What do you think?

[Bobby Bass]

After sitting and watching news reports for the past several hours I can say that I might have brushed the surface of the damage and loss of life that has happen and is still happening in N.O. The price of a gallon of gas back here at home looks pretty small. At least I still have a car and a home to go to. Will the oil companies make a huge profit here in the next few weeks? yes they will and no P R will stop us from thinking they won't. Will insurance rates go up? yes they will someone has to pay. Will tv camers bring us pictures of looters? yes they will cuz people want to see that. Will they bring us footage of family looking for family? I hope so cuz that is what it is all about. Will they rebuild? of course they will, no we will. Because that is what we do. We fight nature, sometimes we stay even but we never will win. A report I saw tonight blames the loss of marshlands as a buffer to the sea. The marshlands were replaced with homes and business. They did what the marshes did before them. Absorb the waves and the rain. Nature wins again. But it is people's homes and they will rebuild. Better then before but it will happen again there is only so much dry land and there are so many people. People will complain and when they are doing it they will be cleaning up. Other people will be sending aid in what ever way they can. Because they can. Turn on the TV and watch for awhile it may take a few days for it to sink in but this was a storm that will be a mark on the time line of history. Guess that's my 3 cents..

[rascalP]

It's easy to think, at first thought, Why would people live there? or Why rebuild there? There's a reason why people live there and all along the coast. The core reason is economics. Commerce. Industry. Trade. Oil and seafood come immediatly to mind. And then, there's all of the businesses that support these. Think it through. It's quite a pyramid. New Orleans is at the mouth of the Mississippi which has been crucial to trade for over 150 years. All of this industry and commerce needs workers. And for economic reasons, these workers need to be reasonably close to their place of employment. Should they commute 50- 100 miles to work. Oil companies put refineries where they are for a reason, as do fish processing plants. So, do we relocate all of these industries as well? As said before, California WILL have another earthquake, and another until the whole coast is gone. How do you relocate harbors and all of their workers inland?

Like I said, at first thought, "Why rebuild?"

If businesses and industries feel the need to locate where they do, the people who provide employment will locate there as well.

rascal

[captkev]

As I watched the TV today I felt myself get sicker and sicker. I found myself looking for the faces of friends!

The more people I saw being lifted to safety, I would look close to see if it might be PEP the cook from the boat I used to run. Every time I'd look closer and closer, Billy Cornell??? another capt. from the same fleet I worked for. Ross...? so many to list... and to many to think about, hearing their stories of their families on the boat!!! I hope they made it...... And they are allright, I hope they move N.O. just to the north side of the lake. then the surge will only make it so far next time. they can live above the lake there.

My thoughts are with them all.

When they showed port fourchon... trust me I've worked there, If thats gone, It'll be a WHILE before the Oil feild starts running up to speed again... And I have'nt heard a thing about Venice La. yet. another Hub of the Oil feild, I don't care what they say about the oil reserve, It won't be enough. were talking thousands of miles of pipe, those jack-up rigs that washed to the beach are just a scratch of what Its going to take just to get that part of it back up and running.... the WHOLE COUNTRY IS AT A GREATER LOSS THAN MOST ARE ASSUMEING...

[mtreno]

The city engineer had nothing to say when asked when the dikes were only built for a class 3 storm when the gulf was more the able to spit out a class 5. had nothing to say about the hospital having generators on the ground level. had nothing to say when asked why there was no plan of action if/when this was to happen to the city. but he did make a remark about how there are going to have to put someserious thought into rebuilding.

keep them in your thoughts today. everyone needs all the prayers they can get down there.....

[mtreno]

hope all your friends are doing just fine and you will see them soon. i think your right on track with the oil, this is a huge problem. that pipeline serves the whole country. and not just the oil coming from the gulf but everything coming in as well.