Another Day, Another Hurricane

We are going to get a direct hit from Hurricane Ike. Our chance of being hit by hurricane-force winds is about 50% and we're too far form the sea to worry much about storm surges. We will probably have flooding and power outages, however. We've made most of the same preparations as everyone else; we don''t board up our windows but we have propane for a grill and a camp stove, a Coleman cooler, water cooler-sized bottles of water, first aid materials, and a small stockpile of canned goods and toilet paper. (During Katrina the NOLA folks said t.p. was worth its weight in gold.) Our yard is cleared of objects that might fly about (cue "Wizard of Oz" music here) and we have tarps on anything that might be water-damaged. That's about all we can do.

Naturally I don't pray and I'd think it odd to pray to a God who sent a hurricane smack at us to not let it damage anything or hurt anyone. John Culberton, our Senator, was on the radio telling us that we're boot-strapping people who know how to do things right (after experience and everyone else taught us how to not do it). The evacuation for Hurricane Rita was a major disaster, with quite a few people dying and a million or so stranded on the freeways in our deadly heat with no gas or water. In the Bush Era, a competent government is neither desired nor maintained. They think government is bad, so naturally their governing is bad. People died, but hey, they should have used their boot-straps more, right?

Oddly enough, you simply do not see John McCain stickers here. We're a car-proud bunch, but still. Only Obama, on cars, in yards, in house windows. Mamma and Pappa Bush live here, yet there is little or no sign that the party they and Reagan and their son molded even exists.

We Elite Coastal people reject the Salt of the Earth people, the Real Americans, the hard-working people who go to church (sometimes) and worry about their kids and drink beer, who watch football and go to barbeques and movies that go boom!

Oh, wait. That is us. Sucks to be you, Republicans.