Church or State?

This article appears in today's Toronto Star about how the Catholic Church may refuse Canadian politicians communion for passing the gay marriage bill.

Now, I don't know how many Canadian politicians are Catholic so I don't know how serious an impact this would actually have. I mean, for me if I was a politician it wouldn't faze me in the least being a Jew, and I have never heard of a Jew being turned away from synagoge for having liberal beliefs but hey, anything's possible.

Regardless, my first reaction was "how childish is this?!" What, so if this country won't do what one church in particular thinks is "right" (no pun intended here) then fine, we'll take our waffers and wine and go home? Do they quiz every single person as they go up to take communion to find out how they feel on the marriage issue, what their views are on abortion and birth control before agreeing to let them partake? I somehow doubt it so why make this particular comment singling out the politicians? Because it's easy to do?

Thinking further I realize the Catholic - and any other church or religious institution for that matter - has the absolute right to refuse communion, absolution, whatever to anyone who follows their particular faith but strays from their beliefs. However, I think that the Church has to accept that Canada is not a Catholic or even a Christian country and that many races, religions and lifestyle blend to make up the textured fabric of this nation. In my opinion it's one of things that makes this a great country and why I prefer to live here even above the U.S. who's politicians say they believe in equality but have under George Bush been taking a rather scary hard-line right-wing approach and that as far as I'm concerned is a step back into the dark ages for any country in this new millenium.

Still, I can't get over the fact that I feel as if the Catholic Church seems to believe by making threats they can control what we do here in Canada. As I say to anyone who doesn't agree with gay marriage or abortion or birth control or whatever -This is a free country where the rights of the individual - so long as they harm none - must be put above any one religious organization. So if you don't like it, don't do it. Or move to Rome, whatever suits you best.

The Three Rs

This article is about how the Liberal government is keeping possible new locations for garbage dumps under wraps. They fear community reaction to having a dump near where they live. As is always the case, nobody wants a dump in their backyard, and I can't say I blame them.

So rather than bitch about it, do something. There are compost bins now, recycling is getting easier since more and more becomes recyclable every year. There's no real need to throw out all that much garbage, and quite frankly if people don't want garbage dumps, then perhaps they should stop creating so much garbage!

Now there will always be some that everyone will have. Most take-out food containers can't be recycled, styrofoam meat packages can't, plasitic wraps, dental floss, aerosol cans, that kind of thing. But maybe if we all paid a bit more attention to what we buy then we'd be able to throw out less. And another easy way to reduce your garbage? Break stuff up before throwing it away. Takes up less room in your garbage bag. It's not a perfect solution but it can help.

In Toronto we only have garbage pick-up every other week and to be honest that's more than enough for us. Granted we don't have kids (everyone's standard reason as to why they go through so much more stuff) but do kids really generate that much trash? I understand with a kid you use more hydro, gas and water, but do they really mean so much more garbage? Honestly, I'm curious what those of you with kids have to say on the subject. Do you really find you fill your trash bins more quickly when you have a child or do you adjust habits to keep waste in check?

So I say - like with gas prices - the solution isn't going to be in our government's hands, it's gonna be in ours. Reduce, reuse and recycle. Don't buy a minivan. Take public transit, walk or bike when you can. Carpool. Don't buy products with excessive packaging or write to favored brands manufacturers and pressure them to reduce packaging waste. If we wait for someone else to fix our environmental problems we'll be living on a dead planet in no time. If we speak up, and trust me, where and how we spend our money will tell companies what we think and can change how they distribute and create their products (remember the big consumer push against animal testing?) we can change how our world works. Not overnight, but we can make a difference!

Saw This Coming A Mile Away

From today's Toronto Star site:

Opposition hammers Liberals over gas prices

CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA — After waiting all summer to take a face-to-face shot at the Liberal government, opposition parties settled today on their weapon of choice: gasoline prices.

The Conservatives got the first chance to pound the Liberals over sky-high fuel prices as the House of Commons resumed sitting after a three-month break.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper asked the government to cut gas taxes.

Prime Minister Paul Martin rejected the idea, noting that half of gas taxes go to municipalities to fund local infrastructure such as roads and bridges.

