He's A Ding-Dang Renaissance Man

Today's Huffington Post has a blog entry from Louisiana resident, and modern day Renaissance Man, Harry Shearer. In addition to providing the voices for many characters on The Simpsons, and playing bass in Spinal Tap, writing and producing his own radio show, Le Show, he's also a published author and an established TV and film actor. Is that Renaissance enough for ya?
Shearer's essays regarding post-Katrina New Orleans consistently debunk the myths and misinformation associated with the event and the city. Today, he wrote about the mental health crisis that has gripped New Orleans since Katrina, and it's coverage by The Washington Times. Shearer gives credit to the Times for being one of the few national news agencies to tackle this topic. From the article:

The Times stories focus on all the salient points of the mental health mess: the long-term depression of many Katrina survivors, the degree to which the crime rate is swelled by mentally-disturbed people acting out, the heroic efforts of police crisis units and volunteer organizations to find and help people who can't seek out help themselves, and the increasing disparity between the need and the resources available for care and help. All this is welcome, if overdue, and admirable.

He also follows the comments to his blogs, and responds and refutes errant comments when necessary. He's not afraid to set folks straight, and he backs up his writing with facts. Imagine that. Read the blog post here.

Be sure to check out his official web site: harryshearer.com to keep up with his long lists of projects.