Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

Katrina, Iraq, Bush and some Statistics

US Senator Hillary Clinton fuelled the political debate over Hurricane Katrina today, insisting on an independent inquiry into the federal response and sharply rejecting President George W. Bush's bid to lead the probe himself. 'I don't think the government should be investigating itself,' Clinton told CNN as the polemics intensified over last week's storm, which left New Orleans in chaos and thousands feared dead on the US Gulf Coast. … But Clinton is pushing for the creation of an independent 'Katrina Commission' along the lines of the panel reluctantly named by Bush that issued a voluminous report on the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. 'I think we sort of have lost track of the fact this is a government that has to be accountable to the people of our country,' Clinton told CNN. 'This is not a game. This has to be a serious inquiry that people have confidence in that will help us understand what did go wrong. The sooner we know that, the better.' Hillary Clinton rejects Bush-led probe of US govt's response to Katrina

In the midst of Katrina pick up, there is a sobering reality that
cannot be denied.

The Bush administration's incompetence and pass the buck mentality
has been going on for a long time.

A lot of people complain about Democrats doing nothing. That's
just not the case, however, when you have no power in Washington there's very
little you can do except scream from the rafters and hope the American people
not only hear your cry, but start screaming too. If you don't believe me, read
this article by Matt Taibbi, then wake up and smell the political reality.

And speaking of political reality, here's something that Senate
Democrats just put together (hat tip to Kos). It reads like “Harper's
Index,” with stats that are staggering:

Approximate amount spent in Iraq by the U.S. last week: $1.03 billion Estimated number of insurgents in Iraq (November 2003): 5,000 Estimated number of insurgents in Iraq (June 2005): 15 – 20,000 Number of National Guard soldiers killed in Iraq through August 27, 2005: 269 Number of National Guard soldiers killed in the entire Vietnam War: 97 Number of terrorist suspects the Bush Administration claims have been convicted since September 11, 2001: 200 Number that have actually been convicted: 39 Recruits needed per month for the rest of the fiscal year, if the Army is to meet its annual goal: 12,396.5 Highest monthly total of Army recruits this year: 8,086 Number of months the Marine Corps missed its recruiting goals between January and April 2005: 4 Number of months the Marine Corps missed its recruiting goals in ten years before January 2005: 0 Prior to 2004, years since the Army National Guard last missed its annual recruiting goal: 11 Consecutive months the Army National Guard has missed its monthly recruiting goals: 9 Percentage rise in the number of veterans collecting unemployment insurance since August 2002: 96 Approximate number of veterans who experience homelessness during a given year: 500,000

And with the 9/11 anniversary coming up this Sunday, take
a look at where we stand “over here”:

Funding per passenger the Bush Administration has spent to secure mass transit systems since September 11, 2001: $0.01 Cost of security upgrades needed to protect rail and transit systems as estimated by U.S. transit authorities: $6 billion Amount of funding designated specifically for rail and transit security in President Bush's budget: $0 Total amount of funding added to the Fiscal Year 2006 Homeland Security Appropriations bill for rail security in the wake of the July 7 London Bombings: $0 Number of provisions in federal law requiring chemical facilities to establish safeguards against a terrorist attack: $0 Katrina was very, very bad. But a terrorist attack with a nuke or biological agent, or an attack on our railway systems, or even at our nuclear or chemical plants, well, even Katrina would pale in comparison, because we couldn't go back in and rebuild right away. Bush's priority of tax cuts and the war in Iraq, over spending on domestic preparedness, including our borders, have left us unprepared, paralyzed at home, with the president saying he's going to investigate his own incompetence. No wonder Hillary is screaming. The question is, will Americans join her, or just keep complaining about it all?