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A selection of e-Mails received today:

adam in portland,or here wondering why the rest of the US should have to pay with our taxes to rebuld a city that is doomed to be destroyed by yet another hurricane?

I feel it is the Federal Government should pay the entire reconstruction and programs to help the poor.

John and Linda, MA.

Why shouldn't we use our tax dollars to help New Orleans? If we can spend billions in Iraq, surely we can help our own citizens. We are one country and we should start acting like it.

Ken in Cleveland

Stefan in prague says,

the greatest living american, hands down, for his humanity, his understanding, his real-life perspective on the world, his fairness, his priciples, and his continuing hard work for the betterment of mankind-

JIMMY CARTER!
an american in self exile

A text has come in from the Caribbean:

Kiru in Jamaica - This is an immoral outrage and stain on the U.S., the people of New Orleans and the state legislature needs to step up to the plate.

L P SIMMONS, LONG BEACH, CA.

I agree that the Country should not only pay for everything to help New Orleans, but they should have had the project completed YESTERDAY!! We are watching you New Orleans because other cities like SAN FRANSICO, TAMPA, LOS ANGELES and many international may suffer natural or man made disasters. Please get it done and set the example for the world. Put your differences aside and lead the world.

Scott Millar in Portland says:

Throughout history cities come and go. Its the way it works. People should stop romanticizing the past, because while New Orleans was a city of great style it was certainly never a city without problems. Storms, earthquakes and natural disasters change history, there is nothing wrong with this. Perhaps New Orleans doesn't need to return to what it is, maybe it can become something else. This sentimentality is boring and unmodern.

Chris in Montreal has a suggestion for the greatest living American: "Homer Simpson, by far."

The Greatest American Alive is Ty Pennington, the host of Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I am voting for him because though he is not perfect, he has set a very public example for two very good things; taking responsibility for his mistakes and he his compassion for the people he helps on his television show.

David G. Taylor
Anchorage, Alaska

I have to ask, with all the talk of global warming, the fact that the Gulf of Mexico is warming and will continue to warm… Is it really the smartest move to try and rebuild New Orleans? Even with leeves, how much sense does it really make to keep tempting Mother Nature to fill the bowl that New Orleans actually is?

Vanessa

The Big Easy is the first world not the third. Shame on the Federal Government. Whole regions of coastal Bangladesh face being submerged permanently as a result of global warming in the next few decades. The greatest living American? Its a tie between Tom Cruise and Denzil Washington.

Shakhoor.

Grace Lee Boggs is the greatest living American. She has been a dedicated fighter against imperialism, capitalism, and racism for over 50 years.

Michael, Detroit