Instahoglets 14th Sept.

There's been a lot going on this last few days that I haven't managed to write about but wanted to. Thankfully, there are some great writers out there who have done so better than I ever could. Here's a sampler.

Via Blah3 what may become one of the most famous photos of the Bush era - the "I wanna potty" memo!

In the UK, the government has declared that loyalist terror group the UVF has broken its ceasefire. Pleasde remember, kind reader, that Irish far-right terrorist groups like the UVF and their political mouthpieces get a lot of support from the American Right.

Raw Story has the goods on internal documents that show FEMA bungled its Katrina response.

And The Left Coaster has the details on a memo showing that The Gremlin - Mike Chertoff - "abdicated his existing responsibility to activate federal forces without waiting for any request from Governor Blanco, and wasted at least 36 hours of critical time before empowering FEMA to act. And the system wasn’t the problem, it was the White House."

I've been wondering for a while if the Bushites slipped one under the radar against State's Rights back in March when they gave DHS the power to act without state authority. Maybe someone more up on current constitutional politics (this year's, not last year's) could enlighten me. The relevant passage from the DHS website reads:

In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st 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. The new Department will also prioritize the important issue of citizen preparedness. Educating America’s families on how best to prepare their homes for a disaster and tips for citizens on how to respond in a crisis will be given special attention at DHS.

Now, is this an end-run or isn't it? Does it really mean what it seems to - that Bush and the GOP gave the DHS feds total authority anywhere in the US to provide any and all response to a "large-scale crisis" (which its solely within the administrations to decide if some event is or isn't)? And if it is then did Chertoff choke and was too scared of the fallout or plain incompetent to use the muscle he had been given? And if it is why didn't the Republicans let everyone know they were trashing the Constitution?

Maybe that's one reason why the GOP are so keen on there being no independent investigation, to the point of showing a united face in the Senate.

There, that's enough for now. Maybe some more later tonight if I get time.