Think of the tsunami last year: without tourists and video, there would have been almost zero notice taken.

Darfur, Congo, Haiti . . . . But there's no need to go so far afield. If there's no oil, if there's no strategic interest involved, if there's no ideological struggle at stake . . . forget it.

Poor people, lack of health care, crummy schools, under-funding of social programs, old people who have to choose among eating, heating, and buying medications--boring, boring, boring.

Thanks, AR. I have noticed the same silence on these issues on the 'progressive' blog sites. Too often the real attraction is a good fight. It's a lot more fun spitting at Bush than facing mass starvation and genocide in Africa, etc., etc. Sometimes I wonder what in hell these folks would do if the Democrats actually re-took the Presidency. What then?

Pogo: We have met the enemy, and he is us.