Good old American anti-elitism: Even in the wake of biblical-scale destruction, it keeps us relearning the same lessons over and over, one community at a time.

Ocean Springs, a town near Near Biloxi, has been lucky enough to find its downtown relatively booming in the aftermath of the hurricanes. They don't want their downtown ruined by a giganto-bridge that buses in casino people 24/7. (Think Port Authority dropped in the middle of the Village.) Instead, they want a bridge no bigger than four lanes that also allows urban folks to ride their bikes.

The response of Biloxi's mayor is basically, "Flibbedy floo."

"A lot of people there are more into the arts and come from other areas," said Mayor A. J. Holloway of Biloxi, speaking of Ocean Springs and its preference for a smaller bridge with a bicycle lane. "And I don't see people riding bikes 85 feet in the air."

Now, reader, witness the sarcastic reply, complete with ironically-placed HTML links:

Indeed, that sounds like something no city would ever get any use out of.

Seriously, though. We're always re-inventing the same dang wheel.