boiled meat

I wasn't going to watch. I wasn't going to listen. I was going to go into a news blackout for a couple of weeks because I Knew no matter how he did, the pundits would be praising him for weeks. "Marvelous speech," "Rousing", Best performance yet" "he reassured Americans tonight."

That media that we thought had found a spine during the week after Katrina, well, it turns out they had just found a vertebrae and I didn't want to watch them slide back to their, oh-so-comfortable jelly-like postures.

But my wife, my wonderful and compassionate wife, said we need to listen. We need to keep an open mind and hear what he has to say. So I did. And it was a decent speech overall -- but....

First, I thought it was crass to bring in generators and light up Jackson Square (the cathedral specifically -- the whole set and performance seeped with faux piousness). I thought of his other great props he's used including this one, and this one. Have we devolved so much that we as a people would be giving him a standing ovation for the wonderful set decorations? I guess so.

Even my wife said she would have preferred a simple, straight forward message by the guy. No flash, no glitz. He gave his speech on the bodies of Americans in many respects, bodies he was accountable for.

A few things: 1) how the hell are we gonna pay for this? Aren't we in Iraq? Is he still going to push the estate tax relief package through AND "pay" for this massive reconstruction? I'm all for spending, I'm a liberal what do you expect, but this is unbelievable.

2) Who is going to make sure that all that money doesn't go down the rabbit hole? What kind of checks and balances is he going to have in place so that we don't have another Iraq reconstruction where billions, yes billions, go missing? Halliburton already has a no-bid 500 million dollar contract. How many other friends of the republicans will skin this fat cat dry? And if they do, who will hold them accountable?

3) What the hell is the president mentioning "Weapons of mass destruction" for? Is he insane? Why would you want anyone making a connection with that debacle?

4) Theocracy is on the march. I think it's wonderful that religious organizations have opened their hearts and places of worship to assist people, but the government should not be paying them at all. I donated a ton of money, and volunteer, will the government reimburse me? Did I do it because I knew they would? Religious institutions pick up that mantle because that is what Jesus asked them to do. Here is a previous post on why the government getting in bed with religion is a bad idea, especially for religions.

5) I give Dear Leader some props for acknowledging the racial and class divide. His policies still exacerbate those issues and I just find it hard to believe that a man who will waive the minimum wage for construction jobs (and a lot more deregulation that will be a boon for businesses but not sure it will actually help the people there) for the area wants to help poor people not be so poor. Sounds more like the same old.

More later, I need some coffee.

Update: 10:45 -- anybody else get the feeling that it was a most-excellent info-mercial?

I was speaking to a woman in the office who was commenting on the locals not being able to rebuild because they didn't have the funds, nor would not be hired to do the rebuilding. She said it was on CNN this morning talking to a St. Bernard Parish Sheriff. Anybody else see this?

I'll be updated the webpage this weekend -- taking out some dead links, adding some links I go to often. Come back and check it out.