Two years ago the Gulf Coast was hit with Hurricane Katrina. Louisiana and Mississippi were hit the worst. New Orleans was devastated. The French Quarter, the upper class white neighborhood, has been completely restored. In the Ninth Ward, the poor black neighborhood, homes are still boarded up and very few people have been fortunate enough to move back or rebuild. Volunteers have flocked to the city in the past two years to help. Many are cutting grass and weeds because the houses are torn down if it becomes too overgrown. Residents treat volunteers as saints because they are the only ones helping to clean up and rebuild. The levee that broke was rebuilt exactly the same way, too thin and too small.
Today President Bush went to New Orleans. He commented on the federal governments “strong commitment” to New Orleans. He said that New Orleans was getting better every day. He also said that the people probably do not realize how much progress they have made because they live there. He and Laura on the other hand visit every now and then, so they have seen the difference since right after the hurricane. I would have to agree. It does look different. The city isn’t under water anymore. Good thing our president noticed.
He made his speech in the lower ninth ward. He must have kept his eyes closed the entire time.
You can read more and watch the video at The Washington Post website. And check out this great blog by a member of my office.
Also, check out When the Levees Broke, an amazing four part series by Spike Lee.
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