This is What a Democrat Must Become...

In receiving the survey from the DNC in the mail today, we can whole-heartedly agree that there are some wonderful issues here that we can rally around. This political party must NOT hang its head in shame; there is a way to fight back and gather the majority of this country back into its arms again.

This, then, is what we feel a true Democrat must become...

Our outlook on America must remain positive. Yes, the Bush Administration is running our budgets into the ground and sky-rocketing deficits (because Rumsfeld was once quoted as saying, "Deficits don't matter."); the 109th Republican-controlled Congress is the most arrogant, unethical and corrupt in history; we are in a proverbial quagmire of a sparked civil war in Iraq, and we have lost most of the united respect around the world we once shared.

It is IMPORTANT, first of all, to remain calm. This is not the Doomsday whistle sounding; this isn't the biblical end-times the teachers and preachers like to spew about ad nauseum on any given Sunday. This isn't Judgment Day, or the pre-launch to the coming of the Anti-Christ.

This is POLITICS. This happens now and then, and we as true Americans, need to remember this. No matter what party is sitting on the throne, the kingdom will go through its shares of trials, tribulations and blow-jobs, and not just of a sexual nature. Things HAPPEN. We can't keep dwelling on the past; we're supposed to always look towards the future. The more we bitch and complain about what the right hand is doing, we completely lose track of the left one.

We are concentrating too much effort on a party that is in danger of self-destructing before our very eyes. WHY? Why aren't we concentrating on the Democratic party?

Here are some messages we need to give this country.

Remain positive. Stop trying to look like doomsayers. No one will ever vote in the Democrats if all they can do is tell us how bad things are. We KNOW this. Sing us another song. Instead of saying, "This is what THEY have done." focus on "This is what WE will do." Did you ever play scratch baseball games with kids when you were young? Was the kid who sulked all the time, or was a bad sport about things EVER picked first?

Send a message of PROMISE and not of HOPE. This is what killed Kerry. "Help is on the way," sends the message, "Our country is in terrible trouble, and we need to do something about it." Again, he gave us an example of concentrated efforts on the GOP's screwups. Why couldn't Kerry have chosen a better tagline like, "It is time for change." or "Changes are coming soon." or "America will be united again." Something that tells people "Hey, we don't need HELP. We need CHANGE." Americans are one of the most arrogant people on Earth; the LAST thing we want from anyone is HELP. ;-)

Explain to America what our priorities should be. We're talking about protection and early prevention of terrorism worldwide, WITHOUT resorting to military action, affordable health care for everyone (you'll notice, Bush hasn't really done anything about THAT yet, yet he vehemently said in several debates it was first on his agenda.), new, improved jobs and job services, and better education for every child, with safer, well-equipped schools and better classes. So far, the No Child Left Behind bill has done ONE thing: Allow the military to access high-school and college records and contact the kids for possible recruitment -- behind the parents' backs.

How about this, let's get our scientists and super-smart doctors working together to find cures for major diseases like diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and several forms of cancer, and let's give them the stem cell research that will do this. Forget the fact it's ungodlike, okay? Is it ungodlike if it saves millions of lives each year? And we dare any religious-right zealot to say they WOULDN'T resort to it if it saved their own necks.

We can't privatize Social Security. Period. It's a pipe-dream. It's going to cut 46% of the benefits for the elderly -- and pretty soon those baby-boomers of the 1940s are going to be the MAJORITY of this country. Social Security is in danger of being shut down entirely. Let's talk about ways to re-fund this massive drive, overhaul the administration within it, and start finding ways to cut medicine and hospital costs, and end the huge malpractice suits of millions of dollars for nothing. These collossal savings are going to help the Social Security chest in the long run.

There are so many more changes we can make, but we have got to get organized. A good Democrat doesn't mope about the way things are; they smile when they think about the way things could become. So hear us, Democrats, get your collective asses towards a respectable, definable and moreover a very possible direction and message for this country.

2006 is around the corner, and we have got a wonderful chance to turn it all around.

