Brava, Bella Katrina!

...and encore. Possibly the last, absolutely last thing the Republican Party wanted to see was a replay of Katrina during their convention. I mean, John McCain's determined effort to suck the wind from Obama's sails by nominating his great grand-daughter as VP pales in comparison to Howard Dean's efforts at meteorological disturbance.
I would like to see some security people try, just try and keep Hurricane Gustav in line outside the convention center.

My father was in hospital when Katrina struck. I believe he was in isolation, the staff thinking he had TB or something similar, something quite malign, something even old and ancient, possibly derived from WW II and time spent in tropical jungles. Navy man, you know. (Of course, he was not in the Pacific. He served in the Mediterranean. He was in the landings in North Africa, Sicily, and Anzio.

It turned out to be pneumonia which had not been properly cleared up in the spring of the year. He had pneumonia from spring to fall in 2005. It was quite memorable to drive to their place to escort them to hospital, and arriving to find him unable to walk the 30 steps to the auto without stopping a couple times to catch his breath.) I was in the hospital room on Sunday, as I recall. I went home later, making sure to fill up the gas tank, for we expected the price to go up due to the storm. Then we watched: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and on... As time wore on, Anderson Cooper, Shepard Smith, and eventually Geraldo Rivera remained in place. As time passed, these individuals began to display the stress they were feeling, a stress derived from seeing people being left to rot in a flooded city.

Then the Republican President flew over the area, finally having been prised from his Texas ranch to simulate some show of concern, desperation grew. It was Floodmaster G. and Brownie. It was their rap, the rap of pudgy white guys, secure in their sense of entitlement to money, power, security, and techno. Even though New Orleans was suffering, the Right Wing God was in his heaven, and all was right with the world; was it not obvious that the only white guys stranded there were ones who choose to be? That is, the journalists?

As Wednesday wore down and there was the real presentiment that we, the Cable TV audience, might actually have a chance to view the real-time deaths of hundreds by starvation, thirst, disease, lack of hygiene, and, most thrilling, cannibalism...(Indeed! What would the poor wretches eat, unless it be each other? The strongest surviving upon the flesh of the weakest!) things had begun to come apart.

It was during this time, Wednesday through Thursday, that the FOX News shills like Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly, safely far away from New Orleans, continued their usual smarmy and clueless charade. I remember Hannity speaking to Shephard Smith. Shephard Smith almost jumped through the screen, trying to get it through the great Blockhead's rather blockish looking head that people were dying and more would die...and the government was doing nothing. Too bad it's a Republican government, Sean. They are still doing nothing. Then Geraldo almost verbally skinned O'Reilly for his fatuousness. It was Modern Day Republicanism distilled to its essence: clueless and selfish greed combined with a rampant know-nothing-ism that is frightening.
It had nothing to do with Goldwater Republicanism. C-Span showed Barry's acceptanced speech from 1964 last night. One thing Barry Goldwater touched on was the fact that Private Property formed the base of our way of life, since private property allowed an individual to be his own master, and not be totally dependent upon the whims of government. Barry Goldwater was an elitist. That was back in the day when using all the smarts you could was not considered something shameful. Those Republicans knew what their philosophy was: they had fought and thought it out themselves. They did not need a half-baked, renegade evangelical whore-of-babylon-master from Dohickeyville, Texas, to tell them what they should think!

Now, just try and find a modern day Republican actually talk about such philosophy. Just try. I think that back in 1964, people actually used their heads and thought about important concepts. I really do not get the impression there's much of that done today. Tom DeLay...as in, could I get a delay in my trial date?...was all about graft. Larry Craig spoke about complex algorithms tapped out by one's feet in public toilets. President Bush spoke of the important patriotic function of SHOPPING. Phil Gramm spoke of Americans no longer having the back bone to stand up to adversity, not like the richest 2% which still did...at least we think they do from their havens in other countries.
...and the VP candidate says that when it comes to Pro Life, she's for it. No. The last thing Republicans want to see is replays of masses of poor people standing about the perimeter of a sign spelling out "H-E-L-P"... as the only government agency in sight is the Coast Guard helicopters... and there is not enough of those sweet chariots to swing low and save lives... while Brownie is doing a heck of a job... and Floodmaster G. goes...shopping. Republicans