Completely depressed.

I would be thrilled beyond measure if someone could prove to me this is completely made up:

bq. From a woman with a battery powered radio we learned that the media was talking about us. Up in full view on the freeway, every relief and news organizations saw us on their way into the City. Officials were being asked what they were going to do about all those families living up on the freeway? The officials responded they were going to take care of us. Some of us got a sinking feeling. “Taking care of us” had an ominous tone to it.

bq. Unfortunately, our sinking feeling (along with the sinking City) was correct. Just as dusk set in, a Gretna Sheriff showed up, jumped out of his patrol vehicle, aimed his gun at our faces, screaming, “Get off the fucking freeway”. A helicopter arrived and used the wind from its blades to blow away our flimsy structures. As we retreated, the sheriff loaded up his truck with our food and water. [ "The News Blog":http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com/2005/09/surviving-new-orleans-pt-ii.html ]

*Update 09/09/05:* UPI “has confirmed”:http://www.washtimes.com/upi/20050908-112433-4907r.htm at least some of the details of the above story: Gretna officials did shut down the highway and stop people from exiting New Orleans. Via “Workbench”:http://www.cadenhead.org/workbench/news/2748.

Or that this is made up:

bq. Denise said she thought she was in hell. they were there for 2 days, with no water, no food. no shelter. Denise, her mother (63 years old), her niece (21 years old), and 2-year-old grandniece. when they arrived, there were already thousands of people there. they were told that buses were coming. police drove by, windows rolled up, thumbs up signs. national guard trucks rolled by, completely empty, soldiers with guns cocked and aimed at them. nobody stopped to drop off water. a helicopter dropped a load of water, but all the bottles exploded on impact due to the height of the helicopter.

bq. the first day (Wednesday) 4 people died next to her. the second day (Thursday) 6 people died next to her. Denise told me the people around her all thought they had been sent there to die. again, nobody stopped. the only buses that came were full; they dropped off more and more people, but nobody was being picked up and taken away. they found out that those being dropped off had been rescued from rooftops and attics; they got off the buses delirious from lack of water and food. completely dehydrated. the crowd tried to keep them all in one area; Denise said the new arrivals had mostly lost their minds. they had gone crazy. [ "Ishbadiddle":http://triptronix.net/ishbadiddle/archives/2005/09/07/15.03.11/ ]

Or that this is made up:

bq. Twice we heard gunshot and everyone dove for cover. We didn’t have anything to eat, only water. The soldiers didn’t car [sic]. Sometimes they joked amongst themselves. Once, a guy near the barrier had an epileptic attack. He was drooling and everything. We said to the soldiers, “Get him out of here for Christ’s sake!.” But a soldier said, “it will stop and he’ll be alright.â€?

bq. One time, to amuse themselves, the soldiers threw bottles as hard as they could into the crowd, like in baseball. A woman was hit in the head. The Navy arrived and it was even worse: the soldiers did not stop yelling at us. [ "TPM Cafe":http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/9/7/14956/47318 ]

Or that this is made up:

bq. At a news conference, Pelosi, D-Calif., said Bush’s choice for head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency had “absolutely no credentials.” She related that she urged Bush at the White House on Tuesday to fire Brown.

bq. “He said ‘Why would I do that?”’ Pelosi said.

bq. “I said because of all that went wrong, of all that didn’t go right last week.’ And he said ‘What didn’t go right?”’ [ "The Guardian":http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5262012,00.html ]

But at this point I have a hard time convincing myself that it’s politically-driven fiction. I’d love to think that. It would be wonderful if I could believe that. Because it’d mean that none of this stuff is happening.