I've seen enough.

I've resisted saying more about the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina - and the disaster that was the failure of our government to respond. I've resisted, because I've felt that the most important thing is focusing on those who need help, those still waiting for food, medicine, even rescue! I've also resisted, because our corporate media has awakened from its slumber and actually done it's job this time! (You should've heard me cheering as Ted Kopple gave Michael Brown, head of FEMA, a good whooping - exactly what he deserved, I might add.) But my anger and frustration have smoothed out now to where I can calmly recount the things that should not have happened:

Bush, Cheney, Rice, and Card should not have remained on vacation. From the moment the seriousness of the IMPENDING storm were clear (which, at the least, was 48 hours before Katrina made landfall), they should have been on top of the situation. Instead, they stayed on vacation, and as of 48 hours after, were seen: fund-raising (Bush), fishing (Cheney), shoe shopping (Rice), and not at all (Card). This should not have happened.

Buses and emergency transportation, which were needed, again, 48 hours before landfall, were not sent in until at least 48 hours after. One bus driver for FEMA reported being ready and in his bus Monday afternoon, yet his boss wouldn't let him leave until Friday morning. This should not have happened.

Soldiers in the National Guard and other Armed Forces should not have been sent beginning Tuesday, or Wednesday, or even later. Navy ships that could both house people and supply water should not have been sent Thursday and Friday. These military units should have been sent as close as possible on Saturday & Sunday, poised to move in Monday as soon as the storm passed. Instead, soldiers were seen across flooded rivers, up on dry ground, playing basketball because no one gave them any orders to help. This should not have happened.

Then again, the diminished troop strength and shortage of equiment (including at least 1/3 of Louisiana's National Guard and 50% of their equipment, even their wet-land vehicles!) hurt any response. These absent soldiers and supplies are stretched thin protecting and rebuilding in Iraq, leaving us in precarious predicaments at home of which we were well aware. Yet, they were sent anyway. This should not have happened.

Looters stealing everything from TVs and stereo equipment to drugs and guns made the situation worse for many and are a national disgrace. This should not have happened.

President Bush going on national television and declaring a zero tolerance policy toward looters, whether they were stealing TVs or food, water, and baby formula for survival, was also a national disgrace. This should not have happened.

Then again, I could go on about the things President Bush did and did not do. He flew over once and said it looked bad. Feeling the pressure, he went back and joked about his drinking days in New Orleans, praised those who had bungled operations while declaring that the response was not enough (which is it, Mr. President?), refused to answer direct questions about what went wrong and why more wasn't done, and then pointed out that, Hey, Trent Lott lost a house in this storm, too! That this happened, all of this, his lame, shrugged-shoulders response, should be no surprise to any of us by now.

There's plenty more I'm leaving out. Like how Wal-Mart (gotta give credit where it's due though I've plenty of bones to pick with them) tried to send in trucks full of water on either Tues or Wed, and FEMA refused to let them distribute it. Or how FEMA didn't know about the thousands of people who sought refuge at the Convention Center until Thursday. Or how the Bush administration continues to disavow global warming which did not cause this storm but definitely made it worse. Or how the Bush administration slashed money budgeted for levee support and an emergency response plan, even after Congress had approved some of the funds. And they didn't just slash it once, they slashed it year after year, against the protests of community leaders and reporting by the widely circulated Times-Picayune (which, by the way, predicted the possibility of such a disaster several years ago while Bush still claims 'No one could have predicted it.') and even against the protests of the Army Corps of Engineers. Or, speaking of predictions, how prior to 9/11, a major hurricane & flooding in New Orleans were predicted by the federal government as one of the three worst possible events that America could suffer (another being a terrorist attack on New York City, which, again, 'No one could have predicted it.') The price tag for this disaster will easily be 100 times what better protection and prevention would have cost, and that's just early estimates on how the economy will react. And I must offer at least one statement to 'big oil': these are the biggest looters of all, as their $1-$5 million gifts to the Red Cross are but a drop in the bucket compared to the billions they will rake in as a result of this tragedy.

I've rambled enough. My heart still breaks for all who suffer, for those who have lost loved ones and for those who have lost their whole livelihood. But it boils at the level of incompetence that has been displayed from the very top, and there is no doubt in my mind that no one deserves as much blame for the continuing tragedy as President Bush.

Now, a little faith context is appropriate:
The Old Testament calls us again and again to take care of the widows, orphans, and foreigners (strangers) among us: these are the people who had the least means for taking care of themselves. Jesus made this calling the heart of his ministry. Who was left behind as hundreds of thousands fled the storm? The elderly, the sick, the homeless, and thousands of working-poor who don't have a car, couldn't afford gas or a bus ticket or any other way out. For a 'Chrsitian nation,' we have a lot of work to do. Personal piety is not enough. Jesus made it his mission to break down barriers of class, wealth, and ethnicity as he worked to heal and set free. He challenged both the imperial powers that reigned in his time and also the complacent religious leaders of his day who were satisfied with their own self-gratification but turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the needs of their people. I should add that it is absolutely absurd and a grievous sin to declare that this storm was in some way a punishment from God: no, it only had the effect of highlighting the sins of humankind - our selfishness, greed, our lack of mercy, shortage of justice, and failure to walk faithfully with God in times of great need. There is one school of Christian thought which says: the focus is on getting myself to heaven with Jesus. There is another faith that says: we have a responsibility to work with Jesus/God/Holy Spirit on realizing heaven here & now, and that ain't none of us gonna get there unless we all get there together. Guess which one I hold as a more authentic faith? Jesus Christ fought against the neglect of the poorest and neediest while releasing those people from such bondage. We are free people, beneficiaries of Christ's grace, blessed to reach out while we reach up. It's time we started acting like it.