I'm on Hastert's side on this one. He's firing the first shot in what will eventually become a mountain of public opinion against rebuilding New Orleans.
It will be rebuilt, the question is, will it be rebuilt where it is now, and if so, will it still be mostly below the level of both the "lake" (actually an arm of the Gulf of Mexico) and the river, which it lies between.
What he says makes sense. I think it will be political suicide for the R's, however to push this point. NO will rebuilt exactly where it is. You and me will pay the taxes to insure the insurance companies against loss in the next hurricane. Watch it happen.
Huge amounts of fill are being washed by NO daily in the form of silt in the Mississippi. If it could be recovered would it be adequate to build on? NO could be rebuilt in sections on reclaimed ground, much like San Francisco was.
you anti-rebuilding types need to take your opinion and shove it (like Teraaaayyyzaa said--shove it)... it is one of the few cities left that has any charm and to betray it to mother nature is a crime against civilization.