Human Rights America

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2006-04-07T08:23:00.000+09:00

Please note that this blog is no longer being updated.

Please see http://steve-s.livejournal.com for recent news and commentary.

Investigator: U.S. 'Outsourced' Torture

2006-01-25T06:02:00.000+09:00

Investigator: U.S. 'Outsourced' Torture - Yahoo! News

STRASBOURG, France - The head of a European investigation into alleged CIA secret prisons in Europe said Tuesday that evidence pointed to the existence of a system of "outsourcing" of torture by the United States, and that it was highly likely European governments were aware of it.

That Divisive Anti-Immigrant Fence

2006-01-10T07:43:00.000+09:00

from the Washington Post:

When the House of Representatives passed the Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act last month, it bowed to the narrowest possible thinking on immigration. The bill, one of the harshest in decades, would fund the building of nearly 700 miles of new high-tech fences along the U.S.-Mexico border and make illegal immigration a felony. Any U.S. citizen found driving an immigrant anywhere -- even to a hospital or school -- could be arrested as an "alien smuggler" if the immigrant were determined to be here illegally.

There is no question that this country's changing demographics through immigration have become a source of increasing tension and discomfort. The House's action appears to be in response to the few strident voices that have taken advantage of this growing anxiety to hype the sentiment that illegal immigrants are lawbreaking invaders who deserve to be punished or deported. For someone outside of the U.S. looking in, it may well seem justified to conclude that the quintessential country of immigrants is backtracking.

The fact, however, is that the majority of Americans hold a more complex view about illegal immigration. Recent polls suggest that they are unsure of how to fix the immigration system, but are more certain that a strategy which merely punishes illegal immigrants is simply insufficient.

In the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, conducted Dec. 15-18, 61 percent of respondents said they would rather see these immigrants offered a chance to keep their jobs and apply for legal status than be deported. Similarly, 58 percent of respondents to a poll of registered Republican voters conducted for the Manhattan Institute in October favored earned legalization for all illegal immigrants. Also, two-thirds of these Republican voters said they would have a more favorable view of President Bush if he supported such a plan.

Now, certainly most Americans are against illegal immigration and are frustrated enough by it that they believe it should be a national priority. After Iraq, the economy and health care, Americans see immigration as the fourth most important problem Congress should deal with this year, according to the Post-ABC poll.

Tapping dissatisfaction over immigration would seem to be the politically savvy thing to do and surely the House bill was motivated just as much by a political calculation than outright disdain for illegal immigrants. But by approving legislation that is purely punitive, the House may have ensured larger negative consequences.

For starters, the House's action may have killed any immigration reform for 2006. After its winter recess, the Senate is expected to begin work on a broader immigration package and reject the narrow House bill. Even if the Senate can pull together legislation, the House, according to veteran Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., has done all that it intended to do for now -- that is provide "political cover" to those who want to look tough on immigration in an election year.

Kolbe, who supports a broader approach, believes that many of his colleagues in the House would not want to be caught anywhere near a bill similar to what the Senate is likely to push forward. "They are certainly not going to want to vote ... a bill that they see as politically very dangerous dealing with guest workers, or heaven forbid, even legalization of illegal immigrants who are in the country," Kolbe said in a recent interview. If Kolbe is right, the House chose political posturing over headway on immigration.

In doing so, the House may be alienating the Hispanic electorate, the fastest-growing voting group in the country. Two years ago Republicans made significant gains among Hispanic voters with their hard-line stances against abortion and same-sex marriage. Similar determination against immigration, however, seems likely to backfire. According to Cecilia Munoz, vice president for policy at the National Council of La Raza, "The political analysis that (playing tough against immigration) is good politics is a mistake." Munoz cited last year's defeat of Jerry Kilgore, the republican candidate for governor in Virginia who used his anti-illegal-immigration toughness as a distinguishing mark from his opponent.

