Submitted by Charles McLain, Aug 30, 2007 12:58

In 1900, Galveston TX was destroyed by a hurricane that made Katrina look like a summer shower and that left thousands dead in its wake. In 1871, a large section of Chicago burned to the ground. In 1906, San Francisco was levelled by the great earthquake. What do all of these disasters have in common? Not one thin dime of Federal taxpayer money went into rebuilding any of these cities. And now we are told that $127 billion in Federal funds is not enough to rebuild the Gulf states that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina, which was only a category 3 hurricane when it hit New Orleans. It should be fairly obvious that vast sums of this money have been unlawfully diverted (see the Big Dig for another example of what happens when government spends money on grandiose construction projects). President Bush should direct the acting attorney general to appoint an independent counsel to investigate what happened to the $127 billion, but especially that portion of the funds that were directed at rebuilding Louisiana, including New Orleans. The IC should have resources from DoJ, FBI, IRS, Treasury, the US Marshal service, and Homeland Security. If the corruption goes to the Governor's mansion, the Mayor's office, or the state's members of Congress, then they should all be investigated, indicted, prosecuted, imprisoned, and fined. Special emphasis should be put on recovering pilfered funds.

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