1115.org

(With this post, 1115.org welcomes our newest writer, New Orleans resident Nathan Seltzer. More from - and about - him soon.)

It is the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and all I see pouring out of national media outlets are stories about George Bush.

If you have not already heard, there has been an intense money struggle brewing between the White House and local Louisiana governments. This brawl is highlighted in this MSNBC article, and, because it’s all about him, his administration’s views are the most important:

Bush’s Gulf Coast rebuilding chief, Don Powell, noted the federal government has committed a total of $114 billion to the region, $96 billion of which is already disbursed or available to local governments. Most of it has been for disaster relief, not long-term recovery. He implied it is local officials’ fault, particularly in Louisiana where the pace has been slower, if money has not reached citizens.

It was sickening enough having to personally view the horrors following Katrina when Georgia Bush failed to immediately invade New Orleans with much needed relief, but I now have a raging fever having just read that the Bush administration’s official views on rebuilding are as simple and blunt as “it is your problem.”

Well, it just might be, but in that case, shouldn’t we say the same to the Iraqis?