Okay, this should make you laugh!
On Friday (the 23rd) I stopped by the library here in town to return my books and borrow some more. I found a number of interesting ones, several fiction new releases that I had been looking forward to reading. And, surprise surprise, one in the nonfiction section--"The Germ Freak's Guide to Outwitting Colds and Flu" by Allison Janse + Charles Gerba, Ph.D.
I started reading the Germ one first. Considerring that I seem to catch cold at the drop of a hat, well, I figured the book might be able to teach me a few tricks that will come in andy this winter when the flu is running rampant throughout the community.
There are a lot of interesting things in this book. It's chock full of good information and written with a sense of humor so you don't get bogged down with all of the facts.
For example, the book suggests that if you have a sick individual(s) in your household, use paper towels instead of cloth hand towels. Germs are transmitted from person to person via the cloth towel. Move all toothbrushes away from the sick person's, then disinfect all toothbrushes with Listerine and dry them completely. As soon as the sick one is better, buy everyone in the house a new toothbush. The common
cold virus can survive up to 3 days outside the nasal passages on objects and surfaces.
Anyway, so I was happily and busily reading the book, making plans to buy myself a copy of it next time I went online, when I woke up Saturday morning with a cold!
Saturday I was so weary I couldn't hardly hold my head up. Sunday I was full of congestion and pretty much giving up a lung each time I coughed. And today, Monday, my voice sounds like I'm your elderly aunt!
So if you've called, I'm sorry I missed you. I've been among the sick for the past three days.
Maybe you should snag yourself a copy of this book before the cold season really kicks in. No reason you should get sick too.
Aaachoo Tawny
248-615-1300
Friday, September 23, 2005
Tired of the same old--same old snack foods? As much as I love potato chips, especially sweet potato chips that I fry up myself, sometimes I yearn for something different. Well, now I've found that elusive something different!
Cinnamon Flavored Apple Chips! They're made by Tastee (www.tasteeapple.com) Tastee Apple Inc. of Newcomerstown, Ohio 43832.
Talk about wonderful, oh my! I inhaled the bag.
Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
Cinnamon Flavored Apple Chips! They're made by Tastee (www.tasteeapple.com) Tastee Apple Inc. of Newcomerstown, Ohio 43832.
Talk about wonderful, oh my! I inhaled the bag.
Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Do they have apple cider mills where you live? Well, here in Mchigan there are a bunch of them. One of my most favorite things to do in the fall is to visit the cider mill.
Cider mills are big business. Not only do they sell cider and fresh donuts, but most of them also sell homemade pies, jellies and jams, pickles, candy, etc. You name it and they probably have it on a shelf somewhere to sell to you.
My favorite cider is the unpasteurized stuff. It's a rich carmely color and tastes so good you can't hardly get enough each season. Unfortunately, it takes a bit of detective work to find places that sell unpasteurized cider. Me, I go to a cider mill in Plymouth where all they sell is unpasteurized. It's out Gotfredson Road off Warren Road.
There's a place in Northville that is much closer to my house, but all they have is the pasteurized stuff. Tastes like apple juice from the grocery store, not cider. Ick.
I took a ride and picked up a gallon of cider and some donuts early this morning. Mmmmm! Good stuff. The cider was icy cold and the donuts were hot from the fryers. Perfect combination.
Don't let the season get away from you, get some apple cider!
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Cider mills are big business. Not only do they sell cider and fresh donuts, but most of them also sell homemade pies, jellies and jams, pickles, candy, etc. You name it and they probably have it on a shelf somewhere to sell to you.
My favorite cider is the unpasteurized stuff. It's a rich carmely color and tastes so good you can't hardly get enough each season. Unfortunately, it takes a bit of detective work to find places that sell unpasteurized cider. Me, I go to a cider mill in Plymouth where all they sell is unpasteurized. It's out Gotfredson Road off Warren Road.
There's a place in Northville that is much closer to my house, but all they have is the pasteurized stuff. Tastes like apple juice from the grocery store, not cider. Ick.
I took a ride and picked up a gallon of cider and some donuts early this morning. Mmmmm! Good stuff. The cider was icy cold and the donuts were hot from the fryers. Perfect combination.
Don't let the season get away from you, get some apple cider!
