No bloggin' 'til Monday

Out of town for a long weekend. I'll post pics upon my return :) Addendum: I have high speed internet in my hotel room. So, I may blog, if I can find the time!

A horribly gross metaphor for my current, uh, 'situation'

Today, my soon-to-be-ex-wife said to me: Nothing like picking a scab 'til you feel the relief. Kinda says it all, don't you think? Well, I thought it was noteworthy enough to post about . . .

The 23/5 Meme

Yellowjkt tagged me with a meme. For this one, I'm supposed to: Rules: 1. Go into your archive. 2. Find your 23rd post. 3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to). 4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions. 5. Tag five some other people to do the same. My fifth (original) sentence in my 23rd post is: The Courier paraphrases Sup't Benit's downright sleazy response as follows: Now, to briefly explain, a Sup't of a neighboring school district took out ads not just touting his school district, but specifically identifying difficulties in surrounding districts. The idea was to obviously poach kids from neigboring districts. Well, shortly thereafter, he got into hot water with his Board of Education, and he's still on "administrative leave," whatever that is! By way of this post, I'm hereby tagging the first five bloggers to view this post (unless I tagged you last week, that is), so fess up and leave a comment!

No Child Left Alone

Did you know that the Pentagon keeps records on your children, just so they can use them later to recruit them for military service? Did you know your school provides this information to them, in most places without letting you know? Did you know their database is in violation of the federal Privacy Act? Of course not! The Pentagon would prefer that these facts remain secret. Don't get me wrong -- I don't think there's anything wrong with serving in the military. I do, though, have a problem with my gov't going around me to gather data on my kids so they can go around me again and try to recruit them while I've got my back turned. That's crap, as far as I'm concerned. You can read about it here. And then you can opt your children out here. Special thanks to Kate for the heads up on this one.

Director of FDA, Lester Crawford, abruptly resigns

Remember my post about the FDA Director's failure to follow through on a promise he made during his appointment hearings? If not, you can read about it here. Then there was the appointment (and the abrupt un-appointment) of an expert in animal husbandry to be Director of Women's Health at the FDA. You can read about that here. Well, nary three months after his appointment, Lester Crawford resigned effective immediately without explanation. About time. Not a moment too soon. What a jackass.

And our survey says . . .

