The first major hurricane of the season is apparently threatening the Gulf Coast.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- What was to have been a weekend of remembrance of Hurricane Katrina's destruction became a weekend of worry as Tropical Storm Ernesto gathered strength in the Caribbean.

The National Hurricane Center said Ernesto could grow into a Category 3 hurricane by Thursday, menacing a broad swath of the Gulf Coast. Katrina was a Category 3 storm when it ravaged New Orleans a year ago Tuesday.

So, we’ve had a year to prepare for this. A competent manager would have ensured that repair efforts began two days after the hurricane passed through, and work should have gone on six days a week, right?

Gov. Kathleen Blanco said state officials were keeping an eye on Ernesto, and the Army Corps of Engineers was carefully tracking the storm's movement, said Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, head of the Army Corps.

It was too early to tell whether Ernesto would provide an early test for the city's levee system, which Strock conceded may not yet be strong enough to withstand a large storm surge.

Strock said he was confident the Corps had done all it could to repair and reinforce 220 miles of levee walls, but said many variables would determine whether the levees could withstand a major hurricane. Gov. Kathleen Blanco said state officials were keeping an eye on Ernesto, and the Army Corps of Engineers was carefully tracking the storm's movement, said Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, head of the Army Corps.

It was too early to tell whether Ernesto would provide an early test for the city's levee system, which Strock conceded may not yet be strong enough to withstand a large storm surge.

Strock said he was confident the Corps had done all it could to repair and reinforce 220 miles of levee walls, but said many variables would determine whether the levees could withstand a major hurricane.

THEY’RE NOT READY!! They’re not sure what they’ve done will withstand a Category 3 storm.

I wonder what variables have to be considered? Whether the storm hit New Orleans or 200 miles away? Whether the materials supplied for the levee repairs came from a company owned by a Republican or a Democrat? Whether the workers, many of them “guest workers” from Central America working for below-industry level wages actually performed properly? (Let’s not forget that in his eagerness to rebuild the Gulf Coast, Mr Bush quickly suspended the Davis-Bacon Act requiring an industry-standard wage level in rebuilding efforts.)

[T]he White House said it was suspending in the disaster area so-called Davis-Bacon rules requiring prevailing wages be paid to workers on federal contracts. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050908-5.html) Republicans praised the executive order temporarily waiving the rules, which they said would fuel job growth in the hurricane region, but Democrats and their organized-labor allies accused the White House of exploiting the tragedy to accomplish a conservative goal.

But, no worries, because Mr Bush made sure that the insiders got a good taste of the Katrina stew, in addition to giving them cheap labor.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced yesterday that it was awarding contracts to Bechtel National Inc. of San Francisco and Fluor Corp. of Aliso Veijo, Calif., both of which are involved in Iraq. The other companies awarded FEMA work are Shaw Group of Baton Rouge, La., Denver-based CH2M Hill, which is providing housing in Alabama, and Dewberry Technologies of Fairfax, Va., which is providing planning and reporting tools to help guide the efforts.

The enormous amounts of federal money beginning to pour into hard-hit areas across the Southeastern U.S. are beginning to set off a gold rush reminiscent of corporate America's efforts to profit from the reconstruction of Iraq, and many companies winning Katrina-related contracts also have multibillion-dollar contracts there. White House and congressional officials are working to finalize a new $51.8 billion aid package that would push the total amount of federal money dedicated to relief efforts to more than $62 billion.

Cheap labor, more than $62 billion in taxpayer money and they’re not sure the levees will hold. I certainly hope the levees hold but if they don’t I wonder how they’re going to make the failure the fault of the Democrats?

Thanks to John at AMERICAblog for the tip