Hastert: rebuilding New Orleans "doesn't make sense"

[GarySeven]

Apologies if this has been posted before; things are really moving on this board.

House Speaker: Rebuilding N.O. doesn't make sense

Thursday, 2:55 p.m.

By Bill Walsh
Washington bureau

WASHINGTON - House Speaker Dennis Hastert dropped a bombshell on flood-ravaged New Orleans on Thursday by suggesting that it isn’t sensible to rebuild the city.

"It doesn't make sense to me," Hastert told the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago in editions published today. "And it's a question that certainly we should ask."

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_09.html#075833

[BattyDem]

1. Illinois: Reelecting Hastert doesn't make sense!

:grr:

[goforit]

28. What a blow to the Creole souls of Louisianna. Outrageous comment.

[mom cat]

33. You beat me to it!

[Judi Lynn]

68. Also, having Hastert next in line, behind Cheney should Bush

become impeached doesn't make sense! Holy moly!

[MADem]

99. Not if we impeach after the House changes hands

President Pelosi, anyone????

[rosesaylavee]

115. Exactly - vote for Rubin Zamora

http://www.zamoraforcongress.org/

He ran last time against Hastert at the last minute. Nice guy, teaches school. He's breathing. I'm voting for him.

[Jacobin]

2. Hastert can eat cow dung

New Orleans will come back and I hope when it does, we can fucking secede from this excuse of a goddamned country that has abandoned us....with our people fighting Smirky's idiotic war in IraqNam...


I cannot stand the so called 'leadership' of this country

[ElectroPrincess]

15. What leadership?!?

Is it any wonder? As long as the poor disenfranchised people are not not part of the Right Wing Republican's Base (Upper Middle Class Snobs), then the people of New Orleans might as well be from another country. Please not, some upper class hotel guests received their own chartered bus out of the city yesterday.

They're poor, they are mostly people of color - that's why there was no priority to this mission. Even now, there's no sense of urgency among the "investor classes." :puke:

[indepat]

20. Having elected my friend Hastert in the first place didn't make any sense

[ToolTex]

58. "Hastert can eat cow dung"

Hastert is cow dung!

[calimary]

131. Truly! Welcome to DU!

You know what to "DU", don't you?

Visualize IMPEACHMENT!!!!!!!!
And then DO something about it!!!!!!!!!

[UpInArms]

71. Hastert doesn't speak for the people of this country

none of the GOP speak for the common person - none of the GOP (and I realize this is a broad brush statement) have stood up and fought any of the criminally destructive policies of this maladministration.

None of them should ever hold office again - throw all of those bastards into the streets.

[demo dutch]

3. What a fucking asshole!

[wakeme2008]

4. But we have all the money in the world to rebuild Iraq

:grr:

[Jacobin]

9. "Billions for Iraqis, Zeros for New Orleanians"

Let's make that fuckwad Hastert's campaign death knell

[radar]

69. No matter how many times...

...The oil pipelines get blown up - American dollars will be spent to repair 'em.

Iraq Pipeline Watch
Attacks on Iraqi pipelines, oil installations, and oil personnel
http://www.iags.org/iraqpipelinewatch.htm

August 27 - bomb beneath an oil pipeline supplying the Daura oil refinery in Baghdad, causing an hour-long fire.
August 26 - Insurgents sabotaged an exporting oil well north of Kirkuk.
August 20 - attack on a major line between Bayji and Baghdad stopped electricity supply to the capital.
August 4 - 5:00a.m. three explosions set ablaze a pipeline near Kirkuk.
August 3 - an explosion damaged a pipeline used for shipping fuel to a Baghdad power plant north of the capital.

[aquart]

5. No words.

[Pithy Cherub]

40. I have 'em.

An SOB is Speaker of the House and a MF'in dumbass idiot. x(

[lebkuchen]

6. I doubt saving 25,000 black people's lives makes sense to him either.

[pitohui]

79. yeah it's about race

that's what it boils down to

we can all die because he sees too many black faces on teevee

dennis hastert can go fuck himself, there is no excuse for such statement at such a time

is he unaware of the strategic position of new orleans for the transportation and petroleum industries, not to mention seafood and sugar

tell you what, mr. hastert, you do your part -- you don't use any more oil & gas, you don't use any more food or other items transported up the river or that comes thru the port of new orleans or port of gulfport

you'll croak faster than an armadillo on the interstate

as far as the character of a man who would let his ass show to ppl who are without even such basics as clean water...there is simply no excuse for such a piece of trash to be in public life

[Cha]

111. No excuse except that he's

a big dumb republican speaker of the house(gag) that doesn't know shit from fucking shinola.

[marcus_b]

127. I agree.

New Orleans is 2/3 black population. And dammit, it's the birthplace of Jazz!!! How blacker can you get?

[calimary]

132. How'd he like it if we said that about HIS hometown? Welcome to DU,

btw.

Visualize IMPEACHMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And removal for that fat, smug, pig hastert, too.

[kenny blankenship]

7. Nuke the site from orbit --huh?

Or just let fire and hunger do the job--this makes the most sense economically. Why waste more resources exterminating New Orleans and its people when letting nature take its course will accomplish the same thing?

[Search Party]

8. speechless

[underpants]

10. Money Money Money it is just all about money with them

George Carlin made the following observation right after 9/11 (paraphrased) ~"With the Democrats or the left it always seems to be about people maybe to their fault but the Republicans..it always seems to be about money with them about business and making money"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=152276

[jus_the_facts]

11. Dino Breaux fires back....

The Illinois Republican’s comments drew an immediate rebuke from Louisiana officials.

“That’s like saying we should shut down Los Angeles because it’s built in an earthquake zone,” former Sen. John Breaux, D-La., said. “Or like saying that after the Great Chicago fire of 1871, the U.S. government should have just abandoned the city.”

[Dudley_DUright]

25. Touche Breaux

Nothing like human tragedy to bring out the true colors of the repukes. :puke:

[DBoon]

38. Don't give Hastert any ideas!

They are crazy and cruel enough to want just that.

[calimary]

133. Hah - let him try.

Keep talking, denny - you FUCKING PIG!

[pitohui]

83. i think breaux's had it with the gop

last month he issued a statement regretting his vote on the iraq war resolution

he was known for trying to find compromise but there can be no compromise w. hateful nutjobs

hastert has shown himself for the piece of garbage he truly is

[Cha]

114. Really! I did not know that!

That makes me feel better somehow..thanks!

