What happened to the 500.000.000 dollars that was given to take care of the mess left by Katrina?

"Ramses mound" indeed. 3000 years from now somebody may dig up BSL and consider it a marvelous treasure trove. Meanwhile, dig up what you can and move along with the needs of a modern city.
"Giterdone!"

Something shameful has been going on in what Rush Limbaugh would call the "drive-by media."

I mean, I've read about the recovery problems still going on in Waveland and Bay St. Louis, and know they're just the tip of the iceberg. Similar things are going on in Biloxi, Gulfport, and other smaller communities along the Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas Gulf Coast, and last but not least, New Orleans and her surrounding parishes.

Then there's the FEMA atrocity of the "toxic tin cans," and the fact that Bay St. Louis (and, I imagine, most other Katrina- and Rita-hit communties) is broke. I could go on and on describing what's wrong in New Orleans and surrounding parishes, after close to 11 months, alone.

One would think NBC Nightly would be able to find enough material on the Gulf Coast to bring back its "After the Storm: The Long Road Back" series, which was inexplicably dropped from its news line-up over a month ago. Now Gulf Coast reports are few and far between, and Katrina's 10-month anniversary passed with nary a mention on NBC Nightly.

It saddens me and makes my blood boil to think that someone at NBC Nightly has stopped caring about Gulf Coast recovery and the many problems standing in its way. I wonder if this would still have happened had a catastrophe equivalent to Katrina hit San Francisco, Boston, or any part of this country other than the Gulf Coast. I think not--NBC Nightly would ahve found a way to continue covering the affected area.

We must find a way to steer NBC Nightly's attention back to the Gulf Coast--where Katrina and Rita are not old news and many storm survivors and their communities, still in desperate straits, are unbale to move on. Any ideas?

What about the MILLIONS of mobile homes that people currently live in all over the world, are these too toxic tin cans? Is this just an excuse for another expensive lawsuit? I have lived in a mobile home that was made from the same materials(and also live on the gulf coast) and have experienced the same health concerns, but at the same time was thankful to have a roof over my head(one that I was paying for)and have no intentions of suing anyone.I did learn how to open a door and a window and let it air out and it did help the respiratory problems. The Sierra Club should go to the manufacurers if they wish to do something about this and not start with our tax dollars and government who are furnishing homes for these people. A little common sense here would help a lot instead of people trying to stir up trouble and biting the hand that is feeding them. I am sorry for everyone's loss, but at the same time they do have a safe place to live for the time being and that should be all that matters. Air it out or buy an air purifier.

Yeah, here's an idea, Olivia: Find a way to bring about world peace, end the U.S. occupation of Iraq; find another toy besides nuclear weaponry for North Korea's Kim Il Sung to play with... I could go on and on.

The point being, as much as you or anyone else would like to see Nightly News focus on Bay St. Louis, "stuff happens" in the world that demands attention as well. And though it may not seem like it, even NBC Nightly News doesn't have an unlimited budget.

Be thankful that the top editors at MSNBC.com have committed and FOLLOWED THROUGH on their committment to keep a focus on BSL and Waveland. NO OTHER national news organization in the country has done that. So give the MSNBC.com folks a little more credit and back off throwing rocks at NBC Nightly News.

yes, what did happen to all of the moonies given to rebuild? we have heard about rampant misuse of debit cards by the katrina refugees; was all of this another "no bid" deal awarded to "connected" companies by our federal government?

$500mill has gone to hairstylists and pet owners in AZ. That was never enough money anyway. Figure a town has a budget of about 5-10 million with revenue generated from property taxes and state grants. I bet at least 50 towns are in need of that money. That's $250 million (the other $250m went to parties and things remember). But to REBUILD, you have to start from scratch. And sadly, the building inspector has the nightmare of identifying every lot and block and actual property lines before people can build properly. You dont' want someones septic on your property? The same applies to business and easements.
Regarding NBC Nightly, media is only interested if there is a conflict. If people don't watch the shows, ratings go down, and this world is all about ratings and advertisements. Everyone pulled together in NYC for about a year or two, then it was back to arguing. Send a letter to our town leaders in the Northeast(NJ, NY, CT, PA, RI, MA, ME, NH, VT)and ask them to help by sending $10,000. 100 towns doing so would get you $1 Mill. Everything counts.

