I am sure that all of my neighbors along the Gulf Coast have memories as vivid as my own about where they were on August 29, 2005. Presidential hopeful John McCain’s wherabouts that day are a matter of public record.
As it shows in this picture on the White House website he was enjoying a photo op with W. and a brithday cake.
Not the man I’m voting for.
Go vote.
-Loki, Founder HumidCity
Wow. I am really stunned by this and do not have time to do any in depth analysis until I return to New Orleans in the begining of next week. I’m glad they’re voting for Obama and I am glad that this demographic is deserting the McCain Palin ticket, but still…..
Via FiveThirtyEight.com:
So a canvasser goes to a woman’s door in Washington, Pennsylvania. Knocks. Woman answers. Knocker asks who she’s planning to vote for. She isn’t sure, has to ask her husband who she’s voting for. Husband is off in another room watching some game. Canvasser hears him yell back, “We’re votin’ for the n***er!”
Woman turns back to canvasser, and says brightly and matter of factly: “We’re voting for the n***er.”
In this economy, racism is officially a luxury. How is John McCain going to win if he can’t win those voters? John Murtha’s “racist” western Pennsylvania district, where this story takes place, is some of the roughest turf in the nation. But Barack Obama is on the ground and making inroads due to unusually strong organizing leadership.
Despite the fact that this seems like a bad joke it is actually a true story. Go read the original.
[Hat tip to YatPundit on Twitter]
Loki, HumidCity Founder and Obama Supporter
John McCain’s former campaign chief Mike Murphy and former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan were caught on tape after an NBC interview. They shared their real thoughts on McCain’s judgment in selecting Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.Video Here
TRANSCRIPT
Mike Murphy, former McCain advisor: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state governor work. Engler, Whitman, Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush. And these guys, this is all like how you want to (inaudible) this race. You know, just run it up. And it’s not gonna work.
Peggy Noonan, former Reagan speechwriter: It’s over.
Murphy: Still, McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.
NBC’s Chuck Todd: Don’t you think the Palin pick was insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too (inaudible)
Noonan: I saw Kay this morning.
Murphy: They’re all bummed out.
Todd: I mean, is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?
Noonan: The most qualified? No. I think they went for this, excuse me, political [B.S.] about narratives and (inaudible) the picture.
Murphy: I totally agree.
Noonan: Every time the Republicans do that because that’s not where they live and it’s not what they’re good at and they blow it.
Murphy: You know what’s really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism and this is cynical.
Todd: And as you called it, gimmicky.
Remember the promises to rebuild infrastructure, promises that three years later remain unfulfilled.
Remember us in your thoughts as Gustav and Hanna approach.
7AM CDT — KATRINA MAKES LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]
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. [AP]
8AM CDT — MAYOR NAGIN REPORTS THAT WATER IS FLOWING OVER LEVEE: “I’ve gotten reports this morning that there is already water coming over some of the levee systems. In the lower ninth ward, we’ve had one of our pumping stations to stop operating, so we will have significant flooding, it is just a matter of how much.” [NBC’s “Today Show”]
11:13 AM CDT - WHITE HOUSE CIRCULATES INTERNAL MEMO ABOUT LEVEE BREACH: “Flooding is significant throughout the region and a levee in New Orleans has reportedly been breached sending 6-8 feet of water throughout the 9th ward area of the city.” [AP]
MORNING — 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. [AP]
MORNING — MAYFIELD WARNS BUSH ABOUT THE TOPPING OF THE LEVEES: In the same briefing, Max Mayfield, National Hurricane Center Director, warns, “This is a category 5 hurricane, very similar to Hurricane Andrew in the maximum intensity, but there’s a big big difference. This hurricane is much larger than Andrew ever was. I also want to make absolutely clear to everyone that the greatest potential for large loss of lives is still in the coastal areas from the storm surge. … I don’t think anyone can tell you with any confidence right now whether the levees will be topped or not, but there’s obviously a very very grave concern.” [AP]
MORNING — BUSH CALLS SECRETARY CHERTOFF TO DISCUSS IMMIGRATION: “I spoke to Mike Chertoff today — he’s the head of the Department of Homeland Security. I knew people would want me to discuss this issue [immigration], so we got us an airplane on — a telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. I said, are you working with the governor? He said, you bet we are.” [White House]
MORNING — BUSH SHARES BIRTHDAY CAKE PHOTO-OP WITH SEN. JOHN MCCAIN [White House]
11AM CDT — MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY REQUESTS THAT DHS DISPATCH 1,000 EMPLOYEES TO REGION, GIVES THEM TWO DAYS TO ARRIVE: “Brown’s memo to Chertoff described Katrina as ‘this near catastrophic event’ but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, ‘Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities.’” [AP]
LATE MORNING — LEVEE BREACHED: “A large section of the vital 17th Street Canal levee, where it connects to the brand new ‘hurricane proof’ Old Hammond Highway bridge, gave way late Monday morning in Bucktown after Katrina’s fiercest winds were well north.” [Times-Picayune]
11AM CDT — BUSH VISITS ARIZONA RESORT TO PROMOTE MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: “This new bill I signed says, if you’re a senior and you like the way things are today, you’re in good shape, don’t change. But, by the way, there’s a lot of different options for you. And we’re here to talk about what that means to our seniors.” [White House]
4:30PM CDT — BUSH TRAVELS TO CALIFORNIA SENIOR CENTER TO DISCUSS MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: “We’ve got some folks up here who are concerned about their Social Security or Medicare. Joan Geist is with us. … I could tell — she was looking at me when I first walked in the room to meet her, she was wondering whether or not old George W. is going to take away her Social Security check.” [White House]
8PM CDT — RUMSFELD ATTENDS SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL GAME: Rumsfeld “joined Padres President John Moores in the owner’s box…at Petco Park.” [Editor & Publisher]
8PM CDT — GOV. BLANCO AGAIN REQUESTS ASSISTANCE FROM BUSH: “Mr. President, we need your help. We need everything you’ve got.” [Newsweek]
LATE PM — BUSH GOES TO BED WITHOUT ACTING ON BLANCO’S REQUESTS [Newsweek]
To see the full Think Progress Katrina Timeline, click here.
