I am sure the Mt. Hood climbers knew the risks involved. But I am fairly sure they didn't expect anything to happen that they could not deal with either. Does this determine them to be irresponsible because something did go wrong? It certainly doesn't deem them deserving of their fate. They liked to climb mountains. Above all else, this is a tragedy. It is difficult not to feel at some level for each of these men and their families. Putting oneself in the shoes of any of the climbers, or those of a family member - would anyone not wish for aid in search or recovery of someone they loved and cared for, or had great concern for? Would the cost be first and foremost?
I am at a loss for understanding the issue regarding the family's reluctance in sharing photos with the media and public. Why should they feel obligated to do this?

Frankly, I'm shocked at people who are criticizing the families of the hikers for withholding the photos. I am appalled that some people have little or no respect for others’ boundaries and their right to privacy. Yes, I would like to see the photos also, but they are private property and it is none of our business what the families do with those photos. If you lost your mother in a car crash that made the news, and a camera was recovered at the site, how would you feel if the public was clamoring to see these photos? How would you feel if the public was giving you their opinion on how you should grieve?

I'm glad that we care enough for life to try to rescue the climbers. People are rescued every day from dangerous situations by the fire and police departments, whether or not they put themselves at risk. Who are we to judge who deserves rescuing and who doesn’t? That is not the point. The point is that these people were in trouble and needed rescuing, so we did all that we could to bring them back home to their families.

One man has already died, and it is quite likely that the other two men have perished. Leave these families in peace to grieve in their own way.

I'm sorry that they couldn't found a safer hobby, at the tax payers expense, and there families worries of there life was waisted on a mountain of snow instead of in the arms of the love ones at Christmas. Sounds a little selfish to me, prayers be with the family.

As relates to Mr. William's article in the Time Magazine You issue: Bemoaning the net is a bit disingeneous. He says that we may be missing stories, but the fact is, the net breaks more news than newspapers or 30 minute nightly newscasts. In fact, if you are fed Fox news, you get a slanted viewpoint from the right, or perhaps, endless stories from the nightly casts about high blood pressure. Maybe the news people "need" is the news that fits their lives the best.

So far all have read is assumptions about if they were capable climbers, why they didn't stay together
and the money it is costing tax payers.Nobody knows the story and probably never will. My husband is a race car driver I have seen hime in bad accidents and
very much would have liked hime to quit because of my
fear. I may as well asked him to take his life because it is what he loves the most. 3 t 4 nighgts a week I have watched him for 30 years and will continue. We also have a family and we all understand that. Life is nothing if you live in fear of the what if's. My sincere thoughts are with these women and there families, please don't judge people for what you may think maybe "stupid". Just pray that they are found one way or the other. To the rescue workers of any kind, My hat is off to them for all the efforts they do. I can't think of a better way to spend tax dollars at least it's for are own people JUST LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST!!
Tax dollar are wasted every day on alot of worse things. Maybe we shouldn't have searched for the family that took the wrong turnoff in a blizzard. The
fatality would have been 4 not 1. As far as the pictures I am surprised at this point that people
are already judging these families thinking they just want to make more money on the pictures. I new
we lived in a money hungry world but how cruel!!!

Is it my imagination, or does President Bush often hold news conferences when David Gregory is not at the White House?

Thank you for checking in on New Orleans in your broadcast last night. Healthcare is a big concern across the southeast these days-thanks for presenting this issue to your viewers.

Brian: I think that mountain climbers should have to pay a fee that is deposited into a rescue reimbursement fund every time they climb. That would take the burden off of the tax payer and place it where it belongs, on the people who choose to take the risk of climbing.

Please, no more comments about how much tax payers have had to support the searches on Mt. Hood. Isn't it refreshing & food for the soul to know how much we value a human life. That has been demonstrated by the search & resuce & recovery programs in Oregon. How wonderful that there are people who value our environment & whose souls are fed by nature. How horrible that we send more men & money into Iraq where life has been made so horrible by us for both Iraquis & for us in the United States. Shame on Bush. But, I gladly pay my taxes for the very good things in life including our recent & current demonstration of how a single life can be so important.

IF YOU BREAK IT, YOU HAVE BOUGHT IT. IF YOU TRY TO CLIMB IT AND CAN'T HANDLE IT, YOU (OR YOUR ESTATE) IS LIABLE FOR 100% OF THE RESCUE EFFORT COSTS. SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD.

