Unlike the “War on Terror,” missing white women, or liberal activist judges, this is something everyone can legitimately be worried about:

A global influenza pandemic could come at any time and claim anywhere between 5 million and 150 million lives, depending on steps the world takes now to control the bird flu in Asia, the United Nations said.
Additionally, the bird flu virus is likely to mutate into a strain that can be passed person to person, Dr. David Nabarro of the World Health Organization told reporters at a Thursday news conference at the United Nations in New York.
“We expect the next influenza pandemic to come at any time now, and it’s likely to be caused by a mutant of the virus that is currently causing bird flu in Asia,” Nabarro said in a report from The Associated Press.

More here.

Hurricane Rita may have done as much damage to oil production as did Hurricane Katrina.
At any rate, local gasoline prices are shooting up again.

These guys don’t even wait for the cover of darkness:

As fiscal hawks surrendered, would-be government contractors were meeting in the Hart Senate Office Building to figure out how to get a share of the money. A “Katrina Reconstruction Summit,” hosted by Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) and sponsored by Halliburton, among others, brought some 200 lobbyists, corporate representatives and government staffers to a room overlooking the Capitol for a five-hour conference that included time for a “networking break” and advice on “opportunities for private sector involvement.”

Can we call in the National Guard to restore order?

Many people don’t have a clue:

Just over half (55%) of Americans can correctly identify the three branches of government.
−-More than one in five (22%) believe the three branches of government are the Republican, Democrat, and Independent branches.
−-A full 16% of respondents believe the three branches of government to be local, state, and federal.
Less than half (48%) of Americans can correctly identify the meaning of the concept of separation of powers.
−-However, almost two-thirds (63%) report being very or somewhat familiar with the separation of powers principle.
−-82% feel that the separation of powers is important, while only 5% report that it is not important or they do not know what it means.

Given that so many people don’t even know what government should be doing, much less what it is doing, I guess it’s no surprise that accountability is so scarce in Washington these days.

Alas, racism is alive and well in the Tennessee legislature.