Entries for February 2006

The Dubai port story was actually written about in late October, but until Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York started talking about it, no one actually noticed (press included) until a bit over a week ago. Then all hell broke loose.

I don't usually personalize stories this way, but this time, I will: My mom, a smart and sprightly senior citizen (she would never forgive me if I told you her age!), has not yet even inquired about whether she might be eligible for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. I have asked her about it more than a few times and given her some suggestions about whose advice to get on it (her pharmacy, her doctor, her insurance person), and each and every time I get a response that says, "Yes, honey, I will do it." Only I get the feeling that she thinks it's waaay too complex and not that much of a benefit, anyway.

As we all sadly know by now, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina there is plenty of blame to go around–at the local, state, and federal levels.

The mayor of New Orleans was sadly out of his depth when it came to handling a disaster of this size. So, too, it turns out, was Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. As for the feds–the folks who are supposed to be ready for huge disasters in this 9/11 world–they were just as bad. And the buck stops at the White House, in the Oval Office.