit to govern.

The writings of the Founding Fathers are very instructive on this issue. They are not cast in terms of political effectiveness at all but in terms of right and wrong -- moral fitness. Hamilton writes in the Federalists Papers (No. 65) that impeachable offenses are those that "proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust."

In considering impeachment, Vitter asserted, Congress had to judge Clinton on moral terms. Decrying the law professors' failure to see this, Vitter observed, "Is that the level of moral relatively [sic] and vacuousness we have come to?" If no "meaningful action" were to be taken against Clinton, Vitter wrote, "his leadership will only further drain any sense of values left to our political culture."

This coming from a hypocrite who got his jimmie waxed by a pro while married and railing against the moral failings of his country.

Vitter Statement on Protecting the Sanctity of Marriage

“This is a real outrage. The Hollywood left is redefining the most basic institution in human history, and our two U.S. Senators won’t do anything about it.

We need a U.S. Senator who will stand up for Louisiana values, not Massachusetts’s values. I am the only Senate Candidate to coauthor the Federal Marriage Amendment; the only one fighting for its passage. I am the only candidate proposing changes to the senate rules to stop liberal obstructionists from preventing an up or down vote on issues like this, judges, energy, and on and on.” stated David Vitter.

I guess his Louisiana values include Mardi Gras booty calls.

Bill Kristol takes a look at Bush's presidency and..................

Why Bush Will Be A Winner
I suppose I'll merely expose myself to harmless ridicule if I make the following assertion: George W. Bush's presidency will probably be a successful one.

Let's step back from the unnecessary mistakes and the self-inflicted wounds that have characterized the Bush administration. Let's look at the broad forest rather than the often unlovely trees. What do we see? First, no second terrorist attack on U.S. soil -- not something we could have taken for granted. Second, a strong economy -- also something that wasn't inevitable.

The rest of it pretty much goes on like this with Kristol staring into the pit of hell and claiming that he is looking at a daisy. To say that there has not been another terrorist attack, I guess he forgot about the anthrax scares after 9/11.

He goes on to claim that outsourcing is good and that Afghanistan is going along swimmingly. He was later seen with Bush in the back yard of the Whitehouse.



After this photo was taken both Bush and Kristol were stabbed in the testicles and yet they claimed that it was only a flesh wound. They promptly ran into traffic and it was later heard that they bet a homeless man that they could jump from the Washington monument and not be hurt. They then went out and got matching t-shirts

All right, we can go now.

BAGHDAD (AP) - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saturday that the Iraqi army and police are capable of keeping security in the country when American troops leave "any time they want," though he acknowledged the forces need further weapons and training.

The embattled prime minister sought to show confidence at a time when pressure in the U.S. Congress is growing for a withdrawal and the Bush administration reported little progress had been made on the most vital of a series of political reforms it wants al-Maliki to carry out.

So were done. Most Americans want out and most Iraqis want us out and according to the puppet president of Iraq they are ready.
Bring em home!