I know ThinkProgress has its hands full with all the scandals, and I very much appreciate the time you’ve been able to devote to the Katrina situation. If time permits, can you please do something about how shortchanged Louisiana was by comparison to Trent Lott’s Mississippi? We had 75% of the damage, and he was able to push through legislation limiting us to 54% of the recovery money–guaranteeing his state received far more than an equitable share, and Louisiana far less.

It’s a symptom of how shamelessly the last Congress politicized everything.

Comment by Agamemnon — August 29, 2007 @ 1:18 pm

That’s how sad the democratic party is getting. That comment is so representitive of how ignorant some of you are. Joe Lieberman is one of the biggest liberals, even more liberal than any of the hopefuls running now, and he is hated by the left for agreeing with GWB on one issue. The far left is ruining what was once a great party and it’s time to take it back. Go back and revisit your history book you ignorant fools. JFK would shun what the party has become. JFK is the model the democratic party needs to win elections. You envoke his spirit when the time calls for it, but rarely do you represent it!!!

Comment by Jeremy — August 29, 2007 @ 10:42 am

What happend to my city can be summed up in one word, neglect! We have been neglected by a severly flawed system that we are all responsible for. Neglect from our incompetent goverment, at every level, dating back at least fifty years. The federal, state, and city goverment did not care enough to build the levee system that was supposed to protect us from these storms. The Army Core of Engineers did a poor job engineering and constructing them. The city goverment did a poor job making sure the Core was doing what they were assigned to do and maintaining them after they were built. The state did a poor job of matching the funding from the federal goverment, and working with congress to ensure the levee system was viable. The state also failed to lobby for moneys to be spent on restoring our wetlands; the natural barrier that protects us first from major huricanes. The federal goverment did a poor job funding these projects, for fifty years! Even though the majority (80 percent) of oil and gas comes from, our through Louisiana, we get nothing in oil and gas revenues from the federal goverment. Why? Because of a deal made fifty years ago by a dirty politician who misled it’s citizens. And I did a poor job of, ignoring all of this. I did a poor job because I elected some, and ignored the others. I failed to hold them accountable. We failed as well as the politicians, to keep this great city going in good directions for all of it’s people by electing strong leaders.

I have lived here my whole life. I have seen New Orleans decline for the past thirty years. The poilticians, with their greed and lust for power, destroyed this city before Katrina did. The introduction of crack cocaine into the city was the fatal blow. We are a welfare city. We have a large housing project and section eight community, funded by the federal goverment. Generation after generation grow up in these projects with no intentions of ever leaving. The majority of poor people in New Orleans feel they are owed this housing, and to be taken cared of by the goverment. It’s a sad mentality, but it is what it is. It’s a part of New Orleans the rest of America never knew about until Katrina.

The local and state goverment did not have an adequate evacuation plan, which led to the chaos after the levee failures. There were busses assigned, but no drivers! People knew the Superdome was going to open as a shelter for last resort, so a lot of them drove there, instead of leaving town. What most people who are not from here don’t understand is, for the past twenty years we have had many close calls from huricanes. They tell us to leave, and the storm then goes in a different direction, missing us. A lot of people had what we call “evacuation fatigue”. This also led to people not evacuating. The segment of the population that could not leave, should have been the responsibillity of the city and state goverment, not the federal goverment. They failed to implement and run a working plan that led to the deaths of it’s citizens!!! Eighty six percent of the people who died were senior citizens, the people who needed help the most. It is a miricale that more people did not die. The blame is on the current mayor and governor, as well as past ones, for not doing what they were elected to do, to serve the people. To not create and implement a complete working evacuation plan is criminal in my opinion. Their only priority was the evacuation routes out of New Orleans. Theres more to an evacuation plan than routes.

Forty billion gallons of water poured into one hundred square miles of The Greater New Orleans area. I never thought the city I loved so much would be reduced to what it is. We are coming back, slowly. One day at a time for most. We will rebuild whether we get help or not. If we could get our fair share of the oil and gas revenues we deserve, we would be self suffecient and not need anymore federal money. We have the money that was sent to help rebuild, and are spending it wisely. The money is there, please don’t believe we aren’t getting help, it’s a lie. The programs the governor has implemented are working really slow, our are not working at all. The Road Home is one of them.

Comment by Concerned Citizen

George’s Brush-Cutting Services. He’ll have his Secret Service contingent do all the work.

Comment by Johnny Swank

The image of Joe giving the pres a big kiss showed how much of a democrat Joe is.

Comment by Concerned Citizen — August 29, 2007 @ 9:43 am

I don’t understand why he would even get a pension being that we are paying him 400K per year to f*ck up everything he gets involved in.

Democrats accept all Americans, Republicans don’t.

Like the way they accepted Joe Lieberman after he agreed with ONE thing the president did. Your funny!!!

Comment by toasterhead — August 29, 2007 @ 9:47 am

And don’t forget, Paps Bush already bought and paid for the property, just like he has done for every other thing Dubya has ever had (Yale sheepskin, Vietnam dodger status, 2 failed oil companies, 1 Texas Governorship, 2 presidencies, Crawford “ranch”, fake Texas accent, Barney, Cheney, the list goes on).

So, along with no US extradition treaty in Paraguay, Dubya will do OK, as long as Paps and Babs are there to wipe his sorry ass.

In his first public appearance since undergoing emergency brain surgery in December, Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) announced, “I am back.”

So, I guess this is finally the proof we needed: Some Senators actually do have brains.

I cannot imagine.

Comment by Null and aVoid Chocolate Jesus — August 29, 2007 @ 10:51 am

Oh, I remember. I also remember that at the same time they were arming & helping Iran, too, in exchange for hostages and money to fund the Contras. So it’s more like “my frenemy’s frenemy.”

period.

Comment by Concerned Citizen — August 29, 2007 @ 9:54 am

That “ranch” needs to be confiscated and turned into a Rest and Recuperation facility for our weary vets. Might be a fitting place for the eventual Iraq war memorial.

Somehow I think we know the answer to that.

Comment by Tryon — August 29, 2007 @ 10:21 am

*sight*

More rightard talking points. Ever say anything you think up yourself, or is that too hard?

Stop it with all the logic, you’re making Hendlers brain hurt. What your statement is implying is there are more than two sides in this world….

Hendler and his inbred ilk use the simplistic logic “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”……Sadr = Bad ….Iran backed Militia = Bad.. Iran backed Militia fighting Sadr..uuuhhhnnnn….who is the bad one? who should I root for?

remember, these are the idiots who were arming + helping hussien because iran was our mutual enemy…..guess that “my enemy’s enemy” logic didnt work out too well for them…