Storm-relief money spent at strip clubs

Police in Houston find misuse of FEMA's $2,000 debit cards

On the heels of a report earlier this week that Atlanta area Katrina victims were using $2,000 debit cards to purchase luxury items like Louis Vuitton handbags, Houston police yesterday discovered the cards, provided by FEMA and the Red Cross, being used at local strip clubs.

The Houston Police Department just formed a task force to investigate the abuse of the cards, which were distributed to thousands of Katrina hurricane victims to provide for necessities, such as food, clothing and toiletries. On the first day, the police found the cards being used to buy beer while ogling exotic dancers.

According to a report by KPRC, Channel 2, in Houston, a manager at Caligula XXI Gentlemen's Club said he has seen at least one debit card used at his club. A bartender at Baby Dolls, identified only as "Abby," said she has seen many of the cards used at her establishment.

"A lot of customers have been coming in from Louisiana and they've been real happy about the $1.75 beers and they're really nice," she said.

She couldn't say for sure whether the cards she has seen were from the Red Cross or from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but she found no fault in using federal dollars to guzzle beer at a strip club.

"You lost your whole house, then, why not?" she said "You might want some beer in a strip club. There are a lot of guys out there that like to do that."

The wife of the manager of another strip club told KPRC that her husband has seen patrons from Louisiana offering Red Cross and FEMA debit cards, but she declined to reveal the club's name.

The FEMA and Red Cross cards have few restrictions, but some evacuees have gotten into trouble when they tried to get additional cards.

Meanwhile, Houston police are going undercover as evacuees to keep their eyes on those who get in line more than once.

"There may be some individuals who use some false identifications or providing false information on the forms, so we're targeting those persons also," said Lt. Robert Manzo.
Officers handed out a warning that falsifying government documents could result in a 20-year prison sentence.

Earlier this week, the New York Daily News reported that "profiteering ghouls" were using the debit cards in luxury-goods stores as far away as Atlanta.

"We've seen three of the cards," said a senior employee of the Louis Vuitton store at the Lenox Square Mall in affluent Buckhead. "Two I'm certain have purchased; one actually asked if she could use it in the store. This has been since Saturday."

Restrictions on the cards say they can't be used to purchase alcohol, tobacco or firearms.
The clerk at the Louis Vuitton store said: "There's nothing legally that prevents us from taking it, unfortunately – other than morally, it's wrong." The unnamed employee told the Daily News two women who had made purchases with the card each bought a signature monogrammed Louis Vuitton handbag in the $800 range.

Meanwhile, in Memphis, Tenn., residents told News Channel 3 they saw Hurricane Katrina survivors purchase designer jeans, high heels and purses with their $2,000 emergency debit cards. According to the report, one Katrina victim was spotted at a Cordova clothier buying stacks of $65 designer jeans. Another viewer reported spotting a survivor buying "over $700 in high heel shoes and purses" at a Memphis department store "while (her) younger children, most of them looked under the age of 3, looked like they haven't showered in weeks."

"If they make an inappropriate decision as to what to purchase, the whole issue of victims' rights comes into play," said Bill Hildebrandt, chief executive officer of the Mid-South chapter of the Red Cross. "They have a right, I guess, to be inappropriate."

Hildebrandt conceded that the purchases could be traced, but he said if the receipts just said "shirt" or "jeans" or "clothes," there would be nothing the Red Cross could do. He said the Mid-South chapter stopped using the cards because the process became too cumbersome.

FEMA reportedly issued about 10,500 cards in the pilot program, with a total value of $20.6 million. Hildebrandt said some Red Cross chapters are still using the cards.

The cards have been a major source of confusion – and resentment – throughout the country.
On Sept. 7, after criticism about the federal government's slow response to helping the Katrina victims, the Bush administration announced that displaced families of the hurricane would receive the debit cards to spend on clothing and other immediate needs.

Two days later, FEMA scrapped the program after distributing the cards at shelters in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, where many of the evacuees were moved. FEMA said then that no cards will be issued to victims in other states.

FEMA Director Mike Brown resigned a few days later after being sent back to Washington, D.C., and relieved of his duty as head of the federal government's hurricane efforts.

Since then, FEMA has stopped handing out the cash cards, but is now requiring evacuees in other states outside Texas to apply for cash assistance.

