New Orleans

I do not have anything to add to the coverage of the situation in New Orleans. But I have to say a few things to whomever might arrive here. I visited the city four years ago and partied and did all the things college boys do and loved the grizzled sidewalk sitters, the grand yet embracing architecture, the loud-mouthed bonkers trolley operators (I hope Mr. "Move that Wagon!" is OK), and gum-mouthed southern conspiracists. I am loving this eighteen-year-old who stole an abandoned school bus and packed it with strangers and drove seven hours to safety. I guess no one really knows how much of that New Orleans will return. That makes me sad. I miss my home and my friends in New York, but I know when I go back they'll be there, and so will my favorite burrito place, and Union Pool, and all that good stuff. Eventually all the political stuff will be sorted out and presumably those who stood on one side will probably remain there, pointing their finger at the other. I do think it is appropriate for small-government types to take a moment, once the water's subsided and the odors dried, to reconsider. Didn't Grover Norquist brag about drowning government in a bathtub?

Over here on the West Coast, cable-provider super-corp Comcast is censoring CNN. During a promotional TV appearance Kanye West charges, "George Bush doesn't care about black people." CNN is airing the unscripted clip, but Comcast is replacing the last 8 minutes of CNN's looped half hour broadcast with public access programming.