Rise of Hitler compare to Bush and Co.

The rise and fall of Hitler, includes these details, gleaned from a teacher's guide and other historical sources. Substitute Muslim for the word Jew.

"Once he became head of state by legal means, Hitler consolidated his power by neutralizing all political opponents and democratic institutions. As dictator, he began a campaign of terror to rid Germany of Jewish influence. The Nuremberg Laws negated civil liberties for Germany's Jews, many of whom fled to safer lands.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES
Students will learn:
1. How the Nazis consolidated their power and control of the German government.

2. That dictatorial power can evolve from forces other than through a military or civilian coup d'État.

3. That Hitler rose to power in a democracy which had a structure similar to that of modern democracies.

4. That historical events often trigger political responses and mold public opinion, and that extremist political movements do not suddenly rise to power in a vacuum but do so as a result of latent instability of the society in which they exist."

And here is the discussion question from the teacher's guide (think about it)...

"Discuss what motivated the Reichstag to pass the Enabling Act. How jealously does our own Congress guard its rights to pass legislation? Is there an appropriate balance of power between the President and the Congress today? Has this balance changed in the last 40 years? The last 20 years? 5 years? 1 year?"

Another point of interest, by Ben S. Austin: "Please take special note of the similarity between these laws and the Jim Crow Laws which were passed in the United States following the Compromise of 1877, upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Plessy vs Ferguson (1896) and remained in effect until the court reversed the "separate but equal doctrine in Brown vs the Board of Education of Topeka (1954). It is clear that Hitler used the Jim Crow segregation statutes as his model for defining Jews in the Third Reich."

And still more information, which sounds a lot like what is going on here and now.

"On March 23, 1933, the newly elected members of the German Parliament (the Reichstag) met in the Kroll Opera House in Berlin to consider passing Hitler's Enabling Act. It was officially called the 'Law for Removing the Distress of the People and the Reich.' If passed, it would effectively mean the end of democracy in Germany and establish the legal dictatorship of Adolf Hitler.

The 'distress' had been secretly caused by the Nazis themselves in order to create a crisis atmosphere that would make the law seem necessary to restore order. On February 27, 1933, they had burned the Reichstag building, seat of the German government, causing panic and outrage. The Nazis successfully blamed the fire on the Communists and claimed it marked the beginning of a widespread uprising.

On the day of the vote, Nazi storm troopers gathered in a show of force around the opera house chanting, "Full powers - or else! We want the bill - or fire and murder!!" They also stood inside in the hallways, and even lined the aisles where the vote would take place, glaring menacingly at anyone who might oppose Hitler's will.

Just before the vote, Hitler made a speech to the Reichstag in which he pledged to use restraint."

"The government will make use of these powers only insofar as they are essential for carrying out vitally necessary measures...The number of cases in which an internal necessity exists for having recourse to such a law is in itself a limited one." - Hitler told the Reichstag.

He also promised an end to unemployment and pledged to promote peace with France, Great Britain and the Soviet Union. But in order to do all this, Hitler said, he first needed the Enabling Act.

A two thirds majority was needed, since the law would actually alter the German constitution. Hitler needed 31 non-Nazi votes to pass it. He got those votes from the Center Party after making a false promise to restore some basic rights already taken away by decree."

I am telling you, the worst may yet happen, particularly if the Bush administration changes the Posse Comitatus Act.

Change the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878?

If this doesn't scare you, then you need to re-read some history. Excerpt of report:

"President Bush yesterday said he wants Congress to consider putting the Pentagon, not state and local agencies, in charge of responding to large natural disasters in the future….

That would require a change of law, since the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 forbids the military from performing civilian law enforcement duties. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is investigating possible reforms to the act, which Pentagon officials consider archaic.

[C]ritics are already warning against repeal of Posse Comitatus. "Washington seems poised to embrace further centralization and militarization at home," cautioned Gene Healy, senior editor at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. "That has the makings of a policy disaster that would dwarf Hurricane Katrina."

