Reality-Based Engineering: 2005/10

Russert Knew The Answer

From Americablog. I was saying the exact same thig this morning when I watched that surreal moment. You'd think Russert would stick to other topics that he likes to talk about: Democrats suck, Iraq was wishy-washy, etc.

Hummers Are "#1"

My wife would like this site, methinks - a site dedicated to people taking pictures of people giving Hummers the finger.

Chertoff Speaks Truth: Brownie Is a Dunderhead

[from AmericaBLOG]

I'll copy the whole post below, since John A has told us that he's having to delete older content on the blog just to keep below the max MB allowed. But, suffice it to say, continuing on my post on the matter of the hearings on Katrina (which have been pushed well below the radar recently with all the scandals swirling faster than Wilma - 882 millibars - is right now), Chertoff lays the blame for the federal response right at the federal government's doorstep - right where it should be. And nicely throws Brownie under the bus. As an added bonus, here's Part I and Part II of Brownie's testimony (via C-SPAN). And, to re-quote from my previous post:

Here is what LA-D Rep. Jefferson thought of Brownie's opening statement:
"I find it absolutely stunning that this hearing would start out with you, Mr. Brown, laying the blame for FEMA's failings at the feet of the governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans."

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Well, well, well.

Another Republican conspiracy theory shot to hell. For the past month the Bushies and their cronies on the right have been peddling the lie that the Katrina mess was really the fault of the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Louisiana.

Well, now the head of the Dept of Homeland Security, Bush's boy, says it was the feds who screwed up, not the local governments.

Uh oh.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's lack of planning, not the failures of state and local officials, was to blame for much of what went wrong with the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told member of Congress today.

The assessment by the most senior administration official to answer legislators' questions since the hurricane struck in late August contrasted sharply with testimony offered earlier by former FEMA Director Michael Brown. Brown had blamed the "dysfunction" of Louisiana state and local officials for the problems that hobbled the relief effort.

"From my own experience, I don't endorse those views," Chertoff said.

He told lawmakers that he found the governors and mayors of the region to be responsive as the crisis unfolded.

WaPo: Natural Gas Price Surges Will Hurt Economy

Despite what Bushie and Cheney have to say. I expect my costs to be a few hundred dollars a month more during the upcoming winter.

Toronto's Mystery Ilness: Legionella

Tests had previously ruled out SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed 44 people in the Toronto area in 2003.

Officials believe the legionnaires' disease outbreak, which was first detected on September 25, is now under control as there have been no new cases since Monday. They are treating about 80 people with antibiotics and an environmental investigation is under way at the nursing home.

The building's ventilation system has been shut down while tests are carried out and staff and residents are being asked not to drink the tap water.

Legionnaires' disease got its name in 1976 when a group of American Legionnaires at a Philadelphia convention suffered an outbreak of the lung infection.

The bacteria forms naturally in the environment, usually in water, and grows best in warm water such as hot water tanks, large plumbing systems or air conditioning systems.