Who does Mike Brown think he is fooling when he tries to defer the blame from himself? He is a highly educated, experienced attorney who blew it when it came to hurricane Katrina and he does not have the courage to admit it. He and the local officials in New Orleans and the State of LA dropped the ball and yet these clowns expect us not to realize who is to blame! They are - pure and simple yet because of their positions in government, they have no worry about being held accountable. That is our biggest problem yet in our government, no one is held accountable, we just sack you and send you on your way. Jail time is what Mike Brown and the other clowns who hold high positions deserve for their dereliction of duty.

After getting my hopes up from the Monday night airing of the interview with Brown, I was very disappointed to see tonight that NBC continues to avoid delving in to what George Bush did during Hurricane Katrina.

On the Monday segment, Brown said he told Bush about 90% of New Orleans residents having to leave their homes. Brown said he had to repeat that statement to Bush. So, we know Brown was willing to talk about what went on between the president and himself. Why were there no follow up interview questions? What did Bush say or do about the crisis? What orders did Bush give throughout the week?

Brown's failures during Katrina have been well known for six months. They aren't news. We know little of what Bush did, and the White House has stiffed Congress in order to keep it that way. We know a GOP led committee found some of the blame goes to the president. We've been told by two news magazines that the president was so out of the loop that his aides had to make a DVD to show him what was going on. Bush didn't see the DVD until days after the hurricane struck. Whatever Bush did during Katrina is a huge story.

Why not pursue it?

I'm sorry to say something bad about Brian when he's going through a personal tragedy. However, ever since Brian did his one on one interview with the president, and pronounced the president "in touch" with his surroundings, NBC seems to avoid any discussion about what the president knows or doesn't know. For a network that has dedicated so much time to the Katrina story at the expense of other newsworthy items, not delving into what Bush did during Katrina is a glaring omission.

Today, I stood on St. Charles Avenue for the Rex Mardi Gras parade. Why?? Because along side me were not just my wife, my son, his wife, my only grandson (11 months old), but African-Americans, Indian-Americans, Asian-Americans (all New Orleaneans and all sharing a sense of camaraderie--our humanity gumbo--which existed before Katrina but which now exists in greater depth than ever). We all share, some more and some less, the effects of an enormous tragedy (80% of the city flooded--equivalent to seven times the size of Manhattan--and the balance suffered wind damage), and while we all face the problems of day to day living, we all needed to toss aside one or two days of work, which means little in life's overall scheme, and celebrate an event as important to New Orleaneans as Christmas, Easter, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. It offered a sense of normalcy--a sense not often felt in this City.
I truly appreciate Brian Williams' coverage of the effects of Katrina on our city. It is far different from the national media's coverage of the first Mardi Gras since Katrina--they contrasted Bourbon Street's debauchery with Lower Ninth Ward's devastation. While Bourbon Street is located in New Orleans, it is not our New Orleans. It is the New Orleans of tourist. New Orleans exists in its neighborhoods--not in the Bourbon Street bars, t-shirt shops, bars, scam shops, and bars that drunken white-faced tourist, and not New Orleaneans, patronize. I am distressed that American receives a false impression of our city and our situation. Please continue to help us by presenting the true picture of New Orleaneans and their plight.

Your coverage on the news tonight was excellent. Just as your coverage was outstanding during Katrina and Rita. Thank you SO MUCH for including EVERYONE in your coverage of Mardi Gras. This is the first time I've seen coverage of the Zulu Krewe done so well. Reporting on the people who still don't have anything to celebrate was great as well. Please keep up the good work and we'll keep watching!!!