Small Towns Suffer And Bush Visits Iowa

A quick little flood update story and then back to humor.
With Mother Nature giving us another beautiful, sunny day, we have important visitors arriving today, as President Bush is touching down in Cedar Rapids, and will then tour the area, have a quick bite to eat, and announce "Mission Accomplished", as his arrival means an end to ALL suffering from the floods?!?
Oh, I meant, we are still under the gun, with a "hint" of hope that this will soon be over, even as small towns south of here are suffering from rising waters!!

The story at Yahoo News reads:
As floodwaters take aim at the tiny towns lining the Mississippi River, the heartland ethic of neighbors helping neighbors is proving to be a potent force against the rising water.

Volunteers up and down the river in Illinois and Missouri joined sandbagging operations in the frantic effort to contain the Mississippi as forecasters predicted near-record crests from Quincy, Ill., to Winfield, Mo.

"There's one thing about Midwesterners," said Don Giltner, mayor of Louisiana, Mo., a picturesque river town north of St. Louis where 40 square blocks were under water Wednesday, three days before the Mississippi's expected crest. "We're resilient as hell. We're all worn out. We've put in a lot of long days."

President Bush planned to travel Thursday to Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, where the water is receding but families and businesses are knee-deep in the disheartening aftermath. The visits will be his first in the Midwest since flooding began; he was in Europe at the time but expressed deep concern. Storms and flooding across six states this month have killed 24 people, injured 148 and caused more than $1.5 billion in estimated damage in Iowa alone — a figure that's likely to increase as river levels climb in Missouri and Illinois.

link to full story