Sunday, September 11, 2005 - Wow! It's been four years already since those psychotic, rag-headed, sons-of-bitches carried out remarkable acts of cowardice against us in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. It's been two weeks since Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

Time sure flies when you're at war and in the act of cleaning up after the worst natural disaster on record in the United States. Currently, there are estimates that put the cost of cleanup in the Gulf Coast region as high or higher than the total monetary expense of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq combined!

Four years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks the area formerly occupied by the World Trade Center in New York City is largely vacant. There are plans to erect some sort of memorial at the site to commemorate the events of that horrible day. However, there is so much bickering between the different memorial groups that nothing is getting done. That's very unfortunate.

I think it's quite fascinating that somehow the most wanted man in the world, Osama bin Laden, is still not in our custody or the custody of one of our allies. Personally, I think that he is, indeed, either incarcerated or dead at this time. Lest we not forget, the man is rather frail, handicapped, and is on dialysis.

It would appear that democracy has been a blessing for Afghanistan and looks to be working very well there. If you give people just a little taste of the sweetness of freedom, unless they're total dipshits like the insurgents in Iraq, they will thrive and live happily.

I believe that the situation in Iraq will start becoming more manageable in the very near future. The new government there is working very hard to try to get the country back on its feet. With the seemingly inevitable execution of Saddam Hussein, I think we'll see most of the insurgent activities come to an abrupt halt. His trial is set for October 19 in Iraq.

Here at home, we have another hurricane bearing down on the U.S. Hurricane Ophelia is expected to make landfall in one of the Carolinas later this week. This hurricane, however, is classified as a Category 1, and currently has maximum sustained winds of only 75 miles per hour. Residents in the area are prepared, and this hurricane is not expected to cause major damage.

Hurricane Katrina on the other hand, has caused catastrophic damage to a large portion of the southeastern United States. I was very angry days after Katrina struck the Gulf Coast when I had not heard of any country coming to our aid. That has changed, and my anger has been replaced with gratitude, as more than thirty nations have offered support. Sometimes the international community rocks - yes, even France!