I think it is great that Brad Pitt is helping out in New Orleans. But to the average middle class family we can't, we are just barely getting by making our own payments, even with 2 parent's working 2 jobs the cost of living is hard in today's world. We live in Northern Michigan where there is no hurricanes or heavy floodings, very seldom even a tornado , but we are still pay for what happens in the South by higher insurance costs and wood costs. I think it's great when you have the money and time to help, there is alot of people who would love to be able to help, but we can't, and it is not a choice for us. We live where we are geneally safe. Where we are not gonna lose are houses because of weather. I think in a all fairness, asking for help is great but it should be directed at the wealthy only, I'm sure they have worked hard for what they have, so have we. I think the politicians and stars and anybody that has a large corporation should and could help out, but they need to help out in places like New Orleans and Florida, California any wheres in the Uniterd States, we need to help our own out and get everyone here back on track before we are helping all of these other countries!! Most middle class and lower feel terrible for what goes on and we can't help.

I saw Brad Pitt on "The Today Show" Monday morning, and he said he's pledged $5 million of his own money to rebuilding New Orleans. How refreshing to see a celebrity put his money where his mouth is.

How much can we expect from GOP-leaning celebrities, such as Ahnold, Bruce Willis, and Particia Heaton???

There you go again Wayne, everything is political and left-right with you.

But considering that this Republican President has poored BILLIONS into this area and YEARS and YEARS of social programs has done what exactly?

An attitude change has to be part of the equation.

The same people that did nothing to help themselves before, are still doing nothing to help themselves now.

I RESPECT the folks that lifted themselves up and are making a difference in their lives and others, the do nothings, deserve no plaudits just ridicule.

I wholly applaud and support Brad Pitt for doing this, with no care of his political leanings.

Not sure why this is on the ticker though?

While I think it's great that Brad backs up his talk with action and money I think that ultimately the people of New Orleans are to blame. When you live in an area with a high risk of flooding in a city where the infrastructure is poorly maintained what do you think is going to happen when a major storm rips through the area???

It's odd. You'd think that a city run by liberals for so long would be a socialist utopia.

"So-called Architect Thinks you can Build a Home Below Sea Level"

he's a drop out who can't speak proper english who makes way too much money for …what? however he IS a step above Hollywood actors who don't give

Who needs a federal government when we have Brad Pitt.

great, here comes another celebrity on their high horse.

Celebrity builds and then gives away free houses in flood zone.

I wonder how much all those purple canopies cost? Oh well.., at least the homeless of New Orleans will have a place to sleep..

New Orleans is a toilet bowl, literally. That smell was there loooong before the hurricane…

Brad Pitt is a good actor, but that's where it ends. Why do I care about this actors political opinion. And will someone tell me why we should rebuild a city that IS BELOW SEA LEVEL! So this can happen again the next time a hurricane comes? Think Donkies.

Who cares, why is Brad Pitt filed under Politics? Does this mean his intentions are politically motivated? Please CNN get real…

God I wish everyone understood the basic principles of engineering

Posted By J Houston, TX : December 5, 2007 4:11 pm

Which is why the houses Brad Pitt is helping to build are all built on stilts to keep them above flood waters.

13 top architects are participating in the project, and I'm sure they understand "the basic principles of engineering".

Additional information on Brad's "Make it Right" project can be found on their web site:

http://www.makeitrightnola.org/index.php?isDirect=true

j houston,,, the army cp of engineers understand the basics,,, aren't they the ones who built the dikes ? Lets see,, build a city in a bowl????? add too much water to that bowl ?????

When the hazards and disruptions of the paparazzi's requirement for pictures of the kids was being discussed: I hope the pictures that CNN showed were taken by a hired man provided by the Pitt's family.

Actors need to have a better license over thier image, as do most of the general public. In Tourist attractions shots are available in the gift shop, and enhanced picture places should be found to prevent "walk throughs and unfamiliars" in the vaction pictures.

