Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Cindy Sheehan Glad Bush Didn't Come Out To Meet Her
Courtesy of 
CRAWFORD, Texas - A woman who led an anti-war protest for nearly a month near President Bush’s ranch said Tuesday that she’s glad Bush never showed up to discuss her son’s death in Iraq, saying the president’s absence “galvanized the peace movement.”
Cindy Sheehan’s comments came as war protesters packed up their campsite near the ranch and prepared to leave Tuesday for a three-week bus tour.
“I look back on it, and I am very, very, very grateful he did not meet with me, because we have sparked and galvanized the peace movement,” Sheehan told The Associated Press. “If he’d met with me, then I would have gone home, and it would have ended there.” (Didn't you protest by saying that you wanted President Bush to come out and talk with you. You mean the whole thing was a front? a fraud? It was all about you? No way, I don't believe it!!)
Sheehan and about 50 other peace activists arrived in the one-stoplight town Aug. 6, the day after she spoke at a Veterans for Peace convention in Dallas. She and a few others spent that night in chairs in ditches, without food or flashlights, off the main road leading to the president’s ranch. (You mean she actually camped out this time? I could swear I saw photos and video footage of you actually protesting, then going away to relax and revitalize!!)
The Vacaville, Calif., woman vowed to stay until Bush’s monthlong vacation ended unless she could question him about the war that claimed the life of her 24-year-old son Casey and more than 1,870 other U.S. soldiers. (This was all about her, not her son. She just completely dishonored and disrespected him and his memory)
‘Love and support’
Two top Bush administration officials talked to Sheehan the first day, but the president never did — although he has said that he sympathizes with her and acknowledged her right to protest. His vacation is to end Wednesday, two days early, so he can monitor federal efforts to help victims of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast.
Sheehan’s vigil attracted crowds of other anti-war demonstrators. Most stayed a few hours or days at the original roadside camp or at the second, larger site about a mile away on a private lot offered by a sympathetic landowner.
The massive response has transformed her life, she said. (Gee, could it be because all those whacko liberal organizations came to your aid?!?!}
“I thought our country was going down, down, down. I thought nobody cared about our children killed in the war, but millions care, and millions care about our country and want to make it better,” she said. “The love and support I’ve received give me hope that my life can someday be normal.” (Stop centering your life around you, and you might actually be able to live a normal life)
The protest also sparked counter rallies by Bush supporters who accused Sheehan of using her son’s death to push the liberal agenda of groups supporting her. Critics also said the anti-war demonstration was hurting U.S. troop morale while boosting the Iraqi insurgency.
Many Bush supporters pointed out that Sheehan never spoke against Bush or the war when she and other grieving families met the president about two months after her son died last year.
Anti-war tour
Sheehan said she was still in shock over Casey’s death during that meeting. She said she became enraged after independent reports disputed Bush administration claims that Saddam Hussein had chemical and biological weapons — a main justification for the March 2003 invasion.
After leaving Crawford, protesters will spread their message on a three-week “Bring Them Home Now Tour” with stops in 25 states. Buses on three routes will meet in Washington, D.C., for a Sept. 24 anti-war march.
Sheehan will leave the tour next week to spend time with her family, including her mother who recently suffered a stroke, which caused Sheehan to miss a week of the protest.
Phil's Observations
The one and only post on this ... this ... this ... excuse for a mom.
CRAWFORD, Texas - A woman who led an anti-war protest for nearly a month near President Bush’s ranch said Tuesday that she’s glad Bush never showed up to discuss her son’s death in Iraq, saying the president’s absence “galvanized the peace movement.”
Cindy Sheehan’s comments came as war protesters packed up their campsite near the ranch and prepared to leave Tuesday for a three-week bus tour.
“I look back on it, and I am very, very, very grateful he did not meet with me, because we have sparked and galvanized the peace movement,” Sheehan told The Associated Press. “If he’d met with me, then I would have gone home, and it would have ended there.” (Didn't you protest by saying that you wanted President Bush to come out and talk with you. You mean the whole thing was a front? a fraud? It was all about you? No way, I don't believe it!!)
Sheehan and about 50 other peace activists arrived in the one-stoplight town Aug. 6, the day after she spoke at a Veterans for Peace convention in Dallas. She and a few others spent that night in chairs in ditches, without food or flashlights, off the main road leading to the president’s ranch. (You mean she actually camped out this time? I could swear I saw photos and video footage of you actually protesting, then going away to relax and revitalize!!)
The Vacaville, Calif., woman vowed to stay until Bush’s monthlong vacation ended unless she could question him about the war that claimed the life of her 24-year-old son Casey and more than 1,870 other U.S. soldiers. (This was all about her, not her son. She just completely dishonored and disrespected him and his memory)
‘Love and support’
Two top Bush administration officials talked to Sheehan the first day, but the president never did — although he has said that he sympathizes with her and acknowledged her right to protest. His vacation is to end Wednesday, two days early, so he can monitor federal efforts to help victims of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast.
Sheehan’s vigil attracted crowds of other anti-war demonstrators. Most stayed a few hours or days at the original roadside camp or at the second, larger site about a mile away on a private lot offered by a sympathetic landowner.
The massive response has transformed her life, she said. (Gee, could it be because all those whacko liberal organizations came to your aid?!?!}
“I thought our country was going down, down, down. I thought nobody cared about our children killed in the war, but millions care, and millions care about our country and want to make it better,” she said. “The love and support I’ve received give me hope that my life can someday be normal.” (Stop centering your life around you, and you might actually be able to live a normal life)
The protest also sparked counter rallies by Bush supporters who accused Sheehan of using her son’s death to push the liberal agenda of groups supporting her. Critics also said the anti-war demonstration was hurting U.S. troop morale while boosting the Iraqi insurgency.
Many Bush supporters pointed out that Sheehan never spoke against Bush or the war when she and other grieving families met the president about two months after her son died last year.
Anti-war tour
Sheehan said she was still in shock over Casey’s death during that meeting. She said she became enraged after independent reports disputed Bush administration claims that Saddam Hussein had chemical and biological weapons — a main justification for the March 2003 invasion.
After leaving Crawford, protesters will spread their message on a three-week “Bring Them Home Now Tour” with stops in 25 states. Buses on three routes will meet in Washington, D.C., for a Sept. 24 anti-war march.
Sheehan will leave the tour next week to spend time with her family, including her mother who recently suffered a stroke, which caused Sheehan to miss a week of the protest.
Phil's Observations
The one and only post on this ... this ... this ... excuse for a mom.
Kicknit 8/31/2005
| 
Iraqi's Want To Live ...
Cuortesy of
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Panicked by rumors of a bomber, thousands of Shiite pilgrims broke into a stampede on a bridge during a religious procession Wednesday, crushing one another or plunging 30 feet into the muddy Tigris river. About 800 died, mostly women and children, officials said.
