These eleven congressmen, Republican conservatives all, just voted against the $51 billion package (H. R. 3673) for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. If you live in any of these states, you might want to write and ask them why.
Rep. Joe Barton – TX
Jeff Flake – AZ
Virginia Foxx – NC
Scott Garrett – NJ
John Hostettler – IN
Steve King – IA
Butch Otter – ID
Ron Paul – TX
James Sensenbrenner – WI
Tom Tancredo – CO
Lynn Westmoreland – GA
(taken directly from Kos)
Nero's Rome
Nero fiddled while Rome burned; Bush thrummed while New Orleans drowned.
What’s important to note is that Nero – after he was finished singing – blamed the Christians and started the first persecution of Christians. Who’s Bush going to blame – God? Mother Nature? The National Weather Service? It’s certainly not going to be FEMA in-charge Brown, who Bush has already commended.
Rehnquist Dies
Chief Justice Rehnquist died today at the age of 80, at his home, surrounded by his family.
So when do we start building the underground railroad for the women in red states who need abortions?
Katrina
First a letter from one RenaRF to the President which was also posted on Daily Kos. It sums up how I’m feeling, too.
RenaRF also provided a list of organizations that are focusing their efforts on the Gulf.
Also, here’s a good article on the funding issue, & why the region wasn’t prepared.
& Another one that appeared in Salon
There is *no reason* that in this country, with our resources and technology, the poor folks of the South were left to evacuate by their own means, except for the short fall of empathy.
And God bless that man who had to let go of his wife’s hand.
Gwen Araujo Trial Update
Jury deliberations have begun in the Gwen Araujo trial. Let’s hope this one gets it right.
For a crop of current articles about this trial, check the MHB message boards. Much thanks to Caprice for keeping us all up to date.
Southern Decadence Cancelled
As expected, Southern Decadence, which was supposed to start tomorrow in New Orleans, has been cancelled.
So Sorry
The more coverage we see of Katrina, the more our hearts go out to the folks down south who are going through this.
My guess is that Southern Decadence is cancelled, but I haven’t heard/seen anything official about that.
New Orleans
I hope that hurricane moves on, and quickly. NOLA is one of my all-time favorite cities. Laissez les levies tenez!
Artist Matt Rinard, who owns a business in the French Quarter, holed up on the fifth floor of a Canal Street hotel and watched the storm roll in.
He said pieces of sheet metal and plywood, billboards and pieces of palm trees flew down Canal, which borders the Quarter, as huge gusts of wind blew through the city.
“It’s blustery. You can see the speed of it now, it’s unbelievable,” he said. “The power went out about an hour and a half ago and so now I’m just watching the occasional dumbass walking down Canal Street.”
Empathy
As New Yorkers, Betty and I wanted to express our condolences for the good folks of London who have been attacked today.
I don’t understand fucknuts who think that killing innocent people is a good way to communicate. I don’t, and I never will.
Our Old Friend Mike Bailey
Well, he’s done it again. Like a child you’ve told to quit putting beans up his nose, we’re once again in the emergency room, this time having a fava bean extracted.
Professor J. Michael Bailey, infamous for The Man Who Would Be Queen, finding no fault with parents who’d abort a gay foetus, and sleeping with his clients/research subjects, is in the pages of The New York Times with a study on bisexuality, where he concludes – big shocker! – that bisexuality is suspect. That is, that bisexual men, specifically, are either really straight or gay.
It sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Blanchard & Bailey have made names for themselves with stating that TSs who aren’t autogynephilic really are, or might be, and that crossdressers really are turned on by crossdressing, even when they say they aren’t. And all this, thanks to a fabulous little device called a plethysmograph.
I’m not the only one who is fed up with this guy getting funding and coverage. It’s not just the trans community he’s misrepresenting anymore. It never was, really, considering he has audiences listen to recordings of men speaking and asks them to guess which speakers are gay, and that his whole judgement of transwomen was based on how attractive they are to him is pure, unadulterated sexism. He didn’t have much nice to say about crossdressers, either.
Anyway, I’ve written a Letter to the Editor of the NYT, as has our own newish board member Megan Pickett, and I’d encourage more of you to do the same. You can send emails to letters@nytimes.com, but remember two things: 1) less than 150 words, 2) include your full name, address, and phone #.
Much thanks to Donna for several important links, and to the rest of the MHB Board Members who added useful insights and much-needed facts.