New Orleans

I'm no BNF or political pundit. No-one out there is particularly interested in what I have to say. That is why I have, thus far, desisted from posting about Katrina, either the natural devastation or the political storm that's following in its wake; I'm following news stories and links and taking in as much as I can, like everyone else out there, but not to saturation point, yet. I don't have much to add. Only that the death of Justice Rehnquist will only serve to complicate the situation, and I don't feel anything related to his passing beyond the political consequences of it. Sad, but true; I know too little about American politics for me to make the insightful commentary others have already given with more eloquence.

I do think, however, that when you live in a place with no real extremes of either nature or political thought, it's a wrench to see such images and hear such rhetoric and be told this is happening in America, a supposed superpower. The laissez-faire attitude of the Bush administration earlier in the week is something else entirely alien. The whole thing is a tragedy, on many levels. I have very little to add to that, and nothing original to say. I just feel (and from my flist, I'm not alone in feeling it) a little guilty, a lot guilty, in sitting here in my comfortable kitchen chatting about fandom and university when people are dying and drowning and living and being shot at and being ignored by their own government.

So I'm giving money, and good thoughts, with a little of the collective disbelief - money for America? - and sitting here aware that I can't do anything beyond read the news. I'm only going to post one link: the clean underwear pledges, which strike me as very necessary.

That's it, that's all I'm going to say on the subject. I now return you to your regularly scheduled friends page, etc.