CHICA

Why rebuild? The French Quarter, which is only a small part of the city, is on higher ground. If it were a question of only preserving that area because of historical/tourism reasons, I'd have no problem. But, for emotional and political reasons the government is going to allocate a couple of hundred billlion dollars to rebuild the entire city. For practical and financial reasons, I think it's a waste. New Orleans is 7-10 feet below sea level. For various reaons, including the fact that it is a major port for oil, it will continue to sink. Geographically, New Orleans has been on borrowed time for decades. Time simply ran out with Katrina. The Army Corp of Engineers has stated that they will only be able to bring the levees to Catagory 3 strength by 2006 hurricane season. Katrina was a catagory 5. So what happens if a cat 4 or another 5 hits next year?

Lords: Do you know what "yield" means. Basically a car entering traffic does not have the right of way but must give way to (yield) to the cars already in that traffic stream. Drivers who do have the right of way can chose to allow another vehicle to enter the traffic stream. In areas when this can not be accomplished safely or without seriously impeding traffic, there are usually clearly marked "do not enter" signs preventing drivers from using that particular exit. This generally works because, with millions of people sharing the roads, most drivers understand this concept. I doubt you will understand this because anyone who starts off "I remember one time in 2002" and goes on to a long detailed rant about a minor traffic NON-event, has serious issues. And no, "majority" does not always rule. I'm quite sure that the majority of people you know want you in therapy and on medicationn - and yet you persist in doing neither.

I am deeply sorry for the people who have lost homes, businesses and loved ones in Katrina. That said, rebuilding New Orleans is a huge waste of time, money and effort. The last estimate I heard was somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 billion. Why? What do we, as a country, have to gain by pouring that much money into rebuilding New Orleans?

When a driver in front of you lets 1 or more vehicles in from a place of business when the light turns green - it's a courtesy thing. Today I may be in one of those cars delayed an extra two mins. because the car in front of me let somebody out. Tommorrow I may be one of those people able to get out because someone extended me that little courtesy. I thought I had a lot of driving pet peeves myself until I read this thread. But most of those things are just part of everyday driving. I get the feeling that people in general just piss you off.

No question average service get average tip and poor service gets poor tip. But we all have different ideas of what constitues "average" and "poor". Personally I kinda think most of your points of "ideal" service are just a little silly. Sorry. But unless I'm starving or in a hurry (in which case I let the hostess and server know right off the bat) I could care less if the server stops to greet another table near mine on the way to getting my drink. And having my drinks automatically refilled gets points with me. I would get more annoyed having her repeatedly interrupting my conversation to ask if I wanted more. And I'm not getting my panties in a wad about a .04 overcharge.

Except for programs targeted towards education, the elderly, and the disabled, I don't believe anyone is "entitled" to government benefits. I'm including food stamps, section 8 housing, subsidized day-care and Medicaid. Why should anyone's poor choices be subsidized by the government. I understand the desire to have children. But what is wrong with first getting an education, planning, working and saving enough to support a family before actually beginning one?