So much for free speech...

.. we can't possibly let people know what is really going on.

Rueters reports FEMA and other federal authorities are blocking reporters and photographers.

NEW ORLEANS, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. government agency leading the rescue efforts after Hurricane Katrina said on Tuesday it does not want the news media to take photographs of the dead as they are recovered from the flooded New Orleans area.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, heavily criticized for its slow response to the devastation caused by the hurricane, rejected requests from journalists to accompany rescue boats as they went out to search for storm victims.

Another Blogger reported via email:

We are in Jefferson Parish, just outside of New Orleans. At the National Guard checkpoint, they are under orders to turn away all media. All of the reporters are turning they're TV trucks around. Things are so bad, Bush is now censoring all reporting from NOLA. The First Amendment sank with the city.

At least the internet allows for avenues of free speach that the government has a more difficult time controlling. Be warned though, this web site does contain graphic pictures. Don't go there if you have a weak stomach. Current estimates seem to indicate 10,000 dead in New Orleans.