Good Luck

So my thoughts are with a couple of dire situations in the public eye: one near, one far.

Air Conditioning... Give Me Air Conditioning!

First, to the poor folks in St. Louis, who had a nasty storm knock out the power to 500,000 homes and businesses just before an equally nasty heatwave this week... triple digit heat. Power companies are STILL struggling to get the power back up, and the national gaurd is actually evacuating the most susceptible (old, sick, etc.) to air-conditioned facilities. So far, I believe there have been 22 deaths across the country related to the heat.

Good news is: the weather finally turned today, and we're only in the 80's, with a series of thunderstorms passing through. While my head is feeling the dropping barometric pressure, it's definately a good thing for folks without air conditioning. Of course while I totally feel for them, I have to wonder at how spoiled we are. A century ago, this would simply be a fact of life. But then... a century ago, we'd be losing a lot of the old and sick.

One (More) Clusterfuck, Made to Order

Then there's the (additional) mess in the Middle East, with Israel bombing the crap out of Lebanon trying to rout out Hezbollah. Personally, I cannot imagine living amongst the mess that Israel has for so long, so I can't really judge... but I can't like the systematic butchering of innocents in the pursuit of their quest. I can't help but wonder where the vicious circle will end... of retaliation for retaliation, with each side hating and villainizing the other just a little more each time to the point that all is left is hate and self-righteousness. And I don't doubt that each side truly believes they are the true victims and in the right. And I also don't doubt that the circle must end... just not sure who or what's gonna be left once it does.

Good news is: ummm... nope, no good news in there at all.