Peace March, more photos and stuff

I know that this photo of Sept. 24, 2005 peace marchers must be an early photo because we marched only 1 hrs less than we did at the March for Women's Lives last April, where 1.5 million women marched. photo courtesy of Jerry

The women's march of April 2004 compared to the Million Man March

There were more people present in Washington DC on Sept. 24, 2005, than the media will tell you. However, Stars and Stripes estimated 250,000 people, which is close, but I think it still is an underestimation. Why do I say that? The photo below shows a large contingent of police at 1600 hrs, however, at 0900 hrs there were 3 police officers deployed in this location. I think they were not expecting so many people. Worse yet, they were rude, and not a professional as the police officers in Crawford. The DC police should get lessons from the Crawford police.



The police, I think, did not expect such a crowd. That must be why the train from NY to DC had a "power outage" and those folks had to find another way to get to DC. I am sorry I missed the civil actions on Sunday when folks got arrested, including Cindy Sheehan. Go Cindy!

All in all, it was an amazing and historic experience as we mixed a historic peace march with historic tours....


and just plain fun


and a run in with Oscar the Grouch:

Sept. 24th Peace March

The peace march takes place on Sat. For more information on events, and to read the Code Pink blog link

We're marching because we are distressed over the continued war in Iraq, an unprovoked, unnecessary war that has cost the lives of tens of thousands of Iraqis and nearly 2,000 US soldiers. We grieve for those families who have already lost loved ones in this war, and we want to stop other families from suffering such painful losses.

We're marching because we want to hold George Bush accountable for dragging us into this war on false pretenses. For more reasons

Bush administration appoints a Veterinarian in charge of women's health

Washington, DC — In a curious move today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) named two acting directors to the office of women's health. This morning FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford appointed a man who has spent the majority of his career in the office of veterinary medicine to the position of acting director of the Office of Women's Health. By this afternoon, Dr. Norris Alderson had been replaced with a Ms. Teresa Toigo. Ms. Toigo will replace Dr. Susan Wood, a key women's health expert, who resigned on August 31 in protest of the FDA's handling of the application to make Plan B emergency contraception (EC) available over the counter.

This according to Planned Parenthood

Open letter to Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison

I noted that you asked President Bush to do the following:
“Relax certain McKinney Act restrictions as they relate to the evacuee-students in order to give school districts more flexibility to place them in schools.”
What are those certain restrictions? I have heard that the restrictions you want lifted would allow Katrina refugee children to be placed in separate classrooms from local children; sort of a "separate but equal" throwback to the days of segregation. I think that is totally wrong. These children need to be able to feel normal, and should be mainstreamed.
I lived through a large natural disaster, 40 years ago, when I was 14, and although only one person I know died as a result of that incident, and I was not homeless, it was an emotionally charged experience. I can only imagine how scarred these children will be from this experience. Making them feel different and separating them from their peers will only harm them more.
As a women, and a parent, surely you know these things, and know in your heart that this is really wrong.

Crawford to silence further protests...they think..

NO PARKING' SIGNS TO SILENCE FREEDOM OF SPEECH

WACO, Texas -- Two weeks after Cindy Sheehan left her anti-war
campsite by the road leading to President Bush's ranch, county
commissioners have banned parking along 23 miles of roads in the area.

Before the 4-1 vote Tuesday, McLennan County Commissioner Ray Meadows
said about 80 residents had complained of blocked roads, loud music
and public health and safety concerns during the 26-day protest near
Bush's ranch outside Crawford, about 20 miles west of Waco.

"It's not a First Amendment issue. It's a safety issue," Meadows said,
adding that "no parking" signs could be put up this week."

In progressive grannie's humble opinion, no parking signs won't stop anything. We are much more creative than that!

FEMA's body recovery underlying scam

FEMA brought in SCI (Service Corporation International) for removal of bodies. SCI President is a crony of Bush's, and Bush bailed him out of an investigation into their embalming practices in 1999.
This same firm "is known for its "experience" at hiding and dumping bodies" according to Raw Story

Why FEMA chose to outsource mortuary services to a paid contractor is also mystery to Dan Buckner, co-owner of the Gowen-Smith Chapel in the Gulf area. Buckner had planned to serve with the Disaster Mortuary Operational Responses Team, which reportedly told Buckner's partner, Gary Hicks of Paducah, KY, to expect up to 40,000 deaths from Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Upon learning of Kenyon’s contract, Buckner expressed puzzlement. He told the Shelbyville Times-Gazette, "Volunteers would have gone at no charge."

