To add a little perspective to my earlier post, let me point out that all of the following photos were taken on the same day :

Before going on an helicopter tour of the New Orleans, Kenner, Metairie, Arabi, Slidell and Mandeville areas to assess the extent of Hurricane Katrina damage, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, center, expresses her concern for the victims Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005, in Baton Rouge, La. Blanco is surrounded by, from left, Louisiana National Guard Major General Bennett Landreneau, U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La, FEMA director Mike Brown and U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La. (AP Photo/Bill Feig, Pool)

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., looks over flooded areas of New Orleans during a helicopter tour with Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005, after Hurricane Katrinamoved through the area. (AP Photo/Bill Feig, Pool)

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley surveys damage to beach houses along Dauphin Island, Ala., Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005, a day after Hurricane Katrina’s landfall along the Gulf Coast. (AP Photo/John David Mercer, Pool)

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, center, speaks with, from left, Bonnita, Maria and Jimmy Baranyai and, from right Brittany Baranyai and Cheryl Davis, all from Kenner, La., at a Red Cross shelter, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005, in Little Rock, Ark. The family left their home in Kenner early Sunday before Hurricane Katrina hit the area. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, left, listens to James Jones, right, as he explains how his home, in the background, was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina as the governor tours storm damage in Fort Valley, Ga., Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. The governor left the Southern Governors meeting in Greensboro, N.C., for a helicopter and ground tour of the damage around the state. (AP Photo/Ric Feld)

President Bush plays a guitar presented to him by Country Singer Mark Wills, right, backstage following his visit to Naval Base Coronado, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. Bush visited the base to deliver remarks on V-J Commemoration Day. (AP Photo/ABC News, Martha Raddatz)

Nero would be proud…

In case you were wondering why I was so skeptical about the President’s willingness to listen to his advisors that don’t tow the party line, here’s a good example :

A high-ranking Food and Drug Administration official resigned Wednesday in protest over the agency’s refusal to allow over-the-counter sales of emergency contraception.

Susan Wood, director of FDA’s Office of Women’s Health, announced her resignation in an e-mail to colleagues at the agency. The e-mail was released by contraception advocates.

The FDA last Friday postponed indefinitely its decision on whether to allow the morning-after pill, called Plan B, to be sold without a prescription. The agency said it was safe for adults to use without a doctor’s guidance but was unable to decide how to keep it out of the hands of young teenagers without a prescription — a decision contrary to the advice of its own scientific advisers.

Kudos to Susan Wood for doing the right thing. I just hope she isn’t naive enough to think her actions will have any action beyond proving once again that there’s no place for dignity, intelligence, or independent thought in the Bush White House.

I really hate to be the first person to “go there”, but I’m a firm believer in the notion that it’s during the tough times that you find out who your real friends are. Not to draw too fine a parallel or anything, but the President sure has a knack for skipping out on a crisis until other people have the situation under control. For example, there’s this largely forgotten bit of trivia from a couple days after 9/11 :

Over now familiar refrains of “that’s unreal,” and “I can’t believe it,” and pregnant moans of “wow,” a spectacle of a different kind captured unblinking New Yorkers yesterday afternoon. Out of Manhattan’s Union Square came a welcome and commanding sight: former President Bill Clinton, surrounded by a growing mass of people.
. . .
Clinton, who was in Australia when New York and Washington, D.C., were attacked, said he had spent the previous 24 hours flying to New York on an Air Force plane.
. . .
Many said Clinton’s short appearance both magnified and made up for what they called President George W. Bush’s shortcomings during this crisis. The White House announced that the president would visit New York, for the first time, today.

“So far he has not been a comforting presence,” said Emily Vacchiano, 26, who lives in SoHo. “He has not conveyed compassion or strength. Just the sight of him [Clinton] cheered everyone up today.”

At the same time, the recently departed Peter Jennings was taking flack from the right-wing for justifiably asking “Where is the President of the United States?”. It’s not that anyone expected him to jump into the rubble and start pulling out bodies, but it would be nice for our leaders to actually…y’know, lead every once in a while.

With that situation, of course, you could make the argument that Bush was being held back by the Secret Service or that there was enough uncertainty to make the case that traveling to New York or Washington might put the President in danger. (Besides, why rush back when Giuliani is doing a better job for him?) But this is a different matter entirely. The full potential of the levee breaks in New Orleans has been known for almost 24 hours now (3-4 days if you count the warnings over the weekend), yet the President has still been mostly M.I.A. Curious about how he’s been spending his day??