Hundreds of lost sandals littered the two-lane bridge while children floundered in the waters below, trying to reach dry land. The tragedy was the single biggest loss of life known in Iraq since the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
"We heard that a suicide attacker was among the crowd," said Fadhel Ali, 28, barefoot and soaking wet on the riverbank. "Everybody was yelling, so I jumped from the bridge into the river, swam and reached the bank. I saw women, children and old men falling after me into the water."
The crowd was on edge because of the 110-degree heat, a mortar barrage near the Shiite shrine where they were headed and the ever-present fear of homicide bombers, etched into memories after repeated attacks against large religious gatherings. Seven people died in the mortar barrage three hours before the stampede, the U.S. military said.
Police later said they found no explosives at the bridge — either on any individual or in any cars parked nearby. Instead, poor crowd control and the climate of fear in Iraq after years of bullets, bombings and bloodshed appeared largely to have caused the horrific carnage.
Marchers jammed up at a checkpoint at the western edge of the Imams bridge, which has been closed to civilians for months to prevent movement by extremists between the Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah and the Sunni district of Azamiyah across the river.
"This tragedy was the direct result of terrorism; hundreds of innocent people, mostly women and children, have died because of the fear and panic that terrorists are sowing in Iraq," NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said in a statement.
Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi, a Sunni, said three bombers were stopped Wednesday some distance from the shrine, but "blew themselves up before reaching their destination."
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington that he was not aware of any evidence that the stampede on the bridge was caused by a bombing.
Others blamed the government and the U.S.-trained security forces.
"Early security measures should have been taken to protect the lives of citizens and organize their processions," Iraqi Communist Party leader Hameed Majid Mousa told Al-Arabiya television. "We all know that there are terrorists who lie in wait for such events and prepare to ambush the people. ... Why are the processions not organized?"
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, told state-run Iraqiya television that "the government should take measures for an honest investigation to determine how failures doubled the casualties."
The marchers were commemorating the death in the year 799 of Imam Moussa ibn Jaafar al-Kadhim, one of the 12 principle Shiite saints who is buried in a mosque in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Kazimiyah.
Since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, the Shiite political parties have encouraged huge turnouts at religious festivals to display the majority sect's power in the new Iraq. Sunni religious extremists have often targeted the gatherings to foment sectarian war, but that has not stopped the Shiites.
The ceremonies have often been chaotic, with huge crowds overtaxing the ability of police and security services to protect them. Television reports said about 1 million pilgrims from Baghdad and outlying provinces had gathered near the shrine on Wednesday.
Reflecting the confusion, casualty figures from various government agencies also varied widely. The Health Ministry said 769 people were killed and 307 wounded, while the Interior Ministry put the figure at 844 dead and 458 injured. The country's biggest Shiite party gave figures of 759 dead and 300 wounded. Other reports estimated the death toll would climb above 1,000.
"Pushing started when a rumor was spread by a terrorist who claimed that there was a person with an explosive belt, which caused panic," Interior Minister Bayn Jabr said. "Some fell from the bridge, others fell on the barricades" and were trampled to death.
No official offered any evidence that Sunni insurgents were directly responsible for spreading the false rumor.
Scores of bodies covered with white sheets lay on the sidewalk outside one hospital under the broiling sun because the morgue was packed. Many of them were women in black gowns, as well as children and old men.
Sobbing relatives wandered among the dead, lifting the sheets to try to identify their kin. When they found them, they would shriek in grief, pound their chests or collapse to the ground, sobbing.
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite, declared a three-day mourning period.
In other violence, a U.S. soldier was killed and three were wounded Wednesday when a bomb exploded in the city of Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. The military also said another American soldier was killed Tuesday by a bomb in Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad.
The several mortar and rockets fired at the Shiite neighborhood before the march struck about 600 yards from the Imam Kadhim shrine, the U.S. military said. U.S. Apache helicopters fired at the attackers.
In March 2004 homicide attackers struck worshippers at the Imam Kadhim shrine and a holy site in Karbala, killing at least 181 overall.
The head of the country's major Sunni clerical group, the Association of Muslim Scholars, told Al-Jazeera television that Wednesday's disaster was "another catastrophe and something else that could be added to the list of ongoing Iraqi tragedies."
"On this occasion we want to express our condolences to all the Iraqis and the parents of the martyrs, who fell today in Kazimiyah and all over Iraq," said the cleric, Haith al-Dhari.
Phil's Observations
It seems clear to me that the everyday, common Iraqi's want to live. You see, it is the extreme finatics and terrorists that don't care if they die killing the infidels. The others want to live and prosper. Fuck those who think the everyday Iraqi man, woman, or child doesn't want us there to give them freedom.
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Panicked by rumors of a bomber, thousands of Shiite pilgrims broke into a stampede on a bridge during a religious procession Wednesday, crushing one another or plunging 30 feet into the muddy Tigris river. About 800 died, mostly women and children, officials said.
Hundreds of lost sandals littered the two-lane bridge while children floundered in the waters below, trying to reach dry land. The tragedy was the single biggest loss of life known in Iraq since the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
"We heard that a suicide attacker was among the crowd," said Fadhel Ali, 28, barefoot and soaking wet on the riverbank. "Everybody was yelling, so I jumped from the bridge into the river, swam and reached the bank. I saw women, children and old men falling after me into the water."
The crowd was on edge because of the 110-degree heat, a mortar barrage near the Shiite shrine where they were headed and the ever-present fear of homicide bombers, etched into memories after repeated attacks against large religious gatherings. Seven people died in the mortar barrage three hours before the stampede, the U.S. military said.
Police later said they found no explosives at the bridge — either on any individual or in any cars parked nearby. Instead, poor crowd control and the climate of fear in Iraq after years of bullets, bombings and bloodshed appeared largely to have caused the horrific carnage.
Marchers jammed up at a checkpoint at the western edge of the Imams bridge, which has been closed to civilians for months to prevent movement by extremists between the Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah and the Sunni district of Azamiyah across the river.
"This tragedy was the direct result of terrorism; hundreds of innocent people, mostly women and children, have died because of the fear and panic that terrorists are sowing in Iraq," NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said in a statement.
Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi, a Sunni, said three bombers were stopped Wednesday some distance from the shrine, but "blew themselves up before reaching their destination."
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington that he was not aware of any evidence that the stampede on the bridge was caused by a bombing.
Others blamed the government and the U.S.-trained security forces.
"Early security measures should have been taken to protect the lives of citizens and organize their processions," Iraqi Communist Party leader Hameed Majid Mousa told Al-Arabiya television. "We all know that there are terrorists who lie in wait for such events and prepare to ambush the people. ... Why are the processions not organized?"
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, told state-run Iraqiya television that "the government should take measures for an honest investigation to determine how failures doubled the casualties."