As someone who spent over a year with the Red Cross, I watched as over 10 grand came in under a week, and then all the cheques were deposited. Where did it go from there? Who knows? Thousands of good hearted people took off from work for 1 to 3 weeks to go and assist, came back , settled their expenses and most were never heard from again. Why? Although the Red Cross is been fantastic on a local level, my own experience is they want to be in charge, and without the proper know-how. Mix that with local Emergency Management and you might as well mix Alcohol and Gunpowder. Ask who is in charge, and you will hear “I am “from 20 different voices. This, among personal differences diminishes the volunteer spirit, and increases the skeptics. Maybe it is time to form an Emergency team that knows what to do, when to do it, and knows who to answer to. Where did the money go? Ask the Red Cross and FEMA. We might find out in 100 years or so.

First thing everyone needs to do is stop waiting on the federal government to take care of all their problems and get everything back to pre-Katrina status. Move to a socialist or communist country if you want/expect the government to take care of you. Victims of disaster need immediate assistance but then they have to suck it up realize hurricanes happen and they chose to live in an area prone to this disaster. So stop waiting, hoping, and complaining about what you've been given. If you don't like the trailer go get something better. This is the USA where freedom comes with the price of self-reponsibility. These communities should seek alternative solutions such as asking a corporation or activist celebrity to sponsor thier town to attract the resoures they are short. I just read Madonna is sponsoring a Malawa village - why not get some of these vocal celebrities, or a large coporation, with more money than they could ever use in their life to sponsor their town.
Reconstructing this region is going to take years.

Thank you America. Thank you for sending the clothes, food, water and most of all volunteers to help this still shattered region. I am in New Orleans, and like BSL, we are still hurting. MOST of us are NOT sitting on our rumps and doing nothing. We are doing the best we can with what we have at this time. Tourist areas of the city are fine. I wish the tourists would come back, the city absolutely needs the money. But if you leave the "Sliver on the River" you get to see how New Orleanians are living now. It is not pretty. All that money that ya'll are asking about has yet to be distributed to residents trying to rebuild. That will start in August or September, I understand.

Thanks MSNBC for keeping someone at least on the Gulf Coast. I does disturb me though that when I sit and read some of these blogs, I am still hearing people who just don't get what happened and is still happening here. I did not see any blogs from New Orleanians or Gulf Coast residents chastizing the residents of D.C. or VA or MA when all that rain flooded out their communities back in June. Didn't they know that they were living close to rivers which would make them flood? And I don't see anyone saying that New York and St. Louis people are stupid. Why don't they leave - after all - they have not had electricity now for ONE WHOLE WEEK.

Most New Orleanians STILL have no electricity or sewerage or water after 11 months, yet I hear that Americans are moving on to the next world event. Thank God the rest of the world remembers us. One of the Saudi princes was here just last week, he brought donations and was SHOCKED at what little progress he has seen. He thought America was more powerful and would have begun rebuilding by now. So did the two American senators that came this week, they were clueless which included Sen. Obama.

New Orleans is a 300 year old city which spands 90 square miles. Only 10 square miles did not flood and sit in that water for 4 weeks. Imagine New York with the Bronx, Manhatten and Queens flooded; then disperse its resident across the US. If you can imagine that, than you will know what we look like.

I have also seen people saying that we were stupid to re-elect the mayor. I will not disagree with that, I did not vote for him. But a lot of outside forces raised money and marched and bused and got him re-elected. Now they can't find him. He is seldom in the city. He has not issued a plan and we have been left with no strong leader. Even Rudy Guiliani came down here and just shook his head. He said that 9/11 was not anything like this. His first responders had homes to go back to and that terrible, terrible act desimated 6 acres not 90 miles. America, we are still finding human remains here which were swept into debris piles that are just now being looked at. Please don't forget we are still here. Most times we wonder and we continue to work. And we continue to pray as we put a lot of sweat equity back into this place.

Well said Miss Marie.

I am drawn, at the end of my day, to drive around different parts of the City and the lower Parishes. To see up close the almost total distruction of my home town is beyond my ability to describe. The body of an American city dead and decaying before my eyes...Her integrity all but gone.

In my life to see and feel this heartache is truely crushing. But we must carry on as best we can.