The NDP and the Bloc Quebecois also planned to go after the Liberals, and the Bloc was to ask for an emergency debate.

Yeah, 'cause, ya know, if the Conservatives or NDP were in power the first thing they would do would be lower the gas taxes. Right away. Absolutely. Just as soon as they can get around to it. Will have their assistants look into getting a report on the impact of lowering the gas tax out just in time for say the next election. Maybe.

Being Like a Kid

T-minus one week to new job and I'm taking some time to really relax and enjoy my last week of unemployment now that I know I have somewhere to go next Monday.

So I've been acting like a kindergartner looking forward to her first day of school. Got my "Back to School" outfit, my "Back to School" haircut and colour, and this weekend the dear Good Father Patrick O'Stacey even bought me a new "Back to School" lunch bag! I'm serious! There's this funky line of insulated lunch bags that really look like handbags. Not too expensive either! I was so excited that when the Crabbys ceme over that evening I was boucing around and dragging my poor friend into the kitchen and waving it around going "look! New lunch box! Hurray!" Fortunately Crabby is used to me now and just had a good laugh rather than sending for the men in their nice white suits to take me away.

Also on the new for fall front, our belly dance school has a new home. We're now sharing space with a ballroom dance school and the space is awsome! Great floor and much bigger than the old studio. We also get a deal if we want to take some ballroom classes (and the ballroom students if they want to try belly dancing), so some of us are discussing taking an intro class to learn some salsa!

I hope that this year proves to be a good one. I've got such high hopes and that scares me because I always worry that I get myself all psyched up and then crash and burn when things don't turn out to be as I hoped. I could use a year of good fortune and low stress!

The Wrath of God?

Now, I'm not one to fully buy into the whole wrath of God thing, but watching and reading in the news lately about all the natural disasters wrecking havoc on the southern U.S. does make me wonder, and I have to wonder if dear ol' George Dubbya sees anything ironic in what has been happening on American soil.

See, since he plays the born-again Christian card and the whole God-given right to blow up supposed infidels in the middle east because they threaten the oh-so holy American way of bible-thumping life, isn't it just a teensy bit ironic that while the American military - supposedly with God's blessing through Pope Dubbya - is pounding away to shove their form of democracy down the gagging throats of countries that really don't want them there and have made it abundantly clear, that the American south is being just pummled by good old Mother Nature in a way that hasn't ever been seen before? I mean, the timing is just so, well, biblical it's not funny. That Dubbya's own home state of Texas is in the midst of an ass-whuppin' right now just seems, well, divinely just somehow.

And while I cringe to see all the poor black people of New Orleans left to die like the third class passengers on the Titanic because the rich are just too self-important to give a shit what the fuck happens to them, you have to wonder - why did these storms - and yes there have been predictions for years that this would happen at some point - choose to happen right now?

Makes one stop and go "hmmmm ..."

Well, makes me take a moment to ponder the situation anyway. And that part of the fallout is rediculously high gas prices seems again ironic. I mean, Americans - and to some extent Canadians - love their big-ass gas-guzzling cars (Small Dick syndrome I call it) and now it'll pretty much bankrupt them to drive such rediculously impractical shows of self-importance, so again, irony or fluke?

The only way the whole gas-driven chaos will end is if North Americans stop buying big-ass cars they don't really need, start using public transit when feasible (there is still no way that my husband can get from Toronto to Mississauga for work in less than two hours by public transit), improve public transit so it is feasible for more people, and car makers start really putting money and effort into creating electric and hybrid cars. The gas companies only have such amazing power over us because we allow them to. And considering how much oil is drilled for right here in Canada, why the hell should we give a flying fuck what prices do in the Middle East? Why do we allow ourselves to be held hostage to that?

Much to ponder. Maybe it's time we all start really worrying about what's actually important in this world - like using renewable energy sources and conserving those that aren't - rather than simply buying useless and impractical crap all the time just 'cause we can.

The Bitch Is Back!

I GOT A JOB!!!!!

