Recently (July 2006) I had the opportunity to travel to New Orleans, where my hosts were gracious enough to take me on a tour of the city. My overwhelming impression is that if you haven\\\\\\\'t seen it for yourself, you have no idea how bad the damage from Hurricane Katrina is. Television and photographs can show how this or that home or street have been damaged, but they cannot communicate the vast scope of the destruction. When I was there, we drove around for nearly three hours without stopping, and all we saw was one abandoned neighborhood after another. Some were clearly very poor before the storm, but many were clearly middle class. Occasionally, you will see an owner trying to rebuild, but in many cases he will be the only one on his block or even in his neighboorhood doing so. One year after the storm, anyone who thinks this story is over should get on a plane to New Orleans. New Orleans is an ongoing national tragedy and we need to remain focused on it.