Something Positive after Hurricane Katrina

The Shadow is pleased to now report that Michael Brown, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), submitted his resignation today. Questions had arisen in the past few days about the fact that he was not qualified for the job and that he padded his resume. His resignation takes effect immediately.

The Shadow called for Brown's resignation last week. He is now pleased that Brown showed the good sense to finally leave and to leave the process of getting the Gulf Coast back to the experts.

The Shadow will comment no further on recovery efforts at this time as he feels that it is still not appropriate to do so.

The Intersection of Art and Music

The Shadow has decided to take a break from Hurricane Katrina to bring you something a little more pleasant.
Yesterday, The Shadow attended an art gallery reception for a friend who was opening an exhibit. Kate Kerrigan is one of my dearest friends and The Shadow joined her last night at an exhibit in San Francisco featuring some of her photography and stained glass work.

Come Play Me by Kate Kerrigan

In this exhibit, Kate looked at the intersection of art and music. As she described in her artist's statement, she listened to lots of music from Bach to Moby.

Close Your Eyes . . . Listen by Kate Kerrigan (stained glass)

Kate has a very good eye and I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibit.

Artist Kate Kerrigan (left) with a friend at the exhibit

The exhibit will be shown at Focus Gallery, 2423 Polk Street in San Francisco throughout the month of September. For more information on Kate, visit her website.

Happy Birthday el Greco!!

In helping to rid the world of evil, The Shadow has many allies. Yesterday, one of The Shadow's allies celebrated another year of life.

The Shadow would like to wish a happy birthday to the man known affectionately to his inner circle as el Greco. El Greco is the author and ne'er do well behind the critically acclaimed blog Critical Cloud, which you can also find in the links section of this blog.

The world-famous el Greco presides over a
meeting of the board of directors at
Sherlock's Haven in San Francisco

Joined by his side by the ever-faithful and lovely West Texas Lass (go to Critical Cloud to see a picture of this lovely lady) and the other misfits of Sherlock's Haven, el Greco brought in his birthday with his usual flair and style.

The Shadow salutes el Greco and wishes him many more years of life.

A Stupid Remark and an Inept Director

The Shadow has monitored the events of Hurricane Katrina for several days now. While he has avoided making critical remarks at a time when they would be inappropriate, The Shadow feels compelled to comments on the following two items.

Former First Lady Barbara Bush, the mother of the current president, was touring the Houston Astrodome yesterday. The Astrodome is where many of the survivors from New Orleans are currently staying. She made the following remark:

What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them.

While The Shadow respects the rights of Mrs. Bush to her opinion -- again, this is one time that this comment was uncalled for. Yes these people were poor coming out of New Orleans and have nothing to go back to, so staying in Houston would be a very good idea. But I would not go so far as to state what Mrs. Bush has said.

Nonetheless, The Shadow does not believe that this comment was made in malice, so he will not issue a demand for an apology.

The second matter that I wish to comment on is a little more serious.

The current head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should resign or be fired by the president or his immediate boss, the Secretary of Homeland Security. Michael Brown has shown that he is incapable of handling the job. It is a well known fact that he waited until five hours after Katrina left the Gulf Coast before acting. This is unacceptable. Michael Brown should resign or be fired immediately.

The Shadow has also learned that two tropical storms are now threatening the upper Atlantic near the United States. Tropical Storm Ophelia is now centered about 85 miles east-northeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida and was moving northwest. It is expected to become a hurricane within the next couple of days.

Hurricane Nate, which just formed is nearing Bermuda as The Shadow writes this. It is expected to pass just south of Bermuda on Thursday.

Ophelia will probably not hit the Gulf Coast, but is a threat to the southeast United States. The path for Hurricane Nate as it approaches the U.S. is still uncertain at this time. The Shadow will keep you updated.

Looking for Hurricane Katrina Victims

The Shadow is aware that many victims of Hurricane Katrina has been displaced. This has led to the separation of many families. There are also people throughout the country who are trying to locate relatives that lived in the Gulf Coast and have no idea of their whereabouts.

CNN is now publishing on their web site a "Safe List". This list contains the name of the person, their last known city of residence, and a message indicating where they are currently. You can access the page by following this link.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune (New Orleans' daily newspaper), is running a similar message board. You can access that page by following this link.

The Shadow hopes that you will find your loved ones by searching one of these two resources.

Rescue First, Place Blame Later

During the Labor Day holiday, The Shadow has monitored the situation in the Gulf (especially in New Orleans).

The Shadow has one request at this point. Let's get everyone evacuated from out of New Orleans first and then decide who is to blame for the slowness of the evacuation!!!!!

The Shadow has grown tired of all of the accusations from people stating that the response from the government is slow because many of the people who were evacuated were black. The Shadow finds it hard to believe that this type of thinking would exist in 21st century America. But this is something that he will debate some other time. This is not the time for this.

There are still people who refuse to leave New Orleans, for whatever reasons. The Shadow would like to appeal to these people to please leave the city for a little while. E coli has now been found in the flood waters and could result in mass sickness and even death.

In still another development, Louisiana officials have announced that the Louisiana Superdome will be torn down. Looks like the New Orleans Saints will need to find new quarters until another stadium can be built in New Orleans.

But the bottom line -- let's help get the last of the people still in New Orleans out of New Orleans. There will be plenty of time to put blame out there (and there is plenty to share on all levels).

Don't Forget Victims of Hurricane Katrina This Weekend

As we approach the Labor Day holiday in the United States, the Shadow urges all readers of this blog to remember the victims of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast.

Take a minute now, while you are reading this, to contribute to the Red Cross. Click here to contribute. The Shadow has joined over 1100 bloggers around the world to raise money for these unfortunate people. When you click the above link, please be sure to reference "The Shadow Knows" as the blog that referred you to the site. The Shadow will not see any of the contributions and your money will go directly to the charity.

Donate to Victims of Hurricane Katrina

September 1, 2005 has been designated Blog Relief Day.

The Shadow joins 960 bloggers (as of this writing) who are helping to raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Along with the other two entries that I gave yesterday outlining relief efforts, this is a great way to show the world that you care.

The Shadow recommends that you contribute to the American Red Cross. The money raised will go directly to the relief efforts almost immediately.

To contribute, click here to log your contribution. Be sure to reference "The Shadow Knows" as the blog that referred you to the site.

As of this writing, over $37,000 has been raised. Let's show the world how generous we can all be in this time of tragedy.