The more things change the more they stay the same....

Greetings all. Other than my 'Thought of the day' you may have noticed that I took a few days off from spouting my opinion. I have been very busy working and decided to try and not think over the weekend. Now its Monday and it's back to the real world, so here goes...

Over the weekend the mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, announced that the city would be re-opened as of this morning section by section starting with the least damaged areas. There was major disention among the various agencies (Local, State and Federal) about the call by the mayor of beginning to re-open the city. I agree with the dissenters, why rush to open the city? Why? My opinion, and it's just that, mine, is two reasons. 1st is so that Ray Nagin can thumb his nose at everyone else and say 'You can't tell me what to do, I am the mayor, and this is my city." The 2nd is the almighty dollar. Yes, what a surprise, let's get these people back in the city but first we will open the businesses that way the people will have a place to spend money and start the rebuilding process.

Now let's look at this from a distance and a distant perspective. If the businesses re-open there are a number of problems as I see it. I will list these in no particular order:

• Before you can re-open a business you have to clean up whatever damage may have occured. Where do you place all the refuse from this clean-up? Do you prioritize the pick-up of this refuse over the clean-up of massive amounts of general refuse laying around the city?
• Not only do you have general clean-up refuse, but what about decontamination of buildings that have been inundated by water contaminated by e-coli, cholera strains, human and animal waste, oil, gas and other toxic chemicals?
• Many of the areas are without electricity. How do you operate your air conditioning, cash register, credit authorization terminals, security systems, etc.?
• If you are a food store or are in any way connected with food service the 3 points above are even more critical. The clean-up and decontamination are going to be a much larger problem. (I know I wouldn't want to eat in any restaurant in that area for quite a while...)
• If a business is operating, I am sure that the city and state will want there share of the taxes based on the revenue. How will they collect this from the businesses? And how will they know which businesses to collect from and how much to collect?

I am sure that there are many others that I am missing but this is not meant to be a comprehensive list, just some obvious thoughts.

Now if you are a private citizen who is planning on returning to the city, here are some points to ponder.

• Decontamination of your residence. (Toxic chemicals in the surfaces of your home such as carpets and drywall.
• Clean-up and disposal of refuse. (Same issue as a business)
• Toxic chemicals in the soil.
• There is no clean water.
• There is no working sewer/sanitation system.
• This is sporadic electrical service.
• No 911 service.
• No medical clinic
• No Level 1 Trauma Hospital.
• No banking access.
• No grocery stores.
• Do you really trust eating at any restaurants for the near future?
• No fuel for driveable automobiles.

Again I am sure that I am missing a number of other things. But these are just obvious ones that quickly come to mind.

But even with all these things to consider, the mayor wanted to let people start returning. Then this afternoon comes word that after talking with the President (and I am sure a number of other smarter people) that the mayor is now reversing his decision and is tellin people to once again evacuate New Orleans and the surrounding areas.

The reason.....Hurricane Rita.

Yes, another Hurricane. Rita is is the western carribean and heading towards the Florida Keys. It is then expected to pass between the Keys and Cuba and into the Gulf of Mexico where it can then suck up the warm waters of the Gulf and Supersize itself into another kick-ass Hurricane. Will it become a monster the likes of Katrina? Who knows... I doubt that it will. However this hurricane is enough to have a lot of people wetting their pants.

Mayor Nagin announced that if the area was to receive 8 inches of rain, or a storm surge of at least 3 feet, that the city would once again be in dire straights. NO KIDDING !

Maybe the Mayor needs to think before speaking. Politically he got lucky, he can blame the change in plans on another hurricane. But really, did he maybe think about some of the points I have made above and think to himself that maybe people moving back so quickly is not a good idea? I doubt it, but I would like to think that.

Again, maybe that is just too simple.....