Rove Believes Bush Did Enough For Hurricane Katrina Victims

If there was any defining event in Bush's eight years that showcased his utter failure as President, it was the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The nation and the world watched as a city drowned, losing nearly two thousand residents due to ineffective levees, not the actual hurricane. The government response was a disaster. When seen through the ideological lens of movement conservatives (who wish for less government by starving it of resources) the response was a huge success. While that sounds awful, Karl Rove affirmed that callous opinion yesterday on live television.

From RawStory:

Don't be surprised if this causes you to spill your coffee. When pundits began to critique the recent speech of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal in an ABC News green room on Sunday, former Bush adviser Karl Rove declared that the federal government met its responsibilities with regard to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

The following exchange appears on the video below at 2:11.

"With all due respect, the government official who was responsible for managing Katrina under the Stafford Act was the governor of Louisiana and she lost office in large measure due to the poor quality of her performance," Rove quipped.

To Rove, this was about politics, pure and simple. He doesn't mention how FEMA didn't have the funds or manpower to take care of thousands upon thousands of refugees. How the director of FEMA had no training in disaster management does not figure into the political calculus that Rove considers. Though if he really wants to talk about politics, can he tell us which party went on to lose resoundingly at the polls this past November and the midterm elections in 2006? Louisiana was sick of all their political leaders (save for Ray Nagin who talked a lot of serious shit) but the country was collectively disgusted with Bush and the neo-con ideology for which he...and McCain are associated with.

Bush Speaks His Last Press Conference, Lies Continue

George Bush gave his Q & A session for the press at the White House this morning. To no one's surprise, it was full of false assertions, half-truths and outright lies. He went on for quite a long time and responded to many, dare I say harsh questions from the assembled press. He tried to be cute and affable, repeating his infamous "misunderestimating" word and as has been the case for the last couple of months, looking to conjure up a legacy that just isn't there. Lovers of truth and accountability must have cringed through the whole thing, but there was one part that really got me going, his revisionist history of what happened in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

From ThinkProgress:

During his final press conference this morning, Bush defended his response to Katrina. He said he has “thought long and hard about Katrina” and admitted that “things [could] have been done better” but denied any problem with the federal response to the disaster, insisting, “Don’t tell me the federal response was slow!”[...]

The federal response to Katrina was nothing short of a disaster. A 2006 report compiled by House Republicans slammed what it called “a failure of leadership,” saying that the federal government’s “blinding lack of situational awareness and disjointed decision making needlessly compounded and prolonged Katrina’s horror.” The report specifically blamed Bush, noting that “earlier presidential involvement could have speeded the response” because the president alone could have cut through bureaucratic resistance.

There is no question that the federal response was slow — deadly slow. Katrina made landfall on Monday, Aug. 29, 2005, and the New Orleans levees were breached that morning. Despite the numerous warnings he had received about the storm’s severity, Bush spent that Monday traveling to Arizona and California to promote his Medicare drug bill. It was characteristic of the entire federal response.

And TP lists just a few of the disgraces, such as the late arrival of the National Guard, FEMA's late arrival, the fact that Michael Brown was there in the first place and how he mishandled his job, how long it took to evacuate the wretched SuperDome and Bush's lackadaisical response in general.

The days, weeks, months and yes, years after have been horrendous for the area. Nearly two thousand died from the breached levees, some from Klanish behavior, many from neglect and who knows how many have been affected in the long term from the toxic brew of water that people had to wade through and whether it is in the drinking water now. Hurricane Katrina was a national disgrace and defined the Bush Presidency from there on out. For him to try and wave a magic wand and make it look different is nothing short of a pathetic response from a callous and cold man.

Will Bush Use Gustav In Order To Get Out Of Speaking At RNC?

Last night Bill Clinton delivered an impeccable speech to the DNC at the Pepsi Center and indeed to the millions of people that watched across the country. With all of the Clinton-Obama controversy diminishing with each passing day at the DNC, Republican hopes of capitalizing on it are vanishing into thin air. George Bush must have been banking on that so he'd at least have something to go on when he spoke in Minneapolis on Monday, conveniently on the first day and meaning to avoid contact with his sidekick, John "McSame" McCain.

To make matters worse, Tropical Storm Gustav is set to become a Hurricane and is currently aiming for the Louisiana coast and striking at about the time he is set to speak. So we have yet another reminder of Bush's failure of a Presidency when it comes to taking care of our citizens struck by disaster. So what will he do to prevent Americans from making the connection they already know about?

