About returning to Summer heat and humidity from California. Ten years ago, I returned from a week and half in beautiful, breezy cool San Francisco to Washington, DC. The blast of humidity and stickiness that hit me when I stepped out of the air-conditioned terminal at DC’s National Airport wilted me so much I almost turned around and took the next flight back to San Fran!

About Fremont: Besides grabbing California for the US with his army of cut-throat brigands, he also gave the name “Golden Gate” for San Francisco’s stunning coastline.

For several years before Katrina there was a bumper sticker about town that said, in purple lettering on white:”New Orleans, Proud to call it home” That was shortly followed by another of the same color scheme and lettering style with: “New Orleans, Proud to crawl home” (The overriding favorite). After Katrina a follow-on appeared in the same style as before:”New Orleans, Proud to swim home.”

I was relatively lucky. The part of town we live in, the “slender sliver” that follows the curve of the river and is at or above sea-level, did not
flood, but we did loose an old original slate roof w. much assoc. rain damage on the interior. The good news is that I decamped with all pictures, mementos, all my wife’s clothing, jewelry, shoes(THE most important part) art-work, computers and vital records prior to land fall. I was one of the last out at 6:15 pm, on Sunday. Katrina hit at 5:29am Mon. Morning. The bad news is that the place to which I fled was my Mother in-law’s in Opelousas (home of Jim Bowie) just to have Hurricane Rita hit and almost take the roof of hers a few days later. My wife and son were out in our other place in Marina del Rey, CA., at the time (as I’ve mentioned here before, I’m BI…..coastal that is.) and only a few days from returning, so a bit of luck there. The damage to the city was worse than can be conveyed
by any means…one time when a picture is NOT worth 10,000 words.
Over 80% of Orleans Parish(which is only 50% of the municipal area proper as the other part across the street, Jefferson Parish is a separate legal entity.) was under water–mainly the bedroom neighbor-
hoods–the land of the original French settlement–the French Quarter, Business District, “Uptown,” and the University area, the
“Garden” and “Lower-Garden” Districts were all pretty much high and dry. Although “minor” flooding reached as far our way towards the river side as Tulane and Loyola Universities. It will probably be another decade (if OSAKA is any guide) before we are near to pre-Katrina. And that’s if things are done right (takin’ bets?) and the creek don’t rise.

We are back, but keeping our bags packed, as it were. We’ve lost some good friends who’ve moved on. Several who lived near the lake-front lost everything. I’m only now decompressing, really. Until now I hadn’t the time to do THIS–I guess it’s an outlet that’s all part of the cathartic process. As to whether we will still make N.O. our primary home? As much as we love it, it’s touch and go, As the saying goes, life is not a dress-rehearsal, and at our age we aren’t sure if we want to end our days “pioneering” until we step off the planet. We’ve already renovated four homes in two cities. I feel like we’ve “already given at the office,” so to speak. As I type this I’m sitting out in Cali, preparing to dive back into the humidity mid-Aug. Beach-front breezes, temperatures and humidity levels sure do spoil one. But I have to get back for LSU football in the fall! Sick, isn’t it?

You are also right about the deep impact of Wilsonian Idealism on American Foreign Policy. No many how many Mexicos, Vietnams or Iraqs it produces, the belief that if Americans go into a foreign land with good intentions, we should be able to transform it into a second USA is just overwhelming.* The one President who did have a more realistic foreign policy, Nixon with the help of Kissinger, a Bismarck follower, was forced to resign and rightly so, because of Watergate. Dispite their achievements with China & Russian this policy of realpolitick did not survive Nixon’s downfall. The next elected President, Jimmy Carter, preached about Human Rights to dictators, both friendly and unfriendly.

*In regards to what Americans think we can do in transforming foreign countries’ should also remember the statement of Senator Ken Wherry, Rep-Nebraska, shortly after WWII that “we (the US) were going to build up China until it is all just like Kansas City”!
Yes, he really said that!

PS: Have finally made a reply to your comment on the Sucessionist Thread. Sorry for not being able to make it sooner. Thanks for your patience.

Ibnaz – Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Libby, Kagan, and Bush’s brighter brother (not saying much, I know) the Florida vote counter were all fully signed up PNAC stalwarts. In 2000, the old Trots who successfully infiltrated the Republican Party, on the perfectly correct understanding that nobody would ever look for them there, finally staged their long-planned coup.

With Kagan directing McCain, Obama is the only hope of restoring the American ‘res publica’ that these so-called Republicans have come so very close to overthrowing. A republic. Not an empire.

global climate change, gas prices through the ceiling and world wide recession. This is just a brief summary of this idiot Bush and his incompetent Administration has brought to the world

Global climate change began 150 years ago with the birth of the industrial revolution, which, incidently, started in Europe. High oil prices are mostly related to competition with China and India.

However, the Bush Administration is definitely to blame for the termite infestation in my basement.

By the way, this to David All: As a Katrina “survivor,” while I can personally attest to the ham-fisted way the Feds under Bush performed, believe me when I say that both the Democrat Governor of Louisiana and the Democrat Mayor of New Orleans have given new meaning to the word “incompetence” and finish in a dead heat with Bush for full honors for utter futility not only for being in total disarray at the time of the immediate disaster but continuing on unto this day(excepting the new Governor, about which the jury is still out).

That pretty much describes most of my neighbors–and lovely as they are I would not want them President. ***(It does not describe the one neighbor down the street who seems to have a grudge against almost the rest of the neighborhood)

And while my neighbors can identify the problems and sort of idly provide really broad-stroke solutions to them, they really don’t know how to implement their solutions. In a President that inability to implement is called incompetence.

That, incidentally, is why the Cap and Trade bill failing in the Senate is the most important (not covered) story this election. Both Obama and McCain are on record as supporting Cap and Trade. Both Obama and McCain are senators. The bill failed in the Senate. In other words, neither Obama nor McCain could get their bill through the Senate.

And when a presidential candidate promises to provide this or that stimulus to the economy, what he’s really saying is that he will get legislation through Congress. Given how much both candidates have promised us thus far, I would very much like them to step back for a second and tell us how they plan to fulfill their promises.

I want them to tell us what they’ve learned from the Cap and Trade failure–their first failure as “presidents” and what they would do differently if in office.

But no-one in the media is interested in asking them that….

Let’s talk about flag pins instead. Much more important, really.

Regards,

Inna