Say hello to the new blog Fema Failures, by a doctor in Washington, DC who writes:

I am outraged at the response of FEMA to Hurricane Katrina. Consequently, I have created a site expressly designed to list these failures. Users are welcome to use this site to: 1) Better inform themselves regarding the remarkable negligence and dissimulations of FEMA and the Bush Administration 2) Add information of their own.

New information will be added as it comes to light.

by TChris

Disregarding his mother's admonition not to speak ill of the dead, Alan Dershowitz discusses the legal legacy of Chief Justice Rehnquist.

So here’s the truth about Chief Justice Rehnquist you won’t hear on Fox News or from politicians. Chief Justice William Rehnquist set back liberty, equality, and human rights perhaps more than any American judge of this generation.

Update: Laurence Tribe takes a friendlier, but still realistic, view:

NBC's Brian Williams blogs about the official warning on Sunday, August 28 from NOAA. [Via Atrios]

I remember it well, since TalkLeft and several other bloggers posted it that night. Here it is again:

Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks...perhaps longer. At least one half of well constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail...leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed.

The majority of industrial buildings will become non functional. Partial to complete wall and roof failure is expected. All wood framed low rising apartment buildings will be destroyed. Concrete block low rise apartments will sustain major damage...including some wall and roof failure. High rise office and apartment buildings will sway dangerously...a few to the point of total collapse. All windows will blow out.

by TChris

Thousands of people (perhaps as many as 10,000) have died in New Orleans. Frustrated by the Bush administration's strategy to blame state and local governments for the failure to save more lives in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Sen. Mary Landrieu is ready to lace up the boxing gloves:

Underscoring the strain of the disaster, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., lashed out at federal officials who she said have denigrated local efforts to deal with the catastrophe.

"If one person criticizes them or says one more thing, including the president of the United States, he will hear from me," she said on ABC's "This Week."

"One more word about it after this show airs and I might likely have to punch him. Literally."

For your afternoon reading:

• Bob Herbert, A Failure of Leadership

• Why Fema Was Missing In Action

• Rescuers Going Door to Door Met With Silence and Stubborness

Crooks and Liars has results of a CBS poll from last week:

In a shift from July, the public now thinks the Senate should consider a Supreme Court nominee’s positions on issues in addition to his or her legal background. According to last week’s poll, 57% said a nominee’s opinions on issues should be considered, while 33% thought the Senate should consider only a nominee’s legal qualifications and background. Even more Americans said a nominee’s position on the issues should be considered than did so during the nomination processes of Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork

BBC is reporting that thousands of residents are returning to New Orleans to inspect the damage to their homes and pick up belongings before leaving again. Authorites warn against staying too long, saying the city has been destroyed:

The Superintendent of the New Orleans police department, Eddie Compass, has warned people remaining in the city to leave. "Our officers are basically telling people there is absolutely no reason to stay here... We advise people that this city has been destroyed."

More than 1 million people have been displaced by the hurricane.

In related news, Bush has cleared his calendar for September to focus on Katrina-related issues. And it looks like Congressional hearings into what went wrong may begin this week. President Bush may become the "lamest of lame ducks."

Raw Story has an advance copy of the Senate Democrats' press release regarding their Katrina Relief Plan to be issued tomorrow.

For those of you who have more to say....

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by TChris

American Muslims, tired of being the targets of venom after 9/11, are starting to respond to their critics. Attendees at a weekend conference of the Islamic Society of North America are learning “how to apply pressure on politicians who smear the faith, the benefits of corporate boycotts and what constitutes legal grounds for defamation suits.” Those tactics have been used with some success by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

CAIR, for example, sued a North Carolina congressman after he accused the organization of acting as a fundraising arm for Hezbollah, a militant Palestinian group. The council also organized a boycott against a radio station until it fired a disc jockey who called Islam a terrorist organization. CAIR also brought considerable pressure on a Colorado lawmaker who asserted that America should take out Islam's holy sites in the event of another terrorist attack.

The conference also discussed how American Muslims can “counter extremists who cite the religion to justify violence and terrorism.”

From appellate whiz Peter Goldberger (in the TL commments):

Justice O'Connor does not "have to stay for awhile"; she can supersede her conditional resignation letter with an unconditional retirement. I believe this is likely, given the motivation for her leaving the Court, which is to devote her primary attention to her ailing husband. I predict that she will announce her immediate retirement soon after Rehnquist's funeral.

It is important to understand that "Chief Justice of the United States" (not "Chief Justice of the Supreme Court," as Bush mistakenly stated this morning) is a separate office. Roberts is no longer proposed to replace O'Connor; his nomination to that position has effectively been withdrawn....

For the re-opened vacancy for an Associate Justice, I bet Bush picks a highly "conservative" jurist who is Hispanic (if he can find a Protestant -- gotta watch that base; Roberts is, what, a third Catholic on the Court? Further proof that real Christians are being discriminated against, right Pat?) and/or female.

Senator Edward Kennedy responds to President Bush's elevation of John Roberts nomination from Justice to Chief Justice(received by e-mail):

.....Only 17 Americans have held this position since the birth of our country. The Chief Justice is the most important judge in the country, with even more responsibility for the protection of the rights and freedoms of all Americans. Thus John Roberts bears a heavier burden when he comes before the Senate. The Chief Justice must be committed to moving America forward toward equality, opportunity and fairness for all Americans.

Our review of even the limited available parts of his record has raised serious concerns about his role in the early 1980's in seeking to weaken voting rights, roll back women's rights, and impede our progress toward a more equal nation. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, which were due to begin this week, were the opportunity for the Senate and the American people to hear from John Roberts about those extreme views and explain his position on these and many other vital issues facing the country.