When an recording is taken of a person who holds and insures title to thier image: voice permission should be had to allow a personal photo, and written consent should be granted for any further publication beyond a personal web-site.

"To build on land that is actually below sea level is ridiculous, Mr. Pitt. As ridiculous as your relationship with Angelina Jolie." Jenn Jo, Kentuckey

Whoa. Haven't gotten any in quite awhile, hmm, Jenn?

For those of you who say don't rebuild there, it is quite obvious you don't live there or have the connection to the area that those living there do. If you feel they may be flooded again then avoid rebuilding anywhere hit by fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, mudslides and earthquakes. Now lets see how many areas of the US that wipes out. Funny how so many of you want to save Iraqis and spend billions there you are borrowing, but you resent helping your own citizens. And remember the other areas that got hit by the storm did not get the flooding the day after by the levee breaching. Aren't those levees maintained by the Army Corp of Engineers and not the citizens themselves? Can we stop hearing the US claim they want to help others around the world and then have to read that they don't even want to help their own.

Tell that to the Dutch. They seem to be doing very well with their system of polders and vast sections of their country below sea level.
Posted By Wayne, Greenville TX

Sure, lets do as the Dutch do? Uh, there is a huge difference here Wayne, the topography is also much different, but that doesn't matter? Or does it?

Pete M., New York, New York

Maybe you have a point? Do people who live on train tracks have a right to Government Protection and money to rebuild when the 10:21 comes rumbling through the bedroom? Do people who live on the rims of volcanoes have a right to Government Protection and money to rebuild when their world goes up in flames? If a tree falls in the forest, and you live underneath it, shouldn't you have heard the sound of logic telling you not to live there to begin with? Don't you city people have any common sense?

Brad and Angelina are the faces of young people who will and can make a change in America and I say God Bless them. And guess what, they haven't asked anyone for their opinion only if one wants to support their efforts.

Not bad Brad.

http://www.golden-lamp.com

Would Brad and his wife rebuild their homes in an area where it is certain that the homes would be destroyed again in 25-50 years? The rebuilt levees can withstand no more than a Cat 3 storm, assuring that in 25 to 50 years, a storm will breach them again.

It's too bad there wasn't a hurricane in Antartica — maybe Brad Pitt would have moved there.

Even if you give these people a house, they're not gonna take care of it . And they're not gonna move if an evacuation order is called when another flood arises.

Brad is dedicated , but giving someone a house doesn't solve the problem. And the problem is that some of these residents spend money on things other than insurance. Will Brad replace their house every time it sinks?

What a stupid hypocrite!

Nice to see that he is sending money towards a worthy cause, but, really sad that people are more concerned with who he's sleeping with this week, or where the latest addition to his own little united nations came from.

Kevin,

Sorry that you take issue with me and thank you for your brief history of the region but it only serves to support EXACTLY what I stated. Addressing the "why" was not my concern and is no longer relevant.

I don't fancy myself an intellectual and if I make you feel threatened I can only feel sorry for you.

Be well or, rather, get well.

By the way, read A. E. Cowdrey's book, Land's End. Then tell me how wrong I am.

Pete M.

Yes just rebuild, rebuild every thing! Why I ask you? These people are just as bad as the ones in the midwest that insist on rebuilding their houses every five years, because every five years a spring flood washes their lives downstream. Why am I liable for their idiocy as a taxpayer. My house isn't in a flood plain, or build on a swamp. You know why, because I like my stuff I don't want it to wash away. Tornadoes and hurricanes are one thing, but storm surge and or flood plains are another. There are random acts of nature; as well as, random acts of stupidity. New Orleans wouldn't be in the position they're in now if they would have listened to nature not the army corp of engineers. People move I've personally moved eighteen times in my life, out of necessity, not luxury. Rebuild the real coast, the mangroves forests, the bogs and swamps, and the grass wetlands, to protect the people that deserve it further inland.

