[dfwgator]

Headline for Tomorrow's NYT. "Hastert to New Orleans : Drop Dead."

[Iron Matron]

"It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed,"

I agree.

Yep. After watching the coverage at lunch today, I certainly agree.

[Conservative Firster]

Fill it in!

[camas]

why not dig the mississippi river out and dump the dirt in NO until it is above sea level????

[CheneyChick]

Remember the thing about where the wise man built vs. the foolish man?

[oceanview]

foolish comments by Hastert.

[Fester Chugabrew]

Maybe a smaller levee system around the downtown and FQ, while building up the other areas. Lessons from Holland. Redundancy in the pumping systems (i.e. overkill). New Orleans may never be the same, but it will remain and perhaps even flourish more than in the past.

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

He's got a point (unpopular though it will be in some quarters). Especially in areas that were *completely* destroyed (necessitating building from scratch anyway) or that have little or no historical significance, the re-building should either be (a) relocated to an area which is above sea level, or (b) built on top of several feet of fill, bringing it up to or above sea level.

Perhaps the fill idea (b) is impractical since the ground below is so saturated, I don't know. But building in exactly the same places at the same level is just asking for another disaster, whether it's in ten years or fifty.

[MattinNJ]

He's right. Suppose NO were to be hit by another hurricane of this magnitude?

[trubluolyguy]

THANK YOU Congressman Hastert




You do not touch the hot stove twice do you?

[A. Pole]

The city would be saved if the levees were fixed before.

How much money was saved by neglecting to do it? Something like $25 million!

[Ronin]

This man is talking about one of our greatest, oldest, most historic and most magical cities!

New Orleans!!! Dear God Almighty!!! Could America ever abandon her?

I hope not!!!

[narby]

It makes no sense to spend billions of dollars to rebuild a city that's seven feet under sea level

Well, don't tell the Dutch. They have some kind of super whammy dyke system, but they certainly do live below sea level.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

I haven't read the replies yet, but I am sure someone has said this. I doesn't matter how high they build the city, some day soon global warming will cause the oceans to rise so high they will be drowned again.

[dennisw]

Good common sense from Dennis Hastert

[mark502inf]

It makes no sense to spend billions of dollars to rebuild a city that's seven feet under sea level, House Speaker Dennis Hastert said of federal assistance for hurricane-devastated New Orleans.

Speaker Hastert is exactly right. They can rebuild below sea-level if they want, but not one federal dollar should be allocated to levees and pumps and projects to keep them safe from their own foolhardiness.

[advance_copy]

Hastert: Rebuilding below sea level senseless

He's right.

[Uncle Hal]

Hastert is the first politician that has talked some sense in this whole hurricane matter.

[roaddog727]

Makes good sense.

On the other hand, look at Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

[MayflowerMadam]

"Hastert: Rebuilding below sea level senseless"

Ya THINK???