I don?t know why I can?t look away from Katrina, but I?m riveted, like a bunny in headlights. This must be the most blogged disaster in the history of the world, simply because it?s American (and because it?s the most recent.)

Here?s a bitter and empassioned tirade by Anne Rice. Yes, the vampire lady. She says:

Now nature has done what the Civil War couldn?t do. Nature has done what the labor riots of the 1920?s couldn?t do. Nature had done what ?modern life? with its relentless pursuit of efficiency couldn?t do. It has done what racism couldn?t do, and what segregation couldn?t do either. Nature has laid the city waste - with a scope that brings to mind the end of Pompeii.

and:

But to my country I want to say this: During this crisis you failed us. You looked down on us; you dismissed our victims; you dismissed us. You want our Jazz Fest, you want our Mardi Gras, you want our cooking and our music. Then when you saw us in real trouble, when you saw a tiny minority preying on the weak among us, you called us ?Sin City,? and turned your backs.

Well, we are a lot more than all that. And though we may seem the most exotic, the most atmospheric and, at times, the most downtrodden part of this land, we are still part of it. We are Americans. We are you.