Posted on 01/29/2006 6:51:06 AM PST by Uncle Sham
I don't think Pres. Bush is the only one who thinks La. does not have a plan; I don't see Congress jumping on the bandwagon either. La. hurt their credibility big time when they offered up the $250 billion request.
John Kerry had a plan too.
Did Blanko borrow one of John Kerry's plans? He seems to have had an abundance of them.
And here lies the problem. Take the real estate in the 9th Ward. The current levees could not even stand up to Category 2 conditions. What is the point of bundling up that real estate for redevelopment if it is just going to get flooded again?
And even if we were to build Cat-5 levees, the entire region is subsiding - so they might be back to Cat-3 in a few decades.
And that does not even address the corruption in levee construction that apparently contributed to failures. We could spend 30 billion to make supposed Cat 5 levees just to have them fail because of shoddy construction because the Levee Commission gave a contract to a hack.
So Blanco and company have a plan for buying up this real estate. But the political pathologies that magnified the scale of this disaster are still in place. And until the people of Louisiana get rid of their corrupt hack politicians, there will be resistance to sending a hundred billion more dollars there.
I hate to be so blunt, but that is the overwhelming feeling I get from those I talk to about this.
If several billions haven't yet corrected the problems, then something is seriously wrong with the way the money is being used.
As as long as I'm being mean here---I'd love to see all the refugees lounging around at government expense return to Louisiana and be made to help rebuild over there.
This plan had wide-spread Congressional support before the holidays but was held up by the Bush Administration.
Why should we trust the same people (the incumbent politicians of Louisiana) who helped create this mess (and who raked off large sums for their own pockets in the process) to do anything correct and legit about fixing the mess?
(Ray Nagin among others should be in jail or defending themselves in court--having 1700 police on the rolls drawing salaries when there are only 1000 actually on the force is a crime in most places.)
We will get rid of them at the very first opportunity I can assure you of that. Nagin and Blanco for starters are toast. Although I think their problem is more incompetence then corruption it's a start.
The plan her governess wants is a Blanko Checko for Blanko signed by US government
The Baker bill passed the House committee easily to be moved on. It was held up by the White House. So it did indeed have some congressional support. If the president wants to say he doesn't like the plan thats fine. But to say Louisiana didn't have a plan is just not being informed on the subject.
In other words, trust us, we represent the people's interest.
So the people too stupid to buy incredibly cheap FEMA flood insurance are supposed to be bailed out?
Oh, I don't think so...
Blanco orders remodeling just after storms Office tab: $564,838
And you can bet Blanco and company have a plan: Screw the American taxpayer. Again.
As everyone else in areas of the country that are hit by acts of nature such as tornadoes. I haven't seen any government "plans" for any of the people who lose homes and lives all over the country and don't have 24/7 coverage of the "poor" who were told, at least, 3 days in advance to GET OUT and take, at least, a weeks worth of medicine, clothes, water, food, etc. and DID NOTHING.
Go to snopes.com. Type in the search box "New Orleans Police". Click on the first link that comes up. I haven't seen anything anywhere that verifies this story. If it's verified by an investigation then throw the book at them. Until then it's nothing but a rumor.
That's stupidity, not corruption. There is a difference you know.
I think this is what the Republican plan is. Instead of all of Louisiana, I think it should be in devastated areas and areas that will better remedy soil erosion (especially coastal). This plan will better suit black New Orleans Democrats who never had adequate representation and could "transform" Louisiana with better representation.
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