"Democrats and others" criticize....

I love the headline in the New York Times today: "Democrats and Others Criticize White House's Response To Disaster."

Our country has a two-party system. Democrats and Republicans. What this headline says is "Democrats and Republicans Criticize White House's Response To Disaster." OK, we know that. The National Review site has been blasting Bush, FEMA, and so on. Everyone is shocked by the lack of leadership we're seeing here. So why is "Democrats" called out in the headline, other than to make the attacks seem more partisan from the left?

This goes hand-in-hand with the media representation of the state of New Orleans now, which can be summarized as "Blacks and Others Loot Businesses." What would be the reaction if these headlines ran?

"Jews and Others Love Money"
"Women and Others Increasingly Obese"
"Republicans and Others Love America"

Well, that third one was actually what we've seen for four years now, minus the "and others" part. Even when it's clear that we're watching a nation-changing meltdown from the White House, the Times is using the headline to imply that the criticism is less than reality-based.

The good news is that gas is only $2.99 for regular at the 7-11 in Bay Shore. Unfortunately, they're out of everything but super unleaded.