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September 29, 2005 - Posted by R. NealThis guy is so embarrassing for East Tennessee that I was reluctant to mention him but now that he's made the national news wires I guess there's no avoiding it.Betty Bean at the Halls Shopper (don't let the newspaper's name fool you -- with the local daily and the local "alt-weekly" beholden to the local GOP Good Ol' Boys and Real Estate Developer Prayer Meeting Club, the Halls Shopper is the only paper that actually, like, reports on local issues here) sums it up nicely:

September 21, 2005 - Community Labor United -- an excellent group of grassroots activists in Louisiana and Mississippi and their allies -- have released a new dispatch about their work to ensure Gulf reconstruction serves ordinary people, not the developers, contractors and other powerful interests seeking to impose their agenda on the region.

September 14, 2005 - I have in front of me a draft letter from the Progressive Caucus in Congress on a subject we've been covering a lot here lately: disaster profiteering in the Gulf.

September 14, 2005 - The WaPo and Josh Marshall are pointing to an interesting story that appeared in the American of Hattiesburg, MS last Sunday. Here's the lead to the story: Shortly after Hurricane Katrina roared through South Mississippi knocking out electricity and communication systems, the White House ordered power restored to a pipeline that sends fuel to the Northeast. That order - to restart two power substations in Collins that serve Colonial Pipeline Co. - delayed efforts by at least 24 hours to restore power to two rural hospitals and a number of water systems in the Pine Belt.

September 13, 2005 - Reporter Jason Leopold has a good piece summarizing the bill of indictment about FEMA's role in Florida 2004 and what it says about their response to Katrina. FEMA and the Bush Administration's response to hurricanes in Florida last year was quick and generous, which a growing number of critics in and out of government are saying had everything to do with the upcoming 2004 elections in the critical swing state.One of the juicier bits in Leopold's account:

September 13, 2005 - Wade Rathke, a legendary organizer with ACORN (Association of Communities Organized for Reform Now) and SEIU Local 100 based in New Orleans, has been sharing some very interesting thoughts on his personal blog.

September 10, 2005 - One of the reasons the post-hurricane flooding in Louisiana is so dangerous is because of Cancer Alley -- the string of petrochemical operations that line the Mississippi River in largely poor and black communities from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. They've turned the lower gulf into one of the most polluted and blighted parts of the country, which many believe is to blame for the rash of deadly illnesses plauging residents in the area.