From ThinkProgress:

President Bush is scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention on Monday, but with Tropical Storm Gustav expected to hit Gulf coast, the White House is beginning to hint that President Bush might not speak that day. Fox News’ Bret Baier reports today that there “are conversations underway” at the White House about whether Bush “will in fact speak on Monday.”

Well my question is, if he won't speak Monday and the Hurricane lands on Tuesday...would McCain let him speak Wednesday? There is no way they want the two men anywhere near each other, so this could get interesting. The sitting President might not show up at his party's convention for the first time in quite a while.

Now Out Of The Senate, Lott Is Still A Scumbag

Trent Lott was a real piece of work when he served in the United States Senate and he hasn't parted with his corrupt ways since he left a few months ago. Lott quit the Senate to take a cushy lobbyist job, leaving the State of Mississippi in a tangle (partly due to the Governor) over a special election.

Now three years ago, I remember that George Bush was deeply saddened by the tragic loss of human life and much of New Orleans fact Trent lost his home due to Hurricane Katrina (now thats what I call elitist!). So you'd think that with the Hurricane having personally affected him, he'd take the experience to heart....but then again, he'd have to have one pumping with warm blood to feel empathy for people...and that includes knowing what ethics are.

From ThinkProgress:

Former Mississippi senator Trent Lott, who left Congress last year to become a lobbyist, is alleged to have “urged witnesses to give false information in a Hurricane Katrina lawsuit.” In a sworn deposition last week, an attorney for State Farm Fire & Casualty Cos. asked Lott’s nephew, Zach Scruggs, who had represented the former senator after his house was destroyed by Katrina, if it had been his “custom and habit in prosecuting litigation to have Senator Lott contact and encourage witnesses to give false information?” “I invoke my Fifth Amendment rights in response to that question,” replied Scruggs.

Isn't it funny how these Republicans love to cling to the Bill of Rights when it suits them? Fourth amendment for regular folks, eh, whatever. Fifth amendment to save their own hides, sign me up!

McCain Uses And Abuses Katrina Victims

John McCain tried to use "change" in his speech Tuesday by saying that he'd bring the "right" change for America. Foolishly he forgets that while he can say one thing, then another and back to the original in a week or less, his record is set in stone. He chose New Orleans as the place to contrast himself to Barack Obama and he failed miserably. Not only was the presentation of his speech terrible, any promise of change was hollow. Anyone that sees a candidate going down to the Gulf Coast understands the significance of that place and what a tremendous disgrace our government was when tepidly responding to one of our worst natural disasters in the history of the country (though the levees failing wasn't quite all Mother Nature's fault). And as John McCain was a part of that government, how did he act in the following days, weeks and months?

From DailyKos:

Who can forget McCain's indifference to the disaster as it unfolded? Appearing on Face the Nation the day before Katrina struck, he said nothing about the looming emergency. Then McCain yucked it up with Bush in Arizona even while the Gulf Coast was getting lashed. When he did get around to commenting, three days later, his office issued a tepid press release.

For the next half year, as Jonathan Stein documented, McCain was either absent from or in active opposition to substantive efforts to aid Katrina victims.

Though McCain issued a statement the next week calling on Congress to make sacrifices in order to fund recovery efforts, he was quoted in The New Leader on September 1 cautioning against over-spending in support of Katrina's victims. "We also have to be concerned about future generations of Americans," he said. "We're going to end up with the highest deficit, probably, in the history of this country."

That attitude was borne out in McCain's actions and votes. Forty Senators and 100 members of Congress visited New Orleans before he did; he finally got there in March 2006.

During that period McCain wasn't just failing to show leadership on the issue. Along with most other Republicans, he dug his heels in against spending serious money to help Americans in desperate need (contrast that with his free-spending ways on Iraq). McCain voted against extending unemployment benefits to Katrina victims up to 52 weeks, and against extending Medicaid benefits up to five months. He even voted twice against establishing an independent commission to examine the governmental response to Katrina. In May of 2006, little over a month after visiting NOLA for the first time, McCain also voted against the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill that had $28 billion for hurricane relief.

From that point on McCain's record gets even shabbier, if that's possible.

