It is refreshing to know that there are reputable people working at the FDA. The Vioxx whistleblower was one. Susan Wood, director of FDA’s Office of Women’s Health, is another. Unfortunately, she has resigned over the FDA’s decision to be indecisive. Yes, it’s Plan B again, better known as emergency contraception or the morning after pill. Wood just got so fed up that she quit.

CNN published the email that she sent to her colleagues at the FDA, and which was released by contraception advocates.

“I can no longer serve as staff when scientific and clinical evidence, fully evaluated and recommended for approval by the professional staff here, has been overruled,” wrote Wood, who also was assistant commissioner for women’s health. “The recent decision announced by the Commissioner about emergency contraception, which continues to limit women’s access to a product that would reduce unintended pregnancies and reduce abortions, is contrary to my core commitment to improving and advancing women’s health.”

Not only has the FDA caved into political pressure from our merry band of neocons, but they have proven themselves to be liars. Case in point: Lester Crawford, now the pathetic commissioner, finally broke the stalemate in the Senate regarding his confirmation only after promising members of Congress to make a final decision by September 1. And guess what? No decision. Or I take that back–the fool made the grand decision not to make a decision. In other words, he lied in order to be confirmed. Nice going, Lester. It’s comforting to have guys like you playing around with our food and drugs.

As of 12:15 P.M., New Orleans local time, word from the Army Corps of Engineers is this: 1,200 sandbags that are 20,000 pounds each are being brought in to bridge gap…water level is no longer rising.

If the water is no longer rising, it means that the flooding will be stabilized, and they can start working on pumping it out. It’s so hard to pick out and find the good news, as most media just loves to focus on the negative and milk it for all it’s worth. Reading some of the reports, one would think that New Orleans was completely submerged, just like the lost city of Atlantis. There is SOME flooding in about 80% of the city, but the important word here is some. While there is extreme flooding that reaches rooftops, some of it is only ankle high or less. The French Quarter is relatively dry.

This is not to make light of the damage, but it does seem that a number of the articles flying off the press are intentionally worded to make the damage and situation more catastrophic than it actually is. And most of the coverage does seem to be focused on New Orleans. Understandably, it is a major US city, much beloved, historic, and a huge tourist attraction. But in reality, the worst damage was in Mississippi, in the Biloxi-Gulfport region. The area looks much like the pictures and videos of the areas that the tsunami hit back in December in Asia. I guess, though, that reporting on Mississippi isn’t as exciting as New Orleans, and in many reports, it often seems as an after thought.

Katrina swerved at the last minute, and did not make a direct hit on New Orleans. She did make a direct hit on the Gulf coast of Mississippi, with sea surges over 20 feet (highest reported is 28 feet although I’ve seen varying numbers), and in some places, the surges reaches 6 miles inland. So do the math and connect the dots.

There are some great resources for people who are trying to get updates on the hurricane damage, or information about family, friends, or their own homes. Here’s a few links that you may find useful:

New Orleans station WWL TV has a bulletin board where you can ask or answer questions about missing people, towns that were unfortunate enough to be in Katrina’s path, etc.

WWL TV has a Katrina Blog, with updates as they come in. And I really mean as soon as they arrive–the blog is updated every few minutes.

Weather.com has a Katrina Information Board up and running, where you can post questions and answers.