Game 2: Delayed

Well, the Tigers didn’t play last night. I was kind of relieved they didn’t start the game because it wouldn’t have started until 10 or so, and that would have made 6 o’clock come very early this morning. I was also relieved because if they started and two innings later, the rain comes back, the Tigers have almost completely wasted Verlander and we’re left to watch Ledezma and Miner against that Yankees’ lineup. As it is, the Tigers have lost their travel day, but at least they get to come home and sleep in their own beds tonight. The Yankees are going to have to fall asleep despite me banging pots and pans and honking my horn all night outside their hotel. I’m kidding, of course. I’m paying somebody else to do that.

In the other games that were played yesterday, the Mets beat the Dodgers and the A’s beat the Twins again. Both games had key mistakes that affected the final outcome. In the Dodgers’ case, it was Jeff Kent not getting a good read on a ball to right field and getting thrown out at the plate. The only reason he was sent home, according to the Dodgers, is because J. D. Drew had run up on his heels and if Kent would have stopped at third, they would have had two runners on third. That’s bad enough, but Drew compounded his mistake by running through third base as well, so after LoDuca tagged out Kent at the plate, he was very surprised to be able to turn a unique double play by tagging out Drew without so much as a rundown. I heard the play described on the radio, so I didn’t see it, but that is indescribably bad baserunning by Drew. If you know there’s a baserunner ahead of you, you never round a bag without taking a peek to see what’s going on ahead of you.

The mistake everybody is talking about in the Twins game was Torii Hunter taking an aggressive route on a line drive to center by Mark Kotsay, diving for the ball, missing it, watching as it rolled all the way to the wall and Michael Cuddyer ran it down from right field. Kotsay scored on the play, as did Jason Kendall, and instead of two runners on with two outs, the Twins found themselves in a 4-2 hole almost immediately after Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer had hit back-to-back home runs to tie the game up. I heard Hunter’s comments after the game and he said something to the effect that there was no question in his mind that he had that ball, and it didn’t even cross his mind to play it like a single. Unfortunately for Hunter and Twins fans, the other thing that didn’t cross his mind is that he’s apparently not the fielder he was when he developed those aggressive instincts. Do you feel worse for Hunter or the fans in that situation?

That’s enough about the poor and unfortunate fans of other cities, though. The Tigers play at 1 o’clock today, and I will be watching on my couch. I know it’s probably ridiculously dorky of me to take a half day to go watch a baseball game, but it’s really a responsible act on my part because I wouldn’t be much good to my employer this afternoon anyway.

One more thing, Baseball America announced their Top 20 Players for the Florida State League yesterday. The Tiger’s sole representative was Jair Jurrjens. He’s another quality starting pitcher in the system, and I plan to post about him sometime soon after either the postseason or the Tigers’ season is over. Here’s hoping those two conclusions come on the same day.

Game 1: Keep Hope Alive

I don’t have a wealth of time today, but I just wanted to get some thoughts in on the Tiger game. First, I saw nothing yesterday that tells me the Tigers have no chance in this series. I also saw nothing that tells me the Yankees are a freight train that cannot be stopped on their way to a 27th World Series ring.

I hated the call in the second inning to send Ordonez and Guillen on a hit and run with no outs. I’m not a fan of the hit and run, but I’m a stark opponent to doing it with runners and first and second, especially when somebody like Maggs is the guy on second. That is especially true when you have put your first two runners on and it looks like you may be starting something. It reeked of desperation, and I don’t think the Tigers need to play like that.

Oddly, the next inning the Tigers weren’t aggressive on the basepaths when Marcus Thames wasn’t sent home from second on a single to right by Curtis Granderson. I had no problem with that call since there was only one out and I assumed they would be doing another hit and run with Polanco that probably get the run in. Yet, they didn’t put any play on with Polanco batting and he hit a sharp grounder that Jeter and Cano did a great job of turning into a double play. So, hit and run with no outs and guys on first and second, but no hit and run with a contact hitter up, a good baserunner on first and a runner on third. I don’t get the inconsistency.

In the Yankees’ third, things looked like they were going to get ugly when the Yankees dropped five runs on Nate Robertson. But think of how that inning started. Nate botched a dribbler by Damon. Then Jeter hits a line drive right at the vacated position of Guillen who was pulling toward second to cover as Damon was running. Damon shouldn’t have been on base, and if the Tigers do a conventional cover play there (Polanco covering), Guillen grabs that ball and doubles up Damon easily.