Go for it Brad. The government is not doing it. I am a native New Orleanian living in Mendocino California until May. I love that city and grew up in the ninth ward. My sister is still in a trailer and the other one just got back into her home six months ago and without any government help.I hope your celebrity helps peoplenotice what is gong on. And don't forget Mississippi. You are certainly to be commended for the work yo are doing. Dina O'Sullivan

Hey AJ!

I stand by my comment and I am not wrong about it - ask the people who built (that is founded) New Orleans. I am not speaking about the effect of hurricanes at all - though that is certainly something to consider as are the other points you speak of when rebuilding, or choosing not to rebuild.

I am speaking about building in an area at the coast and naturally (in good weather) below sea level and below the level of a huge lake not many miles away and bounded by the Mississippi (did I spell that right?).

I was not talking about relocating them to some other place far inland but on relocating them to higher ground THERE or even (if possible and economically feasible) raising the level of the ground there to AT LEAST sea level. We are NOT talking about the Netherlands where they have little choice. If there were no dike there a big storm in Missouri could flood the 9th ward.

Again, I am not speaking of protection from hurricanes but about building in a place that requires that we engineer the basic enviroment so that people can build there a la the aforementioned Netherlands.

No disrespect intended to you and pardon me if I was not clear the first time.

Be well.

Pete M.

To build on land that is actually below sea level is ridiculous, Mr. Pitt. As ridiculous as your relationship with Angelina Jolie.

Posted By Jenn Jo Lexington Kentucky : December 5, 2007 4:34 pm

Tell that to the Dutch. They seem to be doing very well with their system of polders and vast sections of their country below sea level.

What is the State of Louisiana and the Mayor of New Orleans doing to help it's own. Why should the entire nation continue to help anymore than has already been done, and taken advatage of! I am so tired of people who bury themselves in a crusade like this, blame it on the big government, but don't hold the truest first responders, responsible!

You wouldn't find any other city in any other state compaining, the way we continually hear about New Orleans. What about Mississippi? Who's helping those people? They are!

Jeanne Gamble
Texas

Just a really good guy who cares. But this will be overshadowed by mom of the year Britney running red lights and letting the papparazzi film her going commando when she hit Vegas to get wasted.

Pitt for Prez!!!

How are the big corporate donations coming along? How much did Halliburton contribute?

I agree with Peter, NY,NY

dont rebuild in that area, 05 wasnt the first time it flooded, when the last hurricane hit NOLA the 9th ward flooded, the next hurricane to hit NOLA the 9th ward will flood again. I have no solutions to offer, and I commend Brad Pitt for what he is doing, but it doesnt seem safe to move a high concentration of people back into a flood zone.

When is Pitt or any politicians look at parts of New Orleans East and Lakeview ?????????????

Although I commend Mr. Pitt for his activism, his actions mark a sad chapter in American history where we depend on celebrities–not government–to rebuild our dilapidated cities. And while FEMA still has thousands of former homeowners and renters living in trailers, it seems that the insurance industry is content to let them stay there rather than provide coverage.

As for Peter M's remarks, although he fancies himself quite the intellectual, he is well off-base when it comes to deciding to rebuild the lower ninth ward. That region of New Orleans has been ecologically safe for hundreds of years. It wasn't until engineers and developers started opening canals building houses on the Wetlands that Lake Ponchartrain came into existence. Had that lake not existed, those levies never would have burst in the first place.

Look it up.

To build on land that is actually below sea level is ridiculous, Mr. Pitt. As ridiculous as your relationship with Angelina Jolie.

For Wayne:

Read this article. I think you make assumptions that just don't make much sense. How much have "left-leaning" celebs given thus far? I assume you know something about others besides Pitt, whose leanings I don't assume to know.

http://www.philanthropy.com/free/articles/v19/i04/04001101.htm

I give Brad Pitt credit for trying to make a positive change.

