i met a man down in the 9th ward whose house had been under 25 feet of water. he was there to mow the neighborhood lawns, keep them looking nice. he pointed to a boat across the street and says, "see that little boat? there was 18 of us in that boat."

it's soon to be the second anniversary of katrina, and all the politicians and celebrities are descending to make speeches, maybe help gut a house, cut a ribbon, give a check. try to ease these social ills that are like a chasm in the city. i have a ticket to go see a certain top level presidential candidate in the upcoming days- we get to ask questions, i am so ecstatic- and whereas i know everyone is going to be asking about federal rebuilding funds, i am going to ask about the long arm of the law, and how it should be applied in theory vs. in reality. because i have been watching the debates and the interviews, and i am floored at how the right questions are never asked, and how everyone gets out of any decent question with a bad joke, and then we're right back to those ever-so-awesome questions about which mistakes had the strongest impact on you, and who is your hero, jesus christ or just plain god?

more and more i am beginning to believe that politicians are the last people we should actually entrust with the government. but i am enough of a realist to understand that only the truly megolomaniacal among us truly want to spearhead the government, or have the ability to see issues so starkly as to be able to even form policy.