Hope you're feeling much better today. I second Henry regarding Laura Bush's silence on her medical condition. Perhaps had what she had turned out to be serious I'd have thought something should have been said to the public, but since following her surgery she's been fine, I'd respect her privacy on the matter.

Thanks so much for the New Orleans update that included the good news of the re-opening of part of the St. Charles trolley line. Ron Mott's "Whose America?" piece was also excellent. That's quite a quandary--New Orleans needing immigrants' help to rebuild, but finding that due to their being poor and uninsured, they're straining her health care system when they need to give birth and have other medical needs.

New Orleans' health care system, which is in critical condition, is one of many reasons meaningful recovery help for Louisiana, Mississippi, and the rest of the storm zone is necessary. (Not the mere $110 billion said to be "enough" by the Bush Administration, much of which went to "Band-Aid" measures such as FEMA trailers, the rest of which is tied up in red tape.) Because this not only affects immigrant workers, but everyone living in New Orleans who needs medical care. And as noted, this is merely one of a myriad of areas in which the storm zone needs additional help.

Hopefully, when the new Congress goes into session, someone has the gumption to come up with a "Marshall Plan" for the areas hit by Katrina and Rita, get it through Congress, and push Bush to accept it. Otherwise, the future of New Orleans, the rest of Louisiana's storm-ravaged parishes, Mississippi's Gulf Coast, and the rest of the storm zone will not be rosy.

I've been a big fan, Brian, for a long time, but I don't quite get the intent of the piece on the cost of the Mt. Hood rescue. We're talking nickels and dimes compared to the disasterous billion dollars a month operation we have going on over in Iraq. Kinda like apples and oranges, isn't it?

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t we spend thousands of dollars a decade ago rescuing two trapped whales in Alaska. I believe these three climbers deserve the same consideration.

Brian,

I don’t know what it is about your blog but I find myself navigating to the Nightly News page promptly at 10:00am PST each morning for the Early Nightly and then 3:00pm to read your entry. When on an out-of-town engagement and away from internet access (like today) I always make sure that high-speed connection is available at the hotel so I can watch the netcast and read the blog in the comfort of my temporary home away from home. I don’t know what it is about your broadcast, but all the effort the Nightly News team puts forth on a daily basis is greatly appreciated here on the West Coast.

On that note, thank you for being so dedicated to your viewers and appearing on the air even when you’re a bit under the weather, I hope you feel better soon – it’s always a drag to spend the holidays with family and not being able to converse with any of them; load up on the tea and honey.

In regards to your personal note on your late sister, you’ve mentioned her several times in the past and I’ve read a few interviews of her and she sounded like a remarkable woman, I have no doubt she had a profound effect on many lives and made the world just a little bit better.

Got my TIME magazine today and I was glad to read your piece on “the importance of self” (I realize that you had a link to the article on yesterday’s blog but I’m old-fashioned and to me, some things just need to be read “on paper”). I remembered you touched on the subject of how overly-personalized & tailored to an individual’s interest our society has become awhile back and I was hoping you would elaborate on the theory further. It was a great read (with a nice caricature accompaniment), David Zurawik of Sun Television wasn’t kidding when he said, “Williams has developed a casual but authoritative style. Let's face it, the man can write; his strong visual images help readers see the world through his eyes”.
And finally, to you, Brian, and to all of the Nightly News crew, have a safe and happy Christmas.

Alexis, Redlands, CA.

I have been a rarely-miss watcher of Nightly News since Huntley & Brinkley days. Brian Williams is a worthy successor, but could he please stop saying: "We are back in a moment" when (presumably) he means "We will (or we'll) be back in a minute."

I feel for the families of the lost climbers on Mt. Hood, but I have to wonder, why, after all the out pouring of help that has been put forth in searching, that the families are not sharing the pictures. We have all mourned right along with them! What are they saving them for? A later profit? Now they act like the public is intruding on them!

The people who support everything in this country are not consulted when huge amounts of tax money is obligated. Whether it is a president who cares not whom he kills - be it a soldier or marine in Iraq, or the people who die because they have no medical insurance - or a climber who puts himself at risk, foolishly and recklessly, and then expects millions of dollars to be spent to save him from his mistakes and lack of care, there are priorities that should in a real world, take precidence over both our presidents arrogance and the climbers lack of care. Perhaps the selfishness of both groups - if denied enough times - would make people think twice about what to support and how to spend tax money - money that is not available for veterans and the elderly and the millions of children who never get to go to the doctor. The president does not deserve billions to get him out of the mess he created (especially since he continues to kill Americans when he any his vice were too cowardly to put themselves at risk) and the climbers do not deserve millions spent on them to rescue them for their careless and foolhardy and ill prepared challenge of something too great for their abilities.

