Am I Missing Something?

Has anyone seen any images of humanitarian aid arriving in New Orleans or Biloxi?

Are conditions there so bad that even the Red Cross can't get trucks in?

I've seen sandbags dropped into the lake. I've seen buses and heliocopters trying to get people out.

I've seen National Guard and military police with guns.

I haven't seen any food or water arriving.

Is the violence so bad that it's preventing aid from getting in?

I see photos of people walking out. Is there anyone there to meet them and help them?

Katrina

The aftermath of Katrina finally started to sink in with me last night. I am sad and angry and frightened about what's going on in New Orleans and Biloxi. I'm furious about the completely incompetent response by those in power to what's going on. And I have been scaring myself by imagining "What if?" something like this happened in my city. I'm certainly not ready to weather that kind of disaster.

I read in the news yesterday that Bush was "urging patience" with response efforts. PATIENCE? People have been without food or water for more than four days now. There are thousands of dead bodies lying in the street and drifting on the water, and our president urges fucking patience?

And isn't that his perpetual counsel to us about the war in Iraq as well?

Why isn't Bush leading the charge to get humanitarian aid into this Ground Zero? Under protection of the military if necessary -- but why isn't he making things happen? He showed far more energy and enthusiasm about flexing our military muscle halfway around the world than he is saving our own citizens.

ETA: Just saw this from this morning: For the first time, however, [Bush] stopped defending his administration's response and criticized it. "A lot of people are working hard to help those who've been affected. The results are not acceptable," he said. "I'm heading down there right now."

I'm not sure his presence is going to make that much difference, but "not acceptable" is a step in the right direction. Let's hope that he actually puts some real energy behind making a real difference for the people who are suffering there.