Profess not talking . . .

When I was sponsor of a high school annual, one of the dissident seniors on the annual staff borrowed without attribution and corrupted a quotation from Act V, Scene ii of King Henry IV by the bard, William Shakespeare, and placed it prominently in the yearbook. The student's version: "I profess not talking; only this, let each man do his best."

Now, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, there will be much talking, both finger-pointing and denial of responsibility. Here's a safe bet: There will be NO mea culpas from the Bush administration. This LONG article, written September 22, 2004, details the impact the Bush administration has had on FEMA and disaster mitigation efforts. Now may not be the time for finger-pointing and blame-placing. On the other hand, there are rats gnawing on corpses in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America.

I am compelled to contribute to the relief effort, both financially and by being there. However, I am also compelled to TALK. By the way, good on Anderson Cooper for pointing out sweet talk among polititians while rats work:

Excuse me, Senator, I'm sorry for interrupting. I haven't heard that, because, for the last four days, I've been seeing dead bodies in the streets here in Mississippi. And to listen to politicians thanking each other and complimenting each other, you know, I got to tell you, there are a lot of people here who are very upset, and very angry, and very frustrated.

And when they hear politicians slap -- you know, thanking one another, it just, you know, it kind of cuts them the wrong way right now, because literally there was a body on the streets of this town yesterday being eaten by rats because this woman had been laying in the street for 48 hours. And there's not enough facilities to take her up.

Do you get the anger that is out here?

Eloquent! Damn good talking, Anderson! I think you ARE doing your best.