George Bush Don't Care About Black People

The Battle for Louisiana's Oil

In the quest for U.S. corporate control of all profit worldwide, including all profit from the fruit's of every workers labor as well all profit from every country's natural resources--the current administration continues to exploit public sentiment stemming from the U.S. tragedy of 2001 and continues to lie the country into endless war. At least one priority remains front and center: gaining and retaining worldwide control over all petroleum, the one form of energy upon which the entire infrastructure of the entire world is most dependent and a form of energy which is being depleted ever faster than new reserves are being discovered.

The battle for control of petroleum isn't just an international conflict, but it's a domestic one as well. In response to Katrina, there's little wonder why Bush withheld and continues to withhold support for New Orleans. By blackmailing Louisiana Governor Blanco into ceding control of Louisiana to federal authorities (perhaps under the Insurrection Act), the state of Louisiana would have been reduced to little more than a federal territory. Blanco refused to cave-in.

Despite the fact that Blanco continues to stand her ground for states' rights, Katrina provided an opportunity for FEMA and the DHS to purge a large voting block from Louisiana, making it easier for the federal government and Big-Oil companies to gain increased control over Louisiana's petroleum. With hundreds of thousands of likely Blanco backers forcefully relocated out of state, the current U.S. regime and the petroleum industry are not only better positioned to gain the necessary votes to oust Blanco should she interfere with their profit agenda for Louisiana's petroleum and reconstruction, but the current regime is also poised to extend its control over many more local, state, and federal elected positions.

Nevertheless, Governor Blanco prepares to fight until Louisiana gets at least the percent of revenue that other states already get from leases on their petroleum resources:

If no effort is made to guarantee our fair share of royalties," she said, "I have warned the federal government that we will be forced to block the August sale of offshore oil and gas leases."

[ . . . ]

She added that the money was not nearly enough to help compensate people who lost houses to the storms. "We had 10 times more businesses destroyed," Ms. Blanco said Monday. "We had five times more jobs lost. And we weathered more than 75 percent of the total property and infrastructure damage caused by the storm. However, we received only 54 percent of the block grant funding."

Meanwhile, thousands of Katrina victims are finally getting kicked out onto the streets as the housing funds are cut. Not only is "Oakland FEMA office a target for Katrina Protest," but hundreds of school girls protest New Orleans' lack of storm defenses and Jesse Jackson plans more Katrina protests.

In the end, its questionable whether the whole truth will ever be known. What are we to think when Michael Brown, the x-FEMA chief who either managed or orchestrated the disastrous response, is supposed to tell the truth unless Bush provides him the legal defense not to do so.

In a February 6 letter to White House counsel Harriet Miers, Brown's lawyer wrote that Brown continues to respect Bush and his "presidential prerogative" to get candid and confidential advice from top aides.

The letter from Andrew W. Lester also says Brown no longer can rely on being included in that protection because he is a private citizen.

"Unless there is specific direction otherwise from the president, including an assurance the president will provide a legal defense to Mr. Brown if he refuses to testify as to these matters, Mr. Brown will testify if asked about particular communications," the lawyer wrote.

Since the families of the victims of the 2001 tragedy still haven't gotten the truth, it remains to be seen whether those of the 2005 tragedy will get much closer to the truth. Still, Katrina had more victims who survived, who continue to suffer and who won't just shut up about the governments failure and collusion. While there's a national campaign to secure exiled Louisianan's right to vote in Louisiana rather than in the new states to which they were forcefully relocated, the struggle for the right to return continues. Adding it up, this moment could provide the necessary impetus to a rebirth of all sorts of movements: racial and social justice, states rights, energy independence, global warming and a myriad of other environmental causes, and, not least of which, real security. In the end, it could really turn out to be a "heck of a job, Brownie!"