Back here, we had a pretty good discussion going over what to call those who were evacuated from New Orleans and other Katrina-devastated areas.

Jesse Jackson is taking umbrage with the term "refugees." I don't like the term either and suggested evacuees. But that seems to fit those in the process of being evacuated, rather than those who are settling into new places. Survivors is another term frequently being used.

Another suggestion: Internally Displaced Persons, or IDP's for short.

by TChris

Hurricane victims apparently make a poor photo op for the Secretary of Defense.

Today, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Louisiana and toured a medical facility at the New Orleans international airport. He spoke to and shook hands with military and rescue officials, but walked right by a dozen refugees lying on stretchers just feet away from him, most of them extremely sick or handicapped, Reuters reported.

From Editor and Publisher:

11:45 AM ET. From Gannett News Service:

"President Bush, who toured the heavily damaged coastal area by air Friday, is expected to return to Louisiana Monday. Actor Sean Penn beat Bush to Baton Rouge, showing up at the state Office of Emergency Preparedness about 6 p.m. today before departing to see the damage in New Orleans for himself. He declined to be interviewed.

From the Times-Picayune:

"Actor Sean Penn arrived Sunday at the New Orleans Police Department staging area at Harrah's casino, announcing that he was ready to help in any way he could. Penn, who recently spent time in the New Orleans area while filming 'All the King's Men,' was being escorted by historian and author Douglas Brinkley."

From MSNBC:

Apparently Penn is out searching, in a boat, with rescuers, looking for friends in the city he has not heard from.

Sometimes it's good to see how others view us. The headlines say it all:

• England: The Week Bush Failed America
• Scotland: Bush Panics and Sends in the Marines and Katrina Reveals Truth About U.S. Poverty
• France: Le Monde Editorial: Catastrophe Sparks New Debate Over Wisdom of Iraqi War; Le Figaro: A Distressing End to Bush's Summer Vacation
• Italy: Storm Reveals Leader Who Divides America
• Germany: German Minister Says Part of Blame for Katrina Goes to Bush
• India: (Reuters) 'Bush doesn't care about black people, shame on America' and U.S. South Drowns in Bitterness
• Australia: Survivor's Fury at Relief Effort

I didn't even bother with the more obvious ones coming from Cuba (calling Bush criminally insane) or the Middle East.

Congressman Dennis Kucininch gave this statement in the House on Friday.(pdf) Inidfference is a weapon of mass destruction. Our troops are stationed in the wrong gulf.

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 said yesterday 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?

larger version

Via Atrios, here's an open letter the Times-Picayune has sent to Bush: Best line, "Lies don’t get more bald-faced than that, Mr. President."

Dear Mr. President:

We heard you loud and clear Friday when you visited our devastated city and the Gulf Coast and said, "What is not working, we’re going to make it right." Please forgive us if we wait to see proof of your promise before believing you. But we have good reason for our skepticism.

Bienville built New Orleans where he built it for one main reason: It’s accessible. The city between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain was easy to reach in 1718. How much easier it is to access in 2005 now that there are interstates and bridges, airports and helipads, cruise ships, barges, buses and diesel-powered trucks.

by Last Night in Little Rock

The NY Times today has an article entitled As White House Anxiety Grows, Bush Tries to Quell Political Crisis. The lead says it all:

Faced with one of the worst political crises of his administration, President Bush abruptly overhauled his September schedule on Saturday as the White House scrambled to gain control of a situation that Republicans said threatened to undermine Mr. Bush's second-term agenda and the party's long-term ambitions.

The "political ramifications" appeared a few days ago here. Republicans are, hopefully, running for cover as the Commander-in-Chief (his aides, actually) struggled to come up with a CYA for the screw up of the Century.

by TChris

As a matter of priority, the death of the Chief Justice is dwarfed by the urgent need to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Come Tuesday, senators should table all other action in favor of managing a crisis that seems beyond the competence of Homeland Security. The confirmation hearing of John Roberts should await a less pressing time, and neither the president nor the Senate should consider Rehnquist’s replacement until the public health crisis confronting the gulf coast has been resolved.

Some will argue that Rehnquist’s death requires the immediate confirmation of Judge Roberts. Not so. Only six justices are needed for a quorum. The seven sitting justices are capable of carrying on the Court’s business. They may decide not to decide cases until an eighth or ninth vote is available, a procedure the Court’s rules would permit. In some cases, the seven may have the five votes that would arguably render an eighth or ninth vote superfluous. While the Court benefits from the collegial debate that a full Court can provide, the sitting justices are capable of deciding which cases would benefit and which would likely be unaffected by an additional vote or two.

For the first time, an Administration official has said the death toll from Katrina will be in the thousands.

CNN this morning, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said the death toll from Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath is in the thousands, the first time a federal official has acknowledged what many had feared.

Leavitt said he couldn't provide a precise number on the impact of the devastation, but when asked if it was in the thousands, he told CNN's "Late Edition," "I think it's evident it's in the thousands."

Our conspicuously absent Vice President has sent out word -

U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney has postponed his visit to Alberta in order to tend to duties at home in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Marisa Etmanski, spokeswoman for Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, says the White House contacted Klein's office Saturday.

Cheney had planned to visit Alberta on Thursday and Friday, stopping first in Calgary and then visiting Fort McMurray and touring the oilsands.

Looks like Cheney's been called to clean up Bush's mess once again. He was "on the sidelines" yesterday at the Rose Garden when Bush spoke:

As Bush spoke, Vice President Dick Cheney and Karl Rove, the president's senior political adviser, listened on the sidelines, as did Dan Bartlett, the counselor to the president and Bush's overseer of communications strategy. Their presence underscored how seriously the White House is reacting to the political crisis it faces.

As Cookie Jill at Skippy says, these are words that haunt the soul - by Mr. Aaaron broussard, President of Jefferson Parrish, on Meet the Press. Crooks and Liars has the video:

Sir, they were told like me, every single day, "The cavalry's coming," on a federal level, "The cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming." I have just begun to hear the hoofs of the cavalry. The cavalry's still not here yet, but I've begun to hear the hoofs, and we're almost a week out.

....And I want to give you one last story and I'll shut up and let you tell me whatever you want to tell me. The guy who runs this building I'm in, emergency management, he's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, "Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?" And he said, "Yeah, Mama, somebody's coming to get you. Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday." And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night.

Nobody's coming to get us. Nobody's coming to get us. The secretary has promised. Everybody's promised. They've had press conferences. I'm sick of the press conferences. For God sakes, shut up and send us somebody.

Update: Transcript is here but the video is so powerful, watch it.