Posted by Peter M., New York, New York

Hey Peter, you comment about people living in New Orleans or along the Gulf Coast is wrong. The Gulf Coast is home to millions of Americans. If I applied your analogy to Florida and say to the high probability of hurricanes that come through Florida let the people suffer. Or heaven forbid if a major earthquake struck in California and hundreds of thousands or millions of people became displaced, we as Americans just said "Ahh…forget about them. They shouldn't have been living along that fault line anyway". What a sad state of affairs when Americans don't care about helping other Americans, but will tout that they are helping the Iraqis.

Incredibly wonderful and as Mr Dobbs says, "Remarkable!" of Brad, et al doing this… But I don't understand why is it Bush's job to do this? Does anyone know what the Tenth Amendment is?

Or any of them?

Or can anyone over the age of twelve tell me what the country BudaPest is the capital of?

Brad Pitt - who is certainly a very well intentioned, kind man - is, in my opinion, a little misguided on this one. Rebuilding the lower 9th is not only a grave mistake it should be criminal. The reason the French Quarter is still there and remained relatively undamanged is because the early settlers knew something that we still know today but apparently no one cares about: You don't build a town (or portion thereof) in an area that is naturally below sea level and requires a dike to keep it dry UNLESS YOU HAVE TO (and we don't). I could not in good conscience give a dime to such reconstruction on-site and what Mr. Pitt should really be doing is seeking to have a new, dryer, safer neighborhood built somewhere else. Just because people are poor doesn't mean they should have to live in an unsafe area and NOTHING we can do will ever make it safe and there is plenty of land in the region that is perfectly safe.

God bless him for caring.

God I wish everyone understood the basic principles of engineering

Why is this on the political ticker?

Not to be heartless…but when do people take responsibility for their own actions in your world?? The people in New Orleans live below sea level - and chose not to purchase a cheap flood insurance policy - now someone needs "to step in and protect them" - and we have those without insurance - Walmart, Starbucks, Staples and others provide health insurance - but those who chose not to get a job where health insurance is provided need to have someone "step in and protect them" - I don't understand the mother hen ideals you live under - we are adults - who are responsible for themselves…you want to make someones bad choices my tax liability - help me understand this….

Brad's a good guy, but he still cheated on his wife with Angelina Jolie. Not that great of a guy, ha?

Go Mr. Pitt and Ms. Jolie! Those two are wonderful people who have done a great deal to help others in the states and abroad. Paris Hilton's family has more money than most millionaires but they don't use it to make the world a better place. Mr. Pitt and Ms. Jolie are truly National Treasures of the United States. I hope Mr. Pitt, Ms. Jolie and their family have a New Year filled with health, happiness, love and joy.

Brad Pitt's tax write off will do no good. While I admire his will, New Orleans is below sea level and the levee system there is not only dragging it lower, but it won't hold up. Save your money, Brad, and build in an area that won't flood or going into the ocean. Then replace flood victims to that location.

I saw Brad Pitt on "The Today Show" Monday morning, and he said he's pledged $5 million of his own money to rebuilding New Orleans. How refreshing to see a celebrity put his money where his mouth is.

How much can we expect from GOP-leaning celebrities, such as Ahnold, Bruce Willis, and Particia Heaton???

Brad Pitt - who is certainly a very well intentioned, kind man - is, in my opinion, a little misguided on this one. Rebuilding the lower 9th is not only a grave mistake it should be criminal. The reason the French Quarter is still there and remained relatively undamanged is because the early settlers knew something that we still know today but apparently no one cares about: You don't build a town (or portion thereof) in an area that is naturally below sea level and requires a dike to keep it dry UNLESS YOU HAVE TO (and we don't). I could not in good conscience give a dime to such reconstruction on-site and what Mr. Pitt should really be doing is seeking to have a new, dryer, safer neighborhood built somewhere else. Just because people are poor doesn't mean they should have to live in an unsafe area and NOTHING we can do will ever make it safe and there is plenty of land in the region that is perfectly safe.

God bless him for caring.