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• Hurricane Katrina Leaves Chilling Images | In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, viewers faced scenes of roads turned to rivers, communities to lakes, buildings to rubble. They saw survivors cling to makeshift rafts. A man on crutches slogged through knee-deep water outside New Orleans' Superdome. An almost biblical vision: water seemingly on fire, blazing from a broken gas line on a flooded street. (Associated Press)
• In Hunt for Life's Necessities, Rumors Fly and Lines Crawl | Life here on the devastated coast of Mississippi has become a giant scavenger hunt for the most basic necessities. (The New York Times)
• From margins of society to center of the tragedy | The scenes of floating corpses, scavengers fighting for food and desperate throngs seeking any way out of New Orleans have been tragic enough. But for many African-American leaders, there is a growing outrage that many of those still stuck at the center of this tragedy were people who for generations had been pushed to the margins of society.
• After the Katrina tragedy, the looters come with their lies and half-truths | When Katrina struck the US Gulf Coast this week, the first images reflected man's instinctive compassion, heartening tableaux of daring rescues and selfless giving. Then, of course, came the looting, the inevitable exploitation of misery that contributes the insult of human depravity to the injury of natural disaster. (Times, London)
• New Orleans: Episcopal Priest tells horror story of riots and more | The situation here is unimaginable. We are totally unprepared for what is becoming worse by the minute. Hundreds of thousands of people are showing up in Baton Rouge -- no end in sight. New Orleans has been entirely looted and the violence is moving our way. (VirtueOnline)

Aid & relief:

• Churches asked to practice what they preach and help | 30 area pastors hope to raise $100,000 in 10 days for hurricane victims (Baltimore Sun)
• Churches rally to aid refugees | Many BR sites providing services (The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.)
• Good Samaritans Turn To Web to Help Victims | The Internet is spreading more than just information about Hurricane Katrina, it's giving people in the far corners of the United States the power to offer storm victims tangible help in the form of jobs and housing. (The Washington Post)
• Unable to Just Stand By, Thousands Sign Up to Help | More than 3,500 Red Cross volunteers, including about 400 from California, are in the Gulf Coast states now, setting up cots at emergency shelters, serving food, distributing dry clothing and counseling grieving victims. By Monday, the Red Cross expects to have more than 5,000 volunteers stationed in hurricane disaster areas. (Los Angeles Times)
• Americans open homes, hearts to storm victims | As relief agencies descend on the Gulf Coast, Americans -- as they have in past disasters -- are reacting to the heart-wrenching footage of refugees by opening their wallets. This time, though, they also are offering their homes. (The Boston Globe)
• America opens heart to refugees | Hundreds of thousands of people from regions devastated by Hurricane Katrina have resettled in shelters, hotels, churches and homes across the country for potentially long-term stays. (Washington Times)

Opinions:

• A descent into indecency | In New Orleans, moral levees are inundated too. (Wall Street Journal)
• The battle of New Orleans | Even in America, civil order is more fragile than we think. (Wall Street Journal)
• The Man-Made Disaster | The situation in New Orleans became considerably worse Thursday with reports of what seemed like a total breakdown of organized society. (Editorial, The New York Times)
• Even tragedy highlights our divisions | Should we really care about the color of the people looting in the hurricane zone? Or that Louisiana is a red state? Or that some of the dead are gay? (Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald)
• Now, about this 'nation of Christians' stuff | Is it just me, or is everyone else just floored by the crassness of the rising debate over who should pay to clean up behind Hurricane Katrina? (Bill Johnson, Rocky Mountain News, Co.)

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September (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49