Terrible times

As the horrifying situation in New Orleans grows worse by the minute, I can only add my voice to the growing chorus of public incredulity. The thought of American citizens dying of dehydration on the streets of an American city FOUR DAYS after a foreseeable natural disaster is too unbelievable for my simple mind. Thankfully, the Congressional Black Caucus, cable news reporters on the ground, and the NYT, the Los Angeles Times, David Corn, Huffington Post (to name but a few media sources) are mincing no words in demanding swift action from our corporate and government “leaders”.

(One has to wonder, yet again, where our Democratic representatives are. Why have our once innovative party leaders not already responded with hands-on, alternative relief plans to help Katrina’s victims. Where are the wacky, grass-roots ideas, like organizing squadrons of private plane owners to move water and bread to staging areas in the Parish area, or fleets of SUV’s dropping off clothing and medical supplies. For chrissakes, we can get there in a few hours!)

To pour salt on the wound, take a look at Bob Cesca’s insightful observation on how the best is yet to come for, I would guess, the majority of N.O.’s citizens. Special thanks once again to the authors and supporters, on both sides of the aisle, of the disingenuously titled Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, set to go into effect next month.

An additional shout-out to the NRA for their relentless twisting of the Second Amendment for the last two decades. Is anyone out there beginning to see some of the dangerous consequences of allowing gun sales in WalMart next to the Housewares aisle. And no, this is not a stretch. Conservatives and their favorite lobby have energetically fostered a culture which makes too many weapons too easily available to too many irresponsible people in too many public places. Of course, we have to be damn critical of those individuals spreading lawlessness and fear through the stricken area. But if these weapons weren’t in the stores to begin with, there’d be fewer of them on the street right now. And the police are simply (and shamefully) outgunned.

Finally, I think we should all be genuinely frightened by the broader implications of this Administration’s rudderless response to the Louisiana tragedy. Mr. Bush and his cronies were re-elected to a large extent because of the security and preparedness he’s been promising Americans from harm. But if this Administration’s current performance is any indication of it’s preparedness to save just one city in a disaster we watched for days as it approached, I can only imagine with abject horror how vulnerable we remain to any kind of unannounced catastrophic attack. We have no leadership – in the White House or in Congress – and the time is drawing nearer where our only logical option will be to gather our torches and pitchforks and march on the mad doctor’s castle.