Meanwhile, continued inaction on a serious policy issue that touches more and more Americans is bound to create more frustration with Washington and more support for change. Clearly, lasting immigration reform is up to those who would chose to lead, rather than just follow a few strident voices.

Poverty collides with U.S. children's rights

2005-12-22T20:25:00.000+09:00

The Japan Times:

The haunting images of African Americans stranded in New Orleans are powerful evidence of the fate of the dispossessed in the United States. The extent of the divide between rich and poor was clearly shown during a recent visit to the U.S. by Arjun Sengupta, an independent expert on human rights and extreme poverty for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. The U.S. was chosen for the expert's visit to illustrate that poverty is a global problem, regardless of a country's gross domestic product, and that it should be more seriously addressed.

Sengupta visited six different states, going to poverty stricken urban areas, and holding consultations with groups of homeless people and with several national civil society organizations. From meetings held with both workers and unemployed people, he was able to analyze the impact of poverty on the poorest sectors of the population.

Although there are several federal and state social-benefit systems in the U.S., a variety of obstacles such as the high cost of health care and the lack of adequate housing lead people further into poverty and can be considered an abuse of their human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes everyone's "right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care."

Official statistics show that 12.7 percent (or 37 million) of the population in the U.S. lived in poverty in 2004, 15.7 percent (45.8 million) lacked health insurance coverage, and 11.9 percent of households (38.2 million people including 13.9 million children) experienced food insecurity.

It is estimated that 33 million Americans live in households without an adequate supply of food. According to statistics from the Bread for the World Institute, 3.5 percent of U.S. households experience hunger (9.6 million people, including 3 million children.) Children are a disproportionate share of the poor in the U.S. Although they are 26 percent of the population, they constitute 39 percent of the poor.

UNICEF states that although the U.S. is still the wealthiest country on earth, with income levels higher than any other country, it also has one of the highest incidences of child poverty among the rich industrialized nations. Denmark and Finland have child poverty levels of less than 3 percent (closely followed by Norway and Sweden), thanks to higher levels of social spending. Seventeen percent of U.S. children live in poverty.

Young minority children have significantly higher poverty rates than white children. For example, the poverty rate for young black and Hispanic children under age 3 is three times higher than that of white children. Statistics show poverty levels of 24.7 among blacks, 21.9 percent among Hispanics and 8.6 percent among non-Hispanic whites.

Poverty has been recognized as one of the most powerful factors that can affect children's brain development. As poor children grow into adolescence and adulthood, they are more likely to drop out of school, have children out of wedlock and be unemployed.

Poverty is a multicausal problem that demands different approaches. Several factors such as poor education, discriminatory practices against minorities, limited job opportunities, racism, unstable family life, mental illness and substance abuse all contribute to poverty. Limiting the impact of poverty and eventually eliminating it, therefore, demands acting on all these factors.

The U.S. has enough economic, technical and social resources to abolish poverty. What is needed to solve this problem is political will and a strong commitment to human-rights principles. U.S. President George W. Bush has stated that he wants to strengthen the "ownership society." The best way to do it is by responding to the most basic needs of America's poor.

Wrongful Imprisonment: Anatomy of a CIA Mistake

2005-12-05T21:47:00.000+09:00

from the Washington Post:

The CIA, working with other intelligence agencies, has captured an estimated 3,000 people, including several key leaders of al Qaeda, in its campaign to dismantle terrorist networks. It is impossible to know, however, how many mistakes the CIA and its foreign partners have made.

Doonesbury: Defining Moments in Torture

2005-11-28T07:50:00.000+09:00

Activists Blast U.S. on Prisons

2005-11-20T07:26:00.000+09:00

from the Washington Post:

Human rights workers and 20 former inmates at Guantanamo Bay and other U.S. terror-suspect prisons abroad convened a conference here Friday to bring new pressure on Washington to end what they called systematic torture and unjustified detention.

