Drinking Liberally®

From the Courier Journal:

It's going to be a long, cold winter in Louisville.

Don't worry. WalMart will surely increase wages accordingly. Hahahahaha!!

Posted by vicki at 12:49 PM

Well, I guess the repugs are going to weather this storm next.... This is a nice slap in the face for Dubya's radical rightwing agenda and his legislative hitman, The Hammer... Who has stopped at NOTHING to put the rich in power.. and I do mean NOTHING...

I'm afraid that most repugs in the house are just hoping and waiting for these charges to disappear, and if I were the Travis County prosecutor OR a member of the Grand Jury that returned this indictment I would be shopping for more life insurance about now..

This S#&T runs so deep we will NEVER get to the depths of this administration's evil or contempt or incompetence. What still pisses me off is the roaring SILENCE from Democratic leadership !!! What are they waiting for ??? Dubya, DeLay and Cheney to all sprout horns on their heads, tails and cloven hooves ??

We should be taking a page out of the Repugs play book and jump on this with both feet.. ala 1998 Lewinsky scandal. Certianly we have ONE Dem Senator worthy of casting the first stone... Don't we ??? I just hope the FIRST Dems to grow a sack and blast this whole corrupt regime will be rewarded at the polls next year... Right now we should be rallying behind Howard Dean and John Kerry and the Clintons in thier scathing and withering attacks on this administration and it's current disasters in Iraq, New Orleans and Washington DC...

But they are silent.. We are wasting time.. Kinda like FEMA did responding to Katrina..

Here's the low down on DeLay's demise...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/28/DeLay.profile/index.html

Here's the lowdown on his evil sidekick replacement.. Roy Blunt

http://www.firedupamerica.com/blunt_backgrounder

Are you now wondering where this fits on the HYPOCRISY scale ???

Shall we follow the rule of law and do our constitutional duty no matter unpleasant, or shall we follow the path of least resistance, close our eyes to the potential lawbreaking, forgive and forget, move on and tear an unfixable hole in our legal system? No man is above the law, and no man is below the law. That's the principle that we all hold very dear in this country."

Posted by markhumphreyn at 01:22 PM | Comments (2)

Yesterday, the Republicans opened their sham investigation into the disasterous federal response to hurricane Katrina. Senator after Senator egged on disgraced former FEMA director, Mike Brown, as he lied repeatedly under oath. His hilarious claim that he did "a pretty darn good job" was just the beginning.

In an amazing display of arrogance, hubris, and utter disregard for the truth, Mike Brown (who is still on the payroll and "investigating" the mess he created in response to Katrina) placed the blame for the disastrous response to Katrina squarely on Dem officials in LA. Yes, that's right, the federal response to the category 4 hurricane was solely the fault of LA Governor Blanco and NO Mayor Nagin.

Brown, aka "Drownie" falsely claimed, again and again that the governor and mayor refused to issue an evacuation order in advance of the hurricane. He complained that LA officials were "dysfunctional" and inept. That is a perfect description of his mis-handling of the whole sorry affair.

Here are the easily verifiable facts of the situation:

Gov. Blanco declared a state of emergency on Fri., 8-26, 3 days before Katrina hit and began evacuating NO and surrounding parishes the next day. That same day, NO mayor declared a state of emergency and began voluntary evacuations, followed by mandatory evacuation on Sunday. Also on Sunday, governor Blanco sent Bu$h a letter requesting, "give me all you've got" in federal aid and assistance. You can see a complete timeline of events at Josh Marshall's excellent blog talkingpointsmemo here

One thing is perfectly clear: The only talent Bu$h and the GOP share is sliming and slandering those who dare question or criticize them.

Posted by vicki at 11:15 AM | Comments (1)

This was sent in from Maria.

September 19, 2005

Hurricane Katrina exposed in plain view—and on 24-hour a day cable television—the stark class and racial lines that still define American society today. Middle and upper class whites were able to escape the rising flood waters in New Orleans while poor and working class blacks were left behind in steadily worsening conditions. In the face of these clear inequities, and the government’s obvious indifference to the crisis, President Bush claimed last week that we would spend whatever it takes to rebuild New Orleans. Yet no one will be asked to pay a red cent more for the massive effort, in particular, the president’s wealthy patrons who stand to collect the lion’s share of his plan to repeal the estate tax and make his tax cuts permanent. No sacrifice. No mutual responsibility. No patriotism. Just every man for himself and pass the buck onto future generations.

