Two Three things before I vanish for the weekend:

Thing One: My family shows affection in very, very odd ways. My stepfather returned from the mall with a gift for me. It was an alarm clock. More specifically, a My Little Pony alarm clock. He said it reminded him of me when I was younger. Weird, but kind of touching.

Thing Two: I want to have Anderson Cooper's babies. And maybe hug Randi Rhodes.

ETA. Thing Three: California Senate passes gay marriage bill. Okay. One step in the right direction. Way to go, California!


Off I go for a hectic weekend... I'm singing in a wedding, which means rehearsals, nails, hair, bad dancing. All of it. I'll send out all mail and correspondence on Tuesday.

Posting research links and those from around my flist [including dafnap, thebratqueen, & kita0610]:

1. Hell hath frozen over. Guess who just offered up 1,000 doctors and 26 tons of medical supplies [according to CNN]? Fidel Motherfucking Castro. I'm in shock. (And my brother wants to know if they'll come with toy bomb surprises.) Then again, Bush will probably refuse the help, like he's done to other willing donators.

2. FEMA chief Michael Brown is grossly incompetent.

You didn't know that there were people stranded at the Convention Center until yesterday?! Bitch, I GOOGLE SEARCHED and came up with more information than you fucking seem to have. Oh, and Paula Zahn wants you dead. Faster pussycat, kill, kill. [Not to be taken literally, but you get my point. Props to journalists for taking government officials to task.] Keep in mind that this is the guy who turned away trucks of water and fuel because they "had it under control." Tell that to those who starved to death, those who thirsted to death.

3. A timeline that outlines the fate of both FEMA and flood control projects in New Orleans under the Bush administration.

Highlights include:

December 2002: After less than two years at FEMA, [Joe] Allbaugh announces he is leaving to start up a consulting firm that advises companies seeking to do business in Iraq. He is succeeded by his deputy, Michael Brown, who, like Allbaugh, has no previous experience in disaster management."
Summer 2004: FEMA denies Louisiana's pre-disaster mitigation funding requests. Says Jefferson Parish flood zone manager Tom Rodrigue: 'You would think we would get maximum consideration... This is what the grant program called for. We were more than qualified for it.'"
June 2005: Funding for the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is cut by a record $71.2 million...

"We never anticipated the levee would break..." Right.

4. I had a brief, shining moment where I actually agreed with something Bill O'Reilly said. Wonders never cease. Then comes this:

O'Reilly, on his show last night: "A lot of the people -- a lot of the people who stayed wanted to do this destruction. They figured it out. And that's -- I'm not surprised."

Nevermind, Bill. Go to hell. And take Ann Coulter with you.

5. Adding to the list of people I want to hug (see Katrina tag): Harry Connick Jr., you broke my heart today. God bless you.

6. Fuck you Jesse Jackson. Fuck you, Elijah Cummings. Repeat after me slowly: this is NOT A RACIAL ISSUE. You are distracting from the dire issue at hand-- these people need aid. Katrina didn't care that NOLA has a majority of black citizens. Millions of Americans who are donating time and money don't care that the majority of those still in the city are black. Neither do the 20+ countries who have pledged aid. And the bottom line is that the govenment has been slow to act because those who run it are completely incompetent, all racial issues aside.

Also, Mr. "They are not refugees. I hate that word." Cummings:

ref·u·gee
-- n: One who flees in search of refuge, as in times of war, political oppression, or religious persecution.
-- n: an exile who flees for safety.

Take this bullshit elsewhere-- this is exactly what hinders actual cases of racial discrimination. This is not the time or place, and you're only muddling the message. I'm ashamed that you represent my state.

And Dude. I remember when the NAACP used to be a just institution that fought for equal rights for all races, and they fought battles with wisdom and strength. Now, so much attention is stolen by unnecessarily playing the race card that it's become a joke. The past two presidential elections where the black vote in Florida was blatantly discounted is an example of legitimate racial discrimination that needs to be fought. The NOLA situation is primarily poverty-driven. There are correlations to minorities being disproportionately poor, but that has NO BEARING on the aid effort.

7. GodHatesNewOrleans.Com

8. You can't safely live anywhere in the USA. A spoonfull of sugar, y'all. Apologies to Mormons on my list-- this is definitely meant to be lighthearted.

By the way-- the next person who tells me just 'not to think about it' may kindly suck a cock. I'm serious. Expect to get a womens' size 7.5 combat boot stuck all the way up your ass. Fuck it. If I want to give a shit and keep informed, I will. It's really that simple. It's something that is effecting me deeply and emotionally. Carrying on like nothing is wrong with an entire coast of my country will not help.

Donate, people. It could be time, clothing, or blood, too. Whatever charities will accept. Those on the Gulf Coast have nothing. There is no such thing as too much monetary aid. $5 a week. More if you can afford it. Make it happen.