http://hosted.ap.org/specials/neworleanssatellite/index.html

As of this writing, the image was last updated August 31, 2005.  However, the AP said it will be occassionally updated in the future.

Also, one other observation.  There is no doubt the federal response was sloppy, slow and a national disgrace.  Was this because of racism, as many (including Jesse Jackson and Kayne West) have stated?  My opinion is no.  However, I think it points directly to several important facts.  First, the federal government has been to concerened with terrorist activity and ignored the potential of a large scale natural disaster in this country. The evacuation plan for New Orleans ignored their own residents and *DID* place many poor, minority residents directly in harms way.  This was not racism, but rather ignoring a looming potential disaster.

Afterwards, the slow federal response -- despite the begging of Mayor Nagin -- only showed that the federal government was ill-prepared for this sort of disaster. It could also point to a class problem in the US.  If this happened in a "major" US city, such as New York, LA, Miame, Houston, etc. the response would have been far faster. However, many southern cities (with the exception of a few, such as Atlanta) don't seem to warrant the same type of attention on a national level as far as funds spent. This doesn't, however, mean the response would have been more effective.  In fact, I don't feel very good at all about our government being able to respond to a major national crisis anymore. Greatest country on earth? How about the largest beaucracy on earth? I think that's a shame, as the governments primary role should be to protect the people of this great country. Bush seems to think this means war in Iraq, not being prepared for helping and caring for our own people.

Also, New orleans is 70% black and one of the poorest cities in the nation on a per capita level. This despite gambling, tourism and a rich historical and cultural history.  Is this racism or classism?  I would argue it classism.  I live in an area of the country where my city and county are mostly white, but poor.  We live in a country where the gap between the rich and poor -- the have's and have nots -- grows.  Something should be done about this soon.  Tax cuts won't help.  Perhaps the billions of dollars that were spent in Iraq on a war that wasn't justified, would be better spent here trying to help the have-nots. And as a side note, perhaps someone should investigate where all of the gambling money in Mississippi and Louisiana is being used.

A final note: After hearing Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff speak several times now, my opinion of him is very low.  I learned nothing from any of his press conferences. He obviously was ill-prepared and didn't know much of what he was talking about, specifically in regards to (paraphrased) "no studies had been done that would have indicated how to handle this type of disaster."  Heck, he's been contradicted by almost everyone else who even knows a tiny a bit about this.  He (and the FEMA head) should be gone tomorrow and replaced with someone a bit more competent.