( continues...)

Too often in the so-called "New South", they still look positively 19th Century.

"Shoot the looters" is good rhetoric, but no lasting solution.

Uneasy paradox

It is astonishing to me that so many Americans seem shocked by the existence of such concentrated poverty and social neglect in their own country.

In the workout room of the condo where I am currently staying in the affluent LA neighbourhood of Santa Monica, an executive and his personal trainer ignored the anguished television reports blaring above their heads on Friday evening.

Either they did not care, or it was somehow too painful to discuss.

When President Bush told "Good Morning America" on Thursday morning that nobody could have "anticipated" the breach of the New Orleans levees, it pointed to not only a remote leader in denial, but a whole political class.

The uneasy paradox which so many live with in this country - of being first-and-foremost rugged individuals, out to plunder what they can and paying as little tax as they can get away with, while at the same time believing that America is a robust, model society - has reached a crisis point this week.

Will there be real investment, or just more buck-passing between federal agencies and states?

The country has to choose whether it wants to rebuild the levees and destroyed communities, with no expense spared for the future - or once again brush off that responsibility, and blame the other guy.

Is there some reason why Arkansas and Oklahoma are being brushed over if people are going to Arizona and WV?

Governor Mike Huckabee spoke to the press about Arkansas welcoming and preparing for refugees early in the crisis. The thing to consider though is that Arkansas is mostly rural—its largest city has 40,000 fewer people than Baton Rouge, and it's the only city in the entire state with more than 100,000 people. There simply aren't facilities in any one place to handle hurricane victims en masse. People are opening their homes to displaced folks all over the state (and here in Tennessee as well), but it's mostly happening on an individual level.

If the massive death toll and disease-spawning conditions necessitate mass cremations for public safety, I have suggestions for who we should use as kindling.

On the bright side, I went through my closet and drawers, and actually found a fair amount of nice, lightweight clothing that I can send. Among other things, I'm sending a University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves t-shirt (snazzy one, never worn), and the thought of someone in Texas wearing it just tickles me to no end.

Plus, it appears that all the free sample sized shampoo, conditioner, lotion, sewing kits, and shower caps that I've been collecting from hotels may actually get a chance to be of benefit to someone.

But paypal wouldn't take my credit card for the Barry Manilow thing. I wonder if they're just too busy, or something. There shouldn't be anything wrong with it.

Did someone already post this? I don't remember seeing it and, somehow, I think the stupidity would have stuck with me. From the Times-Picayune:

Bush visit halts food delivery
By Michelle Krupa
Staff writer

Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted because of President Bush’s visit to New Orleans, officials said.

The provisions, secured by U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, and state Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom, baked in the afternoon sun as Bush surveyed damage across southeast Louisiana five days after Katrina made landfall as a Category 4 storm, said Melancon’s chief of staff, Casey O’Shea.

“We had arrangements to airlift food by helicopter to these folks, and now the food is sitting in trucks because they won’t let helicopters fly,” O’Shea said Friday afternoon.

The food was expected to be in the hands of storm survivors after the president left the devastated region Friday night, he said.

I saw it, but I don't remember if it was here or elsewhere. Every time I think that I have reached the limit of how much my mind can be boggled, something else comes along and boggles it more.

I'm just a big boggle myself these days. Shake me up and see how many words you can spell.

In unrelated news, isn't the phrase "BTK Killer" redundant?

Um, yep. I think it's something like "with au jus."

Am I the only person who wants to know if Karl Rove was in the vicinity of the Rehnquist household today?

In a weird way, I'm bummed that this didn't happen before Bush's was up for re-election, so we could have seen Bush's ass handed to him on a platter.

Of course, all the conservative commentators would say that for Democrats to criticize Bush's response to the hurricane (and preparation beforehand) would only serve to embolden our hurricanic enemies.

Eh, they'll probably say that anyway.

Am I the only person who wants to know if Karl Rove was in the vicinity of the Rehnquist household today?

If he was, we should behead the corpse of Rehnquist to be sure he won't come back as a vampire.