Inside the Beltway. . . and Out

I haven't posted in a while because I have been on my annual 2,500 mile Harley ride to visit my family in Mississippi.

I rode out the storm with my mother, and spent time with my sisters and my brother. They all live in the Jackson area, which is 175 miles inland. Even that far away from the coast, Katrina had just been downgraded to Category 1 when it got there. Fortunately, my family had only minor damage to their houses, mostly tree branches in the yard. They had no electricity for nearly a week, however -- and my mother still has no power -- but they fared much better than the folks on the coast and in New Orleans.

Having seen what has happened to Mississippi -- my home state -- and to New Orleans -- one of my favorite cities in the world -- I am just numb. I have stopped watching TV altogether -- partly because of the grim scenes, and partly because I am just sick of the grandstanding and fingerpointing on the part of the Bush mis-administration. I agree with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin who angrily denounced administration officials who held press conferences and staged photo opportunities to make people think they were doing something. He told them not to hold any more press conferences until they actually did something.

I guess it's understandable why Bush wouldn't push too hard to help the folks on the coast and in New Orleans. Poor people don't vote often, and when they do, they don't vote Republican.