and those who do not learn from it...

...shall inflict its repetition upon innocents, and probably continue to refuse to learn anything. slate published this article friday, in which eric klinenberg compares the lack of preparedness for and ultimately pathetic response to katrina to the 1995 chicago heat wave that resulted in the deaths of 739 people:

Affluent and middle-class Chicagoans had little trouble getting out of harm's way. They either turned on their air conditioners or fled for cooler destinations. Thousands of poor, old, isolated, and sick people, especially those concentrated in the city's segregated African-American ghettos, on the other hand, were effectively trapped in lethal conditions. Neither federal nor local agencies did much to assist them. Instead, city patrols cracked down on young people who opened fire hydrants.

at least we're consistent. consistently inept, it's true, but if we force the federal government to alter its routine, then the natural disasters have won.