[Cha]

113. Go Dino Breaux!

hasert stepped into it with both of his big ugly feet!

[Hobarticus]

12. Hitler: "But that (war) is what the young men are for".

True colors, Dennis.

[DrZeeLit]

13. My reaction: audible gasp. Is he using Rush's drugs? Idiot. n/t

[malachibk]

14. Feel free to flame away

But I think he might be right. Even if we can rid the city of H2O, the contamination caused by the gas, oil, waste and chemicals that are bathing NO would require, from a public health perspective, close to the TOTAL removal of all potentially contaminated structures. That's basically all of NO's buildings and homes. And, truth be told, there is no REAL way to protect a city built below sea level.

As a public health professional, I am not convinced that rebuilding NO in the same place makes any real sense. It is a question that needs to be asked.

[DerBeppo]

45. no, see, you're being reasonable

Hastert said it so it's automatically evil and without any merit.

[alcibiades_mystery]

48. Even if it makes sense (which remains to be seen)

This is not the time to make those kinds of statements. He's basically pulling a shred of hope out from under the feet of people who are currently confused and hopeless. It's a stupid fucking thing to say RIGHT NOW, whatever its overall merit in general. There'll be time for those kinds of judgments, but this ain't it.

[malachibk]

64. I agree -- not the right time or the right messenger n/t

[BronxBoy]

116. I agree

People already feel abandoned and now it seems like he's in a hurry to get them buried already.

I hate these people

edited for spelling

[lanlady]

121. exactly

It's hardly the time to send a message that the federal government won't help much. Especially when we're still squandering billions on Iraq.

[Stuckinthebush]

84. Hate to say I agree with Denny

But I agree with Denny.

It doesn't make sense to rebuild a city in a bowl under sea level that will be waiting for the next disaster to flood it.

New Orleans had a wonderful life. Now we need to get the survivors out and focus on their lives, not the life of the city.

[bvar22]

101. Why stop with New Orleans?

The entire Gulf Coast is prone to Hurricanes and has been destroyed many more times than New Orleans in the last 20 years.

And then there is the Mississippi River Valley, flooded and rebuilt several times in the last decade.

AND FORGET about rebuilding ANYTHING near an earthquake zone!

QUICK! Everybody move to Memphis!

[ornotna]

149. Give up much?

Good thing the Dutch don't follow your advise.
"Today, approximately 27 percent of the Netherlands is actually below sea level. This area is home to over 60 percent of the country's population of 15.8 million people. The Netherlands, which is approximately the size of the U.S. states Connecticut and Massachusetts combined, has an approximate average elevation of 11 meters (36 feet). The Netherlands ties Lemmefjord, Denmark for claim to the lowest point in Western Europe - Prince Alexander Polder lies at 23 feet (7 meters) below sea level."

http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa033000a.htm

[TheDonkey]

165. I think all of Florida should go to Wyoming... and LA

well just about any city/area that can be affected by a national disaster should go somewhere completely safe and secure. :crazy:

[HuckleB]

171. The northwest quarter of Wyoming is one big volcano!

:shrug:

[chknltl]

107. It will get rebuilt

No flames, just my oppinion.... Too much history to throw away, too much real estate to throw away, those who own those buildings will not allow this, the oil co.s will not throw away their investments, the people of America will not allow one of their own to be thrown away to the trash heap.... I could go on... New Orleans will be rebuilt, it will never be the same. The question I ask is this: Will we learn from this disaster or will we rebuild in the hopes that there will be no future disasters like this? This is a fact: There WILL be more Katrinas! This is another fact: There WILL be people living in New Orleans again. New Orleans could become great again, it could also become an emergency evacuation area for the region in case of future "Katrinas". I can imagine a new New
Orleans in the future which has: an elevated roadway system 4 stories higher than the roadways which are there now. An elevated parking system which is at the 3rd story level, An elevated mass transit system which is at the second story and tons of shops and pedestrian areas at the first story, (ground level today). As the future unfolds room for growth will be throughout those levels. I can imagine the entire third story area working as a dedicated emergency shelter when necessary, once the cars are removed, an elevated citywide bunker able to shelter millions of people. My imagination does not require the destruction of all those office buildings! This is what my imagination conjures up. There are lots of imaginative people in this country, I hope there are lots of listeners as well, after all my imagination, large as it is, has no room for "flamers". "Phoenixes" on the other hand are always welcome!

[HuckleB]

170. Funny thing.

He hasn't said anything about not rebuilding vacation homes in areas hit by forest fires. Or on hills that end up sliding down into valleys, after all the trees and roots are removed for homes for the wealthy.

In the end, unless one is going to take this "logic" to extremes, where no one lives anywhere except in the few places in this world generally unaffected by severe weather, volcanoes and earthquakes, this argument is pure nonsense.

[nickinSTL]

16. ok, at the risk of some serious flames...

New Orleans was built below sea level...

now, I'm appalled at the Bush administration lack of response, and I'm not saying that we shouldn't rebuild in some form...

but maybe rebuilding New Orleans as it was, where it was isn't the best idea...this will just happen again. Levees are not really a good solution, IMO.
:hide:

[malachibk]

19. Glad to see I'm not the only one who feels this way

n/t

[ElectroPrincess]

41. I strongly disagree ... but

arguing with you is useless. You and yours obviously do not have family and ancestors from New Orleans. Three immediate family members have homes underwater. We love New Orleans, we knew this could happen (below sea level) ... New Orleans will be built back, but SMARTER, so this tragedy does not occur again.

We have the technology and it will be done. May God Bless and Care for ALL the People in need of evacuation. :loveya:

[goclark]

60. My prayers are for the city and the people

[Megahurtz]

151. All the IdiotInCharge had to do was provide

enough funding to build a strong levee, like the one's they have in Holland.
But since TheIdiot has cut everything, including help to the hurricane victims..........:mad:

Oh Fuck, What's The Use? It's All About MONEY!!!:argh:

[Occulus]

166. Listen, we're not saying 'write her off'

not yet. It's far, far too early to actually make the decisions as to what will and will not be rebuilt. I feel it is very safe to say that no matter what form Nola (it's a nice name, an acronym from New Orleans, Louisiana, and it seems to evoke strength and longevity for some reason) eventually takes, she will be changed forever by this disaster.

