Once again, fix the damn levees

A chorus of hundreds of thousands of people are shouting the same thing, so why the hell isn't it happening!

The president stood in front of St. Louis Cathedral and promised to "do what it takes ... stay as long as it takes" to rebuild this community. Ultimately, what it will take is a commitment to build levees that will protect the metro area from a Category 5 hurricane. ...

The creeping abandonment of greater New Orleans could be deadly for us. But it should also appall many others -- Floridians who are almost as vulnerable to hurricanes as we are, Californians who live in fear of earthquakes, residents of the many cities that could fall victim to terrorist attacks.

Ours is an uneasy place to be. Help is easy to come by when people are suffering on camera. But the needs exist long after those images recede, and it is a frightening prospect to fear being forgotten.

Again, let's up the ante. The goal should be 2012 for Category 5 storm protection.