Chicory, beignets ... martial law?

I may be mistaken but everything I've seen so far regarding the beleaguered city of New Orleans tells me that the situation hasn't improved all that much since Katrina blasted through last August.

In fact, it appears the criminal element is returning to New Orleans and 54 people have already been killed in Orleans Parish since Jan. 1, according to this Associated Press story.

The situation has deteriorated so quickly that the National Guard has arrived in the wounded city following a massacre of citizens by some bloodthirsty thugs.

Writes the UK Telegraph: National Guard troops arrived in New Orleans yesterday as the hurricane-ravaged city struggled to quell a fast-rising and bloody crime wave.
More than 100 heavily-armed members of the Louisiana National Guard and 60 state policemen reached the city, with another 200 guardsmen due to be deployed soon. The men will patrol storm-damaged areas and have been given the power to shoot if necessary.

Yes, things are pretty grim in the Crescent City. Check out this New York Times article, linked through Raw Story, that people are growing increasingly desperate and suicidal.

This city is experiencing what appears to be almost an epidemic of depression and post-traumatic stress disorders, to a degree that mental health experts say is rarely seen in this country," writes Times reporter Susan Saulny.
"It is contributing to a suicide rate that is conservatively estimated to be triple what it was before Hurricane Katrina struck and the levees broke 10 months ago," the article continues.
"Thousands of people are living amid ruins that stretch for miles on end," Saulny writes. "Garbage is piled up, the crime rate has soared and the National Guard is back in the city, patrolling streets that the Police Department has admitted it cannot handle on its own."

"The reminders of death are everywhere, and the emotional toll is now becoming clear," writes Saulny.

And don't forget, for the survivors who believe in the Second Amendment, New Orleans' Police Superintendent Warren Riley wanted to confiscate guns of citizens if another disaster befell the city. Remember that? Fortunately, Riley was threatened with a lawsuit. The jerk backed down.