What a load of crap the media industry is spewing forth into the minds of an already-muddle-brained public vis a vis oil prices, Hurricane Katrina, racism in New Orleans (and nationwide), and el presidente's misguided leadership.

It's almost laughable, if the world's situation weren't so damned critical at the moment.

The Bushmeister and his crew, as usual, are sending forth their minions to deflect criticism for their ineptitude in responding to the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Now it is true that the Louisiana governor (what a nitwit!) and the mayor of New Orleans (what a drama queen!) also are playing shift-the-blame with their empty rhetoric and thoughtless recriminations toward the administration, but in the big-picture-view of the crisis, the only thing that ought to matter is progress by way of reducing the death, anxiety and suffering that people in the Gulf region are experiencing.

But instead of an organized relief effort, what we're getting is SPIN!

In one interview for CBS television an official with Homeland Security praised the organizational model in Louisiana. He gushed about how courageous the New Orleans mayor was in ordering a mandatory evacuation. He blathered on about how well FEMA's response was handled.

He simply did not address the reality of the situation: Looting, rapists ranging freely on the streets, terror being dished out to survivors with no lawful intervention in sight, etcetera.

And if the Gulf is the source of 20 to 40 percent of the nation's oil refining capabilities, wouldn't it stand to reason that any threat the region ought to have been considered a national emergency from the beginning? And if it's a national emergency, doesn't that mean it falls to the federal government -- not the state -- to manage the disaster?

It appears to me that both federal and state officials are kicking around a lot of blame to deflect criticism and cover their asses -- at the expense of the people who are stranded without food, water or basic comforts.

The whole episode is a disgrace to the people who run the governments.

But what matters is that relief is provided as quickly as possible, and in an organized, carefully managed fashion.

At present, what we have is anarchy, aid workers being blocked by anonymous gunmen from delivering food, water or medical care, mothers losing their children because of ham-handed police officers among the relief workers. It seems like the classic case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

Truth is, this disaster is the first one in my lifetime that suggests our world is spinning of its axis and that things are terribly wrong, in the cosmic sense.

I expect the economy will be in the toilet by Christmas 2005 and things will slide downhill further and further for some time to come.

The future, to say the least, is uncertain for everyone.

If terrorist wanted to inflict deep, damaging pain to the psyche of America, now would be the time to strike -- and I don't know if the government is capable of dealing with a major emergency at this point.

The storm pulled up the skirt of the administration and gave us a look at its dirty undies, and frankly the view is ugly and frightening.

The level of incompetancy is mind-boggling! The lack of planning and organization is deeply troubling. The best most federal officials can come up with to appear in control is phrases like "our main job right now is to convey to the American public just how serious this disaster really is." Duh, I think the public gets it, ya know. The news media reported Wednesday that donations to the Red Cross and other relief agencies is pouring in at an unprecedented rate, so that suggests to me that the public gets it.

But, as in Iraq, we see a federal government that is unprepared, short-sighted and unable to respond appropriately or effectively.

Sad, absurd, shocking!