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
So sue me, but today I played hookey! It was a beautiful day, much too beautiful to stay home. We're not going to have too many more of these wonderfully warm and breezy days so I think we need to take full advantage of them. This way we'll have glowing memories to ward off the blues and the cold in mid-February!
I went down to the river, the Detroit River, as it flows through the suburban cities of Wyandotte and Trenton, Michigan. There are two wonderful parks, one in each city, and both have grassy areas, picnic tables, and plenty of benches you an loll about on as you take in the beauty of the river.
I saw people fishing, people jogging, people barbecuing. And I saw lots of boats zooming up and down the waterway.
Me, I spent my time lounging on park benches, taking in the warmth of the sun. It was a great way to spend a day. I love being by the water. Some day, one day, I would like to live near(er) a large body of water.
Not that I think one should make a habit of skipping out of work, but every once in a while I think it does a body good.
rejuvenated Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
I went down to the river, the Detroit River, as it flows through the suburban cities of Wyandotte and Trenton, Michigan. There are two wonderful parks, one in each city, and both have grassy areas, picnic tables, and plenty of benches you an loll about on as you take in the beauty of the river.
I saw people fishing, people jogging, people barbecuing. And I saw lots of boats zooming up and down the waterway.
Me, I spent my time lounging on park benches, taking in the warmth of the sun. It was a great way to spend a day. I love being by the water. Some day, one day, I would like to live near(er) a large body of water.
Not that I think one should make a habit of skipping out of work, but every once in a while I think it does a body good.
rejuvenated Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
Monday, September 19, 2005
The bulk of my shopping, especially when it comes to clothes + music, I do online. There aren't any crowds so I don't have to wait in long lines and the online stores are always open so I can shop any time my little heart takes a notion to.
Last week I placed an order with Barnes + Noble. It showed up this morning courtesy of UPS.
'Radical Harmonies', a dvd, is what I bought. The box says, " Woodstock meets women's liberation in a film about a movement that exploded the gender barriers in music".
This is a pictorial and audio history of women's music, from it's inception in the late 1960's, right up until today.
Okay, the movement was/is predominately lesbian, so what? Music is music, and this is some darn good music.
Holly Near, Chris Williamson, Castleberry + Dupree, Margie Adams, Meg Christian, etc., there's old clips and recent interviews, and it's wonderful.
If you like music, and you have an interest in history, this is a marvelous dvd. I don't know of anywhere else you can hear Sweet Honey in the Rock, Ferron, and Ronnie Gilbert, to name but a few of the artists, on one dvd.
Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
Last week I placed an order with Barnes + Noble. It showed up this morning courtesy of UPS.
'Radical Harmonies', a dvd, is what I bought. The box says, " Woodstock meets women's liberation in a film about a movement that exploded the gender barriers in music".
This is a pictorial and audio history of women's music, from it's inception in the late 1960's, right up until today.
Okay, the movement was/is predominately lesbian, so what? Music is music, and this is some darn good music.
Holly Near, Chris Williamson, Castleberry + Dupree, Margie Adams, Meg Christian, etc., there's old clips and recent interviews, and it's wonderful.
If you like music, and you have an interest in history, this is a marvelous dvd. I don't know of anywhere else you can hear Sweet Honey in the Rock, Ferron, and Ronnie Gilbert, to name but a few of the artists, on one dvd.
Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
I don't know how it is where you live, but here in the metro Detroit area property is not selling very well. The economy in Michigan is not good. Even with low(er) interest rates, people just aren't buying houses like they did a few short years ago. More and jobs are disappearing. Of those that remain, it's not unusual to hear about pay cuts being the order of the day.
The house across the street from me is going to be on the market soon. The man who lives there, John, intends to sell and then move in with his daughter. He has had a number of health issues over the years, most recently prostrate cancer. His daughter has some financial problems, scuttlebut on the street is that she's in danger of losing her home, so John is selling his to save hers.
They've been over there all day cleaning the house out. There are a gazillion black garbage bags on his lawn, along with discarded furniture, etc. He's been living there for over 35 years and my guess is he's got a lot of clutter and memorabilia to sift through before moving day.
When John and 'the first wife' moved in, the house was brand spanking new. Together they raised their only child, a daughter, and seemed happy enough until one day the wife ran off with his best friend, a neighbor from down the street. A few years later John married again, moving the new wife and her two teenaged kids in to the house. The kids grew up, moved out, and then his wife died from cancer. He's been alone ever since, well, except for those four years the Neighbors From Hell stayed
with him.