FEMA is still distributing $2,000 per household to victims of the hurricane, but the process has been slow. After a brief experiment with the debit cards, the agency is now directly depositing the money in bank accounts.

Hurricane victims have to register with the agency by calling an 800 number that is almost always busy. The same goes for a Red Cross fund, which has distributed $140 million thus far, determining the amount per family based on need.

Reuters Explains Photo Of Bush Bathroom Note

September 15, 2005

Don't blame the photographer.

That's the message from Gary Hershorn, a picture editor for Reuters, about the photo yesterday that shows President George W. Bush writing an all-too-human note during a UN meeting.

Bush is shown writing: "I think I may need a bathroom break. Is this possible.

"The photo, which quickly became fodder for blogs and e-mails among friends, was taken by Rick Wilking, a contract photographer based in Denver who recently covered the flooding in New Orleans.Hershorn, Reuters' news editor for pictures for the Americas, says he's responsible for zooming in on the note and deciding to transmit the photo to Reuters clients. He says Wilking didn't know what the note said when he shot the picture.

"I'm so adamant that Rick has nothing to do with this. He was just the guy who pushed the button," Hershorn says.In response to the attention the photo is getting, Reuters' spokeswoman in London released a two-sentence statement about the picture:

"The photographer and editors on this story were looking for other angles in
their coverage of this event, something that went beyond the stock pictures of
talking heads that these kind of forums usually offer. This picture certainly
does that."

So how did the picture happen?

According to Hershorn, Wilking was one of several photographers covering the United Nations Security Council meeting between about 11 and noon yesterday. He was part of a pool stationed on a balcony that faced Bush's back; a group of White House photographers was on a balcony facing the president.

Wilking shot about 200 images and sent two memory cards to the press room at the U.N., where Hershorn was working. Hershorn looked at the images on a computer and initially decided not to send any of them.But a few hours later, he started to wonder about a note that Bush was seen writing in three of the pictures. Out of curiosity, he zoomed in to see if he could read it. Once he saw what it said, Hershorn decided the note was interesting and worth publishing. The white parts of the picture were overexposed, so a Reuters processor used Photoshop to burn down the note. This is a standard practice for news photos, Hershorn says, and the picture was not manipulated in any other way.

Around 4:30 p.m., Reuters transmitted two versions of the photo, including one that was tightly cropped around the note and Bush's hand.

The caption says that Bush was writing the note to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice; Hershorn says Wilking saw Bush write the note and hand the note to Rice.

Hershorn says heads of state seldom attend Security Council meetings, and it's possible that Bush was simply asking his secretary of state what the proper protocol was to be excused.

Online, some accused Reuters, and the media in general, of being insulting or juvenile. A letter writer to Editor & Publisher wrote, "You ought to all be ashamed of yourselves for this stupid trivia and childish focus."It's unclear how widely the picture was published; Hershorn says The (Toronto) Globe and Mail published it but he wasn't sure of any other outlets. Hershorn says he decided to transmit the picture because it was interesting.

"There was no malicious intent," he says. "That's not what we do."

************************************************************

No, . . . . Of course, there couldn't be any agenda, or "malicious intent" behind this, . . . from the news gathering agency that refuses to call a "terrorist" by that 'T' word, . . . preferring instead, the terms, "insurgent," "freedom-fighter," or "combatant." These folks couldn't tell me that water's wet, and have me believe them, yet I'm supposed to swallow the line that they had no intentions behind altering the photo, to show exactly what Bush was writing, . . . Sure!!! Marxism is alive, and well, in the international media; where morons also abound!!

God Bless,
Dan'L

Judge Rules Pledge of Allegiance Unconstitutional

September 15, 2005

A federal judge in California Wednesday ruled that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is unconstitutional.
The case was brought by two families represented by Michael Newdow, an atheist whose case before the U.S. Supreme Court was thrown out because it was brought on his daughter's behalf and he did not have custody of her.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton said the words "under God" violate the right of school children to be "free from a coercive requirement to affirm God." According to the Associated Press, Karlton said he was bound by precedent of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of Newdow in 2002.

Conservatives were quick to condemn the ruling
"Today's ruling by a federal judge who sits in the 9th Circuit is yet another assault on American principles. The Founding Fathers believed that our Creator gave us certain inalienable rights," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).

