Charles Krauthammer predicts that as Chief Justice John Roberts would vote to uphold the infamous Roe v. Wade precedent. Krauthammer also makes the unintelligible claim that Roberts will be a “traditional conservative” who will move the court to the “left.” If Krauthammer’s definition of “traditional conservatism” includes upholding Roe and moving the Supreme Court to the left, then I’m afraid Krauthammer is losing touch with what conservatism is. “Roe v. Roberts” – by Charles Krauthammer

This is an unbelievable story being reported by Major Garrett of FOX News. The following is from Hugh Hewitt‘s website: “The Fox News Channel’s Major Garrett was just on my show extending the story he had just reported on Brit Hume’s show: The Red Cross is confirming to Garrett that it had prepositioned water, food, blankets and hygiene products for delivery to the Superdome and the Convention Center in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, but were blocked from delivering those supplies by orders of the Louisiana state government, which did not want to attract people to the Superdome and/or Convention Center. Garrett has no paper trail yet, but will…

According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll, the majority of Americans do not blame President Bush for the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This is good news in light of the rush to judgment in the press to blame President Bush (see my previous posts).

The city of New Orleans had a set of emergency procedures in place before Katrina hit that pertain to such events as catastrophic Hurricanes. The document is titled: “City of New Orleans Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan.” This document outlines the plan that the city is to follow in case of an emergency evacuation. It says the following: “Conduct of an actual evacuation will be the responsibility of the Mayor of New Orleans in coordination with the Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness, and the OEP Shelter Coordinator . . . Transportation will be provided to those persons requiring public transportation from the area . . . The evacuation must…

CNN is reporting that President Bush will nominate John Roberts to succeed Rehnquist as chief justice of the Supreme Court. By appointing someone from the outside, the President ensures that there will be only two confirmation battles, not three (If he would have nominated a sitting justice to be chief justice, the senate would have to confirm the promotion as well as the filling of the two remaining vacancies). When she announced her retirement, Sandra Day O’Connor’s made her retirement contingent upon the President’s appointment of her replacement. In her resignation letter, she wrote: “This is to inform you of my decision to retire from my position as Associate Justice…

I just watched Soledad O’Brien interview New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin on CNN. She pressed him on whether he bore some responsibility for the tragedy at the Superdome and at the convention center. Mayor Nagin responded that when Bush came to Louisiana, Bush offered to centralize the chain-of-command so that the feds could take over rescue and relief from Governor Kathleen Blanco. According to Nagin, Bush was ready to move immediately, but Blanco said she needed twenty-four hours to think about it. Mayor Nagin was extremely frustrated with Governor Blanco to say the least. According to Nagin, while she was stalling, people were dying. This is quite a different picture…

President Bush and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco Apparently, the Bush Administration believes the situation in New Orleans has been mismanaged by state and local officials. Tonight, the Washington Post reports that federal officials have attempted to take command over the National Guard troops that are currently under the authority of Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco. “Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state’s emergency operations center said…

Chief Justice William Rehnquist succumbed to thyroid cancer tonight. His death is a great loss to our country, and my heart goes out to his family. I will miss chief justice Rehnquist. He was the quintessential originalist and an exemplary justice whose legacy will not soon be forgotten. Washington Post – “Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist Dies”