Private Security Firms in New Orleans...

The same para-military private security firms that have been working in Iraq are now in New Orleans for wealthy citizens and private business. The Blackwater homepage makes them look like saviors, but don't kid yourself, in the end they are there for the rich. If you can afford their services, then you can get your own army with M-16 rifles. At the same time, the trail of money continues.

No Photos Please...

This time FEMA, not the pentagon "...does not want the news media to photograph the dead as they are recovered." The truth hurts and will create more questions that need to be answered. Ignoring it is even worse in the long run, much like the same expectation the pentagon had for the dead returning from Iraq.

Regardless of the attempted spin-control, three Duke University students still found a way to help.

No Qualifications...

Slowly the news is starting to spread that the director of FEMA, Michael Brown, has no business actually being any part of that agency. His background is in judging horses for 11 years and being a republican who is supported on every level by our President. So, there's nobody out there who was more qualified to make sure that Americans would survive a deadly hurricane than Michael Brown? At least he's part of the Presidential Prayer Team.

Hurricane Letter...

This is part of a letter recently received by the Friends of the Book Cadillac Organization from the former Director of the Lousiana Historic Preservation Society:

Dear Friends and Family, I continue to be uplifted by the prayers and good wishes of you all. I wish I had better news, but am sorry to report conditions here in Baton Rouge aredeteriorating rapidly.
We are out of gasoline.
The store shelves are getting sparse.
Many parts of the city are still out of electricity.
The population of Baton Rouge has grown by 250,000 in 3 days.
All hospitals and nursing homes are overflowing.All hotel rooms in Louisiana are filled.
The sports arenas at both Southern and LSU are filled with over 1500 patients.
Traffic is at near gridlock in some places.The sound of sirens is nearly non-stop.
There is no property left for sale or rent.
Credit card machines do not work, so most business is on a cash basis.

Please do not wait for the government to tell you what is needed - everyhour of delay causes more deaths.

Meanwhile, our officials at FEMA are recommending that First Responders Not Respond to Hurricane Areas. Get a clue, it's a little late to just start to get organized. What is more terrible is the total disregard for the victims of the hurricane. FEMA is disorganized, but at least they have their own agency sponsored song for kids (not a joke).

Fewer Donations to Charity...

Amid the death and destruction of the hurricane, Senator Bill Frist is moving ahead with a vote to permanently repeal the estate tax which helps many charities. If there were no estate tax in 2000, for example, “charitable donations would have been between $13 billion to $25 billion lower than they actually were.”

New Orleans and the south needs to be rebuilt even after the shame we have endured from our own failure to help those in need. The rich do not need more money.