"The Pledge of Allegiance simply reinforces the beliefs that led to the birth of our great nation. It is an oath of our fidelity to our country, and I am disappointed that the court chose to rule against this American treasure," Hastert added.

"This is an extraordinary and blatant display of judicial activism. Judge Lawrence Karlton relied on the activist ruling of the Ninth Circuit which was rendered inoperable by the Supreme Court's ruling on this issue last year," said Kay Daly, president of the Coalition for a Fair Judiciary, in a statement.

"He claims it was precedent, but as an experienced judge, he knows better. Clearly, this is a ruling by a judge who is obviously an activist who legislates from the bench to enact his own agenda," added Daly.

Daly said the latest Pledge of Allegiance ruling demonstrates why Judge John Roberts should be confirmed to be chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

"This is precisely the reason we need Judge Roberts to be confirmed as Chief Justice. He's made it clear that he puts the law and the Constitution first. And he's made it clear that he won't substitute his own values for the clear commands of the law," said Daly.

Mathew Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, called the ruling "dismaying" but "not surprising."

"This history of the Pledge of Allegiance illustrates that the phrase 'under God' is a permissible acknowledgement rather than an establishment of religion. If the Pledge established or tended to establish a religion, then that would have happened during the past 50 years of its existence," said Staver in a statement.

"Day after day we have recited the Pledge from the classroom to the stateroom, from private meetings to public events, and not once has it tended to establish a religion," Staver said.
"Today's ruling illustrates why we need judges who are umpires applying settled law rather than activists intent on imposing their own ideology."

The Liberty Counsel filed a brief in the Newdow case when it was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The counsel also plans to file a brief in this case before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals followed by the Supreme Court if it goes that far.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which specializes in constitutional law, called Wednesday's decision "legally flawed" adding that it "underscores the importance of who serves on the Supreme Court of the United States."

Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the ACLJ, expressed hope that the "flawed decision" will eventually be overturned.

"This is another example of a federal district court exhibiting hostility toward a time-honored tradition which has been defended by numerous Justices including Justice O'Connor who said eliminating such references 'would sever ties to a history that sustains this nation even today,'" said Sekulow in a statement.

"The Pledge clearly acknowledges the fact that our freedoms in this country come from God, not government," Sekulow added.

One of the groups involved in the suit, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which is challenging Newdow in the case, also pledged to appeal the ruling immediately to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

"To protect the right for every child to recite the Pledge, we will immediately appeal this decision to the 9th Circuit," Derek Gaubatz, director of litigation for the Becket Fund, said in a statement.

Newdow, Humanists, liberals praise ruling
"A federal judge did as he was supposed to do and upheld the Constitution. We should be thankful that we have judiciary that will do that," said Newdow.

The nation's oldest and largest Humanist group, the American Humanist Association, applauded the ruling. Newdow was named AHA Humanist Pioneer in 2004.

AHA, which was founded in 1941, has over 100 local affiliates and is "dedicated to ensuring a voice for those with a positive nontheistic outlook, based on reason and experience, which embraces all of humanity," its press release stated.

"The practice of reciting the Pledge in public schools specifically targets children, inculcating them with a monotheistic message not held by millions of Americans," said AHA President Mel Lipman in a statement.

"This is not a passive reading of a historic document but an active swearing of a loyalty oath to one's country and, since 1954, an avowal that our nation exists 'under God,' which is tantamount to prayer," added Lipman.

"The First Amendment does not require hostility toward religion, but mandates government neutrality toward religion. By imposing a religious belief on those without such beliefs, the current version of the Pledge utterly fails this test," Lipman said.

"This ruling prevents disfranchisement and promotes religious liberty in America. Enforced conformity to a particular religious position is wrong. Humanists will remain vigilant in protecting the religious liberty of public school students," Lipman concluded.

The AHA submitted a friend-of-the-court brief to the Supreme Court on behalf of Newdow in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow.

A religious watchdog group, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, also applauded the ruling.

"The court's decision was correct as a matter of Establishment Clause jurisprudence," said Americans United Legal Director Ayesha Khan. "The Constitution forbids government to intervene in religious matters.

"America is a very diverse nation," Khan added. "We have some 2,000 different denominations and faith groups, as well as many Americans who choose no religious path at all. It is wrong for public schools to ask students to affirm a religious belief in order to express their patriotism."

