Sen. Obama put the Bush administration’s lax attention on post Katrina reconstruction on front street during the Senate’s Homeland Security’s hearing on the issue in New Orleans yesterday. He quoted Bush as saying “Never will we turn our backs on these people.” Then said: “Just 18 months later, we heard not one word — not one word — in the President’s State of the Union address about New Orleans." It’s refreshing to hear that from a likely president! And in other news: The Army dropped two of the charges against Lt. Watada, the first commissioned U.S. military officer to deny duty in Iraq who was court-marshaled last year, reports the Star Bulletin.