Well, Mr. President...

...even here in America, if the central government wants a railroad - or a hospital - they get it - no matter how many homes are bulldozed.  We've seen that here in New Orleans, where demolition of a neighborhood has been facilitated by the federal government, namely federal agencies like VA, FEMA, and HUD.

"All of it will take time. And it will be harder because we will argue about everything. The cost. The details. The letter of every law.

Of course, some countries don’t have this problem. If the central government wants a railroad, they get a railroad – no matter how many homes are bulldozed. If they don’t want a bad story in the newspaper, it doesn’t get written.

Fortunately, the bad stories do make it into the newspaper here on occasion.  Once in a while, they do get written.

A Letter to the President

Dick Moe, the outgoing head of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, made Lower Mid-City the subject of his final act after 17 years with the Trust, sending this letter to President Obama:

I hope you will consider the opportunity for your legacy in Louisiana to include saving the historic Mid-City neighborhood from the bulldozers in New Orleans. Forty years from now, the next generation will certainly look back on these hospital plans with the same bewilderment we now feel in response to that elevated highway: How on earth could anyone have thought that was a good idea? 

ht/FHL