Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Confronted by a disaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina, we make no claims to providing "full coverage" of the event. Rather, we will try to provide you with bits of news and commentary that you might not find in the "major" media.

If you have other items you think we should mention,
or comments of your own,
please send a note,
to be shared here.

PHEWA launches initiative to revitalize dangerous New Orleans neighborhood

Grant fuels effort to develop strong leaders via faith-based community organizing [8-23-07]

Presbyterian News Service reports that the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association (PHEWA) is partnering to establish a grassroots faith-based community organizing initiative aimed at revitalizing a notoriously dangerous New Orleans neighborhood.

The effort, being funded through a $20,000 grant from a private foundation, calls for developing strong leaders in the crime-infested Central City district of New Orleans and training them to tackle problems that residents of the neighborhood work together to identify. The full report >>

How to Destroy an African-American City in Thirty Three Steps – Lessons from Katrina
[7-3-07]

Bill Quigley, a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola University New Orleans, has laid out in a powerful way some of the things made New Orleans such a disaster – after Katrina and still today. He adds that "Every fact in this list actually happened and continues to happen in New Orleans after Katrina."

This was published on June 28, 2007, by CommonDreams.org

NCC sending work team to New Orleans
[6-22-07]We all said we would not forget our brothers and sisters in New Orleans after Katrina. Now HERE is a chance to make good on that commitment! You and members of your faith community can join the National Council of Churches as they mark the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by participating in a week-long work project. Interested? Here's more:

Join Us in New Orleans for Worship, Witness & Work
August 19-25, 2007

Two years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, residents continue their efforts to rebuild. But they need our support. The faith community was there as first responders. We will continue to be there for the victims of this storm until the work is done.

Come to New Orleans as we worship, witness and work together to help those in need as they rebuild their homes, churches, communities and lives.

The Week’s Highlights include:

	Hands-on rebuilding of homes, communities and lives
	Clergy Listening Tour (Aug. 21-22)*
	Workshops and Resource Center
	Daily Worship Experiences
	"Gospel Explosion" Worship Service on Saturday
	Opportunities to encourage and support those in need

You can Support This Effort by:

	Sending a volunteer or team of volunteers from your church to participate
	Making a financial contribution to support Ecumenical Work Week
	Praying for the participants and that the Gulf Coast region would be fully restored with justice

*Space is limited. Please contact Rev. William Drayton to register at (202) 544-2393.

For more information contact on how to be involved in this important and exciting work, please contact: Rev. Leslie C. Tune or James Stevenson at (202) 544-2350 or via email at: Ltune@ncccusa.org or jesteven@email.arizona.edu.

And don’t forget ...

The Presbyterian Church (USA), through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, has been coordinating work teams in the Gulf Coast area almost since the hurricanes struck. Right now their call is for work teams, especially teams with skilled workers, to help in the recovery and rebuilding phases. They add, "Please consider sending a team from your congregation, Rotary club, Elks club, garden club or other civic organization."

More on PDA relief efforts >>

Special report available on Gulf Coast relief efforts

Extensive coverage includes stories, video and photo albums [3-3-07]

The Presbyterian News Service - in partnership with Media Services and Internet Services - has released a special multi-media report detailing progress in Gulf Coast relief efforts since Hurricane Katrina devastated the area in August 2005.

See the Special Report >>

From Long Island to the Gulf Coast –

One congregation joins in Katrina relief [2-15-06]

The Rev. Kent Winters-Hazelton, former president of the Witherspoon Society and Interim Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in East Hampton, NY, is just back from a week's stay in Mississippi with a group from his congregation. Here's his report >>

Raising the roof in Mississippi

500 volunteers clear storm debris, fix 75 houses in weeklong 'blitz'
[1-12-06]

Presbyterians organized and funded a six-day roofing "blitz" during the week after Christmas, to aid hurricane survivors, fixing homes in Biloxi, Long Beach and Bay St. Louis, all in Mississippi.

Volunteers, most of them Presbyterians, came from as far away as Ontario, Canada, to participate in the $250,000 effort, which was coordinated by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA), Mississippi Presbytery and Westminster Presbyterian Church in Gulfport.

