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Posted by Thad
Amanda has a post about the New Orleans musical diaspora -- logically enough, many are ending up in Austin, which is holding a spate of musical benefits.
All About Jazz has information about musical relief efforts here New York and around the country.
- Thad
Posted by Thad
Hey, CNN? Maybe instead of laughing along with Dick, you could have turned the cameras around for a second?
- Thad
Posted by Thad
Linked all over already, but still:
DeLay to evacuees: 'Is this kind of fun?'
Why is this man not in jail yet? Can anyone tell me?
- Thad
Posted by Thad
Boy, I'm sure glad the DoD is going ahead with that Freedom Walk this Sunday.
Oh, sorry, I guess that was the wrong link. I must have gotten confused there for a moment. My bad.
This is the official Freedom Walk site. Should be fun for the whole family. They're even handing out party favors for the party faithful.
As always, The Rude Pundit strikes the appropriate tone.
- Thad
Posted by Thad
Here and here -- courtesy of AMERICAblog's Kyle.
[You know, we really need a name for the intrepid Bob-Kyle-Lindsay squad, and "Team Operation Flashlight" isn't gonna cut it Suggestions welcome.]
- Thad
Posted by Thad
We here at Majikthise central are huge fans of Air America's Rachel Maddow, who has been doing some first-rate jouralisming lately -- last week subbing for Al Franken while he and Katherine Lanpher were away, and this week subbing for Janeane Garofolo and Sam Seder on The Majority Report. So it is with great pleasure that we bring you Rachel's interview with Operation Flashlight's Bob Brigham (from last night's Majority Report broadcast).
Next week, Rachel will finally be returning to her own show, which is easily the best program on Air America. Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, it's on at 5 AM -- but quit yer whining, it's also available for
- Thad
I'm back in the NAACP war room after visiting the Riverside Convention Center in Baton Rouge.
Basically, there's a lot of law, but not much order at Riverside. Security is ramped way up. There are armed guards every few feet. Everywhere you look, there's another guy in fatigues with an M16--at the curb, at the endless security checkpoints, around the escalators, on the shelter floor patrolling amongst the cots.
Bob and I spent half an hour trying to get from one meeting to another in the same building because we encountered so many internal checkpoints. We cycled through the same checkpoint three or four times because we couldn't get from point A to point B without going back outside to wait in line to be re-cleared for security.
The Red Cross is running the show, and they admit that they're struggling to coordinate the logistical demands of shelters, relocations, temporary housing, and the like.
Among the evacuees, the mood is subdued. Most people are just sitting or lying on their cots resting or chatting with family and friends. Some evacuees are hanging out the sidewalk, but now that security's so tight, it takes 15 minutes to get back into the shelter once you go out. Barbers are offering free haircuts in the Convention Center lobby today.
Later this afternoon, we're headed out to the morgue in San Gabriel. The facility is closed to the public, but we're going to count the refrigerator trucks and try to get interviews with some of the staff. I don't expect a lot of cooperation on the official level.
My goal is to find out which Baton Rouge bars the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams (DMORT) frequent. I suspect people will be more forthcoming later on tonight.
It's obvious that FEMA is doing everything in its power to downplay the death toll. Search and rescue operations are winding down, so today is the first major body-recovery day in New Orleans.
Posted by Thad
I guess he was doing such a heck of a job that he's been sent back to Washington to, uh... do what, now, exactly?
The top US emergencies official has been removed from his role managing the Katrina relief effort on the ground, the federal government has announced.Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is being sent back to Washington from Louisiana where he has been overseeing aid work.
He is being replaced by Coast Guard Vice Adm Thad W Allen.
Announcing the reshuffle, Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff said Mr Brown would remain head of Fema.
Vice Adm Allen has been overseeing New Orleans relief and rescue efforts.
Mr Chertoff said he appreciated the work done by the Fema director and said his replacement had his full support.
Michael Brown has faced strong criticism over the pace of the rescue effort, and reports that he was not properly qualified for his post recently surfaced in the US media.
Allegations were raised that he had padded his resume to exaggerate his previous experience in emergency management.
The BBC's Washington correspondent, Justin Webb, notes that questions over Mr Brown's eligibility for his post have intensified the political pressure on the White House over its response to Hurricane Katrina.
Mr Brown's department has defended his credentials.
- Thad