Speaking to a crowd of sailors and Marines near San Diego, Bush described the Iraq war and World War II as crucial tests of American resolve in the face of evil. He also painted a grim picture of the consequences of failure, warning that Iraq could turn into an oil-rich haven for international terrorists.
. . .
The president’s visit to Naval Air Station North Island was part of a White House effort to shore up support for the war. Recent polls show widespread unease over the war. An Aug. 5-7 Gallup Poll, for example, found that 54 percent of Americans thought the war was a mistake. Still, most Americans said they opposed a quick withdrawal.

And this was all after the levees broke. Thousands of people are missing or dead in what’s being called one of the worst natural disasters in the nation’s history, but the President is still worried about his poll numbers? Here’s one small example of what’s happening while the President tries to convince people that he’s FDR :

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said hundreds, if not thousands, of people may still be stuck on roofs and in attics, and so rescue boats were bypassing the dead.

“We’re not even dealing with dead bodies,” Nagin said. “They’re just pushing them on the side.”

And I haven’t even mentioned the declaration of martial law, the increased threat the flood will take as the waters become more polluted by toxic chemicals, the looming disease outbreak that will happen due to standing water and the rotting corpses of humans and animals, rampant looting, and the refugee situation in the Superdome. The news coming out of Louisiana has been growing steadily worse since last night and the country could really use a leader right now. Delaying your return to work for something as unimportant as a stump speech isn’t gonna cut it. I wonder if Rudy is doing anything today?

More updates from New Orleans :

2:00 P.M. – Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi says “this is going to be the most expensive natural disaster that’s hit the United States in history.”

2:01 P.M. – Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard says there is no plumbing and the sanitary situation is getting nasty. He told WAFB-TV that he is carrying around a bag for his own human waste.

3:07 P.M. – Governor Blanco: We are looking for ways to get people out of the Superdome and out of New Orleans said Governor Blanco as she tried to keep from crying.

3:25 P.M. – With conditions in the hurricane-ravaged city of New Orleans rapidly deteriorating, Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Tuesday that people now huddled in the Superdome and other rescue centers need to be evacuated.

“The situation is untenable,” Blanco said during a news conference. “It’s just heartbreaking.”

…and then there’s this guy….

2:07 P.M. – (AP) — A top casino executive is calling on the Mississippi Legislature to enact emergency legislation to keep the state’s coast gaming industry alive.

Treasure Bay Casino President and CEO Bernie Burkholder says most of the casino hotels on the coast survived Hurricane Katrina, but several gambling barges suffered extensive damage. He says it could take several years to rebuild.

I’d like to think the Mississippi legislature has more important things to consider than whether or not their people have a place to gamble. What a dick.

Some selected updates from the devastation in New Orleans (via BoingBoing) :

8:39 A.M. WWL-TV studios are being evacuated as rising water is coming into the station. The French Quarter is taking on water and water is expected to rise in the city for the next few days.

9:35 A.M. Marshal Law in effect in Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish. 60 percent of homes in Plaquemines Parish under water.

10:15 A.M. A spokeswoman describes Jefferson Parish as a “very dangerous” place. Jackie Bauer says there’s gas leaks everywhere, water needs to be boiled, there’s no commercial power, no pumping stations and the water’s toxic.

And there’s still some deep water in some neighborhoods. Bauer says there are other dangers — snakes in the water, other vermin, loose dogs and cats everywhere. She says — quoting now — “We kind of have to fight for survival with them.” – Associated Press

10:35 A.M. Governor Blanco – “Worse than our worst fears.”

10:42 A.M. – Rising waters continue in N.O. due to failed pumps and breached levees at the 17th Street Canal and the Ninth Ward. Rising waters caused one hospital to evacuate patients to the Louisiana Superdome.

11:01 A.M. – Break in 17th Street Canal Levee is now 200 feet wide and slowly flooding the City of New Orleans. Huge sand bags are being airlifted to try to stem the rush of water in that area.

11:13 A.M. – Plaquemines Parish…if you are found on the street…will be arrested. Marshall law in effect. 60 percent of homes flooded. 50 people rescued.

11:16 A.M. – Gretna Police Chief…some people south of Gretna Blvd. trapped in water in homes, waiting to be rescued, but believed safe. Several looters arrested, chief says about 50. Lots of debris, at least some structural damage in 95 to 98 percent of buildings. Water is off in Gretna due to barge that was hit and dumped diesel into water supply. Plenty of homes with structural damage…a few that have collapsed. As far as police chief knows, No deaths in Gretna, two minor injuries. Chief says looting has been mainly for groceries. Law enforcement given “whatever authority they need” to prevent looting of homes.

