The MSM's Silence On Post-Katrina Louisiana

I wish I could say that Hurricane Gustav refocused more national attention on Louisiana's issues including vanishing barrier reefs and wetlands as well as the following, which I learned about this morning from a fellow Kossack living in the NOLA area who had evacuated when Gustav was on the way. Maybe it did--for only a few minutes.

For to put it bluntly, even in the New Orleans area even though the MSM gave out of state observers the impression that the area had escaped unscathed or was only lightly damaged, residents still have a major mess to contend with--and FEMA still doesn't seem to have learned from Katrina and the flood.

Here's the comment I posted on NBC's Daily Nightly If you can't find it, it's been censored.

Bear with me for being a bit picky about last night's coverage after Nightly's first-rate coverage of Gustav's hitting Louisiana last week, but I wish you'd aired more than just a headline about the suffering and devastation still prevailing in Houma and other areas of Louisiana.

As my NOLA-area friend has put it in an e-mail,

"Gustav and Katrina are forever intertwined. People were just starting to put K in perspective and at that moment we were on the run. The Gustav situation is not being covered. FEMA, again did not get the water, ice, tarps and MRE's to the disaster site. The supplies are starting to arrive TODAY. I have open sewerage on my lawn, spoiled food on the street, traffic congestion at the food stamp sites and on and on - same story. Those 10% insurance deductibles will not cover the type of damage that most received (shingles, fence, food, lodging). Nothing, absolutely nothing was learned from Katrina. All that money wasted on crony contractors instead of barrier island, wetlands and raised houses.

Also, I opened my paper this morning and discovered my neighbors were killed in MS during the evacuation. MS was just awful (blocked exits, guards with guns, accidents, no gas). Something needs to be done - I59 is a federal highway."

I just thought I'd pass the above on because amidst all of the Palindrone (which I call the incessant talk about and coverage of Sarah Palin) Gustav's aftermath is still major news because it shows that not too much has been learned in Katrina's wake.

Here's more from the Baton Rouge Advocate on FEMA's continuing to give Louisiana the shaft, which we haven't heard about from Brian Williams:

Shortages of food, water and ice Saturday in parishes hard hit by Hurricane Gustav prompted criticism of the Federal Emergency Management Agency from Gov. Bobby Jindal and promises of new truckloads of supplies from the agency.

FEMA officials said millions of meals-ready-to-eat, bottles of water and bags of ice were on the way, and they were shuffling supplies among the more than four dozen distribution sites around Louisiana to keep handing out provisions to the lines of people without power.

So we can't say this is due to Louisiana's having a Democratic governor this time.

And that's not all--storm-weary residents of NOLA are stressed out

As hurricane season has hit high gear with the passing of Gustav and the approach of Ike, doctors say they’ve seen a large increase in the number of prescription anti-depressant and anxiety medications as locals deal with the stress of strong storms that have tracked our way.

houmatoday.com has lots of good advice at dealing with disasters during the recovery including

devote some time to getting your stress level under control. Start by being patient with yourself and others. Don’t expect things to restore themselves instantly. Focus on the big picture instead of the little details. Determine what’s really important, and keep in mind that different people, even in your own household, will have different priorities.

Be tolerant of mood swings and expressions of disbelief, anger, sadness, anxiety and depression. Don’t overlook the feelings of children.

It also lists some surprising physical signs that an adult is under post-disaster stress as

Headaches or stomach problems.


Tunnel vision or muffled hearing.


Colds or flu-like symptoms.

as well as the usual symptoms such as depression, difficulty concentrating, feeling of hopelessness, etc.

Then there's power--indispensable to modern life--however, according to the Alexandria/Pineville Town Talk the power is still off for hundreds.

I hope that the Palindrone will soon fade and the MSM will take note of what really matters.

Last but not least, here are a couple of places to donate towards hurricane relief:
Network for Good. Or, as Barack Obama suggests, donate to the
Red Cross. Give what you can--but give. No amount will be too small. Thanks!