Katrina stories

I think a turning point in Katrina coverage has been reached. There has been some good news of progress being made in the relief effort. Parts of New Orleans are reopening shortly. Newsmagazines and newspapers have detailed and blasted the response to the catastrophy. And yesterday, finally, Bush admited some responsibility. A dangerous point. Now folks need to keep in mind Duncan’s call to keep light here as the stories grow more complicated and sometimes more repetitive and mundane.

The chorus of activists and pundits that have called for the armed forces to act sooner, have raised questions over the domestic use of troops (USAToday). A dangerous and scary discussion needs to happen here. Let’s not hope for a new Patriot Act that permits rapid use of the armed forces on American soil. Let’s hope for a National Guard that is used as it should be.

Daily Mail: We had to kill our patients: Doctors working in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans killed critically ill patients rather than leaving them to die in agony as they evacuated hospitals, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Related Metafilter discussion.

USAToday: Nursing home owners charged in 34 deaths: Neighbors described a horrible scene that unfolded on Aug. 29… Floodwaters rose to the roof of the one-story nursing home in St. Bernard, outside New Orleans, trapping elderly and infirm residents… Neighbors came in boats and smashed a hole in the roof. “We tried to get out as many as we could,” said Steve Snyder, 29, an oil rig worker. “All we could go by was the hollering and screaming, ‘Help, help!’ ” “We got 25 to 27 people out alive,” Snyder said. “And then we didn’t hear any more screaming…The Manganos surrendered to authorities on Tuesday and were charged with 34 counts of negligent homicide.

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