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Barbour proving leadership with Katrina recovery effort
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Since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in late August, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has proved to be the epitome of leadership, in stark contrast to Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco.
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That leadership continued last week as Barbour, accompanied by Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale, traveled to Washington to press Congress for the money necessary to rebuild and revitalize our state. While the $33.8 billion relief package sought by Mississippi officials is certainly no pocket change, it is but a drop in the bucket compared to Louisiana's pie-in-the-sky attempt to grab all it can under the guise of hurricane relief.
Although Louisiana has not submitted an official request for hurricane relief to Congress, officials, including Blanco and U.S. Sens. Mary Landrieu and David Vitter, have hammered together a $250 billion request. Barbour says -- and rightly so -- that Louisiana's inflated request has left a bad taste in Congress' mouth. In light of our western neighbor's foot-dragging and outlandish desires, our governor has asked the federal government to consider Mississippi's needs separate from Louisiana's -- an unprecedented move that seems entirely appropriate.
"We just feel like the pace is such that it would make sense in this case," Barbour told reporters last week, and we wholeheartedly concur.
Barbour has shown leadership since Katrina's landfall Aug. 28 and continues to do so today. Thanks, in part, to the governor, Mississippi appears to be handling its recovery efforts responsibly and with an eye toward saving money.
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©The Daily Leader 2009
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Camilla Froiland |
Nov, 15 2005 |
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I live in Louisiana; my home was in Lakeview, one of the areas destroyed by a levee break. LA/N.O. politics are corrupt as you can get with greed and fraud rampant. I can't see any progress being made rebuilding the area; it was in a state of decay and neglect prior to the hurricane and now it is devastated. I will never feel safe here again; the state and city do nothing for the citizens; it's all words and propaganda. Louisiana was a "banana republic" before and will never emerge from that state. New Orleans has made some recovery; the meter maids are giving parking tickets and if you don't get your N. O. brake tag renewed, you'll be fined. Isn't that special? There is no electricity in the majority of the city, businesses are failing, there are mountains of trash and garbage in all the parks and green spaces available and the authorities said "don't worry about it; it will SINK." And we are comforted by the promise that the levees will be "shored up" before the next hurricane season. That makes me feel perfectly at ease. Judging from what happens to all the money the state, parish and city make disappear with no visible effects except making family and friends of politicians wealthy, I do not imagine any monies gotten from the federal government will be used to really help the people get what they need to restore or protect them, their businesses and their homes. After spending 6 weeks in MS as evacuees and receiving more help and practical assistance than I've ever seen in my life in Louisiana; my husband and I would love to leave LA and return to live in MS. There is a lot of good things to be said about your state. I feel sorry for myself and the people of this area. The politicians keep it all status quo for their benefit and the people continue to suffer.
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