I give you the news ….

  • The Wall Street Journal front-page headline reads, “Old-Line Families / Escape Worst of Flood / And Plot the Future / Mr. O’Dwyer, at His Mansion, / Enjoys Highball With Ice; / Meeting With the Mayor.” — Raw Story, John Byrne:
        “That is, however, just the beginning. According to the (paid-restricted) Journal, New Orleans’ wealthy white neighborhoods emerged very much intact, while black neighborhoods are swimming in toxic sludge. The Journal piece, by Christopher Cooper, reads as something torn from the pages of Fitzgerald’s iconic portrait of the roaring twenties–The Great Gatsby.” (Read all: Raw Story.)
  • Remember that Gizmodo story I put up a couple nights ago about the intrepid techies setting out for NOLA? Bureaucrats 1, Guerilla Geeks 0: “On Tuesday, an FCC-sanctioned team of techies landed in Houston, ready to set up a low-power radio station that would keep the Katrina evacuees housed there informed of the relief effort. But even before the radio crew set foot in the Astrodome, the local paper-pushers have been working overtime to scuttle the project. (Read all at DefenseTech.org, via BooMan)
  • Canadians Beat U.S. Army to New Orleans Suburb: “A Canadian search-and-rescue team reached a flooded New Orleans suburb to help save trapped residents five days before the U.S. military, a Louisiana state senator said … The Canadians beat both the Army and [FEMA] to St. Bernard Parish east of New Orleans, where flood waters are still 8 feet deep in places, Sen. Walter Boasso said.” (Read all at Common Dreams/Reuters, via Brinnaine and Susan T)
  • Plan To Roll Back Gas Tax Nixed: “OLYMPIA, Wash. — The governor and key Democratic lawmakers have nixed a House Republican proposal for a three-month repeal of the state’s 31-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax. Democrats control the state House and Senate.

         “This proposal has not been thought through,” the Democratic governor said. “It would strap our ability to cover basic needs in education, health care and other vital services to people in Washington.”


         “… Gregoire noted that even Republican U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas has signaled that Congress won’t roll back federal gas taxes to offset higher prices.


         “The oil companies should be a primary target in looking for a solution to the high price of gas, not the citizens,” Gregoire said. “Why should people in Washington state suffer fewer services so oil barons can continue to amass huge profits? I do not support the proposal. Others in the Legislature who understand transportation and funding of state services are in agreement.”