Other states offered what National Guard units they had available (i.e. not over in Iraq), but the coordination of the effort was hardly exemplary.

Then, Bush tried to federalize the relief effort, attempting to seize control of the state’s national guard units from the governors of the states devastated by Katrina. At the same time Bush ordered private security firms (like Blackwater) to standby and get ready to replace the missing, or shorthanded, national guard units, to provide security in hurricane-torn areas…at ten times the cost.

I see a pattern. Do you?

The shortchanging of our state’s national guard and reservists units plays right into the privatization scheme of the Bush administration. Just as the shortchanging of our regular military plays into this same scheme.

Not only does it cost American taxpayers ten times what it would normally cost, Bush and Cheney end up with private security personnel who are loyal to their employers, who are in turn loyal to the Bush administration, by having so much taxpayer money thrown in their direction.

A perfect formula for declaring martial law? Was the “privatized” aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina disaster just a dry run?

I don’t trust anything Bush and Cheney do or propose, and their privatization of our entire military reeks of some totalitarian, monopolistic, fascist Republican plot…with Bush and Cheney calling the shots…literally…through their loyal, corrupt, corporate cronies.

Hope all y’all stay safe out there and do know the proper precautions for your local variety of natural disaster.

The proper precautions for local disasters requires buying mosquito repellant. Ok, there are blizzards too, but you can deal with those by the clever expedient of not going anywhere. Weather can be miserable here, but I actually feel kinda blessed, disaster-wise.

Very EPU’d; just dropping in to say I think the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was approx. 7.2.
…

Those of us in the Nisqually quake zone were allowed to have a post-April-15 due date on our income taxes that year, and to write “EARTHQUAKE” in big red letters on the top of the form. :-)

7.2 is what I remember. The article linked above read 6.9.

I had my red pen out that spring.

I was standing outside in a Bay Area parking lot when that one hit, many miles from the epicenter down Santa Cruz way, and it was difficult to keep my footing.

The 2001 Nisqually quake was not so severe where I was, but very upsetting to local WA residents who weren’t familiar with earthquakes to the extent that CA residents are.

That quake was notable because it hit a day or so after Bush had submitted a budget that zeroed-out national disaster funding for that type of event. I kid you not.

Those of us in the Nisqually quake zone were allowed to have a post-April-15 due date on our income taxes that year, and to write “EARTHQUAKE” in big red letters on the top of the form. :-)

just my nickel (for inflation)

Put this in the WTF category. Earlier I noted a snippet of Bush’s radio address tomorrow about the Walter Reed situation…and the cold emotionless speechreaderness of it.

Now tonight I read at Kos that the Democratic response will be given by Joe Lieberman.

WTF?

Joe: Wasn’t that a great address by the President. I really don’t have anything to add. Here here. Now I’m off to rub the Vice President’s bunions.

I love it here. It’s like living in a 40’s time warp. Sure we get HDTV, high speed internet. But we have a town square, with a band gazebo. And I teach 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade all in the same room. Different books etc., of course.

Sounds like a slice of heaven. I spent a few years in New England, Cambridge to be precise. I loved spending time in the smaller towns with their village greens. Great reminder of both civic pride and the Kinks.

TiredFed @
30

and actually on topic – do we usually get tornadoes in March???

Tri State Tornado 18 March 1925

Picure of the grade school I attended 30 years later: Longfellow School