Apart from fulfilling my Blondie-monitoring obligations, I haven't felt like posting anything here lately. I have nothing to say about the mess Down South apart from the obvious thoughts about how depressing and tragic it is, and how we should be better prepared for things like this. I don't need to write that and you don't need to read it…but it also feels so trivial and uncaring to write about almost anything else.
I started composing a piece about the Iraq War, which of course is not a trivial topic, but it kept veering into a criticism that we're expending resources Over There that we could desperately use Over Here. I don't want to make the mistake that many bloggers seem to be making today of trying to use Hurricane Katrina to bolster their partisan arguments…and besides, I don't even believe it has to be an either/or situation. The richest, most powerful nation on the planet ought to be able to deal with a war and a couple of natural disasters at the same time. And if we aren't, that is hardly a failing that can be blamed on any one administration or Congress.
So I can't write about the hurricane and I can't not write about it. I'm way behind on a script and even farther behind on replying to e-mail (my apologies if yours is waiting) and…well, I'll be caught up or at least out of this mood shortly. Things will be normal again here…just maybe not for a day or two.
In the meantime, if you've been thinking of donating some money to this website, please do the following instead. Double the amount you were considering and send it instead to someone who's going to help someone in Louisiana or Mississippi or any of the other affected states. If I were you, I'd give it to Operation USA, which I've found does more good with donations than most other charities. It made me feel better to send them some cash and it might have the same effect on you. So give it a try.