I think the cost of rescue is important to talk about, but I think we are obligated to trying to help people. It’s in our very nature to look out for others and go the extra distance to make sure they’re ok. People are always going to do stupid things and get in over their head un-intentionally. I’ve done it… You’ve surely done it… We’ve all crossed the line at one point or another. Thankfully, there is a very outgoing and willing safety net! This is their job and what rescuers WANT to do and live for.

To those who argue that people who take risks shouldn’t be helped I’d suggest seeing the flaw in such argument by scaling it back to how many accidents are caused by people merely breaking the speed limit or driving too fast in poor conditions first. What about those who live in LA (now overdue for a massive quake), Miami, Huston, or in other disaster prone areas? That’s just about all the rest of us as well. Perhaps the “Chinook” was a bit over the top, but searching by helicopter is a practiced (almost daily) routine.

If such efforts seem too expensive, than find cheeper solutions that will be even better. Personally, I’d like to see more remotely piloted recon. drones in use as well as the possible use of military-style ground sensors that can detect people walking thousands of yards away. They can be set up like a grid in the most dangerous places to know where everyone is at.

----

I think this topic dovetails nicely into talking about a Marshal plan for security. I think there are PLENTY of preventative measures that we could and should have in place (such as missile detectors and Chaff decoys on airliners), but in the end, it all comes down to being prepared for rescuing people and coping effectively in the “aftermath” of an attack. Security measures get the majority of the attention, but try talking to someone about disaster preparedness and all of a sudden you become a doomsayer. People just don’t want to think of such things.

Since coping with natural disasters takes almost the identical hardware as coping with a terrorist attack (helicopters, emergency personnel, effective and rapid response) why not lump them together and attack many potential problems all at once. We can never hope to be 100% secure, but we sure as heck can hope to have an effective response to anything. My seven-page article “Preparing for a Super-Disaster (www.Trafford.com/04-2708 - at the bottom)” details many things we can do MUCH more effectively. Our very nature may be to help people but it is also to be prepared with robust equipment and facilities that will endure through thick and thin!

I say the families of the Mt.Hood Climbers should share the photos with everyone. They have asked for volunteers to search in dangerous weather for their loved ones. They have asked for gov't money for the use of helicopters, planes and many hours of rescue.
Now, they want to withold the pictures. Are they going to sell them and if they do, should they not use the money to reimburse the Search and Rescue?
I am impatient with the risky nature of men that call on all of us when they take one too many risks and lose.

I've been a big fan, Brian, for a long time, but I don't quite get the intent of the piece on the cost of the Mt. Hood rescue. We're talking nickels and dimes compared to the disasterous billion dollars a month operation we have going on over in Iraq. Kinda like apples and oranges, isn't it?

The First Lady's medical condition and the disclosure thereof should first and foremost be HER choice, not the choice of others. Betty Ford made a difference in drug awareness and substance abuse by first making a personal choice to disclose the information regarding her own personal struggles. Let's let Laura Bush have the choice to make a choice.

By the way, I hope you're feeling better soon. The scratchy voice can be a hassle and I hate to see "My Main Man" hurting while he's working.

Dear Brian,
We Washingtonians would very much like to not be in the news again, either. (BTW, we still have over 100,000 homes without power, trees still on houses, etc-5 days post storm). From your lips to God's ears! :)
Feel better!

Several Comments. Lost climbers - Enough already, they made a decision to climb and it did not work.
People die every day, yet you never hear about it on the NEWS.
Over the counter pain relievers, everything they want to add to the package is already known and listed in the package. Those who overdose, would do so regardless, It is about time for people to take responsbility for themselves and quit asking the Goverment to look out for them.
This country will be so much better off in 2008, George Bush will be remembered as the worst President the US has ever elected.

Why would anyone, experienced as they were, even think of climbing a mountain in the middle of winter? Common sense tells you NO!

Brian: I thought Pete Williams' report on crime rates was fine, but would have been even better without that chilling 911 call of the woman in the home-invasion robbery. It was unnecessary sensationalism, and made me feel like the victim was being victimized all over again.

My $0.02, and worth what you paid for it.

Keep up the good work.