Facts on the ground

The Bush administration is "concerned" about folks moving back into New Orleans before the Feds say it's okay. Link

This cautionary was in reaction to Mayor Nagin's announced plan to allow residents to begin returning to their homes, little by little, zip code by zip code, not only to begin their own recovery but also to fill the jobs that will be created by the reconstruction effort. Admiral Thad Allen has urged a delay, but "has stopped short of saying that the federal government would try to halt it." He plans to meet with the Mayor today.

Now, this time it's possible that my cynicism is unwarranted, but it seems to me that Mayor Nagin may have figured out that the best way to protect New Orleanians from having their property taken in some sort of grand gentrification scheme under the Administration's reconstruction plans is to have folks return, as "facts on the ground," you might say. Even Karl Rove might balk at evacuating them all over again.