> though not a poem:
>
> In the New Orleans black community of the Lower 9th Ward, only 200 of
> its original 14,400 residents have returned to their blasted homes.
> Though statistics are unavailable, it is likely that Hezbollah has
> already rebuilt more homes in southern Lebanon than Bush has a year
> after Katrina in the Lower 9th Ward.
>
> Sidney Blumenthal
>
> What next, eh?
What next? New Orleans will become the city its masters wish. Where do those masters reside? Duh. Hint: it's not New Orleans.
New Orleans will follow the fate of New York's Times Square and 42nd Street areas. Both the Square and areas of New Orleans were notorious for their "sinfulness." I never felt unsafe among grifters and hookers in the Square or on 42nd Street. Yes, you watched your wallet but that's the rule in any big city. I'm dismayed by the glitzorama atmosphere of New York since the "renovations" begain in the early '90s. The bordello make-over suggests inflatable people of both sexes.
Is it true Halliburton got a no-bid contract to rebuild the city? I'm only half-joking.
I have a good friend whose son survived the 9th Ward by being dragged out bodily by a friend. He didn't want to leave his home even though there was rampant mayhem in the streets. Now he has no intention of returning and has reopened his graphic arts business in a town in East Texas. His take on the future of New Orleans sounds remarkably like what New York has become: "Disney and whores."
Ken
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