First Bush says no one knew the levees could break, despite countless documented warnings. Then he claims that his underqualified appointee Brownie did a heckuva job. Next, his wife refers to Katrina as Corrina. Now, it becomes clear that no one told him that Brownie resigned:

Q. Can you tell us, have you accepted the resignation of Michael Brown, or have you heard about it?
THE PRESIDENT: I haven’t — no, I have not talked to Michael Brown — or Mike Chertoff; that’s who I’d talk to. As you know, I’ve been working. And when I get on Air Force One, I will call back to Washington. But I’ve been on the move.
Q. Our understanding is he has resigned, he’s made a statement. Would that be appropriate –
THE PRESIDENT: I haven’t talked to Mike Chertoff yet, and that’s what I intend to do when I get on the plane. You know, I — you probably — maybe you know something I don’t know, but as you know, we’ve been working, and I haven’t had a chance to get on the phone. [Via Wonkette]

Interview by Monte Holman

Of Montreal has been putting out smart records since 1997, beginning with Cherry Peel (Bar/None) and prolifically progressing to their latest effort, The Sunlandic Twins (Polyvinyl). Spinning out of the Athens-based Elephant 6 collective, Kevin Barnes has consistently, and constantly, produced sprightly and imaginative recordings.
The Sunlandic Twins is no exception. It takes liberties with traditional song structure and retains a home-recording aesthetic, but this album reels in many of the experimental tangents older songs floated away on. It’s tight and danceable, more accessible to the ass-shakers. After bird shit on my shoulder while I was waiting outside the club for the interview with Kevin (he said it was good luck), we sat down and talked about the band.
Go see Of Montreal on this tour if you have the chance. Hands-down the best show we’ve seen this year. Check out the remaining tour dates at www.ofmontreal.net. Their new record is one of the best of the year.
Check out some of their MP3′s here:
from The Sunlandic Twins
Requiem For O.M.M.2
Wraith Pinned To The Mist (and other games)
FREEwilliamsburg: The first time I heard the record, I wanted to turn on the Wizard of Oz without the sound and use The Sunlandic Twins as the soundtrack. Did you go into this album thinking, “this one’s going to be cinematic”?
Kevin: I think so. To some degree, that’s a goal in all our records, for it to be very visual. I think it’d be great if we found someone who understood what we were doing musically and had a really distinct style, visually, to take the record and make a movie out of it, whether it be animated or live-action stuff. I think it would be a great experience if you could have it on and just listen to the music or turn on the TV and watch the visuals.

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The Freedom Walk sounds AWESOME! What a wonderful expression of Free Speech! Just what our Forefathers intended. Let freedom ring! Here’s how it went down:
- The Freedom Walk T-shirts were Pentagon-approved
- The route was entirely fenced in
- TV crews were banned
- Backpacks and bags were subject to search
- All signs were banned
- Clint Black played shitty music
- You had to register with the Department of Defense by Thursday at 4pm to attend
- Donald Rumsfeld was the keynote speaker
- From the pictures, it was 90% white
Check out this hilarious map of the event provided by Catch.

Gigantic ArtSpace is proud to present Negativlandland, an exhibition by the “culture jamming” group Negativland.
September 9 – October 22, 2005
OPENING RECEPTION on Friday, September 9, 6-9PM
59 Franklin Street, New York City

From Press Release:
In Negativlandland, you’ll see a life size robot of Abraham Lincoln doing his best to educate you, you’ll peer into wrecked cars, get your fingers in the dirt, discover the secrets of Howland Island, learn how to make your own noises on the Booper, view many brand new video works, hiccup with rabbits, and much, much more. Also on view will be an unauthorized special edition of a U2 vs. Negativland iPod (version 2G), created by Francis Hwang.
In this noisy exhibition, Negativland suggests a theme park catapulting us into deconstructed attractions of the gallery as a multi-media entertainment destination. Negativland’s work poses questions about the nature of perception, media control, ownership, and propaganda. The exhibition will take place in conjunction with the group’s 25th anniversary and will feature the collective’s recent visual work as well as their trademark sonic work.

Click Here for more info.

