Most people, anxious to make a change in Washington this year, will tell you they are upset about the ill-considered war in Iraq.  Many will quickly follow up with examples of other events/decisions they would change if they could.  My personal list would include these:

I hope we never forget the day the bridges collapsed in Minnesota, reminding us that the Bush administration would not support spending dollars from the HIGHWAY TRUST FUND to repair and maintain our federal highway infrastructure.

I hope we never forget the day the Bush appointed head of the CONSUMER PRODUCTS SAFETY COMMISSION shrugged as she testified before Congress, confessing she could not remember whether or not the Commission had recalled a single toy made in China that was unsafe for our children.

This is from the blog, Last Kaul.

Distracted by the fun of watching the Obama/Clinton steel cage, death match in North Carolina this week, I almost missed the opportunity to celebrate the five-year anniversary of "Mission Accomplished."  Five years ago Thursday, George Bush dressed up as a fighter pilot and had a real one set him down on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.  All decked out in his costume, he paraded in front of the assembled crew and press, like a kid getting ready for Halloween, and then stood in front of the now infamous banner and told the nation, "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended."

The April NOLA/Gulf Blogathon took place approximately two weeks ago, and in spite of the crush of campaign diaries, it was, thanks to all who wrote diaries and otherwise participated, a success. The diaries were all very thought-provoking and deserved more attention than they got from the DKos community because all raised questions regarding what BushCo was, and is, really up to regarding the federal flood.

This is to announce that the next NOLA/Gulf Blogathon has now been scheduled for Thurs., May 15th and Fri., May 16th. Hopefully by then the campaign stuff will have started winding down--and hope to see you there!

A maverick in his own mind, John McCain, is now spouting revisionist history concerning both his comments on Monday and what the appropriate federal response to Hurricane Katrina should have been. McCain , 71, told reporters on Monday that he had no idea what he might have done differently than President Bush, but on Thursday he was criticizing the President and denying that he ever suggested tearing down part of the Lower 9th Ward.

Is this the type of bold leadership voters can expect from Admiral Airhead? For someone campaigning on experience, Senator Senile acts unprepared and confused when asked about his New Orleans plan.

Here is a music video that some find funny, others find heart breaking.  In 3 1/2 minutes I set out 7 years of scandal.

It now appears that PSYOPS is for domestic audiences, too

It’s rare that I have an angry reaction to a newspaper article that isn’t on the op/ed pages, but today’s ‘above the fold’ story in the New York Times met that high threshold. David Barstow, a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter, writes about how the Pentagon recruited retired military officers back in 2002 in order to create a cadre of credible pro-administration spokespersons who provided favorable coverage of its wartime performance on television, radio and in the print media. Dubbed ’surrogates’ or ‘message force multipliers’ by their DoD handlers, these former senior commanders and military experts were brought back to Washington at regular intervals to ’schmooze’ with senior Pentagon officials as well as the highest strata of the Bush Administration (briefings by Cabinet-level officials all the way up to the vice president).

I have compressed 7 years of Republican scandals into a 3 1/2 minute music video I wrote and recorded.  Check it out and send it to your friends.

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." -- John 8:32

Provided, of course, you have the cash.

In this case, $209,099 -- the price that FEMA recently attached to its willingness to comply with a Katrina-related Freedom of Information Act request from The Advocate, the newspaper in Baton Rouge, La.

The newspaper was looking into maintenance and inspection contracts awarded by FEMA after the 2005 hurricanes.

These contractors were in charge of minor repairs and monthly inspections of travel trailers and mobile homes occupied by evacuees from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

. . . and because it is my heart. -- Stephen Crane

I don't know about y'all, but the images and voices from Hurricane Katrina haunt me. Although I was "lucky" in having moved from my hometown, New Orleans, four years before Katrina, it's still impossible to come to terms with the anger (well  . . . maybe rage would be more accurate) and shame that have seared my soul.

It's hard to fathom that this is America, even though more than two years have passed. Aren't we the most generous nation in the world? I remember the Indian Ocean tsunami. I remember September 11. But I remember this:

And contributions poured in from around the world. What wasn't tied up in bureaucratic red tape was outright turned away. Failure to properly distribute donations, that's not much of a surprise. Failure of compassion and humanity? That's the real thorn in my side.

