Katrina, take 57

Wonkette has fun with the Chron's domeblog, making Tom DeLay look almost as foolish as Mrs. Bush 41 did when she spoke of the underprivileged people on public assistance not having it so bad in the Astrodome.

But HOLD THE PHONE!

Kevin Whited at BlogHouston posts info that says the domeblog scribe omitted important information & context in the mean-spirited item. It would shock, absolutely SHOCK us to think relevant facts might be omitted to make Mr. DeLay look like an unsensitive, uncaring plutocrat. On the other hand, we remember that time-honored phrase of the Fourth Estate: Never Let The Facts Get In The Way Of A Good Story, but we always thought that was just a joke!

In a happier, more Chron-positive note, Eric Berger, who writes the SciGuy blog for the Houston daily, appeared on Greta Van Susteren's Fox News TV show Friday night, talking about his prophetic story in 2001 concerning a hurricane hitting New Orleans. In a nutshell, everyone hoped real hard that the levees would hold everytime a major storm approached; their luck finally ran out.

Unfortunately, the SciGuy's notes from his now-much-in-demand 2001 story "are gone," he writes. Unsure whether this violates The Chron's Journalistic Code of Conduct & Professional Responsibilities, so Mr. Berger may get off light with an unpaid suspension. If he's lucky.