As the tragedy in Colorado Springs unfolds, it is reasonable to wonder why some of the best coverage seems to come from abroad, whether or not it is wise to have a presidential visit to such on-going disasters, and if the fires are the result of arson, incompetence, or both.

Sean Hannity and Rush often question why they have to go to foreign, often U. K., sources to get the latest and best American political news.  A keywords search of Lucianne.com with the words "Obama" and "Colorado fire" will show that the MSM is focused on the trivial rather than the trenchant.

A sample: "Obama heads to Colorado to view fire damage."  From the original:

As President Barack Obama surveys damage from raging wildfires and thanks first responders in Colorado, he also will be seeking to show voters in one of the nation's most tightly contested political swing states that he is a compassionate leader who can command in a crisis.

And a look at the fawning pics of a hands-in-pocket, casually-dressed Preezy in this post by our friend, Zip will confirm the proposition.

The U. K. Daily Mail gave the internet some of the best coverage of the recent tsunami in Japan, and it has done it again with the Waldo Canyon Fire. providing us with the very best photographs available of the horrific events now occurring there.

This is just one example, but they all must be seen, for their starkness is penetrating.

The story, itself, is thorough, gut-wrenching, and provocative.

Meanwhile, at the U.S. Air Force Academy, officials said that the fire has claimed around 10 acres of campus. The Academy's Fire Chief, Ernst Piercy, told the official U.S. Air Force website: 'This is absolutely the worst wildfire I've ever seen.'

Photos of the heartbreaking devastation of the wildfires that have ravaged Colorado in the last several days have revealed piles of rubble where houses once stood before the flames engulfed the region, leaving more than 35,000 people homeless.

The photos revealed the Mountain Shadows area of Colorado Springs, where dozens of homes can be seen decimated by the fast-moving fire.

Heavy smoke and ash billowed down the mountain from the Waldo Canyon Fire, which is top priority for the nation's firefighters. Jeffrey Lucas, who has lived in the area all his life, said his family home had burned to the ground.

The 23-year-old told the Denver Post: 'The fire was literally coming down the hill as all of us were running to grab things out of the house and get out of there.'

He added that there were no calls from police and they had seen how close the fire was.

The story addresses Mr. Obama's visit with snarky comparisons to President Bush from anonymous AP sources:

Amid the devastation, President Obama is planning a visit to the state to survey the damage, meet with firefighters, and tour the ravaged zones of one of the nation's most tightly contested political swing states....

Mr Obama's visit to the disaster zone - and every one he has made during his presidency - is done under the shadow of Mr Bush's botched response to Hurricane Katrina, which irrevocably damaged his presidency, the AP noted....

Mr Bush was widely criticized as detached and uncaring when he viewed the hurricane damage from the air rather than meeting with people on the ground. White House officials said at the time that they didn't want Mr Bush's presence to distract from the recovery efforts.

Mr Obama has faced some criticism that his trip to Colorado could divert time and resources away from the efforts to fight the fires.

'While President Obama certainly has the right to come to Colorado whenever he chooses, I believe his visit tomorrow will be a distraction from what has to be our only priority, which is containing and then defeating these fires,' Bill Owens, the former Republican governor of Colorado, said.

But Colorado's current Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper said Colorado officials from both parties support the president's visit.

'They said, 'You're right, this is not a political thing. This is what the president of the United States should be doing in a situation like this'' 

The question of the wisdom of presidential visits to such on-going disasters is a complicated one. Another of our friends, Michele Malkin, has been forced to evacuate, losing, so far, only one of the kids' parakeets to smoke inhalation. Her thoughts are here,

Did you know that President Obama has been incommunicado with Colorado's governor for more than two weeks as the nation's worst wildfires rage across the state? Maybe he thought we were all "doing fine." After an embarrassing Beltway press briefing revelation about our out-of-touch White House, the administration finally decided to divert the campaigner in chief from his nationwide fundraising frenzy for a quick look-see at our devastated city on Friday. It's "leadership from behind" you can count on.

and those of others are easily found here.

The answer to the Arson question is also complicated, for arson will be difficult enough to establish, given the size of the fire, let alone prosecute.

According to El Paso County Undersheriff Paula Presley, officials are investigating to see if arson is the possible cause of the colossal fire, the basal line of fire investigations.

She told ABC News in an exclusive interview: 'Anytime we have a fire of undetermined origin, we're going to treat it as arson... to ensure that it is thoroughly investigated and we get to the point of origin and make sure that (sic) either rule out arson, or determine that it is arson.'

Do read that above-referenced ABC interview for local thoughts:

This is a very popular trail and every weekend people, people flood this trail hiking and this is where its believe to be where the fire started much further up just off of the trail the firefighters have yet to get in there. Really, to establish the actual point of origin or where the fire began. And so I know there are a lot of questions about the investigative part of this as to whether or not this is arson or not. It's really important that they get to the point of origin before we can ever get to that determination.

Michelle Malkin has many questions about the official responses to the incident here:

The Obama administration's neglect of the federal government's aerial tanker fleet raises acrid questions about its core public safety priorities. Bipartisan complaints goaded the White House into signing a Band-Aid fix last week. But it smacks more of election-year gesture politics: Too little, too late, too fake.

And here:

According to the Colorado Springs fire public information unit and the city emergency operations center, local phone calls about the emerging blaze first came in around Saturday noon on June 23.

But what did the federal government officials know and when did they know it?

And we must not forget that our Islamic foes are here in numbers, and they have advocated just this form of attack:

Al-Qaeda's English-language magazine 'Inspire' has reappeared months after its leaders died in a U.S. missile strike, offering detailed advice on how to start huge forest fires in America with timed explosives and how to build remote-controlled bombs.

Please let us all ponder the questions and pray for the victims.

And go here, here, or here if you want to put some of your money to good use.