I guess there will always be a number of narrow-minded "officials" who are -- because of their own prejudices -- in effect sabotaging the relief process.

Gah, I hate hearing these stories. On a happier note, I saw a piece yesterday about a "youth leadership camp", some church related thing, that's being used as a shelter outside Atlanta. They've brought in lots of work/career counselors, but also regular camp counselors to try to give the kids an experience that's more like summer camp than refugee camp. And they have a large number of people who are already employed and finding apartments and stuff.

Narrator, are you all whupped, lately?

Yea.

*pet pet*

Today always makes me think of you, you know, and that's not a tease. I saw your posts first at Vanessa's, informing us of the plane(s) hitting the twin towers. I think EverDawn might have posted first, but I saw your post, first.

This American Life had a couple of the people from the EMS convention talking about being turned away from that one bridge by cops with guns. Finally they (white couple with rolly luggage and a few other people) got let in, but the rest of the people with them were still turned away. It just doesn't seem like stuff that would happen in 2005 in the US.

I'm watching Tommy Lee in college instead of doing my own homework. It's way more fun, I tell you what.

Timelies

Is it me, or is it that the zoo people are hiring the wrong directors to film Panda porn?

How much money goes into finding out what Panda's find hot? i mean, are these video boring? Its there something the scientists missed? Is the porn really bad? How do you tell if you made bad Panda porn? And my final question, is there someone out there who makes GOOD Panda porn?

Kara says thank you for the birthday wishes. She was very pleased to have them read to her.

Um... feels like I should segue into a joke about "What's black and white and humps all over?" but I can't quite make it work. I'm blaming it on the cold medicine.

Did you see where an Appeals Court upheld the right to detain an American citizen indefinitely, without charges and without legal representation on suspicion of being a terrorist? (Mind you, I think it's already obscene if done to a non-citizen.) Detention camps for the displaced is rather in line with that sort of thinking, right?

Happy Birthday, Trudy!!! Hope yiour day is fabulous!

Did you see where an Appeals Court upheld the right to detain an American citizen indefinitely, without charges and without legal representation on suspicion of being a terrorist? (Mind you, I think it's already obscene if done to a non-citizen.) Detention camps for the displaced is rather in line with that sort of thinking, right?

No. I need to start watching CNN then because I am OUTRAGED! It's not right to do that sto a non-US citizen, and definitely equally (not more or less) wrong to do that to a citizen. This is placing too much powerin the hands of government officials. The idea of such an atrocity occuring because of SUSPICION?! Outragous! The bar for evidence that would warrent uspicion will lower intself to the point of, like, Marshall Law. Which is NOT cool.

To be clear, I have seen a lot of racism in the analysis.

I suspect it's at least as much a class issue as a race issue. Not that the two issues are all that separate in much of the country.

Did you see where an Appeals Court upheld the right to detain an American citizen indefinitely, without charges and without legal representation on suspicion of being a terrorist? (Mind you, I think it's already obscene if done to a non-citizen.)

I've heard about that. Fourth Circuit, which seems to take great pride in being right-winger-than-thou.

OK, seriously, why didn't I know how adorable Tommy Lee Goes To College is? Damn, I love VH1 on the weekends.