It's more than obvious: large portions of New Orleans will never be rebuilt. As my mom put it, "You're nothing if you're poor and black. You're on your own." Three years after Katrina, that reality hasn't changed.
Harry Shearer | Posted 06.03.2008 | Politics
In each, nature had a part, but man-made engineering failures created catastrophic results. And in each, the response has been the same.
Harry Shearer | Posted 05.14.2008 | Politics
When people outside New Orleans ask, "what happened to all the federal money?", the question is echoed by those in the city. Here's one answer.
Harry Shearer | Posted 04.23.2008 | Politics
John Barry is not making the "you broke it, you fix it" argument relative to the Corps of Engineers' poor design and construction work that catastrophically failed in 2005; his timeframe goes back decades.
Harry Shearer | Posted 04.17.2008 | Politics
Yesterday, the Times-Picayune carried a very restrained story about a potentially inflammatory subject: the Corps of Engineers has discovered a persistent leak in the 17th St. Canal floodwall.
Harry Shearer | Posted 04.03.2008 | Media
That would be the tabloid, but not entirely inaccurate, version of the New Orleans story to date.
Harry Shearer | Posted 02.25.2008 | Media
One of these years, a major paper will reveal in a dramatic series that New Orleans flooded because of design and construction flaws by the Army Corps and Engineers, and will win a Pulitzer for its efforts.
Harry Shearer | Posted 02.12.2008 | Politics
People like to assert a contrast between a culture of corruption in New Orleans and what goes on in Washington. Yes, everybody's got a sense of humor these days.
Harry Shearer | Posted 02.09.2008 | Politics
Bill Clinton focused entirely on issues of recovery in his appearance in New Orleans. What was missing? Exactly what's been missing from Sens. Edwards' and Obama's statements.
Harry Shearer | Posted 02.06.2008 | Politics
Most of the national media have long since given up bringing the facts of why New Orleans flooded to the public's attention. Now, the candidates, all working their poll-approved themes, choose not to.
John McQuaid | Posted 01.15.2008 | Media
There's room for more enterprising takes on the Katrina story -- the pre-and post-Katrina problems and struggles have so many more facets than you'll ever see on CNN.
Harry Shearer | Posted 01.09.2008 | Politics
There are stories of hope and progress, and of delay and betrayal in New Orleans. None of them worthy of a mention as candidates left and right outlined their visions for the future last night.
Harry Shearer | Posted 12.30.2007 | Politics
New Orleanians get no shortage of messages about self-reliance from other parts of the nation they thought they belonged to. So the Times-Picayune sends the message right back.
Harry Shearer | Posted 12.26.2007 | Politics
How does a hurricane wreck a sewer system? It doesn't. What happened to St. Bernard Parish is what happened to New Orleans, the failure of a system of levees and floodwalls.
Arianna Huffington | Posted 12.21.2007 | Politics
I spoke with Brad Pitt on Friday. The actor-turned-activist has been spearheading an effort to build affordable, sustainable homes in New Orleans. He feels that the aftermath of Katrina "should be one of the major issues" of the '08 race, and that the presidential campaign should step up and tap into their coffers to adopt a home. We also spoke about the lack of government funding for the victims of Katrina and the $70 billion in war funding approved this week. "Give us just a fraction of that," he said, concisely summing up the tragic opportunity costs of the war in Iraq.
Harry Shearer | Posted 12.11.2007 | Media
One reason people know so little about the damage to New Orleans is that TV news has abandoned one of its few honorable journalistic rules.
Harry Shearer | Posted 11.07.2007 | Politics
Superblocks may look nice on a clean slate, but the New Orleanians who ache to return want to come back to someplace that looks, and feels, like the city they have missed for so long.
Irwin Redlener, M.D. | Posted 10.04.2007 | Politics
Every day of delay in returning New Orleans families to a semblance of normal home threatens mental health and well-being of thousands of children.
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Leonce Gaiter | Posted 08.24.2008 | Home