The marchers were commemorating the death in the year 799 of Imam Moussa ibn Jaafar al-Kadhim, one of the 12 principle Shiite saints who is buried in a mosque in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Kazimiyah.
Since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, the Shiite political parties have encouraged huge turnouts at religious festivals to display the majority sect's power in the new Iraq. Sunni religious extremists have often targeted the gatherings to foment sectarian war, but that has not stopped the Shiites.
The ceremonies have often been chaotic, with huge crowds overtaxing the ability of police and security services to protect them. Television reports said about 1 million pilgrims from Baghdad and outlying provinces had gathered near the shrine on Wednesday.
Reflecting the confusion, casualty figures from various government agencies also varied widely. The Health Ministry said 769 people were killed and 307 wounded, while the Interior Ministry put the figure at 844 dead and 458 injured. The country's biggest Shiite party gave figures of 759 dead and 300 wounded. Other reports estimated the death toll would climb above 1,000.
"Pushing started when a rumor was spread by a terrorist who claimed that there was a person with an explosive belt, which caused panic," Interior Minister Bayn Jabr said. "Some fell from the bridge, others fell on the barricades" and were trampled to death.
No official offered any evidence that Sunni insurgents were directly responsible for spreading the false rumor.
Scores of bodies covered with white sheets lay on the sidewalk outside one hospital under the broiling sun because the morgue was packed. Many of them were women in black gowns, as well as children and old men.
Sobbing relatives wandered among the dead, lifting the sheets to try to identify their kin. When they found them, they would shriek in grief, pound their chests or collapse to the ground, sobbing.
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite, declared a three-day mourning period.
In other violence, a U.S. soldier was killed and three were wounded Wednesday when a bomb exploded in the city of Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. The military also said another American soldier was killed Tuesday by a bomb in Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad.
The several mortar and rockets fired at the Shiite neighborhood before the march struck about 600 yards from the Imam Kadhim shrine, the U.S. military said. U.S. Apache helicopters fired at the attackers.
In March 2004 homicide attackers struck worshippers at the Imam Kadhim shrine and a holy site in Karbala, killing at least 181 overall.
The head of the country's major Sunni clerical group, the Association of Muslim Scholars, told Al-Jazeera television that Wednesday's disaster was "another catastrophe and something else that could be added to the list of ongoing Iraqi tragedies."
"On this occasion we want to express our condolences to all the Iraqis and the parents of the martyrs, who fell today in Kazimiyah and all over Iraq," said the cleric, Haith al-Dhari.
Phil's Observations
It seems clear to me that the everyday, common Iraqi's want to live. You see, it is the extreme finatics and terrorists that don't care if they die killing the infidels. The others want to live and prosper. Fuck those who think the everyday Iraqi man, woman, or child doesn't want us there to give them freedom.
Corporate Citizenship: Remember the Companies Who Cared
Phil's Observation
The corporate world is riddiculed often. Always out for the big buck, screw the little guy, you know, stuff like that. But we need to remember that just like there are rotten apples out there, there are a few good ones, too. Like these ...
Pharmaceutical companies rounded up much-needed medicine, water suppliers loaded trucks with thirst-quenching cargo and companies from petroleum giants to beer makers pitched in millions in cash and products Wednesday to help communities battered by Hurricane Katrina.
The efforts to collect money and goods to help the Gulf Coast rebuild gathered momentum Wednesday as officials continued assessing the damage from one of the nation's worst natural disasters.
American Red Cross spokeswoman Sarah Marchetti said at least 30 companies had made donations by Wednesday morning, and the number was expected to climb.
"They've been pouring in," she said.
In Indianapolis, drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) prepared to send 40,000 vials of refrigerated insulin to patients in the Southeast, along with at least $1 million in cash to the American Red Cross.
"We're poised to ship as soon as we get the OK," Lilly spokesman Edward Sagebiel said.
Drug maker Wyeth (WYE) of Madison, N.J., planned to donate antibiotics and nonprescription pain relievers, health care giant Johnson & Johnson provided $250,000 worth of kits containing toothbrushes, soap and shampoo, as well as pallets of pain relievers and wound care supplies. Drug maker Merck & Co. (MRK) planned to send antibiotics and hepatitis A vaccines to protect those facing contaminated waters.
"Our commitment is open-ended," said Merck spokeswoman Janet Skidmore.
Illinois-based pharmaceutical company Abbott Laboratories Inc. is giving $2 million cash and at least $2 million in nutritional and medical products.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said initial corporate donations to the relief efforts could total more than $100 million.
Hank Goldstein, chairman of Giving USA in Glenview, Ill., said individual and corporate donations combined could reach $1 billion.
But he predicted the corporate relief effort would be smaller than those recorded after the 2001 terrorist attacks and the tsunami that ravaged Asia in December.
"This kind of money comes quick and comes early and then falls off fast after that," Goldstein said. "It will abate along with the water."
Donations Wednesday already had reached well into the millions and included $5 million from Chevron Corp., $3 million each from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup, $2 million from Pfizer and $1 million from insurer State Farm.
The Walt Disney Co. contributed $2.5 million, $1 million of which will go to the American Red Cross and the rest for rebuilding efforts and volunteer centers helping affected communities.
The contributions also included 50 trucks donated by Nissan North America to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, more than 825,000 cans of water supplied by Anheuser-Busch (BUD) in St. Louis and 3,000 walkie talkie-type phones for emergency personnel from Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) Kellogg Co. (K) of Battle Creek, Mich., sent seven truckloads of crackers and cookies to hard-hit areas. General Motors Corp. (GM) also planned to donate 25 cars and trucks to the Red Cross.
Qwest Communications International Inc. will send 2,000 long-distance calling cards so those affected could call loved ones, said spokesman Michael Dunne. He said Denver-based Qwest also has given the Red Cross $230,000 to help train responders.
Home improvement companies Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's (LOW) pledged cash and manpower, while Culligan International of Northbrook, Ill., sent five truckloads of water to residents in Alabama and Mississippi.
The water, part of a larger, 28-truck convoy organized by the Missouri-based Convoy of Hope, was traveling at 10 mph through Mississippi.
"It's very treacherous," said Mike Ennis, director of strategic initiatives at Convoy of Hope.
Office Depot (ODP) of Delray Beach, Fla., donated $1 million to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief efforts. Officials announced Wednesday the company also would give the contents of its five New Orleans stores, valued at $4 million, to New Orleans officials to use as they recover from Hurricane Katrina.
Spokesman Brian Levine said the contents include items such as printers, paper, cartridges, pens and notebooks. What might be available and its condition were unclear.
City officials on Wednesday commandeered equipment from a looted Office Depot. During a state of emergency, authorities have broad powers to take private supplies and buildings for their use.
But Levine couldn't say what condition the items might be in given the flooding that has ravaged the city.
"I couldn't tell you if it's completely flooded, a little flooded, or not," he said. "Our position is we're donating the contents of the entire store."