Yep, it has gotten much worse, just as George Bush ignored it again after he ignored it when the tragedy unfolded. There is no change here, it is just more of the same in brand new gift-wrapping. Even if he had the ability to speak eloquently in Louisiana two nights ago, America would still hear the ticking time bomb inside the box John McCain was carrying. He can call it anything he wants, change, experience, leadership, a military record, whatever. What he'll do for the country is just a continuation of the last eight years.

Finally A Win For Victims Of Katrina

Judge Stanwood Duval is a friend to people who lost their homes in the flooding that happened as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Under George Bush, the Federal government has all but ignored the area, unless of course we are talking about Trent Lott. Just as the policy was before the Hurricane, the area surrounding New Orleans was largely dismissed as nothing special and therefore deserved nothing, such as flood protection. Most of the infrastructure built was meant to reduce shipping times and one such project actually helped lead to the flooding that billions around the world saw on their television screens. The Army Corps of Engineers is trying to avoid blame just as the man on top of all the Federal agencies is, but Judge Duval has something else in mind.

From RawStory:

The Corps of Engineers had argued that it was immune from liability because the channel is part of New Orleans' flood control system. The law says the federal government cannot be sued if something goes wrong with a flood control project such as a levee, reservoir or dam.

Judge Stanwood Duval dismissed that argument, saying the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, or MRGO, was clearly a ship channel and not a flood control project.

Plaintiffs' lawyers said Duval's decision is a victory for homeowners, who have suffered setbacks in their efforts to hold the government legally responsible for storm damage. They also said it clears the way for a Sept. 8 trial.

The trial is what is needed for residents that want accountability from their government. Accountability is something that has been sorely lacking in the Bush Administration for some time now and it is nice to see it could possibly start with so many people that have lost so much.

A Price Tag For Katrina?

Nearly two and a half years ago a medium grade Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans and the surrounding area wreaking havoc. Even with all of the wind and water damage, it was nothing compared to what was about to happen the next day when the levees broke. Sixteen hundred Americans perished in the most horrific natural calamity to hit the United States, ever. At this point the government has hardly done anything to help the victims of the storm. Now they want to claim their damages. Certainly the monetary cost is in the billions or hundreds of billions, but could we be talking quadrillions?

From MSNBC:

The total number — $3,014,170,389,176,410 — is the dollar figure so far sought from some 489,000 claims filed against the federal government over damage from the failure of levees and flood walls following the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane.

Of the total number of claims, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it has received 247 for at least $1 billion apiece, including the one for $3 quadrillion.

"That's the mother of all high numbers," said Loren Scott, a Baton Rouge-based economist.

The mother of all storms helped cause that number, but we know there will never be a payout that comes close to that figure. Of course you can't even put a dollar amount on the absolute human tragedy that occurred after the storm passed. The poverty, the desperation, the lack of empathy from the President and the funds that he indirectly held back from the victims, it all needs to be made up for.

Three quadrillion is merely a high number that is to be bargained down, but if the cases are determined by the conservative courts that the President has helped shape, the victims shouldn't expect much.

Changing The Gulf Forever

Hands down, climate change is serious business. Al Gore was mocked for talking about it in the 1980s, now he has won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Though for some people, large ideas do not have much meaning in their own lives. Now the residents of the Gulf Coast have been dealing with those effects, specifically from Hurricane Katrina for the last two years. Many people have already left the area for good and at this point, the Army Corps of Engineers wants people to leave the area for good so they can try to combat the effects of man on the environment.

From The Guardian:

The United States is working on a multi-billion-dollar plan to depopulate vast swaths of coastline along the Gulf of Mexico in a move which it is hoped would help re-establish a natural barrier against the catastrophic flooding caused by the likes of Hurricane Katrina.

In the first sign that the federal government is favouring a retreat from the coast rather than rebuilding, the Army Corps of Engineers is to present to Congress a radical plan which includes rebuilding the wetlands that have been disappearing at an ever-accelerating rate in recent years.

Article continues

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The Corps, the engineers responsible for protecting the coastline, has been working on the plan since Katrina struck in August 2005. President George Bush promised after the floods to rebuild New Orleans and other Gulf communities.

But federal agencies and environmentalists have concluded that climate change has increased the threat of further devastation and continued rebuilding makes no sense. To be included in the overall plan is $40bn (£20bn) to be spent on the Mississippi coast. Part of this would be for a voluntary buyout of 17,000 houses in Mississippi, particularly in Bay St Louis, east of New Orleans. The corps is likely to extend the plan to New Orleans and Louisiana.

