Jackass

The federal government's response to the hurricane has so far been pathetic; after four years that should have been spent preparing plans for dealing with a disaster in a major city, it is obvious that no such plans exist.

Other bloggers have pointed out that the Bush administration cut funding for hurricane preparedness and, specifically, levee construction in New Orleans. (According to the Chicago Tribune, the Army Corps of Engineers requested $27 million for hurricane-protection projects around Lake Pontchartrain this year; they got $5.7 million, and even that was more than the $3.9 million the administration wanted to allocate).

It's also been pointed out that the administration forced Michael Parker, a former GOP representative, to resign as head of the Corps for criticizing earler cuts.

Jackass went on TV today and actually said that "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees." Yes, he actually opened his actual mouth and said those actual words. This despite the fact that ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE anticipated it. (I'd direct him to the quote that closes my entry from Sunday entitled "Lazy Weekend/Perfect Storm" for one.) The levees weren't even designed to hold up to anything more than a category 2, or at best 3.

Somehow "Jackass" doesn't even do it as a moniker for this guy anymore.