Katrina viewed by the world

Oh yeah, democracy really looks more attractive now. Show us your tired, your poor, your hungry...and Katrina showed the world that we don't have streets paved with gold, but US citizens mired in poverty and stranded with no way out, and a government that didn't care. Slate outlines the impact in depth:

"The initial federal and local reactions to Hurricane Katrina, however, have sent the opposite message. The images seen around the world communicated a lack of competence and considerable chaos and suffering. The dominant overseas reaction has been sympathy mixed with shock and horror at what was seen by many as evidence of racism and a reminder of the extreme poverty in which many Americans live.

The global impact[of Katrina on foreign policy]goes beyond impressions. A priority of this administration's foreign policy is to promote democracy around the world. But the attractiveness of the American model, and the ability of the United States to be an effective advocate for more democratic, capitalist societies, which had already been weakened by the disarray in Iraq, is now weaker still as a result of the disarray at home. It will be more difficult to make the case for free markets and more open societies if the results of such reforms come to be associated with the disorder seen in New Orleans." more

Al Gore's speech A Moral Moment
"...This is a moral moment. This is not ultimately about any scientific debate or political dialogue. Ultimately it is about who we are as human beings. It is about our capacity to transcend our own limitations; to rise to this new occasion; to see with our hearts, as well as our heads, the unprecedented response that is now called for; to disenthrall ourselves; to shed the illusions that have been our accomplices in ignoring the warnings that were clearly given; and hearing the ones that are clearly given now.

Where there is no vision, the people perish. And Lincoln said at another moment of supreme challenge that the question facing the people of the United States of America ultimately was whether or not this government, conceived in liberty, dedicated to freedom, of the people, by the people, and for the people -- or any government so conceived -- would perish from this earth.

There is another side to this moral challenge. Where there is vision, the people prosper and flourish, and the natural world recovers, and our communities recover. The good news is we know what to do. The good news is, we have everything we need now to respond to the challenge of global warming. We have all the technologies we need, more are being developed, and as they become available and become more affordable when produced in scale, they will make it easier to respond. But we should not wait, we cannot wait, we must not wait, we have every thing we need -- save perhaps political will. And in our democracy, political will is a renewable resource. [sustained applause]....

We brought down Communism, we brought down apartheid, we have even solved a global environmental crisis before -- the hole in the stratospheric ozone layer -- because we had leadership and because we had vision and because people who exercise moral authority in their local communities empowered our nation's government "of the people by the people and for the people" to take ethical actions even thought they were difficult.

This is another such time. This is your moment. This is the time for those who see and understand and care and are willing to work to say this time the warnings will not be ignored. This time we will prepare. This time we will rise to the occasion. And we will prevail. Thank you. Good luck to you, God bless you. [sustained applause]"

Just relaxing

Just relaxing, originally uploaded by skystone461.

Ok, I chased Mr. S (the kitty) and he got away to the top of the dryer, does this mean I should relax now?

Poverty in America, the truth....

The Economic Policy Institute September 1, 2005,Briefing Paper #165

Working families' incomes often fail to meet living expenses around the U.S.

by Sylvia A. Allegretto

The ability of families to meet their most basic needs is an important measure of economic stability and well-being. While poverty thresholds are used to evaluate the extent of serious economic deprivation in our society, family budgets, that is, the income a family needs to secure safe and decent-yet-modest living standards in the community in which it resides offer a broader measure of economic welfare.1

The family budgets presented in this report take into account differences in both geographic location and family type. In total, this report presents basic budgets for over 400 U.S. communities and six family types (either one or two parents with one, two, or three children). That the budgets differ by location is important, since certain costs, such as housing, vary significantly depending on where one resides. This geographic dimension of family budget measurements offers a comparative advantage over using poverty thresholds, which only use a national baseline in its measurements.