The bold yet somehow ever noble Nola you knew went and got into a car wreck. We have to somehow put her back together- insist upon it- or she will certainly die.

---

That's was meant out of deepest respect for the town I visited once as a kid. I loved it, and I wanted to go to Mardi Gras there someday.

I think if there is substantial rebuilding on the site the old city exists- I almost used the past tense just now- we need to address the fact that much of it is below sea level. Unless we have some sort of science-fictiony force field, we need to raise things up so they 1) can remain unflooded by a storm such as Katrina and 2) don't sink any more.

[Sub Atomic]

47. You're not the only one.

Yeah, it's a really, really bitter pill.

However, it makes such incredible sense, if you remove your emotions from it.

I have nothing about building a city lower than sea level, but DON'T DO IT RIGHT NEXT TO THE SEA!!

How much intelligence does it take to figure that one out?

[dad]

57. Hastert was right

It would be idiotic to rebuild that city, unless we decide to put everything on stilts and make it into the Venice of the USA! It's freaking below sea level, people!!
Just build the new structures 10 miles back and call it New New Orleans... If some of the old buildings can be saved for history's sake, fine, but better to haul them off and move them to where it's safe. I hope they don't put residences back in there.

[pitohui]

86. get on the clue train

have you looked at a map

new orleans is where it is for good and strategic reason

it is 100 miles from the coast, it is not just sitting there for no purpose to provide a sea view or whatever ppl imagine

it is here because it is an important corridor for transport by river

you are abt to learn the reality of life w.out port of new orleans & port of gulfport

if you like to eat food, you may want to consider the concept of not rebuilding new orleans

old cities are situated where they are for good geographic reasons

when you are ready to give up eating and the use of gas, you will have gained the right to say that the usa can do without new orleans

until then you have no right to criticize that ppl live in this area to provide YOU w. affordable food & gas

what the hell is wrong w. ppl?

have you never considered that maybe thomas jefferson was just a LITTLE more knowledgeable than you abt the importance of new orleans

well you will get your karma, in a few days you'll be seeing prices in the grocery store like you will NOT believe

[Sub Atomic]

clue train? seems like you are the one who has missed it.

i live in san diego. my food comes from the imperial valley. not through the port of new orleans.

my gas is refined in los angeles. not in the the gulf of mexico.


have you ever thought that maybe old cities were built where they were for reasons other than the thought of future economic and social contributions?

new orleans will live on, but it's got to go somewhere else. the monkey has wasted enough of our tax dollars, let's not waste more by rebuilding the city where it will inevitably get wiped out again.

[akarnitz]

164. Where does your bread come from?

The wheat used to make your bread is grown in the midwest(so are your corn and- probably- your beans and potatos). The raw commodity is trucked to a site on the Mississippi(or one of its tibutaries) River, where it is processed, if need be, and loaded on a barge. The barge heads down to Charm City, one of roughly 50,000 barges a year which utilize the Port of New Orleans. The flour(I belive the wheat was milled upstream)is then loaded on to an ocaen going vessel and shipped to another commercial deep-water port near you(dweeb, I don't know if yours comes through Long Beach or straight to S.D.). You can probably figure how it gets from there to your pantry.

You may wonder why New Orleans is essential. Can't the flour be shipped staight from Kansas to California? Yes, it can be, but at greater(much greater) cost. Get this: it costs roughly as much to truck or train the product from Fargo to Minneapolis as it does to barge the product from Minneapolis to New Orleans. You can figure, again, the additional cost to ship directly overland to you.

That's just agriculture. New Orleans is also the major cog in the oil import/export economy, in part due to its proximity to major(onshore and offshore) oil fields. Four(five?)major oil companies are headquartered in New Orleans. And the Port of New Orleans is the only port in the US serviced by six class one railroads. It is the leading destination in the US for the import of coffee, rubber and many other South/Central American commodities. It's the fourth busiest port(as part of the Port of Southern Louisiana, of which it comprises 40%)in the WORLD.

In the long run I believe we'd find that resurrecting New Orleans and repairing its infrastucture(and improving the levee system a la the Dutch model) would cost far less than having to rebuild the national infrastructure.

sorry about the lack of liks so you can fact check me. My 15 year old son isn't here to help with the damned "e-mail machine".:argh:

[jackelope72]

82. I agree.

People have a right to build what they want where they want, but to me this is the same thing as people who continually rebuild in floodplains or high-risk earthquake zones and who complain every time they have to rebuild. Granted, New Orleans has never been deluged like this before, but it could happen again, and rebuilding in this same spot could prove to be a huge waste of money better spent on rebuilding somewhere safer.

[Jacobin]

22. Fine. Then bulldoze Los Angeles and San Francisco

because they are on an active fault.

While you are at it, St. Louis must go. New Madrid Fault.

And Miami?

too many hurricanes. tear it down.

[malachibk]

24. No one is suggesting that we should have preemptively destroyed NO

But, I think it is worth asking whether or not given the CURRENT situation we should rebuild or relocate.

It would be cheaper and SAFER to move NO to higher, uncontaminated ground.

[Jacobin]

63. Then the same questions will need to be asked when

its L.A.'s and San francisco's turn........as it will inevitably be.

See how that works?

[malachibk]

74. Feel free to ask those questions should the untenable happen there

If say, SF is 95% destroyed by an earthquake, why not move the city to a nearby, but much safer place? Seems like a reasonable question to me.

See how that works?

[Jacobin]

88. Ah yes, SanFrancisco..of Napa Valley?

But believe me, after today, when another city does get whacked, I will be the FIRST to start asking those questions.

[davidinalameda]

125. you want to move nearly 800K people

from San Francisco itself not to mention over 7 million people from the SF-Oakland-San Jose metro area

where are you going to move them--Fresno?

without San Jose included, we're still the 7th largest metro area in the nation

what about the buildings--do you expect the insurance companies to fund the construction?

[DBoon]

168. It was destroyed once before in 1906

And it rebuilt on the same spot to become the proud city it is now.

And so will New Orleans

[Xithras]

81. As a Californian, I have no problem with that.

Yes, if SF were to experience another 1906-level earthquake tomorrow, it would probably be wise to discuss whether or not the city should be rebuilt as it now stands. People will live where they want, but the US has a terrible habit of building huge cities in the worst possible locations. Europe learned over millenia that you DON'T build your largest cities at the bases of volcanoes, in below-sea-level swampland, or on top of major earthquake faults. Most of the major cities in the US are less than 150 years old, so we haven't learned these lessons yet.

