Bush comforts Katrina survivor


Washington, DC Washington, DC (APE) - President Bush today welcomed Louisiana resident and Katrina hurricane victim Rockey Vacarella to the White House on the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic hurricane Katrina.

"I want to congratulate Rockey and all the folks along the Gulf Coast on their one-year anniversary," said Bush. "This first year has been filled with lots of ups and downs and real challenges, but that's what makes folks strong... that's what makes a marriage strong. I look forward to wishing them many more anniversaries to come."

A year after the hurricane, the Bush administration remains mired in criticism. House and Senate Democratic leaders recently released a combined report entitled "Broken Guitar Strap" which outlines the failed responses of the administration.

Yesterday on CBS's Face the Nation, Murtha said "The only people who want us in Iraq are Iran, al Qaeda, and China"

That comment might sound like "people who don't like us want us to hurt ourselves" or "people we want to hurt are happy we are distracted".... But there is much more to that comment.

Let me introduce you to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

When you visit the site, take a moment to really look at the splash page before you click on the "english" button.  Take a look at the map of the world in the background.  Now compare that to their logo.  Notice how much landmass is covered in their logo?  I make the point because Americans generally learn geography based on who we are bombing.  This time it would be wise to learn it up front...  

james webb, former navy secretary under reagan, in today's nyt...

   Military people past and present have good reason to wonder if the current administration truly values their service beyond its immediate effect on its battlefield of choice.     Military people past and present have good reason to wonder if the current administration truly values their service beyond its immediate effect on its battlefield of choice.

Congressman Murtha spoke out and said that the Military and its equipment are being worn down. The neocons on the Right are all over the media blathering about how he is wrong. How can anyone doubt what Murtha is saying?

Unlike previous wars, where there was some sort of downtime between engagements, these men and women have to be ready against attack from any direction all the time. It has to be exhausting to be on constant alert.

UPDATES BELOW THE FOLD

Turn into CSPAN to watch the House debate on the Hunter Resolution, which is a shameless political trick meant to induce Democrats into voting for immediate withdrawl.

The debate has been heated and contentious.  I'll be live blogging it for those who don't have CSPAN or those who want quick transcripts....(excuse typos in advance)

SCHMIDT:  My remarks were not directed to house members, did intend to suggest they applied to Murtha. Asks for unanimous consent to be withdrawn.

Demcrats objected loudly, but the Speaker said "without objection."  But then the Democratic spokesmen accepted the withdrawl of her comments...

Amazing. This Newsweek commentary just went up on the MSNBC website less than an hour ago, and with the GOP currently pushing to force a vote later this afternoon on the Murtha resolution, one HAS to wonder about the timing:

The article, entitled "The Terrorist Temptation," has a whopper of a bolded subhead on the page: "The Bush administration is so accustomed to torturing the truth, it can't face the facts. Murtha's outburst on Iraq has shown it is time to stop deluding ourselves."

The author is Christopher Dickey, Newsweek Middle East Regional Editor, based at the Paris Bureau. No lightweight, in other words.

One excerpt to whet the appetite:

What's the bottom line of what Bush is saying now? That we are now in Iraq and have to stay the course because ... the terrorists want us there. As the White House transcript puts it, "Our goal is to defeat the terrorists and their allies at the heart of their power, so we will defeat the enemy in Iraq." But--the terrorists we're fighting now didn't have any power in Iraq until our invasion. Ideologues like to fight ideologues, so they tend to miss details like that.

Go. Read. Now. (Please).

Oh, and use this as an open thread if you like to discuss the Murtha vote as it comes down.