New Orleans' vulnerability to major weather events could have been addressed by policy but wasn't. Given this, a mass evacuation was needed prior to the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina. The federal government had the resources (did I mention the half a trillion yearly for wars and weapons?) but nothing was done. You cannot simply tell a major American city to evacuate itself. That doesn't really work. New Orleans has a 30%+ poverty rate. New Orleans has fewer cars than any major city in America. There are large areas with no bus service. People had no way to get out, and nowhere to go to. But George Bush was on vacation. Don't bother him about a largely black city facing catastrophe, he's got a round of golf to play.

Among the many component disasters in Louisiana today, ten to fifteen thousand people are trapped in the New Orleans convention center, needing food and water, at risk of cholera. There are dead bodies on the ground. Neither the director of FEMA nor the director of homeland security even knew. El presidente didn't know, or didn't care. Shocking? No, that's the natural result of a leadership dedicated to amassing wealth and power. People's well-being is not a consideration for them. But it is to us. That's why we politicize.