I think a pig just flew by my window. The Post has actually written an editorial I agree with 100 percent.

It’s one thing to maintain a critical seaport for transoceanic shipping and river barge traffic. It’s quite another to waste billions of dollars rebuilding below sea level living areas that will be wiped out again in he next severe hurricane. Most of the former residents are gone forever.

Can’t blame the current administration either. This political football would have been shoved right down the President’s throat by his foes if anything less had been done.

I’m waiting for the formaldehyde class action suits that are sure to be brought by 50 percent “contingency suit” lawyers, for those who lived free in mobile homes bought with your tax dollars and mine. Those who lived free on cruise ships will be jealous because they can’t collect too.

It’s very easy to trash another person’s home when you live hundreds of miles away and all you do is read AP articles.

There *should* be a class action lawsuit against the people who provided trailers full of formaldehyde. The complete disrespect for the lives of New Orleans citizens by the Bush administration has been amazing, and the only rebuilding they are spending time on is the tourist areas and big-money businesses.

“FEMA and the CDC have now admitted that levels of formaldehyde in FEMA trailers are so high that residents should be moved out quickly. CDC testing revealed unacceptably high formaldehyde levels in all brands of RVs, mobile homes, and park homes. To read which trailers brands tested the highest, go to the Website http://cdc.gov/nceh/ehhe/trailerstudy/. The problem is not confined to RVs and mobile homes, but also can be a significant health threat in regular homes, offices and portable classrooms. (ToxicTrailers.com)

Neither the Bush administration nor FEMA invented or specified urea-formaldehyde insulation. FEMA accepted, in an emergency, what was standardly provided by all manufacturers.

For decades, manufacturers have been hit with class action lawsuits by anyone who could spell “asbestos”, even though it was found long ago that most lung damage was really caused by cigarette smoke. Case in point: The firm of Baldwin-Ehret-Hill had ceased fabricating asbestos steam-pipe insulation TO U.S. NAVY SPECIFICATIONS long before Bairnco Corporation acquired them. Bairnco, a conglomerate of totally unrelated businesses, immediately divested BEH on discovering the risk. Even so, they paid out over $100 MILLION dollars to settle highly questionable nuisance lawsuits, and were nearly driven out of business.

I totally agree with Mr. Gallagher. I thought the same thing right after Katrina hit and Mayor Nagel said NOLA would be back, rebuilt, better than ever. Uhm, why would anyone sink good money after bad? The city was destroyed. If you still want to reside in the area, pick a place that is at the very least situated ABOVE sea level. I strongly object to my tax dollars being spent on such stupidity.

It’s not that I don’t have compassion for the people who lost everything, we should indeed help them find safer ground to live on, and help them rebuild. Let NOLA go back to being marsh land as it should be.

Let us be consistent and not rebuild after California earthquakes, Midwest tornados or east coast hurricanes. They are only going to happen again. Smart money says we will have a major shake in California in the next thirty years. Shouldn’t we be proactive and evacuate now? St Louis has had three devastating tornados in slightly more then a century, 1896, 1927 and 1959. We are about ten years overdue. Shouldn’t we move it? And what about everything else in Tornado Alley?
There are not many places immune to recurring major natural disasters. The question becomes, What is it about New Orleans that would suggest to people that we not rebuild as opposed to California or anywhere else along the Gulf and East coasts?
The technologies needed to preserve New Orleans aren’t a mystery. They are in use in many places around the world.

Indeed the technologies to preserve New Orleans are not a mystery, but they are extremely expensive. There is a limit to what Congress can and will approve, regardless of what political party is in power.

The United States has an advantage over Venice and the Netherlands. It’s call LAND MASS. We can simply abandon flooded “bare subsistence” dwellings on land that is sinking into the sea. Most of the poorer citizens of New Orleans were smart enough to realize that they couldn’t rebuild on their own, and they wouldn’t be leaving much behind anyway. They weren’t concerned about how much Uncle Sam spends to rebuild New Orleans, because they typically paid little or nothing in taxes.

California earthquakes and midwestern tornadoes are a lot different. Indiviual homes and other buildings, and even highways, bridges and other infrastructure can be made relatively immune to earthquakes and tornadoes. It takes money but not as much as holding back the sea. Much of this work is currently required and performed under the BOCA, NFPA and other codes and is not even noticed by people other than engineers and tradesmen.

As a New Orleanian, I want to let Mr. Gallager know how he and people of his ilk have destroyed my faith in my country. Never in my life would I ever expect Americans to turn their backs on their own. Well, I wss wrong. Everyone in the Gulf South has lost much due to Katrina. One of the hardest to take is the loss in the faith that we are a good country. I was a fool to ever believe that we were.

The three St. Louis area tornadoes noted by Mr. Burnham occurred in 1896, 1927 and 1959, over 31 years apart.

In 1959 a friend’s home in Dellwood was blown off the foundation. Why? The builder had placed bolts in the concrete to hold the sill plate, but failed to put nuts and washers on the bolts. I had installed them on my own home across the street. and had no damage to the house, only a broken tree.

Homeowners should look for this flaw in their own residences.