Later, the Tigers had pulled the game back to 5-3 and Robertson found himself in trouble again. He had two outs and a runner on first and he felt he was squeezed on his first pitch to Jeter. He was visibly upset as he received the throw from Pudge, and Jeter pulled the next pitch into left field for his second double of the game. No problem, I thought – there’s two outs. Robertson makes a nice pitch to Abreu who fights it off to get a slow grounder in the hole between Polanco and Casey. Polanco dove, but couldn’t reach it, two runners scored and Robertson was done for the evening.

Even then, the Tigers kept their composure. With two outs in the seventh, Torre pulled Wang to get a lefty-lefty matchup with Granderson and put in Mike Myers. To Yankee fans’ chagrin, Granderson didn’t think much of the matchup and pulled a pitch over the right field wall. Polanco and Casey followed with hits, and with Ordonez coming up down by three, we saw why the Yankees are not unstoppable. The Yankees fans they showed in the crowd were visibly worried, and guys like Scott Proctor and Kyle Farnsworth were not concerning the Tigers. Proctor ended up getting the strikeout to end the inning, but I doubt a lot of people are very confident he will do the same next time.

No, this game didn’t worry me too much, as the Tigers were sure to lose one in Yankee Stadium. I was impressed that all the Tigers who were supposed to be in shock and awe played well and kept fighting. It won’t be easy for them to get to Mussina tonight, and Verlander faces a tough task of his own, but I think anybody who says the Tigers don’t have a chance tonight wasn’t watching closely enough last night.

Go Tigers.

Opening Day

I was regretting that my schedule got in the way of doing a proper preview of this series, but after thinking more about it, I’m not. If you do a preview, you’re going to get the feeling the Tigers will get absolutely railroaded in this series. At least, that seems to be the consensus across the country. I mean, Guillen is the Tigers’ best hitter this season and the Yankees have probably five guys who are better hitters. The Yankees’ pitchers have had their struggles this season, but they don’t seem to have come very often against the Tigers. Mussina, Wang and Johnson have all had their way with the lineup at different points this season.

So all I can say is the playoffs aren’t the regular season, and nobody has any idea what the hell is going to happen. They may act like they do, and their predictions may even turn out to be right, but there’s a difference between probabilities and outcomes and any team in this league can win three out of five. For Christ’s sake, Daniel Cabrera almost no-hit the Yankees last week. Show me one sportswriter in America who hasn’t picked the Yankees to win the World Series at least once over the span covering 2001 to 2005. There may be one - I haven’t checked - but I doubt it. These may be the rantings of a desperate fan, but I’ve watched this team do amazing things this season, and I’m not ready to concede they won’t do more.

I will say that my heart dies a little every time I read that the Tigers will lose in four since I have tickets to what would be the deciding game if that prediction comes true. Still, it’s October and my heart is racing at the thought of 8:19 this evening.

Go Tigers.

Oh Good God

Well, I guess I should start by congratulating the Minnesota Twins for winning the American League Central. They tried pretty hard to gift wrap it for the Tigers, but the Tigers returned it like it was a garden gnome. Second, after dogging on Todd Jones so much this season for not being able to throw more than one inning, I’d like to congratulate him on doing such a good job yesterday. He seemed to be the only pitcher yesterday who could get the mighty Royals out consistently. Finally, I’d like to congratulate the Tigers again for making the playoffs for the first time since 1987. My prediction at the beginning of the season was that they would have a shot at .500 going into the final series of the season, and then they would break my heart. I guess you can just replace “.500” with “the division”. That’s all I’m going to say about this weekend because if I start talking about Neifi Perez leading off the last inning or the Tigers blowing leads of 5-0 on Friday and 6-0 on Sunday, I will go crazy.

The important thing now is to focus on beating the Yankees. Every year, it seems like everybody says it won't be done, but somebody has done it every year since 2000. The Tigers just need to figure out how to be that team in 2006. The series starts tomorrow, and the Game 1 starters will be Chien-Ming Wang and Nate Robertson. In Game 2, Mike Mussina will face off against Justin Verlander. Rogers will start for the Tigers in Game 3, but the Yankees' starter will depend on how Randy Johnson's herniated disc in his back is feeling. I fretted about the Yankee lineup last week before shrugging my shoulders and saying they’re not our problem yet. Well, they’re the Tigers’ problem now and here’s what they can fire at you:

1. Damon CF
2. Jeter SS
3. Abreu RF
4. Giambi DH
5. Rodriguez 3B
6. Matsui LF
7. Sheffield 1B
8. Posada C
9. Cano 2B

So, you know, they’re no Kansas City Royals, but they can plate some runs just the same.

