"There is no such thing as television news in this country. There are networks that peddle entertainment under the guise of news." I wish more people understood this. I've been volunteering at a shelter in Baton Rouge for the past 2 days, helping the THOUSANDS of people who have been displaced by this historic flooding event. Thousands of homes have been completely lost. Approximately 35,000 customers in Baton Rouge alone do not have power. Cell phone service is down in parts of the city. Landline phone service (which almost [i]never[/i] goes down in disaster situations) is also offline for many residents. This is absolute devastation. It will take months for the city to return to a functional state, and [i]years[/i] for the lives of the thousands of people impacted by this terrible tragedy to return to normal. I lived through Hurricane Katrina, and I was actually in New Orleans when it happened, so trust me when I say that this disaster is [i]just as bad[/i] and has caused [i]just as much devastation[/i]. It wasn't a hurricane, so there was no dramatic wind damage or flying debris. Just the steady, impending threat of slowly rising water across almost half the state. Just as many people, if not more, were affected by this disaster as were affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. If you can spare $10, please text LAFLOODS to 90999. The donation will be added to your next phone bill, but will be paid out immediately.