It is an outrage that President Bush wants to spend $230 million in Lebanon when so much still needs to be done on the Gulf Coast.

Parts of New Orleans look WORSE than Beirut. Her water, electrical, and sewerage systems are unreliable to non-existent even in the relatively-undamaged areas. Her fire department is inadequate to the job of fire protection. Her streets are full of potholes. New Orleans' school system is too small to handle even her depleted population of school-age children and teens. (There was an article in today's New York Times about students unable to get into New Orleans' public schools.) Day care is hard to find. And her health care system is on life support. Her levees need to be upgraded to Category 5. And Louisiana's nice warm wetlands--which are needed to protect New Orleans from future storms as well as being the ecologically precious nurseries for fish and shrimp--need to be shored up to prevent further erosion. And Mississippi, Alabama, and the other states of the storm zone need help, too.

This is the wrong time--almost a year after Katrina, after which many needs are still unmet--for Bush even to be thinking about sending $230 million to Lebanon. It makes me almost physically ill to see him walking away from his promises to see that New Orleans "will rise again" in order to bail out a foreign country. I hope this cockamamie idea has to go through Congress--which will hopefully vote it down.

Welcome back. As you well know, the Ramsey investigation continues to dominate the media. What I find appalling is the fact that he flew Business Class; he should have been shipped on a FedEx transport and not a part of the general flying population! He most likely is not even the killer; just someone fleeing the Thai penal system for the more favorable digs which might be compared to the Siam Intercontinental when he arrived on US soil.
The President this morning was pretty mad about Iraq. I fear time is running out for that story to play out to his liking though wrought in irony and slight resemblance to our Vietnam years. In as much as the four years we have vainly encumbered the sandy soil in Iraq we are no closer to democracy's first birth pangs of a more fruitful prosperous region. All this is really academic at best; a rattling of the swords with the next story to come could indeed be about Iran and their finger being poised on the button.
My thanks to Campbell Brown who did a great job last week and to those in your world class organization who put together The Nightly News with Brian Williams.

Brian our country is gone mad, sorry welcome back. After getting caught up on the news you might wish you stand away a little longer. Sex offender treated better then honest Americans. Katrina still a mess with unfulfilled promise by Bush yet we're giving 230 million dollars to Lebanon for rebuilding. I wonder can we ask Iran to help with the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast. Bush admits he lied there were no WMD but he still wants to keep our troops in Iraq to die during the Iraq civil war. Their charging Saddam with not paying widows for the killing of their husbands but their adding the killings we did to make the number over 100,000. Lieberman wants Rummy out so he can be appointed as new Secretary of Defense as promised by Bush with the famous kiss. The real McCain is gone no more Maverick just a lap dog weak wanna be Senator who lies on Meet the Press. Bush mess up the UK terrorist plot by ordering the raid to early. Yes there was some good news Tiger won and Bubba Clinton looking good had his 60th birthday. I notice how many Americans wished Bubba Happy Birthday compared to Bush when was Bush's birthday anyway. Oh well welcome back and make sure you look good check your tie and wear the smile we've come to love. See you this evening California time.