Tony Perkins
This is from Tony Perkins’ Family Resource Council’s newsletter. You may remember FRC as being the rapture-ready nutjobs who organized Justice Sunday:

While the hurricane was an “act of God” the government response and relief effort on the local, state and national levels were failures of man.
In one instance Red Cross trucks full of necessities were barred by a state agency early last week from entering New Orleans to deliver the much needed supplies. Accountability at all levels of government is critical. It should not be a time for partisan showmanship as so many similar hearings have been reduced to.

On another note, former Bush puppet Colin Powell criticizes the feds response to Katrina.

Contractors securing goverment contracts to rebuild New Orleans will not have to pay their employees a living wage, thanks to Bush. Bush granted employers the right yesterday to ignore the Davis-Bacon Act which would have protected individual’s rights to secure a fair wage. Needless to say, the people most affected by this will be the citizens of New Orleans who have already lost so much. Thanks douchebag.

[From the Wash Post]
Bush Suspends Pay Act In Areas Hit by Storm
President Bush yesterday suspended application of the federal law governing workers’ pay on federal contracts in the Hurricane Katrina-damaged areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The action infuriated labor leaders and their Democratic supporters in Congress, who said it will lower wages and make it harder for union contractors to win bids.
The Davis-Bacon Act, passed in 1931 during the Great Depression, sets a minimum pay scale for workers on federal contracts by requiring contractors to pay the prevailing or average pay in the region. Suspension of the act will allow contractors to pay lower wages. Many Republicans have opposed Davis-Bacon, charging that it amounts to a taxpayer subsidy to unions.

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From Flavorpill:

Over four nights, the Williamsburg Jazz Festival saturates the 11211 with sophisticated modern jazz by vocalists, orchestras, smaller groups, and a Sunday afterparty with the funky beats of Roboto. This year’s highlights include one of today’s foremost jazz composers, Dave Douglas, who serves up radiant harmonies over earthy rhythms, with Donny McCaslin on tenor sax, James Genus on bass, Clarence Penn on drums, and Deron Johnson on Fender Rhodes. Another high-profile name, Steve Coleman, subjects hip-hop and urban-funk grooves to intense, but intelligent, avant-garde explorations.

Click Here for the full schedule.

Now we can never watch Kindergarten Cop again in good conscience

by Dave Thomas

Everything is Illuminated
I think the movie world (because, as we all know, it’s one cohesive beast) is trying to make up for the sins of summer by offering up a relatively decent fall. At least in limited release.
SEPTEMBER 9
THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Man is accused of negligent homicide in the exorcism of a young girl. I think I saw this on “Law & Order” once.
WILL IT SUCK?
Although the genuinely creepy trailer makes this out to be the next “Exorcist”, the story is based on a far more human tragedy. In 1976 an epileptic girl was misdiagnosed as it were with demon possession and the ensuing exorcism killed her. This story apparently takes a Rashomon-like approach to the incident, with Tom Wilkinson as the accused and Laura Linney, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Campbell Scott, and Colm Feore along for the ride. Unfortunately, the last horror movie to the writer/director’s credit is “Urban Legends: Final Cut”.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Sadly, I think people will be a little more interested in “The Man” this week. Then, the following week, you have two far more traditional horror escapades, “Cry_Wolf” and “Venom”, entering the fray. $11mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No, but I think Tom Wilkinson should get some props for channeling Dan Hedaya in “Batman Begins”.
————————————-
THE MAN
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Sam Jackson is black. Eugene Levy is white. Watch the trailer and tell me that is not the pitch of this film.

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True to form, the right wing PR machine doesn’t want the American public to see the loss of human life resulting from their epic blunders. First, they prohibited images of the fallen in Iraq. And now, they want to censor media coverage of the deceased in New Orleans.

[From E&P] FEMA Blocks Photos of New Orleans Dead
Forced to defend what some critics consider its slow response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said on Tuesday it does not want the news media to take photographs of the dead as they are recovered from New Orleans.
FEMA, which is leading the rescue efforts, rejected requests from journalists to accompany rescue boats as they went out to search for storm victims, Reuters reported.
A FEMA spokeswoman told the wire service that space was need on the rescue boats and assured Reuters that “the recovery of the victims is being treated with dignity and the utmost respect.”
“We have requested that no photographs of the deceased be made by the media,” the spokeswoman told Reuters via e-mail.