If NO is rebuilt, let's hope it's <b>built higher than sea level.</b>

Geez.

&lt;Well Budman, I know I heard The Pres say help was on the way when it wasn't. I usually support Bush, but this time, he really did show his ignorance!&gt;

Yeah, I agree, let's blame the Pres -- that's the easy way out. ((?)) Or the cop out. ~:&gt; ((b))

The infrustructer of New York was maintained. It was a neighborhood that was damaged. New Orleans was descimated, everything in shambles. The military and National Guard cannot just go waltzing into a state, our laws do not allow that. This was addressed on another thread. As I recall, I am certain I will be corrected, the Mayer of New Orleans only gave 24 hour notice to evacuate. I also saw several interviews with the Governor of Louisiana, and it was quite some time before it was mentioned that she requested help from the National Guard. There were not a lot of details given as to WHEN she requested that assistance, and at that point they said 40,000 troops, not JUST for NO, but for the entire state. It's obvious that she had no idea the extent of this thing. There was a guy on the news this morning from New Orleans, a black man, and now I wish I had paid more attention because I don't have his name and I really hate saying what &quot;some guy said&quot;. First of all he was discounting the comments that had been raised about no body caring about those people because they were black..he said it was hog wash, in HIS opinion, and he also said the HE felt that portions of the money allocated to New Orleans for work on the levees had been diverted by some of the politicians in the city to build plesure boat docks among other things...he was talking about graft. I have NO idea if this is true and am not putting it out there as the TRUTH, I am putting it out there as being ONE man's opinion. Budman, I know you can take care of yourself but you are NOT having a beer alone tonight. Skol!!!

Budman: That was only ONE erroroneus statment I heard him make. He really embarrassed himeself with the interview with Diane Sawyer and some of his press releases.

I guess you have to have gone through a hurricane or two to have caught some of the stuff.

There is an element of 'propaganda' by the government and John Q. Public would like to believe that FEMA and the Red Cross are able to assist all in need in a timely fashion. It makes him/her 'feel' better.

I ask you, if Bush passed a starving child on the street, do you think he would wait for him to ASK for food?

Last time I looked, he was our country's leader. I just don't think he led in this situation.

The only person I've heard that seemed to have a plan was the Gov. of Texas and the Astrodome...and even he got his figures wrong...he initially said they could handle 50,000 there...only to find later that the number was actually 25,000. Still, he gave me hope where there has been despair!

Belle

Here's the solution: Take all the debris from Louisiana, Mississippi, &amp; Alabama, compact it, ship it to New Orleans and raise the ground level 35 feet. Voila! New Orleans would then be above sea level. No money spent on repairing or strengthening the levees; they become seawalls.

Budman, I posted on another thread the grades I would give to some.

I gave the Federal response an <b>F</b>.
(because &quot;F&quot; denotes <i>failure</i> of the utmost degree)

What would be your grade?

All this talk about &quot;asking&quot; is just plain old crap coming from Republicans trying to protect the idiot in chief. The mayor had been begging for the levee to be repaired since he got into office.
Did you all notice how the officals LIED to interviewers when questioned? Except this time, the pictures supported what the reporters were saying. I urge all of you who are as outraged as I am about the handling of this tragedy to contact your Senators and Congressional members and demand that Michael Brown the head of FEMA be fired.

The local officials should be criticized as well as Feds. The Mayor issued an evacuation order, otherwise he did virtually nothing to get people to evacuate. It does not appear he planned for stocking shelters with food water and security. I just saw him on TV and he skirts around gentle questioning by reporters on what he did to encourage evacuation. His only answer was &quot;I issued the 1st mandatory evacuation order in NO history&quot;.
To answer the OP, I dont think NO should or will be rebuilt as a major American city. I'm hoping the relocated refugees can find their families and start new lives in other parts of the country. I see no reason to rebuild a city below sea level. Politicians celebrities will push to rebuild the city, Vital oil and shipping should be rebuilt.

Just joining this post this morning. I agree with Budman saying the Gov and the Mayor really dropped the ball. They should be fired. This thing was coming and they had time to evacuate these people and didn't, but finger pointing is pointless now.
I wouldn't rebuild the city. That is my opinion and I have no emotional ties there. It will be an enormous cost to this country and all the evacuees will be living someplace else. None of those people are moving back.
Comparing NOLA to some other place that does not get hurricanes is ridiculous. This can happen again before the month is over. Rebuild???? How much??? and will they really rebuild it right???
As far as Bush is concerned, I think he underestimated the damage there. No excuse. I think he was late on responding.
Watching the tv, I was disgusted with the looters taking tv's and electronics. It made me sick. I understood the people taking diapers and necessities to live.

.. no disrespect, but an amazingly dumb question. Please don't repeat it to any displaced folks from the Big Easy. If the media raised the issue, change the channel.

God help any of us in the path of another hurricane this year or next. This is the FEMA and Homeland Security that is part of the &quot;War on Terror&quot;?? God help us all.

New Orleans will be rebuilt, but the question remains whether it will be built with intelligence or haphazardly. All the indications seem to be that planning isn't part of any government at the moment. The wealthy will rebuild, with little regard for a comparable future disaster; the poor have been scattered. Wondering what Bush's home state will do with a hundred thousand new poor.....

I have thought of that too soccr. The state of Texas is really going to be strapped for some time. Most of the hurricane victims will make Houston their new home. With no money, jobs, or housing, life is going to be tough in Houston.
I also wonder if the city is rebuilt, will it be slapped together? It seems to me that I would not trust a levy system ever again.

I think the real question is how will NOLA be rebuilt. Let's face it, it definitely will but a good plan is needed. So far, we have failed miserably in the planning department. FYI-my tv last Monday reported that NOLA was spared since Katrina was east of the city...the real problem seemed to come on Tuesday when those fabulous levees blew...