Warning to users: There is no mention of Iraq, impeachment or the 2008 primaries in the following diary.
Here we are, 17 months after Hurricane Katrina, and 12 months after the president last spoke to the nation about the future of the Gulf Coast.
The very few mentions in MSM this week seems to be split into two camps: The New York Times reports that the death of New Orleans and the gulf is probably irreversable, because it would have happened eventually anyway, meanwhile, the sports page of the Washington Post (yes, the sports page blames it on a general feeling of abandonment and dispair.
How about let's take a look at what (or who) else might be responsible?
A hopeful society comes to the aid of fellow citizens in times of suffering and emergency -- and stays at it until they're back on their feet. So far the federal government has committed $85 billion to the people of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. We're removing debris and repairing highways and rebuilding stronger levees. We're providing business loans and housing assistance. Yet as we meet these immediate needs, we must also address deeper challenges that existed before the storm arrived.
In New Orleans and in other places, many of our fellow citizens have felt excluded from the promise of our country. The answer is not only temporary relief, but schools that teach every child, and job skills that bring upward mobility, and more opportunities to own a home and start a business. As we recover from a disaster, let us also work for the day when all Americans are protected by justice, equal in hope, and rich in opportunity...
-George Bush, State of the Union address, January 31, 2006
Anyone care to help out with a Scorecard?
Discuss.