The corporate world is riddiculed often. Always out for the big buck, screw the little guy, you know, stuff like that. But we need to remember that just like there are rotten apples out there, there are a few good ones, too. Like these ...
Pharmaceutical companies rounded up much-needed medicine, water suppliers loaded trucks with thirst-quenching cargo and companies from petroleum giants to beer makers pitched in millions in cash and products Wednesday to help communities battered by Hurricane Katrina.
The efforts to collect money and goods to help the Gulf Coast rebuild gathered momentum Wednesday as officials continued assessing the damage from one of the nation's worst natural disasters.
American Red Cross spokeswoman Sarah Marchetti said at least 30 companies had made donations by Wednesday morning, and the number was expected to climb.
"They've been pouring in," she said.
In Indianapolis, drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) prepared to send 40,000 vials of refrigerated insulin to patients in the Southeast, along with at least $1 million in cash to the American Red Cross.
"We're poised to ship as soon as we get the OK," Lilly spokesman Edward Sagebiel said.
Drug maker Wyeth (WYE) of Madison, N.J., planned to donate antibiotics and nonprescription pain relievers, health care giant Johnson & Johnson provided $250,000 worth of kits containing toothbrushes, soap and shampoo, as well as pallets of pain relievers and wound care supplies. Drug maker Merck & Co. (MRK) planned to send antibiotics and hepatitis A vaccines to protect those facing contaminated waters.
"Our commitment is open-ended," said Merck spokeswoman Janet Skidmore.
Illinois-based pharmaceutical company Abbott Laboratories Inc. is giving $2 million cash and at least $2 million in nutritional and medical products.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said initial corporate donations to the relief efforts could total more than $100 million.
Hank Goldstein, chairman of Giving USA in Glenview, Ill., said individual and corporate donations combined could reach $1 billion.
But he predicted the corporate relief effort would be smaller than those recorded after the 2001 terrorist attacks and the tsunami that ravaged Asia in December.
"This kind of money comes quick and comes early and then falls off fast after that," Goldstein said. "It will abate along with the water."
Donations Wednesday already had reached well into the millions and included $5 million from Chevron Corp., $3 million each from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup, $2 million from Pfizer and $1 million from insurer State Farm.
The Walt Disney Co. contributed $2.5 million, $1 million of which will go to the American Red Cross and the rest for rebuilding efforts and volunteer centers helping affected communities.
The contributions also included 50 trucks donated by Nissan North America to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, more than 825,000 cans of water supplied by Anheuser-Busch (BUD) in St. Louis and 3,000 walkie talkie-type phones for emergency personnel from Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) Kellogg Co. (K) of Battle Creek, Mich., sent seven truckloads of crackers and cookies to hard-hit areas. General Motors Corp. (GM) also planned to donate 25 cars and trucks to the Red Cross.
Qwest Communications International Inc. will send 2,000 long-distance calling cards so those affected could call loved ones, said spokesman Michael Dunne. He said Denver-based Qwest also has given the Red Cross $230,000 to help train responders.
Home improvement companies Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's (LOW) pledged cash and manpower, while Culligan International of Northbrook, Ill., sent five truckloads of water to residents in Alabama and Mississippi.
The water, part of a larger, 28-truck convoy organized by the Missouri-based Convoy of Hope, was traveling at 10 mph through Mississippi.
"It's very treacherous," said Mike Ennis, director of strategic initiatives at Convoy of Hope.
Office Depot (ODP) of Delray Beach, Fla., donated $1 million to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief efforts. Officials announced Wednesday the company also would give the contents of its five New Orleans stores, valued at $4 million, to New Orleans officials to use as they recover from Hurricane Katrina.
Spokesman Brian Levine said the contents include items such as printers, paper, cartridges, pens and notebooks. What might be available and its condition were unclear.
City officials on Wednesday commandeered equipment from a looted Office Depot. During a state of emergency, authorities have broad powers to take private supplies and buildings for their use.
But Levine couldn't say what condition the items might be in given the flooding that has ravaged the city.
"I couldn't tell you if it's completely flooded, a little flooded, or not," he said. "Our position is we're donating the contents of the entire store."
Katrina: Images of Destruction
Katrina: The Storm That Marked Time
You know, every once-in-a-while, an event occurs that marks time. You know, you refer to a period of time when there was a major event. The event - whatever it was - helps the listener's mind retrieve memories. Typically, there are feelings associated with the memories that acts like a catalyst to open that part of our brain and a rush of memories comes to the forefront. Here are some events that have marked time in my mind: the Iranian Hostage Situation, the Challenger Accident, the Columbia Accident, The Chernobyl Incident, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Exxon Valdez accident, the 1985 Mexico earthquake killing 7,000 people, the 1989 San Francisco quake, Hirricane Andrew, Mississippi flood of '93, Oklahoma City bombing, TWA 800, and, of course, 9/11.
Now I have to add Katrina to the mix. This is an enormous disaster. It was a Cat 5, then a Cat 4, and went east of New Orleans ... we thought it wasn't going to be as bad ... then it got worse ... and then worse ... and then worse ... and officials speculate if New Orleans is even salvageable. We are now day three after the hurricane. It's an emotional toll. People, places, property, economy are all effected. What can you say to respond to such a natural disaster?
I'm posting some tidbits, thoughts, and photos from what I am seeing and reading. All tidbits and photos are courtesy of AP and Reuters. All thoughts are Phil's Obersvations ...
As of August 31st, a recap on the wrath of Katrina:
LOUISIANA:
— Deaths: The mayor said the hurricane probably killed thousands of people in New Orleans — an estimate that, if accurate, would make the storm the nation's deadliest natural disaster since at least the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Relief crews put aside the counting of bodies to concentrate on rescuing the living, many trapped on rooftops and in attics.
— Estimated 80 percent of New Orleans under water, up to 20 feet deep in places. Water still rising as engineers struggle to plug two breached levees along Lake Pontchartrain with giant sandbags.
— Authorities drew up plans to clear out the tens of thousands of people left in the Big Easy and all but abandon the flooded-out city. Many of the evacuees — including thousands now staying in the Superdome — will be moved to the Astrodome in Houston, 350 miles away.
— Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu said 3,000 people rescued by boat and air.
— Sections of Interstate 10, only major freeway leading into New Orleans from the east, destroyed.
— At least 370,000 customers estimated without power.
— BellSouth Corp., the region's dominant local phone provider, estimated that about 750,000 lines may be out of service in the most heavily damaged areas.
— Looting broke out in some New Orleans neighborhoods. Thieves took guns from a Wal-Mart. One police officer shot in the head by looter but expected to recover. Looters also used a forklift to smash open a pharmacy. City officials themselves commandeered equipment from a looted Office Depot. During a state of emergency, authorities have broad powers to take private supplies and buildings for their use.