Relief doesn't even begin to describe how I'm feeling right now! I can walk to work, it's a small but growing company, I can walk to work, I get benefits and a pretty darn good salary to boot. I start October 3 so I still have a couple of weeks to hang and now I can actually enjoy not working, ya know?

How do you spell relief? I-N-C-O-M-E!

Still Spry at 65

This article in today's Toronto Star points to potential problems that may arise with the abolishment of manditory retirement at age 65. Seems companies are all worried about liability issues (Worker's Comp stops covering your staff at age 65) and slackers (yeah, because as well all know, there is no such thing as a 35 year old slacker ...). Thus far in other provinces, stats say that out of the roughly 100,000 who retire at 65 each year, only 4,000 choose to stay at their jobs.

So why the worry? I personally am divided on manditory retirement. On the one hand it would be nice to have an age that you have to stop working by and be forced to enjoy a few years before you kick off, but I know there are a lot of people concerned that they will be working if they can because they'll starve otherwise. The Canadian Pension Plan isn't exactly generous and not everyone can afford to sock thousands of dollars away every year in an RRSP in order to ensure a comfortable retirement. Not to mention those people who simply live to work and wouldn't know what to do with themselves otherwise.

Should we force people to retire at 65 or should we be letting people work until they're ready to stop?

Reason They're Called "Emergency" Rooms

This article was on the Toronto Star site today.

About time something like this happened. I've always said that emergency room triage should be able to include the option to tell people to go away and see their family doctor or go to a walk-in clinic for minor issues. It scared me that last time I was in an ER with The Good Father's broken foot and the room was beyond packed with obvious emergencies (one a small child screaming in pain from what looked like a broken arm) and nurses taking time with people that didn't need to be there. Case in point:

A teen boy who could obviously walk quite well was with his mom who told the nurse he'd hurt his hip a month ago and it hurt. The nurse enquired if he'd been to his family doctor and the mom said he had, but it still hurt so she figured she'd drop into the ER. And since they were there, she had a sore throat and could the doctor see her as well? Unreal!

Now yes, I understand that sometimes major illnesses can masquerade as seemingly minor symptoms, but really! The one good thing the Harris Conservatives did was impliment the Teleheath system, so why wouldn't this lady use it instead? I used it once myself and found it a good resource for putting my mind at ease (was having side effects after a flu shot and wasn't sure if they were serious or not. They weren't). A neighbour used it as well when she had shooting pains in her left arm. She was barely off the phone when the ambulance pulled up to take her to the hospital. Turned out it wasn't a heart attack, but they teleheath nurse thought better safe than sorry.

My idea would be to have a non-emergency clinic either in every hospital or very nearby that was opened from say 7pm to 3am and all weekend so that if someone goes into an ER and the triage nurse deems it a non-emergency but something that should have attention (stitches, low grade fevers, whatever) can refer them to that clinic. I don't know how practical it would be, but seeing as the most recent health survey suggests that less than 1% of all emergency room visits aren't emergencies, maybe it would be a good option? There has to be something we can do to improve the system. Educating people as to what an "emergency" is might be a good option. Maybe a series of ads explaining to people what emergency rooms are for and to use teleheath if they're unsure.

I don't know how practical my idea is, but I think if something was done to ease the pressure in ERs they would be able to operate much more efficiently.

So Just Say No!

A short article on the Toronto Star Web site today states that U.S. Supreme Court Nominee John Roberts won't talk about the possibility of overturning the historical Roe vs. Wade decision by the Supreme Court in 1973, though has stated in the past the decision to legalize abortion was wrong. You can read the piece here.

Abortion for me is an issue along the lines of gay marriage or even being allowed to use birth control. Many religious groups have "issue" with these issues, and personally my feeling is that if you're morally opposed, don't do it, but don't you dare tell me what I can or cannot do with or to my own body.