Most of the building materials used in the effort were bought with contributions raised through a PDA appeal issued shortly after Hurricane Katrina. So far, the disaster-response agency has raised $20 million for church rebuilding, pastoral support and general community work, according to PDA's coordinator, Susan Ryan.

More >>

Pervasive loss & persistent hope.... from post-Katrina southern Louisiana

Michael Adee, National Field Organizer for More Light Presbyterians, who grew up in south Louisiana and taught at Louisiana State University, writes after a visit to New Orleans and Baton Rouge [12-12-05]

His letter concludes:

Over and over again, it was clear to me that "everyone is neighbor" here in New Orleans and Baton Rouge as people were reaching out to lift one another up in the aftermath of these disasters. The typical, unnecessary barriers of race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender or class make no difference here in these difficult times. They seem to dissolve away into our common humanity in these sacred moments.

My hope and prayer is that our Church, nation and world could find ways to "see, recognize, respect and love everyone as neighbor" in ordinary times as well. This is the mission and vision of More Light Presbyterians as we are working together to "Build a Church for all God's people."

The whole letter >>

Katrina and Rita -- 3 months later
[12-6-05]

As the disasters of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita begin to look more like history than like current, urgent problems, it may be helpful to look at those critical events from the perspective of three months of action ... or inaction.

Gene TeSelle, Witherspoon's Issues Analyst, considers the disasters from two angles:

	the policy issues surrounding actions by the federal and state governments, and concerns raised by the Coalition on Human Needs,
	and the prospects for the future -- who should have a voice in the decision-making, what sort of reconstruction would be best, and much more.

For the latest news -- and needs for help! -- check out the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance page.

So, is God a terrorist?
[10-5-05]

Berry Craig, writer and professor of history, shares some of the things that have been said recently about the wrath of God being shown through the destruction and death wrought by Hurricane Katrina. He doesn’t much like that view of God as terrorist.

Presbyterian responses to Hurricane Katrina [9-21-05]
For current information >>

The Peacemaking Offering (October 2!) and Hurricane Katrina

Also: The Peacemaking Program has written a letter reflecting on the Peacemaking Offering and the need to respond to Hurricane Katrina. The letter may be used by pastors, peacemaking committees, mission committees, worship committees and others to promote the offering.

And: How collegiate ministries can respond to Hurricane Katrina

Another Witherspoon member checks in from New Orleans [9-24-05]

Soon after the Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, we contacted some Witherspoon members in that area, just to let them know we’ve been thinking of them. We soon heard from a couple of them, but this response came just yesterday, Sept. 23. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the people of the Gulf Coast as they now deal with Hurricane Rita.

I just got e-mail service today. I and my family returned last Saturday after 20 days in Dallas where the Red Cross paid my entire motel bill. I have a little roof damage, and small minor things broken up. I have a rare location, 15 feet above sea level. The political posturing around this awful storms evoke cries for justice. Conservative, right wing, administrations have concerned themselves only with the super rich, and the poor get nothing. Why can't Americans see what is happening? Peace, and thank you for your concern and prayers.

John Spaulding

John is a retired minister, living in Jefferson, LA, which is within New Orleans.

Groups urge hurricane relief, temporary amnesty to illegal immigrants [9-21-05]

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants displaced by Hurricane Katrina should be allowed to receive humanitarian relief and to remain in the United States for now, advocacy groups told Congress today.

The National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities urged the government to allow desperate immigrants to receive all benefits bestowed on other victims of the storm. More>>

Education Under Attack in Katrina's Wake [9-21-05]

The Wall Street Journal recently exposed that President Bush and his allies in Congress are plotting to take advantage of hurricane relief measures to "achieve a broad range of conservative economic and social policies, both in the storm zone and beyond." On the table are more tax cuts for the wealthy and the suspension of desegregation measures and environmental safeguards. Following last week's waiver of wage protections for federal workers, education is now targeted by two legislative initiatives that could come up for a vote as early as today. More>>

Sojourners is circulating a "Katrina Pledge: A commitment to build a new America"

You too may find this a helpful way to let people articulate and focus their concerns, and commit to acting out of those concerns. [9-21-05]

Leaders Who Won't Choose

In Washington, it's business as usual in the face of a national catastrophe.
[9-21-05]

Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, offers a sharp moral critique of the "frivolous" response of American political leaders to Katrina disaster.