I will say to Mr. Meeks that I am glad of the attention paid to BSL and Waveland via this site.

I will ask him to provide more context to the stories. The story concerning us complaining about
the no-seeums made us sound like a bunch of damn whiners instead of doing what we are doing, which is
rebuilding.

Very well put Ms. Burke.

My heart goes out to all that are working to overcome their devastating loss. I think we should all remember that ALL of Katrina's victims are people, not points in a political argument.

Usually disaster areas are towns and counties, not entire states or regions. Given the massive numbers of those affected by the storm, it seems reasonable to assume that there are bound to be more than a few storm victims who refuse to take any responsibility their situation, but to condemn an entire region based solely on examples set forth in the media is inappropriate.

I lost my home because of an illness that put me out of work many years ago, and even though I had insurance, it didn’t cover that kind of loss. I lived in my vehicle for nearly 8 months while I saved enough money to start over. I remember how difficult it was to find places to use the restroom and take showers, and the city I lived in had not been declared a disaster area. My heart goes out to everyone who no longer has the luxury of running water, indoor plumbing, or lights that turn on at the flick of a switch.

Thank you for reminding me that I would be a fool to take the life I have now for granted.

You are in my prayers.

Bless you, Marie Burke!....better things have to come your way

Hello, Brock. Thanks for the thought-provoking response. Stuff does happen and needs to be covered. But since this is a time when a lot is going on, couldn't NBC Nightly cover the Mideast, Korea, etc. more BRIEFLY so news out of Bay St. Louis, Waveland, New Orleans, doesn't fall through the cracks?

You mention that NBC Nightly doesn't have an unlimited budget. Actually, it costs far LESS to cover DOMESTIC news than overseas news. Were NBC Nightly really interested in economizing, it would keep more reporters and equipment here at home where they're needed to cover the Gulf Coast.

Also, NBC Nightly has aired many "features" instead of which "After the Storm: The Long Road Back" could have aired. Here's an example: Last night there was a "Baby Boomer" piece on keeping tabs on elderly parents. That was interesting.

However, it would have been far more newsworthy and interesting had NBC Nightly instead picked up the following story which ran in yesterday's New York Times. Poor, elderly Louisiana evacuees now living in Houston know that any month now they could lose their federal housing assistance. So, they're anxious to return to New Orleans. Unfortunately, they cannot, because New Orleans has no nursing homes, nor plans to rebuild the housing projects where many had lived.

These people's lives have been shattered and their spirits shredded by all they've had to endure. The article goes on, "Generally more frail and financially and physically vulnerable, they are also more prone to stress, beset by nightmares, isolated and ill-equipped to manage a new start in a strange city." Their situation is so heart-wrenching it brings tears to my eyes to think about it.

I apologize in advance but because I feel so strongly about this and the fact that NBC obviously had no interest in covering it, I'm going to have to throw a few "stones." How can NBC Nightly care so much about Mideastern evacuees it has aired report on top of report on them, yet seems to care not a whit about poor elderly Louisiana evacuees who really want to go back home but have nowhere to go? Maybe someone at NBC Nightly deems Mideastern evacuees more worthy of Americans' sympathy than poor, elderly Louisiana evacuees.

Lately regarding the whole Mideast mess there's been a lively debate about who's being treated more fairly in the media--the Israelis or the Lebanese. I'll leave that one to the Mideast mavens--but here's my perspective: Both sides are being treated more than just fairly--in fact, preferentially, in terms of quantity of news coverage. Lately, it's Americans in Louisiana, Mississippi, and the rest of the Gulf Coast who are being treated as nobodies.

It is wonderful that the editors at MSNBC.com as you mention have been keeping a focus on the Gulf Coast--would that their first-rate news judgment extended to NBC Nightly. If you still don't agree with my take on news coverage, read Marie Burke's and Steve George's posts--they provide excellent arguments for bringing the cameras back to Louisiana and the rest of the Gulf Coast. I made a mistake in my previous posting--I didn't say that what's wrong with NBC Nightly's not airing news out of BSL, Waveland, New Orleans can be found in 2 adages: "Out of sight, out of mind" and "No news is good news." This coverage's being lacking could convey to other Americans the false impression that recovery's proceeding smoothly and that everything's O.K. on the Gulf Coast when nothing could be further from the truth. For example, New Orleans, large areas of which look worse than Beirut and whose city services are so bad they're in war zone-like conditions. As long as this situation prevailw, I'm going to continue the fight for Gulf Coast coverage so that Katrina and Rita survivors and the recovery effort will not be forgotten.