11:21 A.M. (AP) – The White House says President Bush is cutting short his vacation to return to Washington to monitor the hurricane recovery efforts.

11:39 A.M. (AP) – National Guardsmen brought in people from outlying areas to the Superdome in the backs of big 2 1/2-ton Army trucks. Louisiana’s wildlife enforcement department also brought people in on the backs of their pickups. Some were wet, some were in wheelchairs, some were holding babies and nothing else.

11:43 A.M. – Councilman Byron Lee of Jefferson Parish, “This is not life as it used to be. It’s like a war zone.”

11:46 A.M. – (AP) The president asked individual Americans to get involved with the relief effort, suggesting anyone who wishes to help could call 1-800-HELPNOW, log on to the Red Cross Web site or get in touch with the Salvation Army.

11:54 A.M. – Kenner mayor asking for more National Guard. Asks anyone with the guard to call 468-7200.

12:45 P.M. – Reports of looting in downtown New Orleans of drugstores. Reports people rushing out with grocery carts of food, soft drinks and diapers. Ripped open steel gates at some Canal Street stores taking clothing.

12:50 P.M. - St. John Parish hospital closed at this time. Water working but must be boiled. Parish president Nickie Monica asks residents who have evacuated to stay out. Good News, no major structural damage. Monica says schools and offices closed until further notice. He asks that St. John Parish be made a priority to be used as a staging area for other parishes that suffered worse fates. 911 not working…EMERGENCIES IN ST. JOHN PARISH…1-985-652-6338, 1-985-536-2112…west bank 1-985-497-3321.

Please donate to the Red cross by either clicking here or calling 1-800-HELP-NOW.

Dude, I’m 100% with you on the “Clinton lied, people died” tip, but how the hell can you write an entire article about the tragic circumstances in Rwanda without using the word “Darfur”? Not even once. I’m not looking for Bush bashing, just something a little more constructive than “Don’t forget that Bill Clinton is an asshole, everybody”. Since you mention that fantastic film Hotel Rwanda, you might recall that Don Cheadle made sure to mention Sudan in every interview he made both to publicize the film as well as in response to his Oscar nomination. Cheadle learned the correct lesson from the Rwanda tragedy, have you?

Wow. Atrios wasn’t kidding. This really is one of the stupidest things ever written :

Athletes do things that seem transcendental — and they can also do things that are transcendentally stupid. They choke, trip and dope. Nevertheless, they possess a deep physical knowledge the rest of us can learn from, bound as we are by our ordinary, trudging, cumbersome selves. Ever get the feeling that they are in touch with something that we aren’t? What is that thing? Could it be their random, mutant talent, or could it be evidence of, gulp, intelligent design?
. . .
The idea, so contentious in other contexts, actually rings a loud bell in sports. Athletes often talk of feeling an absolute fulfillment of purpose, of something powerful moving through them or in them that is not just the result of training. Jeffrey M. Schwartz, a neuroscientist and research professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, is a believer in ID, or as he prefers to call it, “intrinsic intelligence.” Schwartz wants to launch a study of NASCAR drivers, to better understand their extraordinary focus. He finds Darwinism, as it applies to a high-performance athlete such as Tony Stewart, to be problematic. To claim that Stewart’s mental state as he handles a high-speed car “is a result of nothing more than random processes coming together in a machine-like way is not a coherent explanation,” Schwartz said.

Instead, Schwartz theorizes that when a great athlete focuses, he or she may be “making a connection with something deep within nature itself, which lends itself to deepening our intelligence.” It’s fascinating thought. And Schwartz would like to prove it’s scientifically justifiable.
. . .
Schwarz finds little or nothing in natural selection to explain the ability of athletes to reinterpret physical events from moment to moment, the super-awareness that they seem to possess. He has a term for it, the ability to be an “impartial spectator” to your own actions. “The capacity to stand outside yourself and be aware of where you are,” he said. “Deep within the complexities of molecular organization lies an intrinsic intelligence that accounts for that deep organization, and is something that we can connect with through the willful focus of our minds,” he theorizes.

Now, there are some who might read this and come to the conclusion that article was the work of a writer so seduced by the romantic ideals that sports fans have of their idols that he/she can’t see that these seemingly perfect athletes sometimes turn out to be cannibalistic rapists or wife-beating murderers, but there’s a simpler explanation. Jesus…I mean, the creator designed athletes to represent the pinnacle of human ability. How else can you explain The Power Team?