'Torture should have been kept where it belonged, in the 16th century, instead of being imported into the 21st,' said Irene Khan, secretary general of Amnesty International, which is co-hosting the meeting. Ten other foreign prisoners will testify by videotape, in what organizers call the largest gathering ever of former Guantanamo prisoners and prisoners' families."

Patriot Act Progress, Growing Death Penalty Concerns

2005-11-06T10:19:00.000+09:00

from the American Civil Liberties Union:

With all the big news coming out of Washington, it’s crucial that we not forget about one of the most important political stories of this decade: the fight to restore the fundamental liberties lost over Patriot Act reauthorization. We, and you, have been in a fierce struggle to bring much needed reform to this controversial legislation.
As you know, the House of Representatives and Senate have passed competing bills for renewal and these versions are set to be resolved in conference committee soon. This moment is our best chance to effect real reform. And our efforts are paying off.

The Bush administration thought they would be able to renew and expand the Patriot Act easily. We — the ACLU and our activists and bipartisan allies — have made the measure controversial enough that opponents of reform can’t just steamroll a bill through. Everyone expected a quick reauthorization this fall, but it is now November and we still cannot say for sure when the bill will reach the floor for a vote.

This is tremendous news and shows that we are winning the public debate. This week, the nation’s attention turned to the alarming Patriot Act proposals for expanding the federal death penalty. These new provisions would, among other things, allow prosecutors to dismiss a jury that deadlocks on a death sentence and replace it with successive “sentencing juries” until they get one to vote for the execution. It would also triple the number of federal crimes that can be punished by death.

The ACLU is aggressively fighting these expansions. Already, Mary Jo White, the former federal prosecutor who tried several al Qaeda suspects in the African embassy bombings, publicly opposed the measure. And we expect more prosecutors and law enforcement officials to come out against the proposal.

As public outcry over Patriot Act powers grows, both The New York Times and the Washington Post have weighed in unequivocally (something that doesn’t happen that often) against the House death penalty expansions. To “get the right answer on the Patriot Act, it is critical that controversial, unrelated legislation be considered separately,” said the Post. While The Times said “The House's simplistic vote for another ‘crackdown’ gesture can only further sully the notion of patriotism in a renewed Patriot Act.”

There is mounting pressure from an increasingly broad group of individuals and institutions to keep the Patriot Act free of divisive and unnecessary measures like the frightening changes to federal death penalty law.

Last month, for instance, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business leaders reached out to Congress and called for reforms to the Patriot Act. In a recent press conference we stood with key conservative and libertarian allies in a bipartisan call for reform. More than 160 representatives and 25 senators who have signed a “dear colleague” letter pressing their fellow lawmakers to support much-needed Patriot Act fixes.

Our fight is also making steady progress in the courts. This week we presented oral arguments in our two cases challenging the constitutionality of “National Security Letters,” FBI demands for personal records issued without any review by a judge.

Our work on behalf of an Internet service provider reached the Second Circuit after a judge struck down one NSL power in the Patriot Act as entirely unconstitutional. The newer case involves an organization with library and Internet records whose identity cannot even be disclosed because of a government gag order. A lower court has already ruled that the gag violates the First Amendment. The government has appealed the decision, and we continue to fight for our client’s voice to be heard now, in the timely and critical debate over the Patriot Act.

Again, I thank you personally for your support. Without it, we would not be able to bring these suits, nor would we be able to corral such a large and amazingly diverse group of voices in favor of reform.

Because we have helped foment true debate in the halls of the Capitol, we cannot say for sure when the final votes on Patriot Act renewal will occur.

But we will have another update for you soon on the current controversy over the Patriot death penalty provisions, the "John Doe" litigation and the prospects for a vote.

Until then, know that we are winning.

Sincerely,

Anthony Romero
Executive Director
American Civil Liberties Union

P.S. One thing you can do today is help build our community of online activists. You are one of almost a quarter million Action Network members. Help us raise our voice even louder by signing up friends for a free subscription to the list. Please send them an email and let them know today.

