Relief? Not from Katrina....from HANSON.

Now here's how to raise money:

"Suggested by a few members of the student council, the school is playing Hanson's 1996 hit "MMMBop" through the loudspeakers before classes begin, between periods and during lunch. The idea? Annoy students into donating; have them pay to stop the music. "

Bankruptcy law and Katrina...how convenient.....

Now that your house is gone (oh, and keep making that payment to the bank until the insurance check comes in, unless you want your property confiscated), good luck with the new bankruptcy laws:

The new law requires consumers filing for bankruptcy to jump through numerous hoops including filing mounds of paperwork on a strict schedule, proving they lack the capacity to repay certain creditors, and requiring them to take a credit counseling course before they can even file.

The old bankruptcy law contained a provision that loosened filing rules for people who had been through a hurricane or flood. Early this year, a congressional easing was defeated in a party-line vote to have a similar provision included in the new bankruptcy law, exempting victims of natural disasters from some of its more onerous provisions.

Next up: "Bush created the hurricane" conspiracies. :p

Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out...

UPDATE: Just when I was pointing out the inability of the Bush administration to fire anyone (Rumsfeld, Rove, etc ), Brown has to go ahead and resign. Bush has done worse....where's HIS resignation, hmmm? :)

Trapped in New Orleans....

A great first-hand account of people who tried to leave the city:

We questioned why we couldn't cross the bridge anyway, especially as there was little traffic on the six-lane highway. They responded that the West Bank was not going to become New Orleans, and there would be no Superdomes in their city. These were code words for: if you are poor and Black, you are not crossing the Mississippi River, and you are not getting out of New Orleans.

...and a summary of the whole mess on the front page of counterpunch.org (although the article will probably move after a few days....do a search, it's titled "Power Grab in New Orleans":

At the request of the Louisiana governor, President Bush declared a federal emergency for Louisiana on Saturday August 27 prior to Katrina's arrival in New Orleans on the following Monday. The declaration specifically authorized FEMA "to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency." However, FEMA took no action until 3 days after the hurricane, delaying the arrival of effective help until 5 days after 80% of New Orleans was under water.

Your government is in denial...

On Hurricane Katrina, conflicting quotes of the day, from CNN:

"The governor and the president let thousands of people die and they let them die on their roofs and they let them die in the water," said Davis, 45. "We got left. They didn't care."

Walking a hurricane-riddled street, Vice President Dick Cheney declared Thursday that much progress is being made in a disaster relief effort he termed "very impressive."

Again, proof that if you put a bag over your head, the world looks perfectly fine, no matter what.

Keep track of your beaver...

Apparently, statues are being stolen from a town in Ohio. Beaver statues. So this brief article about the new tracking devices they've implanted produces what has to be the best quote of the week:

"The electronic gadgets alert police if the beavers are picked up, and enable officers to track them. The devices also give off loud beeping sounds if the beavers are moved."

'Nuff said.

Loving the 2nd Amendment...

Concealed-carry can actually be a good thing, you know:

"ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - A fatal shooting at an Albuquerque Wal-Mart last week was the state's first by someone with a concealed-carry gun permit, authorities said.

Police said Felix Vigil was attacking his ex-wife with a knife near the store's deli counter where she worked when an armed customer intervened and shot him. The woman, Joyce Cordova, was treated for multiple stab wounds and later released from an Albuquerque hospital."

F-bomb of the day...

From a school in the UK....quite unlike any of mine:

"Pupils are being allowed to swear at one Northamptonshire secondary school - as long as they limit their use of bad language to five times a lesson.

A tally of how many times the f-word is used will be kept on the board."

Yeah, I'd just save them all up until the end of class, and let out one almighty tirade just before class is dismissed. :)

Today's tip from Captain Obvious....

On the recent $280 billion-something transportation bill just passed (it was only $20 billion over Bush's limit, so no veto from Dubya, of course):

"The more than 1,000-page highway bill is more costly than he preferred and includes cash to bankroll some 6,000 pet projects for lawmakers in their home districts."

So, make sure you vote for those big, powerful, spend-a-rific parties next time. Yes. That's sarcasm.

Follow up "fun fact":

"Not since John Quincy Adams has a president served a full term without using a veto. "

/fiscal conservative Republicans, my *ass*.

Watch as scientists recreate plasma conditions on the sun.

Next up: creating a singularity that will suck in the entire planet. Hey guys, maybe you should back off a bit and think if this stuff's a good idea first? :)