Let Congress Freeze in the Dark

So, the same gang of swine who lard the budget with enough pork each year to literally clothe themselves in bacon now wants to tighten the pursestrings because the Gret Stet has a history of corruption:

After battling in Congress for months to get more federal money for their hurricane-ravaged state, some Louisiana officials have come to believe they are up against something more than concerns about the budget deficit or conflicting visions of reconstruction.

Maybe, they speculate, their colleagues just don't trust them...

What is clear is that the initial outpouring of sympathy for victims in the state hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina has been replaced on Capitol Hill by a climate of suspicion — even resentment — toward what is seen as an increasingly demanding supplicant.

Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) echoed sentiments expressed by many of his colleagues when he insisted recently that every federal dollar sent to Louisiana be strictly monitored.

"Louisiana and New Orleans are the most corrupt governments in our country, and they have always been," Craig told a newspaper in his home state. "Fraud is in the culture of Iraqis. I believe that is true in Louisiana as well."

The result of such attitudes, say current and former Louisiana officials, is that the reconstruction effort has been hampered as basic questions about the federal government's commitment to the effort remain unanswered.

Louisiana officials testifying before Congress have faced so many questions about whether the state's history of corruption made it a poor risk for massive federal aid that they developed a counter-response: They list other states where politicians have been charged with misdeeds and remind their questioners that Congress has its own ethical woes.

The article goes on to note what ought to be obvious: to Congress, it's all about the politics--they don't give a damn about the lives lost, the communities that were totally devastated, the people who were and are still in a state of flux--hell, as World Class New Orleans pointed out, even Bob "not-quite-Speaker-of-the-House" Livingston upbraided the institution.

Of course, if New Orleans changed it's name to "New Baghdad" (or how about New Baghdaddy...or even New Baghdiddy?), maybe Congress' tune would change. Seems like they're more than willing to dump money on things Iraqi, with scant regard for where it ends up. But it's probably too late for that.

So, why not cut off the lights--AND the heat--in the hallowed halls. Given that there's hardly a more pampered group of crybabies on earth than the 535 representatives and senators, I'd bet they'd cave in a matter of minutes, if not seconds.

On a more serious note: has there EVER been a more egregious case of total neglect in the recent history of this country? Congress is telling a huge segment of this nation's citizens to fuck off. I think the public should return the favor.