...yet another case of fear and loathing...

Watching the images from New Orleans I was expecting Kurt Russell to appear at any minute and sort things out...geeky puns aside, my condolences go out to all those who have lost a loved one. This is a terrible tragedy that will take years of hard work to make right again. The city of Jazz lies in ruins, and the people that made it the vibrant city it once was (and maybe never will be again...) have been scarred for life. Of course, the question that nags me the most is this: why was the rescue operation so slow and inadequate? Did the US government simply not care about the poor, elderly and black? At first sight it is tempting to say YES! But it cannot be so, can it? Bush and his cronies are not the most humane and decent people around, they have proved so time and again...but even they cannot be so right wing and steeped in capitalist evil that they willingly let good people die like dogs. Firstly, the sincere and surprising admittance of the rescue operation's lack of speed and thrust says a lot. Secondly, if I have to answer yes to the question above, all my faith in the basic decency of the human species, a decency found even in right-wing fundamentalist money men, is shredded to pieces and stomped into the ground forever. And that, is a grim outlook indeed....Say it ain't so, George?