This is not to say that I'm pro-abortion, merely pro-choice. I've never been pregnant and therefore have no idea what I would or would not do if I found myself with child. What I do know is I'd want the freedom to choose what to do about it without a bunch of religious right-wingers deciding for me. Many anti-choice advocates who cloak themselves with the self-righteous "pro-life" banner tend to wrongly believe that because I am pro-choice I would have an abortion. I've had numerous debates over the years with people on this one. I may never have one, but that doesn't mean I would deny a 15-year-old rape victim the right to terminate her pregnancy, or the university student who misses a pill or even the mother of three kids who accidentally finds that her regular birth control method failed. Who am I to say what another woman can do with her body?

With so many cases of unplanned and unwanted kids out there who wind up the victims of child abuse (one of my fave arguments has always been "you'll grow to love your child." Uh-huh.) why shouldn't abortion be an option? Ideally if all forms of preventative birth control were 100% fail-proof this wouldn't be an issue, but the reality is shit happens and so do unwanted pregnancies. I don't believe that a foetus is an individual at conception. That said I don't think abortions should be allowed at any point during a pregnancy. Once the foetus medically reaches the stage where it could be considered a person, then that's where the line should be drawn.

But that's just my two cents ...

UN Uneffective

Today the Toronto Star's daily poll asked readers if they believed that the United Nations was useful. 65% said no and I was one of them. The UN as far as I'm concerned is the biggest waste of resources for the planet. They serve no useful purpose and make a sham out of the original reason they were formed in the first place - to basically prevent the horrors of the Holocaust from ever happening again. They have failed miserably.

The original League of Nations - from what I understand - didn't fare well either due to the active absence of the United States. Then the UN was formed after WW II and so far have prevented nothing horrific as far as I can tell. The world still suffers from rabid dictators bent on death, destruction and ethnic cleansing and the UN sits there and, well, sits there.

They have no teeth, no clout, no real power to speak of. If the UN is going to ever become a going concern, they have to actually have some clout in the nations represented by them. They need to have power over people like George Bush who inspite of the UN saying his little tryst in Iraq was considered an illegal act, went blythely ahead and declared war anyway, basically giving the UN the finger in the process. The UN response? Yeah, still waiting for it.

Unless world governments actally work UN rulings into their constitutions, then the UN serves no useful purpose. Their work is useless. Their rulings mean nothing. So why are they there? They have no military or political clout and when they do choose to act, it's so far been well after millions of people have already died. So what's the point?

I'm open to being proven wrong, so if anyone has any insight into why we bother still with the UN or has any ideas to share on how to make them effective, please share.

On the Bandwaggon

Okay, I am sick to death of blog spam, and while I can't get all of it to stop, I can at least disallow annonymous comments - which I'm now doing. Sorry to those who this causes a problem for (guess you're gonna have to start a blog now, huh govgirl?) but I'm tired of deleting ads for car loans, diet pills and enemas!

Thank you for your attention to this matter. You may now return to your regularly scheduled activities ...

Old, Not Dead!

I do regular gigs at seniors homes with my belly dancing. Sometimes with the troupe, sometimes as a duet with my fellow dancer Bronwen and sometimes, like today, solo.

I know it doesn't sound great "woo-hoo, dancing for seniors. How thrilling - not!" but really, they have turned out to be some of the best audiences I've ever performed for. From the minute I walk into a residence and tell them who I am the staff get all excited "ooohhh! The belly dancer is here!" It's a boost to be sure. I mean, how often do you walk into your place of work and everyone says "oh yeah! You're here!" Yeah, not that often for me either.

And the residence are always so receptive! They want to participate (part of my gig is I drag a few eager volunteers up to shimmy with me and try on a hip scarf) and there's nothing more rewarding than knowing your dancing has inspired a woman in a wheelchair to get up and come dance with you. The men are always a hoot too. They get all giddy when you dance over to them ("hee hee! She looked at me! Did you see?") and love to be flirted with.

It's funny, the first time I went to do a solo gig at a residence I was kinda not into it, but they were paying and I certainly needed (and still do need!) the money. But once I finished and got so much wonderful feedback, praise and participation, I realized how rewarding these gigs were to do.

North Americans are a society that worships the young and shuns the old. We stick them away in buildings and forget that they're still living, vibrant people with a wealth of experience to share. Being able to bring an hour of joy into their lives is rewarding for me. Oh sure, you get the odd one who balks at the costume or the kinds of moves, but overall they find it beautiful to watch and fun to try.