Of course there will be people that object to a project that encourages people to leave their community behind. It is never a happy day when you just have to pick up and leave. However, people can easily forget that the world is bigger than themselves and larger than life events have a real impact on the individual.

It may be hard to comprehend the realities of climate change, especially when they are staring you right in the face. It is also hard not to sympathize with those that should or must leave the Gulf Coast regions. However, as years go on and we continue to see the planet change at an increasing rate, they will not be the only ones to have their lives significantly altered as temperatures increase and sea levels rise.

When Was Hurricane Corrina Mrs. Bush?

Sure this could be a minor slip up, if the First Lady only screwed up the name of Hurricane Katrina once. Yet she managed to say "Hurricane Corrina" twice in ten seconds. This sounds more like a major disconnect and apathetic attitude more than anything else.

Courts Hand Victory To Insurance Companies, More Sorrow To Katrina Victims

Home insurance companies are cheering after they were told by Judge Carolyn King that they would not have to pay for flood damage to their clients homes. Those homes were destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The lawsuit was filed by over 40 people and institutions that were not granted money to help rebuild their lives nearly two years after the calamity occurred. The impact of the decision could affect thousands.

From MSNBC:

The decision overturns a ruling by U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr., who in November sided with policyholders arguing that language excluding water damage from some of their insurance policies was ambiguous.

Duval said the policies did not distinguish between floods caused by an act of God — such as excessive rainfall — and floods caused by an act of man, which would include the levee breaches following Katrina’s landfall.

But the appeals panel concluded that “even if the plaintiffs can prove that the levees were negligently designed, constructed, or maintained and that the breaches were due to this negligence, the flood exclusions in the plaintiffs’ policies unambiguously preclude their recovery.”

Basically this is a nice win for the bottom lines at companies like All State (you aren't in good hands) and Traveler's Insurance (that umbrella doesn't cover you). The losers now number in the thousands, with no money to recuperate from their unlivable homes, it will be next to be impossible to rebuild.

FEMA Trailers: Killing Them With Kindness

FEMA's response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has already been proven as a disaster to compliment the destruction of Mother Nature. Now Congress is examining one such example where the trailers that were brought in to house refugees were contaminated with high levels of cancer causing formaldehyde. Just one more disgrace after another for the Bush Administration and its agencies that are supposed to help people.

From The Gavel:

At 10:00 a.m. the Oversight Committee will hold a hearing, “FEMA’s Response to Reports of Toxic Trailers.” The Committee will hold a hearing investigating formaldehyde levels in FEMA trailers provided for victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes and FEMA’s response to these reports. The Committee will hear from current residents occupying FEMA trailers, experts who are familiar with the health impact of formaldehyde, and from FEMA Administrator Paulison. Formaldehyde is a chemical used in paint and adhesives, and is classified as a “known carcinogen” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Reports of high formaldehyde levels found in FEMA issued trailers and FEMA’s response raise serious public health concerns.

Chairman Waxman:
“Another FEMA official wrote, the office of general counsel has advised ‘We do not do testing, because it would imply FEMA’s ownership of this issue.’ Early in the process, due to the perseverance of a pregnant mother with a four month old child, FEMA did test one occupied trailer. The results showed that their trailer had formaldehyde levels 75 times higher than the maximum workplace exposure levels recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The mother evacuated the trailer. FEMA then stopped testing other trailers.”

If only we had oversight like this with the Republican Congress before the disaster ever happened. Perhaps then those trailers wouldn't have been introduced in the first place. FEMA used to be such an amazing agency and now its a national and international disgrace. One of the reasons America became so great was that the government took care of its citizens and helped them to achieve a better life. Now they help poison them with carcinogens, how wonderful.

FEMA Denies Reimbursment To Cajundome

FEMA already has a woeful track record when it comes to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The debit cards were a terrible idea, the rebuilding efforts were horrendous and the corporate giveaways were a sham. Now they want to add to that legacy by rescinding their offer to reimburse the Cajundome in Lafayette for housing refugees to the tune of $1 million dollars out of the $5 million originally agreed on in addition to $1.2 million for usage fees. Haven't they pissed on the area enough already?

From The Advocate:

LAFAYETTE — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has asked the Cajundome to repay $1 million that had been reimbursed to the facility for its use as a shelter during the 2005 hurricanes.

