From Jonathan Alter's Time article (really good) on Katrina, the aftermath and race.

Obama, the only African-American in the U.S. Senate, says "the ineptitude was colorblind." But he argues that while—contrary to rapper Kanye West's attack on Bush—there was no "active malice," the federal response to Katrina represented "a continuation of passive indifference" on the part of the government.

The 1600 Crew and the GOoPers have been actively about turning that $300 tax rebate into a blank check for crippling this country. Given that every family in America basically owns somewhere in the neighborhood of $110,000 of the National Debt right now, what happens to this country when it can't be paid? We can only sell each other our homes and max out our credit cards with 2nd, 3rd and 4th mortgages before we become objects of the "passive indifference" of the republicans who have tilted the tables in their favor for the foreseeable future.

The funniest (not ha-ha, but ironical) part of this is the wingnuts who believe that one day, if they are in trouble, their republicans will come riding to their rescue...somehow. All they need to do is take a close look at James Sensenbrenner to see the indifference of their party to the neediest in America. Tinkerbell is fucking DOA and no amount of clapping will work now, as long as they are building bridges to nowhere.