A tale of two photos: Mississippi Goddamn
caption: President Bush plays a guitar presented to him by Country Singer Mark Wills, right, backstage following his visit to Naval Base Coronado, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. Bush visited the base to deliver remarks on V-J Commemoration Day. (AP Photo/ABC News, Martha Raddatz). Link.
Meanwhile, during those same hours, in Mississippi: Volunteers rescue a family from the roof of their Suburban, which became trapped in floodwaters on US 90 in Bay St. Louis, Miss. (Ben Sklar / AP) August 30, 2005.
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The contrast of these two photos seems typical of the Bush administration's lack of interest and compassion for those of us on the Gulf Coast who are still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina (and Rita). I'm still trying to figure out where the money is to help us recover. I'm thinking instead of waiting on the government, we'll have to increase economic development in our area to pay for reconstruction.
I also wonder how long the President and Congress will twiddle their thumbs about fully funding the Army Corps of Engineers to bring New Orleans flood control measures up to withstand a category 5 hurricane.
Coastal restoration along the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coasts is also paramount to recovery from Katrina and less damage from future storms.
Mississippi and Louisiana provide a heck of a lot of commerce and energy resources to the rest of the nation. Maybe we need to squeeze more revenue out of those economic resources to help us pay for our own recovery.
The next time someone from FEMA shows up and says "we're from the government and we're here to help", I'm running (or swimming) as fast as I can in the opposite direction.