* "Our first commitment is to meet the immediate needs of those who had to flee their homes and leave all their possessions behind. For these Americans, every night brings uncertainty. Every day requires new courage, and the months to come will bring more than their fair share of struggles. The Department of Homeland Security is registering evacuees who are now in shelters, churches, or private homes -- whether in the Gulf region or far away. I have signed an order providing immediate assistance to people from the disaster area."

*- "Our second commitment is to help the citizens of the Gulf Coast to overcome this disaster, put their lives back together and rebuild their communities. Along this coast, for mile after mile, the wind and water swept the land clean."

*-"Our third commitment is this: when communities are rebuilt, they must be even better and stronger than before the storm. Within the Gulf region are some of the most beautiful and historic places in America. As all of us saw on television, there is also some deep, persistent poverty in this region as well. And that poverty has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America. We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action.So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday, and let us rise above the legacy of inequality. When the streets are rebuilt, there should be many new businesses, including minority-owned businesses, along those streets. When the houses are rebuilt, more families should own, not rent, those houses."

then he made assurances and proposals included amongst which were :-

*- "I propose the creation of a Gulf Opportunity Zone, encompassing the region of the disaster in Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama. Within this zone, we should provide immediate incentives for job-creating investment: tax relief for small businesses, incentives to companies that create jobs and loans and loan guarantees for small businesses, including minority-owned enterprises, to get them up and running again"

*- "propose the creation of worker recovery accounts to help those evacuees who need extra help finding work. Under this plan, the federal government would provide accounts of up to $5,000 which these evacuees could draw upon for job training and education to help them get a good job ... and for child care expenses during their job search."


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0 as in Zero is the Number of renters in Louisiana who have received financial assistance from the $10 billion federal post-Katrina rebuilding program Road Home Community Development Block Grant – compared to 116,708 homeowners.
0 as in Zero is the Number of apartments currently being built to replace the 963 public housing apartments formerly occupied and now demolished at the St. Bernard Housing Development.
0 as in Zero is the Amount of data available to evaluate performance of publicly financed privately run charter schools in New Orleans in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years.
0.008% of the rental homes that were supposed to be repaired and occupied by August 2008 which were actually completed and occupied – a total of 82 finished out of 10,000 projected.

1st is the Rank of New Orleans among U.S. cities in percentage of housing vacant or ruined.
1st is the Rank of New Orleans among U.S. cities in murders per capita for 2006 and 2007.
4 is the Number of the 13 City of New Orleans Planning Districts that are at the same risk of flooding as they were before Katrina.
10 is the Number of apartments being rehabbed so far to replace the 896 apartments formerly occupied and now demolished at the Lafitte Housing Development.
11% of families who have returned to live in Lower Ninth Ward.
17% Percentage increase in wages in the hotel and food industry since before Katrina.

20-25. Years that experts estimate it will take to rebuild the City of New Orleans at current pace.
25% fewer hospitals in metro New Orleans than before Katrina.
32% of the city’s neighborhoods that have fewer than half as many households as they did before Katrina.
36% fewer tons of cargo that move through Port of New Orleans since Katrina.
38% fewer hospital beds in New Orleans since Katrina.
40% fewer special education students attending publicly funded privately run charter schools than traditional public schools.
41 is the Number of publicly funded privately run public charter schools in New Orleans out of total of 79 public schools in the city.
43% of child care available in New Orleans compared to before Katrina.
46% increase in rents in New Orleans since Katrina.
56% fewer inpatient psychiatric beds than before Katrina.
80% fewer public transportation buses now than pre-Katrina.
81% of homeowners in New Orleans who received insufficient funds to cover the complete costs to repair their homes.

1250 is the number of publicly financed vouchers for children to attend private schools in New Orleans in program’s first year.
6,982 is the Number of families still living in FEMA trailers in metro New Orleans area.
8,000 Fewer publicly assisted rental apartments planned for New Orleans by federal government.
10,000 is the number of Houses demolished in New Orleans since Katrina.
12,000 is the number of homeless in New Orleans even after camps of people living under the bridge has been resettled - double the pre-Katrina number.
14,000 is the number of displaced families in New Orleans area whose hurricane rental assistance expires March 2009.
32,000 is the number of children who have not returned to public school in New Orleans, leaving the public school population less than half what is was pre-Katrina.
39,000 is the number of Louisiana homeowners who have applied for federal assistance in repair and rebuilding who have still not received any money.
45,000 Fewer children enrolled in Medicaid public healthcare in New Orleans than pre-Katrina.
46,000 Fewer African American voters in New Orleans in 2007 governor election than 2003 governor election.
55,000 Fewer houses receiving mail than before Katrina.
62,000 Fewer people in New Orleans enrolled in Medicaid public healthcare than pre-Katrina.
71,657. Vacant, ruined, unoccupied houses in New Orleans today.
124,000 Fewer people working in metropolitan New Orleans than pre-Katrina.
132,000 Fewer people in New Orleans than before Katrina, according to the City of New Orleans current population estimate of 321,000 in New Orleans.
214,000 Fewer people in New Orleans than before Katrina, according to the U.S. Census Bureau current population estimate of 239,000 in New Orleans.
453,726 Population of New Orleans before Katrina.
320 The number trees destroyed in Louisiana and Mississippi by Katrina.
368,000,000$ losses of five major metro New Orleans hospitals from Katrina through 2007. In 2008, these hospitals expect another $103,000,000 in losses.


1,900,000,000$ FEMA dollars scheduled to be available to metropolitan New Orleans for Katrina damages that have not yet been delivered.
2,600,000,000$ FEMA dollars scheduled to be available to State of Louisiana for Katrina damages that have not yet been delivered.

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& the poor go again on the whirlygig.

The prisoners of New Orleans were not evacuated the last time, of those who died many were never identified. Which seems so odd considering a prison is at least one place you know where everyone is kept by number.