Dickie's Quickies

When I subscribed to cable television one of my few regularly watched shows was the Countdown With Keith Olbermann. His program is often witty, often intelligent, and sometimes poignant. When it comes to politics there are times when Olbermann nails a subject on it's head and let's the politicians and pundits know exactly how a lot of people feel about their antics. Apparently, there was just such a moment the other night as Keith laid into politicians in Washington (Democrats and Republicans alike) regarding the response to hurricane Katrina. Here's a link to the video. I'm sure some in Washington are still stinging from the blistering remarks.

In other political news, Michael Bérubé reports that Senator Rick Santorum believes that victims of the hurricane who remained in the area should be prosecuted. Along with Dennis Hastert's remarks from the previous week, this sets up Congressional Republicans for a possible hat trick of stupidity in comments following the storm (if I were to include all of the stupid remarks from DHS employees to Barbara Bush, it would be a hockey score of unbelievable dimensions). Bérubé goes on to note that Santorum has the gall to take such a stance while he receives tax payer subsidies of nearly $40k/year to send his kids to a private, fundamentalist charter school.

The AP reports that FEMA waited at least 5 hours after Katrina made landfall before requesting 1,000 National Guard troops Homeland Security Employees. The first mission of the employees? Make the government appear to look good.

Christopher Hitchens, who has been criticized for being an apologist for the Bush Administration's stance on the Iraq War, has some biting words for the way the Katrina relief has been handled. A choice quote:

For example, a few piles of bottled water wouldn't have come amiss if there's going to be suddenly too much water but none of it drinkable. Elementary things like that. He didn't do that. Then he did a fly-by from his holiday retreat, and then he got there too late and then he said something completely idiotic. So I really can't see there is any forgiveness for that. And remember also, that he did interrupt his holiday not very long ago to pay attention to something that was none of his business at all as President. Namely, the alleged living condition of an actually dead woman named Terri Schiavo.

On a completely different note, Antony and the Johnsons won the Mercury Prize for Best Album of the Year by a British group or artist for their lovely album, I Am A Bird Now. Good for them. They deserve it.