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Every NFL season should begin like this. Every team in the league is undefeated except the Raiders.
The Washington Post reported on Friday that five of eight top FEMA officials had come to their jobs with virtually no experience in handling disasters. The agency's top three leaders, including Brown, had ties to Bush's 2000 presidential campaign or the White House advance operation.
You know, I can't even act surprised anymore. Obviously I was applying in all the wrong places.
Also, a call to arms for photobloggers from Andrew Sullivan (!).
'[O]n Tuesday, FEMA refused to take reporters and photographers along on boats seeking victims in flooded areas, saying they would take up valuable space need in the recovery effort and asked them not to take pictures of the dead. In an e-mail explaining the decision, a FEMA spokeswoman wrote: "The recovery of victims is being treated with dignity and the utmost respect and we have requested that no photographs of the deceased by made by the media."'
The press should ignore those requests, get boats themselves and show the world what has actually happened. (Hey, much of the media was ahead of FEMA during the worst of it. Why not again now?) That goes for any intrepid bloggers with camera-phones or anyone else who can slip through the censorship net. If necessary, faces can be blurred to protect the dignity of the dead. But it matters that we see the full consequences of government delinquency. That's what the press is for. Ignore FEMA. Photobloggers, here's an opportunity for important and necessary work.
Also NBC's Brian Williams on Wednesday: While we were attempting to take pictures of the National Guard (a unit from Oklahoma) taking up positions outside a Brooks Brothers on the edge of the Quarter, the sergeant ordered us to the other side of the boulevard. The short version is: there won't be any pictures of this particular group of Guard soldiers on our newscast tonight. Rules (or I suspect in this case an order on a whim) like those do not HELP the palpable feeling that this area is somehow separate from the United States.
Also also wik: a purported first-hand account of the relief efforts. Yeesh.
Unrelated but still relevant: Campbell Brown is my new hero.
You know, I can't even act surprised anymore. Obviously I was applying in all the wrong places.
Also, a call to arms for photobloggers from Andrew Sullivan (!).
'[O]n Tuesday, FEMA refused to take reporters and photographers along on boats seeking victims in flooded areas, saying they would take up valuable space need in the recovery effort and asked them not to take pictures of the dead. In an e-mail explaining the decision, a FEMA spokeswoman wrote: "The recovery of victims is being treated with dignity and the utmost respect and we have requested that no photographs of the deceased by made by the media."'
The press should ignore those requests, get boats themselves and show the world what has actually happened. (Hey, much of the media was ahead of FEMA during the worst of it. Why not again now?) That goes for any intrepid bloggers with camera-phones or anyone else who can slip through the censorship net. If necessary, faces can be blurred to protect the dignity of the dead. But it matters that we see the full consequences of government delinquency. That's what the press is for. Ignore FEMA. Photobloggers, here's an opportunity for important and necessary work.
Also NBC's Brian Williams on Wednesday: While we were attempting to take pictures of the National Guard (a unit from Oklahoma) taking up positions outside a Brooks Brothers on the edge of the Quarter, the sergeant ordered us to the other side of the boulevard. The short version is: there won't be any pictures of this particular group of Guard soldiers on our newscast tonight. Rules (or I suspect in this case an order on a whim) like those do not HELP the palpable feeling that this area is somehow separate from the United States.
Also also wik: a purported first-hand account of the relief efforts. Yeesh.
Unrelated but still relevant: Campbell Brown is my new hero.
U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's visit to Reliant Park this morning offered him a glimpse of what it's like to be living in shelter.
While on the tour with top administration officials from Washington, including U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao and U.S. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, DeLay stopped to chat with three young boys resting on cots.
The congressman likened their stay to being at camp and asked, "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?"
They nodded yes, but looked perplexed.
While on the tour with top administration officials from Washington, including U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao and U.S. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, DeLay stopped to chat with three young boys resting on cots.
The congressman likened their stay to being at camp and asked, "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?"
They nodded yes, but looked perplexed.
