Morpheus Returns- And So Does Katrina...

Okay. So Morpheus took a litle longer to return than first expected. Hey, you try fighting Sentinels and Agents--taking 2nd billing to Neo no less--all the while trying to maintain a blog. Like our fearless leader George Dubya would say, "it's hard!" But! Like the prodigal son, I have returned. Due to time constraints, the Media Round Up will no longer be "weekly," though rest assured an eye will still be kept on the *failing* 4th Estate. So enough of that, let's start this hoot-nanny!

K A T R I N A- two years from this tragic event in U.S. history, the residents of the Gulf Coast, New Orleans in particular, have still not recovered. For those living in America's Disneyland of Lindsey Lohan and American Idol, the disaster of Katrina (both natural and man-made) highlighted not only the racial and wealth inequities that have long plagued this country, but exposed the Bush administration for the incompetent junta of cronies that they really are--more adept at spinning facts to their ends than actually running a functioning government.



Unfortunately, the American attention span is short. So in fact is the national media's, who congratulates itself for being there to cover the story (neglecting to point out their role in spreadiing racist "Birth of a Nation" type rumors about New Orlean's citizenry). Much the same can be said for the political class (with the exception of a few notables like Sen. John Edwards) who have barely spoken out about Katrina, which is ironic given it's importance to the Democratic Party's gains in the last Congressional elections.

So this blog is dedicated to Katrina, and those it affected. A few media outlets have done some good work keeping up with the aftermath and legacy of the disaster. They vary from Amy Goodman's Democracy Now! to The Nation to New Orleans own Times-Picayune. The good folks at Truthout (I'll send you guys a donation soon--promise!) have compiled many of these stories together on a Katrina page. I offer one of them. The link to the main site is below.

The Lower Ninth Battles Back
By Rebecca Solnit
The Nation

10 September 2007 Issue

The word "will" comes up constantly in the Lower Ninth Ward now; We Will Rebuild is spray-painted onto empty houses; "it will happen," one organizer told me. Will itself may achieve the ambitious objective of bringing this destroyed neighborhood back to life, and for many New Orleanians a ferocious determination seems the only alternative to being overwhelmed and becalmed. But the fate of the neighborhood is still up in the air, from the question of whether enough people can and will make it back to the nagging questions of how viable a city and an ecology they will be part of.

full article:

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070910/solnit

Truthout.org Katrina Aftermath page: http://www.truthout.org/KatrinaAftermath.shtml