'Oh my God, it was hell'

That's how a survivor described the flooding in New Orleans, which looks like a nightmare come to life today as water continued to pour into the city Tuesday night. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin estimated that thousands are dead from Hurricane Katrina, and the storm looks like the biggest disaster in American history.

And as if that weren't enough horrifying news for one day, more than 840 people died in a stampede on a Baghdad bridge today when a crowd of Shiite pilgrims panicked after hearing rumors of a suicide bomber among them. The death toll probably will rise as workers find more bodies.

I might start writing about state or national politics again in the next day or two. But right now, it all seems so comparatively insignificant in the face of such unspeakable tragedy.