Earthside Comments: We renew our call for Bush and Cheney to resign. For the good of our nation, a delegation of Republican and Democratic Senators, Representatives and Governors should pay a call on these two at the White House and ask for them to leave office because the security of the republic depends upon new leadership. The message of the Hurricane Katrina bungling and incompetence is that the United States could be attacked with impunity. With three days warning the federal government could not respond adequately -- terrorists will not give Bush and Cheney any kind of public advance notice. These radical Republicans and neocons running the executive branch have failed miserably ... and everyone (including real enemies of this country) except the 'party before country' faction knows that they have failed. Foes of this nation can look at the floundering effort in Afghanistan, the lost war in Iraq, and now the negligence and irresponsibility from the White House in dealing with the hurricane and take great comfort in Bush's occupancy of the presidency. These are the reasons that Bush should see a united front of genuine patriots demanding he and 'Chickenhawk' Dick get out of government. The recounting by Congresswoman Pelosi of her conversation with Bush is enough on its face to understand how imperiled we are by letting the current officeholders continue. The news item and commentary about FEMA not wanting photographs of the Katrina dead to be taken is further evidence that in the face of grim reality, all that Bush and Cheney and Rove believe is that everything is just a propaganda opportunity. That is not leadership -- that is betrayal of the public trust and it is giving aid to our enemies. Bush and Cheney should resign.
Link: Dems Assail White House on Katrina Effort | Associated Press
At a news conference, Pelosi, D-Calif., said Bush's choice for head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency had "absolutely no credentials." She related that she had urged Bush at the White House on Tuesday to fire Michael Brown. "He said 'Why would I do that?'" Pelosi said. "'I said because of all that went wrong, of all that didn't go right last week.' And he said 'What didn't go right?'" "Oblivious, in denial, dangerous," she added.
Audio: Pelosi Recounts Bush Reaction
Link: FEMA Wants No Photos of Dead | Los Angeles Times
The U.S. agency leading Hurricane Katrina rescue efforts said Tuesday that it does not want the news media to photograph the dead as they are recovered. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, heavily criticized for its slow response to the devastation caused by the hurricane, rejected journalists' requests to accompany rescue boats searching for storm victims.
Link: Hiding Bodies Won't Hide the Truth | Terry M. Neal
Cadavers have a way of raising questions. When people see them, they wonder, how did they get dead? When a lot of people see a lot of dead bodies, politicians begin thinking of damage control. Echoing a Defense Department policy banning the photographing of flag-draped coffins of American troops, representatives from the much-maligned Federal Emergency Management Agency said on Tuesday that it didn't want journalists to accompany rescue boats as they went out to search for storm victims, because "the recovery of the victims is being treated with dignity and the utmost respect." An agency spokeswoman told Reuters, "We have requested that no photographs of the deceased be made by the media." Whatever the objective, those pesky questions about accountability are not going away. And a full-scale political storm over the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina continued to rage around the White House this week, despite the best efforts of the president's supporters to deflect criticism by tagging it as partisan--even though many of the critics are themselves Republicans.
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