Posted on 09/07/2005 10:00:50 PM PDT by Uncle Joe Cannon
Largess in Louisiana Money Flowed to Questionable Projects State Leads in Army Corps Spending, but Millions Had Nothing to Do With Floods
By Michael Grunwald Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, September 8, 2005; Page A01
-snip-
In Katrina's wake, Louisiana politicians and other critics have complained about paltry funding for the Army Corps in general and Louisiana projects in particular. But over the five years of President Bush's administration, Louisiana has received far more money for Corps civil works projects than any other state, about $1.9 billion; California was a distant second with less than $1.4 billion, even though its population is more than seven times as large.
Much of that Louisiana money was spent to try to keep low-lying New Orleans dry. But hundreds of millions of dollars have gone to unrelated water projects demanded by the state's congressional delegation and approved by the Corps, often after economic analyses that turned out to be inaccurate. Despite a series of independent investigations criticizing Army Corps construction projects as wasteful pork-barrel spending, Louisiana's representatives have kept bringing home the bacon.
For example, after a $194 million deepening project for the Port of Iberia flunked a Corps cost-benefit analysis, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) tucked language into an emergency Iraq spending bill ordering the agency to redo its calculations. The Corps also spends tens of millions of dollars a year dredging little-used waterways such as the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, the Atchafalaya River and the Red River -- now known as the J. Bennett Johnston Waterway, in honor of the project's congressional godfather -- for barge traffic that is less than forecast.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
After hearing the reports that the state officials stop the Red Cross from start relief at the Superdome, I'm beginning to think some state DEM idiots might have planned to use the press for Bush bashing.
The use dead Senators. Why not a hurricane?
I think the floodwaters of LA are going to wash up more than it's corrupt government bargained for. Been a long time coming.
I have likened the people of Iraq to the abused wife syndrome also.
"Someday a real rain is going to come, and wash all the scum off the streets."
I don't care who ya are, that there is funny!
And true. ;>)
I hope you are not holding your breath 'til then.
BUSH SPENT MORE ON NEW ORLEANS THAN CLINTON!
My conclusion? Clinton doesn't care about black people.
Clinton spent less because he doesn't care about black people.
There is only one conclusion to draw from Clinton spending less: he must not care about black people.
But overall, the Bush administration's funding requests for the key New Orleans flood-control projects for the past five years were slightly higher than the Clinton administration's for its past five years. Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, the chief of the Corps, has said that in any event, more money would not have prevented the drowning of the city, since its levees were designed to protect against a Category 3 storm, and the levees that failed were already completed projects. Strock has also said that the marsh-restoration project would not have done much to diminish Katrina's storm surge, which passed east of the coastal wetlands.
And while I don't necessarily believe that's true, it's how the left plays the game. Offense. And we're always on defense.
Notice how that information was BURIED in the article...way way way down?? :) Leftist reporters crack me up.
That there was even such a thing as "the levee board", and that one could gain a much-coveted seat on it, and thereby
be considered to have "arrived" politically, shows just how wayward and corrupt the system (not just) down there has become. It is after all only a model for so much of entrenched bureaucracy---these "boards" are political way-stations for politicians scrambling on the way up. Their mandate *seems* to be to *do something*, but in fact, there is no mandate besides the self-congratulation that comes to and from one political hack to another at having got "a seat on the board": the position therefore is seen as an end in itself, forget about what the actual function and mission of the board was. THIS is what politics has largely become in our country---it's a wonder we survive it. THESE ARE NOT PEOPLE WHO WANT TO SOLVE PROBLEMS---THEY ARE POLITICAL HACKS.
That there was even such a thing as "the levee board", and that one could gain a much-coveted seat on it, and thereby
be considered to have "arrived" politically, shows just how wayward and corrupt the system (not just) down there has become. It is after all only a model for so much of entrenched bureaucracy---these "boards" are political way-stations for politicians scrambling on the way up. Their mandate *seems* to be to *do something*, but in fact, there is no mandate besides the self-congratulation that comes to and from one political hack to another at having got "a seat on the board": the position therefore is seen as an end in itself, forget about what the actual function and mission of the board was. THIS is what politics has largely become in our country---it's a wonder we survive it. THESE ARE NOT PEOPLE WHO WANT TO SOLVE PROBLEMS---THEY ARE POLITICAL HACKS.
Hmmm -- Go Figure.
But pork and mud (and lots of water) got us into this mess - perhaps it's time for all politicians to do some self-reflecting. Especially those directly involved in this situation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.