Big news today in the criminal justice system. One we're trying very hard to care about, and the other, we are barely hearing about.
The Chief Justice of The United States Supreme Court, William Rehnquist, who was on the Court for 33 years, died Saturday, September 3 of Thyroid Cancer.
Joran van der Sloot, the lead suspect in the disappearance of Alabama resident Natalee Holloway from her Aruban vacation, was released from jail, making the case even colder than it has been. You remember Natalee Holloway is missing, right?
These would normally be colossal stories on any given day, but today, the big news is that the New Orleans Superdome and Convention Center are empty.
We're looking upward, not at heaven hoping Chief Justice Rehnquist is resting in peace, but at the sky hoping more helicopters are plucking people off their roofs in flooded New Orleans.
News broke of Rehnquist's death with split screens continuing to show the devastation in New Orleans, and the news of van der Sloot's release I read on the internet.
I think the lack of focus on these stories is a good thing. It shows a simple fact of American life - although statistics may show different, when our fellow man is suffering, we find it difficult to focus on anything else.
I think the Chief Justice is resting in peace knowing this.
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3 hours ago
You bring up some outstanding points.
ReplyDeleteThe discussion of Homeland Security "dropping the ball" (actually I dont think they ever had the ball) will grow as the days go on. Michael Chertoff has seen his last days as undersecretary. One CNN analyst put it correctly when he brought out that homeland security was created to fight terrorism. They were caught off "guard" to put it literally.
On the selfishness of Americans, I trust there are people out there thankful it didn't happen to them, but in this case of total devastation, I believe there is a significant amount of people wondering what they would do if it did happen to them. That is a different thought than the relief that it happened elsewhere. It is a troubling thought for everyone in a hurricane prone area.
Hey Brian If I comment will you put my picture up.
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