I'll take this time to put my belated 2 cents in about the Cindy Sheehan movement. Her actions are rewarded because the media needed to put a face on the anti-war movement, but her cause was asking too much. First off, she's already met the president and most people don't meet the president, so demanding a second meeting is unrealistic. Second, if the president meets with Sheehan, then he'll set a precedent that any families mourning the death of soldier can meet him. The president does not have time to do this. He's a little slow and needs as much time as possible to think about how to keep more soldiers from dying.
I'm a big fan of reading the news online, but I am overwhelmed by the coverage of the hurricane aftermath. Here's the basic information I've received over and over (ironically being repeated by me again):
- Eighty percent of New Orleans is underwater, and the water is rising.
- Alabama is under martial law because looting is out of control.
- People are dying and bodies are floating in the streets.
- People will continue to die as they resort to drinking the water they stand in, which is contaminated from death, gas leaks, sewage leaks, etc.
- Economic aftershocks will be severe.
Yes, the tsunami in Indonesia was much worse, but I don't like to compare disasters, and the event has a bigger effect closer to home. Now I'm off to get some gas while it's still under $3.