Amnesty International: Urge Congress to Investigate Allegations of Torture

2005-11-04T13:25:00.000+09:00

Urge Congress to adopt legislation to establish an independent commission to investigate allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees in US custody and determine responsibility up the chain of command. Urge Members of Congress to cosponsor and pass H.R. 3003, introduced by Congressman Henry Waxman, or similar legislation establishing an independent commission.

Amnesty Interational: Police Abuse and Misconduct against the LGBT Community

2005-11-04T13:15:00.000+09:00

Amnesty International has released a report detailing human rights abuses suffered by members of the LGBT community that are perpetuated by law enforcement officials. The report highlights the treatment of LGBT individuals by the police within the larger framework of identity-based discrimination, and demonstrates how the interplay between different forms of discrimination, such as racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia, create the conditions in which human rights abuses are perpetuated.

CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons

2005-11-03T07:59:00.000+09:00

from The Washington Post:

The secret facility is part of a covert prison system set up by the CIA nearly four years ago that at various times has included sites in eight countries, including Thailand, Afghanistan and several democracies in Eastern Europe, as well as a small center at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, according to current and former intelligence officials and diplomats from three continents.">CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons: "The CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important al Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, according to U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangement.

The secret facility is part of a covert prison system set up by the CIA nearly four years ago that at various times has included sites in eight countries, including Thailand, Afghanistan and several democracies in Eastern Europe, as well as a small center at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, according to current and former intelligence officials and diplomats from three continents.

Demonizing Dual Citizens

2005-10-31T11:17:00.000+09:00

from The Washington Post:

A year after Samuel Huntington's book "Who Are We?'" portrayed Hispanic immigrants as the greatest threat to U.S. national unity, Stanley Renshon has written a book that is likely to once again stir up suspicions toward the foreign-born -- particularly those who have gone a step further by becoming naturalized citizens while maintaining citizenship in their countries of origin.

In "The 50 Percent American: Immigration and National Identity in an Age of Terror'' (Georgetown University Press), Renshon, a professor of political science at the City University of New York, argues that dual citizens have a "shallower attachment to the American national community.''

In Renshon's mind, "the question of American national identity and the strength of our attachments to the American national community are ... in an age of terrorism ... perhaps the most important domestic national issue facing this country.''

The danger, Renshon contends, is that dual citizens have been brought up outside the United Sates and their attentions are divided between their adopted home and their countries of origin. According to Renshon, attachment to a nation is patriotism, something which dual citizens critically lack.

What Renshon is really searching for, as was Huntington before him, is a rationale for why immigrants today threaten the long-term national interests and viability of the United States. But to find one, Renshon pursues arguments that defy common sense and reveal a bizarre generalization that all immigrants are potentially terrorists.

The connections that dual citizens maintain to their countries of origin -- voting in elections, investing in family and business affairs -- are worrisome to Renshon. These connections create conflicts of interest that would be a liability if the United States were ever at war with one of 150 countries that today allow some form of dual citizenship.

In Renshon's world, dual citizens sound like potential sociopaths.

Rosa Parks Dies at Age 92

2005-10-26T19:27:00.000+09:00

from the Washington Post:

Rosa Parks, the dignified African American seamstress whose refusal to surrender a bus seat to a white man launched the modern civil rights movement and inspired generations of activists, died last night at her home in Detroit, the Wayne County medical examiner's office said. She was 92.

Cheney Plan Exempts CIA From Bill Barring Abuse of Detainees

2005-10-25T16:48:00.000+09:00

from the Washington Post:

The Bush administration has proposed exempting employees of the Central Intelligence Agency from a legislative measure endorsed earlier this month by 90 members of the Senate that would bar cruel and degrading treatment of any prisoners in U.S. custody.
The proposal, which two sources said Vice President Cheney handed last Thursday to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the company of CIA Director Porter J. Goss, states that the measure barring inhumane treatment shall not apply to counterterrorism operations conducted abroad or to operations conducted by "an element of the United States government" other than the Defense Department.

