More Katrina

We the people of the United States of America may be in deep doo-doo. If you check out ABC News Online--that's the US television network--you'll learn that New Orleans, Louisiana (aka NOLA) may be the most important port in the US. It is our largest port. We depend on it not only for oil shipments and refining but also for imported steel and as the primary port from which we export grain and other foodstuffs from America's heartland.

NOLA itself is pretty well destroyed. All of the city is underwater now. A report I saw indicated that the US Army Corp of Engineers--the primary Civil Engineering agency in the US--says it will take at least a month to pump all of the water out of NOLA, and that's after they fix the breeches in the levies that are still pouring water into NOLA from the nearby freshwater lake.

In addition to rescuing those still trapped, officials are trying to evacuate the remaining people from the city. There is simply no place for these people to live, nothing to live on. The water supply is contaminated, power is gone, housing is either gone or going. Right now for all intents and purposes, New Orleans is no more. All that remains are its ruins.

But don't you worry. NOLA will rise from the flood waters. Its heritage is too rich, its roots are too deep. It will be rebuilt.

In the mean time, things may be tough for the American economy and we the people. Right now, we're all citizens of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans.