[Superman]

Yeah, with out sounding like I'm attacking Tim, I'd have to agree with his detractors, for a variety of reasons.

I've said many times that it seems CRYSTAL CLEAR to me that Jesus is not comfortable with this survival of the fittest, every man for himself idea. Okay, that's one thing.

Also, if you respect the Constitution of the United States of America, then I hope you have noticed that is preamble, it's general thrust, is a short list of federal government responsibilities that include "promote the general welfare." And here, government is really the wrong word, since the Constitution was written before the gubmint existed. This is a shared responsibility. With all due respect for some folks' apparent belief that this nation was founded on the principle of every-man-for-himself, it was in fact NOT.

And there's more. These folks in NO are not folks like Tim Hancock who own their homes and have insurance, yadda yadda. One of the side-effects of this disaster is that the nation is getting a peek at the human chaff that is discarded by an economic system like the one so many of you seem to support with religious-like fervor. Rebuilding NO, and the millions of "lives" (if you would call them that) destroyed would be far easier if Safeco and Hartford had written property, life and income insurance policies on all those people. That's not the case.

Another point: This is not just their problem. The scope of this disaster, both with the abject poverty existent there before Katrina, and then the water problem now, the entire nation is affected. Oil prices are just a small part of that impact. These people are refugees, let's not mince words and sugar-coat it. They need to eat. Each state is probably going to host a contingent, and the resources in Texas are going to be badly outstripped.

Another thing. The more a statesman (I wouldn't suggest our current "president" has any statesmanship qualities, by the way) learns how to operate government, the more he's going to look like a liberal. Because conservatives hate government and are trying to tear it down while liberals believe in government and understand its role. And even if an illiterate cretin from Texas is placed in the White House, the day will come when he will need to learn to run a government, no matter how much he hates it. That day has come for the aloof, distant, conceited, arrogant monkey in Washington right now.

And finally, while it took Dubya the Dunce a fair amount of time to figure this out, his legacy hinges on what he says and does now (or doesn't say and doesn't do as the case may be). What he's doing now, I believe, has nothing whatsoever with any leadership abilities or compassion or sense of responsibility. The current "president" is making marketing moves. That is all. He's playing the only game he has ever played. Politics.