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.