Halloween Horror

The Bush administration wears costumes all year long, so Halloween is just another day for them. The problem with dressing up and play acting is that real people are affected by their actions. Take the victims of Hurricane Katrina for instance. President Bush donned his good guy outfit and promised to help the thousands of people displaced by the floodwater. So, why then, several months later, are poor people finding themselves being evicted from their homes while the National Guard prevents them from returning?

The reality according to Mother Jones is that many of the people of New Orleans are living a nightmare:

"Fully armed National Guard troops refuse to allow over ten thousand people even to visit their property in the Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood. Despite the fact that people cannot come back, tens of thousands of people face eviction from their homes. A local judge told me that her court expects to process a thousand evictions a day for weeks.

Renters still in shelters or temporary homes across the country will never see the court notice taped to the door of their home. Because they will not show up for the eviction hearing that they do not know about, their possessions will be tossed out in the street. In the street their possessions will sit alongside an estimated 3 million truck loads of downed trees, piles of mud, fiberglass insulation, crushed sheetrock, abandoned cars, spoiled mattresses, wet rugs, and horrifyingly smelly refrigerators full of food from August."

Vast areas of New Orleans still lack electricity and water. How can people rebuild their lives in New Orleans if they're prevented from returning to their homes and they don't have basic necessities like water and lights? What a nightmare for thousands and thousands of people. Bush sure played the good guy role well, but in reality, his costume was just a cover for something more sinister and foreboding.