Basic family budget measurements are adjustable by family type because expenses vary considerably depending on the number of children in a family and whether or not a family is headed by a single parent or a married couple.

The second part of this analysis compares data on actual working family incomes and the associated basic family budgets. Such a comparison can show, for example, what percentage of two-parent families with two children in Pittsburgh, Pa., are actually earning enough income to meet basic family budget thresholds.2 These comparisons can also show not only the share of families falling below family budget thresholds, but the number of total people—parents and children—that are affected. Given recent policies that emphasize work as the solution to poverty and economic hardship, this analysis is important because it shows that sometimes work simply isn't enough.

The following are major findings from this analysis:

The range of basic family budgets for a two-parent, two-child family is $31,080 (rural Nebraska) to $64,656 (Boston, Massachusetts). The median family budget of $39,984 is well above the $19,157 poverty threshold for this size family.

Over three times more working families fall below the basic family budget levels as fall below the official poverty line.

Of the six family types examined, over 14 million people (28%) live in families with incomes below the basic family budget thresholds.

The incorporation of cost-of-living differences into basic family budgets makes them advantageous in many ways. For example, when using poverty thresholds, approximately 37% of families fall below "twice poverty" (i.e., double the poverty line), whether they reside in cities or rural areas. But when using family budget measures, which embody the higher cost of living in cities, one finds that 42% of families living in cities and 30% of families residing in rural areas fall short of basic family budget thresholds.

Think of it as being in steerage

The Titanic Of Our Era by Bill Fletcher, Jr.,September 09, 2005.

"The complete failure of the Bush administration—and to a lesser extent state and local authorities on the Gulf Coast— to respond to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina has raised questions about the motives at play. The fact that the lives of hundreds of thousands of poor and black people were thrown up for grabs and that the Bush administration could not mobilize any significant response for five days has led many people to assume that this was an act of planned genocide. How else, one may wonder, could such a thing have been allowed to happen?

There is another way to think about the disaster: the steerage on the Titanic. To refresh your memory, that was the section of the ship that provided the cheapest accommodations and where the poorest were housed. It was also the lowest part of the ship, the least safe and the site of overwhelming death. One may remember, as portrayed in the film Titanic , that the passengers in steerage were literally locked in, trapped like rats such that they could not escape the rising water.

Does this somehow sound familiar?

Did the builders of the Titanic design it in such a way that they aimed to kill the occupants of steerage? Not at all. They did, however, design it so that if anyone was going to die, it would be those in steerage. Their deaths were acceptable for the builders of the Titanic. After all, those in steerage were considered a less-relevant population than the rich on the upper decks.

The capitalism of the contemporary era shares many of the same values informing the builders of the Titanic; the poor are not the responsibility of society at large. The construction of the Titanic was not simply a technological matter. There was a decision that the poor could be sacrificed in order that the rich survive. That is the essence of capitalism in general, but particularly neo-liberal capitalism—the capitalism of this era. There need not have been an intent to wipe out thousands of poor and black people in the Gulf. The assumptions about how money would be spent, what was necessary, etc., meant that in the face of disaster, the poor and the black would be sacrificed, and the rich would have their SUVs [read: life boats]"

Obviously, the middle and poor classes of this country are expendable to the neocons and the Bushites. They now continue to plot to decrease medicaid and medicare benefits, but may concede that they can't remove those benefits from the gulf state residents because it might look bad or unsavory.

DeLay--Katrina kind of fun

"While on the tour of a shelter 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."

What in God's green earth is wrong with this man? Does this look like summer camp? How condescending, rude and outrageous! Of course, we already know that DeLay has no ethics, and here is more proof.

