The Kiss of Isaac

He is now Hurricane Isaac, making landfall in Louisiana. SW Florida spent a couple of nervous wind and rain soaked days, with then TS Isaac lashing over the FL Keys, and drenching Miami, Palm Beach, Naples, Ft. Myers, Saint Petersburg, Tampa, and towns and cities across the FL panhandle.  Awesome power if one thinks about the FL peninsula - 577 miles from 'Land's End' to its Northern state line, and 140 miles across as the crow files, at mid-FL. 19 million folks live across the state.  And, while for folks back in India 19 million (or, 1.9 crore) is perhaps just another day in one of India's large metropolitan cities like Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, or Kolkata, 19 million in FL represents the 4th largest US state by population (behind CA, TX, and NY). Incidentally, fully a third (33%) of the US population (about 300 million) is concentrated in these four most populous US states. Coincidentally, these 4 states represent only 14% of the US 50 states' combined land area.  So tonight, FL breathes a sigh of relief.

For 4.5 million people of Louisiana though, and for those across the US with some ties to LA, and in particular New Orleans, the next 24 hours is likely to feel like eternity.  Hurricane Katrina hit 7 years ago, to the day, and, Hurricane Isaac made landfall at about 7PM Eastern, few miles South-West of New Orleans.

What happened in NOLA, in August 2005, in the aftermath of Katrina is an American national shame and disgrace.  The George W. Bush administration, paralyzed for 'whatever' reason, did NOTHING to send in Federal Disaster Aid, as large swaths of NOLA were being submerged. NOLA's poor, predominantly African Americans living in low lying areas (the 9th ward) were literally buried in watery graves for humans and animals alike. The Superdome, where the New Orleans Saints football team play home games, was the largest dome in America in 2005, and authorities seized upon Superdome as a 'Mega Hurricane Shelter'.  What transpired inside the dome is nothing short of bloody murder and unconscionable dereliction of our Government's duty to protect and preserve life.

Despite the insanity of bigotry and racism, overt or otherwise (yes, it is everywhere in America), on display during Katrina, New Orleans is a very special place.  While a lot of folks left NOLA for good in Katrina's wake, New Orleanians did return, and they have tried to rebuild their city.  Their beloved Saints are now former SuperBowl champions, having devastated teams across the NFL. Quarterback Drew Brees, the one that couldn't get a decent draft coming out of college, only to be picked up by San Diego and dumped by the Chargers in 2005, came to New Orleans in 2006, and took the Saints (the perpetual losers, derisively called the Ain't(s) across America) to its first NFL title.

Bobby Jindal, the son of immigrant parents from India, is presently Governor of Louisiana.  Jindal is Republican, and even though President Obama declared a Federal Emergency for all of LA, well in advance of Isaac's projected landfall, Jindal has been screaming bloody murder at the 'lack of adequate federal response'.  That is just politics, and it is after all RNC Convention week.  Jindal, at one point was rumored to be in consideration for the VP nomination, you see, so his political ambitions are young and perhaps raging enough for him to continue to live in denial of the reality of his home State's plight.

The spirit of NOLA cannot, and will not break because some bureaucrat, or politician, does not like the demographics of New Orleans. I have no doubt that the Obama administration will do everything the Federal Government can, to protect and preserve life across LA, regardless of color, race, or sexual orientation.

I hope I am right.

Good Night, and Good Luck

On Republican Rock Stars that Matter in the 2012 US Presidential Election 

The song goes "Rumor Has it, Rumor Has it..." It was a recent Top 100 track. With America's fascination for rumor and nuanced innuendo, in politics, it is time to talk about some other rumors:

Rumor is that when they tried to measure John's Stewart's IQ, in 3rd grade, the "Simon-Binet" scale (aka the Stanford-Binet IQ score; note how we Americans always have the last laugh over the French) blew-up.

The rumor is puzzling, since the same scale imploded when George W. Bush was tested, as a college Senior - huh? did W'ya even graduate? That is a whole another topic of conversation, not unlike some other myths that surround W'Ya - his Air Reserve Guard Service (did he actually serve, or not?) during Vietnam, or was W'Ya guilty of DUI or not? or did Papa Bush intervene to save the Prodigal Son's proverbial rear-end? Or, are rumors of all the Global achievements from W'Ya's exhilirating 2 term rent free life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where instead of merely redecorating the West Wing, DumYa (sorry, that's a typo, I swear) focussed on redecorating the World (with a blanket permission, and a blank check, granted by our very own US Congress, with the exception of, amongst others, the current occupant of 1600, and a majority Blessing of the Truly Impotent - aka, The UN) true? Yeeeehaw!.

