Like I said, this will be the first of many bloody noses for Hizzoner The Mayor. This was about as badly handled as it gets. If they had given a date, after which time the operation went from rescue to recovery to demolition, I think it might have made a huge psychological difference for the firefighters at the site. If they had somehow ritualized the maximum number of firefighters and police allowed at the site as part of that, reducing the numbers gradually, it might have allowed for the recovery workers to walk away more gracefully, and save face.

As it is, the situation is just very sad for the firefighters and their families. Everyone knew the day had to come when giving up hope of recovering more bodies would come, just as the day had to come when hope was abandoned that anyone would be found alive. But the callous way in which this has been handled speaks volumes about what sort of mayor and what sort of man Guiliani really is, IMO.

As to the Red Cross, I have always heard nothing but venomous comments from the WWII generation about them. In the wake of 9/11 when everyone and their mother started throwing money at the RC, I heard more than a few people say they would never give a dime of their money to them, for just these very reasons being debated.

I guess we are just beginning to see who we really are, now that the "unity" facade is crumbling.