Oh Louisiana... Louisiana...

They're tryin to wash you away,
they're tryin to wash you away.

Three years later and there are still residents of New Orleans who can't afford to leave?

Now wait a minute: I keep hearing that this time, there are 'buses for everybody.' Can everyone that needs transportation get to the buses and trains? Do they even know about them?

I thought I heard promises that there were finally provisions made to help all residents without cars to evacuate the city with their pets. (Those of us who were involved in the massive pet rescue operation after Katrina -- along with many outraged Americans -- have been working tirelessly for three years to keep another 10,000 pets from dying in the next major hurricane.)

Well that 'next major hurricane' is here. Why am I reading about a woman staying behind because of her Rottweilers?

From CNN:

Across town in the 9th Ward, a neighborhood decimated by Katrina, Sidney William climbs slowly out of his truck. He's 49 but moves like he's 20 years older.

"My legs hurt; my feet hurt a lot," he said. "It's not easy."

William wants desperately to leave his native New Orleans to avoid Gustav. He didn't leave for Katrina because he didn't have the money. He won't talk about what happened to him during that storm.

"I wish I had the money to go." Rejected for disability subsidies, he depends on his 23-year-old daughter, Gloria, to support the family.

"Lot of folks around here are gonna make do with what they have, and you won't hear a terrible amount of complaining," he said. "You can't just come in here and expect to hear people fussing about how they don't have nothing. People just be used to not having much, and so you don't even think too hard about it until someone starts asking you questions."

A neighbor, Victoria, says she has two Rottweilers who she's not willing to leave behind.

Three years after Katrina, and there are still people and animals trapped in New Orleans, unable to escape the second 'storm of the century?' What is the point of a mandatory evacuation if there are still people who literally can't get out?

Did you forget... the invisible people again?

Also from CNN:

He (NOLA Mayor Nagin) said that between 14,000 and 15,000 people had left New Orleans on buses and trains the city had provided -- much lower than the initial estimate of 30,000.

"We're just not seeing those kind of numbers in terms of people needing city-assisted services," Nagin said. "The 30,000 number may have been high."

The last of the buses carrying people out of New Orleans would leave around 2 or 3 p.m., he said.

OK, I'm not coordinating this massive operation- and it is obvious that you are trying. But if the buses and trains aren't as full as you expected -- and there are still people who can't afford to leave -- something ain't working.

And to those of you who can leave but choose not to... good grief. People like you died in Katrina. Is whatever you're staying there to guard, more important than your life?

Would you at least - please - evacuate your pets? Many people risked their lives -- and would happily do it again -- to rescue trapped animals after Katrina. You have a choice. Your pet - who undoubtedly would have the sense to escape ahead of a hurricane - can't drive.