As most of you know, I also blog for the site Voices of New Orleans. You might not realize that I'm up five days a week over there, bringing attention to news both good and bad about the Crescent City. In the past few days it has been hard to find anything good however as death has been the predominant subject on all NOLA news sites. Jenny D.'s readers will already know about this, as it was a friend of hers, Helen Hill, who was most recently murdered in the sensesless violence that is overwhelming New Orleans.

I have a longish post at Voices gathering links on Helen's death and also updating on the late December murder of Hot 8 drummer Dinerral Shavers, whose accused assailant was recently caught and apparently shot him for the most ridiculous of reasons. I also include info on the protest march on City Hall that is planned for Thursday and was partly spearheaded by NOLA author Ken Foster.

But for those of us who do not live in New Orleans it is hard to do anything but feel bad about all of this. We tell Jenny we are sorry, we mention the deaths in an occassional post at our own sites and we shake our heads when we read about what is happening down there - just as we largely did when the levees failed and the city was flooded. I am beyond frustrated by what I can not do - perhaps it resonates so strongly for me because I read so much about the city everyday as I update Voices. So I've decided to organize a Virtual March for New Orleans. It's simple - all you have to do is write one letter and address it to Gov Blanco, Congressmen Jim Oberstar and John Mica and Senators Daniel Inouye and Ted Stevens. Send them the fax and let them know that as an American you support the Thursday March and you are frustrated with the continued tolerance for violence in New Orleans. It is our tax dollars that are not getting the job done down there - it is as much our problem as it is the people who live there. We are the ones who are responsible for making sure that money is spent in a proper and responsible manner in New Orleans and it is way past time that we let our leaders know that they are held accountable to us - all of us. Tell them that security is paramount, and so is aiding and assisting the legal system so once people are caught they can be tried in a timely and legal manner. Let them know that we must add grease to the wheels of justice. Also we must provide aid to NOLA schools - more teachers, more innovative learning environments and more effective recreational programs - we must help those kids before violence is only thing they have.

Most importantly tell them there will be no more denial on how bad the situation is in New Orleans. We demand the violence be taken seriously - as seriously as it is taken in Iraq - and we insist that immediate steps be taken to curb it. No less will be accepted, not by any of us.

Here are the fax numbers:

Gov Kathleen Blanco: 225-342-7099
Congressman James Oberstar, Chrman House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure: 218-727-8270
Congressman Jim Mica, Ranking republican, House Comm on Transpo & Infra: 202-226-0821
Senator Daniel Inouye, Chrman Sen Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation: 202-224-6747
Senator Ted Stevens, Ranking republican, Sen Commit on Commerce, Science & Transpo: 202-224-2354

It's twenty minutes out of your day (I would have provided emails but they only accept emails from their constituents and we don't want to be blocked), and we could make a difference here. We could make our voices heard. Please let folks know about the Virtual March - link to here or link to my post at Voices that provides more background and the same contact info.

Make your voice heard - don't let people like Helen Hill and Dick Shavers have died in vain. Let's do what we can to say enough is enough and demand that the truth about the city of New Orleans be acknowledged and addressed. It's not about tourism anymore people, it's about survival and we need to help them; we need to help this American city.