Katrina Meets Kucinich

[Joanne98]

David Swanson
June 10, 2008
In the back of your head have you ever thought that abandoning an American city and nearby towns to a predictable and predicted natural disaster, and then refusing to repair the damage, ought to be considered unacceptable behavior. On a grander scale, does it strike you that there is something seriously wrong with the Bush Administration's failure, not just to acknowledge global warming, but to take significant action to stop increasing it and begin reducing it? If we destroy our home will it matter that there wasn't a specific statute on the books banning the exacerbation of global warming?

For a refreshing view of Hurricane Katrina and of global climate change, I highly recommend the following two articles of impeachment, introduced in the House of Representatives on Monday evening by Congressman Dennis Kucinich.

Article XXXI

KATRINA: FAILURE TO PLAN FOR THE PREDICTED DISASTER OF HURRICANE KATRINA, FAILURE TO RESPOND TO A CIVIL EMERGENCY

In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed", has both personally and acting through his agents and subordinates, failed to take sufficient action to protect life and property prior to and in the face of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, given decades of foreknowledge of the dangers of storms to New Orleans and specific forewarning in the days prior to the storm. The President failed to prepare for predictable and predicted disasters, failed to respond to an immediate need of which he was informed, and has subsequently failed to rebuild the section of our nation that was destroyed.

Hurricane Katrina killed at least 1,282 people, with 2 million more displaced. 302,000 housing units were destroyed or damaged by the hurricane, 71% of these were low-income units. More than 500 sewage plants were destroyed, more than 170 point-source leakages of gasoline, oil, or natural gas, more than 2000 gas stations submerged, several chemical plants, 8 oil refineries, and a superfund site was submerged. 8 million gallons of oil were spilled. Toxic materials seeped into floodwaters and spread through much of the city and surrounding areas.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/64643