"America faces many challenges today," Khan concluded. "We can best meet those challenges if we are united as a people. Americans should never be made to feel excluded from our national life because they have the 'wrong' views about religion."

Quote of the Day

"I know that it's fashionable in some places to suggest that there are no right answers and that the judges are motivated by a constellation of different considerations and, because of that, it should affect how we approach certain other issues. That's not the view of the law that I subscribe to."

---- Judge John Roberts, at his Chief Justice confirmation hearings, before the US Senate.

Monumental surrender

September 14, 2005

Michelle Malkin
© 2005 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46313

I am not an architect, but here is my 9-11 architectural philosophy: War memorials should memorialize war. If you want peace and understanding and healing and good will toward all, go build Kabbalah centers.

Please, for the sake of those who have sacrificed, let’s put the design of war memorials in the hands of creative people committed to erecting monuments of courage over capitulation.

This past weekend, to mark the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Discovery Channel aired a searing documentary on Flight 93. It was the “Flight That Fought Back” against al-Qaida hijackers who crashed the United Airlines plane into a field outside of Shanksville, Pa. – 15 minutes’ flying time from the nation’s capital and the killers’ likely target, the White House.

The movie fleshed out many of the heroes of Flight 93 through actual cell phone recordings and interviews with relatives. One was Alice Hoglan, mother of Mark Bingham, who encouraged her son not to sit back and surrender. These are excerpts from a voice-mail message Mrs. Hoglan left for Bingham during the hijacking:

Mark, this is your mom. It’s 10:54 a.m. [Eastern time]. The news is that it’s
been hijacked by terrorists. They are planning to probably use the plane as a
target to hit some site on the ground. So if you possibly can, try to overpower
these guys if you can – ‘cause they will probably use the plane as a target. I
would say go ahead and do everything you can to overpower them, because they’re
hell-bent. You know the number here. OK, I love you sweetie. Bye.

Throughout the documentary, family members recounted the take-charge, can-do attitudes of their loved ones. These were Americans who refused to sit down and be quiet and allow Islamic terrorists unfettered control over the flight stick of history. These were doers, not hand-wringers, who engaged in a violent and valiant struggle against evil.

I remind you of all this because the official Flight 93 memorial unveiled last week is now embroiled in overdue public controversy. Funded with a mix of public money and private cash (including a $500,000 grant from Teresa Heinz’s far-left Heinz Endowments), the winning design, titled the “Crescent of Embrace,” features a grove of maple trees ringing the crash site in the shape of an unmistakable red crescent. The crescent, New York University Middle East Studies professor Bernard Haykel told the Johnstown, Pa., Tribune-Democrat, “is the symbol of ritual and religious life for Muslims.”

Some design-contest jury members reportedly raised concerns about the jarring symbol of the hijackers’ faith implanted on the hallowed ground where the passengers of Flight 93 were murdered. But their recommendations to change the name of the memorial (to “Arc of Embrace,” or some such whitewashing) were ignored. Memorial architect Paul Murdoch, whose firm emphasizes “environmental responsibility and sustainability,” did not return calls and e-mails seeking comment, but he did emphasize to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his creation was about “healing” and “contemplation.” He is also proud of his idea to hang a bunch of wind chimes in a tall tower at the site as a “gesture of healing and bonding.”

Wind chimes? Hey, why not add pinwheels and smiley face stickers and Care Bears while we’re at it, too?

Let’s set aside the utter boneheaded-ness of using a symbol that, inadvertently or not, commemorates the killers’ faith instead of the victims’ revolt. The soft-and-fuzzy memorial design of “Crescent of Embrace” still does injustice to the steely courage of Flight 93’s passengers and crew. It evokes the defeatism embodied by those behind a similar move to turn the 9-11 memorial at Ground Zero in New York City into a pacifist guilt complex.

This is no way to fight a war. Or to remember those who have died fighting it.

A proper war memorial stirs to anger and action. We all remember passenger Todd Beamer’s last heard words as he and his fellow Americans prepared to take back the plane from al-Qaida’s killers, don’t we?

No, the phrase wasn’t “Let’s meditate.” It was “Let’s roll.”

(Voice your concerns by e-mailing FLNI_Superintendent@nps.gov.)

Michelle Malkin’s column is syndicated by Creators Syndicate and appears in about 100 newspapers nationwide.

