Empty Nest

A few nights ago I was going through my daughter's clothes, pulling out all of the newborn and 0-3 month sizes. Some of my favorite outfits were in that group. So tiny and so sweet!

I can't believe how fast it is all going by. I miss my little tiny baby girl! And as I put away her smallest outfits I suddenly realized that before I know it, she'll be going off to college! I got all teary-eyed.

"Empty Nest Syndrome," and she's only five months old!

Hello Again

I've taken a very long leave from blogging and just checked back to see if the fate that had befallen ol' Red Dirt's blog had come to mine. His was taken over by some weird commercial site from India, I think, and then disappeared.

I don't have too much to say. I suspect this may turn into a "family" blog because I am now a mom. It's amazing how much room that takes up in my brain.

Our Senators Supported Torture

Oklahoma's senators were two of only nine to vote against the McCain amendment limiting torture.

I'm embarrassed.

Read about it here.

How To Help President Bush

Just when the flaws in the Bush administration were becoming apparent to the American people, just when the fog was beginning to lift, Democrats have to ruin it by kicking the guy when he's down. They play every card that relates to the disaster without an ounce of subtlety or diplomacy or tact. Americans love an underdog and can smell political opportunism a mile away. I fear that they will rush to the defense of our dear leader and will dismiss needed reforms and legitimate complaints as more of the political piling on.

Why can't the Democrats let incompetence speak for itself?

What Are They Afraid Of?

Why did Republican Senators kill a bid to set up a balanced, independent Katrina commission?

There is, as we all know, plenty of blame to go around. Evaluating our actions and learning from our mistakes are extremely high priorities if we are going to have any hope of responding better to the next disaster.

When Republicans want a Republican majority on the committee, how is this not partisan? This is just cras CYA from the party in charge. They would rather bury our heads in the sand until we suffocate to death than allow us to see any mistakes on their part, even if there are plenty of mistakes by the other guys, too.

It makes me sick.

American Muslims

Here's a story out of Houston about the generosity and hurricane relief efforts of American Muslims there. I know that there are plenty of Muslims who don't believe that terrorism is okay or that Israel must be destroyed, but it is hard to find any good stories about Muslims in the media. So, thanks, Houston Chronicle, for the heartening story. We need more like it.

Mind-Boggling Statistic

From the NY Times (again):

"the world's richest 500 individuals have the same income as the world's poorest 416 million people"

Read the rest of Nicholas Kristof's op-ed here.

A Fair Criticism of Bush

You can't blame President Bush for everything, but you can blame him for helping to take the usefulness out of government.

"...what we really should be asking is whether FEMA's decline and fall is unique, or part of a larger pattern. What other government functions have been crippled by politicization, cronyism and/or the departure of experienced professionals? How many FEMA's are there?
Unfortunately, it's easy to find other agencies suffering from some version of the FEMA syndrome."

Read on. (From the New York Times).

The Biggest Problem with FEMA

From the New York Times:

"Under the Bush administration, FEMA redefined its role, offering assistance but remaining subordinate to state and local governments. "Our typical role is to work with the state in support of local and state agencies," said David Passey, a FEMA spokesman.
With Hurricane Katrina, that meant the agency most experienced in dealing with disasters and with access to the greatest resources followed, rather than led."

Disasters may be common to the country as a whole, but they are rare for individual locations. The people who do disasters ought to run disasters.

The NY Times article is terrific, the best I've read about the hurricane and its aftermath. It is also long. Read it here.

It's a Start

The Oklahoman today reports on a new requirement that schools receiving federal funding teach their students about the Constitution.

Apparently Senator Byrd put the new requirement into a spending bill.

While I think saying of the Pledge of Allegiance is a fine idea, it can become an almost empty act if We the People have no idea what our nation stands for. I think that learning the Constitution is a far more patriotic act, and one that will help our students become better citizens.

This is a drop in the bucket, but at least it's a start.