nerd’s eye view

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Early this morning I spent some time lying awake in bed worrying about the hurricane victims. I know it’s useless, but I couldn’t help it. I’ve been thinking about all the stuff that’s in my house that I’m not using and how that stuff might be really useful to someone who doesn’t have anything but the clothes they were wearing when they escaped. But I don’t know how to get that stuff to a place where it can reach the people that need it. I made a Red Cross donation, but whenever I look at the pictures of what’s going on in the delta, it seems like an insignificant drop in the bucket.

On top of all the worrying, I’m feeling this sense of total outrage by the thugs and cretins who are hampering the rescue attempts. I mean, good lord, what kind of person shoots at a rescue helicopter? Who on earth thinks it’s a good idea to spend another minute in the Superdome? I get the looting, I’m perhaps inappropriately thinking that when you have nothing left, you might make a grab for anything that’s available. It’s stupid, to be sure, to be stuffing your pockets with CDs when there’s no power and your player has been washed away, plus, you can’t eat or drink them, but I can see how you might just start reaching for anything in front of you that seems like it could be valuable. I’m not going to judge here. But shooting at rescuers? What the hell is that?

The other thing that won’t stop swirling around in my brain is the whole gas prices thing. I know this is trivial in the face of what else is happening, but I can’t help wondering when the national call for conservation is going to happen. The President said this the other day: If you don’t need gas, don’t buy gas. That is not a call for conservation. That is a call to avoid stockpiling. But here we are, tapping the reserves and turning to Europe to keep prices down. Check it out, this is a freakin’ emergency and calls for extraordinary measures not just on the part of the government but on your part and my part too. We could maybe take the bus more if it means that there will be more fuel available for the buses evacuating refugees from flooded towns, couldn’t we?

I don’t think I know anyone that lives in New Orleans, or the surrounds, but here I am, lying awake at 3am worrying about them. I can’t even imagine the burden of working in the rescue zone, not to mention being there. My heart is just breaking for those people and if there’s more I could do to help from my Northwest corner of the nation, I’d like to know about it.

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I read something this morning that stated, with some credibility that the Red Cross is delivering the fastest aid to the region. Later there will be plenty of smaller causes to donate to, but for now, please send your donation directly to the Red Cross.