Posted on 12/03/2005 1:07:40 PM PST by abb
WASHINGTON — After battling in Congress for months to get more federal money for their hurricane-ravaged state, some Louisiana officials have come to believe they are up against something more than concerns about the budget deficit or conflicting visions of reconstruction.
Maybe, they speculate, their colleagues just don't trust them.
What is clear is that the initial outpouring of sympathy for victims in the state hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina has been replaced on Capitol Hill by a climate of suspicion — even resentment — toward what is seen as an increasingly demanding supplicant.
Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) echoed sentiments expressed by many of his colleagues when he insisted recently that every federal dollar sent to Louisiana be strictly monitored.
The result of such attitudes, say current and former Louisiana officials, is that the reconstruction effort has been hampered as basic questions about the federal government's commitment to the effort remain unanswered.
Louisiana officials testifying before Congress have faced so many questions about whether the state's history of corruption made it a poor risk for massive federal aid that they developed a counter-response: They list other states where politicians have been charged with misdeeds and remind their questioners that Congress has its own ethical woes.
But some lawmakers say the Louisiana delegation has only itself to blame for the mounting tension over the federal government's obligations for rebuilding Louisiana.
They single out Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.), who has made angry speeches on the Senate floor and kept the chamber in session overnight in October, holding up other legislation, as she pressed her colleagues for more aid. Some Republicans say her tone, which they describe as "shrill," has alienated her colleagues and undercut her efforts.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
As a native Louisianian, and resident for most of my life, I say, yes, do scrutinize every penny that goes into the Bayou State.
as corrupt as Louisiana is, I don't blame anyone for being skittish about handing over billions of $$ with no close oversight...
You can't give people more money than they can steal.
Even congresscritters have limits to their stupidity.
So9
Heck, they were sending cops on Vegas vacations before the flood was over. Nagin tried the classic NO politican tactic (screw you, we're the ones in power), and found out it didn't work on a national scale.
This attempt at money grab from Louisiana is nothing new to me and 40 years watching all the stealing!
I think the cops they were sending to Las Vegas were the hundreds of phantom cops.
...LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!..gezzzz ya think?
Doogle
A naked gamble, so to speak.
;-)
**EXCLUSIVE: MUST CREDIT THE DEAD PELICAN!**
New details are surfacing concerning New Orleans' former Superintendent of Police, Eddie "the hat" Compass, sources tell The Dead Pelican.
Compass' abrupt resignation from NOPD was, according to sources, brought about by a number of factors that were rapidly approaching critical mass. In other words, the situation had reached a level at which things can no longer be concealed, hushed up or downplayed without calling in too many favors or costing too much money. In other words, Ray Nagin wasn't about to risk his political career to cover up for Compass any more than he already had without implicating himself in the upcoming scandals, so he orchestrated Compass' move to the private sector, sources tell The Dead Pelican.
There are also interesting questions about how and why Compass got his new "security" gig with the hotels.
Sources also say that both Compass and his wife were in possession of, and using daily, cars that had been "appropriated" from Sewell Cadillac right after the hurricane! This was widely known at "street level" and also known to AG Foti's investigation of the post-Katrina looting of Sewell Cadillac by NOPD, sources tell Rogers. Well placed insiders tell The Dead Pelican that it is all being “hushed up” for political reasons. “Compass isn't the only big shot who got a "free ride," sources tell The Dead Pelican.
Insiders predict that this will all come out when the results of the investigation are made public.
Developing...
The latest is that the governor's office and the state treasurer's office do not know how many state employees Louisiana has, nor do they know how many are on the job. They do know that all are being paid.
I am all for scrutiny vs. unmonitored handing over the cash. Shrill complaining never really cuts it, not in kids, not in welfare states. imho
I just compare the state of Alabama to it's neighbor, Louisiana and every time, it leaves me dizzy. Just look at the two extremes of how two states were managed before, during and after the very same severe conditions.
Mississippi?
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Must be a Yankee.
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