Even though in comments and emails some readers have insisted this independent site is clearly "a Democratic liberal site" for not saying "Good job!" to President George Bush for the federal response so far to Hurricane Katrina, Republicans are increasingly expressing unhappiness and concern. For instance, the New York Times reports:Members of Congress from both parties … [Read more...] about Many GOPers Critical Of Federal Response To Katrina

It's hard to see how you can read these comments by President George Bush during his tour of the death and destruction left by Hurricane Katrina today and not wonder if he doesn't get it:We've got a lot of rebuilding to do. First, we're going to save lives and stabilize the situation. And then we're going to help these communities rebuild. The good news is — and it's hard … [Read more...] about A Failure To Grasp Tragedy And History?

Just how bad is the situation in New Orleans? Is it even worse than we're generally being told? Here's one disturbing view here. … [Read more...] about Are There “News Heroes” In The Hurricane Story?

TMV's posts will begin after 7 a.m. today. He drove 450 miles yesterday and got in late last night. Unlike during the past week, he WILL be around and return to a regular posting schedule. So stay tuned...and check back! … [Read more...] about TMV’s Posts May Be Late

Cross-posted at The Reaction (where I'm adding more and more photos from around the internet -- see here, here, and here). We've seen them on TV and we've heard about their suffering, but I'm not sure we really know who they are yet. Or, at least, we're not yet talking about who they are. From the Times: The scenes of floating corpses, scavengers fighting for food and … [Read more...] about Who are the victims?

Perhaps not all looting is bad. Perhaps not all looters should be blamed. There is, after all, another side to the story. … [Read more...] about The other side of looting?

In the wake of the California State Senate's recent vote legalizing gay marriage, I give a protracted defense of why gay marriage bans don't even satisfy the relatively relaxed "rational basis" test--responding specifically to points raised by Dafydd at Patterico's Pontifications. … [Read more...] about Gay Rights Under The “Rational Basis” Test

...of the need that will exist for months or even years afterwards. When the horrific images are no longer being broadcast and posted... When the outraged statements are no longer being made... When the shame of the lack of preparedness has faded into dim memory, a fading accelerated by the ADD nature of the modern world... When the media attention has moved on... When … [Read more...] about Now is only the beginning…

Expressions of shock. Outrage. Seat-of-the-pants emergency measures. And that's just on the POLITICAL FRONT of Hurricane Katrina, one of America's worst natural disasters — a storm that has proven to be a ticking time bomb. The reason: initial fears were that the storm was one of the worst ever. Then it was downgraded. Then it turned out in the end to be the worst case … [Read more...] about New Orleans Situation And Political Firestorms Worsen

TMV is out of pocket for most of the day. He'll be doing one more Katrina-related post/roundup this morning. It should be up on this site by around 11 a.m. California time. He will attempt to post from various cities today but it may not be possible. Check back often though, since our always-independent co-bloggers should have some interesting things to say today. Due to our … [Read more...] about Note To Readers

The depth and scope of Hurricane Katrina's devastation has been mind-boggling. And so have some of the political fumbles in terms of imagery that have emerged from this historical crisis. You'd think that common sense would prevail. A city nearly emerges as the 21st Century's Atlantis, communities are wiped out, the oil industry is disrupted, Americans of all ages and … [Read more...] about Political Fumbles In The Hurricane Katrina Tragedy

We're with you, America. Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada, a department of the Government of Canada, has set up an information page to encourage donations to the Canadian Red Cross and to registered charities. In addition, both Prime Minister Paul Martin and the Federal Government have issued statements to address the aftermath of Katrina and the ongoing state … [Read more...] about Canada’s reaction to Katrina

There's a lot of excellent work being done both in the mainstream media and in the blogosphere, but I find the local news from New Orleans to be the most interesting of all. See here for updated news items from The Times-Picayune. They also have an extensive collection of photos. I've selected a few of the most incredible ones here, here, and here. I'll keep adding more in new … [Read more...] about What the locals are saying

But don't tell that to the Times, which on Thursday ran a nasty, indignant, and highly inappropriate editorial criticizing President Bush's lack of leadership during this crisis. I'm hardly Bush's biggest booster, but he doesn't deserve such intense blame. Not yet. There will be plenty of time to consider what went wrong and what could have been done better. For now, … [Read more...] about Now is not the time for politics

The response from the blogosphere in the wake of Katrina has been nothing short of incredible. Everybody is giving, and encouraging others to give--there has been no party line to generousity. But in the halls of power, the Republican response to Katrina has been absolutely and utterly shameful. This isn't about taking a political potshot. It's saying that the RNC needs to get … [Read more...] about Avert Your Eyes

Moderate Republican has the scoop. … [Read more...] about Dennis Hastert Has No Soul

...they should have been answered by now, we are seeing what the Apocalypse will look like; how fragile the veneer of civilization truly is. Some are trying to use the situation as a political lever for an ephemeral "advantage" for "their side", despicable individuals on BOTH the left AND the right. Yet... We are ALL human. A major American city is being wiped out while … [Read more...] about If anyone had any questions…

Cross-posted to The Debate Link. John Cole gives a needed reminder about those who "chose" to stay in New Orleans: I have said I am out of touch with America regarding what is expected for disaster relief. Maybe, but the people spreading the meme that the vast majority of who did not evacuate New Orleans did so because they simply chose to ignore the warnings are out of touch … [Read more...] about Trapped

Hurricane Katrina has left a new, largely unforseen problem in its path: growing unrest, anger — and chaos emerging from a sea of despair. The catalyist has been Katrina, the death-bringing, flood-creating mega-storm. And the growing symbol for what it has brought has become the city's once proud Superdome, now painted in news reports as a building that turned out to … [Read more...] about Despair And Chaos At New Orlean’s Superdome

YOU can help Hurricane Katrina's victims by doing what you can to give money, raise more — or get the word out in any way you can about agencies that are providing relief. One of the BEST RESOURCES to find an agency that can use your help is to visit InstaPundit here who has an EXHAUSTIVE page of links to weblogs giving you info on various agencies. (You might even SAVE … [Read more...] about How YOU Can Help Hurricane Katrina’s Human And Non Human Victims