Ray nagin is a moron.

[Grace]

Not saying it couldn't happen again, but after the storms and flooding back in 1953, the Dutch spend mega amounts of money to protect the country, including Amsterdam.

Written into Dutch law is the requirement that the coastal dikes be able to withstand the fiercest storm imaginable.

I saw a show on TV about their system of dikes; it was quite impressive - and compared to Louisiana, very new and state of the art.

Venice, Italy has also been flooded, the last big one in 1966. Italy launched the 4 Billion dollar project Moses to protect the city from future flooding.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

That could be something New Orleans should look into. By all accounts I have read, the dam that broke is not being repaired very effectivly.

I am sure more could be done to help protect it than is being done now at any rate. I think it would be better to spend money to rebuild it right and better if possible. It would save on property loss and loss of lives in the long run.

[Lady's Human]

There are major differences between the cities of Amsterdam and Venice, and the City of New Orleans.

Amsterdam has had a national government lead the way in financing and running the dike/flood protection projects. Venice is the same.

The Army Corps of Engineers (the agency that handles most flood control and river projects in the US) was (im)politely told to butt out. The ACoE's plans were fought by both local officials and environmental groups. Local officials because the ACoE would have been running the contracts (no more kickbacks, pools of levee tax money, shoddily built levees at a premium price, etc), and environmentalists because the project would have disturbed the local wetlands.

After refusing Federal help to avoid the problem in the first place, now they want the Federal government to step in and take control.

The original city, the French Quarter, is above sea level, and can be easily protected from storms. The rest of the city needs to go, unless the local and state governments agree not to interfere with the ACoE's plans.

[Edwina's Secretary]

I was thinking about this and I wonder....our tax dollars were spent blowing the #%#$ out of Iraq and are now being spent rebuilding Iraq....just in time for their civil war to blow it up again.

How does that differ? and why is it OUR federal government's job to do? Or to subcontract to close and personal firms to do? (and please...spare me any 9/11....just last week in a press conference GW AGAIN said there is no connection with Iraq....)

[Lady's Human]

Sara, two words. It ain't. The money to rebuild Iraq should come out of their oil revenue.

[Edwina's Secretary]

How about the money to blow it up in the first place?

[Grace]

Read it and weep - THE COST OF WAR

What an absolute waste of money, lives and good will.