Not such a bad way to make a few extra dollars.

I'd Have Rather Been a Zebra

So perusing today's Toronto Star and find another enlightening article about the goings on in New Orleans since Katrina hit. Apparently the New Orleans zoo, which admittedly resides on some of the highest ground in the city, was spared the worst of the storms. It would seem that the zoo's management was presuming a storm like this was inevitable and decided to prepare an emergency plan just in case.

The death toll in the city for people: could reach 10,000
Deaths at the zoo: two otters and a raccoon.

Zoo personel where on standby for when Katrina hit. Emergency stores of food and water had been stored on the premises and 14 staff were on hand to care for the animals. Barracades had been errected and thus far, aside from the loss of the three animals, everyone at the zoo is doing just fine.

So why is it that a zoo could get its shit together enough to be prepared for this disaster when the rest of the city was caught unprepared and defenceless? Can we say lack of foresight from the federal government? All news sources I've read stated that the country knew for years that something like this was bound to happen at some point, and that if the government would put out one billion dollars to prepare the Golf Coast, much of the destruction could have been avoided. Now it looks like tens of thousands of Americans are paying with their homes, their jobs and their lives. Insurance claims are beyond projection and the fallout for the rest of North America in inflated gas prices and therefore higher prices for everything else from apples to X-boxes.

This disaster will now probably cost tens of billions of dollars for the American government, international governments (if Bush would just take the fucking help everyone is so generously offering - including Canada), insurance companies (who will no doubt use this as a very convenient excuse to ding the hell out of everyone everywhere for everything to recoup their precious losses) and private citizens who have to rebuild their homes, their businesses and their lives. New Orleans may never be the same again. People are being shot dead in the streets over loaves of bread.

Suddenly, ya know, a billion dollars doesn't seem like a whole hell of a lot of money ...

I Take It Back

On Coffe Dog's blog I made a comment that it was sad the world was taking such a massive interest in the devistation cause by Katrina when after the Tsunami earlier this year we kinda went "oh no!" for a while and then moved on.

I was wrong in my assessment of how we were reacting since this was a disaster closer to home. After reading Rosie DiManno's article this morning in the Toronto Star, I feel horrible for the people stranded in this storm-ravaged area of the continent and seethe at the lack of government reaction thus far. Aside from a comment I saw from Georgie-boy on the news that his dear dad and Clinton were going to start fundraising and the government would "respond" he didn't specify how. Or when. Which sickens me because he's probably sitting there figuring he can't put money towards helping his own people because he's too busy spending billions of American dollars playing dictator in other countries in the Middle East that really don't want him there. The article says:

Nature wrought destruction but human beings have brought disgrace.

It is disgraceful that countless people are still stranded five days after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf coastline, flattening communities and knocking a major metropolis on its ear.

It is disgraceful that hundreds of state troopers and National Guard soldiers have been deployed to protect property rather than help people.

It is disgraceful that thousands of hurricane refugees — including the elderly, the infirm, the sick, mothers with babes in arms, children separated from parents — have been essentially abandoned in the Superdome and the convention centre, left to fend for themselves without food or water.

It is disgraceful that not a single relief agency has any presence on the ground as far as those of us who are here can see. No Red Cross, no federal emergency administrators, no medical teams, no shelter officials, no angels of mercy.

That is why, beneath the damp and dank, New Orleans is seething.

That — and not rampant greed — is why there has been so much looting in recent days, to the extent that police and troops have been taken away from critical rescue operations and assigned to watch the inmates, or outcasts, who are being treated like vagrants.

And that's all they do: Watch. Patrolling up and down the main arteries, in their armoured personnel carriers — as if this were Baghdad — automatic weapons hoisted on their shoulders, never stopping to assist fragile citizens in wheelchairs and walkers or mothers with ailing, wailing infants.

I've seen better disaster response efforts for earthquake victims in India and the ethnically cleansed exiles of Kosovo. Even the prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay are surely being cared for better than this.

