The Anchoress

More links on Katrina here.

First - a little good news in the midst of all of this death and destruction, there is life.

Glenn Reynolds has a good list of Flood Aid Organizations and Truth Laid Bear is in the process of organizing a bloggers consortium of aid. Send him (or Glenn Reynolds) an email if you want to participate. TLB also has continual updates.

Another excellent resource of Aid Organizations here. Amy Welborn also has a heartrending notice from one of her readers.

From an emergency notice put on the TV station’s web site, which mirrors a bulletin they just had on TV (I’m watching online):
****ALL RESIDENTS ON THE EAST BANK OF ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON REMAINING IN THE METRO AREA ARE BEING TOLD TO EVACUATE AS EFFORTS TO SANDBAG THE LEVEE BREAK HAVE ENDED. THE PUMPS IN THAT AREA ARE EXPECTED TO FAIL SOON AND 9 FEET OF WATER IS EXPECTED IN THE ENTIRE EAST BANK. WITHIN THE NEXT 12-15 HOURS****>>
As all of us native Louisianians know, the “entire East bank” constitutes all of New Orleans, Metairie, etc.
The question of New Orleans’ survival as a city was in some question an hour ago. Now, I think the question may have been answered. New Orleans will not be habitable for a very long time, and then only after the expenditure of unfathomable treasure.
May God have mercy. Lord have mercy. I am out of words for prayer other than that. Lord have mercy.
I think I am going to go cry now.

Michelle Malkin is tremendously on top of things and up to the minute. If you haven’t checked her out, just open a window and keep her there. Hit “refresh” from time to time - she’s quite amazing. Right now she is posting about the situation at New Orleans Parish Prison, and I must say that Confederate Yankee has been on that story all day. He also has a response to the question of whether NO should be rebuilt.

Michelle is also linking to some really shameful Koz madness - people who can’t let go of the Bush-hatred for a moment (this is ALL his fault, of course - because he went to war and shorted the National Guard, because he dared to go on vacation, and dared to be in San Diego today and dared to…umm…oh, yeah, not sign the Kyoto treaty and dared to…well, he must have done something else.) I won’t even link to this blather. But it is very, very sad that in the midst of all of this human misery and suffering, as so many people are trying to band together and help, some can only sit and stew in this weird sort of mental masturbation in which they are trapped.

The National Guardsmen are on the job.

In the midst of brutal ugliness, Hugh Hewitt has found a tiny, beautiful sprig - a bit of writing from Times- Picayune staffer, James Varney:

A 20th century symbol, William Faulkner, was first published in The Times-Picayune while he was living in the city and writing his first novel. He called the city, “a courtesan whose hold is strong upon the mature, and to whose charm the young must respond.” Now, in the 21st century, the courtesan cries for help. The response from young and old will decide if she lives or dies.

Quite true. The president began to respond to this Hurricane before it even struck. Now it is up to how the rest of us respond - including the press - to see if this catastrophe will be a monsterous ending or if something new and fresh may be gleaned from it. I wish I could say I felt hopeful.

Don Singleton is linking to Rich Lowry’s excellent debunking of the Katrina-is-from-global-warming theme. Come on, people, even the freaking New York Times has admitted it’s not true.

Hugh also has links to churches in NO and Biloxi and Jewish organizations as well.

Lucianne.com has a running thread with breaking news and lots of first person information. As with Michelle’s blog, just keep a window open and keep checking it out.

Sensible Mom picked a heck of a day to come back from her blogging break.

Varifrank is good ‘n pissed and I am too. He quotes the Germans blaming the US for Katrina and writes:

Over the history of the United States our answer to the needs of the people of other countries as they face natural and man made disasters is “how can we help”. The European answer is a shrug, the words “you deserve it” and a giggle. And that my friends, is what makes us who we are and who they are.

I am praying that America can bring herself to shine, as she always has, through this disaster. Frank urges people to donate blood, if they can. Ed Morrissey has more to say about Germany, and it’s worth reading.

And don’t forget to check out the latest on Able Danger when you have a second. In the midst of the Katrina disaster story, some overexposed stories are happily being pushed aside, but I don’t think we want this to be one of them.

Another story we’d rather not see lost, Iraqis are demonstrating for their Constitution.

Maxed Out Mama is thinking about perspective.

This story is going to get lost in Katrina news, but I am posting it, in case anyone wants to read about how terror is losing its grip as a means of movement.

Are you getting the sense, watching the press on this story, that they have been caught completely off-guard, somehow? They seem not to be able to find their focus on this story - unlike the 9/11 disaster wherein the press managed to do some excellent work, it seems like they are falling apart on the Katrina story. I haven’t been impressed.