— Quote: "You know, it's not like people are just there because they want to be there. They're there because they're trapped in the city." — Gov. Kathleen Blanco on ABC "Good Morning America"
MISSISSIPPI:
— Deaths: At least 110.
— More than 900,000 customers without power, utilities said.
— Hundreds of waterfront homes, businesses, community landmarks and condominiums obliterated.
— Casinos built on barges along the coast damaged or destroyed, some floated across beach onto land. Dozen casinos employed about 14,000 people, generated $2.7 billion in annual revenue.
— More than 1,600 Mississippi National Guardsmen activated.
— Major bridges damaged in three coastal counties, including those linking Biloxi with Ocean Springs and the connection to Bay St. Louis.
— Looters picked through casino slot machines for coins and ransacked other businesses.
— Quote: "It is indescribable — blocks and blocks and blocks of no houses. Ninety percent of the structures are gone. I saw Camille and the aftermath in 1969 and this is worst than Camille." Gov. Haley Barbour on NBC's "Today." Camille killed 143 and destroyed 6,000 homes.
ALABAMA:
— Deaths: Two.
— About 405,000 homes and businesses without power.
— Flooding reached 11 feet in Mobile, matching record set in 1917, according to National Weather Service. Water up to roofs of cars in downtown Mobile and bayou communities. Piers ransacked and grand homes flooded along Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay.
— Major bridge over the Mobile River partially reopened; it was struck by oil drilling platform that floated away from a shipyard.
FLORIDA:
— Deaths: 11.
— 38,000 customers without power in the Panhandle, hit by eastern edge of storm Monday. In South Florida, about 70,000 customers still without power Wednesday.
WASHINGTON, D.C.:
— President Bush cut Texas vacation to return to Washington.
— Federal Emergency Management Agency sent medical teams, rescue squads and groups prepared to supply food and water into disaster areas.
— Navy sent four ships to the Gulf Coast with water, other supplies.
OIL MARKETS:
— Crude oil prices dropped to a little below $70 a barrel after U.S. government decided to make petroleum available from strategic reserve.
— Oil and gas companies found some Gulf of Mexico oil rigs as far as 17 miles from their original locations.
---
NEW ORLEANS — A public health emergency was declared for the entire Gulf Coast Wednesday as New Orleans officials estimated that hundreds, if not thousands, of city residents were killed by Hurricane Katrina and the storm's aftermath.
"This recovery will take a long time," President Bush said. "This recovery will take years."
There will be a "total evacuation of the city. We have to. The city will not be functional for two or three months," New Orleans Mayor Nagin said.
In some counties, search and rescue teams were marking an "X" on homes and roofs where dead bodies were found so that they can later be retrieved.
The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued over 1,200 people from rooftops as rescue workers toil around the clock with the help of Navy, U.S. Customs, Marine and Army helicopters.
It could take close to a month to get the water out of the city. If the water rises a few feet higher, it could also wipe out the water system for the whole city, said New Orleans' homeland security chief, Terry Ebbert.
A giant new Wal-Mart in New Orleans was looted, and the entire gun collection was taken, The Times-Picayune reported. "There are gangs of armed men in the city moving around the city," said Ebbert, the city's homeland security chief. Also, looters tried to break into Children's Hospital, the governor's office said.
According to New Orleans power grid managers, it will take six to eight weeks to get power back on in the city after the water is drained. Water service likely won't be reestablished until a week or so after that, at the earliest.
----
NEW ORLEANS — As a public health catastrophe unfolded Wednesday in New Orleans, hospitals in the Crescent City sank further into disaster, airlifting babies without their parents to other states and struggling with more sick people appearing at their doors.
"We've identified 2,600 beds in hospitals in the 12-state area. In addition to that, we've identified 40,000 beds nationwide, should they be needed," said Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt.
Reporting from New Orleans Wednesday, Fox News' Shepard Smith said the breakdown in communication equipment was exacerbating the problem, as survivors had no information about where to go or how to get help. Thousands of victims were not being reached by rescue and relief efforts, Smith reported, and many were desperate for drinking water and food. A group of 14 people, including a five day-old baby, told Smith they had spent two days trapped in the attic of a house flooded with water 14 feet high before being rescued. Trapped in sweltering heat, without working phones, cell phones or television, survivors begged for help and information.
------
The enormity of setting up to what's essentially a small, working city is daunting, said Margaret O'Brien-Molina, a Red Cross spokeswoman.
"After Sept. 11, we had a lot of logistical work to do, but we weren't setting up a whole city for people who have no homes to go to anymore. This is different, so we'll adapt to it," she said.
-----
Transportation Department workers were ordered to help highways, airports, seaports and oil pipelines in the region. Generators were being moved to pipeline pumping stations to restore the flow of oil to the region.
Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta said that more than 400 trucks are mobilizing 5.4 million read-to-eat meals, 13.4 million liters of water, 3.4 million pounds of ice, 135,000 blankets, 11,000 cots, 200 tables and 450 chairs among other items.
The Pentagon sent four Navy ships from Hampton Roads to the Gulf of Mexico to help with hurricane relief efforts. They will join the U.S.S. Bataan, which was already in the Gulf for training. Two ships left Norfolk Thursday morning and two more headed out in the afternoon.
In addition, the hospital ship USNS Comfort was departing Baltimore for the Gulf region on Wednesday while eight swift water rescue teams from California headed to Louisiana to help pull stranded residents from their flooded homes and neighborhoods. The Army and Air Force were also providing search and rescue helicopters.
Bodman said that his agency is keeping an eye out for price gouging. In some areas on Wednesday, gas prices had surpassed $3 per gallon, with rates rising as much as 40 cents per gallon overnight at some stations.
-----
NEW YORK — U.S. retail gasoline prices will probably vault well over $3.00 per gallon in most parts of the country as early as this weekend after Hurricane Katrina devastated the energy industry in the Gulf Coast, analysts said Wednesday.
Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast on Monday, shutting nearly all of the Gulf of Mexico's oil production -- about a quarter of the nation's oil output -- and closing down nine refineries and several pipelines along the coast, according to government figures.
The price rise could bring the cost of gasoline above the inflation-adjusted peaks in the early 1980s.
------
NEW ORLEANS — Mayor Ray Nagin ordered 1,500 police officers to leave their search-and-rescue mission Wednesday night and return to the streets to stop looting that has turned increasingly hostile as the city plunges deeper into chaos.
"They are starting to get closer to heavily populated areas — hotels, hospitals, and we're going to stop it right now," Nagin said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The number of officers called off the search-and-rescue mission amounts to virtually the entire police force in New Orleans.
Managers at a nursing home were prepared to cope with the power outages and had enough food for days, but then the looting began. The home's bus driver was forced to surrender the vehicle to carjackers.
"We had enough food for 10 days," said Peggy Hoffman, the home's executive director. "Now we'll have to equip our department heads with guns and teach them how to shoot."