Could it be because the overwhelming majority of these dispossessed are poor and black that their very lives are apparently of less worth than business properties in the French Quarter, deluxe hotels on Canal St., chi-chi mansions in the Garden District, and tourist casinos on the riverfront?

Harrahs Casino, one of the largest and sturdiest buildings near the Riverwalk Palisade, barely damaged, has bolted its front doors, while scores of homeless families that might have taken temporary refuge therein are left to huddle on the torn-up grass, in the dripping humidity — and, yesterday afternoon, the deluge of another thunderstorm — waiting forlornly for promised evacuation buses that have yet to appear.

"We are a Third World city in a First World country," spat out one disgusted local as he propelled a grocery cart laden with personal possessions along Royal St., intent on getting the hell out of the city, out of the parish, even if he had to walk all the way to Baton Rouge, 130 kilometres northwest. Another frail fellow, a diabetic whose limbs are too swollen to walk — he's been unable to obtain dialysis treatment for nearly a week — was being pushed along in his wheelchair by an elderly friend. They had no specific destination — just away from here. Out, out, out. But a speeding scout car almost ran them over in the middle of the street.

Julie Holzenphal, 31, delivered her first child on Aug. 22 in nearby St. Bernard Parish, shortly before Katrina hit, but was turned out of the hospital the next day, even though maternity ward staff kept her newborn daughter, Zoe, who required medical attention. When Holzenphal managed to make her way back Wednesday, she found all the babies had been transferred to distant hospitals, some even out of state.

"I don't know where my baby is," the single mom sobbed. "Somebody said Houston. How am I supposed to find her? Where are the records? My house is gone, but I don't care about that. This is my baby daughter, for God's sake!"

Everywhere, the scenes are heartbreaking, the tales of woe pathetically similar.

"We spent four nights in the Superdome, but we just couldn't stay there no more," said Deion Franklin, as she and husband, Lamond, ushered five youngsters and one chow puppy onto an aluminum skiff — and how the couple managed to get hold of such a precious conveyance, they wouldn't say.

"There must have been 100,000 people in the dome, and you just wouldn't believe the mess, the heat, even the crime," Franklin continued. (Officials put the figure at 25,000.)

"We were always being told: `We'll get you out of here, there are buses coming.' But we never saw no buses.

"I didn't want my little girls in there any more. There were at least four girls raped, that's what I heard. Shots being fired, knives being pulled, fights breaking out all over the place."

The woman's daughters excitedly come forward to recount the worst thing they'd seen: "This man, he jumped right off the top section. I saw him do it," claims the oldest. "He was holding this little girl in his lap and then he put her down and then he just jumped, killed himself."

Franklin claims the man had scrawled his name and address on a sink before committing suicide. "Apparently he'd lost the rest of his family in the hurricane. They'd all drowned."

There was chaotic violence at the convention centre some 10 blocks south of the Superdome, as well.

Late Wednesday night, shooting broke out and at least one person was killed. But three or four others apparently died overnight and two bodies had yet to be removed yesterday morning. They were still lying on the pavement across from the centre.

"Police won't come in here to help us out," complained Leanne Zambloom, as she fretted over her 11-month-old son, Jahon, frantic over the child's listlessness, his refusal to take in fluids. "We've had rapes, we've had murders, but all the cops do is drive around with their shotguns."

Then, wrenchingly, she begs: "Will you take my baby? Please, get him some help. I'm willing to turn him over to somebody who can get him to a doctor. I'm terrified he's going to die."

For several blocks, to either side of the convention centre, thousands of refugees wait sprawled on the concrete, endlessly pleading for information and release. Insofar as they are surviving at all, it's because they are taking poignant care of each other, sharing their dwindling provisions, minding one another's children.

"I could never have lasted this long if it wasn't for strangers," adds Zambloom.

It is every day more apparent that these refugees and evacuees are on their own, to cope as best they can.

"I was stuck on the roof of my house for two days, and then a 240-foot barge smashed right into it," said Joceryn Moses. "It wasn't no police or soldiers who rescued me. It was just a man with a boat, and I never even got his name.

