No Comment Department

In its annual report on income in America, published just before the arrival of Katrina made things much worse, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that the poverty rate increased in 2004 for the fourth straight year. Thirtyseven million (37,000,000) Americans -- 12.7% of the population -- live in the government's not-very-generous definition of poverty, four million more than in 2001 and the highest level in a decade (Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance in 2004, pdf).

The Silver Lining

"The worst storm in our history proved perfect for exposing this president because in one blast it illuminated all his failings: the rampant cronyism, the empty sloganeering of 'compassionate conservatism,' the lack of concern for the 'underprivileged' his mother condescended to at the Astrodome, the reckless lack of planning for all government operations except tax cuts, the use of spin and photo-ops to camouflage failure and to substitute for action." -- Frank Rich, NYTimes, 2005-09-18