So there’s the bad news. The Tigers totally backed into the playoffs. They have to play the $200 million Yankees as a result, and if they’re able to win, they’ll probably have to win a series against the Twins when the Twins will have home field advantage. (That’s the less mentioned little nugget that is a result of this weekend.) Where’s the good news?

Well, if you’re going to beat a team, you have a better shot in a short series than you do in a long one. That is a fact. So, if you’re somebody who assumed the Yankees were going to beat the Twins if they played in the first round, the Tigers are catching a bit of a break by drawing the Yankees in the first round rather than the second because it’s clearly easier to beat them three times than four.

You want more good news than that, you say? Well, how about this? The good people at Baseball Prospectus did a study of what it is that seems to get it done in the playoffs, and they came up with three key ingredients. The first was a power pitching staff that strikes batters out. The Tigers don’t really have that, but they did strike out more batters than the Yankees this season. The second ingredient was a good closer. We have Todd Jones; they have Mariano Rivera. Um…The third ingredient was a good defense. Whew, two out of three for the Tigers, because the Tigers converted balls in play into outs better than any team in the American League this season. At least they had before this past weekend. I haven’t checked the final standings on that particular category and the 342 hits they gave up to the Royals over the weekend may have hurt them. So, if BP has it right, the Tigers may actually be able to hang this week. Actually, BP did a story talking about those three ingredients and evaluated which teams they were good news for, but it was a subscription article and I haven’t shelled out the dough required to read their premium content stories. It’s too bad my birthday isn’t coming up soon. Oh wait…

So, good reader, that’s all I have for you this morning. I’m actually feeling much better this morning about things than I was yesterday, and I’m pretty sure I will continue to feel better as 7:35 approaches tomorrow. That’s because the shock, dismay and anxiety that resulted from watching the Tigers fail to win one of their final five games will be almost fully converted into hope that they can win three of the next five.

Hometown pride is coming to Toledo. Or, at least for me it is. Toledo has two news items that should be helping all of us from the Glass City (current and former) to hold our heads up.

The first is the new addition to the Toledo Museum of Art. While you scratch your head, I'll remind you that the TMA is one of the world's great art museums. The collection includes Rubens's The Crowning of Saint Catherine, El Greco's The Agony in the Garden, and Matisse's Apollo. True to its hometown, it is also houses an impressive array of glass art. This is possible largely due to a generous endowment given by industrialists upon its founding.

And, the history of the museum itself is something to be proud of. It was first built as a depression era project that helped construction employment.

The main building is in the Beaux Arts style with majestic pillars at the main entrance. Yet, it's the least impressive of the three main structures, despite these great rooms. It includes, the Peristyle, which houses the space for the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and other concert venues. Outside the main building, a sculpture garden of modern sculptures invites the visitors and Monroe Street traffic.

The first addition was designed by Frank Gehry and I think it is one of his best designs. I actually like it better than the overblown, too clever, larger works he has done since then. While many people don't see the connection to the original structure, the leaded copper plates in his building actually have a similar pattern to the marble in the main building. This is one element that pulls the two buildings together. And, maybe you have to stand there to see it. But, the building feels right in context, unlike many of his works.

Now, we have the latest addition. It is located across the street and is in the minimalist style. So far, it's been given rave reviews from the LA Times and NY Times. I haven't seen it in person yet but I'm looking very forward to it. This is a great institution.

The next reason to be proud is an appointment at the University of Toledo designating a Chair of Islamic Studies. It makes sense. Toledo, as I have noted before, has significant Arab and Islamic populations. The Arab population is about 1% of the MSA population. The suburb of Perrysburg is home to the largest mosque in North America. The "famous" Toledoans most known, Jamie Farr and Danny Thomas, are Lebanese (and Christian). Alas, Katie Holmes is not (either anymore, I guess).

I'm just really happy to see these sorts of advances in Toledo. The area really needs to capitalize on its strengths. And, it seems to me that it has hit two solid home runs with these developments. Moreover, these changes will have positive long-term results by attracting a diverse population of educated persons to the region. For too long, Toledo has basically focused on industrial development -- hoping to hold on to its past manufacturing dominance in a global economy that keeps pulling manufacturing out of developed countries. The university and museum are important components of Toledo's future. These new developments will help balance the region's pull factors. Yeah, Toledo!