"We will restore law and order," Blanco said. "What angers me the most is that disasters like this often bring out the worst in people. I will not tolerate this kind of behavior."
Phils' Observations
New Orleans is destroyed. Golf Shores is destroyed. Mobile almost gone. Gulfport, Biloxi destroyed. Not sure what's salvageable or not. Thousands displaced. No power, no gas, no communications. Dead bodies everywhere. Thousands walking in water struggling to find dry land, water, food and sleep. Fuckin' looters taking guns, electronics, and other non-survival crap. Hospitals struggling. Nursing homes looted. Geez, what else can you say?
Now I have to add Katrina to the mix. This is an enormous disaster. It was a Cat 5, then a Cat 4, and went east of New Orleans ... we thought it wasn't going to be as bad ... then it got worse ... and then worse ... and then worse ... and officials speculate if New Orleans is even salvageable. We are now day three after the hurricane. It's an emotional toll. People, places, property, economy are all effected. What can you say to respond to such a natural disaster?
I'm posting some tidbits, thoughts, and photos from what I am seeing and reading. All tidbits and photos are courtesy of AP and Reuters. All thoughts are Phil's Obersvations ...
As of August 31st, a recap on the wrath of Katrina:
LOUISIANA:
— Deaths: The mayor said the hurricane probably killed thousands of people in New Orleans — an estimate that, if accurate, would make the storm the nation's deadliest natural disaster since at least the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Relief crews put aside the counting of bodies to concentrate on rescuing the living, many trapped on rooftops and in attics.
— Estimated 80 percent of New Orleans under water, up to 20 feet deep in places. Water still rising as engineers struggle to plug two breached levees along Lake Pontchartrain with giant sandbags.
— Authorities drew up plans to clear out the tens of thousands of people left in the Big Easy and all but abandon the flooded-out city. Many of the evacuees — including thousands now staying in the Superdome — will be moved to the Astrodome in Houston, 350 miles away.
— Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu said 3,000 people rescued by boat and air.
— Sections of Interstate 10, only major freeway leading into New Orleans from the east, destroyed.
— At least 370,000 customers estimated without power.
— BellSouth Corp., the region's dominant local phone provider, estimated that about 750,000 lines may be out of service in the most heavily damaged areas.
— Looting broke out in some New Orleans neighborhoods. Thieves took guns from a Wal-Mart. One police officer shot in the head by looter but expected to recover. Looters also used a forklift to smash open a pharmacy. City officials themselves commandeered equipment from a looted Office Depot. During a state of emergency, authorities have broad powers to take private supplies and buildings for their use.
— Quote: "You know, it's not like people are just there because they want to be there. They're there because they're trapped in the city." — Gov. Kathleen Blanco on ABC "Good Morning America"
MISSISSIPPI:
— Deaths: At least 110.
— More than 900,000 customers without power, utilities said.
— Hundreds of waterfront homes, businesses, community landmarks and condominiums obliterated.
— Casinos built on barges along the coast damaged or destroyed, some floated across beach onto land. Dozen casinos employed about 14,000 people, generated $2.7 billion in annual revenue.
— More than 1,600 Mississippi National Guardsmen activated.
— Major bridges damaged in three coastal counties, including those linking Biloxi with Ocean Springs and the connection to Bay St. Louis.
— Looters picked through casino slot machines for coins and ransacked other businesses.
— Quote: "It is indescribable — blocks and blocks and blocks of no houses. Ninety percent of the structures are gone. I saw Camille and the aftermath in 1969 and this is worst than Camille." Gov. Haley Barbour on NBC's "Today." Camille killed 143 and destroyed 6,000 homes.
ALABAMA:
— Deaths: Two.
— About 405,000 homes and businesses without power.
— Flooding reached 11 feet in Mobile, matching record set in 1917, according to National Weather Service. Water up to roofs of cars in downtown Mobile and bayou communities. Piers ransacked and grand homes flooded along Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay.
— Major bridge over the Mobile River partially reopened; it was struck by oil drilling platform that floated away from a shipyard.
FLORIDA:
— Deaths: 11.
— 38,000 customers without power in the Panhandle, hit by eastern edge of storm Monday. In South Florida, about 70,000 customers still without power Wednesday.
WASHINGTON, D.C.:
— President Bush cut Texas vacation to return to Washington.
— Federal Emergency Management Agency sent medical teams, rescue squads and groups prepared to supply food and water into disaster areas.
— Navy sent four ships to the Gulf Coast with water, other supplies.
OIL MARKETS:
— Crude oil prices dropped to a little below $70 a barrel after U.S. government decided to make petroleum available from strategic reserve.
— Oil and gas companies found some Gulf of Mexico oil rigs as far as 17 miles from their original locations.
---
NEW ORLEANS — A public health emergency was declared for the entire Gulf Coast Wednesday as New Orleans officials estimated that hundreds, if not thousands, of city residents were killed by Hurricane Katrina and the storm's aftermath.
"This recovery will take a long time," President Bush said. "This recovery will take years."
There will be a "total evacuation of the city. We have to. The city will not be functional for two or three months," New Orleans Mayor Nagin said.
In some counties, search and rescue teams were marking an "X" on homes and roofs where dead bodies were found so that they can later be retrieved.
The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued over 1,200 people from rooftops as rescue workers toil around the clock with the help of Navy, U.S. Customs, Marine and Army helicopters.
It could take close to a month to get the water out of the city. If the water rises a few feet higher, it could also wipe out the water system for the whole city, said New Orleans' homeland security chief, Terry Ebbert.
A giant new Wal-Mart in New Orleans was looted, and the entire gun collection was taken, The Times-Picayune reported. "There are gangs of armed men in the city moving around the city," said Ebbert, the city's homeland security chief. Also, looters tried to break into Children's Hospital, the governor's office said.
According to New Orleans power grid managers, it will take six to eight weeks to get power back on in the city after the water is drained. Water service likely won't be reestablished until a week or so after that, at the earliest.
----
NEW ORLEANS — As a public health catastrophe unfolded Wednesday in New Orleans, hospitals in the Crescent City sank further into disaster, airlifting babies without their parents to other states and struggling with more sick people appearing at their doors.
"We've identified 2,600 beds in hospitals in the 12-state area. In addition to that, we've identified 40,000 beds nationwide, should they be needed," said Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt.
Reporting from New Orleans Wednesday, Fox News' Shepard Smith said the breakdown in communication equipment was exacerbating the problem, as survivors had no information about where to go or how to get help. Thousands of victims were not being reached by rescue and relief efforts, Smith reported, and many were desperate for drinking water and food. A group of 14 people, including a five day-old baby, told Smith they had spent two days trapped in the attic of a house flooded with water 14 feet high before being rescued. Trapped in sweltering heat, without working phones, cell phones or television, survivors begged for help and information.
