The Great Forgetting among Kossacks and others goes on. The other day I ran across a diary whose author had listed his (her?) favorite unsung diarists. I noticed a glaring omission: Anybody who regularly diaries on Katrina or New Orleans. So I commented on that and added that there are quite a few excellent unsung diarists on these topics and listed all of those I could think of offhand.
The diarist replied that he/she hadn't intended to slight any topics or diarists, and said something about BushCo having committed so many crimes including murder. So I responded that even if Katrina had not been at the top of my list of important issues, it would still be high on that list. Becauser I would not be able to forget the destruction of 80% of a beautiful American city and the abandonment of her people.
Then there's the second diarist who listed about 12 or 15 issues in a poll--even some that wouldn't have occured to me. Neither Katrina nor New Orleans was on the list. And that really bothers me.
On the topic of polls, take a look at this one reported in the Times Picayune. On the bright side,
Slightly more than 75 percent of the people interviewed said recovery is at least as important as the conflict in Iraq. Only 14 percent said the war is more worthy of federal support.
This is a hopeful sign--but unfortunately the mainstream media haven't been paying attention.
Following is an Open Letter to Brian Williams I'm posting on Daily Nightly:
Dear Brian,
Here's something that really bothers me: According to this poll
Roughly one-fourth believed parts of New Orleans remain under water; one-third believed the tourist-oriented French Quarter was one of the hardest-hit areas when, in fact, the Quarter was largely unharmed. The floodwaters, too, are long gone.
And per Huffpost's Harry Shearer media people have been airing old file footage of a drowning New Orleans several days after the levees broke. No wonder folks are confused.
It's time to clear up these misconceptions, which are harmful to New Orleans and her recovery. Last night's newscast was the 70th since you last aired a full report out of New Orleans.
Reopening NBC's New Orleans bureau and airing regular coverage out of that struggling city would go a long way towards dispelling these misconceptions.
And by the way, regarding the piece on elderly people who were happier and healthier because they were being cared for in their own homes: I could not help but think of homeless New Orleanians and evacuees unable to return, who are now depressed and in poor physical health because of their homelessness or because they're homesick for New Orleans. Whose plight continues to be ignored by "Nightly." And this really bothers me.
Louisiana 1976
And last but not least, some "meta." Has anyone you don't even know personally (outside of their blog comments) ever posted something like the following about you, after a comment you'd posted? How did you react? And if you've been lucky enough not to have had that happen to you, how would you feel?
Here's the comment, which appeared on Daily Nightly in reference to my first Open Letter to Brian Williams, that was posted last Friday:
Apparently my comments are screened when Louisiana is allouwed to threatent Brian and NBC news. THat is ridiculous. I will no longer read this blog if she is continued to post. Her name is Olivia and she seriously has a problem. She is threatening in nature and other ways.
Ali, Seattle (Sent Sunday, December 09, 2007 10:16 AM)
I decided not to dignify his/her remark with a response because I didn't want to get into something. However, it makes me wish there were some way Daily Nightly users were able to troll-rate. And I thought I'd hash it out here instead.
Now, do you think anything I said in that Open Letter could be construed as "threatenting" to Brian and NBC News?
I know I can be passionate, spirited, firm and unbending when it comes to things I feel very strongly about. Like the way I can put myself in the shoes of New Orleanians dealing with life in that city even though I live miles away. And the way I feel about the fact that New Orleans has been neglected by BushCo and forgotten and abandoned by those who matter including the mainstream media. And I was expressing this firmness combined with my frustration, anger and sadness that NBC Nightly hasn't been covering New Orleans news in detail for a long time. But I've been far from threatening or dangerous--to me those involve violence, and I'm not into that sort of thing. Nothing I said in that letter had been intended as such. Because I'm not that kind of person.
I've no problem with anyone who disagrees with me, as long as it's done in a constructive, civilized, intelligent manner, as long as the criticism is relevant to something I've said, and is without personal attacks, which Ali, Seattle's comment was not. I think Ali, Seattle's problems go much deeper than a mere disagreement with me.
