New Orleans Police Harass Independent Journalist

Yesterday evening President Bush addressed the nation from the devastated city of New Orleans. He spoke in Jackson Square, in the heart of the French Quarter and said that the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina will be one of the largest reconstruction projects the world has ever seen. He also acknowledged that the government failed to respond adequately to the disaster. African Americans have been particularly angered by the government response to the disaster, with an overwhelming majority telling pollsters they believe help would have come quicker if so many of the people stranded had not been poor and black. Bush seemed to be responding to those charges by mentioning the role of persistent poverty in the region.

* President Bush, primetime address from New Orleans, September 15, 2005.

President Bush faced the nation at a vulnerable point in his presidency. Most Americans disapprove of his handling of Katrina, and his job-approval rating is at the lowest point of his presidency. In his speech, Bush promised to review the government response and cooperate in a Congressional investigation into what went wrong. He also said that a disaster on the scale of Katrina requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces.

* President Bush, primetime address from New Orleans, September 15, 2005.

We speak with activist Rosa Clemente who recently returned from New Orleans.

* Rosa Clemente, a Malcolm X Fellow for the Institute of the Black World and an organizer with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement. She just returned from New Orleans.
- For more go to: http://RosaClemente.com

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