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Back on September 7^th at the end of a chunk of miscellany called Post It Notes, I wrote:

The delay in the Federal response to the disaster was explained today when a member of the White House staff discovered the Louisiana governor’s request for Federal assistance in the lint trap of the dryer.

A spokesman remarked, “You know how it is. Someone hands you a note while you’re on vacation, and you put it in your pocket. Next thing you know it gets thrown in the washer.”

Louisiana governor Blanco has just released all of the state’s documents concerning the Katrina response and it contained this gem:

Five days after one request from the governor for federal help, a presidential aide told Blanco in a memo that Bush never got her letter.

The aide told Blanco, “We found it on the governor’s Web site, but we need ‘an original’ for our staff secretary to formally process the requests.”

Sunday evening, Blanco’s aides told CNN that the governor personally handed the same letter to the president when he visited New Orleans on September 2.

I thought I was kidding.

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As I was raised in the South, I was inculcated with various admonitions concerning being temperate and polite in social situations. These lessons are part of my basic conditioning for society, but I have learned a corollary to the Golden Rule: “treat others as they have treated you”, sometimes expressed as “payback is a bitch”.

Those who are accepted as the Republican leaders and spokespersons can be correctly characterized as crude, rude, uncouth bullies. Being a loud-mouthed braggart is considered an asset to the inner circle of the current Republican Party.

As they view having manners to be a point of weakness to be attacked, it is well past time to stop trying to be “reasonable”. The Republicans have no intention of listening to anything or anyone that does not slavishly follow their “talking points”. Stop wasting time looking for middle ground or agreement – there isn’t any. Avarice for money and power characterizes those in control of the Republican Party and their minions.

These people created a façade of lies to attack another nation; they have contravened laws and treaties to torture people; they endorse “Star Chamber” proceedings; they subvert religion to serve their ends; they pander to the worst in humanity to achieve their goals.

While they harp about protecting the nation from “terrorism”, the 9/11 Commission has produced another report telling us that the U.S. not ‘well-prepared’ for terrorism. This should not be news to anyone at all familiar to the failed response to hurricane Katrina. The Department of Homeland Security was unable to respond in a competent fashion to a natural disaster that was predicted. Imagine how badly they would react to a terrorist attack. There is no preparation in evidence, everything must occur after an event.

Terry is fed up with being civil towards raving liars. Bob Geiger is not going to put up with having his patriotism questioned.

These people don’t want a conversation; they want a conversion. They have progressed in their delusions to demanding obeisance rather than just obedience.

The entire crew and their toadies can kiss my grits.

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December 6^th

Feast of Saint Nicholas

December 13^th

Feast of Saint Lucia [the immolation of the youngest daughter]

December 16^th

Birth of Ludwig van Beethoven

December 21^st

Winter Solstice [1335 Eastern Standard Time]
HogWatch

December 23^rd

Festivus

December 25^th

Christmas
Birth of Mithras
First day of Hanukkah [begins at sundown which is the night of the 26^th on Jewish calenders]

December 26^th

Boxing Day
Feast of Saint Stephan
First day of Kwanzaa

January 6^th

Feast of the Epiphany
Día de los Reyes

January 7^th

Orthodox Christmas

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[When the Julian solar calendar replaced the old lunar calendar the Winter Solstice was December 25^th. When Pope Gregory corrected the calendar he only corrected it by 10 days and not the full two weeks it was out of synch with the sun, so the date of the Solstice is now the 21^st. Most Orthodox Churches continue to use the Julian calendar which is why their Christmas is on January 7^th.]

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