Oprah Winfrey demands apology from America, uses resources to help Katrina victims herself

Chat show host Oprah Winfrey is furious over the way the victims of Hurricane Katrina have been treated, and believes America owes the survivors an apology. "I think... this country owes these people an apology. This makes me so mad. This should not have happened." Winfrey wore a gas mask as she toured New Orleans' now-empty Superdome, which housed thousands of people in disgusting conditions for several days. She says, "Nothing I saw on television prepared me for what I experienced on the ground. I was sitting at home feeling frustrated and useless, like so many other people, so I came down to personally assess how I could best be of service."

As she fumed, Winfrey reportedly talked to a lot of refugees victims evacuees hurricanees in both Louisiana and Mississippi to gauge their feelings and needs in the aftermath. She toured the devastation of New Orleans in a small motorboat to assess the damages. She had frank discussions with officials at all levels of the government about what could have been done and what needs to be done now. She chatted with her helicopter pilot, Howard, about what he thought she should do. She even prayed to God, both hers and President Bush's, but received only mixed signals.

After hours and hours of sympathetic listening, careful analysis, and deep soul-searching, Oprah came to the only reasonable conclusion about how she could best be of service: dedicate the October issue of her own magazine, O, The Oprah Magazine, featuring another great cover shot of herself, to the 20th anniversary of her own talk show, The Oprah Show.