No Cheap Jokes Today.

Much has already been and much more will no doubt be said about what local, state, and federal authorities could have done to prepare for Hurricane Katrina before the storm made landfall on Monday.

And yes, you could say a lot about, among other issues: a) who diverted funds away from levee construction in Louisiana, largely to help pay for the war in Iraq; and b) whose chosen, lie-based war led directly to 40% of the Louisiana National Guard being overseas right now as conditions worsen and anarchy spreads along the Gulf Coast. (If you're curious, the answers are upside-down at the bottom of this post.)

But right now, we at The Catchpenny would like to take this moment to pretend that we have more than two readers and encourage all (both) of you to donate to the American Red Cross.

Click on their logo to help:

Thanks.