Please Explain...Help Me Understand....

A year on from the devastating 'Katrina' still about fifty percent of New Orleans remains without electricity. Only a third of the hospitals are up and running. An estimated half New Orlean's population is still scattered around the country.

Why should this be so in a country such as the United States of America?

President Bush went down there yesterday sprouting words of 'comfort'. Words are not going to right the situation. Actions will! It's all very well to turn to words heavy with religious references but that's not what the people of New Orleans want. They can personally pray any moment of the day or night. They can visit their churches whenever the feeling comes over them. Twelve months on, everyone should have a roof over his/her heads and starting his/her life anew.

I really don't understand why the destruction that occurred in New Orleans a year ago hasn't been fully addressed. Why hasn't the federal government moved forward, and moved forward rapidly long before now,on the reconstruction of New Orleans? Am I missing something here?

If this kind of non-action had happened here in Australia...well...it doesn't happen here in Australia. I know Cyclone Larry caused major damage to Innisfail and a vast surrounding area in far north Queensland six months ago. I also know there still is a lot of work to be done and it is continually being done with our federal government still putting money towards getting the district back up on its feet. But most important of all, I think, is the immediate reaction of the locals themselves. Their Aussie spirit came to the fore and was a guiding light to those around them. Injections of cash by way of small businesses, farm, reconstruction and rehabilitation grants played big parts in turning things around.

The banana industry was brought to its knees by Cyclone Larry. But the farmers' 'never-say-die' attitude saw them put their heads down, not wasting time on whingeing...it was work, work, work. Okay...so the rest of the country have had to pay higher than normal prices for bananas in the interim (I'm sure there were very few consumers who complained) but by Christmas, from all accounts, we will be back to close to normal supplies and normal prices.

I think the Bush administration could learn a big lesson from us...to the benefit of the people of New Orleans.