Maybe NOLA should be the first lesson.

[Jacobin]

87. Nah. Let's let San Francisco or L.A. 'be the first lesson'

YOU go first.

:evilgrin:

[akarnitz]

167. Many cities, worldwide,

were fouded in hazardous areas, all with pretty legit reasons. How many times were the cities of the Nile River system have been resurrected after flooding? Many times, because the floods enrich the soil and the river provides a natural route for commerce. Cities at the base of volcanoes? Rich soil, again. Naples took a hit from Vesuvius in 1944. The people stayed and rebuilt. Rich soil and deep-water harbor. San Francisco and L.A. earthquakes but deep-water harbors. Charleston, Savannah and New Orleans? Hurricanes and floods, but deep-water harbors at the mouths of navigable rivers(see my N.O. post on this tread, #164).

I've seen a scenario where New York harbor is hit buy a hurricne. Granted, the path of this hurricane would have to be quite defined(straight north through the harbor's entrance)but the consequences would be quite mind-boggling. Lower Manhattan would be destroyed by the storm surge(is this why President Clinton has his offices in Harlem?). It could cripple the nation's economy for a long time. Remember the recession ater 9/11? Think about what would happen if all of Wall Street were submerged. I think we'd rebuild.

I'm not sure you're correct in stating that the rest of the world has learned its lessons. I've already cited a few examples contrary to your point. Throw in The Netherlands and Denmark, countries which remain vigilant and engineer their way out of harm's way. They've realized what we haven't: some short term expenditures, though they seem overwhelming, are outweighed by long term dividends.

[bvar22]

109. Tell that to the Dutch.

They use a modern 20th Century system of dikes (triple layers) and compartmentalized levee system to protect their reclaimed land from ther North Sea. They also use modern pumps.

Most of the pumps in New Orleans were 100 years old.
This disaster DID NOT HAVE TO HAPPEN.

Hurricanes CAN BE Planned for and the damage prevented.

[NNN0LHI]

130. Do they have Category 4-5 hurricanes in Holland?

I am not sure.

Don

[fooj]

17. Fuck you, Dennie...shouldn't you be baking a cake with a file in it?

Peace.

[calimary]

135. NO. He should be behind bars, waiting and hoping and praying for a cake

with a file in it. In a cell next to george's.

[yardwork]

18. I'm not surprised. He's showing his true colors (chicken yellow)

As Speaker of the House, Hastert is third in line to be president.

[karlrschneider]

21. He's right for a change.

...

[Jacobin]

23. Then St. Louis must go

New Madrid fault zone, doncha know.

Evacuate L.A. and San francisco.

Miami? too many hurricanes. Zap it.

[karlrschneider]

26. We went through this before.

It's futile to argue about it, you won't change my mind, I won't change yours.

[demo dutch]

27. Ditch the entire state of FL, what the hell!

[durablend]

32. Eastern seaboard too

Especially mid-Atlantic (too much hurricane risk as well as nor-easters and blizzards).

We can just be left with those red states in the heart of Good Ole America

[Benhurst]

36. And Charleston, SC. Next earthquake OR hurricane, tear it down!

[ljaycox]

158. You may be right...

My wife and I are going to Iowa this weekend to scout some land near a job she is thinking of taking. St. Louis will look like NO when a large quake hits here. Our house is worth a load right now. I have been thinking about this for some time and retro fitting this delightful old house just does not make sense. I don't fancy it as a tomb for us either. I also think the cost of insurance is going to skyrocket. We no longer have the level of social cohesion to get through these natural catastrophes. You cannot save a city with money and technology only. Urban living is just too shaky to make the risk during hard times worth it. I am an engineer and have been designing an off grid house on and off for years. I think I want to execute it for our older years. Cities used to offer some safety during crisis, but not now and not here. One can live comfortably off grid now, and urban people are more threat than help.

[demo dutch]

29. No way, the Dutch can do it, their entire country is below sea level

but guess what it cost money to build hydraulic dams etc.

[Robeson]

46. Ding, Ding, Ding....We have a winner!....

...The Netherlands: A country that actually invests in infrastructure. Imagine that....

[Terran]

80. Right--New Orleans CAN BE REBUILT safely

The levee infrastructure was built only to Category 3 standards--stupid, but there it is. If they rebuild keeping reality in mind, it can be done with long term success against storm surge.

[Cha]

118. Yeah, Do it right this time and

with the Louisianna National Guard who need to be brought home from Iraq.

[Dr Fate]

59. We should have never had a Marshall plan either- right?

I mean, Europe will eventualy have a big war again- what is the use- right?

[natrat]

30. but a $500 K bribe in a suitcase makes sense?

[Lori Price CLG]

31. Oh, but if he went w.out his afternoon *snack,* he'd be up in arms. n/t

[ShockediSay]

34. Hastert to N.O. : Drop Dead!

We need to start a website entitled "Famous Lasting Sayings." Recent pronouncements by Pat Robertson, less recent sayings by Cheney ("We will be greeted as liberators" ... but wait! there's more! )and other stuff like from Rick Santorum and the like should be included, so our guys can have them for ready reference to toss back into the hard right spin machine, and watch it self destruct.

[calimary]

137. Welcome to DU!

Glad you're here! Fun idea, actually. Accumulate a collection of famous last words. Or famous "last throes" - as long as you're bringing up cheney. As many of us do, every morning, while we're barfing up his partner, tweedleDUMbya.

Visualize IMPEACHMENT!!!!!!!
Then go DO something about it!!!!!

[NCPatriot]

142. There are several with "Bushisms" maybe...

There could be one simply named...

Republishisms

[Ishoutandscream2]

35. Hey, Republicans, this is the voice of your party!

Ya bunch of assholes.

[rocktivity]

37. It IS a question we certainly should ask

but not now--now Hastert should be asking why Bush de-funded Lousiana's anti-flooding projects, and in the abscence of that, why an comprehensive city-wide evacuation plan wasn't in place!

:eyes:
rocknation

[Cha]

119. Right! That's what hastert should

have been asking if he weren't such a knee jerk fascist.

[Miss Chybil]

39. What would have made sense would have been to have spent the

money needed to keep New Orleans safe instead of giving it to Halliburton and Chalabi.