While I haven't always been pleased to have him as my neighbor, he's been a constant over there all these years that I've lived on the street.
It's going to be wierd to see the house empty, and with the real estate market as slow as it is, the house could be empty for a long time.
Tawny
The house across the street from me is going to be on the market soon. The man who lives there, John, intends to sell and then move in with his daughter. He has had a number of health issues over the years, most recently prostrate cancer. His daughter has some financial problems, scuttlebut on the street is that she's in danger of losing her home, so John is selling his to save hers.
They've been over there all day cleaning the house out. There are a gazillion black garbage bags on his lawn, along with discarded furniture, etc. He's been living there for over 35 years and my guess is he's got a lot of clutter and memorabilia to sift through before moving day.
When John and 'the first wife' moved in, the house was brand spanking new. Together they raised their only child, a daughter, and seemed happy enough until one day the wife ran off with his best friend, a neighbor from down the street. A few years later John married again, moving the new wife and her two teenaged kids in to the house. The kids grew up, moved out, and then his wife died from cancer. He's been alone ever since, well, except for those four years the Neighbors From Hell stayed
with him.
While I haven't always been pleased to have him as my neighbor, he's been a constant over there all these years that I've lived on the street.
It's going to be wierd to see the house empty, and with the real estate market as slow as it is, the house could be empty for a long time.
Tawny
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Monday, September 12, 2005
You're familiar with Google, the search engine, right? Seems like every time I turn around I find something new and cool available at their site.
Like today. Check this out:
http://blogsearch.google.com
Type in any key word(s) and you'll find scads and scads of blogs on that subject!
Too cool!
hugs,
Tawny
Like today. Check this out:
http://blogsearch.google.com
Type in any key word(s) and you'll find scads and scads of blogs on that subject!
Too cool!
hugs,
Tawny
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Just in case you're not on Michael Moore's mailing list, here's what I received in today's email.
hugs,
Tawny
********************************************************************************
To All My Fellow Americans Who Voted for George W. Bush:
On this, the fourth anniversary of 9/11, I'm just curious, how does it feel?
How does it feel to know that the man you elected to lead us after we were attacked went ahead and put a guy in charge of FEMA whose main qualification was that he ran horse shows?
That's right. Horse shows.
I really want to know -- and I ask you this in all sincerity and with all due respect -- how do you feel about the utter contempt Mr. Bush has shown for your safety? C'mon, give me just a moment of honesty. Don't start ranting on about how this disaster in New Orleans was the fault of one of the poorest cities in America. Put aside your hatred of Democrats and liberals and anyone with the last name of Clinton. Just look me in the eye and tell me our President did the right thing after 9/11 by naming a horse show runner as the top man to protect us in case of an emergency or catastrophe.
I want you to put aside your self-affixed label of Republican/conservative/born-again/capitalist/ditto-head/right-winger and just talk to me as an American, on the common ground we both call America.
Are we safer now than before 9/11? When you learn that behind the horse show runner, the #2 and #3 men in charge of emergency preparedness have zero experience in emergency preparedness, do you think we are safer?
When you look at Michael Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security, a man with little experience in national security, do you feel secure?
When men who never served in the military and have never seen young men die in battle send our young people off to war, do you think they know how to conduct a war? Do they know what it means to have your legs blown off for a threat that was never there?
Do you really believe that turning over important government services to private corporations has resulted in better services for the people?
Why do you hate our federal government so much? You have voted for politicians for the past 25 years whose main goal has been to de-fund the federal government. Do you think that cutting federal programs like FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers has been good or bad for America? GOOD OR BAD?
With the nation's debt at an all-time high, do you think tax cuts for the rich are still a good idea? Will you give yours back so hundreds of thousands of homeless in New Orleans can have a home?
Do you believe in Jesus? Really? Didn't he say that we would be judged by how we treat the least among us? Hurricane Katrina came in and blew off the facade that we were a nation with liberty and justice for all. The wind howled and the water rose and what was revealed was that the poor in America shall be left to suffer and die while the President of the United States fiddles and tells them to eat cake.
That's not a joke. The day the hurricane hit and the levees broke, Mr. Bush, John McCain and their rich pals were stuffing themselves with cake. A full day after the levees broke (the same levees whose repair funding he had cut), Mr. Bush was playing a guitar some country singer gave him. All this while New Orleans sank under water.