DON'T BLOW IT!

TheScribes

"Surface" and "CSI:Miami" win Monday night

Well, first off, it's hard for us to get excited about new sitcoms, even as promising as "Kitchen Confidential" may have seemed in the previews. It's going to flop -- big time.

Why, you ask? Because NBC has "Surface". This was a welcome surprise to us for two reasons: One, it's not like your ordinary hokey "alien comes to Earth and causes problems" series. It reminds us some of USA's "The 4400", where we're dealing with several locations around the world, and several different characters. It's also a joy to watch the brainy teenage boy trying to "fit in" with the cool kids, and stumble upon a wonderful discovery of his own, not to mention the oceanographer cast aside by the federal government and the beginning of a conspiracy she must uncover, and the down-home good ole bayou boy seeking an answer to his brother's misfortune and possible drowning (although we think he might still be alive). The suspense was clean, and not too predictable, the script was well done, the story flowed very nicely. The ending thrilled us and made us laugh at the same time, and the ongoing previews just kept us wanting to see it again right NOW.

The second reason we think "Surfacing" will score big is because on its heels is "Las Vegas" at 9:00 PM EST. True, "Las Vegas" was desperate for viewership in those last few months this spring, and it wasn't entirely sure to make the roster for a repeat performance this fall, but it's back and Laura Flynn Boyle may be the Joan Collins of the new century. It wasn't too good a season premiere, mostly because it dealt with everyone scattered and trying to be brought back to the Monticeno, and most of them saying "NO!" at first. Yeah right. :-P That's why all their names still appear in the opening credits, we guess? Vanessa is nowhere to be found though, and I think that could upset the African-American base a little (not to mention every male of the planet who couldn't get enough of the sexy British accent). She's supposedly in witness-protection and she's not going to be seen again. Like Henry Hill. Ooops. Well, time will tell.

At 10:00 PM EST on CBS, it was the premiere of "CSI: Miami". They pulled out all the stops on this one, but we hope it is a little better next week. David Caruso and most of the gang are back, except Sofia Milos, who might have had better offers, especially films. We might see her make a guest shot, but that would probably be it. The episode was a little spooky, but sappy at the same time: Horatio pisses off the Mala Noche Columbian drug gang and gets a hit out on him; of course the episode would have been a LOT better if they hadn't had the quirky rape and lost baby segment with a clueless maid working for the INS. Are you kidding? Still, it was mediocre enough to watch for an hour, and we hope it lives up to a bit higher expectations than last season did.

Couldnt' get into the football game, but we have to applaud Monday Night Football's spectacular performance off the field when they arranged a fund-raising drive for Hurricane Katrina, and the phones were answered by great football players past and present. THAT takes a lot of class, and we wouldn't be surprised if "Monday Night Football" gets the ratings back up again.

TheScribes

Bush Lied and People Died! AGAIN!

Bush’s attempt to deflect attention from his ineptitude are inconsistent with the administration's own homeland security response plan, which directed the federal government to act on its own authority to quickly provide assistance and conduct emergency operations following a major catastrophe, pre-empting state and local authorities if necessary. According to DHS' December 2004 National Response Plan (NRP) http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRPbaseplan.pdf#page=61 , "catastrophic events," such as what occurred in New Orleans, call for heightened and "proactive" federal involvement to manage the disaster.

The response plan listed "guiding principles" to govern the response to these major events. The "Guiding Principles for Proactive Federal Response http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRPbaseplan.pdf#page=61 " make clear that, in these "catastrophic" cases, the federal government will operate independently to provide assistance, rather than simply supporting or cajoling state authorities:

· The primary mission is to save lives; protect critical infrastructure, property, and the environment; contain the event; and preserve national security.

· Standard procedures regarding requests for assistance may be expedited or, under extreme circumstances, suspended in the immediate aftermath of an event of catastrophic magnitude.

· Identified Federal response resources will deploy and begin necessary operations as required to commence life-safety activities.