[KamaAina]

42. Remember when the repukes kneecapped Bob Livingston?

in some sort of sex scandal, to allow Hastert to ascend to the throne?

Bob Livingston represented Metairie, La. There is no way we would be hearing this kind of garbage from him. No way at all. :grr: :banghead:

[Dead_Parrot]

43. He has a point.

Draining wetlands to build a city below sea level, on the coast, in the hurricane zone was a barmy idea to start with. If a new city could be built higher up for the same money I'd be all for it.

But it will be cheaper to rebuilt NO as it was, so that's what will happen. Just don't be surprised when it gets flooded again in 10 years time.

[esvhicl]

50. It shouldn't be rebuilt

It is poorly situated and below sea level. Sorry, I'm as liberal as they come, but this only makes sense.

[calimary]

138. Welcome to DU!

Perhaps. But this is some fine time to say such a thing to the people who are in danger of dying even as we speak there.

Meantime... I can think of some even better uses of your time, energy, and brain power:

Visualize IMPEACHMENT!!!!!!!
Then go DO something about it!!!!!!!!!

[natrat]

52. even if they dont build all the hotels and crap

they cant just leave the place under water

[progressivebydesign]

55. I agree. Is there some way to rebuild it higher?

Otherwise, it's just disaster after disaster with the increase in hurricanes we're expecting.

[Dead_Parrot]

65. I don't see it happening

If we assume the cost of the buildings is the same for NO and a hypothetical NNO, for the new site you have to build new infratructure from scratch, and clean up the old site. I can imagine it would cost twice as much to keep the people safe in future, which isn't the sort of expenditure the * admin is fond of.

Unless Halliburton are the contractors, of course. We'll have to wait and see.

[sendero]

44. I think New Orleans should be rebuilt....

.... but not below sea level. It makes no sense. There is nothing left of the city to save, why would you build a castle on sand again?

I think they should relocate whatever historical structures that can be salvaged and build NO on solid above-sea-level ground as near to its present site as possible.

[ElectroPrincess]

49. Saving lives is the task at hand now ... and for the foreseeable future ...

We can hammer this relocation stuff out after this humanitarian crisis, or if it's such a burning issue for some, perhaps within in a new thread?

[musiclawyer]

53. Interesting

The reaction and the rebuttal. But yes, it's a valid question. Should SF or LA rebuild after the big one? Yes, but rebuild smarter. Should NO rebuild? yes. But smarter. Some parts of the city probably need to go back to what nature intended. Those poor souls who have lost their land, homes, and business should be moved to a better location to make an even greater, smarter and more prosperous NO.

[samsingh]

51. doesn't Hastert care about America?

[ToolTex]

54. This was probably the plan all along.

(Get out the tin foil). Why else were the saying on Tuesday that they were plugging the levees, but actually haven't yet started), until the pumps were inundated. They wanted the city gone just like Rome wanted salt plowed into the soil of Carthage.

[calimary]

140. Welcome to DU!

Get busy, now that you're here, 'eh?

Visualize IMPEACHMENT!!!!!!!!!!!
Then go DO something about it.

That's not a request... :evilgrin:

[Dr Fate]

56. But he wants to build all kinds of crap in Iraq. TRAITOR.

Hastert= TRAITOR

[darkism]

61. I think we have a leader for next week's Top 10 Conservative Idiots

Screw off, Denny. NOLA will be built bigger and stronger exactly where it was before.

[CityDem]

62. Unbelievable

No, quite believable from a hack like Hassert.

[AlamoDemoc]

66. Hastert should explain that to the men and woman from NOLA

in the Army Forces currently fighting the war overseas who have lost some of their their families and properties in the wake of Katrina

[R Hickey]

67. It should be rebuilt on the same spot, only 30 feet higher.

Bring in dirt. First fill in the empty spaces, then jack up the buildings thirty feet each and connect them to the old foundations, then raise the all the roads thirty feet up, or just build a new set of roads above the old set. Perhaps construct a subway where the old roads are.

[babylonsister]

98. And build housing for the previous dwellers. Do NOT

let rich repugs get their hands on this property to make millions from it after it's all fixed up. If that happens, I truly will believe this was their plan all along.:mad:

[happyslug]

70. Lets look at this REALISTICALLY not emotionally.

First, LA, San Fran, Florida. St Louis and the other cities are NOT now for all practical purposes DESTROYED. New Orleans is presently under water and it looks like it will remain under Water for 2-3 MONTHS (though parts of it will be drained while before that date).

With the flooding comes destruction of the infrastructure. Every electrical box in every building will have to be replaced. Buildings will have to be razed. The poorest area of New Orleans is the lowest below sea level (and the reason for what appears to be high number of dead Afro-Americans). The electrical distribution system will have to be rebuilt from the ground up. Now the water, natural gas and sewerage system will remain but even the roads will have to be plowed and paved (to a degree).

I lived in Johnstown Pa. We had a bad flood in 1891, 1936 and 1976. None of these floods lasted more than a few days (The 1891 flood was over within a day, but the clean up took months). After the 1936 flood FDR had the Corp of Engineers make the City "Flood Free" and it was till 1976 when a once every 500 year flood occurred. Even today Johnstown it can flood, but once every 500 years not every few years as before the Corp or Engineers improvements in the late 1930s.

One Comment on Johnstown. I have talked to several long term residents and most realized it was a mistake to rebuild the city after the 1976 flood. Steel was still big up to and after the flood but was dead by the mid-1980s. Several businesses that took their flood insurance money and re-build said now that was a mistake, they should have done what the one Department store did, close down and move to the surrounding hillside suburbs. Even today this city is slowly dieing, you have hugh areas where buildings have been torn down and NOTHING built in their place. My point as to Johnstown is that sometime it is better to abandon a city after a disaster than to rebuild it to be destroyed later.

As to earthquake Los Angles and San Francisco, both are thriving cities AND BOTH HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF PLANNING FOR EARTHQUAKES. These plans are like many cities rules that were adopted to prevent city wide fires (For example many cities prohibit wood fences for more than one city wide fire spread from house to house via wooden fences).