Church leaders call for halt in budget process

Kirkpatrick, 4 others say federal spending plan would empty cupboards of poor and hungry [9-21-05]

The devastation and suffering left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have given church leaders an opportunity to call again for the U.S. Congress to halt the federal budget-reconciliation process, which they say promises to gut programs for the poorest and most marginalized Americans. The Presbyterian News Service report >>

Moderator reflects on the human aftermath of Katrina
[9-19-05]

In a "blog" note posted on Wednesday, Sept. 14, Rick Ufford-Chase reported on the effects of Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of his Vice-Moderator, the Rev. Jean Marie Peacock, who is associate pastor of a congregation in New Orleans.

Not long after his conversations with her, Jean Marie Peacock joined the Witherspoon conference on mission for peace and justice at Stony Point Center. She talked with us freely and movingly about what has been happening in the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast area, and about the many ways Presbyterians are responding to the overwhelming needs there.

For more recent blogs from Rick as he visited various places in Louisiana and Mississippi, go to his blog page.

Sisters and Brothers,

I don’t know about you, but it took several days for Katrina’s significance to sink in for me. I had a series of "aha" moments that unfolded through my conversations with Jean Marie Peacock, the vice-moderator of the General Assembly and associate pastor at Lakeview Presbyterian Church in New Orleans. Early on, I was horrified, like all of us, by the horrific violence of the storm. I, along with Jean Marie and many others, breathed a huge sigh of relief when New Orleans appeared to come through the storm battered but not destroyed. Then the levies broke, and I felt my anxiety begin to rise like the rising of the water in the city of New Orleans.

Later that day, I spoke again with Jean Marie as she and her husband Peter headed for her parent’s home in Urbana, IL (where they still are two weeks later). She told me that Lakeview Presbyterian Church was the closest Presbyterian Church to the break in the 17th Street levy, and that it was quite likely under at least twelve or fifteen feet of water (a guess that turned out to be accurate). Her own home was also in one of the flooded areas, and she and Peter were just beginning to come to grips with the fact that they probably have lost everything they own. Even now, more than two weeks later, they have no news of the condition of their home.

Two days later, Jean Marie and I spoke again. This time, she told me that she couldn’t watch the news footage from the city any longer because it was just too much to take in. At that point, she and Lakeview’s Senior Pastor, Neil, still hadn’t managed to track one another down, and she had only spoken with two or three of the several hundred members of Lakeview. How does one do the work of pastoring, I wondered, when you don’t know where your congregants are, how to contact them, or whether they are o.k.?

Jean Marie opened my eyes to still more that I was too ignorant to have thought of. How do churches that can’t collect offerings on Sunday mornings, many of whose members have been personally devastated and who don’t know whether they still have jobs, continue to pay the salaries of their staffs? In Lakeview’s case, that includes musicians, administrative and program staff, the sexton, and the teachers for an independent but church-related childcare program. Many of those folks have families, and they depend on each week’s paycheck to survive, just as you and I would.

On Wednesday morning the thirty-first of August, I was invited to sit in on a conference call of the leadership for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. (Please link to PDA at http://www.pcusa.org/katrina/ to find out how you can get involved.) PDA’s trained teams were already en-route to the Gulf Coast, call-centers were being established for Presbyterians who wanted to help, Medical Benevolence Foundation (http://www.mbfoundation.org/) offered its warehouse in Houston, and international partners were calling to offer help as well. But I confess that I had yet another "aha" moment during the phone call, as it dawned on me that this wasn’t just disaster assistance. PDA was also talking about the long-term housing and possible resettlement of many of the victims. Katrina will impact the lives of many Presbyterians outside the affected region as they open their homes and work to help families resettle, either for the short-term or for the long-term.

