Hezbollah v. FEMA

Apropos of the upcoming Hurricane Katrina anniversary, there are a couple of notable things on tap. One is Spike Lee's documentary, When the Levees Broke, on HBO Aug. 21-22. And Ted Rall has a great article contrasting the reported efficacy of Hezbollah damage assessment and restoration work now ongoing in Lebanon versus FEMA and the continuing debacle down in New Orleans. To call it embarrassing does not do justice to the national shame that we have allowed this Bush administration to heave upon us.

A major US city still lies in waste, FEMA dumps millions into Bush-friendly corporations, a crony operation that has been described as "downright criminal," and ignores stuggling local businesses. Meanwhile, within one day of the cease fire, Hezbollah began removing debris, cleaning roads and villages, assessing damage and ... helping residents in the aftermath of the war. This country should be enraged by this White House's criminal negligence and disaster profiteering. The next time Republicans mention that they are the party of "national security," ask them, for whom?