Marie Burke has written the most cogent and thought provoking piece that I have yet read, and I hope that all those mean spirited people who have written so much vitriol calling the surviving residents idiots for living there, hang their heads in shame.

Marie,
My heart goes out to you and all of the others who have gone and come back to your homes..this is my first blog (ever) and I am furious !!!. I am from just outside D.C. and I too live in a community surrounded by water. We are not a wealthy comunity by all means, blue collar and local govn't workers mostly. For me to hear that after 11 months there are still human remains being swept into piles appauls me. There was a CAT 3 hurricaine that went thru our neighborhood, 3 miles wide and from one side of the county to the other... in April of 2003 and by Christmas all of the towns debris was gone...cleaned up.....there were people who worked from sun up to sun down to see to it. Our situation was not the same as yours in N.O. I am not comparing your tragety to ours by all means I am speaking of a towns spirit ans varility. We didn't have thousands of people leave our community for other parts of the country and still NOT return to help.
What I am getting at is....SHAME on those people who have gone to other parts of the country from YOUR community 11 months ago and have NOT RETURNED to help those of you who stayed and fought for your livelyhood. Don't tell me that at least a 1000 people.. Hell ..500 people..who usto call New Orleas home have not bettered themselves and DO have the means to come home and help out to clean up THEIR community as well. Sorry if I sound so harsh but those are the same people who still expect the GOVERNMENT to give them a hand out and they don't even live in NEW ORLEANS anymore and obviously don't want to come back untill it is all CLEAN and TIDY ...(MAYOR ??)....imagine that.

Miss Marie, I couldn't have said it better. I pray for those that want to "blame" us for living here. Do we blame someone for living in a town that gets a tornado every 30 years.....they will never realize their blindness and we don't need them anyway. We will work to get back and do it with the help of those that still care in this country. (and we will also help them with what little we have left to give in the future - since we know what they face and will return the kindness)

Why rebuild in California - it can get hit with an earthquake
Why build in tornado alley - it can get hit with tornadoes
Why live on any coast or port city - it may have a noreaster, hurricane, or tidal wave there as well.
Why live in the north - where winter ice storms make it impossible to get necessities and many trees fall on houses (and quick snow melts cause floods or mudslides)
Why live in the Mountain time zone and get burned out by wildfires and hit by avalanches
Why live in the west and have mudslides?

THere are fault lines volcanoes and natural disasters (known as the "big one") just waiting to happen.

Where are we to live (in bomb shelters under the ground?)

Just keep working hard and pray for those that helped us.....

Dee, your right....but you left out tsunamis....I just thought it was a drink till a year or so ago

I also wanted to thank Ms. Burke for her insightful post. As a former resident of New Orleans, now relocated to DC, I track the progress along the Gulf Coast daily, and my heart remains heavy. When we experienced all that rain and flooding last month, I wondered if the nation would take notice of how aberrations of nature can affect anyone no matter where they live, and reconsider their opinions of how foolish Gulf Coast residents are for wanting to remain where they are. I read the articles about FEMA's new policies for reducing disaster assistance, and I hope that those of you with supposed Katrina fatigue who nodded in agreement will not have to go through a natural disaster to realize how unfair and disastrous those changes will prove to be. I've always balked at the comparisons to 9/11, although I wish that the administration's response to Katrina would be as far reaching and entrenched as the response to 9/11 was. Admittedly, I was one of the lucky ones when it came to Katrina; I lived in the 10 square miles that did not flood, I had a car and was able to evacuate before Katrina made landfall, and I was able to eventually go back and retrieve most of my possessions before I relocated to DC. I am an attorney, so I have been able to get back on my feet financially a lot sooner than others. But I always want to emphasize that the hurricane affected an entire population of people with various incomes, backgrounds, financial situations, family situations, etc. A lot of my friends were scattered around the country, some of whom I have still not been in touch and cannot locate. Although I was able to retrieve my personal possessions, I left behind all of my furniture, my clothes, and one of my pets. Compared to what I was paying to live in New Orleans, where before Katrina a one bedroom apartment in the Lower Garden District where I lived cost $425 a month, my cost of living more than doubled when I moved to DC and I struggled for months to get back on my feet. I'm glad that MSNBC is following the progress of the coastal towns in MS, both of which I drove through in April, because I still feel that people don't realize that not only the poor, the uneducated, the unprepared, the African-American, was affected by this storm. Such a position allows the rest of the country to maintain distance, to say to themselves that they would have left, or they would have gotten insurance, etc. Reading these articles, you can see for yourself that both rich and poor, black and white, young and old, Republican and Democrat, are still trying to rebuild their lives. I don't know if I will ever go back to live, but I do think about New Orleans and the Gulf Coast every day, and pray for its people.

