Katrina: One Year After

It's been a year since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, and the Crescent City is still struggling. To say that things are better than they were after the flood would be an understatement; of course things are better now, because they couldn't get any worse. But there are still ruins all over New Orleans, many of the city's longtime residents have yet to return (if ever), and the city's basic infrastructure is still a mess. Although Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco bear a great deal of responsibility for this disaster, no individual is at greater fault than George Walker Bush, the (very) temporary resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.

Bear in mind that Bush did nothing in the early, critical days of the crisis to send help. Plus, he remained on vacation in Texas. Remember also that he had staffed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with hacks, including former horse-show adviser Michael Brown, who demonstrated the horrors of government ineptitude by practicing it. They screwed up FEMA so badly that many senators are calling for the agency's dissolution because it can't work well if at all. Well, FEMA worked beautifully under President Clinton, who staffed it with professionals who knew what they were doing before Dub the Shrub came in and sacked everything

Bush got himself re-elected to the White House by offering "comfort food" in the form of keeping Americans safe from terrorism and general harm (forget for a moment the violent crime that plagued New Orleans even before Katrina!) , and the city of New Orleans and the states of Louisiana and Mississippi got comfort food in the form of a brownie. As in, "You're doing a heck of a job, Brownie!"

Wonder if Trent Lott rebuilt his vacation house? :-O