This brings me back to New Orleans. How can we rebuild New Orleans to minimize the affect of the Mississippi? Unlike earthquake "proof" buildings or forbidding wooden fences it is harder to minimize the effect of flooding WHEN THE CITY IS NEAR THE COAST AND IS BELOW SEA LEVEL. Having people move to Baton Rouge may be a better solution than rebuilding New Orleans. It should be looked at and studied in the next few months (As the flood water recede). What will it cost to prevent this type of disaster from occurring again? In many ways we will know what we are losing but we must be careful, this disaster may be like the 1976 Johnstown Flood, a Flood that sped up the movement out of Johnstown to the suburbs above flood level. Today the Johnstown Suburb of Richland Township has a higher total value than the land values in the City of Johnstown (and Richland is one of 10 "suburbs" of Johnstown, all located above the area flooded in 1891, 1936 and 1976). I can see the same thing happening in New Orleans, Government moves to Baton Rouge, Industry follows to avoid flooding, leaving the poor which do NOT have the money to keep up the pumps to keep New Orleans dry and you have a recipe for disaster.

I hate to say this but the best solution may be to abandon New Orleans. Maybe make an effort to save the French Quarter (Which is one of the few areas of New Orleans ABOVE ea level) but abandon the rest of the Parish and convert it into a park/wetland like it was when the French ruled Louisiana.

[warrens]

72. Repopulating Florida doesn't make sense

All houses on both coasts should be evacuated and destroyed. Might as well get rid of Southern California while we're at it. If the earthquake doesn't destroy it, the mudslides and forest fires will.

What an asshole.

[kevin881]

73. he is right. how many of you have degrees in urban planning? -nt

[ElectroPrincess]

75. Yeah, he has all the answers!

Next Ole' Hastert will be doing "Jenny Craig" commercials?

Absurd! :puke:

[kevin881]

134. come on... that has nothing to do with anything. -nt

[tsuki]

76. Screw him! Totally!

[KansDem]

77. Did/Is Hastert resist/resisting an emergency session of Congress?

I got this in an email:

CNN just reporting that Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (of California which as a reminder is not a Gulf State) has been leading the charge to get Congress back to Washington, DC for an emergency session. Meanwhile, House Speaker Dennis Hastert has resisted, responding that Congress is already scheduled to reconvene next Tuesday and many Congressmen have important work (fund-raising of their own, not for victims) in their districts that can not be dropped on a moment's notice. Bear in mind that Hastert DID bring the House back from vacation for a special session on a Sunday night to address Terri Schiavo's feeding-tube issue.

[radar]

78. I wonder how many refugees from NO would be welcome...

In Denny's neighborhood?

[pitohui]

89. oh i'm sure we'd be QUITE welcome in his house

as long as we kept our place as his maid or his gardener!

hastert must go

[krkaufman]

85. I don't know where I stand on the issue... but I *DO KNOW*...

.. that now is NOT the time for anyone in a position to help w/ the recovery process to be pondering that question. What the fuck are you doing to improve the situation on the ground on the Gulf coast -- and especially NOLA -- RIGHT NOW you ignorant bastard?!?

[zara]

90. BushCo will do nothing about global warming, so...

anticipate even worse hurricanes in the future. From that perspective, why rebuild a city on the coast below sea level?
That historic, cultural, emotional stuff carries some weight. But we have in charge the Ostrich party. Get rid of the elephant. Its the Ostrich from now on. And what the Ostrich won't sea is global warming.

[VegasWolf]

91. Why do Republicans hate New Orleans? nt

[KamaAina]

96. Same reason so many of them hate cats.

Too much freedom, independence and spirit. Can't have that. :sarcasm:

[KamaAina]

92. They didn't think maintaining the levees made sense, either.

So they diverted (embezzled) the money that had already been appropriated for that purpose, and poured it into what will soon be the trillion-dollar rathole that is Iraq.

Have I mentioned that I hate their filthy, lying guts? :grr: :banghead: :nuke:

[Imagevision]

93. Hastert comment needs to be recommended up!!!

fuchwad!

[jwcomer]

94. He may be right.

If the aid package includes reconstruction funds, then this is in fact the right time for Hastert to be raising the subject.

I know that people may not want to even consider that he is right, especially those of us with connections to NOLA.

Consider the costs involved in rebuilding:
1) Temporary levee repair.
2) Bowl drainage.
3) Removal and disposal of 90% of the buildings.
4) Removal of the contaminated silt and top layers.
5) Removal of destroyed infrastructure.
6) Build up the ground level to 10+ft above sea level (optional but sensible, if you have any intention of seeing the cities building insured.)
7) Reconstruction of infrastructure.
8) Reconstruction of 90% of buildings.
9) Long term levee repair - they are largely not designed to be waterlogged of both sides and this may have undermined much of the system.

Sounds great, if you are nostalgic. But it isn't sensible. That's going to be staggeringly expensive to do. And while its true that it would only be a fraction of our total war costs, I don't support the use of those funds either. I'm not trying to be callous here. I'm juts pointing out that rebuilding NOLA may be wishful thinking.

The most likely sequence of events is that by the time the city is drained and ready for any rebuilding, most of the former residents will have jobs and new lives elsewhere and they will not be moving back to NOLA. It seems unlikely that insurers are going to offer any more flood insurance in NOLA, so few major businesses are going to gamble their insurance claims on rebuilding here. This year's Mardi Gras isn't going to happen in any meaningful way. The tourism industry needs a vibrant mardi gras and the active NOLA street life to justify rebuilding. There is a real chicken and egg problem there when you think about it.

I hate to say it, but even if NOLA is drained and repaired I can't see it restored to anything like its former glory for many decades. By which time it could get flooded all over again. After all the river is getting higher. The sea is getting higher. And the storms are getting bigger and badder.

It has been 4 years and NYC hasn't even begun construction at the old WTC site. And 911 is minor damage by comparison to what has happened to NOLA. Those of you who think that this can all be repaired and fixed and magically NOLA will come back - I don't think you have considered the magnitude of the damage.

[rodeodance]

95. it was a mindless statement. The "HOW" it will be rebuilt is the question.

[ElectroPrincess]

117. "I hate to say it"

Do you really? Are you like my family and awaiting parents and two sisters who have homes underwater?

Dammit! You have no idea how deep this cuts. We have generations of family ties in NEW ORLEANS. Not higher ground.

If there is a way that it can be rebuilt *on site*, IT WILL BE REBUILT!

Damn! IMO some of you are *very* insensitive. :(

[calimary]

144. Oh, man - I am sorry to hear that.

I am so sorry to hear that!

Always wanted to visit New Orleans. I have a soft spot for anything with "French" in it, anyway, especially after the whole "freedom fries" crap-spew.