Miss Marie,
I am one of those people in Virginia who were impacted by the flooding in June. 158 homes in my neighborhood sustained damage. While we have been recovering from this and dealing with cleanup, insurance companies and just living, you, the victims of Katrina were and are, on our minds. We, the residents of the Huntington Community in Fairfax County, VA share your grief and frustration. Please don't give up - continue to pray and work to make it better.

If the Bronx Brooklyn and Queens all flooded, it would be a TAD larger than NO - You'd be trying to find housing for over 6 million people.... Vs under 1/2 Million for NO proper..

Come on - we just had 100K people without power in Queens last week - for 10 days. No disaster area, we just got the job done

The problem is, between the Feds, the States, and Local Govts in this country (NOT only in NO) we have become a bunch of "you can't do anything without permission" and "you can't offend anyone"

The say a holdup is the building department and permits - tell the darned Govt to shove it - change the darned law, and BUILD. It's a disaster - tell the red tape folks to get the heck out of the way. "Here's my property lines, I'm building, TOO BAD if you don't like it" If the folks in Government won't change the law - throw them out of office (By force is necessary)

You notice how fast the railroad got their causeway rebuilt? Because they said "we're doing it", instead of endless handwringing "Perfection is the enemy of good enough"

I think people on both sides need to put this into perspective. There are sides to every story. Although it is human nature to lay blame on someone else, and often times rightfully so, we all become victim to something called mother nature. Although we as humans and U.S. citizens are often used to being in control in our own lives and other areas, there are sometimes that we are going to face things that are beyond our, or anyone elses control.

For my own sake, I would like to interview some of the hundreds of thousands of people not only dead, but displaced through the Tsunami in Indonesia. or the other recent earthquakes and natural disasters that have been occurring around the globe. I wonder if people are blaming government, media, themselves for the disaster that plagued their country. It would be interesting to see how their government responded to the disasters in helping their citizens and if shelters or housing was established etc. Many of our U.S. Companies have profits that exceed the entire GDP of these countries. Many of them ask for help from other countries just to meet basic needs. Until we are the ones coordinating the relief, we will never know the capacity it takes. No matter how hard you work as the coordinator, there are going to be things that are missed, overlooked, and open to criticism. No amount of help is enough.

Sue, in the same breath, you cannot blame people for leaving. Just because you decided to stay, doesn't mean the elderly person with no family, or the young parents that have no money for their kids can stay and rebuild. There is something called survival, and just because people leave, doesn't mean that they are no less noble. Everyone must do what is necessary to survive. Louisiana is fortunate there they have someone like you that can stick out the storms and survive amidst turmoil, and I admonish you for that, but you cannot blame those that left, because you don't know their situation.

There are people starving to death and millions of homeless children in some countries, and we sit here crying that our town isn't getting media attention. I'm sure if you asked the children that are homeless on India's streets if they cared whether or not the media was covering the current status of people involved with Hurricane Katrina, they wouldn't care, and they would be just as stern about lack of media coverage and help for them. They would gladly take those shelters instead of having to live on the streets.

No matter how bad you have it, there are people around this globe that have it worse than you, and if we can stop blaming others for our situation, and do what we can to move forward, we will be a lot better off.

We will never know the magnitude of coordinating relief efforts for disasters of astronomical proportions, and hopefully many of us will not become a victim of these disasters either.