Although most detainees in U.S. custody in the war on terrorism are held by the U.S. military, the CIA is said by former intelligence officials and others to be holding several dozen detainees of particular intelligence interest at locations overseas -- including senior al Qaeda figures Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Zubaida.

Cheney's proposal is drafted in such a way that the exemption from the rule barring ill treatment could require a presidential finding that "such operations are vital to the protection of the United States or its citizens from terrorist attack." But the precise applicability of this section is not clear, and none of those involved in last week's discussions would discuss it openly yesterday.

McCain, the principal sponsor of the legislation, rejected the proposed exemption at the meeting with Cheney, according to a government source who spoke without authorization and on the condition of anonymity. McCain spokeswoman Eileen McMenamin declined to comment. But the exemption has been assailed by human rights experts critical of the administration's handling of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This is the first time they've said explicitly that the intelligence community should be allowed to treat prisoners inhumanely," said Tom Malinowski, the Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. "In the past, they've only said that the law does not forbid inhumane treatment." Now, he said, the administration is saying more concretely that it cannot be forbidden.

from the New York Times:

Amid all the natural and political disasters it faces, the White House is certainly tireless in its effort to legalize torture. This week, Vice President Dick Cheney proposed a novel solution for the moral and legal problems raised by the use of American soldiers to abuse prisoners and the practice of turning captives over to governments willing to act as proxies in doing the torturing. Mr. Cheney wants to make it legal for the Central Intelligence Agency to do this wet work.

Mr. Cheney's proposal was made in secret to Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who won the votes of 89 other senators this month to require the civilized treatment of prisoners at camps run by America's military and intelligence agencies. Mr. McCain's legislation, an amendment to the Defense Department budget bill, would ban the "cruel, inhuman and degrading" treatment of prisoners. In other words, it would impose age-old standards of democracy and decency on the new prisons.

President Bush's threat to veto the entire military budget over this issue was bizarre enough by itself, considering that the amendment has the support of more than two dozen former military leaders, including Colin Powell. They know that torture doesn't produce reliable intelligence and endangers Americans' lives.

But Mr. Cheney's proposal was even more ludicrous. It would give the president the power to allow government agencies outside the Defense Department (the administration has in mind the C.I.A.) to mistreat and torture prisoners as long as that behavior was part of "counterterrorism operations conducted abroad" and they were not American citizens. That would neatly legalize the illegal prisons the C.I.A. is said to be operating around the world and obviate the need for the torture outsourcing known as extraordinary rendition. It also raises disturbing questions about Iraq, which the Bush administration has falsely labeled a counterterrorism operation.

Mr. McCain was right to reject this absurd proposal. The House should reject it as well.

Report Shatters Myths about U.S. Women's Equality

2005-10-24T20:32:00.000+09:00

from the National Organization for Women:

It turns out that when it comes to narrowing the gender gap, the United States is being outdone by 16 countries, including Estonia and Lithuania. For a country that considers itself the best of the best, in truth the U.S. barely made better marks than Costa Rica, Poland, Belgium and the Slovak Republic. The World Economic Forum, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization based in Switzerland, ranks the U.S. a low 17 out of 58 countries surveyed in measuring the global gender gap. Both developed and developing countries were included in the survey, showing that the state of gender equity in the world is meager at best.

"Women's Empowerment: Measuring the Global Gender Gap" judged each country based on five criteria, with Sweden ranking No. 1 and Egypt coming in last place. The criteria included measures of health and well-being, economic participation, economic opportunity, political empowerment and educational attainment.

The U.S. was ranked 19th in economic participation for women and in political empowerment, but earned the low rank of 46th for economic opportunity and 42nd for health and well-being. Other countries that outrank the U.S. on the overall score include: Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Latvia, France, Netherlands and Ireland.