Katrina exposed the conservative assault on government as a reckless gambit. No matter how many “points of light” are illuminated or “ambassadors of compassion” converge on New Orleans in the coming days, private efforts alone will never replace an effective government that promotes the common good and carries out basic functions. You can try to drown government in a bathtub, as conservative activists have tried for years, but at the end of the day there is no replacing a smart government that protects its citizens, carries out humanitarian assistance, builds and repairs critical infrastructure, and mobilizes American power to advance opportunities for every one.

You cannot pursue trillions of dollars in tax cuts—primarily for the wealthy—and expect to run an effective government. No matter how hard they try, conservatives cannot square the constant slashing of taxes for the rich with the government’s duty and responsibility to its citizens. As Katrina clearly shows, the rising tide leaves as many people stranded in high water as it lifts into opportunity. From 9/11 and the war in Iraq in years past to Katrina today, the president has never asked America’s wealthiest citizens to sacrifice anything for the greater good of America. Even as we face a huge $200 billion reconstruction effort in the Gulf Coast, on top of the hundreds of billions of dollars we continue to spend in Iraq, America’s elite are given a pass in protecting and promoting the general welfare of the entire nation.

America deserves a government that is run for the common welfare of all citizens and focused on promoting the common good. Progressives have a clear opportunity to show Americans the true value of government working together with citizens in pursuit of common needs rather than narrow self-interests. After decades of anti-government hostility and divisive economic policies, we have a chance to highlight the importance of effective government working to pursue actions aimed at enriching the public interest rather than merely lining the pockets of the rich.

American Progress Action Fund.

Posted by vicki at 07:24 AM | Comments (1)

Hey Liberals,

Off to the National Drinking Liberally Conference!

I'll post more when I get home. I am so sick of schlepping the PC when flying. It is hell on earth taking the laptop in and out of the bag for *security* and getting a decent conneciton at the hotels. I get email on my cell, so please look for me at:

Vicki@drinkingliberally.org or

Louisville@drinkingliberally.org

Go see the video of "Go fuck yourself, Mr. Cheney. Go fuck yourself." Here. Great video "Mississippi does not heart the Big Dick"

Until we meet again!

Vicki

Posted by vicki at 10:20 PM

Flash! Bush Takes Responsiblity...Sort of
by Dr. Rosa Maria Pegueros

Yesterday, George W. Bush took responsibility, sort of:

"Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government and to the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility."

That’s an apology?? What, exactly, does it mean when he “takes responsibility”?

Since he usually takes credit for anything positive and only fires his crony-appointees when his back is against a wall, how does he plan to demonstrate his remorse?

Will he resign in shame? I should live so long.

Will he fire his cronies from important posts on which people’s lives depend, reassigning say, Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff, to be ambassador to Antarctica? Ha!

Will he publicly denounce and prohibit from participation the Halliburton profiteers whose mouths are watering at the thought of all the gold they can glean from the Katrina disaster? That will be the day.

Will he fall on his sword to uphold his honor? If only! Quick, find that man a sword! And while you’re at it, distribute swords to Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Chertoff….

How will we endure three more years of this corrupt, sleazy and dehumanizing administration?

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0914-26.htm

Posted by markhumphreyn at 11:20 AM | Comments (4)

If you think "Browinie" (Drownie?) did a "heck of a job" responding to hurricane Katrina, consider the gross incompetence Mike Chertoff, head of Homeland Security:

Posted on Tue, Sep. 13, 2005

Read the entire article:Here

Chertoff delayed federal response, memo shows

By Jonathan S. Landay, Alison Young and Shannon McCaffrey

Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - The federal official with the power to mobilize a massive federal response to Hurricane Katrina was Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, not the former FEMA chief who was relieved of his duties and resigned earlier this week, federal documents reviewed by Knight Ridder show.

Even before the storm struck the Gulf Coast, Chertoff could have ordered federal agencies into action without any request from state or local officials. Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown had only limited authority to do so until about 36 hours after the storm hit, when Chertoff designated him as the "principal federal official" in charge of the storm.

