you anti-rebuilding types need to take your opinion and shove it (like Teraaaayyyzaa said--shove it)... it is one of the few cities left that has any charm and to betray it to mother nature is a crime against civilization.
Spoken just like a true liberal.
1. If you could start all over again, you wouldn't build New Orleans where it is located right now -- mainly because the terrain has changed so much over the years (it's been sinking continuously) that the city no longer has the "advantage of place" that made it a viable area to settle 200+ years ago.
2. Point #1 could apply to a lot of places (someone mentioned places like San Francisco, Anchorage, etc. in this regard), but from a practical standpoint it never makes sense to just get everybody out of a city, destroy the buildings, and start all over again everywhere else. In this case, however, these basic practical obstacles to shutting down an entire city are not a concern. The city already has been evacuated, and at least 80% of the buildings already have been destroyed or so severely damaged that the cost of repairing them won't be much less than the cost of replacing them. The most sobering aspect of this disaster is that for the first time in U.S. history, it was deemed necessary to fully evacuate a metropolitan area of 1.4 million people. Just think about that and realize the implications of this unprecedented measure.
3. From a political standpoint, I don't think anyone who looks at the situation objectively would even want to see New Orleans rebuilt. This is mainly because from this point forward it could only function as a massive public works project that turns into a city in which the government owns 100% of the land. Just think about it for a moment . . . the most far-reaching implication of this disaster is that land titles in a city below sea level are basically worthless. This means that no prudent investor will ever buy a piece of property -- and no bank will ever extend a mortgage without extensive government guarantees -- in a rebuilt New Orleans.
You could protest mother nature! Call Cindy Sheehan and all her PR types and let the world know that she is a killer! Mother nature has been in charge too long! Now NO is the latest victim and just before a glorious gay festivity in the city. Go for it. Then you could spawn a boycott of mother nature's products. Best wishes. Rebuilding NO without serious consideration of ramifications in the future and possible changes to alleviate destruction is very near cited.