Fortress Amerika! - Day Thirty-Three

Federal troops have been called in to help keep control of New Orleans. The police, whose ranks have been thinned by Hurricane Katrina evacuations (But, it is worth pointing out, not from disciplining any officer caught on film looting a Wal-Mart) is down about 500 officers. The city populations is down about 250,000. Over the weekend, there was a bloody shootout, which prompted Ray "Leave the buses in the yards and get out of town" Nagin asked for help.

The National Guard will patrol the damaged areas where no one lives, the State Troopers also sent in will patrol the French Quarter, and the New Orleans police will respond to hotspots.

Now that we're sending the troops somewhere more dangerous than Baghdad, word is that Cindy Sheehan has cut short her visit to Canada, and will fly to New Orleans to demand Bush immediately withdraw the troops and let them go home, just as she did in the aftermath of Katrina.