Hurricane Katrina

A force of nature and an array of wrong-headed policies combined to create the
disaster that has flooded the South. The Bush Administration's gutting of FEMA
and its slashing of funding for flood control certainly isn't helping matters.

But, as David Corn proposes, the Administration can help make amends by putting
off the GOP effort to kill the estate tax for millionaires and investing a
portion of those funds in reconstruction in New Orleans and along the Gulf
Coast. http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?bid=3&pid=18631

It would also be appropriate if the cash-rich oil industry kicked in to help a
devastated region in which it has made so much money. Over the past year and a
half, the four largest oil companies--ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, Royal
Dutch/Shell Group and BP Group PLC--have pocketed close to $100 billion in
profits. Yet, as John Nichols writes, instead of sharing the pain, they appear
to be moving to squeeze every cent they can out of the crisis.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?bid=1&pid=18765

Also seeming to enjoy the disaster is Rush Limbaugh, using it to make infantile
jokes, as Katrina vanden Heuvel writes in Editor's Cut. But, as vanden Veuvel
argues, instead of lame quips, "We should be asking serious questions about why
the Iraq War has led the White House to divert funds from an urgent project to
upgrade levees and pumping stations in Louisiana, and why there aren't enough
National Guard troops on hand in what is one of the worst natural disasters in
US history."
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?bid=7&pid=18079


And don't miss these new Nation online pieces....

Dilip Hiro contends that by insisting on its right to develop the full range of
nuclear technology, Iran has become a Third World hero.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050912/hiro

Sonia Shah argues that the lush film, The Constant Gardner, glosses over the
constant vigilance necessary to police drug trials.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050912/shah

Liza Featherstone agrees that it sounds like an episode of The Simpsons, but
says that the Bank of Wal-Mart is for real.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050912/featherstone

Robert Scheer says that Bush may crow about a new constitution, but he can't
deny that autocrats, theocrats and terrorists are clearly in control.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050912/scheer0830

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
Robert Greenwald's new documentary has the potential to raise much more
awareness about what's wrong with Wal-Mart and why. The film is a powerful,
emotional and entertaining way to help trigger change in the way the company
conducts business in the US and across the globe. And you can help. Click below
for details.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/actnow?bid=4&pid=9485

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Best Regards,
Peter Rothberg, The Nation

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