Dark Brightness

It’s difficult. One of the bloggers I read is in chronic pain: one has chronic depression: many others are struggling.

Psalm 57

1Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,

for in you my soul takes refuge;

in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,

until the destroying storms pass by.

2I cry to God Most High,

to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

3He will send from heaven and save me,

he will put to shame those who trample on me. Selah

God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.

4I lie down among lions

that greedily devour human prey;

their teeth are spears and arrows,

their tongues sharp swords.

5Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.

Let your glory be over all the earth.

6They set a net for my steps;

my soul was bowed down.

They dug a pit in my path,

but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah

7My heart is steadfast, O God,

my heart is steadfast.

I will sing and make melody.

8Awake, my soul!

Awake, O harp and lyre!

I will awake the dawn.

9I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to you among the nations.

10For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens;

your faithfulness extends to the clouds.

via PC(USA) – Devotions – Daily readings for Today.

Big government is not local enough  to deal with disasters. And BP — being forced to drill out of US waters — has an engineering nightmare. Obama thought he could spin this. He can’t.

And he can’t solve the problem.

Mr. Obama himself, when running for president, made much of Bush administration distraction and detachment during Katrina. Now the Republican Party will, understandably, go to town on Mr. Obama's having gone before this week only once to the gulf, and the fund-raiser in San Francisco that seemed to take precedence, and the EPA chief who decided to cancel a New York fund-raiser only after the press reported that she planned to attend.But Republicans should beware, and even mute their mischief. We’re in the middle of an actual disaster. When they win back the presidency, they'll probably get the big California earthquake. And they'll probably blow it. Because, ironically enough, of a hard core of truth within their own philosophy: When you ask a government far away in Washington to handle everything, it will handle nothing well.

via Peggy Noonan: He Was Supposed to Be Competent – WSJ.com.