Yet another of my new realizations came as I watched the news from a hotel in Chicago over the following weekend and saw the complete chaos and desperation of folks who ended up in the superdome and the convention center. I know that hard questions about political responsibilities will be asked by and of our politicians, but the church has some tough questions in front of us as well. This is (another) clarion wake-up call to all of our churches that we are a long-way from overcoming racism and class division in this country. Our churches should be leading the way in lifting up the biblical call to become a beloved community – a community that overcomes the obvious class and racial barriers that made it possible for tens of thousands of our (mostly) African American brothers and sisters to be left behind because they simply didn’t have the resources most of us would count on to get out when the storm warnings came.

"Aha" moments are a gift to me from God. As children of God, we are called to create the kind of community where all people feel God’s love. We are called to witness to God’s compassion, to rebuild lives with the kind of attention God offers even to the "least of these." We are called to work for God’s justice whenever clear inequities exist in our communities. I give thanks for my own, gradual awakening to the magnitude of the challenge as we respond to the destruction of Katrina.

Thoughtfully,

Rick

Witherspooners deal with the disaster [9-6-05]

A couple days ago we sent e-mail notes to some Witherspoon Society members in the flood-ravaged states of Louisiana and Mississippi.

Here are replies from two of them, both telling of what is being done for others.

If you know of other friends in the disaster areas,
and want to share of them, or just ask for news,
please send a note, to be posted here.

From Mary Fusilier, in Natchitoches, LA:

Hi Doug,

Thanks for your e-mail and concern. We were not affected by the hurricane weather but have thousands of evacuees now in this part of the state. Our church website details the efforts to help:

http://www.fpcnatchitoches.org/

Once on the web page, click on the link for "How can you help in the Hurricane relief effort" then click on the letter from Joe Hill (left column of the page).

This coming Sunday, we will take a special collection to furnish the Presbytery of the Pines retreat, Camp Alabama, so that some evacuees can stay in the cabins there. It will give them more privacy and comfort than the school gyms where they are now being housed.

Matthew (my son) and I send our prayers and best wishes to all of you attending the mission conference and also to any Witherspoon members in Mississippi and South Alabama who may have been affected by the storm.

– Marcy

And from George Marquis Smith, in Fafayette, LA, in the Presbytery of South Louisiana:

Thanks Doug! I'm fine. Lafayette sustained minimal damage from Katrina. Of course the Presbytery of South Louisiana has been dealt a blow. There are many from the NO area I have not heard from yet, but expect to in the coming days/weeks.

I now have friends living with me from one of the hardest hit areas. We will be family to one another for the next couple of months or so.

Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

George Send him an email note >>

Notes from inside New Orleans [9-6-05]

John Flaherty, an editor of Left Turn Magazine, writes from his experience inside New Orleans – in a refugee camp, talking with rescue workers, police and military people, and more.

He draws a very grim picture, not only of the natural disaster, but of the racism and corruption and government neglect which have made it so much worse.

He says:

Race has always been the undercurrent of Louisiana politics. This disaster is one that was constructed out of racism, neglect and incompetence. Hurricane Katrina was the inevitable spark igniting the gasoline of cruelty and corruption. From the neighborhoods left most at risk, to the treatment of the refugees to the the media portayal of the victims, this disaster is shaped by race.

And he concludes with an urgent message:

Now that the money is flowing in, and the world's eyes are focused on Katrina, its vital that progressive-minded people take this opportunity to fight for a rebuilding with justice. New Orleans is a special place, and we need to fight for its rebirth.

The whole article >>

Thanks to Witherspooner Amy Ukena for sending this article.

She adds her own plea:

These are our sisters and brothers and we cannot stand idly by while these things are going on, AND unreported. Please do something, ANYTHING, that you can think of, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Together we make a difference.

The Flood: Presbyterians and others act to help
[9-3-05]

Direct Action to Aid Victims of Hurricane Katrina Now!

Pastors for Peace Organizes Aid Caravan for Louisiana and Mississippi

If you can organize a collection drop off point call: John Waller (718) 810-8426 For donations and other information: IFCO/Pastors voicemail (212) 926-5757 Or email: P4P@igc.org

Pastors for Peace has moved quickly to mobilize a Gulf Coast caravan. We are collecting tons of bottled water, powdered milk, diapers, food and personal hygiene items for southern Louisiana and Mississippi. The aid will be delivered to local community and church groups who are feeding and caring for their neighbors.