We’re going to make this an open city, because it’s right. We’re going to make it an open city because it’s practical. We’re going to make it an open city because it’s sound economics. We’re going to make it an open city because we’re tired of being humiliated.

- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Those were Dr. King’s words 40 years ago when he and Al Raby lead the Chicago Freedom Movement's campaign for open housing, resulting in the establishment of the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities. In 1966, discrimination was overt and blunt. There were sundown towns, restricted covenants, and other visible actions.

Today more choices are available to minorities in Chicago and the region (although, income tends to be a factor in that equation). However, discrimination still exists. In 2006, discrimination is subtle and sophisticated. Discrimination occurs through the omission of information, linguistic
profiling, and other invisible means.

So, it is with much sadness that I report to you that the Leadership Council will close its doors on June 2. As those doors close, the primary voice for fair housing in the Chicago region will be silenced. Hopefully, others will take up the cause. But, the reason this loss is so great is due to the fact that no other organization has fully embraced the need to overcome segregation in the region.

As I have repeatedly announced here, Chicago is the 5th most segregated region in the country. The pattern of segregation continues through both individual actions and stuctural forces that further the system of containment and sprawl that is modern segregation.

Yet, there has been progress. Much of that progress directly ties to the programs of the Leadership Council. The 40-year legacy of the Council includes landmark lawsuits, advocacy for affirmative public policies, an engagement with the housing industry, and mobility programs that actively increased integration and housing choice in the region.

Despite the successes of the Leadership Council, there is still much to accomplish – much progress yet to make. While the Council and others have had victories in defending the rights of individuals facing discrimination, segregation still exists. Indeed, it exists in even more subtle and divisive ways today than it did in 1966 by including not only race but also income.

Today’s segregation is a segregation of opportunity. Minorities and low to moderate-income persons are largely housed in neighborhoods and communities that have few employment opportunities, poor schools, crumbling infrastructures, and limited transportation networks. Meanwhile, whites and middle and upper-income persons enjoy plentiful job growth, good schools, steady investment, and more abundant transportation choices.

Although the Leadership Council is closing its doors this year, our work as fair housing advocates is not finished. We still need to make this an open region because it’s right, it’s practical, and it’s sound economics. We still need to ensure that no one is humiliated through limitations based upon their race or income. Dr. King’s mission, left to us, has yet to be completed. Who will answer the call now?

On Friday, I had the good fortune of attending the Gautreaux at 40 Conference held by Northwestern's School of Law and Institute for Policy Research. The conference brought in some seriously high level brainpower from around the nation including -- Xavier de Sousa Briggs, Rhonda Y. Williams, Mary Pattillo, Alex Polikoff, Sudhir Venkatesh, and Susan Popkin. It also included a lot of really smart public housing residents and voucher holders who don't have web sites.

For those unaware, the case of Gautreaux v. HUD and the Chicago Housing Authority was argued before the Supreme Court in 1969. The decision found that the CHA had been perpetuating segregation. The result was a mobility program to give public housing residents a voucher and a choice to move to "opportunity areas" -- census tracts which had low concentrations of poverty and low percentages of African American populations. (Almost 100% of CHA residents are black, which is further evidence of the dual system.)

My organization, the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities implemented the mobility program, which is known as the Gautreaux Program. The program moved 7,100 families from CHA developments to opportunity areas (the number of families the CHA was required to help move). Subsequent contracts moved another 1,400 families. The CHA ended its relationship with the Leadership Council in October 2005.

These moves both benefited the individuals themselves (as documented in interviews and research) and affirmatively furthered fair housing as each move made a dent in desegregating the Chicago region both racially and economically. So, the questions of the day all focused on where we go now that the nation's first, largest, and most successful mobility program has marked its 40th year. The answers mostly mirrored the policies that guide the programs of the Leadership Council today.

I think the consensus of the conference was that mobility programs are a good way to help people help themselves. But, there are other solutions that should be used in tandem. And, in the situation we're facing in Chicago -- the Plan for Transformation -- means that we also need to strategize about how to best ensure that those who do not choose to move are not displaced involuntarily. An important component of this process is the input from the residents and communities that these programs aim to assist. Of course, these are also the people who actually live the experience of the Plan for Transformation unlike advocates, researchers, and politicians who, for the most part, do not.

