It’s a pathetic commentary on human nature that even while New Orleans is turning into a real-life, if temporary, version of “Water World,” complete with post-apocalyptic anarchy, people across the nation are responding by waiting in lines to buy every possible drop of gasoline at jacked-up panic prices. After all, what are tens of billions of dollars in damage, hundreds of thousands of lives shattered, entire neighborhoods and towns gone, and unknown hundreds or thousands of deaths compared with the horror of paying an extra $5 to fill up the gas tank? On the other hand, thanks to the others who are keeping your heads and are doing all you can to help the hurricane refugees. With that, I leave to the soapbox to y’all.