Things get even worse in New Orleans

While the administration continues to tell us how important it is to avoid "playing politics," people continue to die in the streets of New Orleans for want of food and water.

Oh, and a chemical plant exploded this morning.

Vibrations from the blast along the Mississippi River and a few miles east of the French Quarter were felt all the way downtown. A series of smaller blasts followed and then a cyclone of acrid, black smoke.

To jittery residents of New Orleans, it was yet another fearful sight in a city that has deteriorated rapidly since Katrina slammed ashore Monday morning.