Show Me The Money!

First off, I want to begin with something I swiped from The Devil Uno's blog. Here it is.

Pretty good huh? Now usually these kinds of things are only mildly amusing. But in this case the computer code came fairly close! I do like instant gratification, and I like to get all my analysis done at night. When I have to get up before noon I resemble a zombie. And so on.

Anyway - on to the good stuff! Unless you are Amish and do not own a TV, radio, or computer you are probably aware that Israel is bombing Lebanon. Depending on which side you ask, the other side is at fault for everything. Nothing really new here.

But stuck in the cross-fire are foreign nationals. I keep seeing the figure of 24,000 US Citizens. Some of these citizens may in fact hold dual citizenship (it is always handy to have a US and a fill in the blank passport). Others are just there for a variety of reasons.

Now in 2003 the Congress seems to have changed the rules for citizens who found themselves in an instant war zone. It seems that the republican held (hostage) government thought that people ought to PAY for their evacuation. Clearly it is the government's job to START wars, not evacuate people stuck in one (NOTE - the USA did not start this war, UNLESS you ask Hezbollah, but in the opinion of the Lazy One Hezbollah is the most guilty party here).

So at first, Citizens were told to pay for their own way out. Either via commercial means (keeping in mind one of the first things Israel bombed was the international airport so that the soldiers kidnapped could not be moved out by air to Iran or something), or through State Department provided means. And by LAW, if the US Government provided for your evacuation you were to be billed "commercial fare plus $1".

But now it seems that the 2003 law is being questioned. And the White House is doing the waffle here! Yesterday the press secretary was all "its US law here! We HAVE TO charge people for getting them out of a war zone!". And now it is all "nobody will not be evacuated because they lack the funds". Who knows what the position will be tomorrow.

Will the government decide that they should evacuate the people that (used to) "own" the government? Will the president and members of congress remember that it is the PEOPLE that are the boss (at least they were, back in the days when there were these things called "elections" where people would "vote")? Will people displaced by an unexpected war need a credit card to get on the military helicopter? Will those unable to fork over a few Franklins be forced to take out a loan or else be left behind?

Or will Bush just decide that once again, he does not have to worry about "the law" and simply order everyone to be evacuated?

Well folks, judging from the way the federal government evacuated people after Hurricane Katrina, if I were stuck in Lebanon I would try to pass myself off as British and get my ass on a Royal Navy ship.