We cannot simply stand by and not act in the face of this monstrous disaster. The incompetence and callousness of government officials is unspeakable. We are moved to direct action because the racism and inaction of those who should be caring for ALL the people victimized by Hurricane Katrina have not done so.

The aid is being collected at drop off centers in ten states in the Northeast and Midwest and South. What we need now are volunteers to organize drop off points in those areas. The caravan convoy, made up of busses, box trucks and other vehicles will take a limited number of volunteers in order to maximize space for humanitarian aid.

Urgently needed financial donations for those who want to contribute funds and to offset the fuel costs of this caravan, can be sent to IFCO/Pastors for Peace. 402 W. 145th St. New York, NY 10031. Those wishing to make credit card donations can call IFCO Pastors communications director Lucia Bruno at (347) 423-4330.

Speaking with supporters this week, Rev. Lucius Walker, executive Director of IFCO/Pastors for Peace said "Despite the urgent campaign to free the seized computers bound for disabled Cuban children we must respond to the needs of families hurt by Hurricane Katrina right now".

For more than two decades, Pastors for Peace has delivered humanitarian aid to families in Chiapas, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Cuba. These Friendshipment Caravans have focused on aiding victims of US foreign policy. Today, we extend this work to the domestic frontier. Families on the Gulf coast have been victimized twice over -- by Hurricane Katrina and again by the callous disregard of a system that was responsible for protecting them and did not.

We must do our part to demonstrate the love and concern that exists in communities throughout the US for our brothers and sisters torn apart by this tragedy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Presbyterians respond to the victims of Hurricane Katrina

Note: We’re passing along the first reports we’ve heard of specific actions by Presbyterians – as congregations or institutions or individuals – to offer help in this crisis. If you’re aware of other such actions, please let us know. Just send a note and we’ll share it here!

Westminster College, Fulton, MO, will assist college students in hurricane

As part of the hurricane relief, Westminster President, Dr. Fletcher M. Lamkin, has extended a generous offer - free tuition and place to stay for the Fall semester for any student that was enrolled in a college or university that was affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The college understands the impact that Hurricane Katrina has had on so many and that students need a place to continue their education until their institution can be reopened. The offer will be extended to up to 20 students for the Fall semester.

If you are an interested student or know of a student that is currently enrolled in a college or university that has been affected by the hurricane, please contact Ms. Kelle Silvey at the Westminster College Admissions Office at 1-800-475-3361 more information.

Thanks to the Rev. Brad Sheppard, Chaplain of Westminster College

Macalester College, in Saint Paul, MN, has offered free tuition, room and board to 50 to 60 students this fall from Dillard University, a historically black college in New Orleans.

Does Macalester have room for so many new students? "We'll make room," said Laurie Hamre, Macalester's dean of students. "It's one way we can help."

from a Sept. 2 report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune

The Flood: Actions have consequences
[9-2-05]

If ever we’ve seen a terrible "natural disaster" which was largely a human creation, the flooding in New Orleans and along miles of the Gulf Coast seems to be it.

Jim Wallis was right, a few months ago, when he insisted that a budget is a moral document – a statement of values being brought to realization (or not) through the allocation of money.

And in the ghastly mess of the New Orleans Superdome, and throughout the whole area, that truth has unfolded this week. Choices about money for "liberating" Iraq and cutting taxes for the rich do seem to make big differences.