I'll add more of my thoughts later/

This is going to be the longest post ever on this blog. Amardeep wrote about Ruchir Joshi's reaction to Bangalore being renamed Bengaluru. Most of the discussion there is on the local context. I wanted to show here just how the West reacted to the name change of Bombay to Mumbai. So here's something I wrote a few years ago on the subject.

As early as 1981 the push to rename Bombay was underway. One account among many – an editorial in The Christian Science Monitor dated June 3, 1981 – serves particularly well in illustrating the prevailing view from the West on the subject. The importance of the Monitor editorial relies specifically upon four factors – 1.) its position as an international newspaper (originating from the West), 2.) its early entry into the discussion, 3.) its choice to editorialize instead of report on the matter, and 4.) its decision to ignore entirely the local context.

Under the headline of “So Long Bombay; Hello Mumbai.” the body of the editorial began with the statement “Bombay means India – at least to many of us remote…” The editorial enlightens discussion on how this change from Bombay to Mumbai symbolizes (and attempts to actualize) a concurrent change in the perception of place. This opinion clearly emphasizes the place of Bombay in the global context – particularly from the West. By first claiming that “Bombay means India” (and by doing so implying that Mumbai does not) the Monitor asserted that the name Bombay held a unique significance from the perspective of the West. “Bombay” evoked a sense of place so important to the West that it symbolized not only itself but also the Western idea(l) of India as a whole. Therefore, the name change from Bombay to Mumbai threatened the certainty of that historic view. It disrupted a narrative defined by the West that nearly stretched back to the origins of the East India Company.

In contrast, “Mumbai” suggests that the view of India from the West requires some revision engendering a new uncertainty coinciding with a loss of power over a formerly subservient space. The editorial suggests that relationship between India and the West changed when Bombay became Mumbai. Previously, “Bombay” evoked a sense of control by the West over India and its identity. “Mumbai,” on the other hand, elicits liberation from the West. The change in toponymy signals an Indian will to claim its own identity and foster new relationships with the West as an equal.
Nevertheless, The Monitor immediately follows this statement with a betrayal by adding, “-- at least to many of us remote…” Here it confesses its privileged Western view and half-heartedly apologizes for it. This honesty serves as an implicit admission that the West no longer has a firm control over India. Once, India was an occupied space controlled by the West with little regard for its previous inhabitants. However, since Midnight, India has progressed away from its colonial legacy. While the Monitor does not revisit the historical arrogance of colonial control, it does concede that, today, a different relationship would likely exist. By proceeding to shed its colonial past, India steadily reinvents its identity and relationship with the West. According to the Monitor, changing the name of Bombay to Mumbai exemplifies this factuality.

The editorial goes on to lament the removal of erstwhile Bombay from the world. It romanticizes “Bombay” and complains of the myriad practical matters that will arise with the arrival of “Mumbai.” The Monitor cites that, “Airline schedules that will have to be changed,” and that someday a new generation will have forgotten Bombay altogether. Additionally, one can imagine that government documents and official references required updating. Meanwhile, the Marathi and Indian governments likely need to inform people of the change – both inside and outside of India. Although these concerns have some validity (airline schedules have been changed to list Mumbai not Bombay as a destination), their genuine purpose is to conceal the West’s unspoken yet utmost anxiety – the erosion of its privileged status.

After registering their complaints, the editors conclude in a contradictory manner that attempts to both reestablish Western authority over Bombay and recognize the arrival of Mumbai. The editors proclaim, “Bombay could never be anything except Bombay. But, but…Welcome, Mumbai!” evincing an unmistakably less than sincere welcome to a new challenging perception of India. First, by iterating the position that Bombay will always be what the West says it is/was perhaps the editors have surrendered to the reality of a postcolonial present. Whereas the Monitor reluctantly concedes that this new existence incorporates multiple perspectives, it also contemporaneously claims Western authority over the truth of the past. It is as if to say never mind “Mumbai’s” new identity increasingly defined by India in the present. The West will not allow such a happening to alter the identity of “Bombay.” That identity has been established and sanctioned. It will always remain intact. The West will not condone any threat to its authority of the past – name change or not.

