Fox News just reported an AP wire report that says that Mike Brown has resigned as Head of FEMA.

He is making the move in the “best interests of the agency and the best interests of the President”. (Via Shep Smith, Fox News)

From the Susan M. Torres Fund website comes this very sad news:

With great sadness, we are asking for your prayers for the repose of the soul of 5 week old baby Susan Ann Torres. She passed away last night after surgery for a perforated intestine. Please include in your prayers a request for the peace and comfort of her family, especially Jason Torres, who has had a very difficult past several months.

Via Michelle Malkin

Our prayers are with the family. Baby Susan and Mommy Susan are now together in heaven.

President Bush’s Remarks During Tour of New Orleans

Just a snippet – but I thought these remarks were worth it.

Reporter1: Mr. President, we, there is a belief here after two weeks on the ground that FEMA let the people here on the ground down and perhaps in turn people could get evidence of what it’s done to your popularity and perhaps FEMA. Do you think that your management style {couldn’t hear} in this particular scenario let you down…

President Bush: Look there’ll be plenty of time to play the blame game. That’s what you’re trying to do.

Reporter1: No, I’m trying to…

President Bush: You’re trying to say somebody’s at fault. Look. And I want to know. I want to know exactly what went on and how it went on. And we’ll continually assess inside my administration. I sent Mike Chertoff down here to make an assessment of how best to do the job. He made a decision. I accepted his decision. But we’re moving on. We’re going to solve these problems and there’ll be ample time for people to take a look back and see the facts. Now, as far as my own personal popularity goes, I don’t make decisions based upon polls. I hope the American people appreciate that. You can’t make difficult decisions if you have to take a poll. It’s been my style ever since I’ve been the President. And of course I rely upon good people. Course, you’ve got to as the President of the United States. You set the space, you set the strategy, you hold people to account. But, yeah, I’m relying upon good people. That’s why Admiral Allen is here. He’s a good man, he can do the job. That’s why General Honore is here. And so when I come into a briefing I don’t tell them what to do, they tell me the facts on the ground and my question to them is, ‘Do you have what you need?’

Reporter2: Did they misinform you when you said that no one anticipated the breach of the levies?

President Bush: No, what I was referring to was this: When that storm came by, a lot of people said we dodged a bullet. When that storm came through at first people said ‘Whew.’ There’s a sense of relaxation. That’s what I was referring to. I, myself, thought that we had dodged a bullet. You know why? Because I was listening to people, probably over the airwaves, that said the bullet has been dodged. That’s what I was referring to. Of course there were plans in case a levee had been breached. There was a sense of relaxation at a moment, a critical moment. Thank you for giving me a chance to clarify that.

The President was then asked about where he was when he learned of the breaches.

President Bush went to say that he had signed the emergency orders prior to the storm hitting.

As our family celebrates the birth of our new daughter, I thought it fitting to post a special remembrance to the young children who died at the hands of the terrorists on 9/11. I urge you to read this article by Michelle Malkin entitled “Angels on loan from God” written in December 2001.

7 meg file, broadband is best for viewing.

Music – Enya, Only Time

grab a box of kleenex – this is as powerful now as it was when it was made.

America Attacked

Angry links to a proposal to scrap the Holocaust memorial in Britain because it is offensive to Muslims. Scrapping it is one option, I guess. Another option is to make it look more like this.

I just read another article about how Bush failed the people of New Orleans. The gist of the article was how obvious such a calamity was to forsee and how the scope of the tragedy was preventable (at the hands of Bush and Bush alone – forget all of the other levels of government that have a more direct role, or all of the other previous administrations dating back a hundred years or so). As I read the article something came to me – where were all of that particular writer’s articles on the subject? Indeed, where where any of the media’s reports on this – before the hurricane hit, that is? If the scope of such a tragedy was so forseeable, and concrete action-steps to prevent it were within reach, where was the media outcry? Where were the editorials, analysis and articles?

Last I checked the media has a vital role to play in a democracy, so much so that freedom of the press is enshrined in the constitution. You see, in a representative democracy, people elect law makers to make decisions for us. In order for the public to make informed decisions about who to elect and what policies are best, we rely on the press to inform us. Armed with adequate information, Mary and Joe voter can go out and vote for the candidate that best represents their interests, and/or support a particular interest group that can directly lobby the government.
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Per the AP, Mike Brown has been relieved of his Katrina Relief duties but is still the head of Fema.

According to Fox News, Vice Admiral Thad Allen of the US Coast Guard has been put in charge of Katrina Relief efforts.

Updated

When I first heard about the planned memorial for the heroes of Flight 93 it sounded wonderful, windchimes for each person killed in the terrorist hijacking of the plane.

But at the time, there wasn’t a picture of what it would like.

Now there is:

How could anyone choose this particular design? Don’t they realize what the crescent means as a religious symbol? Didn’t they think about what the terrorists were representing when they committed their heinious acts? Why does it look like they are honoring the terrorists?

Update: Make it a circle. A circle is all encompassing. A circle is never-ending. The symbology of a circle will better memorialize the Heroes of Flight 93.

For more see:
Michelle Malkin
Little Green Footballs
Captain’s Quarters
JunkYardBlog
Zombie Contact addresses here
The Waterglass
Save the GOP
Thinklings
Sensible Mom
Real Clear Politics picture with Islamic State flags for comparison