Excuses, excuses, . . . and more excuses!

First, Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans stated that he did not use the available school busses because -- even if the people were removed to higher places, what then?? They would still need help.

When I heard this sorry idea of an excuse, . . . I thought -- worry about that when the time comes to worry about that. Until then, the main thing is to get the people out of there, to higher ground, and safety.

Then, I heard he had said that the busses would not be comfortable enough for the older people and those who were disabled. Oh -- MY! Worrying about the comfort of people in the path of a cat-five hurricane. THAT makes perfect sense, doesn't it??

Now, as of yesterday morning, it's that there were no drivers for the busses.

I don't know which one of the above excuses is the most ludicrous.

It would not surprise me, if tomorrow, he comes up with another excuse. All of the above ones
could be discredited by a ten year old, or even a first-year journalist.

But, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I have not heard many journalists who are either IN New Orleans, or anywhere along the gulf coast, and not one single Democrat politician target Mayor Nagin for incompetence, . . . . or Governor Blanco, for that matter.

Why not?? They're both Democrats. . . . . That's why not!! Had Blanco called in the Louisiana's National guard -- VOILA -- you've got your drivers, . . . that is, if one believes the driver
excuse, which I don't. Maybe the on-scene journalist will buy it, but not from here, . . . REMEMBER, folks, . . . We're talking about 3 days before the Hurricane even arrived. Katrina was a well-oganized, extremely powerful Categoy FIVE, hurricane at that time, and she had New Orleans directly in her sights.

I guess it's much easier to blame President Bush. I really don't know why we need mayors and
governors, if the president has to do their work too. Maybe we should just toss out the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution, the same way they want us to disregard the Second Amendment, or the Fifth Amendment, or many portions of the First Amendment. Yeah, just blame Bush, the Democrat base will buy it! . . . . at least those not living along the gulf coast.

God Bless,
Dan'L

Roberts Tells Senate Panel He Has No Agenda or Platform

By Melanie Hunter
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
September 13, 2005

(CNSNews.com) -- In his opening statement Monday, Judge John Roberts, who was nominated to succeed Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he has no agenda or platform.

"Judges are not politicians who can promise to do certain things in exchange for votes. I have no agenda, but I do have a commitment. If I am confirmed, I will confront every case with an open mind. I will fully and fairly analyze the legal arguments that are presented," Roberts said.

"I will be open to the considered views of my colleagues on the bench, and I will decide every case based on the record according to the rule of law without fear or failure to the best of my ability. And I will remember that it's my job to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat," said Roberts.

Before Roberts spoke, senators gave their opening statements, some advising Roberts not to speak about his personal views or how he would rule on specific issues, while some liberal senators like Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) ordered him to tell where he stands on issues like abortion.

American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which specializes in constitutional law, said the first day of the confirmation hearings reveals the "true agenda of some of the liberal members."
Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of ACLJ, attended the hearings and supports the Roberts nomination.

"It is no surprise that some of the liberal members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are already trying to frame these confirmation hearings using a skewed view of our constitutional freedoms - a view that contrasts sharply with what our Founding Fathers intended and what most Americans understand - that a Justice - especially the Chief Justice - should interpret the Constitution, not legislate from the bench," said Sekulow.

"With his opening remarks, John Roberts underscored his commitment to the law. He understands that his role is to interpret, not legislate. We're confident that he will not be bullied by the partisan tactics employed by some on the committee," Sekulow added.

"The American people will get a chance to see the real John Roberts - a mainstream nominee who not only understands the role of the high court, but as Chief Justice will be dedicated to ensuring that the high court tackle the issues that matter most in a manner consistent with the Constitution," said Sekulow.

Where have all the bodies gone??

Though half of New Orleans remains flooded and teams are still working to recover the dead, there are signs that hopelessness is beginning to lift two weeks after Hurricane Katrina plowed ashore.

Burnt-orange rubble from terra-cotta tiles, wrenched from roofs and scattered about the French Quarter, wait in neat piles for collection along the curb. Bourbon Street is cleaner than it ever is during Mardi Gras. And Donald Jones, a 57-year-old lifelong resident, is no longer armed when walking his street.

"The first five days I never went out of my house without my gun, now I don't carry it," Jones said, starting to laugh. "The only people I meet is military."

