I did not censor debate on the question of responsibility for problems in disaster preparedness and response. I moved it to Flame for the very good reason that passions are so high against the backdrop of pain and suffering that the debate, this early, can't be anything other than flaming. And as Fox is so patiently trying to explain to you, discussion on Flame allows for the full expression of everyone's passion.

But you should actually read the discussion that's developed here and note something remarkable: People are actually digging in and beginning to study the facts, to gather information about the warnings ahead of time, and the response when disaster inevitably did strike. It's the magical paradox of the Flame board that it allows the plasma to dissipate because it's not contained, leaving the participants unburnt and able to soldier on. Equally magically, bridges don't get burned on Flame; when it's over our social relationships are intact.

Read the threads here, Bowser! There is no better rebuttal to your charge of censorship.

You and Don seem too concerned with making your charges now, apparently for maximum propaganda impact. Not only is that wrong on the basis of exploiting the pain of suffering, it's also strategically foolish. Listen to the counter-propaganda from the Right: They're using the accusations now to weave a story of partisan selfishness and disregard for human suffering that is laying the groundwork to dismiss serious charges later. Don't play into their hands.

The main reason that the guilty go free is prosecutorial mistakes and prosecutorial misconduct. If you believe that there are guilty parties who should be punished, don't shoot yourself in the foot by going off half-cocked. Take the time to make your case carefully and with calm rationality.

The HabitableZone is not a place of censorship, Bowser. Remember a long while back, when so many people were demanding that I banish Don for his "body count" posts. I didn't do it, despite some misgivings, to protect freedom of speech and to ensure that the other side had a voice at a time when the Zone seemed dominated by the Right. So why did I jump on Don when he pursued a similar tactic with his posts quoting outrage against Bush and others for the handling of this disaster? Timing, Bowser, timing pure and simple. The situation in Iraq is drawn out over a long period of time and events are spaced sufficiently widely apart that people have time to absorb the shocks and think about them. But in the case of Hurricane Katrina, more pain and suffering than has occurred in Iraq over the years has been compressed into less than a week. We're reeling from the intense concentration of disaster, unbalanced, in shock, prone to our own violent outbursts.

This simply is not the time. But the time will come, as I've tried to assure you over and over. Please listen to me, Bowser.