Bulldozers on Saturday

This weekend the federal government will begin destroying the public housing buildings in New Orleans. These are units that were damaged somewhat -- but not structurally -- by Katrina and have been closed to residents who wanted to return ever since.

They are going to be replaced by mixed-income private development. There will be some affordable units, but only a small fraction of the total number there were before. HUD is the agency that controls this; they also have the support of much of the city and state political world. Thanks to the efforts of Maxine Waters, the US House voted in March to require 1-for-1 replacement of public housing units but the Senate hasn't yet done something on the bill. Senator Landrieu supports it, but Senator Vitter opposes it, as the Times-Picayune reviewed on Wednesday.

Thanks to this move, fewer New Orleans residents will be able to return home, at least any time soon.

John Edwards -- who opposes public housing complexes in general, in favor of the notion of 'dispersing' poverty -- issued a statement on Tuesday opposing the demolitions.

Democracy Now ran a segment on it Wednesday.

Public housing residents and out-of-town activists have vowed to block the bulldozers.