"Each day there's a little bit of an improvement," Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen, commander of the New Orleans relief efforts, told NBC News on Sunday night. "And in the end run, maybe a week, two weeks from now, someone's going to wake in the morning and have something they didn't have the day before, and that's hope."

President Bush will get his first up-close look at the destruction in New Orleans on Monday. He spent the night aboard the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship anchored in the Mississippi River in front of the convention center, where thousands of people waited in squalor for days before being rescued.

Bush also planned to tour the devastated town of Gulfport, Miss.

The waters in New Orleans, which once covered 80 percent of the city, have pulled back far enough to allow for a scenic drive down Esplanade Avenue, past the handsome, columned two-story home where French painter Edgar Degas once lived to the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park.

The same can be said for Saint Charles Avenue. While many homes are deserted and the old green street cars are gone, the beauty of the Greek Revival and Victorian homes, fronted by a canopy of live oaks, overwhelms the sight of debris piled along the roadway.

"I think it's livable," said John Lopez, who moved to New Orleans from the New York City area about a year ago. "If they got running water to all these buildings that are obviously inhabitable, they could get the city cleaned up a lot faster because people would be cleaning up their own blocks and their own neighborhoods."

Lopez and others are among those in the city who survived the hurricane at home, refused the subsequent order to leave and have started to clean up their neighborhoods. While they are worried about authorities forcing them to evacuate, there so far have been no reports that's happened in New Orleans.

Starting Monday, businesses owners in the central commercial district will be able to get temporary passes into the city so they can retrieve vital records or equipment needed to pay employees or otherwise run their companies, said state police spokesman Johnny Brown.

While there were clear signs of progress, flood waters do remain in large areas of the city. And even those areas that finally dried out over the weekend were covered in a brown film emitting nauseating fumes, with little left to salvage.

Authorities raised Louisiana's death toll to 197 on Sunday, and recovery of corpses continued. Teams pulled an unspecified number of bodies from Memorial Medical Center, a 317-bed hospital in uptown New Orleans that closed more than a week ago after being surrounded by floodwaters.

Elsewhere, there were nuggets of encouraging news:
- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport reopened for cargo traffic Sunday, and planned to open to limited passenger service starting Tuesday.

- The city's main wastewater treatment facility will be running by Monday, said Sgt. John Zeller, an engineer with the California National Guard.

- Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore, commander of active duty troops engaged in hurricane relief, reiterated Sunday the number of dead would be "a heck of a lot lower" than initial projections of 10,000 or more.

And residents of New Orleans were trying to re-establish pieces of the city's inimitable character. Some even found things to laugh about.

Barbara Hoover, who lives in the Faubourg-Marigny neighborhood just down river from the French Quarter, said the military's ready-to-eat meals are "just as good, if not better, than the South Beach Diet. They're amazing."

Yet, the mainstream media is STILL trying to pin all this on George W. Bush. Luckily, the American electorate isn't buying the mantra currently burning up fax machines all over the journalistic world.

God Bless,
Dan'L

First Lady Disgusted at Comments

Laura Bush described as "disgusting" comments by rapper Kanye West and Democratic chairman Howard Dean blaming her husband for the disproportionate numbers of black hurricane victims.

"I think all of those remarks are disgusting, to be perfectly frank, because of course President Bush cares about everyone in our country," the first lady said Thursday in an interview with American Urban Radio Networks.

"And I know that. I mean, I'm the person who lives with him," she said. "I know what he's like and I know what he thinks and I know how he cares about people."

The president has faced sharp criticism over federal relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina victims, who are disproportionally black and poor.

On a nationally televised telethon Friday, broadcast live on NBC, West departed from the script to declare "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

Earlier this week, Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told the National Baptist Convention of America, a black religious group, that race played a role in the hurricane casualty numbers.

Mrs. Bush said it was clear that poor people were more vulnerable when the hurricane hit.

"They lived in poorer neighborhoods. Their neighborhoods were the ones that were more likely to flood, as we saw in New Orleans. Their housing was more vulnerable," she said.

"And that's what we saw, and that's what we want to address in our country."

******************************************************************

Now we know that DNC Chairman, Howard Dean and at least one member of the American Rapper's Union think along the very same partisan lines of insanity and liberalism that seems to have only ONE goal -- Return of the liberal constituencies to power in Washington, by any means possible.

God Bless,
Dan'L