It is up to us to make a positive impact in areas around us. For those complainers, you should not complain because there are millions of people that have sacrified their time and money to be able to help others that were affected by this disaster. We can't negate those sacrifices, but appreciate those that have made the sacrifice and do what we can to improve our situation.

Annon for a reason,
Your argument about Queens being without power is missing one thing (the people didn't lose their homes cars and everything else - it was over in 10 days not 10 months and counting- wow that must have been REAL hard to live thru up there in Queens for 10 days)
I see your point, and yes NYC is much bigger, but the example of loss and discomfort is comparing a grape to a watermelon....
THe rest, I agree with as well, they could even bill for permits after the fact with taxes once the house is rebuilt to cut the red tape on the front end and get things moving.
Surely the area can speed the casinos back up to get a tax base again...for cash flow issues.

Mr(s?) Annon for a Reason.

The reason why there's problems with red tape is that

1) building officials would not sign off on a rebuild
until you follow the rules

2) we can't sell our homes until we have building
officials sign off.

And you guys in other parts of the country enduring
10 day power outages (my house was without power
in the hot Mississippi summer for two months!) want
us to leave so we don't continue robbing you of your
hard earned dollar, and we can't leave until we
sell, and we can't sell until someone signs off, etc.

You see where this is heading, Mr(s) Annon.

On the other hand, my email address works.

Concerning the lack of media coverage for N.O., I think if I were you I would be just as glad NOT to have so much coverage. So much of what we hear and read about is the crime, gangs, looting and shooting taking place during and following Katrina and even now. If that is the main story of interest for the media, then you can't blame most of the rest of the country for being tired of having tax money thrown away to help rebuild. Why bring back a city that is still too dangerous for people to visit?
I know that many decent hard-working people are residents. But you re-elected a mayor who had no idea of what to do, even when phone calls to him were made prior to the storm hitting. Katrina did not center on N.O., the breaking of leveys which your local government had been warned would not stand up to a hurricane of this force, caused the flooding. No one there wnated to take the responsibility of spending money to fix the problem and prevent a possible disaster. Now you want the rest of the world to feel that somehow we are supposed to forget about everything else going on and jump to fix all fo your problems. The rest of the Gulf Coast of MS. took the direct hit. Many of those areas are hardly ever mentioned and are slowly trying to rebuild. Many people from area churches have given time and money to come and do as much as possible to help. Money is still being sent to be used in the re-building of all of the destroyed towns, including the Alabama coast. Alabama towns also had and still have the same problems you have, except they are not as interesting to most of the TV audience as they are not filled with crime, just ordinary people trying to do the best they can with the things they have and being grateful for the many people who have given above and beyond what might be expected of anyone.

It's been 11 months and only some of the rebuilding work has started. The cost of infrastructure of a community is tremendous. Poor areas have no assets to rebuild. My heart goes out to all of you. Those of us in Houston area were very glad that when Rita followed Katrina, that it did not hit our area. Almost all areas of the the eastern half of Texas took people into our Communities from Katrina and sent trailer loads of good to needed areas, but when a huge area is devastated, then we need to figure out alternate solutions to get things working and to get help to the needed areas.
What many of you have forgotten is what one of the Three Great Lies are: "Hi, I'm from the Government and I'm here to help you."
Let's get some of large Charitable Foundations to help out. Someone needs to ask Bill Gates to look again at where he needs to spend some of "His" Foundations money and help Americans first.

I am shocked that someone would even mention to the people on the Gulf to even think about moving somewhere else. Those places are their homes and they have roots there, no matter how bad their lives have been shattered and torn. Some of the most heart wrenching and warming stories have come out of these areas after Katrina (and they are still coming) and Rita. The people who left town and have not come back for one reason or another are the ones that keep yelling we want more help. Prime example there was a story in the news paper in Bham about a family that moved here after Katrina from N.O. 10 months later FEMA is telling them that they are no longer paying for their $1500 a month apartment that they need to find other means to pay for it, this family has had time to #1. Get jobs #2. Find a cheaper place to live. They are crying and whining because they do not have jobs or the money to pay for their apartment and they do not know where they are going and they had the nerve to say that they thought the people of Bham were kinder and would open their homes to them. The ones that stayed or came back after the storm DESERVE the help and I hope and pray that the things that my family and co-workers sent down were actually received by the ones that REALLY need it.

to lanie
it is painfully obvious that not only do you lack compassion but you have never endured tragedy;if so,you are so cold it merely means nothing. we are not sitting around waiting on anyone to bail me out nor countless others. may you continue to live in neverneverland.

