news is poopy

in three days of long-weekend fun, there's been a ridiculous amount of news that i've almost missed out on --

1) rehnquist died (great god)
2) the aftermath of katrina is becoming more and more devastating to read about, to look at pictures of, to comprehend: two police officers committed suicide; thousands of army and national guard have been dispatched; texas is overflowing with people; baton rouge is filled to the brim; gas and groceries are still unbelievably high-priced; even with the pumps working again and levees replaced, it's estimated that it'll take ~2-3 weeks to pump out all of the water; rants of racist and sociological tendencies are clouding the atmosphere even more; bush is getting raped up the butt by negative public opinion; government officials and agencies are throwing blame around (but still not doing anything?!); the new orleans ordeal is developing into a political playground; death is rampant
3) john roberts, the supreme court judge nominee to replace retiring sandra day o'connor, has been nominated (by bush) to take the role of chief justice (whaaaat?!)
4) another plane crash, this time in indonesia, kills ~150

hoo boy. hurricane katrina has created a disaster of epic proportions -- but not only with relation to its wide path of physical destruction; more importantly, it's hit the political arena and revealed an even wider path of ineptitude, lack of empathy, inaction, lack of preparedness, wasted money and wasted time, and public uproar. we can't even protect ourselves... how are we supposed to create and protect iraq? sheesh.

i almost feel guilty about having fun in philly this labor-day weekend. oh sigh.

(more about philly to come later... :) )