"Unacceptable"

Hitching from Squalor to Anywhere Else

"Unacceptable"

Left Behind

Bush says the response to the Katrina disaster is "unacceptable." Well, you're the guy in charge, asshole. Damn right, it's unacceptable. And Chertoff and Bush have the utter gall to lie like the bastards they are and spin relief efforts as if it's all going wonderfully. Accountability, as Krugman said. And screw the apologists who don't think that's the case. There's no reason not to make this political.

First priority is to save the people of New Orleans and provide them with food, water, and refuge whether the people are white or black, rich or poor. Second priority is to dam the levee breaches, pump out the water, assess the damage, and start reconstructing the city (although Republican leadership says forget about it). Then, we must demand real accountability for the guy in the position where the buck supposedly stops (but never does in this corrupt, incompetent, and oblivious administration -- enough to get them out of office before we have to face yet another epic disaster under their government). If none of these things happen, we are indeed a finished nation.

"Unacceptable," my ass. Of course it is. That's like calling a rainy day a rainy day -- you seem to be the only one on the planet who finds that rainy day to be an unexpected fatalistic act of God that almost ruined your golf outing. Unacceptable...

Environmental and disaster experts figured this out long before you did.
The Office of Technology Assessment figured this out before you did.
The Army Corps of Engineers figured that out long before you did.
The people of New Orleans figured that out long before you did.
Ray Nagin figured this out before you did.
New Orleans police, firefighters, and emergency workers figured this out before you did.
The Louisiana National Guard figured this out before you did.
The Louisiana Congress figured this out before you did.
American citizens figured this out before you did.
The international community figured this out before you did.
Hugo Chavez figured this out before you did.
The Red Cross figured that out before you did.
Other state governments figured that out before you did.
Bloggers left and right figured this out before you did.
The Times-Picayune figured this out long before you did.
Howell Raines figured this out before you did.
Paul Krugman, Maureen Dowd, and many other commentators figured this out before you did.
Kanye West figured this out before you did.
Bus drivers figured this out before you did.
Blackhawk crews based in Florida figured this out before you did.
US Open tennis players figured that out before you did....

And here's another part of the national sickness:

As religious and political leaders offered prayers for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, some Christian fundamentalists suggested the storm was the work of an angry God bent on punishing a sinful nation.

In news releases and internet chat rooms, some fundamentalists said the hurricane was sent to punish New Orleans, a city known for Mardi Gras and other raucous festivals.

Others said the disaster, which may have killed thousands in Louisiana and Mississippi, was revenge for the United States' support of the removal of Jewish settlers in the Gaza Strip.

"Whenever this country encourages Israel to give up any part of their rightful God-given land we have suffered the consequences," wrote a discussion-board participant on the website of the Christian Broadcasting Network.