New Orleans

Last night, New Orleans celebrated the rebuilding of the Superdome from it's Katrina damage with the Saint's first real home game in over a year.

The Superdome was rebuilt at a cost of $184 Million.

But, wait a minute.

Is this the same New Orleans which has been shown repeatedly for the past year on the news as being woefully underfunded and dozens of TV specials with all kinds of celebrities getting their punches in on the Bush administration for dragging it's feet in helping the city and it's people rebuild?

Huh!

All this time, to hear Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and a dizzying array of other big stars show up on TV lamenting the lack of progress here, you'd think that nothing was getting done at all.

But low and behold, there's the Superdome. All spit-shined and lookin' like a shiny new nickel.

They were able to, in one year, completely fix it. And easily find $184 Million to do it too.

It just shows where New Orlean's priorities are.

So, from now on when I see a show about those poor folks in New Orleans, and how their houses are still wrecked, along with their lives, I'm gonna get a picture in my mind of that spiffy lookin' Superdome.

Good on you city of New Orleans.

You've really showed the world what a retarted bunch of morons you've elected to be in charge down there.

$180 Million would build 1,200 homes at $150,000 each.

Is it just me? That seems kinda backwards.

I guess it just goes to show that things CAN be done over there with money and determination.

People still wonder how New Orleans isn't rebuilt after a year, when here in Florida, we still have thousands and thousands of families living in FEMA trailers from the 2004 hurricanes that went through here.

New Orleans could never have been rebuilt in only a year, but good grief, stop complaining about the lack of progress over there.

It's clear that the money and efforts are going where the powers that be in New Orleans think it should be going. To the Superdome and the Saints.

I'm sure that's a lot of comfort to the folks without homes and without hope. Their lives might still totally suck, but hey, the Saint's have a place to play.

I see nothing wrong with rebuilding the Superdome, but you can't have it both ways. You can't complain about slow progress AND rebuild a behemoth like the Superdome in record time.

I'll shut up now; I'm sounding like Andy Rooney, and that scares me.

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I always feel kinda dirty after a rant like that, so I'm gonna try to brighten the mood with a photo.

Here's a little bit of Sunny Florida for all y'all. This was taken at Castaways Point Park in Palm Bay, Florida; on the Indian River Lagoon, our section of the Intracostal Waterway.

(I've passed the point where I can keep track of whether or not I have posted a particular photo before, or not. I looked back through the posts, and didn't see this one, but if I just missed it, well, you'll just have to pretend to like it again. -- John)