------
The enormity of setting up to what's essentially a small, working city is daunting, said Margaret O'Brien-Molina, a Red Cross spokeswoman.
"After Sept. 11, we had a lot of logistical work to do, but we weren't setting up a whole city for people who have no homes to go to anymore. This is different, so we'll adapt to it," she said.
-----
Transportation Department workers were ordered to help highways, airports, seaports and oil pipelines in the region. Generators were being moved to pipeline pumping stations to restore the flow of oil to the region.
Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta said that more than 400 trucks are mobilizing 5.4 million read-to-eat meals, 13.4 million liters of water, 3.4 million pounds of ice, 135,000 blankets, 11,000 cots, 200 tables and 450 chairs among other items.
The Pentagon sent four Navy ships from Hampton Roads to the Gulf of Mexico to help with hurricane relief efforts. They will join the U.S.S. Bataan, which was already in the Gulf for training. Two ships left Norfolk Thursday morning and two more headed out in the afternoon.
In addition, the hospital ship USNS Comfort was departing Baltimore for the Gulf region on Wednesday while eight swift water rescue teams from California headed to Louisiana to help pull stranded residents from their flooded homes and neighborhoods. The Army and Air Force were also providing search and rescue helicopters.
Bodman said that his agency is keeping an eye out for price gouging. In some areas on Wednesday, gas prices had surpassed $3 per gallon, with rates rising as much as 40 cents per gallon overnight at some stations.
-----
NEW YORK — U.S. retail gasoline prices will probably vault well over $3.00 per gallon in most parts of the country as early as this weekend after Hurricane Katrina devastated the energy industry in the Gulf Coast, analysts said Wednesday.
Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast on Monday, shutting nearly all of the Gulf of Mexico's oil production -- about a quarter of the nation's oil output -- and closing down nine refineries and several pipelines along the coast, according to government figures.
The price rise could bring the cost of gasoline above the inflation-adjusted peaks in the early 1980s.
------
NEW ORLEANS — Mayor Ray Nagin ordered 1,500 police officers to leave their search-and-rescue mission Wednesday night and return to the streets to stop looting that has turned increasingly hostile as the city plunges deeper into chaos.
"They are starting to get closer to heavily populated areas — hotels, hospitals, and we're going to stop it right now," Nagin said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The number of officers called off the search-and-rescue mission amounts to virtually the entire police force in New Orleans.
Managers at a nursing home were prepared to cope with the power outages and had enough food for days, but then the looting began. The home's bus driver was forced to surrender the vehicle to carjackers.
"We had enough food for 10 days," said Peggy Hoffman, the home's executive director. "Now we'll have to equip our department heads with guns and teach them how to shoot."
"We will restore law and order," Blanco said. "What angers me the most is that disasters like this often bring out the worst in people. I will not tolerate this kind of behavior."
Phils' Observations
New Orleans is destroyed. Golf Shores is destroyed. Mobile almost gone. Gulfport, Biloxi destroyed. Not sure what's salvageable or not. Thousands displaced. No power, no gas, no communications. Dead bodies everywhere. Thousands walking in water struggling to find dry land, water, food and sleep. Fuckin' looters taking guns, electronics, and other non-survival crap. Hospitals struggling. Nursing homes looted. Geez, what else can you say?
Monday, August 29, 2005
Sharpton's Driver Pulled Over Doing 110
Cuortesy of
CRAWFORD, Texas — A driver for the Rev. Al Sharpton led Ellis County Sheriff's deputies on a nine-mile chase at speeds up to 110 mph before state troopers stopped the car, authorities said.
The driver was rushing Sharpton to the airport after his visit anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan on Sunday at her camp outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford.
The car carrying Sharpton and two other passengers was clocked doing 110 mph in a 65 mph zone on Interstate 35 in Ellis County in North Texas, said Lt. Danny Williams.
The car ignored deputies' attempts to stop it and continued speeding and weaving in and out of traffic before it was stopped, Williams said.
Calls Monday to Sharpton's spokeswoman were not immediately returned. A spokesman for his attorney, Michael Hardy, referred inquiries to the spokeswoman.
Deputies arrested Jarrett Barton Maupin, 43, of Phoenix. Maupin told the officers he was hurrying to get Sharpton to the airport. Deputies impounded the rented 2005 Lincoln.
Williams said his officers offered Sharpton and the other, unidentified passengers a ride to a hotel across the highway, but they declined and walked there instead.
Maupin posted a total of $1,000 in bonds on charges of evading arrest with a vehicle and reckless driving.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Canadians & Republicans Dissappointed: American's Didn't Flock to Canada After All
Courtesy of 
OTTAWA- Canadians can put away those extra welcome mats -- it seems Americans unhappy about the result of last November's presidential election have decided to stay at home after all.
In the days after President Bush won a second term, the number of U.S. citizens visiting Canada's main immigration Web site shot up sixfold, prompting speculation that unhappy Democrats would flock north.
But official statistics show the number of Americans actually applying to live permanently in Canada fell in the six months after the election.
On the face of it this is not good news -- Canada is one of the few major nations seeking to attract immigrants -- but Immigration Minister Joe Volpe was philosophical.
"We'll take talent from wherever it is resident in the world. I was absolutely elated to see the number of hits and then my staff said 'You know what? A hit on the Internet is after all just a hit'," he told Reuters on Thursday.
"I guess I'm happy Republicans and Democrats have found a way to live together in peace and in harmony," he said.
Canada generally tilts more to the social and political left than the United States.
Data from the main Canadian processing center in Buffalo, NY shows that in the six months up to the U.S. election there were 16,266 applications from people seeking to live in Canada, a figure that fell to 14,666 for the half year after the vote.
A spokeswoman for Canada's federal immigration ministry declined to speculate on the reasons for the drop.
Toby Condliffe, who heads the Canadian chapter of Democrats Abroad, did have an explanation of sorts.
"I can only assume the Americans who checked out the Web site subsequently checked out our winter temperatures and further took note that the National Hockey League was being locked out and had second thoughts," he told Reuters.
Last year, Canada, which has a population of about 32 million, accepted 235,808 immigrants from all over the world.
Phil's Observations
I'm not sure what to do besides laugh. And smile. And then laugh again.
OTTAWA- Canadians can put away those extra welcome mats -- it seems Americans unhappy about the result of last November's presidential election have decided to stay at home after all.
In the days after President Bush won a second term, the number of U.S. citizens visiting Canada's main immigration Web site shot up sixfold, prompting speculation that unhappy Democrats would flock north.
But official statistics show the number of Americans actually applying to live permanently in Canada fell in the six months after the election.
On the face of it this is not good news -- Canada is one of the few major nations seeking to attract immigrants -- but Immigration Minister Joe Volpe was philosophical.
"We'll take talent from wherever it is resident in the world. I was absolutely elated to see the number of hits and then my staff said 'You know what? A hit on the Internet is after all just a hit'," he told Reuters on Thursday.