It would take ANOTHER day before the President would do a flyover in his jumbo jet, peeking out the widow at the misery 2500 feet below him as he flew back to his second home in DC. It would then be TWO MORE DAYS before a trickle of federal aid and troops would arrive. This was no seven minutes in a sitting trance while children read "My Pet Goat" to him. This was FOUR DAYS of doing nothing other than saying "Brownie (FEMA director Michael Brown), you're doing a heck of a job!"
My Republican friends, does it bother you that we are the laughing stock of the world?
And on this sacred day of remembrance, do you think we honor or shame those who died on 9/11/01? If we learned nothing and find ourselves today every bit as vulnerable and unprepared as we were on that bright sunny morning, then did the 3,000 die in vain?
Our vulnerability is not just about dealing with terrorists or natural disasters. We are vulnerable and unsafe because we allow one in eight Americans to live in horrible poverty. We accept an education system where one in six children never graduate and most of those who do can't string a coherent sentence together. The middle class can't pay the mortgage or the hospital bills and 45 million have no health coverage whatsoever.
Are we safe? Do you really feel safe? You can only move so far out and build so many gated communities before the fruit of what you've sown will be crashing through your walls and demanding retribution. Do you really want to wait until that happens? Or is it your hope that if they are left alone long enough to soil themselves and shoot themselves and drown in the filth that fills the street that maybe the problem will somehow go away?
I know you know better. You gave the country and the world a man who wasn't up for the job and all he does is hire people who aren't up for the job. You did this to us, to the world, to the people of New Orleans. Please fix it. Bush is yours. And you know, for our peace and safety and security, this has to be fixed. What do you propose?
I have an idea, and it isn't a horse show.
Yours,
Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
mmflint@aol.com
hugs,
Tawny
********************************************************************************
To All My Fellow Americans Who Voted for George W. Bush:
On this, the fourth anniversary of 9/11, I'm just curious, how does it feel?
How does it feel to know that the man you elected to lead us after we were attacked went ahead and put a guy in charge of FEMA whose main qualification was that he ran horse shows?
That's right. Horse shows.
I really want to know -- and I ask you this in all sincerity and with all due respect -- how do you feel about the utter contempt Mr. Bush has shown for your safety? C'mon, give me just a moment of honesty. Don't start ranting on about how this disaster in New Orleans was the fault of one of the poorest cities in America. Put aside your hatred of Democrats and liberals and anyone with the last name of Clinton. Just look me in the eye and tell me our President did the right thing after 9/11 by naming a horse show runner as the top man to protect us in case of an emergency or catastrophe.
I want you to put aside your self-affixed label of Republican/conservative/born-again/capitalist/ditto-head/right-winger and just talk to me as an American, on the common ground we both call America.
Are we safer now than before 9/11? When you learn that behind the horse show runner, the #2 and #3 men in charge of emergency preparedness have zero experience in emergency preparedness, do you think we are safer?
When you look at Michael Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security, a man with little experience in national security, do you feel secure?
When men who never served in the military and have never seen young men die in battle send our young people off to war, do you think they know how to conduct a war? Do they know what it means to have your legs blown off for a threat that was never there?
Do you really believe that turning over important government services to private corporations has resulted in better services for the people?
Why do you hate our federal government so much? You have voted for politicians for the past 25 years whose main goal has been to de-fund the federal government. Do you think that cutting federal programs like FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers has been good or bad for America? GOOD OR BAD?
With the nation's debt at an all-time high, do you think tax cuts for the rich are still a good idea? Will you give yours back so hundreds of thousands of homeless in New Orleans can have a home?
Do you believe in Jesus? Really? Didn't he say that we would be judged by how we treat the least among us? Hurricane Katrina came in and blew off the facade that we were a nation with liberty and justice for all. The wind howled and the water rose and what was revealed was that the poor in America shall be left to suffer and die while the President of the United States fiddles and tells them to eat cake.
That's not a joke. The day the hurricane hit and the levees broke, Mr. Bush, John McCain and their rich pals were stuffing themselves with cake. A full day after the levees broke (the same levees whose repair funding he had cut), Mr. Bush was playing a guitar some country singer gave him. All this while New Orleans sank under water.