"So then I'm brought here and I end up sitting on the sidewalk for three days. Can't they at least bring in some portable toilets? You got to do your business, you squat down behind a car. Is this America? Are we animals? I don't know, maybe we're turning into animals."

But what I see are young people taking care of old people, the relatively healthy caring for the sick, people sharing their paltry supplies. It's true there's crime and violence, but tempers are terribly frayed, and feelings of hopelessness overwhelming. The only well-known and sympathetic face these people have seen was that of the musician and actor Harry Connick Jr. The New Orleans-born celebrity — his father was the city's famous district attorney for decades — spent yesterday wandering among the stricken.

There is also, it must be remembered, the underlying reality of impoverished and ghettoized New Orleans, where dangerous neighbourhoods were already segregated by more than race. And it is from these neighbourhoods, these resentful enclaves, that many of the refugees originate.

They didn't get out when they were told to get out because they couldn't get out. They're poor. They don't have cars. They don't have SUVs that could navigate the flooded streets. And they had nowhere to go, so they followed the advice of officials, pouring into the Superdome and the convention centre.

"Everybody's angry, can people on the outside understand that?" asks Kathy Jenkins, a 26-year-old single mother with a toddler and an infant. "Then you get different gangs from different projects who already have their rivalries, and they're thrown in together. What do you think is going to happen?"

The men, the heads of families, are palpably infuriated and shamed by their inability to look after loved ones. They feel impotent, and that also nourishes their rage.

"Every time I try to talk to a police officer, I just get blown off," grumbled Carl Davis, a labourer who has lived all of his 50 years in New Orleans.

"Man, I know we got us a disaster here. But how could they have been so ill-prepared? They knowed this was coming. There must be hundreds of public school buses in this city. Why can't they use those to get us out of here? What would it take to give a person two square meals a day?

"We're always sending food and doctors to people on the other side of the world. We have soldiers dying in Iraq. And they can't get help down to us poor people in New Orleans?

"I tell you, America has let us down."

America let us down. Doesn't that just say it all. My heart and hopes go out to everyone who has suffered from Katrina's wrath and hope that your government - and other governments around the world who have been helped out over the years not by the American government, but by the people of that country, come together to do what they can to bring these people home. Soon.

Again, I apologize for my comment earlier. I hadn't heard the whole story and made a wrong assumption.

High Hopes for September

Regardless of the fact that fall doesn't oficially arrive for another few weeks, the first of September for me has always meant the beginning of the season. Here's hoping it's a better month than the one that just past - here's to being able to pay all our bills on time and in full, here's to an actual job offer and here's to getting the car fixed quickly.

Yeah, The Good Father had an accident yesterday thanks to some fuckwit deciding to slam on their brakes for no discernable reason in the pissing nasty rain just before an on ramp and causing a five car pile up. Nice way to start the morning, huh? Well, thankfully he wasn't hurt and the damage to the car is still being assessed, but the insurance company provided a rental and hopefully we'll know how soon his own car will be fixed. The cops didn't charge anyone in the accident due to the lousy weather, but I'm sure that our insurance company will still find this the perfect reason to jack up our rates next year. Fab.

I called Crabby as soon as I got off the phone with my husband because I was a mess and had a phone interview later in the morning (and those of you who know me will realize how I never, EVER talk about job interviews due to my firm belief in the jinx factor, but I was pretty frazzled). Bless her loving heart, the first thing she said was "should I get Mr. Crabby to bring me over? I can be there in five minutes." She offered to sit with me during the phone interview (thank the gods it was a phone interview and I only needed to sound composed, not look it!) if I wanted. Hurray for friends! I kept her on the phone for half an hour but managed to get through the call on my own. I have no clue if it went well or not, I can barely remember what I said! Anyway, Crabby managed to make me laugh which was what I needed, so that was a good thing.

So keep your fingers crossed that since August went out on such a nasty note that September may actually start on a good one. So far it hasn't been a banner morning (don't ask) but I try desperately to remain hopeful.

And did anyone see gas prices this morning here in Toronto again? The Good Father got a "deal" getting gas at $1.20 a litre. Most places are apparently nearer to $1.26! Nasty!