"I guess I'm happy Republicans and Democrats have found a way to live together in peace and in harmony," he said.
Canada generally tilts more to the social and political left than the United States.
Data from the main Canadian processing center in Buffalo, NY shows that in the six months up to the U.S. election there were 16,266 applications from people seeking to live in Canada, a figure that fell to 14,666 for the half year after the vote.
A spokeswoman for Canada's federal immigration ministry declined to speculate on the reasons for the drop.
Toby Condliffe, who heads the Canadian chapter of Democrats Abroad, did have an explanation of sorts.
"I can only assume the Americans who checked out the Web site subsequently checked out our winter temperatures and further took note that the National Hockey League was being locked out and had second thoughts," he told Reuters.
Last year, Canada, which has a population of about 32 million, accepted 235,808 immigrants from all over the world.
Phil's Observations
I'm not sure what to do besides laugh. And smile. And then laugh again.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
New Link Added to Phil's Observations
A buddy of mine has a new site promoting how his amazing talent will make your major life event so much more special. Joe's got the ability to take whatever idea you have and turn it into a beautiful song. Even better, he'll come and perform for you. Be sure to check out his new site. Click on the pic of Joe and his guitar in the left column.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Time for a change ...
I'm working on a new background for da blog. Previews look great, but the url doesn't show the blog like the way I want it. I may have to figure something out, cuz I don't think I know what I am doing ... like usual!
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Civics Lessons?
O'Connor to Lead Civics Lessons for ABA
Courtesy of
CHICAGO — Retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is taking on a new challenge: overseeing a national civics lesson.
Many adults struggle to identify the branches of government — legislative, executive and judicial — and explain the concept of separation of powers, according to a new poll.
Michael Greco, a Boston lawyer who takes over as ABA president this week, asked O'Connor and former presidential candidate and Sen. Bill Bradley, D-N.J., to help educate people on the subject. They will be honorary co-chairs of a civic education commission.
The ABA poll, being released Monday, shows that just over half of adults can correctly identify the branches. One in five incorrectly said that the three branches were Republican, Democrat and independent, and 16 percent thought the three were local, state and federal. While eight in 10 people said that separation of powers is important, less than half, when given four choices, correctly picked that "Congress, the president and the federal courts each have different responsibilities." Nearly a third said it meant different federal departments have different powers.
"There are some significant gaps in people's knowledge," Greco said. O'Connor, 75, served as an Arizona state senator and judge before President Reagan named her to the Supreme Court in 1981.
Her retirement, announced last month, provides its own civics lesson. Under the Constitution, Supreme Court justices (judicial branch) are named by the president (executive) but must be confirmed first by the Senate (legislative).
The poll of 1,002 adults was conducted July 22-27 by Harris Interactive. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Phil's Observations
Doesn't this so clearly demonstrate that our educational system is lacking???? I really understand if someone doesn't know the specifics of how our "for the people, by the people" government works, but can't we just learn the basics? Simple things like the three branches, their roles, and how laws are made?? Aweful scary to me ...
Courtesy of
CHICAGO — Retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is taking on a new challenge: overseeing a national civics lesson.
Many adults struggle to identify the branches of government — legislative, executive and judicial — and explain the concept of separation of powers, according to a new poll.
Michael Greco, a Boston lawyer who takes over as ABA president this week, asked O'Connor and former presidential candidate and Sen. Bill Bradley, D-N.J., to help educate people on the subject. They will be honorary co-chairs of a civic education commission.
The ABA poll, being released Monday, shows that just over half of adults can correctly identify the branches. One in five incorrectly said that the three branches were Republican, Democrat and independent, and 16 percent thought the three were local, state and federal. While eight in 10 people said that separation of powers is important, less than half, when given four choices, correctly picked that "Congress, the president and the federal courts each have different responsibilities." Nearly a third said it meant different federal departments have different powers.
"There are some significant gaps in people's knowledge," Greco said. O'Connor, 75, served as an Arizona state senator and judge before President Reagan named her to the Supreme Court in 1981.
Her retirement, announced last month, provides its own civics lesson. Under the Constitution, Supreme Court justices (judicial branch) are named by the president (executive) but must be confirmed first by the Senate (legislative).
The poll of 1,002 adults was conducted July 22-27 by Harris Interactive. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Phil's Observations
Doesn't this so clearly demonstrate that our educational system is lacking???? I really understand if someone doesn't know the specifics of how our "for the people, by the people" government works, but can't we just learn the basics? Simple things like the three branches, their roles, and how laws are made?? Aweful scary to me ...
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Ya ever have that feelin'?
that time flies so damn fast it's hard to keep up? It's been months since I've posted to the blog, and it's been months since I've thought about it. So many other "things" are to be completed or accomplished, it's like this grand idea of a blog that I had just got pushed to the wayside. I actually feel a little bit guilty over it, simply because my intention was to stay on top of the blog.
There have been so many events that have taken place since I last posted, and now it would take forever to get caught up. So I am just going to have to live with the fact of no posts in several months, sincerely ask for readership apology, and continue on.
What's on my mind today do you ask? Individual spirit. One of the women I help though an agency I volunteer for drives me insane. This woman is 51 years old, twice divorced, with six kids, the littlest ones being 7, 9, and 14. This poor woman has had to deal with so many court hearings and trials since her divorce from her second husband it's insane. She struggles to keep up, and she struggles to maintain a positive attitude. Sometimes she loses this struggle. She has a hard time managing her time, and an even harder time managing what little money she has. But yet, this women has been enrolled in five consecutive semesters part-time at a local college, and has recieved a 4.0 for four of them, a 3.8 for the other. It simply amazes me that she struggles so much to live life, but when she's committed to something, she can do so well.
Today is a beautiful day. Family is coming over so I am gonna fire up the grill for some good ol' burgers and brats. I hope you're doing well.
There have been so many events that have taken place since I last posted, and now it would take forever to get caught up. So I am just going to have to live with the fact of no posts in several months, sincerely ask for readership apology, and continue on.
What's on my mind today do you ask? Individual spirit. One of the women I help though an agency I volunteer for drives me insane. This woman is 51 years old, twice divorced, with six kids, the littlest ones being 7, 9, and 14. This poor woman has had to deal with so many court hearings and trials since her divorce from her second husband it's insane. She struggles to keep up, and she struggles to maintain a positive attitude. Sometimes she loses this struggle. She has a hard time managing her time, and an even harder time managing what little money she has. But yet, this women has been enrolled in five consecutive semesters part-time at a local college, and has recieved a 4.0 for four of them, a 3.8 for the other. It simply amazes me that she struggles so much to live life, but when she's committed to something, she can do so well.
Today is a beautiful day. Family is coming over so I am gonna fire up the grill for some good ol' burgers and brats. I hope you're doing well.