New Zealand, Iceland, Norway, Finland, United Kingdom and Germany led the list of nations that offer the most political empowerment for women - not surprisingly, those are also among the wealthiest and most democratic nations. While poorer countries such as Brazil, Venezuela, Jordan, Turkey and Egypt ranked at the low end of the women's political empowerment scale, the wealthier nations of Japan, Korea and Italy had similarly low scores on that measure.

Worldwide, working women are still averaging slightly less than 78 percent of the wages given to men. Women, who in some parts of the world provide more than 70 percent of agricultural labor and produce 90 percent of the food, are not even represented in budget deliberations. Women also continue to be a rarity in high level government positions, meaning that resource allocation is being decided without their input.

In the U.S., the legal and social systems continue to use maternity laws to penalize women economically for childbirth and child care responsibilities. According to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, a majority of countries offer paid maternity leave, some with a guaranteed wage of 50 to 100 percent of salary. The United States is one of the exceptions, guaranteeing nothing at all to women who work for small and mid-size employers (under 75 employees), and requiring only 12 weeks of leave, completely unpaid, for those at large companies.

This fact puts U.S. women on the same playing field as women in Swaziland, Lesotho and Papua New Guinea. This is highlighted by a U.S. study which found that 49 percent of high-achieving women have no children, as compared to only 19 percent of high-achieving men. This shows that despite the gains made for women in the past several decades, many women are nonetheless forced to choose between success in her career and having children.

Some good news is that the U.S. ranked eighth in educational attainment, which the report's authors identify as "the most fundamental prerequisite for empowering women in all spheres of society." Despite this, the U.S. ranked poorly in the categories of health and well-being, and economic opportunity. The low ranking of the U.S. is primarily due to our country's large number of adolescents bearing children and the high maternal mortality ratio, especially given the greater numbers of physicians available in the U.S.

In developed countries such as the U.S., women gain employment with ease, but that employment tends to be concentrated in unskilled or poorly paid jobs which leave no room for promotion or better opportunities. The "glass ceiling" continues to prevent women in the U.S. and many other countries from attaining the opportunity for high advancement in their careers. Careers that have been "feminized," such as nursing and teaching, offer persistently lower paying jobs simply because they are seen as women's work.

This report shatters any myth that the U.S. is at the top when it comes to women's empowerment and shows how poorly this country continues to do in reducing the economic gap between men and women. For a country that boasts to the world about women's empowerment, in actuality the U.S. has a long way to go before making any claim of gender equality. Perhaps this report will help the U.S. and other countries to realize that women are important contributors to the world's economies, and encourage those countries to ensure that women are rewarded fairly and equitably for their work, to improve opportunities for women to share in political and economic power and to assure equal treatment through laws and constitutional provisions.

Rumsfeld Wants Speedy Probe of Body-Burning Allegations

2005-10-24T07:17:00.000+09:00

from the Washington Post:
October 23, 2005

VILNIUS, Lithuania, Oct. 22 -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Saturday that he wanted U.S. commanders in Afghanistan to expedite their investigation of allegations that U.S. soldiers burned the remains of Taliban fighters they had killed, and then used the scene for propaganda purposes.

Investigators should proceed with a "sense of urgency," Rumsfeld said, in light of the potential for damage to U.S. interests from a backlash in the Muslim world.

Rumsfeld said Pentagon lawyers had advised him to be careful about what he says because his remarks about specifics of the case could complicate the proceedings.

Rumsfeld made it clear that he was worried by the allegations, whatever their merit.

"The reality is that charges of that type are harmful," he said. "They don't represent the overwhelmingly positive behavior of the men and women in uniform who do such a wonderful job. It's always disappointing when there are charges like that. It's particularly disappointing when they're true. That needs to be determined, but one hates to see the adverse effect of it, if it is true."

