me too. Well, we own one, but drive it sparingly and could go without if necessary.

Anyway, has this been posted? [link]

As the Associated Press reported last year, the suicide bombing was a "phenomenon unknown" in Iraq until after the U.S. invasion. The first recorded suicide bombing in Iraq came nine days after the war started. By the end of the first year of the war, at least 660 people had died in suicide bomb attacks.

There wasn't a suicide bombing in Baghdad today, at least as far as we know, but there didn't have to be. Fear of such an attack is so ingrained in Iraqis now that a rumor about a suicide bombing led to panic in a Shiite religious procession. The panic led to a stampede across a bridge. At least 648 Iraqis are confirmed dead, and the Iraqi Health Ministry says the death toll may climb to 1,000.

My god.

While Mayor Nagin has said in press conferences that St. Charles Avenue would be under 9 feet of water after all is said and done, this is simply not the case.

What apparently happened is that the mayor said "Water to 3 feet above MSL or 9 feet in 12 to 15 hours," but it got munged into "12 to 15 feet of water" when it was released. The mayor's office corrected the statement about an hour later, but "12 to 15 feet" is what stuck, and it hasn't been corrected in the print media.

I am just so happy that I don't have to own a car.

Me too.

I like to think I am conservation-minded, but I know that I do what's convenient for me to do, and damn the rest.

An interesting poll: Most in poll want creationism taught. [link]

Ack. I'm not against the idea of a comparative religion class in school, but I don't think creationism should be taught as science.

I don't believe there's no price at which behavior starts to change on gas consumption. IMHO, we haven't reached that point yet, and prices need to rise further. Yeah, it sucks, but so does unchecked sprawl and no funding for public transportation.

I am reminded over and over again of how lucky I am in everything.

I've given some thought to trading in our minivan for something smaller. Having extra seats and massive cargo space comes in handy, but we already use our little Honda when I'm not at work.

Public transportation is not really an option for my commute. I think there is a possible bus route, but it take my commute from twenty minutes to over two hours and the pick-up times would be difficult.

Ack. I'm not against the idea of a comparative religion class in school, but I don't think creationism should be taught as science.

You know, I'm a religious Jesus-freak sort, but creationism != science, and teaching creationism or intellegent design as science makes as much sense as demanding that Christian churches preach from biology textbooks as well as from the Bible on Sunday.

I'm tired of this fuzzy-brain crap coming out of the Religious Right. I mean, even the Intellegent Design people don't want their stuff taught in schools.

A follow up on the "real cause of Katrina," from Salon. Apparently, it wasn't abortion--homosexuals and party girls did it:

We reported last night on the cause of Hurricane Katrina -- at least in the eyes of an anti-abortion group called Columbia Christians for Life. The storm, the group says, is God's way of punishing Louisiana for having ten abortion clinics.

Well, at least that's what the Columbia Christians for Life were saying yesterday. We've just received another email from the group, and now it seems to be saying that God sent Katrina after Louisiana to prevent Southern Decadence, an annual gay-themed bash that was scheduled for Labor Day weekend in New Orleans.

The Columbia Christians for Life forwarded to us a press release from a Philadelphia-based outfit called Repent America. In it, Repent American director Michael Marcavage explains: "Although the loss of lives is deeply saddening, this act of God destroyed a wicked city. From 'Girls Gone Wild' to 'Southern Decadence,' New Orleans was a city that had its doors wide open to the public celebration of sin. May it never be the same."

I'm much better now, Nilly, thanks. I got a cell phone, and my parents got a long distance phone card, so it's much easier to get in touch now, and there's actually stuff I can do. I just finished making hotel reservations for them in Baton Rouge for a couple of weeks, so at least they have an idea of what they'll be doing and where they'll be staying for a while.