From sea to shining sea

Honestly, I wasn't going to write anything about Katrina or politics here. I've left so many comments on other people's blogs -- my own memories of New Orleans, my rage, my sadness, my frustration -- that I'm all blogged out on the topic. But I guess I do have a couple of things to say after all.

I read an article yesterday about the help offered by other countries. Turns out the French city of Orleans mustered up a special aid package for its namesake, including opening its homes to refugees.

The other thing that leaves me with a little hope for the future is something Scrivener said (and I hope he doesn't mind me lifting this from his blog). He sez:

The one saving grace about all of this utterly inadequate response of the federal government is that unlike Iraq, when voices speak up and point to the failures, the White House won't so easily be able to point to the critics and call them traitors. What are they going to say, "You're giving aid and comfort to future hurricanes?" None of what the federal government has done or failed to do is really a surprise--this is the fallout of political decisions from the party in power over the last half-dozen years. I just hope that the American people are paying some kind of attention and that they remember how angry they are now when November rolls around.

I hope so.

Yesterday we went to the football game. Before the game started they had a moment of silence for the Katrina victims. 110,401 people in there and you could have heard a pin drop. I started to cry while we sang the National Anthem, feeling so sad for this poor beautiful country of ours that's being run into the ground.

And then I woke up this morning and learned that Chief Justice Rehnquist died last night.