"...an annual disaster area" ... Spoken like a true Eagles fan.

"And Alaska, because its so cold and they have very little sunlight during the winter months. And Hawaii... because it its built on the side of a volcano."

Oh Phil! You sarcastic scamp, you!

Trust me, the day I get a tax bill from Alaska requesting that I pay for their heat even though I'm all the way here in PA, I WILL call for the evacuation of Alaska. I'm not wild about anyone on the Gulf Coast who lives there voluntarily and then expects me to help pay for their house when it's flooded or blown away by a hurricane. So, trust me, Florida and California ain't on my endearment list.

You want to fund their choice to live in an annual disaster area? Be my guest. But don't suggest that the federal government has the constitutional right to take my money at gunpoint and give it to someone who makes an unwise choice of residence.

"What about European cities like Amsterdam and Venice, which are effectively underwater? Impressive engineering has turned those centuries old cities into huge tourist attractions?"

The day New Orleans decides to actually build effectively equivalent flood-prevention technology, let me know. I'll re-evaluate my opinion.

Until then, get ready for perrenial evacuations and calls for government aid.

Anonymous, thanks for the geology lesson. I will assume you either work for the department of tourism in Venice, or you are Rick Steves.

Brad, thanks for pointing out the difference between "flack" and "flaks." You paint a provocative picture, by the way, of Mayor Nagin being inundated with PR pros.

Phil, I couldn't agree more. Let's leave Hawaii to the rising ocean and cast of the TV show LOST.

I'm with Jon here, but I'd also include Florida and all the Caribbean Islands. And the entire West Coast because of that fault line out there. And Alaska, because its so cold and they have very little sunlight during the winter months. And Hawaii... because it its built on the side of a volcano.

Evacuate Hawaii now! Permanently!

I hate to be picky, but Nagan received "flak." We're flacks.

Saltwater, high tides, silt and algae are all contributing to Venice being overtaken by its watery surroundings. Go see it now, before it's too late.

Jon,

What about European cities like Amsterdam and Venice, which are effectively underwater? Impressive engineering has turned those centuries old cities into huge tourist attractions?

"you need to get your butts out of New Orleans now"

I would add only one thing to this statement - change "now" to "permanentely."

The best advice any responsible public official could offer his constituents would be that choosing an area that is BELOW sea level as their permanent residence is just a bad, BAD idea. If anyone built a city on the side of an active volcano, we'd call them lunatics. Yet we keep spending tens of billions in taxpayer money to rebuild New Orleans.

Until someone injects the Logic virus in Louisiana's water system, we're going to be reading this exact same story on Ragan.com over and over again.