It would take ANOTHER day before the President would do a flyover in his jumbo jet, peeking out the widow at the misery 2500 feet below him as he flew back to his second home in DC. It would then be TWO MORE DAYS before a trickle of federal aid and troops would arrive. This was no seven minutes in a sitting trance while children read "My Pet Goat" to him. This was FOUR DAYS of doing nothing other than saying "Brownie (FEMA director Michael Brown), you're doing a heck of a job!"
My Republican friends, does it bother you that we are the laughing stock of the world?
And on this sacred day of remembrance, do you think we honor or shame those who died on 9/11/01? If we learned nothing and find ourselves today every bit as vulnerable and unprepared as we were on that bright sunny morning, then did the 3,000 die in vain?
Our vulnerability is not just about dealing with terrorists or natural disasters. We are vulnerable and unsafe because we allow one in eight Americans to live in horrible poverty. We accept an education system where one in six children never graduate and most of those who do can't string a coherent sentence together. The middle class can't pay the mortgage or the hospital bills and 45 million have no health coverage whatsoever.
Are we safe? Do you really feel safe? You can only move so far out and build so many gated communities before the fruit of what you've sown will be crashing through your walls and demanding retribution. Do you really want to wait until that happens? Or is it your hope that if they are left alone long enough to soil themselves and shoot themselves and drown in the filth that fills the street that maybe the problem will somehow go away?
I know you know better. You gave the country and the world a man who wasn't up for the job and all he does is hire people who aren't up for the job. You did this to us, to the world, to the people of New Orleans. Please fix it. Bush is yours. And you know, for our peace and safety and security, this has to be fixed. What do you propose?
I have an idea, and it isn't a horse show.
Yours,
Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
mmflint@aol.com
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Received this in today's email and wanted to pass it on to you. Hope you find it intersting and informative.
hugs,
Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
*****************************************************************************************
Dear MoveOn member,
It has been a week since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, leveled New Orleans and left hundreds of thousands of Americans homeless. We saw the best of America during that time—millions of people stepped forward to offer help. Meanwhile, the Bush administration failed at their most important job: keeping America safe. The federal effort was too little, too late and it is now becoming obvious that hundreds or even thousands of people died as a result.
Then, starting Friday, in a Karl Rove-led campaign, the White House started to blame state and local officials and even the victims who were stranded without transportation when the Hurricane arrived. Sign our petition demanding that the Bush administration stop blaming victims, including state and local officials, and focus on helping them.
http://political.moveon.org/helpvictims/?id=5965-2516679-qhfhWaJesDBx4Lw8BuKIMw&t=3
We'll begin to deliver the earliest signatures to the White House tomorrow, Thursday, when a delegation of MoveOn members from New Orleans, who are now homeless and will come to Washington and join other MoveOn members outside the White House at a petition delivery and protest. The petition is one important way to demonstrate that the public wants more action to help hurricane victims and is getting angry about this blame-shifting game the Bush administration is playing.
It is important that the Bush administration not get away with shifting their responsibility to local officials. Here is what actually happened.
Timeline
Friday, Aug. 26: Gov. Kathleen Blanco declares a state of emergency in Louisiana and requests troop assistance.
Saturday, Aug. 27: Gov. Blanco asks for federal state of emergency. A federal emergency is declared giving federal officials the authority to get involved.
Sunday, Aug. 28: Mayor Ray Nagin orders mandatory evacuation of New Orleans. President Bush warned of Levee failure by National Hurricane Center. National Weather Service predicts area will be "uninhabitable" after Hurricane arrives. First reports of water toppling over the levee appear in local paper.
Monday, Aug. 29: Levee breaches and New Orleans begins to fill with water, Bush travels to Arizona and California to discuss Medicare. FEMA chief finally responds to federal emergency, dispatching employees but giving them two days to arrive on site.
Tuesday, Aug. 30: Mass looting reported, security shortage cited in New Orleans. Pentagon says that local authorities have adequate National Guard units to handle hurricane needs despite governor's earlier request. Bush returns to Crawford for final day of vacation. TV coverage is around-the-clock Hurricane news.
Wednesday, Aug. 31: Tens of thousands trapped in New Orleans including at Convention Center and Superdome in "medieval" conditions. President Bush finally returns to Washington to establish a task force to coordinate federal response. Local authorities run out of food and water supplies.
