The Master of Disaster came to Kansas yesterday -- first to gawk at the tornado destruction in Greensburg, then to pose for pictures wielding a chainsaw and hugging smiling Republicans. He was probably telling them, this was just an Act of God -- you should have seen what I did to Fallujah. Then he left, secure in the knowledge that FEMA will find some way to route the government's disaster money to Halliburton. There are, after all, oil wells in the vicinity.

Even as nowhere as Greensburg is, Bush's photo-op was just one of many ways it's connected to Iraq. As the Governor pointed out, the Kansas National Guard and most of their equipment are out in Iraq now, hard-pressed to respond to events back home. It also turns out that Greensburg was quickly set upon by looters. The first four arrested were US soldiers from Ft. Riley, who evidently picked up some bad habits in Iraq. I wonder whether, had they resisted and been shot, they'd get their mugs pasted on those "Fallen Heroes" TV roll calls.