Why thank you Courtney! I was worried I'd have to rely on the White Trash Test to finish out the week's posting. MEME from Perverted Republican's site: 1. Do you try to look hot when you go to the grocery store just in case someone recognizes you from your blog? LOL! This cracks me up. I don't look hot *anywhere* (except, perhaps, in my dreams). I'm a middle-aged, slightly overweight, balding lawyer, for heaven's sake! 2. Are the photos you post Photoshopped or otherwise altered? No. 3. Do you like it when creeps or dorks email you? Well, I've never had a dork or creep email me. Hypothetically speaking, though, no, I probably wouldn't like it. Duh. 4. Do you lie in your blog? Haven't yet. 5. Are you passive-aggressive in your blog? No. My attention span isn't long enough to sustain actual passive-aggressive behavior. 6. Do you ever threaten to quit writing so people will tell you not to stop? Uh, no, and I'm not convinced anyone would tell me to stop. It is a blog -- not the next Great American Novel. 7. Are you in therapy? If not, should you be? If so, is it helping? No. I don't think I oughtta be, but whoever does? 8. Do you delete mean comments? Do you fake nice ones? The only comments I delete are my own when I typo. And all I do is fix the typo. Nope, never faked a nice one. My momma said if you can't say somethin' nice, just don't say anythin' at all. 9. Have you ever rubbed one out while reading a blog? How about after? LOL! No. Well, on second thought, not yet anyway. What an icky thought! ;) 10. If your readers knew you in person, would they like you more or like you less? No clue. You'd have to ask them. 11. Do you have a job? Well, I did as of the time I left the office this afternoon . . . 12. If someone offered you a decent salary to blog full-time without restrictions, would you do it? Oh, sure, but it would have to come pretty close to what I'm already making. 13. Which blogger do you want to meet in real life? Courtney, Jim, Lu, mean_girl, and of course, Michele (that's in alphabetical order, kids). But I hasten to add that I'd like to in a wholesome, gregarious kind of way, not in a creepy, stalker kind of way. 14. Which bloggers have you made out with? Is this one supposed to make me feel like a loser? Nobody. Sheesh! 15. Do you usually act like you have more money or less money than you really have? Well, since I don't have significant debt or huge savings, that must mean I act like I've got about what I got. 16. Does your family read your blog? The 'rents and my sister do. My cousin started recently. 17. How old is your blog? Six months. I'm still a newbie. 18. Do you get more than 1000 page views per day? Do you care? I don't keep track, so's I don't knows, but methinks not. If I cared, I'd keep track. 19. Do you have another secret blog in which you write about being depressed, slutty, or a liar? No. Should I? 20. Have you ever given another blogger money for his/her writing? No. 21. Do you report the money you earn from your blog on your taxes? Huh? 22. Is blogging narcissistic? Hmmmmmm. Now that you mention it, like anything, it can be. I hope mine's more about sharing. 23. Do you feel guilty when you don't post for a long time? Yes, isn't it odd? 24. Do you like John Mayer? Yes. I even have an AdrenaLinn II, which is the successor to the AdrenaLinn, a time-based filtering unit, designed by the legendary Roger Linn, that Mayer used on Heavier Things. When I heard it, I had to get it. It's pretty darn cool. Even if you don't like him (Courtney!), he's got a pretty cool web site. 25. Do you have enemies? Oh yes. I was the guy who tipped the balance of power away from the 10-year majority on my local school board. When I ran, 5 people ran for two seats, with both incumbents in the race. I got the most votes. I'm also a trial lawyer who sues doctors and hospitals, so somewhat more than 95% of the country despises me, and enjoys blaming the ills of society on me. 26. Are you lonely? Isn't it obvious? Why the hell else would I spend all this time blogging? 27. Why bother? What a terrible question to ask a trial lawyer. Whenever a trial lawyer gets into trouble during a cross-examination, the next question always seems to be "Did you bother to look at this or that . . . " It's a disingenous, argumentative question that serves to shift focus, nothing more, nothing less. I bother, therefore I am. Thanks again, Courtney. I'm tagging the following: Blond Girl, Emily, Jim, Lu, mean_girl Of course, it's a no-obligation offer.

Okay, this is a riot

A special thanks to my dad for forwarding this to me. P.S. to dad: I frankly can't believe who you got it from. I woulda thunk he was on the other side. Can you guess whose side my dad's on? Yea, he's a good guy!

Not lookin' so good

True or False? Veterinarians are experts on women's health (I mean human women)

Bush Administration last week: True! Rest of the universe: False! Bush Administration this week: False! Do y'all remember when I posted about the resignation of the Director of Women's Health due to the FDA's lack of attention to **yep you guessed it** -- women's health? If not, you can read about it here. At the risk of sounding like a horse's ass (not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you -- Bush and other elected officials do it all the time), the Bush Administration appointed a man trained in animal husbandry to be Director of the Office of Women's Health at the FDA. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's a very nice man. And probably just the guy you'd want to appoint if the next challenge before the FDA's Office of Women's Health was convincing a stubborn bull to mate with a reluctant heifer. Needless to say, the backlash was so loud and painful that officials not only changed their mind and appointed someone else as acting director, but they decided to "fudge it" to cover up the utterly ridiculous prior appointment. Rather than moan, I say let's look on the bright side and count our blessings -- at least they were smart enough to lie when they got caught. That puts them at the level of, say, a fairly bright 13 year old. Of course, they weren't smart enough to keep from getting caught, but that's another story. Lot's of smart people get caught, which frequently has more to do with who's doing the catching than with how smart the perp is. You can read more about it here. I ask again, WTF is wrong with these people?