I am so sorry...

Are your family members okay?

Okay - I have no civil engineering degree. Yes it's going to be a horrific job. Could it be rethought a little? Is it possible that soil compaction could be useful? Again, I don't know. But could the city be rebuilt - maybe a little higher in elevation - like maybe AT sea level? Or is that even possible? Just asking...

Frankly, I'm macchiavellian enough actually to be secretly gleeful that he said this. Many people will correctly take this as completely insensitive and miserly, ESPECIALLY being said NOW. And I happen to just love and adore things republi-CONS do that make them look shitty. Shitty stuff like this.

FIRST: We work on getting the contaminants OUT OF OUR GOVERNMENT. Like this guy and the opportunistic infection in the White House to whom he bows and burns incense. If we keep the "leadership" we have now, we're only in for more mismanagement and bungling and cold-hearted insensitivity and short-sightedness and penny-wise/pound-foolish crap in which republi-CONS specialize.

Again - I am so sorry it's impacting you. I am heartbroken for everyone I see on TV who is caught in this hellish nightmare. This is like something out of Heironymus Bosch.

[marcus_b]

136. Check out what you support.

I will not talk about your argumentation, because there is no way I could comment on it (no facts, no expertise).

But I would bet a lot that the concern is not about money here. My guess is that it is plain and simple racism.

There is a quote about such situations from T.S. Elliot: "The last temptation is the greatest treason. To do the right thing, for the wrong reason."

So even if you are right, according to T.S. Elliot, it would be treason if the background is really racism for the House Speaker.

Some more thoughts, if you would want to follow the House Speaker, that people who live in risky areas should care for themselves:

First, you have to make rules which apply to everybody. What about Los Angeles and earth quakes?

Second, the poor people in New Orleans didn't have a choice. They may have been born in the city and never had the money to leave. In such cases, they didn't make a choice to stay at a place that is potentially in danger of being eradicated. They are losing everything they have, and to pile insult on injury, you would have to say to them that now their entire history is eradicated as well.

The life of people, and their history, is an extraordinarily valuable asset. And in the sum, we are not "only" talking about individual people, but about communities, which have been teared apart, and a culture which has been annihilated. New Orleans is the birth place of Jazz. It has a history. The people who are dislocated right now have a history. Memories. Ties to the place where they were brought up and lived their life.

Now, this doesn't mean that necessarily anything goes. It is my opinion that you should not needlessly put people in danger, so you shouldn't even give permit for example to build houses and infrastructure near rivers which tend to overflow, for example. Nature needs its space. There are safety precautions you can and should take.

But to make a blanket statement that an entire city should not be rebuild, that's simply insensitive, IMO.

[chknltl]

150. Well stated marcus_b

and welcome to the Democratic Underground. I especially liked your first sentence so much I promise to plagiarizer it often.
Regardless of where one falls on this idea of abandonment vs rebuilding of New Orleans, it WILL get rebuilt. Another fact that all may count on is that there WILL be future hurricanes. Add global warming, (thank you repukes), and you can safely say that there will be an increase to the force of those hurricanes. That is a factor in N.O.'s environment. All SANE rebuilding must take all factors of that environment into consideration. To do otherwise is criminal. (or republican....my new word for all things worse than criminal)

[Robeson]

153. Nicely put.

[Donailin]

97. these thugs and criminals are digging their own political graves

let them keep talking shit. I WELCOME IT. This country will be mobilized like never before

[eauclaireliberal]

100. Not billing the oil companies doesn't make a fuck of a lot of sense either

After all, it is these pricks that tore away at their natural barrier.

BTW-I was looking at NO on Google maps. three clicks to the west, there are bodies of water bluntly labeled "Industrial waste ponds"

Oh and guess what: it right along the river, next to Shell refineries.

[Massacure]

102. It should be rebuilt, but further away from the sea.

Rebuilding it under sea level would be kind of stupid to do.

Is there any space say 10 miles inland to rebuild the city btw?

[ibegurpard]

103. No, it doesn't

So where are you going to relocate 1.5 million people Denny? The city was there before this country even existed. Venice doesn't make sense either but they aren't letting it sink into the ocean. Neither does most of the Netherlands.

[VegasWolf]

104. Republicans could care less about poor black people. nt

[bvar22]

105. A 21st Century Levee System and modern Pumps would work.

Tell the Danes that it is stupid to live below Sea Level!!!!

They protect their cities and reclaimed land with a triple ring of dikes and levees. The levee system is compartmentalized so that if a breech occurs, the damage is limited to a single compartment.
They also use modern pumps (in addition to some of the ancient windmills) to protect their lands from the North Sea.

Most of the pumps in New Orleans were 100 years old!

These proposals for upgrading the Hurricane Protection of New Orleans have been on the table for decades, but never funded.

[BlueJac]

106. Hastert can eat cow dung!

[pelagius]

108. The man is socially tone deaf

There are legitimate questions about how to rebuild NOLA that need to be asked at some point, but right now it's all about evacuation and relief. I can't believe this guy is making commments like this at this time.

I hope people see what this crowd is really all about and throw the bums out.

[Cha]

110. Well, he can say that from his FAT

CAT seat up there in Illinois, can't he?

It's like who the fuck asked him, anyway? What's it to him?

What does Landreiu have to say about it?

[LisaL]

112. I would say, unless they figure out how to keep the water out,

rebuilding it doesn't make sense. It's below sea level.
There are going to be more hurricanes. Rebuilding it only to have it destroyed again in a year doesn't make sense.

[[e-mail]]

120. is that why they are letting the people die ?

are we in the USA or what ????
this is the worst thing that has happen to the USA it tops 911 by far
we need to protest this GOVERNMENT
they are all f'd up
I just dopn't get it

[calimary]

145. Good suggestions, all, globol... Welcome to DU!

Now DU something about it, for real:

You can start by visualizing IMPEACHMENT... and then putting your visualization into action.

[[e-mail]]

173. Thanks I have

signed every petition on the net to Impeach...
have written letters...
I am going to the Capital tomorrow here in MN to protest(camp casey crew here) and have done some freeway blogging :)

[BadGimp]

122. Too soon to tell, BUT I tend to concur

It's far too soon to make a judgement call but I tend to think along the same lines. While I think this way I would not support it. I vote to rebuild the city and the lives of it's residents. As long as the US government owns an equity stake in every inch of recuilt real estate and the federal treasury realizes some return on investment :).

