If our Islamo fascist enemies didn't have such overwhelming issues with things like sex, free expression and women, they could compile a fairly convincing laundry list debunking America's claim to moral authority.
Not one to bash America first and ask questions later, I can't help but be depressed about the behavior of our "leaders" in the month since Katrina. They passed shameful weeks ago, and I'm left to assume the worst is yet to come. I might have to resort to potty talk to accurately describe the chicanery certain to follow in the weeks and months ahead.
Just in the past few days, we've witnessed:
The vile testimony of former FEMA director Michael Brown, who went on the offensive in front of a Congressional panel, choosing not to accept any responsibility but instead deploying the old duck and cover method (assigning all blame to that most reliable of scapegoats, the media). They've misrepresented my resume, he blathered, as if that were more important than the human misery that remains. Hey, you can't bring back the dead, but Brownie's got a career in government to protect. Chances are he'll succeed, having shown a remarkable aptitude for shamelessness.
Then there's the venal mayor of New Orleans, acting in concert with desperate Chamber of Commerce types to repopulate a city still soaking in toxins and rife with bureaucratic dissent. And now they have no sheriff (or police superintendent, as they're known in Louisiana). Apparently, business interests trump public health. The Big Sleazy, indeed.
Making sure that tradition survives, Louisiana's two U.S. senators (a Democrat and a Republican) have proposed a quarter of a trillion dollar aid package that, for example, earmarks $35 million for seafood marketing. Hell, I bet you could get the Gorton Fisherman for a fraction of that price. For those concerned that the sugar cane industry might be overlooked, no worries: its lobbyists secured some promotional funds, as well. Exploiting tragedy to bribe your respective bases is villainry at its most brazen.
Not to be outdone, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay made certain he maintained his reptilian reputation, blocking a proposal to fund hurricane recovery through trimming the historically pork-laden transportation bill recently passed by Congress (and signed by a spineless president). We've cut all we can, DeLay claims. When a few legit conservatives publically challenged that assertion, DeLay and his lackey, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, took them to the proverbial woodshed, charging that the mavericks were the real problem. How unpatriotic to suggest those 50 people in Alaska not get that bridge to nowhere?
And, to complete their list, our enemies only have to point to that yearly tradition that never fails to embarrass: the Super Bowl halftime show. Now that would make for a compelling jihad!
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