Chertoff's pet goat.

After Katrina blew past New Orleans, leaving thousands of people stranded on bridges and in the Morial Convention Center without food or water or medical help, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff dismissed the reports as rumors. I think of it as his "my Pet Goat" moment and through his inaction it took five days after the storm hit before help arrived and questions still remain about the allocation and misuse of funds. According to New Orleans, Louisiana Blogger and TV commentator Jeff Crouere, quoting historian Douglas Brinkley, Chertoff actually worked to obstruct and impede aid coming in from the private sector.

Is this just the man to step into Alberto Gonzales' shoes at a time when the Justice Department looks like a Presidential goon squad? If as CNN is saying today, Chertoff's appointment as Attorney General is imminent and, considering an unbroken string of political appointments of underqualified party loyalists I don't doubt it, Congress and the Administration will be faced with two confirmation battles.

Since the pool from which Bush picks his fish is growing shallower by the day, this might be a good time to start some speculation and rumor about the next Homeland Security appointment. What about Henry Hager, a former staff member of the commerce department who is, by coincidence Jenna Bush's new beau?

Cross posted at The Reaction

Bits and pieces

The family that strafes together stays together? Seems odd, but then this is a story about Republicans. This August in Manchester, New Hampshire Republicans with 25 bucks to spend will get to bring the wife and kids to a family machine gun shoot. "It's a fun day. It's a family day," said the organizer, Jerry Thibodeau of the August 5 event. "It's quite exciting."

I'll bet it is. Politically I think it's sheer idiocy, but as a way of letting Republicans feel macho without sending others to kill and be killed, it's great. The Brady Bunch is making much of the "ease" of purchasing a handgun in New Hampshire, there being no requirement to register it with the police, but of course they don't ask whether one is safer in that rural state than in Brooklyn with its handgun ban.

They finally subpoenaed Michael Moore for filming in Cuba, although many of my European friends and relatives have taken vacations there. It feels good to live in a free country, doesn't it - where the White House plutocrats get free medical care and the New York Firemen Bush posed with get more smoke.

"Of an estimated 60 to 80 foreign fighters who enter Iraq each month, American military and intelligence officials say that nearly half are coming from Saudi Arabia and that the Saudis have not done enough to stem the flow." Says the New York Times today, quoting Bush administration officials. Our Allies and Bush business partners seem to be supporting Sunni interests in opposition to our supposed puppet Maliki. A senior official declined to say whether that support was going to Sunni insurgents because, he said, “That would get into disagreements over who is an insurgent and who is not.” So when is an insurgent not an insurgent? Sounds like a job for the Decider, but I'll bet it has something to do with the Bush family business interests. Otherwise it would be hard to understand why we attacked Iraq to retaliate for an attack by Saudis and why we are itching to attack Iran for supporting insurgents without worrying about "disagreements."

Does anyone else think Sleazy Gonzales will soon be handed the medal of Freedom and shown the back door? ¡Ándale! ¡Ándale!

Funny man

Ariana Huffington notes that when Bush announced he wasn't going to be funny at the White House Correspondent's dinner the other night, he didn't explain why he's so often snickered, pranced and giggled like a cardboard monkey on a string while US troops were being killed and mutilated in Iraq. Who knows who advised him to act serious for once, but Bush is a funny man; he's even funnier when he tries to be serious and can't really seem to help himself.

"The Attorney General went up and gave a very candid assessment, and answered every question he could possibly answer, honestly answer, in a way that increased my confidence in his ability to do the job,"

said America's court jester as quoted in a Raw Story article today. Whether this "heckuva job, Gonzo" was genuine idiocy on the President's part or whether it will result in Gonzalez's voluntary resignation some time this week, remains to be seen, but I'm putting my chips on stupid and letting it ride.