Thursday, Sept. 1: New Orleans descends into anarchy. New Orleans Mayor issues a "Desperate SOS" to federal government. Bush claims nobody predicted the breach of the levees despite multiple warnings and his earlier briefing.
Friday, Sept. 2: Karl Rove begins Bush administration campaign to blame state and local officials—despite their repeated requests for help. Bush stages a photo-op—diverting Coast Guard helicopters and crew to act as backdrop for cameras. Levee repair work orchestrated for president's visit and White House press corps.
Saturday, Sept. 3: Bush blames state and local officials. Senior administration official (possibly Rove) caught in a lie claiming Gov. Blanco had not declared a state of emergency or asked for help.
Monday, Sept. 5: New Orleans officials begin to collect their dead.
(Adapted from: Katrina Timeline, http://thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline/ )
Those are the facts. State and local officials BEGGED for help as people in their city suffered. The Bush administration didn't get the job done and when their failure became an embarrassment they attacked those asking for help.
The New York Times reported on Friday that Karl Rove and White House communications director Dan Bartlett "rolled out a plan...to contain the political damage from the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina." The core of the strategy is "to shift the blame away from the White House and toward officials of New Orleans and Louisiana."
This is the same pattern of smearing that the Bush political machine has used for a decade. John McCain and John Kerry had their war records smeared. The CIA cover of Ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife was blown after he criticized the Bush Iraq policy. Now, Hurricane victims are attacked when the Bush administration failed to do their duty to help them.
It isn't just the Bush administration. Republican Senator Rick Santorum blamed victims in a TV interview and House Speaker Dennis Hastert suggested New Orleans should not be rebuilt.
We can't let them get away with this. Please sign our petition today and do your part.
http://political.moveon.org/helpvictims/?id=5965-2516679-qhfhWaJesDBx4Lw8BuKIMw&t=4
This is just the first step. We need to continue to help those in need directly and make sure our government does their job. There will be a time to figure out who specifically to blame and what to change. In the meantime, the Bush administration needs to get to work helping those in need.
Thanks for all you do,
–Tom, Tanya, Joan, Jennifer and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Wednesday, September 7th, 2005
P.S. Check out these links for more on the Hurricane relief efforts.
Katrina Timeline, ThinkProgress.org
http://thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline/
Editorial: No time for turf wars. The Times-Picayune, September 7, 2005.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=869
Editorial blasts federal response. CNN, September 4, 2005.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=870
The big disconnect on New Orleans. CNN, September 2, 2005.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=871
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
hugs,
Tawny
tawnyford@webtv.net
*****************************************************************************************
Dear MoveOn member,
It has been a week since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, leveled New Orleans and left hundreds of thousands of Americans homeless. We saw the best of America during that time—millions of people stepped forward to offer help. Meanwhile, the Bush administration failed at their most important job: keeping America safe. The federal effort was too little, too late and it is now becoming obvious that hundreds or even thousands of people died as a result.
Then, starting Friday, in a Karl Rove-led campaign, the White House started to blame state and local officials and even the victims who were stranded without transportation when the Hurricane arrived. Sign our petition demanding that the Bush administration stop blaming victims, including state and local officials, and focus on helping them.
http://political.moveon.org/helpvictims/?id=5965-2516679-qhfhWaJesDBx4Lw8BuKIMw&t=3
We'll begin to deliver the earliest signatures to the White House tomorrow, Thursday, when a delegation of MoveOn members from New Orleans, who are now homeless and will come to Washington and join other MoveOn members outside the White House at a petition delivery and protest. The petition is one important way to demonstrate that the public wants more action to help hurricane victims and is getting angry about this blame-shifting game the Bush administration is playing.
It is important that the Bush administration not get away with shifting their responsibility to local officials. Here is what actually happened.
Timeline
Friday, Aug. 26: Gov. Kathleen Blanco declares a state of emergency in Louisiana and requests troop assistance.
Saturday, Aug. 27: Gov. Blanco asks for federal state of emergency. A federal emergency is declared giving federal officials the authority to get involved.
Sunday, Aug. 28: Mayor Ray Nagin orders mandatory evacuation of New Orleans. President Bush warned of Levee failure by National Hurricane Center. National Weather Service predicts area will be "uninhabitable" after Hurricane arrives. First reports of water toppling over the levee appear in local paper.
