I was very disappointed by the people of New Orleans when Katrina hit. The mayor, the governor and the people themselves did everything wrong. The locals are used to the government doing for them, so they didn't help themselves. Contrast their actions with those in the flood right after Katrina that occured in Iowa. They did for themselves. You didn't see people congregated in the local arena waiting for someone else to come and rescue them. I know Bush's administration dropped the ball too, but they have been working to fix their system since then and things are getting better as far as FEMA is concerned. I like Nawlins, but people need to learn that you can't stand around while the water is rising. You need to get out and the buses don't have to be custom coaches. School buses should not be left to sit in the water.


>Thanks for posting the front line report and the pictures.
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>Illinois is not famous for scenic vistas but at least we don't have natural disasters.
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>I know this is like an achy tooth with me but I will never forget Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans had about half a million residents before the storm and flood and has about half that now. The proportion of young people has shrunk even more. The utility companies report that tens of thousands of addresses have not recorded since. It's a crazy place to build a city, surrounded by water -- the Mississippi River at its widest, the Gulf, Lake Pontchartrain -- but it was IMO our most vibrant and romantic city depending on how you feel about San Francisco. Then the levee broke like soup pouring into a bowl.
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>I highly recommend Spike Lee's "When the Levees Broke", a terrific documentary. Spike is known as an inflammatory director. In this case he didn't need to do anything but let people tell their own stories. I am also hearing good things about the HBO series "Treme".
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>UPDATE: Dan Barry of the NY Times wrote a number of unbelievably good reports from New Orleans after the storm. He is on a different beat now -- a dream beat for a reporter -- but he hasn't lost a step. This guy is as good as it gets. He is who I wanted to be when I was 17 years old. Read him every chance you get.
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>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/us/01land.html?ref=danbarry