Like many Americans with an unhealthy relationship with their televisions, I have spent the last week or so glued to the 24-hour news channels for any developments in the Katrina fiasco.   It's hard to pull away from the catastrophic destruction and unbelievable human loss, but most of all, it's hard to pull away from the overriding comedy of it all.  Here are some reasons why CNN, FOX News, and MSNBC are the funniest channels on basic cable at this moment:

1.  The reporters' wardrobes.   Perhaps in order to appear more sympathetic to the victims that were stuck wearing the same "Farfrompoopen" t-shirt for three days straight, I've noticed the reporters covering the hurricane have adopted much more casual ensembles on air.  This is not so much amusing for Anderson Cooper, who could look just as a strapping in a barrel with straps as a three piece suit.  But I do think the costume crew who surgically removed Tucker Carlson's bowtie and dressed him in an oversized polo shirt should get an Emmy.

2.  Any defense of the federal government's late response.  Watching any of the federal  leaders try to back peddle on why it took them four days to get aid to the New Orleans area when about every outlet of the media made it there in less than a hour is one of the most astounding things I've ever witnessed on television.  If Geraldo can stumble his way down there, surely an organization with thousands of armored vehicles at its disposal could do the same. 

3.  Ray Nagin.  Any government official who uses the phrase "John Wayne Muthafucka" while miked has my approval.  No one less than Samuel Jackson can play him in the movie. 

4.  Celebrity rescue missions.  The greatest thing about watching Sean Penn tooting around New Orleans with an entire press corps seated where he would put any of the people he rescued if were genuine is the thought that this obvious publicity stunt is possibly the only thing more full of shit than the waters flooding the Big Easy. 

5.  The Kanye moment.  On one of those hurricane relief shows crammed full of wtf celebrities like Sela Ward, Kanye West decided to deviate from the saptastic script to say that "George Bush doesn't care about black people."  Mike Myers was standing right next to him at the time, and he couldn't have been more uncomfortable if he were apologizing for his performance in "Cat in the Hat."

6.  The people who won't leave New Orleans because of their fucking pets.  As an obsessed cat owner, I can sympathize with these people.  I wouldn't leave my menagerie of kitties very easily either, but there's a point at which I would and that point involves no electricity, access to a working bathroom or, say, raw sewage flowing freely through 80% of my city.  Your pet would do the same and probably over a much smaller catastrophe, like opening the can of chicken when they wanted tuna. 

7.  When federal aid finally did arrive at the convention center, there was a shot of a singular one-armed man unloading bottles of water and food rations.  My dad and I have since dubbed him "Handy." 

8.  A pack of French Quarter workers, all decked out in goth gear, were found on the highway outside New Orleans after trudging through the destruction to get to a point where they could be rescued.  The reporter that did the story offered a cell phone to a girl with a dog collar who used it to call her dad, who is a pastor, in Ohio. 

9.  A good majority of the Katrina victims who were in the Superdome were transported to the Astrodome and other sporting arenas around the country.  Is it just me, or wouldn't a sporting arena be the last place any of these people would want to be?