I love this so much that I’m posting it in spite of the fact that I got it from my two blogospheric guilty pleasures :

SHEPARD SMITH: You’re live on FOX News Channel, what are you doing?

MAN IN NEW ORLEANS: Walking my dogs.

SMITH: Why are you still here? I’m just curious.

MAN: None of your fucking business.

It’s nice to see that there are still a few people out there who aren’t obsessed with the idea of being on television.

Gotta love how a disaster brings out the best in everybody. Like When CNN is pimping their audience to give them juicy footage to air between commercials :

If you live in an area impacted by Hurricane Katrina, we’re encouraging you, if you’re able to, to e-mail us your photos and video and become one of CNN’s citizen journalists. You can do that by logging on to cnn.com/stories. Please include your name, location, phone number. Your safety, of course, is of utmost importance. So please, don’t put yourself in harm’s way.

Even with the tepid disclaimer at the end of the pitch, CNN should be ashamed of themselves for encouraging people to put themselves in dangerous situations. It’s times like these when I think the media is doing a valuable service in keeping the public informed and urging them to seek shelter, but CNN’s irresponsible plea for “citizen journalists” is just a reminder that the urge to do the right thing is still secondary to their desire for inter-network bragging rights and higher ratings.

Michael Shermer, author of Why People Believe Weird Things, has a good response to the Deepak Chopra post mentioned below. One thing I found kinda strange though was this bit :

As for our President’s alleged endorsement of Intelligent Design, he didn’t. The media hyped it and everyone heard what they wanted to hear. There was considerable media hype over the story, and I did a number of interviews, including a live debate on CNN with lead Intelligent Design theorist William Dembski. Here’s what actually happened. On Monday, August 1, Bush gave an interview at the White House to a group of Texas newspaper reporters in which he said that when he was governor of Texas “I felt like both sides ought to be properly taught.” When a reporter asked for his position today on whether ID is a legitimate scientific alternative to the theory of evolution, Bush wisely equivocated: “I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought. You’re asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, and the answer is yes.” Well of course, but that’s a different question.

Our President was simply being politic in his choice of words. In fact, Bush’s science adviser, John H. Marburger 3rd, said in a telephone interview with the New York Times that “evolution is the cornerstone of modern biology” and “intelligent design is not a scientific concept.” He added that the president’s comments should be interpreted to mean that ID be discussed not as science but as part of the “social context” in science classes, and that it would be “over-interpreting” Bush’s remarks to conclude that the president believes that ID and the theory of evolution should be given equal treatment in public school science courses.

That’s a nice thing to hear, but one hopes that the President pays a little more attention to his science advisor than he does to his economic, environmental, and military advisors.

PZ Myers has a brilliant takedown of Deepak Chopra’s retarded anti-evolution rant at The Huffington Post. This quote in particular is so mind-numbingly stupid that it deserves to be highlighted :

How does evolution know where to stop? The pressure to evolve is constant; therefore it is hard to understand why evolution isn’t a constant.

PZ points out that evolution is a slow, ongoing process that we’re in the middle of, but Chopra has a good point there. Along those same lines, here’s a few questions I’ve always wondered about :

If the Earth is really round, where does it start bending? It’s perfectly flat where I am.

If people evolved from monkeys, why don’t humans sometimes give birth to monkeys? (I was actually asked this question by a creationist)

Where does the Sun go at night? Don’t give me that crap about it being behind the Earth either. We all know that the sun is 4-5 times larger than the Earth.

When did unicorns and dragons go extinct?

If the planet is constantly rotating, why can’t we feel it move?

Finally, why are life forms beautiful? Beauty is everywhere in Nature, yet it serves no obvious purpose.

By the way, that last one was Deepak Chopra again. There’s a reason why I try to avoid getting scientific information from people who specialize in New Age bullshit….

Depressingly true. George Bush and the Republican party lost the war in Iraq. Maybe if they hadn’t spent the last two years trying to turn lead into gold, we could go back to trying to capture or kill the people responsible for the 9/11 attacks…

You know what I would love to see? The next time one of those talking head shows on CNN decides to have a “debate” over evolution vs. intelligent design, I’d love to see the designated scientist on the panel follow the Discovery Institute moron by grabbing an acoustic guitar and sing this song. If these people insist on thinking like children, they should be treated like children.

By now, I’m sure you’ve seen this on other blogs, but I still want to point out how kickass this guy is. As a bonus, if you click on the photo below, you can download a PDF that I created to print your own bullshit protectors :