· Notification and full coordination with States will occur, but the coordination process must not delay or impede the rapid deployment and use of critical resources. States are urged to notify and coordinate with local governments regarding a proactive Federal response.

· State and local governments are encouraged to conduct collaborative planning with the Federal Government as a part of "steady-state" preparedness for catastrophic incidents."

The NRP also says that, when responding to a catastrophic incident, the federal government should start emergency operations even in the absence of clear assessment of the situation. "A detailed and credible common operating picture may not be achievable for 24 to 48 hours (or longer) after the incident," the NRP's Catastrophic Annex http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRP_FullText.pdf#page=359 states. "As a result, response activities must begin without the benefit of a detailed or complete situation and critical needs assessment."

A Sept. 5 Los Angeles Times article quoted former FEMA chief of staff Jane Bullock http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-fema5sep05,0,2650635,full.s tory?coll=la-home-headlines saying that "[t]he moment the president declared a federal disaster [on Aug 29], it became a federal responsibility. ... The federal government took ownership over the response." Moreover, DHS' own website declares that DHS "will assume primary responsibility http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp on March 1st [2005] for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort."

TheScribes

What IS it about First National Bank of Marin?

People are always so busy worrying about one little number. It's not their golf game, or their chess rating, or their level on some zany Dungeons and Dragons game. But it's such an important number in our lives, America is obsessed with it. If you have a low number, it can keep you from buying the things you need, like a house or a car. It can even prevent you from finding an honest job. Of course, we're talking about credit scores, and we can willingly say both of ours is in the toilet right now. But thanks to a $16,000 oversight, that's probably going to help us out a little bit soon. See? We're determined to get a good credit score. And do you even THINK we're going to sign up for another credit card? In the immortal words of Cartman, "Screw-yoo gays, ahm goin' hem."

This article today isn't necessarily about credit scores, but it makes a great lead-in doesn't it? Actually we want to say a little something about a company called "First National Bank of Marin". Now before you go happily looking these people up, don't bother. According to current records at the Better Business Bureau in Las Vegas, Nevada, where this business originates, there is NO record of a business license recorded for First National Bank of Marin. However, a wide-reaching internet search for this does bring up some surprising lawsuits and settlements.

The BBB was very helpful to us when we called, and the nice woman was more than happy to tell us about the amount of complaints currently against First National Bank of Marin. We did some digging further and came up with some surprising figures.

To begin with, First National Bank of Marin does business as the following "companies":

The Bankcard Center

Application Processing Center

Bank Card Center

Bankcard Center

Card Center

If this isn't confusing enough, look at the address list:

P.O. Box 80015, Los Angeles, CA 90080-0015 (their main address)

P.O. Box 98872, Las Vegas, NV 89193-8872

P.O. Box 98873, Las Vegas, NV 89193

1120 Nye Street, San Rafael, CA 94901

9500 Toledo Way, Irvine, CA 92618-1806

P.O. Box 2388, Shingle Springs, CA 95682

P.O. Box 25181, Santa Ana, CA 92799-5181

P.O. Box 25182, Santa Ana, CA 92799-0040

P.O. Box 27550, Santa Ana, CA 92799-7550

P.O Box 6160, Novato, CA 94948

P.O. Box 7125 Grand Central Station, NY, NY 10163

585 Pilot Road, Las Vegas, NV 89119

<>
This makes us think, "Okay, so exactly WHERE are our payments going? Are they being sent to Irvine or San Rafael or Vegas (and are they being gambled away as we speak?) Where is the processing center?" Yes, we know, several companies do the same thing. Paul remembers getting a phone call originating from Chicago where a tempestuous black woman demanded to know what was happening with payments. She was calling for First National Bank of Marin, but when he tried to get any other information including the proper phone number that should be called, she gave him a toll-free number for more information and hung up. When that number was then dialed, the same woman answered the phone -- and she knew exactly who we were.
That's funny; they can know who WE are, but for some reason we aren't allowed to know who they are.

