Did any of you hear about this???

[Steve Hutson]

When I woke up this afternoon, the tv was on Fox News I believe. I think that it was on Neil Cavuto's show. They were talking about the rebuilding of New Orleans. If I heard it right, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastreet (?) said that maybe New Orleans should not be rebuilt. Something about even after the rebuild, the town would still be under sea level.



Let me say up front that I'm a very heavey sleeper and it takes a long time for me to fully wake up. As my wife will tell you, just because I'm up and walking doesn't mean that I'm awake. That to say that I may have totally mis-understood the entire thing.



Any way, I see his point although I'm not sure that I agree. That's a bunch of history, shipping and commerce. I do know that here in TN, if you build in a flood plain your on your own as far as insurance goes, assuming you can get it.



Did any of you see this???



Re the edit: As you can see, my wife is right. I thought that I put this under other topics, not plumbing and livewells.

 

[Bill McElroy]

I think it was Bill Frist who made that comment,....I just heard about it this a.m. too.

IMO,...we need to concentrate on getting everyone rescued and out of there FIRST,.....then do all the finger pointing and rebuilding LATER!!



PEOPLE FIRST!!

 

[Steve Hutson]

Mac, I agree 100% with you Get the people out first. It does appear that the blame game has started though.



I've got Fox on in the office right now. It was Hastreet (?) that said it "don't know how feesable it would be to rebuild concidering the costs involved and the fact that New Orleans will still be below sea level.

 

[Donald Fruge]

Did you hear the Mayer of New Orleans "GO OFF" in a radio interview.



I don't blame him for the delays in rescue/relief. He is just as helpless as the citizens.



There has been no one to take charge and make the right decisions.





wolf

 

[Larry Harp]

I heard that on TV last night about Hastert's comments but it looks like he's crawfishing on that this morning, blaming it all on the Democrats, of course.







Hastert retreats on rebuilding doubts

September 2, 2005



BY LYNN SWEET Sun-Times Washington Bureau Chief









WASHINGTON -- House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) was forced to backtrack Thursday after he raised questions about the practicality of rebuilding hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, putting him in the cross hairs of Louisiana Democrats.



By late afternoon Thursday, Hastert's office issued a statement intended to clarify remarks he made in an interview with the Daily Herald editorial board about the below-sea-level city published in Thursday's paper.



After the comments were widely circulated by Democrats on Capitol Hill, Hastert said in a statement, "I am not advocating that the city be abandoned or relocated. ... It is important that when we rebuild this historic city that we consider the safety of the citizens first."



Former Hastert spokesman John Feehery, resurrecting his previous role to help with the speaker's damage control, said Hastert was only "asking the questions everyone is asking."



The federal government should not sink billions of dollars into the city if it still remains vulnerable to disaster, Hastert told the board. "It doesn't make sense to me. And it's a question that certainly we should ask."



A debate for later







Asked by reporters in Illinois on Thursday morning to explain his concerns, Hastert seemed to underscore his original remark, according to a transcript provided by his office.



"We need to rethink how we rebuild New Orleans, that we may not build it or rebuild it ... to put a half a million people and build their homes seven feet under sea level without doing the double or the triple levees that they need to ensure protection probably wouldn't be very smart."



Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said in a statement, "While I disagree strongly with Speaker Hastert's comments regarding the city of New Orleans, he raises a debate that we can address at some time in the future. Right now, however, we have important work to do.''



Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.), whose district includes New Orleans, said in a statement, "Comments like this one are an example of why our fight to address Louisiana's coastal issues has been so difficult."