September 1, 2008 archive

Questioning Qualifications Is One Thing

Acting Like The National Enquirer

Is Something Else

Coast Braces for Storm; G.O.P. Cuts Back



By ADAM NOSSITER

Published: September 1, 2008  

NEW ORLEANS – Nearly two million people from Texas to Alabama fled the Gulf Coast on Sunday ahead of Hurricane Gustav, anticipating a storm that could rival Hurricane Katrina in its destructive power.

New Orleans was largely emptied of its residents after a mandatory evacuation order, and interstate highways across the region were jammed bumper to bumper in one of the largest evacuations in American history.

With memories of the shaky response to Hurricane Katrina fresh, officials from President Bush on down were on high alert; Mr. Bush himself described the preparations and warned residents to get out of the storm’s way.

A Long and Weary Bus Ride to Anywhere

?

By SHAILA DEWAN

Published: August 31, 2008  

ABOARD A BUS FROM NEW ORLEANS – The 40-odd people boarding the black, red and white bus that the city provided late Saturday afternoon embarked on a journey of pure faith. They did not know how long they would be away or whether they would have anything to come home to. It would be many hours before they even learned where they were going.

They had no way of knowing that when they finally reached their refuge, roughly 350 miles away, it would be ill-prepared for their arrival. But they did have a firm grasp of what the worst could mean if they stayed in the broad, unpredictable path of Hurricane Gustav.

So, uncomplaining, they hoisted themselves aboard, taking advantage of the government’s offer of free transportation for those without cars.

USA

Even without Bush in St. Paul, GOP can’t escape his record



By David Lightman | McClatchy Newspapers  

ST. PAUL, Minn. – In many ways, the Republican National Convention here this week is President Bush’s convention, and that’s not good political news for John McCain.

Even though Bush canceled his live Monday night appearance so he could monitor the impact of Hurricane Gustav, he’s still the leader of the GOP – and the key reason why its political fortunes are under a cloud.

Not since Lyndon Johnson stayed away from his party’s 1968 Democratic convention, after being advised by party officials not to come, has an incumbent president been such a liability to his own party.

So today we have learned that The Republican National Convention has been virtually canceled.  Have they at long last found a sense of decency?

• Until this moment, Senator, I think I never gauged your cruelty or your recklessness.

No, This is not a diary about Palin.

I’m tempted to chastise them simply for depriving me of some amusingly lame television. W, it turns out, is too COWARDLY to face even his own convention on his personal tribute night.  What is there to say really?  The CRAVEN AND TRAITOROUS BAND of THIEVES AND CUTTHROATS that is his party equally desires to distance themselves from his taint and stain on history and is going to cancel the whole convention and slink away.

AND W is going to TEXAS so that after he ‘concerns the nations’ on Monday night about the terrible terrrible tragedy of Gustav and the need to drill, drill, drill everywhere so we’re not so dependent on Gulf (of Mexico) oil.

Gotta get that plywood up in Crawford.  Help out.  Heh.

While we’re waiting, these folks are waiting too, but many of them far from home.

So here’s the refugee edition.

Humid Haney Rant has a wild series of iPhotos taken while on the road, going towards Alabama.

Loki had a rough time evacuating but finally posts over at Humid City:

We are in MccComb, MS with friends (The Admiral is an excellent host!). More audio from the road tomorrow when we head up to Ohio.

Cats are much better.

Stay tuned.

Loki, Refugee Founder of HumidCity

My Labor Day Weekend began this Sunday morning – I jumped on a TriMet bus for a quick ride out to my Sunday farmers market to pick up most of the food I’ll eat this week, directly from some of the people responsible for growing it.  We all enjoyed those few hours in that little Clackamas County town; and then I hopped on the bus back home to my tiny urban inner SE Portland apartment just as they began to pack up their stands and crates onto their trucks and into their vans to scatter back out to their wide open lands in random towns, villages and hamlets all throughout the Willamette Valley.

It’s September tomorrow, and the transition will come soon – the squash become harder, the berries give way to apples and pears…salads and light sandwiches step aside to make room for soup and chili, potatoes make the move from cold salads to hot and creamy au gratin.  I’ll enjoy these last few weeks of fresh local tomatoes; even as I get the oven ready for heavy-duty work again on these upcoming wet and windy 40 and 50-something degree days and 30-something nights, and dust off my butternut squash sauce and (in)famous Oregon Winter Pizza recipes…

Of course, the current American ‘food’ system overall is hardly pastoral or idyllic…and exploitation is the rule for the tens (hundreds?) of thousands of farmworkers and food processing plant workers who make possible the many great holiday feasts of millions of Americans on these occasions.

Crossposted from La Vida Locavore, more below the fold…

Original article, by Wojtek Orowiecki, Group for a Workers’ Party (GPR), CWI in Poland and sub-headed Government and bosses try to crush the workers’ movement via socialistworld.net:

A wave of strikes and protests has been sweeping through Poland for months, above all due to the galloping price of food and energy. In July there were demonstrations of several thousands of workers in a number of towns and more groups of workers are preparing to strike. However, as we can expect, the government and bosses are not taking this lying down. Changes to the labour code have been announced for September, which make strikes practically impossible. At the same time striking workers are victimised and face the use of force even now.