Another Katrina Compendium
1) "Brownie" has been sent back to his desk in Washington so somebody who's actually qualified (Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen of the Coast Guard) can take over on the ground. This ABC News article indicates that he's likely to be fired soon.
2) This doesn't signal an end to BushCo's (TM) shameless cronyism, though. Both a Halliburton subsidiary and Shaw Group have gotten storm-cleanup contracts.
3) The federal government has stopped banning members of the media from body-retrieval efforts, thanks to the threat of a lawsuit from CNN.
4) Proving once again that he has huge balls, but a tiny brain, Dubya has called for "the spirit of 9/11" in confronting the Katrina disaster, apparently hoping against hope that his rhetoric won't remind us that his own idiotic foreign policy in the wake of 9/11 is part of why Katrinagate happened.
5) Even Wal-Mart, which I generally consider to be a wholly owned subsidiary of Evil Incarnate, managed to do a better job of being both humane and organized than the federal government did: the company got aid into affected areas well ahead of FEMA. I guess this pretty much proves that the neocon agenda of strengthening corporations and weakening federal government has worked.
6) More insensitivity from the Party of the Rich:
8) University of Pennsylvania historian Steven Hahn on how the mass migration of 500,000 predominantly African-American people from Katrina-affected areas may change America.
9) Chris Clarke's brilliant satire on the Democratic Party's accountability is a must-read. My favorite excerpt:
10) Thank God, amid all the horrific stories emerging from this nightmare, there are some good ones, too. Just a few heroes:
2) This doesn't signal an end to BushCo's (TM) shameless cronyism, though. Both a Halliburton subsidiary and Shaw Group have gotten storm-cleanup contracts.
3) The federal government has stopped banning members of the media from body-retrieval efforts, thanks to the threat of a lawsuit from CNN.
4) Proving once again that he has huge balls, but a tiny brain, Dubya has called for "the spirit of 9/11" in confronting the Katrina disaster, apparently hoping against hope that his rhetoric won't remind us that his own idiotic foreign policy in the wake of 9/11 is part of why Katrinagate happened.
5) Even Wal-Mart, which I generally consider to be a wholly owned subsidiary of Evil Incarnate, managed to do a better job of being both humane and organized than the federal government did: the company got aid into affected areas well ahead of FEMA. I guess this pretty much proves that the neocon agenda of strengthening corporations and weakening federal government has worked.
6) More insensitivity from the Party of the Rich:
- Tom DeLay apparently thinks being a refugee must be "kinda fun." Perhaps he's confused being homeless with camping?
- Rep. Baker of Baton Rouge told lobbyists "We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn’t do it, but God did." He later explained that he didn't mean to sound flippant. I'm guessing that's because he's entirely serious.
8) University of Pennsylvania historian Steven Hahn on how the mass migration of 500,000 predominantly African-American people from Katrina-affected areas may change America.
9) Chris Clarke's brilliant satire on the Democratic Party's accountability is a must-read. My favorite excerpt:
Vice President Dick Cheney echoed Secretary Rice's remarks. Speaking to CRN from a fortified pro shop at the Cheyenne Mountain Country Club, he said "Their opposition to anything we do is so ineffective and weak-willed, that for two years I've had to tell myself to go fuck myself. If you ask me, that's not the America I know."There's more where that came from here.
10) Thank God, amid all the horrific stories emerging from this nightmare, there are some good ones, too. Just a few heroes:
- The many working-class people (including Verlyn Davis, Jr. of Chalmette, Louisiana) who stepped into the gap before federal help arrived.
- Teenager Jabbar Gibson and six-year old Deamonte Love
- Al Gore, who personally paid to airlift at least 270 people out of Katrina-affected areas, but will not grant any interviews to the press, saying he prefers to keep the focus on the victims
- Hordes of anonymous medical personnel and pet rescuers, as well as the private citizens who are offering housing and job-placement for refugees.
- Petty Officers Royce Burroughs and Nicholas Kontodiakos, among many other soldiers
posted by Ancrene Wiseass | 4:30 PM
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