Preparations are beginning for the end of the Bush administration. I love the Bush Administration using tax dollars to insure Federal Employees for violating the law at the behest of the Bush Administration. Now..why would anybody want to join the CIA when the Bush administration might force them into law suits where they are only 75% covered for doing the Bush's misdeeds? Sounds like a job for "Brownie"!

Most of the 5 Billion dollars that has been allocated to the rebuilding for Katrina victims still remains unspent and the allocation, monitoring and services needing to be delivered by our very inadequate FEMA are still tied up in a huge wad of red tape, rules, and bullshit, as always. There is no structure to deal with this disaster and we are talking about people's lives in America. The true visionaries on a local level are completely overwhelmed and if we didn't have the celebrity help and volunteer help to just go in and (as 'Mater would say, GET HER DONE!), there would be nothing happening.
To contrast this, I think daily to myself how I would feel waking every day (or going to sleep at night), with the sound of gunfire and/or bombs. To have no running water, no electrical power, no infrastructure to rely on, police, fire department, etc. - and this is Iraq for those living there.

Man...what a week. I'm pooped. Without further adieu, stories on the topic that dare not speak it's name within either Party...ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS to USE! (P.S. No candidates were bashed in the making of this diary...)

Is cabin air making us sick? More and more pilots are reporting that air polluted by engine fumes is making them ill and even incapable of handling their aircraft. So why are passengers not being told? London Daily Telegraph

4 nations, 4 cities take 'climate neutral' pledge. Four nations and a clutch of cities and corporations unveiled a Web-based information hub on Thursday to help meet a pledge to radically cut carbon levels in their economies in coming decade. Agence France-Presse.

This story was reported last week and even though it has taken me a week to write this diary, I felt it was important to recognize that there are people along the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coast who are still suffering and will continue to suffer from Hurricane Katrina and the after effects of the storm and of government failures.

In a joint press release by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and FEMA on Feb. 14, it was announced that Hurricane Katrina refugees living in FEMA trailers were urged to move out of the trailers due to high levels of formaldehyde fumes.

Like we didn't see this one coming.

I managed to survive the first election. (Full disclosure...I'm working a temp job in an Elections Office) The phlem in the lungs is still not gone after 5 weeks. Still hacking. Our office now has a special election on April 22, the Statewide Primary on June 3 and the Presidential General on November 4. Anyway...onto the topic that the two Donkey candidates aren't talking about. ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS (to use.)

District connects lead with special ed. Galveston Independent School District has too many African-American students in its special education program. And school administrators think it may be due to lead. Galveston County Daily News

Environment not among top campaign topics. The environment has not been a hot topic in the presidential races up to this point. Salt Lake Tribune

Dear Senator Obama,

I am not what you would call a "backer" of yours, if by "backer" it means the characters that festoon this site with postings demanding we support you in some sort of high school-like "Be There or Be Square" manner.  

But I realize that you just might win this primary battle.  I will work for your election if you do.  However, be advised, my choice was Mr. Edwards, and I stayed with him to the end.

Let's make the jump and come to the point.

Where do you get your Weather warnings?
Would you settle for your warnings/alerts etc in a second language?

If you wanna skip the blog and go directly to video-See Example HERE

Yes. My heart is heavy as today Senator Edwards is leaving the Presidential campaign "reality show." I voted for the Senator via Vote by Mail balloting here in California. My vote was NOT wasted. It went to the only candidate that spoke to me and inspired me via action, not just "talk". Now...wiping the tears...onto Environmental News to USE.

DNREC leaves monitoring to polluters. In Delaware, home of some of the biggest air polluters in the country, the state's air quality management program remains underfunded and understaffed, leaving the reporting of violations up to the companies doing the polluting. Wilmington News Journal

Collapse of water, sewer and public health in Gaza. A stream of dark and putrid sludge snakes through Gaza's streets. It is a noxious mix of human and animal waste. The stench is overwhelming. The occasional passer-by vomits. Inter Press Service.