National Journal has just published a fine and deeply depressing piece about the toll bin Laden has taken on the US economy. It’s a necessary counterpoint to all the chest thumping of the past week. .

Reading it, I couldn’t help but think of the comment from the fellow out in Washington state who would not shave his beard until bin Laden was killed or captured: “No one really won,” he said, newly shaven. “Everybody’s been hurt in all of this.”

New Orleans escaped disaster this time—just—but once again “Is the city worth it?” stories are circulating. Only politics and weather will determine that. For now, a lot of folks seem committed to staying, whatever the future brings. Still, even long time residents are having doubts—and who can blame them? I’ve read a lot of great stuff on NOLA, one of my favorite places, but this piece by LA Times journalist Richard Fausset, a native, is incredibly touching. American newspapers don’t often let their reporters ruminate in the first person, but Fausset’s meditations on his parents, NOLA diehards, say a lot about what it means to live on in this wonderful, troubled city.