Katrina concerns

Well, now folks are shooting at the rescue helicopters. I just don't have much to say about any of this right now. There are plenty of great blogs putting out information and giving people a chance to sort through all that Katrina hath wrought. Besides the obvious, mammoth concern for getting storm-victims the basic necessities to live, I'm also concerned with about:

• All the little children, big kids, and college students that need to find a place to get basic schooling right now. The physical and financial logistics for the cities and states outside the storm areas to absorb these students is mind-numbing.
• Sick people - how to care for people who were sick or in hospitals before and the many thousands that have been injured and made ill over the past few days. Again, municipalities around the country will have to absorb the patients immediately. And what are the short-term/long-term repercussions of this?
• The animals - much-loved family pets, as well as the animals at The Audubon Zoo and the aquarium. Worry about the animals might seem superfluous when there has been so much human devastation, but I'm still thinking about them.
• The art of New Orleans - is it all gone? Fabulous, irreplaceable museums, historic buildings/homes, churches/cathedrals - lost forever? Again, this may seem a minor concern, but it still rips at the heart and mind.
• Streetcars - haven't seen any photos of the famous streetcars that normally run from Canal Street up through the Garden District. Were they stored somewhere before the storm hit? Silly concern, I know, but just wondering.
• Law enforcement/municipal workers - they must be zombies right now. I can't even imagine what they've faced over the past four days. And if - as the Louisiana National Guard dude has said - they have plenty of LA Natl Guard units that can help, why weren't they put in place on Saturday? Sunday? Certainly Monday? Or are they there and we haven't seen them on the news? I'm just wondering why the National Guard (if plenty are available) haven't had a more visible presence, especially in New Orleans. The NOLA police seems to have been bearing the burden of this.

Well, I obviously have more to say than I thought I did. I guess we just have to keep checking with The Times-Picayune for updates on this stuff. The paper seems stunned and pissed off enough to tell the truth about what's happening down there.