Anyway, we checked BBB's other records and found some other startling tidbits:

"According to Clark County Business License Department this company has a business license under the name of Marin National Bancorp. Marin National Bancorp is licensed as a holding company. Marin Credit Card Services is a division of First National Bank of Marin. At this time, the Better Business Bureau is unable to ascertain a business license for First National Bank of Marin. If consumers do business with an unlicensed firm, they do so at their own risk."

There are also 154 open complaints against the company, ranging from harrassment to false advertising, to breaches of contract. In several instances, they demanded money from people who either had already paid (which makes us question those processing procedures more) or never had a card in the first place.

One other business arises out of Marin National Corp called "Credit Trend" which is now OUT of business. Because they had complaints over a three-year period which were unresolved, THAT doesn't surprise us in the least.

We're not sure what First National Bank of Marin is all about really. But we did receive a phone call last night and we confronted them with this news, and that we intended to do a lot more digging. The man on the other end of the line didn't know anything about the lack of a business license nor the 154 complaints levied against them.

He must be new. ;-)

First National Bank of Marin, whoever you are, we hope you're ready for intense scrutiny because we've got a heck of a hunch something stinks in Las Vegas and it's not the Belagio.

TheScribes

Tragedy at St. Rita's

Sept. 27, 2001 -- It took the nursing home nearly two months to remedy a pattern of deficiencies in which a doctor or family member was NOT informed of a resident's health changes, and to provide private phone usage to residents. It took nearly three months for them to comply with the rules of physical restraints, and to provide clean linens and bedsheets to everyone. At least some of the residents did not even have a daily care plan.

Widespread deficiencies were found when it came to proper nourishment and nutrition for the residents, and instances of unclean and unsanitary areas prevailed. Reports were also showing a lack of correct training of the nursing staff.

On October 17, 2002 there were pattern deficiences regarding the rights the residents had as citizens of the United States, and that those rights were violated. Residents complaints were in many instances ignored completely or slow to settle. Deficiencies were STILL rampant when it came to proper nourishment and nutrition, likewise a whole YEAR later, when it was last surveyed, in December of 2003, where several deficiencies in lab work and administration practices were reported.

It has not been surveyed since then, but we have a strange feeling it's not going to matter.

You just get the feeling before this is over, enough lawsuits are going to bury St. Rita's under the murky depths that entombed nearly HALF of their residents. Good! We hope it's a wake-up call for a nationwide, secret scrutiny of each and every nursing home in this country.

If HALF of them are performing to satisfactory levels, we'll be stunned.

TheScribes

Photo of the day...

Hey, who says the media doesn't get it right?! :-)

Letter to my congresswoman...

Captured from another blog, this just really says it all. We have got to stand up as a nation and DO something.
----------------------------

A Letter to my Congresswoman.
Congresswoman Schultz:

The colossal screw-up by all members of this Administration in regards to virtually every aspect of American life has reached -- and passed -- the breaking point. President Bush's incompetence and, worse, lack of care for anyone but those who contributed to his campaign must finally be clear to even the members of the Republican Party. From the meteoric rise in prices across the economy (especially in regards to gas prices -- from nudging over $2.00/gal in mid 2000 to, now, soaring above $3.00/gal in the wake of Katrina), to the offensive handling of countries that have long been staunch allies of the United States of America in regards to the invasions and continuing peacekeeping occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq, to the formation and misuse of the Department of Homeland Security, and finally to the gross mishandling and lack of immediate response to the New Orleans situation simply demands a response from the House of Representatives.

President Wm. J. Clinton was impeached on the force of sexual misconduct, an unwillingness to admit to it even under oath, and the force of the media in revealing and exploiting this chink in the armor of an otherwise excellent presidency. President Geo. W. Bush has sent troops to die in a sinking morass of guerilla and terrorist warfare, taking monies away from projects recognized by the Army Corps of Engineers -- men whose only political motivation is to save the lives of the citizens of the United States -- as being critically necessary to the survival of a major U.S. city. Neither the President nor his Administration will focus on the struggle to save lives and dignity in New Orleans. As of the writing of this letter, it has been five days since Hurricane Katrina.