Maitri posts the best synopsis of the past several days in New Orleans that I have yet seen. Gets right on down to the nitty gritty, and boy is it gritty….
Via Vatul Blog:
On returning to New Orleans, Ive discovered that the city wronglydemolished a home, Jessica Hawk (from Ohio)was found murdered in her home on the 3000 block of Chartres in the Bywater, two people wereshot to deathat an Uptown intersection where my friend takes frequent afternoon walks,McSame and Bush willmake their obligatoryNew Orleans visits this week (for more cake, Im sure) and, to top it all off, Mayor Ray Ray will bepresented withThe Award of Distinction For Recovery, Courage, and Leadership by a group called The Excellence in Recovery Host Committee, led by a prominent member of our City Council. I feel like a bit character in a poorly-reenactedmashup of The Enemy Within and Mirror Mirror set in New Orleans.
Yes, corruption and incompetence are found wherever power and money are to be had, but not like this, not when we should all be extra-vigilant during this reconstruction. Returning to pre-Katrinadysfunctional bullshitis not recovery. It makes me want to run screaming back to Ohioor Wisconsin.The Upper Midwest is not exempt from flood, government incompetence and crime, but its not an excuse to dodge the issue that there are serious problems down here, andthat almost 25% will leave if we as a city dont address them.
There, short and (not so) sweet.
-Loki, HumidCity Founder
So its August and the big anniversary is coming up. Me and the family usually head to Gulf Shores, Alabama to lie on the beach, count our blessings, and forget. We really dont need a flashy annual reminder of what turned our lives upside down.
I understand the desire to commemorate what happened, and to pay tribute to the lives that were lost. But thats really not us, yknow? This is the land of jazz funerals; where the usual drill is to look death in the eye, thumb our collective nose at it, and strike up the band. All this commemoration stuff is a just a flat-out bummer, and its out of character.
This year, lets do what we do. Turn the beat around. Take a sad song and make it better. Transform our blues into a turbo-charged, sugar-frosted luv-mo-sheen. Lets take the anniversary of the worst thing thats ever happened to this city and make it a day that promotes change for the better and celebrates the power of redemption over catastrophe. Lets be a city of wise-aching smart alecks. Yes, this is what we do.
I have a proposal for my fellow New Orleanians.
This year, on August 29, instead of mulling over our misfortunes, lets take a cue from the president. Lets follow his lead with an act of solidarity and tolerance that will push the boundaries of human comprehension.
This August 29, lets shuffle off the collective gloom by having a citywide party that celebrates the birthday of John McCain.
Huh?
Pop quiz: Where was President Bush when the big storm hit, on August 29, 2005?
Answer:
(actual photograph taken on August 29, 2005)
He was in Arizona having a piece of birthday cake with his buddy, John McCain.
The president didnt get caught with his pants down, the storm did not take him by surprise. Everyone saw it coming, knew exactly when it would make landfall. The presidents master plan for zero hour was, apparently: Gotta get me summa that cake!
Im not sure if I blame the president. Think about it. John McCain, in effect, lured a mentally-disabled manchild to Arizona with the promise of a tasty hunk of birthday cake. How can we expect a feeble-minded person to resist such yummy temptation?
Im not sure if I blame Senator McCain either. When you reach his age, you really have to celebrate each birthday as if it might be your last bodies floating down the streets of a major American city be damned!
So this August 29, lets follow the example of these two great Americans one who is president, and the other who will be the next president if were not careful.
Let them eat cake. And lets have some, too!
Start making plans. I want to see McCain birthday parties popping up all over the city this August 29. It will be a chance to turn a frown upside-down, and to provide the sort of high-minded, outrageous political mockery that New Orleanians have always been famous for.
Start blogging about your McCain Birthday Bash plans, set up websites, and spread the word!
Come as you were: life preservers and air-mattress-as-flotation-devices are optional but recommended! Dont forget those pointy little paper birthday hats and be sure to bring lots and lots of candles!
If our citywide McCain Birthday Bash makes the national news (as it should!), it will be an opportunity for us to remind the rest of the country (in a very important election year!) what Candidate McCain really thinks of American citizens who are staring down the darkest moment of their recorded history: Not much!
He didnt let us ruin his party, so lets not let him ruin ours!
If we play our cards right, we can: pass a good time, make a point about the common-decency-deficit in the Republican party, help get Senator Obama elected, let the world know weve still got a sense of humor, and wish an old man a happy birthday.
Everybody wins!
Thats right, New Orleanians, this August 29th we can save the human race with a good old-fashioned hunk of birthday cake. Its not been done before, but theres a first time for everything
- Louis Maistros
These things may not be right, but they are true
*
The Sound of Building Coffins Louis Maistros is due for release by The Toby Press in March, 2009