Monday, Aug. 29: Levee breaches and New Orleans begins to fill with water, Bush travels to Arizona and California to discuss Medicare. FEMA chief finally responds to federal emergency, dispatching employees but giving them two days to arrive on site.
Tuesday, Aug. 30: Mass looting reported, security shortage cited in New Orleans. Pentagon says that local authorities have adequate National Guard units to handle hurricane needs despite governor's earlier request. Bush returns to Crawford for final day of vacation. TV coverage is around-the-clock Hurricane news.
Wednesday, Aug. 31: Tens of thousands trapped in New Orleans including at Convention Center and Superdome in "medieval" conditions. President Bush finally returns to Washington to establish a task force to coordinate federal response. Local authorities run out of food and water supplies.
Thursday, Sept. 1: New Orleans descends into anarchy. New Orleans Mayor issues a "Desperate SOS" to federal government. Bush claims nobody predicted the breach of the levees despite multiple warnings and his earlier briefing.
Friday, Sept. 2: Karl Rove begins Bush administration campaign to blame state and local officials—despite their repeated requests for help. Bush stages a photo-op—diverting Coast Guard helicopters and crew to act as backdrop for cameras. Levee repair work orchestrated for president's visit and White House press corps.
Saturday, Sept. 3: Bush blames state and local officials. Senior administration official (possibly Rove) caught in a lie claiming Gov. Blanco had not declared a state of emergency or asked for help.
Monday, Sept. 5: New Orleans officials begin to collect their dead.
(Adapted from: Katrina Timeline, http://thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline/ )
Those are the facts. State and local officials BEGGED for help as people in their city suffered. The Bush administration didn't get the job done and when their failure became an embarrassment they attacked those asking for help.
The New York Times reported on Friday that Karl Rove and White House communications director Dan Bartlett "rolled out a plan...to contain the political damage from the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina." The core of the strategy is "to shift the blame away from the White House and toward officials of New Orleans and Louisiana."
This is the same pattern of smearing that the Bush political machine has used for a decade. John McCain and John Kerry had their war records smeared. The CIA cover of Ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife was blown after he criticized the Bush Iraq policy. Now, Hurricane victims are attacked when the Bush administration failed to do their duty to help them.
It isn't just the Bush administration. Republican Senator Rick Santorum blamed victims in a TV interview and House Speaker Dennis Hastert suggested New Orleans should not be rebuilt.
We can't let them get away with this. Please sign our petition today and do your part.
http://political.moveon.org/helpvictims/?id=5965-2516679-qhfhWaJesDBx4Lw8BuKIMw&t=4
This is just the first step. We need to continue to help those in need directly and make sure our government does their job. There will be a time to figure out who specifically to blame and what to change. In the meantime, the Bush administration needs to get to work helping those in need.
Thanks for all you do,
–Tom, Tanya, Joan, Jennifer and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Wednesday, September 7th, 2005
P.S. Check out these links for more on the Hurricane relief efforts.
Katrina Timeline, ThinkProgress.org
http://thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline/
Editorial: No time for turf wars. The Times-Picayune, September 7, 2005.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=869
Editorial blasts federal response. CNN, September 4, 2005.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=870
The big disconnect on New Orleans. CNN, September 2, 2005.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=871
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
The free weekly alternative paper here in the metro Detroit area is the Metro Times. ( www.metrotimes.com ) Jack Lessenberry pens a weekly column for them, Politics & Prejudices. The subject of his column this week is 'Waiting for a leader'. His column is too long for me to reproduce in its entirety here. Hopefully it can be found online at metrotimes.com.
In part, Lessenerry writes: "the Manchester Union-Leader, long regarded as the nation's most conservative newspaper, said about our union's present leader: "A better leader would have flown straight to the disaster zone and announced the immediate mobilization of every available resource to rescue the stranded, find and bury the dead and keep the survivors fed, clothed, sheltered and free."
Everyone, or so it would seem, feels that President Bush messed up big time.
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
In part, Lessenerry writes: "the Manchester Union-Leader, long regarded as the nation's most conservative newspaper, said about our union's present leader: "A better leader would have flown straight to the disaster zone and announced the immediate mobilization of every available resource to rescue the stranded, find and bury the dead and keep the survivors fed, clothed, sheltered and free."
Everyone, or so it would seem, feels that President Bush messed up big time.
Tawny
www.tawnyford.com
Saturday, September 03, 2005
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