Five days.

Thousands of individuals six blocks from the New Orleans Superdome are dying from lack of food, water, medical care, just the basic necessities of life. Reports of rapes, sometimes of children -- CHILDREN -- are coming out of the Superdome itself. Reporters who have covered wars and disasters have seen better responses from Third World countries; they've seen better responses TO Third World countries FROM the United States. Now, when the President's own citizens need action from a strong, decisive Chief Executive and his Cabinet, what do they receive?

- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice watches a comedy on Broadway, practices her tennis swing, spends several thousands of dollars on new shoes, and has forcibly ejected a citizen who protests her utter lack of care for the events of New Orleans. Shouldn't she be spending 20-hour days in the West Wing, working to alleviate this situation? I'm pretty sure Madeline Albright or Colin Powell would be doing so.

- Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff insists that 'relief efforts are hampered by an inability to transfer resources'. The United States Armed Services transfer resources constantly, and with Governor Kathleen Blanco declaring a state of emergency in Louisiana, the ability to transfer resources expands to every truck, SUV, boat, and aircraft in the state. When pressed on the government's incompetence in a National Public Radio interview, he refuses to even admit that the people in the New Orleans Convention Center need help, calling reports of their desperate plight rumor and hearsay -- even though the reporter on the other line just walked out of the place.

- President Bush himself is slow to decide virtually -anything-. Sure, he cut his vacation short -- left a whole two days early. That, to remind you, was on August 30, Tuesday. Well after Hurricane Katrina's effect and aftereffect were known. Well after sporadic looting had broken out. http://www.thismodernworld.com/ has a fair number of rants, but plenty of links to news sites that relate, again and again, the mishandling of not only the situation in New Orleans, but the events leading up to it.

Congresswoman Schultz: President Geo. W. Bush disgraces, dishonors, and demeans the Office of the President of the United States of America through gross misuse of the powers of the Office of the President and the criminal neglect of a great many Citizens of the United States of America. As the power granted to the House of Representatives of the Legislative Branch of the United States by Article 1, Section 2, Clause 5 of the Constitution of the United States of America (specifically: 'The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.'), and as a constituent of the 20th District of Florida, I call upon you as my Representative to move for Impeachment of the President of the United States.



I remain your constituent,
***** ****** *************

Satrina_Veyyl

------------------

TheScribes

Where have all the leaders gone?

It’s not a matter of politics; it’s a matter of leadership. As I listened to the angry words of Mayor Nagin of New Orleans, I realized that somewhere in the make up of this country we have achieved a failure of leadership that is so profound, that thousands of people have had to die to camouflage it. I know the Mayor is in despair, and I know he tried to evacuate his city to lessen the impact – and that 80% responded and left, but what about all the others? And Biloxi and Mobile? How do we justify that the storm wiped them out and no one is there to help?

We all knew the storm was coming. It was touted on the weather stations for over a week. Each day, we knew it was bad, a category 5. The mayor ordered the city evacuated and those who had cars or trucks were able to pack up their belongings and flee. They may have lost their homes, but their families and in many cases, their pets were safe. Others with the means to leave chose to ignore a mandatory order and they created their own disaster. When a mandatory evacuation is ordered, it’s not like having a menu of choices, you leave. If you stay, it’s your own problem – and you just hope that they find you hiding in your attic in time before the water overwhelm you.

But what about the others? Thousands of others who depend on public transportation or their own two feet to get them to their destinations. What about the housebound who are dependent on neighbors for their basic necessities. Looking at scenes from the Superdome and NO Convention Center, it is heartbreaking to realize how many people are in this category. Why weren’t the busses in neighborhoods, where people live, along with police or national guardsman to force the evacuation? Why didn’t the governor call upon the remaining resources of the state to get these people out before the storm hit and the levees broke? Where were the feds in all of this? The time to deal with a disaster is before the disaster happens. From what I understand, FEMA had a dry run a couple of years ago, and they are still working out the plan of action in order to be ready when the big one hits. I hate to ask this question, but was the lack of immediate response due to the fact that the people stranded are poor and predominately black? I know that the president once told someone that he had never met a poor person, so does his lack of understanding about what the depths of poverty means translate into a callous disregard about the logistics of getting these people out, and the help needed?