But Chertoff - not Brown - was in charge of managing the national response to a catastrophic disaster, according to the National Response Plan, the federal government's blueprint for how agencies will handle major natural disasters or terrorist incidents. An order issued by President Bush in 2003 also assigned that responsibility to the homeland security director.

Feel safer now?

Posted by vicki at 10:20 AM

Courtesy of American Progress:

Right-Wing Congress Stacks Investigative Body and Loots Katrina Aid
September 8, 2005

Our nation’s right-wing congressional leaders yesterday attempted to one-up President Bush in the shame-and-embarrassment category. With only Republican members in attendance, House Speaker Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Frist announced the creation of a GOP-dominated “investigative” committee—created behind closed doors by members of the majority party alone—to uncover what went wrong with Hurricane Katrina. Congress then announced that debate on a $52 billion Katrina aid package would be limited to a mere 40 minutes—just enough time to ensure that no one learns about all the special interest, corporate pork stuffed into the disaster relief bill. Outrage is in full order today.

* The clearly partisan “Hurricane Katrina Joint Review Committee” should be denounced as a farce. Adding to President Bush’s fanciful claim that he will get to the bottom of his own failures, Congress yesterday devised a congressional counterpart to whitewash matters and shift blame from their end of Pennsylvania Avenue. According the Washington Post, the investigative committee set up by Hastert and Frist “will include only members of Congress, with Republicans outnumbering Democrats by a yet-to-be-determined ratio. The commission, which will have subpoena powers, will investigate the actions of local, state and federal governments before and after the storm that devastated New Orleans and other portions of the Gulf Coast.”
* The $52 billion Katrina aid package is set to be passed with almost no debate and no scrutiny of what greedy lobbyists and untoward congressmen stuffed into the bill. The House of Representatives, at the urging of conservative leadership, voted to limit floor debate of the Katrina aid package to a scant 40 minutes and prevent any amendments from being offered. According to Representative Louis Slaughter (D-NY), prior to precluding the possibility of amendments, "no one had yet to even see a copy of the legislation." This means no one will know who gets what before hand, how it will be distributed, who will benefit, and who is taking advantage of taxpayers. There will be no discussion of how to actually fix the problems that created the mess in the first place and no accountability for failures.
* When Americans are down and out, count on conservative leaders to show who they truly care about—themselves and their corporate backers. With tens of thousands of people displaced, and utter devastation across much of the Gulf Coast, our nation’s right-wing leaders have really stepped up to the plate. They failed to respond to the disaster; then tried to shift the blame and whitewash their own failures; and now want to close off scrutiny of their actions and take advantage of relief funding to enrich special interests. A fitting way to close the door on this ugly period in American history.

Posted by markhumphreyn at 11:37 AM | Comments (1)

Check out this video of Big Dick being spoken to with language he understands all too well. Click below:

Here's to You, Dick!

Hahahahaha.

Posted by vicki at 05:30 PM

Rep. Nancy Pelosi urged Bu$h to fire Mike Brown, head of FEMA today. Bu$h asked her "what did he do wrong?" America, we have a problem that someone this clueless is supposedly running the country.

At a press conference today, Pelosi (D-California) called Bu$h's response "Oblivious, in denial and dangerous." This administration takes no responsibility for all the destruction they leave in their wake. It's always someone else's fault. With that in mind, take a look at what Bu$h had to say at his 2001 inaugural address:

"America, at its best, is a place where personal responsibility is valued and expected.

Encouraging responsibility is not a search for scapegoats, it is a call to conscience. And though it requires sacrifice, it brings a deeper fulfillment. . .

Our public interest depends on private character, on civic duty and family bonds and basic fairness, on uncounted, unhonored acts of decency which give direction to our freedom."

And then there's this gem:

"Some seem to believe that our politics can afford to be petty because, in a time of peace, the stakes of our debates appear small...

If our country does not lead the cause of freedom, it will not be led. If we do not turn the hearts of children toward knowledge and character, we will lose... If we permit our economy to drift and decline, the vulnerable will suffer most."

Like I said, LIAR!

Posted by vicki at 07:32 PM | Comments (4)