New Orleans

Not mine, but great a read.

Hmmm-- I wonder why the "historic areas" of New Orleans survived? Could it be that folks back then had a better appreciation of the intricacies of nature and knew to build on "higher ground"? Now I'm not from Louisiana albeit I certainly enjoy New Orleans but having substandard housing in a flood plain in an area prone to hurricanes -- all I can hope for is that my tax money is not used to move all those trailers down into the 9th ward and onto the nearby flood plains. Albeit I am certain stubborn ignorance -- and money -- will again prevail. Moreover to compare the devastation of the hurricane to our mid-west tornados -- well there is no comparison. It is going to cost far more to restore New Orleans than to rebuild every home and business that has every been lost to a tornado. Moreover although "tornado alley" is a pretty big swath of land the damage to a tornado is very localized and brief. I've weather out both tornados and hurricanes and they are very different "beasts".

And although I don't generally like to forward e-mail spam this piece merits presentation:

IMPORTANT WEATHER BULLETIN Up here in the Northern Plains of North Dakota we just recovered from a "weather event of historic propportions" -- a blizzard of up to 44" inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to 10's of thousands. FYI: George Bush did not come.... FEMA did nothing.... No one howled for the government... No one blamed the government No one even uttered an expletive on TV... Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit Our mayors' did not blame Bush or anyone else Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else either CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX, or NBC did not visit - or report on this category 5 snow storm Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards..... No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House.... No one looted... Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something Nobody expected the government to do anything either No Larry King, No Bill O'Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found Nope, we just melted the snow for water Sent out caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn't ask for a penny Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snow bound families Families took in the stranded people - total strangers We fired up wood stoves Broke out coal oil lanterns or Coleman lanterns We put on an extra layers of clothes because up here it is "Work or Die" We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for 'sittin at home' checks. Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale is a rare occurrence ...we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves. Just as folks who live in the Carribean and who face hurricanes every season quickly learn what precautions and preparations are needed to secure their safety and well-being. It does seem that way, at least to me. I hope this gets passed on...so that maybe, just maybe, some people will get the message: The world does not owe you a ^&$% thing! And meanwhile my friend who has been staying at the Marriott for the past few months is now being asked to leave. And since he hasn't held a job for the past ten years and has spent most of his days drinking and smoking and popping pills I am sure he'll be heading back down to New Orleans where his disability -- and I swear this is the truth -- that has allowed him to live in New Orleans since he dropped out of college is listed as "impairment of mind or body which is sufficient to render it impossible for substantially gainful occupation" -- which means if you are continuously drunk, stoned and intoxicated then you are eligible for a monthly check -- that you can then use to buy more alcohol and drugs. Great system!! One that only empowers folks like _____ to continue his binge. The only saving grace is that -- bless his heart -- his abuses are now taking their toll and I can't see him living to a ripe old age. Pretty soon the checks will stop coming in. Yeah New Orleans is a great city alright!! But I myself see New Orleans as one big mirror that reveals our many social inflictions -- and that its restoration should be focused not only on the bricks and boards but on re-examining the social ills (drug abuse, illiteracy, racism, etc.) that contributed to the Katrina tragedy. Moreover to affect social change it sometimes demands population shifts as have occurred in the aftermath of Katrina -- for I am certain there will be many people who will attain greater benefit if they do not return to the social and political environment from which they were displaced.