Local Man Gets MacArthur Grant !

Aaron Dworkin, an Ypsilanti resident and founder of the Sphinx Organization received a MacArthur last week. The Sphinx Organization is dedicated to youth and minority involvement in music. I had the pleasure of exchanging emails with Mr. Dworkin last year when we were balancing our school district's budget. He strongly advocated maintaining current levels of funding for our arts programs, particularly music, and we did. Outstanding!

Hmmm. This can't be right . . .

I am still tryin' to keep up w/m_g. Not sure if I can, though . . . I am 3% Idiot. I am not annoying at all. In fact most people come to me for advice. Of course they annoy the hell out of me. But what can I do? I am smarter than most people. Take the Idiot Test @ FualiDotCom 3% Idiot, huh? That's way too high . . . Must be rigged :)

B/c slayers *are* hot

You scored as Deacon Frost. Yeah, you are the 'take-no-prisoners,' 'it's-my-way-no-matter-what' type. You do whatever the hell you like and make no apologies for it. You are the temperamental vamp surrounded by lots of hot chick vampires Whose your Vampire personality? (images) created with QuizFarm.com I saw this quiz on mean_girl's blog, and couldn't resist taking it myself.

The Novice Mourner

My good friend from my Denver days, Josh McKinney, has a new book of poetry out that is turning some heads. You can (and should) read about it (and him) here. When you're done reading about it, you can buy it here.

My own personal 9-11 tribute

In 1986, I met my soon-to-be-ex-wife in NYC. We were both students studying with artists, she with a poet and I with a composer. On our first date, we took a subway to the World Trade Center and walked down to Battery Park for a concert. Shortly after 9-11, I wrote a song. It made it on one of my CD's, but I haven't yet shared it on my blog. You can play it right now by clicking here. It's called "Ordinary Day." Check it out, if you're so inclined . . .

Dershowitz on Rehnquist

One of the great legal minds of our time gives a not-so-shining eulogy to another great legal mind of our time. Read about it here.

Ha ha hee hee hoo hoo ! ! !

Yep, that's me! (2nd from the left). What a riot ! You can click here to view it with full resolution. I'm not sure who's easier to make fun of; Dave lookin' like he's the man--totally in control of the situation, or Randy makin' me look like I've got a full head of hair. Some 60,000 of those went out in a directory for attorneys. Think anyone'll call? OK, now, you get to make fun all you want. You know you want to . . .

Don't you just love the Onion?

Louisiana National Guard Offers Help By Phone From Iraq BAGHDAD—The 4,000 Louisiana National Guardsmen stationed in Iraq, representing over a third of the state's troops, called home this week to find out what, if any, help they could offer Katrina survivors from overseas. "The soldiers wanted to know if they could call 911 for anyone, or perhaps send some water via FedEx," said Louisiana National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Pete Schneider. The Guardsmen also "would love to send generators, rations, and Black Hawk helicopters for rescue missions," but, said Schneider, "we desperately need these in Iraq to stay alive." Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld praised the phone support, but noted that it would take months to transfer any equipment from Iraq to New Orleans, saying, "You fight a national disaster with the equipment you have."

Trying not to make fun of a not-so-little old lady with white hair

Was that really Barbara Bush saying (not just implying, mind you), that the poor people whose homes are under water are better off living in the Houston Astrodome? "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them." WTF??? Someone, please help me out here. What the hell is wrong with these people? If they only have stupid things to say, why can't they just keep their mouths shut? Thanks to Amy, I think, for the heads up.