However to do so would be the unkindest thing imaginable, and would scar so many lives irreperably. The emotional toll on the soul of the US and the residents would likely be too great. Bush will make rebuilding New Orleans a cause celeb. Unless of course another major hurricane comes through the same area..

[KamaAina]

123. Maybe we could use his buttery bulk to fill the levee breach

that way he'd have accomplished something useful for the very first time in his pathetic existence.

[Rose Siding]

124. Even Blitzer said 'he's got some explaining to do about that remark'

[jca]

126. Lake Bush?

Lake Bush?

http://www.cafepress.com/lakebush

[calimary]

146. It already is. I mean, look at all the contaminated water.

Floating turds and turd blossoms. That'd be a good name for such a mess.

Welcome to DU!

Visualize IMPEACHMENT!!!!!!!!
Then go DO something about it!!!!!!

[texpatriot2004]

128. What doesn't make sense is that idiots like this are in a position

to make decisions that affect millions of people! I am shocked by his thoughtless comments which I think are quite ignorant and wrong!

[calimary]

129. Okay, that's it.

Then let's get RID OF HIM, TOO!!!

Visualize IMPEACHMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pass it on...
And DON'T STOP THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ALL republi-CONS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We've tried it their way. Look where it's gotten us?

[JaneGat]

139. That ought to boost morale or what's left of it

What's wrong with him. They are all so full of themselves and sorry SOBs as I've ever seen.

[calimary]

147. Truly. Welcome to DU!

Sounds like hastert has earned the title "Domestic Terrorist."

WHATEVER the facts or figures behind it, it was still DAMNED insensitive to say at a time like this.

Thank you, dennis. Now go get bent. Your resignation will be appreciated first thing in the morning.

Visualize IMPEACHMENT!!!!!!!
Then go DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!!!!!!

You know what they say... "thoughts are things."

[stepnw1f]

141. What A Republican

Isn't he in trouble with aiding the enemy?

[journalist3072]

143. Bastard! eom

[not fooled]

154. "BASTERT"

rhymes w/...

[Roland99]

148. WWL Reporting he issued a NEW Statement

Something to the effec that he "won't rest until everyone gets the help they need."

Went on to say we should think about how to rebuild New Orleans.

[chknltl]

152. mmmm.... thinking.... not one of his specialties....

....likely got told "ixnay on the insensitive statements in-front of reporters thingy". New circus trick for repukes: backpedaling!
:-) my first smile of the day, its the little things....

[NNN0LHI]

155. They say it could take a month to get all the floodwater out of the city.

But then what? How many homes will never be rebuilt? How many businesses will never bounce back? How many people who left will never come back, because there's nothing to come back to? If you're going to start all over again, do you do so in a city that's in ruins, or another town?

From the New Orleans Times-Picayune's five-part series in 2002 about what would happen if a major hurricane struck:

"Amid this maelstrom, the estimated 200,000 or more people left behind in an evacuation will be struggling to survive. Some will be housed at the Superdome, the designated shelter . . . for people too sick or infirm to leave the city. Others will end up in last-minute emergency refuges that will offer minimal safety. But many will simply be on their own, in homes or looking for high ground.

"Thousands will drown while trapped in homes or cars by rising water. Others will be washed away or crushed by debris. Survivors will end up trapped on roofs, in buildings or on high ground surrounded by water, with no means of escape and little food or fresh water, perhaps for several days."

Unfortunately, that report turned out to be all too accurate. Even Times-Picayune staffers had to flee for their lives, unable to publish a traditional newspaper amid rising floodwaters.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/roeper/cst-nws-roeper01.html

[VegasWolf]

156. But rebuilding Baghdad is imperative!!! nt

[Gregorian]

174. But we're rebuilding Baghdad.

This is utterly and absolutely wrong. It cannot be reconciled.
Furthermore, our tax dollars are not being used HERE, in our own country.
There is no rebuilding of Iraq until the hurricane damage is repaired. Bush has caused the world irreparable damage. He is unfit to be president.

[scottxyz]

157. Bush & Chertoff: Airdropping in water and sandwiches "doesn't make sense"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4551889

[VegasWolf]

159. Bush to airdrop emergency Bibles instead. nt

[KamaAina]

162. Try MREs instead of sandwiches

sandwiches take too long to make, besides New Orleanians are used to their po-boys :-)

[kestrel91316]

160. Newsflash to dumbass Hastert:

NOLA doesn't need to be "rebuilt". True, many homes have been lost to the waters, but from what I have seen, the French Quarter is still standing. Downtown's high-rises are still standing. Most of the city is STILL THERE.

What is needed is to get the city drained and then get the infrastructure up and running again. You know, things like electricity, water supply, wastewater treatment, etc.

Rebuilding is what is going to be needed in Biloxi and Gulfport. What do you have to say about them being rebuilt? Seems unwise to me. They are ALWAYS getting hit.

Oh, yeah, right. They voted Red.

[Nothing Without Hope]

161. Recommended. After all, Mr. Hastert wants to be our next president and

he is already preparing for it.

He must believe that most people in America will agree with this statement and think him "brave and honest" to say it.

New Orleans would not have drowned without the levees neglected because of Bush Administration cuts and the failure of the promised levee-patching Black Hawk helicopters with sandbags to SHOW THE F**K UP. Read about this and more outrages in this thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4523783
Thread title: CNN/New Orleans:"Mayor blasts failure to patch levee breeches" and that's {only the beginning:}

[TankLV]

163. I am appalled at the insensitivity of some fellow DU'rs here.

Extremely appalled an horrified.

I will remember each and every one of the when it's THEIR turn to suffer and they come crying for help!

It is more than disgusting.

[akarnitz]

169. Where is Hastert's district in Illinois?

I thought it was in the western part of the state. If so, was any part of the district affected by the Mississippi River flooding in the '90's?

[HuckleB]

172. But it's ok to continue to allow places like Phoenix, Atlanta & Houston

to sprawl out, using ridiculous amounts of resources, helping to generate byproducts that lead to global warming, and costing everyone else in the country money to support their freeways and provide them with energy.

Sheesh. Scum is scum.

[Rex]

175. Hastert give the big FUCK YOU finger

to anyone that lives in/around New Orleans. I don't know WHY people put up with these assholes anymore! Helllllllllllo Dems!!!!!!!!!