11 months, shoot it's fixing to be a year. That sapsucker tore things up! Maybe in another year things will be even more normal. Or at least I hope for it to be better.

FYI...on Monday, Aug. 21st, Home and Garden Television (HGTV) is starting a series about rebuilding after Katrina, one year later. Just saw it advertised...9pm, I think...Interesting to see how they will report it....hopefully they won't forget Mississippi, as if the entire hurricane hit NO and no place else.....

Every time, I read these messages, I think: "If the tables were turned....and..." need I say more? Those of you who continously think the hurricane is gone and forgotten, better, WAKE UP and rethink the thought...Focus now and THINK before you speak...If you were caught in a "Katrina's" path and lost everything but a suitcase of clothes; wouldn't you be more interested in seeing TV news programs talking on the rebuilding efforts, and how YOUR community is progressing, instead of having the TV news programs focusing on war torn countries who despise Americans! HELLO! DUH! WAKE UP!! SMELL THE COFFEE! DING DONG! Gee, whiz people, this is not middle school here!!! Never in recorded history has a hurricane of this magnitude ever destroyed a stretch of population as this KATRINA, and some of you think the million or so people that it has affected should "shut up, forget about it and move on"! Wow, amazing Brotherhood! I am a KATRINA victim that use to live in Waveland (yeap, the hardest hit, no doubt about it...take a field trip down there and see for yourself~ you may grow a heart after all!) I moved on with my life, never asked for a Fema trailor, instead, moved into a rental home, found a job, and had my sixth child. I miss the gulf coast and the small community of GREAT people! I hope the news (all networks) report on the updates of the gulf coast every day just as the war is being reported on! Over a million viewers will watch! Are you one?

I recently returned from Waveland after a couple weeks helping with the recovery effort. When I arrived I was shocked and heartbroken to see how little the area had changed in almost a year. And the conditions that most are living in is unbelievable for the USA. People don't have water, electricity, babies don't have diapers, etc. etc. I would like to see MSNBC and all media, especially with the anniversary coming, put out a call to all Americans to stand up and help your fellow countrymen. In talking to people since coming home I've discovered that most Americans aren't aware of how dire the situation still is there. And believe me seeing it on TV is nothing like actually walking the area and talking with the people there. You have something to say about those folks, or that area??? Get you but down there and stand beside them. And all the time I spent with those folks I never once heard a complaint. Nor did I see a hand out expecting anything. They are proud Americans rebuilding their lives, hearts, homes, and families and they have an intense gratitude for those that come and stand beside them. I was most often the one in tears over their situations and they were comforting me and blessing my heart. They have a true American grit which I don't see much of anymore in America's big cities. Do you have water in your kitchen?? Flip a switch and have light?? Open your frig for food??? Share your blessings.
Spend some time with the folks in Waveland. Your heart will be changed forever. Mine is. Can't wait to go back and hammer more nails, lay down more shingles, and give (and get) more hugs. Kathy Sluznis

I have only lived here for 5 months now, and I have seen how much destruction there really is here. I am not sure where the 500 million went, but do people think it is cheap to clean up such destruction? If you have not been here to see just what is going on and how much destruction there really is you can't fully understand how much it has cost or how much more is needed here. It is a shame that people did take advantage of the debit cards, but that was not everyone here, Most of the people here are fighting to rebuild in their life long homes. It has taken many people to use their own money , not government aid to rebuild. There is more going on here than they can ever show on the news, you have to see it to believe it!

To Lisa Breaux, All Other Storm Survivors, and Everyone Else Who Cares About Gulf Coast Recovery and Wants More News Coverage:

Here's how to let TV news programs know we want to hear more about rebuilding efforts on the Gulf Coast--not "people in war-torn countries who despise Americans."

NBC Nightly has a blog, dailynightly.msnbc.com. I'm using this as an example because I watch NBC Nightly every night and often post on dailynightly--but I imagine many other news programs have similar blogs or other opportunities for viewers to provide feedback.

