Writer Shot in NOLA This Week

A shock to learn that well-known writer and author Mark Hertsgaard was one of those shot in the New Orleans rampage on Mother's Day that left 19 injured, including three critically.  He was in the second line parade and says--in this article for The Nation--he was just ten feet from the shooter--and owns a bullet in this leg for his troubles.  But like so many of us, loves NOLA and defends.

As news of yet another tragedy emanates from New Orleans, outsiders may feel tempted to write the city off, once again, as a hopeless, crime-infested, hurricane-vulnerable hell hole that should be left to its own devices. But the realities of New Orleans are more complex than that—and more compelling. The truth is, the United States as a nation, and many foreign countries as well, need New Orleans to be a city that works. And that is not an impossible dream.

A blogger for the local Gambit was more seriously wounded--lost a kidney.