To read the entire article Houston Chronicle

Come to Washington DC

Federal restrictions on reporters covering Katrina

"September 7 Reuters article reported that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) "asked the media not to take pictures of those killed by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath" and "refused to take reporters and photographers along on boats seeking victims in flooded areas." FEMA's actions, along with further reports that the government is obstructing journalists in New Orleans, have drawn little attention -- and even less outrage -- from the very media institutions that the agency, part of the Bush administration, seeks to repress. Media Matters for America wonders: What will it take for the media to protest (or at least report) the Bush administration's efforts to control them?...
In a September 8 Philadelphia Inquirer column, television columnist Gail Shister quoted Alex Jones, director of Harvard University's Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy: " 'I think they want to minimize the perception that the government didn't do its job,' says Jones, a former New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize-winner. 'I'm very suspicious of their motives.' " Editor & Publisher also noted FEMA's actions and the reactions of journalist groups in a September 8 article." For more go to media matters

"NBC anchor and managing editor Brian Williams noted in his weblog that journalists are being forcibly prevented from covering certain aspects of the Katrina disaster: 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.

At that same fire scene, a police officer from out of town raised the muzzle of her weapon and aimed it at members of the media ... obvious members of the media ... armed only with notepads. Her actions (apparently because she thought reporters were encroaching on the scene) were over the top and she was told. ... Someone else points out on television as I post this: the fact that the National Guard now bars entry (by journalists) to the very places where people last week were barred from LEAVING (The Convention Center and Superdome) is a kind of perverse and perfectly backward postscript to this awful chapter in American history."

Kucinich on Sept 2nd

Floor Statement of Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich: The Supplemental for
Katrina
Saturday, September 03 2005 @ 08:24 AM PDT
Contributed by: Peggy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 2, 2005
12:20 PM CONTACT: Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Doug Gordon (202) 225-5871

Floor Statement of Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich:
The Supplemental for Hurricane Katrina

WASHINGTON - September 2 - Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH) gave the
following speech today on the House floor during a special session to
provide relief money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina:

"This amount of money is only a fraction of what is needed and everyone here
knows it. Let it go forward quickly with heart-felt thanks to those who are
helping to save lives with necessary food, water, shelter, medical care and
security. Congress must also demand accountability with the appropriations.
Because until there are basic changes in the direction of this government,
this tragedy will multiply to apocalyptic proportions.
The Administration yesterday said that no one anticipated the breach of the
levees. Did the Administration not see or care about the 2001 FEMA warning
about the risk of a devastating hurricane hitting the people of New Orleans?
Did it not know or care that civil and army engineers were warning for years
about the consequences of failure to strengthen the flood control system?
Was it aware or did it care that the very same Administration which decries
the plight of the people today, cut from the budget tens of millions needed
for Gulf-area flood control projects?

Countless lives have been lost throughout the South with a cost of hundreds
of billions in ruined homes, businesses, and the destruction of an entire
physical and social infrastructure.

The President said an hour ago that the Gulf Coast looks like it has been
obliterated by a weapon. It has. Indifference is a weapon of mass
destruction.

Our indifferent government is in a crisis of legitimacy. If it continues to
ignore its basic responsibility for the health and welfare of the American
people, will there ever be enough money to clean up after their
indifference?

As our government continues to squander human and monetary resources of this
country on the war, people are beginning to ask, 'Isn't it time we began to
take care of our own people here at home? Isn't it time we rescued our own
citizens? Isn't it time we fed our own people? Isn't it time we sheltered
our own people? Isn't it time we provided physical and economic security for
our own people?' And isn't it time we stopped the oil companies from
profiting from this tragedy?

We have plenty of work to do here at home. It is time for America to come
home and take care of its own people who are drowning in the streets,
suffocating in attics, dying from exposure to the elements, oppressed by
poverty and illness, wracked with despair and hunger and thirst.

The time is NOW to bring back to the United States the 78,000 National Guard
troops currently deployed overseas into the Gulf Coast region.

The time is NOW to bring back to the US the equipment which will be needed
for search and rescue, for clean up and reclamation.

The time is NOW for federal resources, including closed Army bases, to be
used for temporary shelter for those who have been displaced by the
hurricane.

The time is NOW to plan massive public works, with jobs going to the people
of the Gulf Coast states, to build new levees, new roads, bridges,
libraries, schools, colleges and universities and to rebuild all public
institutions, including hospitals. Medicare ought to be extended to
everyone, so every person can get the physical and mental health care they
might need as a result of the disaster.