Nice to know that you can’t count on the emergency folks in a time of crisis. I can understand that after we were attacked on 9/11 it took a while for all things to get into place; it was an unprovoked attack on our country by a foreign entity. But this was different. They knew it was coming. Every year, the storms have been getting worse, and the season longer. You had to figure that something was going to hit hard eventually. So why not be ready? If it doesn’t happen, then you can count the maneuvers as experience that will help the next time.

For instance, I heard that the ship Comfort was leaving VA and making its way to New Orleans. It left after the end of the storm. Why not have it docked in Houston or Florida, so that the travel time is shortened. Or as the storm is gathering strength, move its way down the coast to be ready to sail in once the danger is passed? Battle ships and other vessels are on their way and should be there in a week? How come you don’t have them stationed during the hurricane season closer to where these storms happen? We know their general paths.

It was a category 5 storm, right? Put the military on alert and ready to mobilize right away, and not several days later. From what I understand, the General in charge (I am sorry, I don’t know his name) has been the only effective leader in this entire situation. He is a man of action and his actions have been the only ones that have maintained a semblance of order. We need more persons like him or the marines who helped the tsunami victims. We need a commander in chief who understands that flying over a disaster area and telling us that we are going to be ok doesn’t translate into actually leading.

When it comes to improving the infrastructure of our levees, our bridges, our roads and our transportation, power and communications systems, we are lacking any type of forethought or even intelligent design. Our country has more resources, more people of good will and more compassion than most. What we need are leaders who are willing to face the hard choices – like fixing our infrastructure, and educating our people in practical and uncertain terms. We need a government that is responsive to our emergency needs in swift and positive action. Instead we have a government that is so concerned with making certain the rich get richer off the backs of the poor. The Army Corps of Engineers has begged for years for appropriations to improve the levee system in New Orleans. Officials have been fired from this administration for suggesting that it was a priority. We are so busy sending under armored troops to war, that our leaders are forgetting that they are first sworn to protect us here at home – and not from some terror threat, but from nature, from our own politicians and our own complacency.

When the Speaker of the House questions federal appropriations be spent on securing and saving one of our oldest and best loved cities, when officials stand around looking helpless and acting like Homer Simpson, and when the president grins and says we’ll all be ok and stronger for this, you know its time for a change. It is time for the people in this country to stand up and demand that our government repair our country. Its time for us to demand that ALL Americans, rich and poor alike; take responsibility for ourselves and our fellow countrymen and women. We are in this together and if our leaders don’t help us, we are going to have to do it ourselves. We are going to have to tighten our belts and take on a greater tax burden that is ONLY used to repair our infrastructure and bring us back to the first rate, caring compassionate country that we’ve always been – until recently when our leaders showing their own lack of care made it seem ok for us to follow their example.



p.s. Dennis Hastert - Speaker of the House called an emergency session over the fate of Terri Schaivo, but couldn't call one last night, as did the Senate, over New Orleans

Ah, the differences between Democrats and Republicans...

We couldn't help but look a little stunned when we checked out two websites yesterday, the homepages of the Democrats and the GOP, as of 12:00 PM EST.






Yeah, we know, it made a lot of sense to us too once we thought about it. Well, what can you really expect?

"It appears that the money has been moved in the president’s budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that’s the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can’t be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us."

-- Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; New Orleans Times-Picayune, June 8, 2004.

Don't the neoconservatives EVER get tired of being dead wrong? It MUST be a gift. And while we feel terribly for the thousands, no, millions of people that will be affected by this tragedy for years to come, we must remind you all, that this is all King Coo-Coo Bananas' fault.


TheScribes