This really bothers me because Ali, Seattle doesn't even know me personally and I never did anything to him/her other than post comments he/she didn't agree with. The fact that this had been going on with him/her and some others who used handles such as "Concerned Citizen" and "Katrina Fatigue" (Or, for all I know, since on Daily Nightly you can call yourself whatever you want--you don't have a set user name--they could have been the same individual. Who knows?) was one of the reasons I'd become a 'fugee from Daily Nightly in September.
Do you think I'm being over-sensitive about this?
I've decided in spite of Ali, Seattle's ad hominem attack I'm not going to be intimidated into becoming a 'fugee from Daily Nightly this time. Because Brian Williams needs to know what's really going on in New Orleans that needs to be covered, about BushCo's continued neglect, and that NBC needs to reopen its New Orleans bureau. I'm going to post semi-regularly there until their coverage improves. So, if I say I'm posting something on Daily Nightly and it doesn't appear, it's been censored.
And if Ali, Seatlle doesn't like what I have to say, he/she should shove off. If he/she is true to what he/she says in his/her comment about no longer reading Daily Nightly if I continue to post, good riddance to bad rubbish. However, if Ali, Seattle instead stays and posts any new obnoxious comments about me, I'm going to share them in future diaries.
Back to Brian Williams and NBC NightlY News--I strongly encourage anyone who feels as strongly as I do about their censoring New Orleans news to post about it on Daily Nightly. There's safety in numbers--and if enough of us do this, maybe they'll start paying attention.
And lastly, I may have been relatively quiet on the issue of a New Orleans presidential debate lately, but we cannot let this die:
CALL FOR A FIFTH DEBATE IN NEW ORLEANS!
The presidential debate site selection commission's rejection of New Orleans must not be allowed to stand in light of how Katrina and its lingering after-effects are continuing to affect this country. We need a New Orleans debate so that this will be discussed. Her rejection as a debate site is morally indefensible, un-American, and a politically-motivated sham. And to compound this, commission members have been telling various lies about New Orleans to CYA. Here is contact info for the group members:
Co-Chair Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. (President, CEO of American Gaming Association) [Ha!] [Ed. Fahrenkopf was head of the RNC in the 80's]
202-552-2675
Co-Chair Paul G. Kirk Jr. (Retired Partner of some law firm) [Ed. - Kirk was the head of the DNC in the 80's]
617-338-2987 pkirk@sandw.com
Howard G. Buffet (Howard G. Buffet Foundation)
217-420-5140
Sen. John C. Danforth (Former Senator, that is)
314-259-2980 jcdanforth@bryancave.com
Antonia Hernandez (California Community Foundation)
213-413-4130 ahernandez@ccf-la.org
Caroline Kennedy (Famous Daughter)
212-989-3993
Mike McCurry (Former Clinton guy)
202-783-2596
Newton N. Minow (No idea)
847-835-3118 nminow@sidley.com
Dorothy Ridlings (Huh?)
502-891-8835
Sen. Alan K. Simpson (Former Senator, that is)
307-587-1091
asimpson@burgsimpson.com
H. Patrick Swygert (President of Howard University) [Get our back, wouldya?]
202-806-2500
hswygert@howard.edu
Now, what we need to do is, whether we call or e-mail these commission members, let them know they need to accede to the following demands to make things right for New Orleans and Louisiana:
WHAT THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE SITE SELECTION COMMISSION NEEDS TO DO FOR NEW ORLEANS AND LOUISIANA
1.) Publicly apologize to the people and city of New Orleans and the state and people of Louisiana. Add that rejecting New Orleans as one of the four original debate sites was in error.
2.) Tell the truth about New Orleans--that she has beautifully hosted all sorts of events after Katrina and would be the perfect site for a presidential debate.
And the following is the most important because it is the only satisfactory way this issue will be resolved. It is non-negotiable--nothing less will be acceptable:
3.) Plan, schedule, and announce a FIFTH presidential debate to be held in New Orleans.
COPY THIS, PASTE IT, AND PASS IT ON!