Total Catastrophe

It seems that more than twice the number of Americans may have died during and in the wake of Katrina's rampage through the South than did during the September 11 attacks. Terrorism is despicable and the decimation of the Twin Towers was horrifying, but equally horrifying is watching survivors of the hurricane begging for water, living in putrid, disease-ridden waters, and without a means to let their family members around the country know if they are alive--all this almost a week after the tempest struck. Were Lousiana and Mississippi secretly declared non-states & and allowed to be transformed into a third world nation overnight? Even Kuwait has donated a few hundred million to the rescue effort, but is there the same sense of urgency from the U.S. government and FEMA?

I know, I know, it's like beating a damn dead pony with all the anti-Bush vitriol being spewed about on the topic, but I find it more than a tad bit baffling. Baffling indeed.