While unfortunately I'd been unable to participate by writing a diary for the Gilda Reed diary-athon during the past couple of days because of other presssing personal stuff I've been trying to deal with, and because I'd been unaware that this was in the works, please consider the first part of this diary what I'm doing for Gilda Reed.
I don't know what I can say about Gilda that won't be a repeat of all the positive things many other diarists have already said--so in brief I'll just say:
1.) If you can afford to, please contribute to Gilda's campaign through ActBlue.
2.) If you know anyone in LA-01 who's undecided, call them and ask them to vote for Gilda.
3.) If you live in LA-01, vote for Gilda!
I don't have enough money to contribute to her campaign--and while I wish I could vote for her but can't due to the fact that I live out of her district, I can endorse her. So this is my official endorsement for Gilda Reed. Good luck, Gilda!
The diary-athon for Gilda was a brilliant idea--for besides hopefully raising funds for Gilda's candidacy it focuses attention on the serious problems still prevailing in New Orleans and the rest of the areas impacted by Katrina, Rita, and the federal flood. I only wish I'd known about this effort when it was in the works so I could have contributed a diary to it.
But now for the main topic of this diary. I think it would be a good idea if both NOLA Kossacks and Nolaphiles could every month do something like the diary-athon for Gilda, except that it would be on New Orleans and Katrina-related topics. This should take place every month (except for months when there's breaking news that's Katrina-related, in which case there could be an extra diary-athon that month.) Because less than once a month would not be frequent enough.
In fact, I'd like to organize this effort--though I'll be asking for help below. Because in this election year, we need to make sure New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Region are not forgotten. Due to the press of all the campaign diaries, except for the Gilda diary-athon, there hasn't been that much on New Orleans/Katrina in Daily Kos lately. And I've been feeling guilty because I've been tied up lately with this personal stuff and not been having the time to diary on New Orleans the way I normally do.
For example, here's a topic I'd be interested in a diary-athon on: How the federal flood and Katrina mentally and emotionally impacted people--and I mean not only people in the disaster zone, but other Americans who live far away yet viewed the unfolding disaster in New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Region on TV.
In fact, because it's well-known, or should be, that New Orleanians and others in the disaster zone have been mentally/emotionally impacted by Katrina and the flooding because they live there--or had lived there, in the case of evacuees who haven't returned, and are still being impacted by the myriad hardships and frustrations of the aftermath--I'm more interested in reading diaries from people from states not in the disaster zone who nonetheless had been deeply wounded, if not traumatized, by the disaster, the lackluster response, and the neglect of New Orleans and other communities in its wake.
This is because I'm one of them. And I want to know I'm not alone. I'm an Illinois gal who suffers from Katrina Brain. This is what folks call the constellation of symptoms of PTSD afflicting those who've been through Katrina, the flood, and the slow recovery--depression, sleeplessness, difficulty concentrating, a short fuse, memory problems, and so forth.
While I don't want to diary on this and other ways in which the devastation of New Orleans and BushCo's neglect have been impacting me mentally/ emotionally extensively now--because I want to save it for a future diary, which will be difficult to write, on this topic, I just want to say I wonder how many others not in or from the Gulf Region have been dealing with the same sort of thing. Or am I just weird--more sensitive and empathetic than the normal person?
10 more possible topics for Katrina diary-athons:
1.) In April in the week or so after the North American Summit, we could diary-athon its impact--especially if violent demonstrations take place. And whether or not the summit will be helpful to NOLA.
2.) Debates, Netroots, YearlyKos, etc. How we need to make sure these take place in New Orleans. Last Sunday Gov. Jindal said on CNN's Late Edition that both he and Lieut. Gov. Landrieu have issued an invitation to the nominees of both parties to participate in a town meeting in New Orleans. Hopeful news, but the candidates still need to take them up on it.
3.) How can we make New Orleans and Katrina major campaign issues? And call for more and better news coverage?
4.) Health since Katrina and the flood. How people are sickening and dying prematurely from natural causes in the wake of the disaster.
5.) The post-Katrina environment. New Orleans' flood spread pollutants which ar enow causing health problems or could do so in the future. And how the storms ruined the environment by destroying forests in Louisiana and Mississippi.
6.) More on the environment--namely global warming/climate change. Could this cause more, and stronger, storms? Also, Louisiana's vanishing wetlands, which before Katrina and Rita had been washing away at a startling rate. And the danger that melting polar icecaps could cause southern Louisiana and other low-lying coastal areas to be permanently flooded.
7.) The lack of affordable housing, homelessness, and demolitions. Efforts to deal with this such as Brad Pitt's "green" houses.
8.) Insurance woes, the Road Home, Mississippi's post-Katrina housing program.
9.) FEMA's poisonous trailers and everything else they've done wrong since Katrian and Rita. Why do people say FEMA seems to have learned its lesson because of the better way it's handled such later disasters as the Cali fires and various tornadoes--when little if anything has been done to straighten out the messes caused by its incompetence during Katrina and the flood?
10.) Evacuees stranded in distant places who are homesick for Louisiana and can't return. Their special problems.
So here's my question for all NOLA Kossacks and others who care about and support New Orleans' and the rest of the Gulf Region's recovery--would you be interested in a series of diary-athons (at least once every month) on New Orleans and Katrina-related issues?
11.) Race, class and Katrina. How did the perception on the part of BushCo officials that the great majority of the victims of the flooding were black and poor impact their response?
12.) Corruption, waste, etc. in Katrina's wake. For example, the fact that although Mississippi has gotten proportionately more aid than harder-hit Louisiana, this aid has not trickled down to the people who need it.
That should be enough topics for at least a year. If I've forgotten anything, feel free to comment.
Also, these issues are inter-related. So for example, if the month's Diary-athon is on health, feel free to diary on FEMA trailers and formaldehyde, or environmental contaminants--both of which have been impacting people's health.
I'm not sure what to call these Diary-athons. Because Katrina, Rita, and the federal flood impacted an area larger than Great Britain, I want to make sure the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coasts as well as NOLA are addressed. So although it's imperfect because it doesn;t refer to the flood or Rita, "Katrina Diary-athon" will have to for now. Anybody have any better ideas?
And these Katrina Diary-athons don't mean that NOLA and Katrina shouldn't be diaried on at other times. In fact, the more NOLA/Katrina-related diaries there are, the better. We need to have something to read besides all those boring campaing diaries. As I said, the purpose of these Katrina Diary-athons is to make sure that New Orleans, Katrina, and the fact that people are still struggling with these issues today don't get lost in the shuffle at this busy time.
Last but not least, I've never organized something like a Diary-athon before. And between my limited computer access and personal stuff, I can use help with this project. So, if you'd like to volunteer, feel free to comment below or e-mail me at the address on my page. Thanks!