Ok, it's usually a joke, but this time it's just not funny.

Buckle up, boys, it's going to be a bumpy ride. Hurricane Katrina is going to take the shaky U.S. economy and spread the devastation nationwide. Gas lines, groceries become more expensive and maybe even scarce. $4/gal or more for gas is not beyond comprehension. Building materials are skyrocketing in price and will become limited in supply. (Remember, many of us are still rebuilding from LAST year's hurricanes.) A bomb has been dropped on one of the major import points in the country and the shockwaves are already being felt far and wide.

Corn and grain harvests in the mid-West are coming. Where are they going to go? Incredible amounts of goods flow through the Port of New Orleans. It will take time to reroute the supply lines, even if the infrastructure can absorb it. One of the two or three major routes across the country--Interstate 10--has been completely severed. Fuel is now in very short supply and will become critical. And it's only been 5 days. It's going to get much, much worse before it even slowly begins to get better.

The U.S. hasn't seen this many people displaced since the Great Depression and the Civil War.

I was nervous last week, when I was writing in the Question for Iceman thread. Now, I past being afraid. I'm really terrified at what the rest of this year is going to bring, and how far down we're going to plunge. This is not just a local or regional crisis, but a national crisis, which easily may become a world-wide crisis.

If the U.S. sneezes, the world catches a cold. No one in the entire world is going to go unaffected by what's happened on the Gulf Coast. And worse, our leadership has shown no ability to cope with their jobs, I'm sorry to say. They've bumbled and stumbled through 5 years of adminstration. I have zero confidence in them. This will require someone with the strength, intelligence and character of a Lincoln or Roosevelt. Does anyone think Bush is a Lincoln or Roosevelt? I'm not Bush-bashing here. I'm pointing out the reality of the crisis.

There's a lot to be afraid of. Anyone who isn't pretty scared, isn't paying attention.

Please, God, I pray, let me, please, please, please be wrong. I'm begging.

CJ