Steve, maybe you can connect the dots on a story that I am familiar with only in a sketchy sort of way.

The African-American community concerned about New Orleans has spoken much about a "Right to Return" movement. Essentially, many Blacks displaced by Katrina are not getting any assistance in their efforts to return to their hometown --- and rumor is that there is a deliberate private-sector/public-sector conspiracy afoot. These Blacks want the Federal government to commit to a "Right to Return" policy, promising them a right to return to their former homes, and many Congresspersons have been approached to pass a bill to this effect.

The Blacks may have good reason to be alarmed. The conspiracy rumor goes that many of the real estate developers interested in New Orleans see this as a golden opportunity to effectively "ship out" tens of thousands of poor Blacks (in fact, they have already been shipped out) ... and, with a virtually empty Ninth Ward, the developers can move in and build a resort and gambling mecca that rivals Las Vegas, where only modest little bungalow homes stood pre-Katrina. And then they can lobby the Federal government to fix the levies properly, after the developers have secured their new territory.

Ha! Gay people have no monopoly on decadence, it seems! Ironic was the day when that street was named, "Desire"!

Of course, if there is any truth to this rumor, the Blacks of New Orleans know that, once again, their unfortunate plight is being exploited. And the rumor would also go far to explain why the government might be sitting on its hands for years to come, waiting for those who want to return to give up, or even die.

So, Steve ... have you heard this rumor, too? And if so, do you think there is any truth to it? What might you have heard?

A.J.:

I've heard variations on the rumor. It's been fairly well documented that many displaced New Orleans residents have not received the financial assistance they need to return. However, as far as I know, no one has looked specifically at the racial breakdown among those who did or didn't receive any aid.

New Orleans has always been a racially divided city, and there's no doubt that some white residents of the Big Easy would prefer not to see the Ninth Ward rebuilt, or to see its residents return to the city. However, those residents were really the economic backbone of New Orleans. They ran the casinos, bars, restaurants and hospitality industry in general. Without them, it seems almost impossible that New Orleans could ever regain its complete economic strength.

The 'Right to Return' campaign will no doubt be controversial, and no doubt support will split along racial lines. But, the white residents of New Orleans have failed, again and again, to understand just how important the residents of the Ninth Ward are to their own survival.