OK, I ranted extensively (off-board) early today about looting and so forth, and now I have mostly worked out a lot of my negativity.

So, I'd like to veer this thread a little back toward the more positive side for a little bit.

A lot of people have been showing compassion and trying to help in whatever way they can.

Amazon and Google have their donation links on the front page just like they did after the tsunami.

Houston has cleared the Astrodome schedule through December to take 20,000 people in there. San Antonio has volunteered to take on several thousand more refugees. Texas has agreed to provide school for the displaced children and is waiving its maximum class size laws for the duration.
Banks are letting people skip (or defer) payments in order to keep them out of bankruptcy.

Yes, it is a major disaster there. Yes, there is a tremendous amount of pain, suffering, chaos, and occasional displays of humanity's worst behavior. But there is also heroism, and sacrifice, and compassion.

I'm not going to let a few profiteering gas station owners in Atlanta, or a few gun-toting lowlife looters spoil my whole outlook on the world.

And I'm probably going to wait at least another week before I run around proclaiming that every problem in the entire universe from the hangnail on my little toe to the eventual death of our sun is the sole and exclusive fault of one little man who was recently vacationing on a ranch ringed by screaming protestors.

There's plenty of blame to go around, people.

I got to listen to 8 years of people blaming Clinton for their scratched CDs or their bulging waistlines or their fallen soufflés. Now, I get to listen to 8 years of people blaming Bush for their scoliosis, their poor flower-arranging skills, and the impending heat death of the universe.

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