Many people have been commenting on how president Bush was off on vacation while the worst natural disaster in US history was occuring. I’m not so outraged by this (even though I think Bush vacations far too much).

What I am outraged by is the way the Bush administration has gutted our ability to respond to natural disasters systematically — if you haven’t seen it yet, read How Not to Prepare for a Hurricane from American Progress. It’s pathetic — in the face of ample evidence of increased hurricane activity over the past 5-10 years, the Bush administration has cut funding for crucial planning and preparation activities.

What utter crap.