After your favorite newscast doesn't cover the Gulf Coast, post a comment to complain about the lack of news coverage and ask the newscast to air Gulf Coast coverage.

Also, provide positive feedback after each newscast when Gulf Coast news is covered. And compliment them on the quality of their reporting. And, if you're a Katrina (or Rita or Charlie or any other storm) survivor, or someone who has helped out in the storm zone, add something from your own experience or about what you're currently going through.

Your comments may not always be posted--sometimes mine aren't--but I'm sure someone at the network is reading them (which they'd have to do to be able to decide what to post and what not to)--and hopefully getting the message. So don't let their not being posted faze you, and DON'T GIVE UP. I haven't--I keep trying.

Oh, and Lisa--I'm so happy you've been able to move on with your life--which you richly deserve after all you've been through. You're not a victim--you're a SURVIVOR. I wish all other storm survivors could be so fortunate. And because you miss the Gulf Coast, I hope you're eventually able to return to a rebuilt Waveland.

Pat in Alabama--I too had noticed recently that much New Orleans coverage on TV has been about crime, etc. and am also worried about such negative publicity's effect on Americans' desire to nurse her back to health. I figure the media's interest in crime is because it gets ratings.

The media should tone down the New Orleans crime coverage and instead focus on positive recovery news that would cast her in a good light. New Orleans needs favorable coverage that plays up what's valuable about her and her people and show Americans why they should help keep a strong, healthy New Orleans alive. Because she has decent, hard-working people who simply want to rebuild their homes and bring New Orleans back.

I do not mean outright devastation or hardships in New Orleans should be sugar-coated, glossed over, or not mentioned at all. Because then other Americans would think, Why help New Orleans? She looks as normal as Peoria, Illinois. News depicting hardships and destruction shows why New Orleans still needs a great deal of help. The media should report the hardships while emphasizing the efforts New Orleanians are making to overcome them and make their beloved city whole.

Here's an outrage which has gotten my hackles up: Yesterday President Bush announced a $230 MILLION donation in humanitarian aid to LEBANON. This at the worst time--when it's nearly a year after Katrina, and New Orleans, Mississippi, Alabama, and the rest of the storm zone can use the aid.

And it made me physically ill recently to see NBC Nightly report on Lebanese evacuees returning to homes without water and electricity. Because in parts of NEW ORLEANS water and electricity are non-existent, and even in undamaged areas they're unreliable. Her fire department and health system are badly depleted, day care is hard to find, and she hasn't enough schools even for a much lower school-age population. Her streets are full of potholes. Most any one of these ALONE can imperil New Orleans' recovery--and NBC Nightly has aired NOTHING on these war zone-like conditions. It makes my blood boil to think of someone in a comfy chair at NBC caring very much about hardships in LEBANON, but not caring a whit about what fellow Americans in LOUISIANA must endure.

So is it any wonder that Bush thought it would be O.K. to give $230 million away to Lebanon? He must have noticed the lack of reporting from the Gulf Coast and assumed that rebuilding was coming alone just fine. So it didn't even cross his mind that people and communities there might still need help. After all, no news is good news...

(If I wanted to be facetious, I'd suggest that Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi secede from the Union and each apply for foreign aid as a separate country--then maybe they'd get multi-million handouts like Lebanon did.)

I respectfully beg to differ with "Now you want the rest of the world to feel that somehow we are supposed to forget about everything else going on and jump to fix all of your problems."

I do not expect you to "forget about everything else going on."

But I would feel much better if, as you pay attention to "everything else going on," you DO NOT FORGET NEW ORLEANS. That's all I ask.

And NBC Nightly and the rest of the media, with few exceptions such as Sunday night's compelling report on battered women in New Orleans, seem to have forgotten not only New Orleans but Alabama, Mississippi, and the rest of the Gulf Coast. This is why we must work to refocus their attention on the hardships and the rebuilding effort there. It is a disgrace that NBC Nightly has not started airing regular Katrina anniversary coverage.

It is good to read that people on Alabama's Gulf Coast are working together to rebuild their destroyed towns with the aid of church groups. That sounds a lot like what's going on in Mississippi. which, while there are hardships to be overcome and a lot of hard work still to be done, has me impressed. However, I'm worried about Louisiana.