Cajundome Director Greg Davis said Friday that the news FEMA wanted the money back came with a denial of an appeal he had made to the agency for more money.

“FEMA just continues changing the rules as the game is being played,” Davis said. “We are so shocked. That’s the last thing we expected.”

Everyone expected so much more from an agency that was once world-class in helping Americans through natural calamities. I grew up just a couple miles from the epicenter of the Northridge/Reseda Earthquake in 1994 and was amazed at the efforts and the assistance. Now FEMA is a shell of its old self and has done next to nothing for the residents of New Orleans and the rest of the devastated region.

NOLA Turning To Other Countries For Aid

It is a sad testament to the state of our country when we cannot even help one of our most cherished cities rebuild from a natural disaster. Instead New Orleans is appealing for international aid in hopes of restoring the famous Crescent City. As the two year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches along with the new and expected busy hurricane season, funds from the state and federal government are slow in coming.

From The Sun Herald:

Kenya Smith, director of intergovernmental relations for Mayor Ray Nagin, said city leaders are talking with more than five countries. He wouldn't identify the countries, saying discussions were in the early stages. But he said the city is "very serious" about pursuing foreign help.

"Of course, we would love to have all the resources we need from federal and state partners, but we're comfortable now in having to be creative," Smith said. He did not know if the city would have to overcome any obstacles if it got firm pledges for aid, but "we want to make sure we're leaving no options unexplored."

For months Nagin has complained bureaucracy is choking the flow of much-needed federal aid dollars to New Orleans - slowing the city's recovery. As of June 8, the city said it had received just over half of the $320 million FEMA has obligated for rebuilding city infrastructure and emergency response-related costs. The city has estimated its damage at far more than that - at least $1 billion. And that doesn't include other improvements - such as raised neighborhoods - meant to help build the stronger city promoted by Nagin and his recovery director.

As long as our national government fails to fulfill its moral obligation to help repair the city, there is no reason why anyone would have a problem with New Orleans accepting international aid. Although the countries are still anonymous, the first two that come to my mind would be France and Spain. Both have history with the port city going back centuries, long before the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

No matter which country decides to help the rebuilding efforts, its is greatly appreciated by all Americans that love New Orleans, whether they live there or not. This incident should shame the Bush Administration into providing more assistance than they have given or even pledged....but this is George Bush we are talking about, so he probably doesn't even care.

Another New Orleans Atrocity

Can you be shocked yet not surprised at the same time? Well test your brain on this story. The government hurried to try and restore the flood pumps in New Orleans before the commencement of the 2006 hurricane season. In the rush, the Army Corp of Engineers installed defective pumps around New Orleans that were predicted to fail based on internal tests. Thankfully the season did not produce any storms that caused any damage or even did a real-life test for the pumps. Nevertheless, why would the pumps be installed in the first place?

Maybe it has something to do with the politically connected MWI:

MWI is owned by J. David Eller and his sons. Eller was once a business partner of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in a venture called Bush-El that marketed MWI pumps. And Eller has donated about $128,000 to politicians, the vast majority of it to the Republican Party, since 1996, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

MWI has run into trouble before. The U.S. Justice Department sued the company in 2002, accusing it of fraudulently helping Nigeria obtain $74 million in taxpayer-backed loans for overpriced and unnecessary water-pump equipment. The case has yet to be resolved. [Details here]

Partnered with Jeb Bush while being investigated by the government...that must be a coincidence, right? Of course for us with common sense, it is easy to see that this is one more tragedy piled on top of the rest where money and power come before people and fairness.

Newt Blames The Victims

Possible Presidential aspirant and former ethical disgrace Newt Gingrich recently decried Hillary Clinton as ruthless. He really should take a good look in the mirror. Many know of his story about abandoning his wife while she was sick in the hospital. The display of the cold blood that runs in his veins was directed towards the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

From Our Future:

He blamed the residents of New Orleans' 9th Ward for a "failure of citizenship," by being "so uneducated and so unprepared, they literally couldn't get out of the way of a hurricane."

And he called for a "deep investigation" into this "failure of citizenship."

Here's the full quote:

How can you have the mess we have in New Orleans, and not have had deep investigations of the federal government, the state government, the city government, and the failure of citizenship in the Ninth Ward, where 22,000 people were so uneducated and so unprepared, they literally couldn't get out of the way of a hurricane. (emphasis original)

To listen to the audio, click here.

