Katrina thoughts and recommended reading

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Man, I'm getting pretty freaking worked up about the things I've been reading, and figure this is as good a place as any to vent.

1. Here's a link to a CNN story about people starving at the New Orleans Convention Center and dropping over dead. Now, I've been able to take a plane from Seattle to New Orleans in under 5 hours. It's been several DAYS since the hurricane. Why hasn't the Army been able to fly over there with helicopters and drop off MREs?
A friend made the point that it's been reported somebody took a shot at a helicopter. First off, that strikes me as the sort of unsubstanciated bullshit that one network reported, and everybody else raced to report not to lose the story. How many times was it reported that WMD were found in Iraq, which turned out to be bullsht. And even if it WAS true, it's probably just some idiot with a handgun, not some SEAL-trained expert sniper. Aren't Army helicopters built to withstand a bullet or two, especially when thousands of innocent lives are in the line? It's not like these pilots are being asked to fly into a combat zone, which I'm sure routinely happens in Iraw and Afganistan.

2. Here's an article about how FEMA warned that a hurricane striking New Orleans was one of the three most likely disasters in the U.S. But the Bush administration cut New Orleans flood control funding by 44 percent to pay for the Iraq war. Here's another about FEMA gutted for Homeland Security and flood projects delayed for lack of funding.

3. White people "find" food. Black people "loot. Keep in mind, any store that wasn't insured is screwed no matter what. And stores that are insured are just gonna throw out their merchandise, because it is flood-damaged and take the insurance rather than sell it.

4. Scroll down to The Rude Pundit's 8/31 column about how Bush can use this disaster to pull our troops out of Iraq, without giving the cowardly impression that we are "cutting and running." If "President" Fuckface got up and made a speech about how America comes first in a time of crisis, nobody on the left or right could disagree. But what do you want to bet he's too stuborn to do that?

5. Nearly A THOUSAND people died yesterday in Iraq, in a stampede of people in fear of a suicide bomber, and it's already nearly fallen out of the news cycles. (Note: there were no suicide bombers in Iraq before the U.S. invaded.) However, on CNN, "Connick, DeGeneres sound off on Katrina." Of course, the America media is incapable of juggling two stories at one time, so there is no mention of it. But if there was no Katrina, what would be more important? 1000 dead in Iraq or the arrest in a case related to some drunk white college chick in Aruba. The right tells us we have to stay in Iraq to give Iraqis democrazy. But 1000 innocent citizens are dead, and the truth is we simply don't give a fuck, Katrina or no Katrina.

6. Here is an article on how Iraq and Afghanistan is shaping up to be the third-most expensive war in United States history. Katrina is supposed to cost $25 billion to rebuild the damage and the Iraq war has already cost 12 times that much. What do you want to bet that the Gulf Coast does not even see all of that 25 billion.

7. And of course, there is this, which you should visit daily.

Fucking sickening, is what it is. And I look forward to mental contortions various Bush-supporters will make to refute any and all of the above. Bring it on, bitches!