The Leahy Lounge

Is a french quarter without any degenerates still considered a den of iniquity?

Check out this blurb from cnn:

"There were 3,708 licensed retail food establishments in New Orleans when Katrina hit. Fewer than one-third of those, 1,193, have been certified to reopen by the state Department of Health and Hospitals.

Further evidence of the devastating economic impact is found in the state's new data on unemployment claims. The state Department of Labor reports more than 281,000 unemployment filings in the past seven weeks since Katrina hit. That's more than 13 times the normal average for a seven-week period and well in excess of the 193,000 claims filed statewide in all of 2004."

New Orleans is, for the most part, devoid of the party animals required to get it back on its feet. Not to mention, there's a massive shortage of working class housing, so that even if the souses return, there's not enough folks to serve them.

A dire situation, thanks to the political hacks who run the state and the country.