The harsh reminders that we as a nation must bear came to light this past week with Venezuelan President Chavezs despicable remarks to the United Nations in New York and the re-opening of the Superdome in Louisiana.

Mr. Chavezs gestures by attempting to buy political clout through the use of Venezuelan oil, as both a platform to verbally assault the United States, and as a gift to the Northeast section of our country. This serves as a stern warning on our reliance of foreign oil and an additional country that will likely pursue proliferation to counter and threaten the United States.

MDAA had the privilege of touring St. Bernard Parish and the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans both of which had been devastated by Hurricane Katrina with the Honorable Senator David Vitter of Louisiana. The amount of damage done economically is in the multiples of 100 billions of dollars and the Federal Government is now spending about 110 billion dollars to deal with the repair, displacement and preventative engineering on the levees and wetlands.

It was a humbling experience for MDAA to join Senator David Vitter and Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi to witness the re-opening of the Superdome as a symbol of the revitalization of New Orleans and a milestone in the recovery from Katrina.

The aftermath of the devastation in New Orleans continues to serve as a lesson to our Federal Government and our public that we must set aside funds and enforce preventative measures that will insure protection from both natural and unnatural disasters.

MDAA concluded its travels this past week to the cities of London, New York City, Tucson and New Orleans where advocacy of Missile Defense was pursued.

Click here to view photos from the Tucson Breakfast of Champions.