Why aim for anything less than a series of Texas sized accomplishments when one can Shock and Awe, Grin, Holler, and then Grin some more, and, land aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (It's gonna be OK Mr. President, stop turning in the grave. Its all good. The Union is still together. As of today.), in a two seater Lockheed S-3 Viking fighter jet flown by the other guy (Lt. Ryan Phillips), in full fighter pilot regalia. Perhaps W'Ya did serve after all - he remembered how to put the gravity suit on. See, I am a reasonable man, and will always err on the side of granting the benefit of doubt, unless someone, anyone, even the Rovester, can create reasonable doubt - that is how high the bar should be, for such National Security matters, and for the human body that sits in the chair in the Oval Office, with keys to our collective Nucear arsenal (another type, I am sorry). Mission Accomplished. Indeed Mr. Texas Rangers. You succeeded in creating Jaw-Dropping Shock, and Eyebrow Raising Awe with your temerity, and Executive spending of Pentagon funds. You ended "Major Combat Operations" on May 1, 2003. Without capturing Osama Bin Laden, Dead or Alive (Its all good, Bon Jovi). I know, I know - you left detailed instructions, for your successor, on how to get Osama, and 8 years after your selfless risk taking, as Commander in Chief, with the aircraft carrier landing, HE got it done. Finally. I know right? - What took him 3 years into his first term to capture and kill America's Enemy number One and FBI's number one Most Wanted? Well that, DumYa, is the reason the Stanford-Binet scale imploded in the first place. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise is still contemplating those copyright infringement charges. How un-American. How un-Scientific.

Dick, Bless-His-New-Heart, Cheney, meanwhile, argues that even though he hauled his hind end to Canada (Canada? Really?? Fine, let's not talk of the 'Looney', it was simply closest to land-locked Casper, Wyoming, by way of Billings, Helena, and Great Falls. There is no proof though, that a Robert Bruce Cheney crossed the international line via the land border, but merely an informed guess, since Dick's father was, of all things, a not-so-highly-paid soil conservation agent for the US Department of Agriculture - talk about having a Big Government, and an EPA like Agency, even back in 1941), to beat the draft during Vietnam. We accept, without an iota of doubt, your claim, that Vancouver, BC, was not 'Hunting' Central, though there were multiple sightings of Weapons of mass Destruction, in Canada, that you had been covertly tasked by ____ (covert, you see), by an unnamed (covert, again) Federal Agency. In your defense, though, Carl Rove has been pointing out that J. Edgar Hoover was secretly a CIA operative. That's code for Agent. And that J. Edgar was Gay. That is Carl Rove just being Carl Rove.

Finally, Mitt 'the-money-man' Romney. I am not sure where to start - that he served as a missionary for his faith, in France, spreading the Mormon word, while Americans were coming home in body-bags, or with mangled bodies, if at all, during the time our French friends (why is it that France is always the party-spoiler?) was enjoying one of the finest runs of Burgundy seasons in its history. Or, should I begin with his Leveraged Buy-Out deals, as head of Bain Capital, that he is trying so hard to recast, and sell, as a 100,000+ job creation Venture Capitalist tenure. Never mind, that a paltry 2.5 million investment in Staples counts today as having created 42,000 jobs. Feel the Shock, Staples? Feel the Awe emanating from the audacity of the lie? Or, should I merely mention how many Americans were fired, and families destroyed, after Bain took control of each of those LBO target companies, leveraged those Balance Sheets to the Hilt, thereby Bankrupting viable businesses that had previously had a history of profitable operations, and that Bain, and Mitt, made their fortunes (read, hundreds of Millions of Greenbacks) in the process.

I can continue, but Zuckerberg called last night, if I remember the foggy 1AM call right, and asked if I would stop sending him not-so-nice-emails regarding his IPO, and keep my Status Updates to the mundane, like most of his 900 million plus users. But then, I digress.

There is no doubt you have some brains, Mitt. 2 degrees from Harvard, despite being burdened with a former Governor as Dad. You have money, and that is amply clear in how you like your cookies, and from your having examined your full tax-disclosures, as presumptive nominee.

But you Mitt forget one thing - the 'Other' guy can shoot 3 pointers, from downtown, and around your sun soaked celebrity looks. Yes, 'White Men Can't Jump' was a real movie. I also hear he can also drive them straight down the fairways. Nothing like Bubba Watson from Iraq, FL, can, but long enough. And always straight. Well, at least that's his intent. No fades. No Draws. No Flips and No Flops. And without even an Etch a Sketch layout of the golf course. Just straight. I hear that is the only way you like them anyways.

Incidentally though, he also has a degree from Harvard. Sponsored by his single 'parent' grandmother.

What was that Mitt? Birth Certificate? Yes, he has one, an Original from the hospital in Hawaii where he was born. You do know that Hawaii became our 50th Great State before August 4, 1961, right? Or are you simply confused about the dates? Fine, that was on August 21, 1959. Darn, missed by just shy of 2 years!

November 2012 is not about any Republican. It is about the soul of America, and its Heart. And, it is about to be ripped out, leveraged and sold in Bankruptcy courts, if the Republican Men have their way.  In the interest of full-disclosure, I am a registered independent in FL.  That is why I was unable to vote for any one of the clowns on the GOP slate.  Not that I would have.

Yours truly.

PS: Upon looking up VP biden's IQ scores from his college days, we discovered that the scale wasn't around prior to World War I. I am serious.