The defense secretary cited as an example the riots in Afghanistan this year that some people linked to anger over reports that a copy of the Koran was flushed down a toilet by U.S. military personnel in the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. U.S. investigators said they found no evidence of such an incident, but confirmed other examples of Koran abuse.

Rumsfeld was in the Lithuanian capital to attend meetings of NATO defense ministers beginning Sunday.

Katrina and government incompetence

2005-09-05T05:38:00.000+09:00

The government incompetence in responding to this disaster has reached new heights. From the Washington Post this morning:

"The way these catastrophes unfolded was unprecedented," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told reporters at a Washington briefing. The Bush administration has been roundly criticized by Gulf Coast politicians, Democrats and Republicans for what is being viewed as a slow and inadequate early response to the disaster.

Chertoff called Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding of the city of New Orleans an "ultra-catastrophe" that was "breathtaking in its surprise." He said the back-to-back occurrences "exceeded anybody's foresight."

Complete hogwash. The New Orleans Times-Picayune predicted exactly such an ultra-catastrophe three years ago. Aaron Brown of CNN said yesterday the series "read like a playbook" for what is unfolding now. When asked why, the editor of the series said in an interview said there was little "political will" to prepare the city for such a disaster. FEMA had listed a hurricane strike on New Orleans as one of three most likely catastrophic disasters to happen in America. All the while, FEMA is being being weakened and compromising the country's ability to respond to such disasters as Katrina. In addition, President Bush has been under renewed criticism for his failure to request enough money to help build the infrastructure needed to help protect New Orleans from such a disaster, instead using funds for tax cuts to the rich and the war in Iraq. Granted, even if Bush has requested the money that was needed, the flood control projects would not have been completed by this point and would not have prevented the flooding of New Orleans now. However, for Mr. Chertoff to state that the disaster "exceeded anybody's foresight" insults our intelligence and does little to restore anyone's confidence in our country's leaders -- all it does is confirm that the Bush Administration is more interested in covering their collective behind rather than take responsibility.

What does it say about our government when it is more interested in rebuilding the infrastructure in Iraq than in a major American city? What does it say when our government is more interested in tax cuts to the wealthiest 1% than in helping protect the people of New Orleans, 3/4 of whom are black and 21% earning less than $10,000 a year?

President Bush said he is "satisfied with the response", but finally admitted that the "results are not acceptable". Duh. What he might want to talk about at his next press conference is how his administration has consistently failed to adequately prepare and deal with crisis, whether it be 9/11, Iraq, or major natural disasters. What will it be next?

Then Dennis Hastert, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, suggested that much of New Orleans should be "bulldozed" and that it "didn't make sense" to him to rebuild the city. Later he decided to attend an Indiana fundraiser instead of being at the House to sign a $10.5 billion relief plan for the victims of Katrina. That's the kind of leadership we have coming from both the executive and legislative branches of government now.

What is most troubling, however, is that an overwhelming amount of victims left behind in New Orleans are poor and black. As Aaron Brown pointed out last night, even people with a beat-up Chevy and a little money in their pocket were able to get out of the city and survive. However, those with no car and no money had no means to get out, and are now the ones stuck with no food, no water, with corpses laying around them, looting and shooting around them. The mythical notion of America as a land of equality has been ripped off, exposing all the dirt that has been continually swept beneath it, exposing for the nation and the entire world the very deep socioeconomic equities that exist in this country and how, despite its mythology, is very much a nation of haves and have-nots. What I fear is that as the months pass, the rug will quickly be thrown back on and people will continue to go blithely on their way, with no real discussion or change occurring about the blatant inequities in race and social class that exist in America, and how they can lead literally to a situation of life or death. What I fear is that the government and the media will say they did their best, continue with the hogwash that this was unforeseen and that they did what they could, that the President will continue with the photo ops of the tearful meetings with the victims, and that the administration will continue to avoid being held accountable for its mismanagement and its policies that have done significant and lasting damage to this country.