Top Items:
MSNBC:
FEMA chief relieved of Katrina duties — Move follows controversy over Brown's qualifications, agency's response — WASHINGTON - Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown is being removed from his role managing Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, government sources said Friday.
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Lara Jakes Jordan / Associated Press:
FEMA Chief Relieved of Katrina Command — WASHINGTON - Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown is being relieved of his command of the Bush administration's Hurricane Katrina onsite relief efforts, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced Friday.
Knight Ridder:
Brown is merely a symbol of the problems at FEMA, experts say — WASHINGTON - Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown, who on Friday was sent back to Washington, is the poster boy for what's gone wrong with an agency once lauded for its lightning reflexes.
Shaun Waterman / Washington Times:
Cops trapped survivors in New Orleans — Police from surrounding jurisdictions shut down several access points to one of the only ways out of New Orleans last week, effectively trapping victims of Hurricane Katrina in the flooded and devastated city. — An eyewitness account …
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Washington Post:
Head of Federal Katrina Relief Effort Replaced — Death Toll May Not Be as High as Originally Feared — Authorities in New Orleans today wrapped up a search for survivors of Hurricane Katrina and launched a concerted operation to recover the bodies of people who perished in the flooding caused …
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Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Clueless Memorial Design, Take 2 — The designers of the Flight 93 memorial at the impact site unveiled their effort yesterday. In what seems to be a typical case of cluelessness among memorial designers, the site will prominently feature the religious symbol of the attackers themselves (via Michelle Malkin):
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Michelle Malkin:FLIGHT 93 MEMORIAL: CONTROVERSY
Discussion:
Ace of Spades HQ, JunkYardBlog, Mudville Gazette, PoliPundit.com, Blogs for Bush, Balloon Juice and The Political Teen
Jerry Markon / Washington Post:
Court Rules U.S. Can Indefinitely Detain Citizens — Ruling Comes in the Case of 'Enemy Combatant' Jose Padilla — A federal appeals court ruled today that the president can indefinitely detain a U.S. citizen captured on U.S. soil in the absence of criminal charges, holding that such authority …
Discussion:
Patridiot Watch, ACSBlog, The Liquid List, Booman Tribune ~ Boo!, Democratic Veteran and The Agonist
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Rod Dreher / The Corner on National Review Online:
THE COST OF CRONYISM — It would be very wrong, I believe, to let the ignominious Michael Brown be the scapegoat for FEMA's sins. Check out this front-pager from the WaPo. Turns out that a raft of FEMA's top leaders have little or no emergency management experience …
Discussion:
Eschaton, Unfogged, The Washington Monthly, Demagogue, WTF Is It Now?? and Talking Points Memo
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Dwight / DomeBlog:
DeLay to evacuees: 'Is this kind of fun?' — U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's visit to Reliant Park this morning offered him a glimpse of what it's like to be living in shelter. — While on the tour with top administration officials from Washington, including U.S. Secretary …
USA Today:
A compassionate Bush was absent right after Katrina — News analysis by Judy Keen and Richard Benedetto, USA TODAY — WASHINGTON — President Bush has shown that he can be empathetic, sensitive and decisive. But those qualities eluded him for days after Hurricane Katrina …
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Hindrocket / Power Line:
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, GUYS — Today is September 9, the first anniversary of "Rathergate." It was at 7:51 on the morning of Sept. 9, 2004, that Scott hit the "save" button on the original version of "The Sixty-First Minute," that discussed the 60 Minutes program on President Bush's National Guard service …
The Liberal Avenger:
FREEDOM WALK DOG TAGS — The liberal blogosphere will be well represented at this weekend's Freedom Walk in Washington, DC in the form of the Reverend Mykeru. — Mykeru shared the excitement of his walker's gift package with me... The highlight? A set of cheap stamped metal toy dog tags...
Tung Yin / The Yin Blog:
Law profs opposed to John Roberts: show, don't tell — The letter signed by 160 law profs that urges the Senate to reject John Roberts as Chief Justice is here. I'm interested what people think the letter is really designed to achieve. It strikes me that the letter is a perfect example …
Discussion:
Balkinization
Hindrocket / Power Line:
DISMAL POLL NUMBERS — Republicans have taken some comfort from the poll numbers that have come out so far on Hurricane Katrina, which have suggested that most Americans aren't buying the Democrats' unfair attacks. — Think again. The AP/Ipsos poll numbers that came out today, and can be accessed here, are horrible.
Associated Press:
Iraq hurt Katrina response, general says — Pentagon says it can handle both the disaster and Iraq war — BAY ST. LOUIS, Mississippi (AP) — The deployment of thousands of National Guard troops from Mississippi and Louisiana in Iraq when Hurricane Katrina struck hindered …