The time is NOW for the federal government to take seriously the research of
scientists who have warned for years about the dangers of changes in the
global climate, and to prepare other regions of the country for other
possible weather disasters until we change our disastrous energy policies.

The time is NOW for changes in our energy policy, to end the domination of
oil and fossil fuel and to invest heavily in alternative energy, including
wind and solar, geothermal and biofuels.

As bad as this catastrophe will prove to be, it is in fact only a warning.
Our government must change its direction, it must become involved in making
America a better place to live, a place where all may survive and thrive. It
must get off the path of war and seek the path of peace, peace with the
natural environment, peace with other nations, peace with a just economic
system."

my hat is too BIG!

Big hat, originally uploaded by skystone461.

Xavier tries on a hat at the Labor Day parade, while waiting for the KCDC float to take off.

Riders ready to get on the KCDC float

pretty girls, originally uploaded by skystone461.

Lexi and Ariana were ready to ride the float on Labor Day. It did not take them long (with Xavier's help, not pictured)to figure out that throwing candy was fun!

Barbara Bush, on the evacuees...heartless B-----

You know, I was so overwhelmed with anger this past week that I could not add to this blog in any shape or fashion that would have been civil. The Army Nurse in me was so outraged! Now, here comes Barbara Bush, with an outrageous statement! I can't believe it!

Barbara Bush: Things Working Out "Very Well" for Poor Evacuees from New Orleans

By E&P Staff

Published: September 05, 2005 7:25 PM ET updated 8:00 PM

NEW YORK Accompanying her husband, former President George H.W.Bush, on a tour of hurricane relief centers in Houston, Barbara Bush said today, referring to the poor who had lost everything back home and evacuated, "This is working very well for them."

The former First Lady's remarks were aired this evening on National Public Radio's "Marketplace" program.

She was part of a group in Houston today at the Astrodome that included her husband and former President Bill Clinton, who were chosen by her son, the current president, to head fundraising efforts for the recovery. Sen. Hilary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama were also present.

In a segment at the top of the show on the surge of evacuees to the Texas city, Barbara Bush said: "Almost everyone I’ve talked to says we're going to move to Houston."

Then she added: "What I’m hearing is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality.

"And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this [she chuckles slightly]is working very well for them."

The Shame of the Bush "rescue" effort

From the frameshopisopen
"Despite endless reports and images that tortured the minds of Americans, President Bush’s delivery--his behavior in general--never registered any of the dramatic emotion that fell like a dark cloud on the country. He was and continues to be emotionally empty in the face of the tragic events."

As the failure of the relief effort unfolded, Americans witnessed a startling contrast between a citizenry, press corp, and local leadership who spoke with more and more emotion with each passing moment, and a President, White House and Cabinet that grew more and more stoic.

After a short while, the President’s failure to deliver food and water became linked in the minds of Americans to the absence of emotions in his behavior. And once those two issues were connected, America had effectively lost faith in its leader."

Today as I waited for my phone to be repaired I overheard several people still talking about how Bush did nothing in the early days to help the flood victims. One even said that she used to like Bush, but not anymore because it was obvious he didn't care about people like her.

The anger I feel over how the Bush administration acted, and how they are now spinning the blame, is over the top! I can hardly wait to go to DC in a few weeks, and visit my representative's office in person, to speak about my anger at this poor, poor response. I trained for years and years in NDMS drills with the Army, practicing for just this kind of thing. Did someone forget all the years of work so many of us put into mass casualty situations?

Of course the Bush folks listen to input from only their inner circle, and pay no attention to the experienced folks, who are not of their "clan." Shame on them. Shame on them!

Today's Headlines: Help Finally Rolls In

Finally rolls in...6 days later?????? I have been angry to 6 days, to angry to put it in words. Why couldn't they drop water? Why couldn't they do anything? So it's flooded, so what. Where were the helicopters, the high profile military vehicles, the US Navy, Coast Guard and Marines? Where were the brains in the federal government? Oh, I forget Bush hasn't got a brain, a shred of compassion or common sense, nor do any of his cronies that he put in positions of authority.
I am just so ANGRY! We could drop food in Afghanistan and Iraq faster than we can in our own country! It's outrageous beyond belief!