U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarian Terry Conger said Tuesday that Snowball, a small white dog taken by police Thursday from a sobbing little boy as he boarded a bus at the Superdome, has been located at the Gonzalez shelter and will be reunited with his owner.
"This is one of the heartwarming stories," Conger said.
The dog is among about 3,000 animals brought into the shelter system, Conger said. Photos of unidentified animals will be posted on Petfinder.com.
But a smack on the nose to Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher on people empathizing with pets in the stricken area: Beats me. But then again, I cannot fathom why all these folks who stayed behind to take care of their pets would risk their lives for an animal that they could easily replace at any pet store. Asshat.
Also on the brighter side of cataclysm: Snopes on The Price is Right's N'Awlins/speedboat prize package. I'm sorry, maybe I'm becoming insensitive or jaded or something, but I still find this downright hysterical.
Ten minutes until the weekend and I haven't been fired yet. Charmed existence, I tells ya.
"This is one of the heartwarming stories," Conger said.
The dog is among about 3,000 animals brought into the shelter system, Conger said. Photos of unidentified animals will be posted on Petfinder.com.
But a smack on the nose to Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher on people empathizing with pets in the stricken area: Beats me. But then again, I cannot fathom why all these folks who stayed behind to take care of their pets would risk their lives for an animal that they could easily replace at any pet store. Asshat.
Also on the brighter side of cataclysm: Snopes on The Price is Right's N'Awlins/speedboat prize package. I'm sorry, maybe I'm becoming insensitive or jaded or something, but I still find this downright hysterical.
Ten minutes until the weekend and I haven't been fired yet. Charmed existence, I tells ya.
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After finally finishing Kung Fu Hustle (SEE IT SEE IT SEE IT), I just idly looked up Roger Ebert's take on it and Shaolin Soccer (YOU ALSO SEE IT NOW), and it was in the latter's review that I found an interesting and enlightening explanation of the star-based rating system:
What it means is that the star rating system is relative, not absolute. When you ask a friend if "Hellboy" is any good, you're not asking if it's any good compared to "Mystic River," you're asking if it's any good compared to "The Punisher." And my answer would be, on a scale of one to four, if "Superman" (1978) is four, then "Hellboy" is three and "The Punisher" is two. In the same way, if "American Beauty" gets four stars, then "Leland" clocks in at about two.
And that is why "Shaolin Soccer," a goofy Hong Kong action comedy, gets three stars. It is piffle, yes, but superior piffle. If you are even considering going to see a movie where the players zoom 50 feet into the air and rotate freely in violation of everything Newton held sacred, then you do not want to know if I thought it was as good as "Lost in Translation."
Also of interest: Ebert's Brown Bunny review: three stars. Still not gonna see it.
What it means is that the star rating system is relative, not absolute. When you ask a friend if "Hellboy" is any good, you're not asking if it's any good compared to "Mystic River," you're asking if it's any good compared to "The Punisher." And my answer would be, on a scale of one to four, if "Superman" (1978) is four, then "Hellboy" is three and "The Punisher" is two. In the same way, if "American Beauty" gets four stars, then "Leland" clocks in at about two.
And that is why "Shaolin Soccer," a goofy Hong Kong action comedy, gets three stars. It is piffle, yes, but superior piffle. If you are even considering going to see a movie where the players zoom 50 feet into the air and rotate freely in violation of everything Newton held sacred, then you do not want to know if I thought it was as good as "Lost in Translation."
Also of interest: Ebert's Brown Bunny review: three stars. Still not gonna see it.
Tags:
Stupid Quotes About Hurricane Katrina - Stupidest Hurricane Katrina Quotes: Yeah, I know, just 25?
5) "Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans, virtually a city that has been destroyed, things are going relatively well." —FEMA Director Michael Brown, Sept. 1, 2005
5) "Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans, virtually a city that has been destroyed, things are going relatively well." —FEMA Director Michael Brown, Sept. 1, 2005
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