While the media was focused on the looting of some New Orleans businesses by poor people trying to survive, another form of looting was going on behind the scenes. I'll call it "white-collar looting."
While the world was watching the rescues of people from rooftops, while thousands suffered in the Louisiana heat at the Convention Center and the Superdome, the city of San Antonio, Texas, and Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints were plotting a way to use the tragedy of Katrina for their own advantage. Their plans came to partial fruition yesterday as the NFL awarded San Antonio three of the Saints home games.
More on this story, including background, below the fold:
As a former New Orleans resident, it appears to me that the residents of Daily Kos, the rest of the blogosphere, and the national media seem to be confused about the whole levee break situation. I believe this stems from a lack of familiarity with the New Orleans levee system and New Orleans history. The Bush Administration has obviously realized this and is taking advantage of the situation to shift blame away from themselves. I have created this diary to clear up this confusion.
A lesson on New Orleans levees and levee breaks appears after the fold.
Only a few minutes ago, I received a call from an unknown number. It turned out to be a robo-poll. I was asked a total of two questions. The first question was, "If the election were held to today, for whom would you vote? Press 1 for Kerry/Edwards. Press 2 for Bush/Cheney." The second question was, "What is the primary motivation for your vote? Press 1 for Supporting the Democratic ticket. Press 2 for Getting George W. Bush out of office."
I have never heard of "ITS" and can find nothing about them through internet searches. Can anyone shed any light on whom they are?
Every year, the ADA (Americans for Democratic Action) releases its ratings for each member of the U.S. Congress for the previous year. The 2003 ratings have just been released. How does the ADA arrive at their ratings?
In the current issue of The American Conservative, Patrick Buchanan gives a devastating critique of the neoconservatives from a traditional conservative perspective. Buchanan pulls no punches, accusing the neocons of using fear and 9/11 to advance their own agenda of American empire. He even quotes Joshua Micah Marshall of Talking Points Memo. The article is very long, and Buchanan occasionally goes off on right-wing tangents, but this is a must-read.
Richard Perle, in contradiction to President Bush, is now calling for the resignation of CIA chief, George Tenet, and DIA chief, Navy Vice-Adm. Lowell Jacoby because of "their faulty conclusions that Saddam Hussein possessed mass-killing weapons."
It seems that Bush does have at least one thing going for him this November: demographics. The results of the 2000 census have shifted electoral votes around a bit. In general, people are moving out of the northern U.S. and into the southern and southwestern states.
DailyKos has been a Dean stronghold on the net. Clark also has a strong support here (Me included). Well, it's starting to look like the Democratic nomination is may come down to Kerry or Edwards. Which of the two candidates would you prefer?
