This Is 'Fully Prepared'?

This Is 'Fully Prepared'?
"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."

George W. Bush said those words to Diane Sawyer last Sept. 1, when desperate people in flooded New Orleans were still being rescued from their roofs. Now we know that just four days earlier, in a videoconference briefing, one of the nation's leading hurricane experts had explicitly warned that failure of the protective levees was "a very, very grave concern."

We also know that in his final briefing before Hurricane Katrina hit, the president did not ask a single question. He did, however, reassure local officials that help would soon be on the way. "I want to assure the folks at the state level that we are fully prepared," Bush said.

Given what happened over the following week, all I can say is: Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Teacher on leave after alleged anti-Bush words
About 150 high school students walked out of class to protest a decision to put a teacher on leave while they investigate remarks he made about President Bush in class.
Senate Passes Legislation to Renew Screw Your Rights Act
The Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation renewing the sweeping antiterror law known as the USA Patriot Act on Thursday, ending a months-long impasse on Capitol Hill and virtually guaranteeing that the measure will go to President Bush to be signed.
Antarctic Ice Sheet Is Melting Rapidly
The Antarctic ice sheet is losing as much as 36 cubic miles of ice a year in a trend that scientists link to global warming, according to a new paper that provides the first evidence that the sheet's total mass is shrinking significantly.

The new findings, which are being published today in the journal Science, suggest that global sea level could rise substantially over the next several centuries.

Bush responds,"how did this report get published?"
U.S. Cites Exception in Torture Ban
Bush administration lawyers, fighting a claim of torture by a Guantanamo Bay detainee, yesterday argued that the new law that bans cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees in U.S. custody does not apply to people held at the military prison.

In federal court yesterday and in legal filings, Justice Department lawyers contended that a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, cannot use legislation drafted by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to challenge treatment that the detainee's lawyers described as "systematic torture."
Stumbling in Afghanistan
IT WAS HARDLY A SURPRISE that President Bush made a brief stop in Afghanistan on Wednesday, and not just because word of the "unexpected" trip leaked to the media beforehand. With Iraq ever more messy and his administration on the defensive on multiple fronts, Bush undoubtedly wanted to evoke that sweet moment of victory in November 2001 when U.S. forces ended the Taliban's rule.

Yet Afghanistan is not such a simple story. Democratic elections brought a reasonable government into office, but it remains weak and ineffective outside of Kabul. Over the last year, the Taliban has made a strong revival, drug trafficking is up and the number of suicide bombings has steadily climbed. Bush's advisors said his visit was so brief because it was hard to guarantee security.
Ethics Office For Hill Rejected
A Senate committee yesterday rejected a bipartisan proposal to establish an independent office to oversee the enforcement of congressional ethics and lobbying laws, signaling a reluctance in Congress to beef up the enforcement of its rules on lobbying.

Posted: Fri - March 3, 2006 at 10:23 AM |