Blame Game = Bush wins while Everyone Else loses

The "framing war" has begun in earnest. Yesterday, our Fearless Leader referred to the reasonable reactions of those who want to know what the heck happened with the delay in evacuation and relief from Katrina as a: BLAME GAME ! GAME??? WTF? This isn't a game. It's people's lives, their families, their livelihoods, their homes, their worldly possessions, you name it. I guess our Fearless Leader thinks we all ought to be ashamed of ourselves for being so outraged and wanting some answers, particularly now, while the feelings are fresh and raw. Let's toss accountability to the wind and see if we can muster a few more photo ops, maybe of Bush operating a bulldozer to fill in a levee! The NYT wrote a spot-on editorial which echoed my thoughts of yesterday. WSJ also did a good editorial yesterday concerning the relative blame of Louisiana's governor and the Mayor of New Orleans. (Special thanks to Peri for providing the working link, as I couldn't get it open as a non-susbscriber for some reason.) Accountability is not a game. It's our solemn duty and responsibility to hold our public servants accountable for their failures.

Open Letter to George W. Bush from Times-Picayune

This was in the Sunday print edition of the Times-Picayune, a newspaper covering New Orleans: We heard you loud and clear Friday when you visited our devastated city and the Gulf Coast and said, "What is not working, we’re going to make it right." Please forgive us if we wait to see proof of your promise before believing you. But we have good reason for our skepticism. Bienville built New Orleans where he built it for one main reason: It’s accessible. The city between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain was easy to reach in 1718. How much easier it is to access in 2005 now that there are interstates and bridges, airports and helipads, cruise ships, barges, buses and diesel-powered trucks. Despite the city’s multiple points of entry, our nation’s bureaucrats spent days after last week’s hurricane wringing their hands, lamenting the fact that they could neither rescue the city’s stranded victims nor bring them food, water and medical supplies. Meanwhile there were journalists, including some who work for The Times-Picayune, going in and out of the city via the Crescent City Connection. On Thursday morning, that crew saw a caravan of 13 Wal-Mart tractor trailers headed into town to bring food, water and supplies to a dying city. Television reporters were doing live reports from downtown New Orleans streets. Harry Connick Jr. brought in some aid Thursday, and his efforts were the focus of a "Today" show story Friday morning. Yet, the people trained to protect our nation, the people whose job it is to quickly bring in aid were absent. Those who should have been deploying troops were singing a sad song about how our city was impossible to reach. We’re angry, Mr. President, and we’ll be angry long after our beloved city and surrounding parishes have been pumped dry. Our people deserved rescuing. Many who could have been were not. That’s to the government’s shame. Mayor Ray Nagin did the right thing Sunday when he allowed those with no other alternative to seek shelter from the storm inside the Louisiana Superdome. We still don’t know what the death toll is, but one thing is certain: Had the Superdome not been opened, the city’s death toll would have been higher. The toll may even have been exponentially higher. It was clear to us by late morning Monday that many people inside the Superdome would not be returning home. It should have been clear to our government, Mr. President. So why weren’t they evacuated out of the city immediately? We learned seven years ago, when Hurricane Georges threatened, that the Dome isn’t suitable as a long-term shelter. So what did state and national officials think would happen to tens of thousands of people trapped inside with no air conditioning, overflowing toilets and dwindling amounts of food, water and other essentials? State Rep. Karen Carter was right Friday when she said the city didn’t have but two urgent needs: "Buses! And gas!" Every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be fired, Director Michael Brown especially. In a nationally televised interview Thursday night, he said his agency hadn’t known until that day that thousands of storm victims were stranded at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. He gave another nationally televised interview the next morning and said, "We’ve provided food to the people at the Convention Center so that they’ve gotten at least one, if not two meals, every single day." Lies don’t get more bald-faced than that, Mr. President. Yet, when you met with Mr. Brown Friday morning, you told him, "You’re doing a heck of a job." That’s unbelievable. There were thousands of people at the Convention Center because the riverfront is high ground. The fact that so many people had reached there on foot is proof that rescue vehicles could have gotten there, too. We, who are from New Orleans, are no less American than those who live on the Great Plains or along the Atlantic Seaboard. We’re no less important than those from the Pacific Northwest or Appalachia. Our people deserved to be rescued. No expense should have been spared. No excuses should have been voiced. Especially not one as preposterous as the claim that New Orleans couldn’t be reached. Mr. President, we sincerely hope you fulfill your promise to make our beloved communities work right once again. When you do, we will be the first to applaud. You can read it here.

