Guest blogged by Joseph Cannon

I am the very model of a modern FEMA handle-er
Corrupt as any character you'll find in Raymond Chandle-er
Accomplished very little since I shot past Mummy's labia
Just bummed around until I found some horsies from Arabia

I lost the horsie gig when all the lawsuits started loading up
And then the Bushies asked if I would like to be their toading pup
I got this job because I know the asses that are kissable
I also know the color of the people who are missable.

Who cares about the puling putrid pesky proletariat?
The blacks are just a burden and no longer will we carry it.
The mother of our Fearless One is so aristocratical
And Rove will blame our own misdeeds on forces Democratical.

Denying food and water may have been a little frightening
But there's a city in the south that badly needed whitening.
Our ultimate intention is replacement of democracy --
Here comes a fundamentalist Dominionist theocracy!

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Zogby Internation published its latest poll of Bush job approval today. The poll found that at 41% approval, an all time low, Bush "would lose to every modern president."

The poll also found that the public had a negative view of the president's handling of the Katrina disaster. Only 36% of people gave Bush passing marks. Only 32% of people gave passing marks to government in general.

Guest blogged by David Edwards

As the right-wing talking heads began their lockstep effort to deflect blame and obscure truth about hurricane relief efforts, Media Matters has been monitoring the lies, distractions and talking points. Media Matters has alerted the media about their continuing efforts of helping to enable the spread of these malicious falsehoods:

Read the Media Matters article and learn how each of the corporate media organizations quickly went from being the brave first-responders we saw reporting the Katrina story to a mere tool for spreading Bush Administration propagana.

Crooks and Liars also has nice video from MSNBC showing the timeline of lies.

Guest blogged by David Edwards

CNN's Betty Nguyen reports that Houston's Reliant Center including the Astrodome has been 'locked down'. Without notice, all gates have been locked. No one (including press?) is allowed in or out of the center.

Video of CNN's lockdown report (Windows Media).

UPDATE: At 11:20am ET, CNN reports that the Astrodome lockdown has been lifted and they were given no further details about the situation.

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

We got an interesting question from a BRAD BLOG reader named Bob, who asked why Brad all of a sudden stopped calling for impeachment.

I don't know, Bob. I'm pretty sure it's not indicative of a change of policy around here. So let's speculate for a moment, shall we?

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Brad is on the road and hasn't been blogging very much... Maybe the guest bloggers are more concerned with bringing you news and analysis than simply repeating the often-repeated call for impeachment... Maybe it's because we think you already know where we stand... But on the other hand, maybe it's just because we forgot...

So maybe it's time for an IMPEACHMENT thread.

I pose the following questions: Is impeachment a viable option? If so, where are the votes going to come from? And if not, what other option(s) do you see as viable?

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Democrats criticized the Bush Administration's response to Hurricane Katrina earlier today.

Nancy Pelosi's comments were directly critical of the president:

Crooks and Liars has the video of Pelosi's comments.

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Think Progress has a good Katrina Timeline complete with links to source articles.

Guest blogged by Chris Floyd

{Introduction by Winter Patriot: Chris Floyd joins us again for another guest spot, this time with news about Weapons Of Mass Destruction. Please note that Chris has a new website, Chris-Floyd.com. I suggest you modify your bookmarks accordingly. And without further ado... here's Chris:}

"Seen the arrow on the doorpost
Saying, "This land is condemned,
All the way from New Orleans
To Jerusalem." --- Dylan, "Blind Willie McTell"

From the Gulf of Mexico to the Persian Gulf, Bush is busy earning his new title: Master of Disaster. Here we catch up with one of his most sordid --- and unsung --- war crimes: using radioactive "dirty bombs" and chemical weapons in Iraq. The item below was published in the Sept. 2 edition of The Moscow Times.

It was the one great fear that trumped all the others, the nightmare scenario that overrode reason, skepticism, and all political debate, stampeding the nation into war: the thought of terrorists wielding weapons of mass destruction --- "dirty bombs" packed with cancerous nukestuff and gene-warping chemical poisons that would kill, maim and deform the innocent.

This was the horror that George W. Bush and his supporters held up --- and still hold up --- before the American people as the moral imperative behind his invasion of Iraq, and the justification for any so-called "abuses" that might be committed in his desperate, noble, no-holds-barred defense of the realm against this ungodly terror.

And despite all the critics and nay-sayers, the president has indeed proven to be a prophet: the nightmare has come true. There are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq --- dirty bombs and poison shells --- and they are being used by terrorist leaders to kill and maim Americans, including newborn children. But the "liberal media" are completely burying the story, in a shameless act of treasonous complicity with these enemies of civilization.

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Jon Stewart and Ed Henry examine the response of Bush's administration and FEMA in the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. As usual, the Daily Show finds humor in an otherwise sad situation.

Streaming video (Real Media format)

Streaming video (Real Media dialup)

Streaming video (Windows Media format)

Download video (Windows Media)

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Brad was a guest on the "conservative" Lars Larson Show earlier today. The topic was the failed hurricane disaster relief and which officials might be responsible.

Brad comes on air about 2 minutes into this audio clip (MP3).

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Call in to the Lars Larson show and toss some softballs to Brad!

Toll Free: 1 (866) HEY-LARS

Guest blogged by David Edwards

The Shelbyville Times-Gazette is now reporting:

We pray that this number is the "worst case scenario".

Guest blogged by David Edwards

On Monday September 5, lawyers representing presidential candidates David Cobb of the Green Party and Michael Badnarik of the Libertarian petitioned New Mexico's highest court to order a recount of 2004 election.

This appeal to New Mexico's Supreme Court came after refusals of the state Canvassing Board and Gov. Bill Richardson to conduct a recount as set forth under New Mexico election law.

Wholly hell this is a big state! We're still working our way westward and may stop in the mountains if we can find any (we hear rumors there are some in NW Texas) to cool off for a day or three along the way.

So the bulk of the BRADBLOGGING will be done by our fine bevy of Guest Bloggers who will be paid double for their extended duty.

Speaking of which, any opinions on how you all like the generally increased amount of BRAD BLOG items in my general absense now that we've got the GB's cranking it out with a bit more regularity than I do when I'm running the usual one-man-band here? Should we continue with the additional voices even when I'm finally back? Your thoughts are appreciated...

Guest blogged by David Edwards

Tonight, on MSNBC's countdown, Kieth Olbermann nailed the Bush Administration and other officials for their handling of the Katrina disaster in New Orleans:

You can find the rest of the remarks in Keith Olbermann's Blog. A video clip of the statement is here (Windows Media).