In NOLA, Justice Is A Thing Of The Past

New Orleans was left in shambles following the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina. We all know that the disaster preparedness plan was nearly non-existent. We know that the government failed New Orleans and the region in the days, weeks and months following the hurricane. The problems still continue.

I visited New Orleans in October and saw a city in shambles. Sure there was some activity in the Vieux Carre, the Garden district and downtown, but besides that the city has a long way to go. The Crescent City lost half of its population after Katrina, yet for the half that still resides down there there is no justice system.

Out of the hundreds of thousands of residents that scattered across the country, most of those that worked in all facets of the justice system were part of that exodus. Many of the public defenders and court employees are gone, only a few fighters remain to provide legal services for a battered system that predominantly hurts the poorest of the community.

One example of this is Iben O'Neal:

Iben O'Neal, 32, languished in a New Orleans jail for a year and a half after his arrest in 2005, without seeing a lawyer, judge or the inside of a courtroom.

"I actually felt like I wasn't going to get out," he told ABC News' Steve Osunsami. "I was lost."

O'Neal was arrested May 19, 2005, on a charge related to simple drug possession. He remained in jail three months later when Hurricane Katrina flooded the courts and the rest of the city. He finally walked out of jail in November 2006, after a group of young lawyers discovered his records and convinced a judge to release him.

"There are a lot of people been in there a couple of years, man, and never been to court," O'Neal said.

The Justice Department concluded in a recent study that many people are stuck in the system. Defendents have extreme difficulty obtaining a trial, even if to plead guilty. There are many cases like Mr. O'Neal and many people that are active in getting justice for those frozen by the lack of services say there isn't much being done.

A USDOJ press release tried to refute the situation on the ground on January 25 of this year. The fact sheet details $61 million in funding to get the justice system up and running. Nevertheless, where is the proof that this money is working?

What makes matters worse is where the trickle of federal money is going. Not surprisingly, a sizeable chunk of those dollars are funding the reconstruction of the prisons first. One parish has already spent $5 million on a temporary facility with a pending request of $57 million to rebuild the jail to its original size.

Pamela Metzger is trying to make a difference in this sordid situation. She recently started Project Gideon, which is trying to get every criminal defendent sufficient counsel for their cases. She has already helped nearly 1,000 people to get out of their legal jams while fighting the lack of a justice system. In the ABC News article linked above, she had this to say about New Orleans justice:

"Think about trying to call the court and write the court to say, 'When do I see a judge' and there's no answer because no phone picks up," Metzger said. "There were no phones."

When asked if that's still the case now, she said yes.

Of course, this contradicts the rosy picture the federal government tries to portray in their program to re-build the region. They have a litany of examples that show they care and things are getting done. Of course with many things associated with the Bush Adminstration, what is said on paper usually contradicts reality.

Protester gives it to Lieberman over Katrina!

After last week's SoTU and Bush failing to mention Katrina and the victims in the Gulf area even once, we still have people who claim ignorance. Representatives in the area and out should not be throwing accountablity to the wayside. This means you Mary Landrieu (D?-LA), this means you Joe Lieberman (CfL, GOP)! Lieberman was scorned today in a Committee meeting by a protestor that cares about the affected areas, unlike Lieberman with his lack of action.

This story has been mentioned many times before but needs to be reiterated until people get it through their thick heads that action must be taken. The prelude to the Hurricane and mismanagement surrounding that is terrible. Yet to ignore the aftermath and not hold people accountable is much worse.

Citizens are not having this, including the protestor in today's Senate meeting:



Barack sounded pissed yet the actions of the two Senators sitting beside him are nothing more than shameful. The words of the brave man in the gallery are incredibly more profound than those uttered for political gain that hold elected office. He shouted and held a cloth sign that read "PROBE THE WHITE HOUSE." The un-named protestor was led out of the hearing, treated relatively well and not hand-cuffed. He told CNN that he wants Lieberman to do more to question the White House.

That is exactly what needs to be done, yet no one has the brass to stand up to the President besides uttering a weak word or two. What needs to happen is action, and we haven't seen anything yet. The CfL Senator has no intention of holding anyone accountable. Like most rubber-stamp Republicans, he is willing and able to join that chorus in supporting the White House and recently came out to support the GOP in 2008.