I Enjoyed New Orleans

And could care less about building bridges in a northern state when this beautiful city needs our help.

An Editorial: It's time for a nation to return the favor: "Americans wanted the oil and gas that flow freely off our shores. They longed for the oysters and shrimp and flaky Gulf fish that live in abundance in our waters. They wanted to ship corn and soybeans and beets down the Mississippi and through our ports. They wanted coffee and steel to flow north through the mouth of the river and into the heartland.

They wanted more than that, though. They wanted to share in our spirit. They wanted to sample the joyous beauty of our jazz and our food. And we were happy to oblige them.

So the federal government built levees and convinced us that we were safe.

We weren't."

They have been forgotten, now it is time for investigating minutiae, namecalling and blameplacing. As the people slowly return to their homes because the thrill is gone for the rest of the country and they have nowhere else to go, the urge to help has met with the reality of taking care of extra people when they couldn't take care of what they already had, more dead bodies will be recovered by family members instead of disaster teams and they will be left with the horror as the rest of the country callously moves on. Concerned only that Mardi Gras might be a dud.

This was a valuable city and it wasn't just for the entertainment. They are our fellow Americans and they deserve our help.

What's the problem?