Two reflections along these lines:

Molly Ivins: Why New Orleans Is in Deep Water

Ivins says that this is a column for everyone who ever said, "I'm sorry, I'm just not interested in politics," or, "There's nothing I can do about it." She makes a point that needs to be hammered home again and again, and that is that government policies have real consequences in people's lives. Katrina illustrates this very point. More >>

And William Rivers Pitt writes on TruthOut that

Actions have consequences. What you see on your television today is not some wild accident, but is a disaster that could have been averted had the priorities of this government been more in line with the needs of the people it pretends to serve. The city of New Orleans, home to so much of the culture that makes America unique and beautiful, is today drowning underneath an avalanche of polluted, diseased water. This, simply, did not have to happen. More >>

~~~~~~~~~~~~

We can help ...
Offer housing

Witherspooner Kay LeMosy sends this suggestion:

Just wanted to make sure you know that MoveOn.org has set up a site for those who need temporary homes to find them. I have offered my guest room, although it only holds one and I'm awfully far away. Witherspooners need to know about this. More information >>

~~~~~~~~~~~~

For a little perspective ...
This is not the first time

If you’re interested in how this happened, Gene TeSelle suggests looking at a book published about ten years ago, which has already been mentioned by commentators as offering some indications of the political fallout from a natural disaster like Katrina--

John M. Barry, Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America (Simon & Shuster, 528 pp., Paperback $10.88 at Amazon)

It goes into the "background," including competing theories from civil engineers about how to deal with the Mississippi (some were for channelization, straightening it out so that it would scour out its path, and building levees to prevent overflow, while others were for keeping its meanders and letting it overflow into its flood plain). The 1927 flood was the result of weeks of rains in the Mississippi watershed, and there was plenty of time to think ahead. As the river rose, ships in the port of New Orleans could clearly be seen above street level. In order to save New Orleans, levees were dynamited so that agricultural areas would be flooded, and these were occupied by poor Cajuns.

In Louisiana politics, the flood gave impetus to the careers of Huey Long and Leander Perez. Nationally, it was the last time the federal government refused to offer disaster assistance of any kind. President Calvin Coolidge was succeeded by Herbert Hoover, who directed the relief efforts. And the flood helped prepare the way for the New Deal, with its conviction that only the federal government has the capacity to deal with large-scale public problems.

Presbyterian officers send "a letter after Hurricane Katrina"
[9-2-05]

The three top officers of the Presbyterian Church (USA) have sent a letter to all congregations, reporting on some of the effects of the storm and flooding on Presbyterians. Vice-Moderator Jean Marie Peacock, who lives and ministers in New Orleans, reports that she and her husband are staying with her parents. From aerial photos they suspect that their home is under water and they have lost everything in it, and that their church and many home of their members are also under water.

Certainly many congregations are deeply affected, but no clear information is available yet.

The writers urge us to contact Presbyterian Disaster Assistance online at http://www.pcusa.org/pda/ . There you will find several items: daily situation reports, directions for making a financial contribution, answers to frequently asked questions, information about volunteering to help, and much more. If you cannot find what you need online, then call PresbyTel toll-free at (800) 872-3283 for assistance.

"Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink."
[9-2-05]

Peter Sawtell looks at the Katrina disaster as an environmentalist and theologian. He comments:

In this morning's news, there are astounding words from Michael Brown, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He said that those trapped in New Orleans bear some responsibility because of their decision not to evacuate.

Oh, yes, there are some folk who thought about leaving, and decided not to. I'm sure that they profoundly regret that decision.

But Mr. Brown's callous comments deny the reality of New Orleans. In that impoverished city, there were tens of thousands of people who don't own cars, who have no money to buy a bus ticket (as if any bus seats were available in the 36 hour evacuation window), and who have no money for food or shelter elsewhere. There were people in nursing homes who had no choice, and others whose health conditions made travel extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Multitudes in the disaster zone did not "chose" to stay at home and ride out the storm. They had no options. What's more, their lack of options was well known to politicians and disaster planners for years in advance.

He concludes:

One of the painful realizations of this week is that "national security" demands that we come to grips with the way we live as part of the natural world. The environment is not a pretty amenity that we might decide to preserve after we've taken care of more urgent concerns. The environment is the basis for our very survival. When we ignore it or abuse it, the costs will come back to us -- and especially to the poor among us.

Read the whole thing >>

The Rev. Peter Sawtell is Executive Director of Eco-Justice Ministries

Michael Moore wonders where the helicopters are
[9-2-05]

If you like Michael Moore (and we are aware that some folks are not fond of him) you might enjoy his letter to President Bush, which begins:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

More >>