ARRRRRRRGH!

And now a hypothetical.

You are President of the United States. As a result of one of the worst natural disasters to ever affect this country, hundreds are dead, several cities are destroyed and untold numbers of people are homeless and without basic necessities. Do you:

A. Visit the affected area to comfort those in need
B. Mobolize government aid workers
C. Learn from the situation so that we will be better prepared for future disasters
D. Think long and hard about how best to use this tragedy to increase profits for your buddies in the oil industry.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush's response has been a resounding D. In fact, one of the first actions he took was to open additional federal land for oil drilling. Fear not people of New Orleans. You may be homeless and hungry, but oil company profits will not suffer. Apparently, Bush has also asked Americans to only purchase gas if they really need it. His actions thus far seem designed to create the appearance that there is some sort of gas crisis. The basic notion of supply and demand teaches us that when supply decreases and demand remains the same, prices can increase. Seems to me that Bushy is trying to create the appearance of scarcity to allow gas companies to further gouge us at the pump. Unless Mississippi is actually the center of American oil production, which, correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think it is. It's good to know that when push comes to shove, we can count on the President to look out for number one-- his wallet that is.

If any good can come out of this, maybe it will be that those average Americans who somehow still thought that Bush stood for "family values" will realize how wrong they were. Let's all get good and angry and elect people who will actually look out for the interests of all Americans, and not just the rich ones.

Related link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9156612/