I'm Guest-Posting on Michele's Site Today

Hop on over to Michele's, 'cause it's where I've been honored with the opportunity to guest-post today.

Chief Justice Rehnquist of SCOTUS died this evening

Click here for SCOTUS blog.

The Press, doing their job for once

Check out this article at Slate. It talks about the press giving politicians the crap they deserve for being AWOL on the Katrina disaster until they finally cut their vactations short, allocated $10 Billion (from where it will come, of course, nobody knows), and then proceeded to slap themselves on their backs for their quick and decisive response. It also points out that the vast majority of people stuck in the middle of the disaster are poor, are black, and didn't evacuate because they didn't have the means to. Where on earth were the feds before the storm? Why do reporters have better intel that the feds? The questions go on and on, but our public servants don't seem all that interested in answering any of them. I say it's time to can our public servants.

"There is nothing happening. They are feeding the public a line of bull." -- Mayor of New Orleans

The Mayor of New Orleans gave a frustrated interview to a local radio station last evening. You've got to hear it. It's unbelievable. Listen here. Thanks to Sam for the link. Update: Read the transcript here.

Link to an active blog inside the disaster

These guys are in New Orleans, up above the water, trying to keep their data safe and their network up. They are reporting on events in real time. Click here for Interdictor. There are huge numbers of hi-res pictures from their location. It's very chilling. Thanks to Jeff for the heads up. Addendum: Apparently, CNN announced the link on its news cast this evening. Consequently, the link may not work due to traffic overload. If it doesn't, pls try again later or tomorrow.

Why does NPR know more about the disaster than our federal gov't?

Michael Chertoff, Director of Homeland Security, was on NPR today, and he made a complete jackass of himself. After Robert Siegal, a low-key, non-confrontational guy, gave him a modicum of crap about how long it is taking to help people in New Orleans, Chertoff stated he was in no position to argue and didn't know anything about it. According the Chertoff, the response has been "massive," "quick" and "more than adequate." Siegal then put his reporter on the air, who stated: Let me clarify for the Secretary and for everyone else what [we] just drove away from three blocks from here . . . . There are, I estimate, two thousand people living like animals in and around the convention center. They've been there since the hurricane. There's no food, there's absolutely no water, there's no medical treatment, there's no police and no security, and there are two dead bodies lying on the ground and in a wheelchair beside the convention center, both elderly people, and both covered with blankets now. We understand that two other elderly people died in the last couple of days. We understand there was a 10 year old girl raped in the convention center in the last two nights. People are absolutely desparate there. I've never seen anything like this. They've seen buses go past, they've seen police cars go past, they have had the national guard visit them, but nobody has brought them food or any provisions whatsoever. They are living like animals. . . . . These people want to know when on earth are you going to look after us. They feel abandoned by their city, by their mayor, and they are extremely desparate. . . . To the millions of Americans listening to NPR as we drove home, I doubt I was alone in wondering how it is that a so-called "liberal" news organization whose funding has been cut is able to identify this problem and broadcast it to the entire world while our feds, whose job it is to know what's going on following a disaster, have no clue after three full days. All this, in a post 9-11 world where we have spent billions of dollars on disaster preparedness. What the hell is wrong with these people? You can hear the actual report with Chertoff here, followed by the reporter on the scene here. You really ought to listen for yourself--it's quite striking and disturbing.

This just in from New Orleans . . .

For some irony, and more than bit of levity, click here for a report on how the media are handling the aftermath. Parental advisory: The report is explicit. Don't view it if there are children around.