Please don't look for any excuses for failing to give whatever you can to help out the victims of this catastrophe.

When they finally get around to counting the dead, there will be thousands. THOUSANDS. It's impossible to "hype" a disaster of this magnitude. If you want "happy talk," watch Entertainment Tonight.

And it's pretty heartless to talk about whether it's "pointless" to rebuild New Orleans while people are still dying there.

Give what you can. If you live anywhere near the affected areas, consider opening your home to a homeless family.

I've been crying my eyes out all week over this. I broke into sobs today over a story about seven siblings, ages four months to seven years, who were rescued from the top of an apartment building. No one knew what happened to their parents.

Their mother's name is Katrina.