"Frontline" On Katrina

I just saw the most sickening edition of "Frontline" on PBS I've ever seen. . . on Hurricane Katrina and the government's inability to mitigate the disaster in New Orleans. While New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco get some blame, the Bush administration gets it big time. After President Clinton made the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) work the way it was supposed to after years of cronyism, George W. Bush brought cronies of his own and tried to cut FEMA's budget. Some FEMA programs that worked well were eliminated altogether. Though it performed admirably in the aftermath of 9/11, FEMA was incorporated into the Homeland Security Department and stripped of its independence. Intending to cut fat from FEMA, Bush cut marrow too. So by the time Katrina hit. . . well, you can guess the rest.

Bushie did a heck of a job! >:-(

(P.S. Bush's father, the first President Bush, had a political hack running FEMA when Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992. Bush One had to send Transportation Secretary Andrew Card - now Bush Two's chief of staff - to sort out the mess, despite his own lack of experience in disaster relief. AUGHH!)