ONE OTHER THOUGHT on Operation Offset. Others have made the point that the Republican Study Committee's proposed cuts to "make up for" the cost of hurricane relief are nothing more than what they've been yammering for for years.

In other words, House Republicans have used the human tragedy of Katrina -- the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, and one we should have planned for in advance because we knew it was coming -- as an excuse to launch a war on poor, working class, and middle class Americans.

When was the last time this kind of thing happened?

Answer: On 9/12/01, when Pres. Bush and the Republican Party used the man-made tragedy of terrorists hijacking planes and crashing them into the World Trade Center -- the worst attack on the mainland United States in U.S. history, and one we should have planned for in advance because we had ample warning something like it was coming -- to launch an attack on civil liberties and First Amendment rights.

In both instances, the legislation had been desired for years by conservatives, but had been politically difficult or impossible to achieve. And in both instances, the right-wing administration of George W. Bush used unspeakable tragedy to get what they had wanted all along.

Oh, and about that link to the RCS's proposed cuts, above and here, this is the correct link. The links to this site at Washington Monthly, Echidne, and Think Progress bring up an error page because the addresses don't have the "rsc" extension at the end.