Second, the editors finally welcome Mumbai. At this point in the editorial, the welcoming serves a dual role. It is at once an olive branch and at the same instant a reluctant admission of powerlessness. The olive branch offering both a half-hearted apology for the West’s colonial transgressions and a gesture encouraging a fruitful future relationship. The admission signaling an awakening to the restlessness of postcolonial space freeing itself from the regulation of the colonial era. A space that, since 1947, finds itself defined more and more by India and less and less by the West. That therefore grants India the ability to determine how the world should perceive it instead of allowing the world to continue to define India. The Maharashtra government proposed to rename Bombay Mumbai. The Indian government approved the change. The West had little choice but to formally recognize it. Meanwhile, the world witnessed another demonstration of the dynamic nature of social space - a quality that cultivates ever-changing perceptions of space and place. The Monitor’s salutation suggests the West endeavors to cope with this reality. Still, its reluctant and qualified welcome suggests one last attack. An assertion that Mumbai’s authenticity still necessitates a blessing from the West.

King Kaufman (the best sportswriter in the business by the way) gains my respect yet again by not using the racist nickname for Washington's football team in his column. King is very cool about it. He doesn't mention it or call attention to it. He just ignores the nickname. Genius.

Rest in Peace Rosa Parks. Your actions made a difference and inspired many.

The best article I've seen about Rosa's actions and their results is from the Birmingham News.

The consequences of Hurricane Katrina have provided obvious evidence of an often invisible phenomenon, racial segregation. Rarely talked about in the media, ignored by most whites as a problem that doesn't directly affect them negatively, and supported by political-economic policies, everyone knows our nation's cities are segregated but too few consider it seriously.

The poor response has brought up the question of how race factors in government policies that lead to such consequences and in government response in the wake of crises. These questions need to be asked not only of how they affected the situation surrounding Hurricane Katrina but also of how they affect the daily lives of people, especially minorities, living in all of our cities.

As I have argued previously and the Leadership Council has documented, segregation has created systemic inequalities and structural barriers to community development and personal improvement that continue to encourage a widening socio-economic gap between whites and minorities. This is especially true for African Americans.

Segregation negatively affects minorities in many ways. Economically, poverty is concentrated in minority neighborhoods thus, severely limiting the fiscal capacity of predominantly minority municipalities and the infrastructure in predominantly minority neighborhoods. That results in poorer schools, libraries, and public spaces; fewer services such as police, fire, and garbage; lower qualities of life including limited transportation options on more antiquated networks, less green space, more heavy industry, and fewer child care options; and reduced civic participation caused by (understandable) cynicism and despair.

As shown here at SUNY Albany's Lewis Mumford Center web site, New Orleans ranks as the 33rd most segregated city in the United States. Its black/white dissimilarity score is 69 -- meaning 69% of all whites and blacks would have to move in order to create a fully integrated city. Full integration does not mean equal percentages of each group. It means that percentages of each group for each census tract (typically larger in area than neighborhoods) will be similar to the region's average racial percentages.

Hurricane Katrina has shown just how stark a dissimilarity score of 69 is. Obviously, 32 Cities are more segregated than New Orleans include large, medium, and small cities such as:

1. Detroit, MI (85) [16 points higher than New Orleans]
4. New York, NY (82) [+13]
5. Chicago, IL (81) [+12]
14. Benton Harbor, MI (74) [+5]
17. Kankakee, IL (73) [+4]
24. Fort Wayne, IN (71) [+2]
30. Dayton, OH (70) [+1]
31. Johnstown, PA (70) [+1]

Clearly, there's not only a crisis in New Orleans. There is a crisis of racial relations in almost every city in America, especially east of the Mississippi River. For the most part, blacks and whites are not living together. And, they are not experiencing the same America. Ignoring the problem will not make it go away. A serious and heartfelt discussion about race, racial inequality, and racial segregation in America could provide one positive result from this terrible disaster.

Jack Shafer discusses the (invisible) issue of race and class in the news of Katrina.

Also, see Amardeep's post about the AFP pictures with blacks "looting" and whites "finding". Just disgusting.

Speaking of looting and finding. I think if I were in one of these devastated places I might find some dry clothes or food however I could.

And, also, the idea of the Bush administration making poor choices prior to this disaster. What did we know about New Orleans?

1. New Orleans is below sea level and meteorolgists, geographers, and others have been warning about what a direct hit from a Category 5 hurricane would do (level the place).
2. Hurricanes have been more active in recent years, especially in those years of the Bush presidency. Global warming, which the Bush adminsitartion has done less than nothing about (it has actually regressed on envirnmental stewardship) has been cited as a probable cause for this increase in hurricane activity.
3. FEMA lost a director that was an experience emergency management professional for a political crony.
4. FEMA's budget was decimated by Homeland Security. The projects that needed to be built or improved where cut from the federal budget.
5. The Iraq War took away the backup plan of calling in the National Guard in case the preparations didn't hold.