[ez]

...Tourism kept it, well, afloat, but large swaths of the city were mired in poverty for decades...

Same can be said of Atlantic City, NJ.

[stopem]

On Drudge: Condoleeza Rice, "KATRINA: Condoleezza Rice: 'When it's rebuilt, it should be rebuilt in a different way than it was at the time that this happened... maybe now on the heels of New Orleans' there could be an effort to 'deal with the problem of persistent poverty'..."

Hopefully by not using taxpayers money to house these people (katrina evacuees) for the rest of their lives, or increase their welfare checks.

Condie says to rebuild in "a different way", what is she specifically proposing? I wish she could see what these people are doing in a motel and a extended stay motel in the Dallas area. Yesterday our friend who is a security guard at the extended stay motel said the manager had to put the entire place in lockdown because these people are getting out of hand, illegal drugs are running rampant. (unsubstantiated)

When the government is picking up the tab using taxpayers money what should they build to house these people? Proven fact regardless of how nice a place that is built to house them it all winds up trashed and a ghetto.

[Phrostie]

"What the American people have seen in this incredible disparity in which those people who had cars and money got out, and those people who were impoverished died."

Ted knows from experience

[ncountylee]

"an extreme example of what the welfare state has done to the poor for decades: use the promise of food, shelter and other necessities to lure most of the poor to a few central points and then leave them stranded and nearly helpless."

What Kennedy wants more of.

Liver do your duty!

[astounded]

I just read a media piece that talked about the extreme trashing of the Superdome following Katrina by the poor blacks who went there. They destroyed nearly everything in the Dome, except the highest reaches. While readers may wish to think this was a response to the need for water and food, I was unaware that the same thing happened in 1998 when the same group was moved there in anticipation of a hurricane - Georges, I believe. This is not a response to physical needs, it is a group mentality brought on by welfare dependency and lack of any socialization among too many blacks in NO. This is an indicator that a more "progressive" society is not good. We need a more conservative, self-sufficient society.

NO has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to remake itself and assist all who so desire a chance to rise above poverty and enter the mainstream of American life. My guess is those who don't want to work will remain where they have been evacuated, becoming a burden and plague on the good city that took them in. Texas, in my opinion, looks to be a net loser in this catastrophe, they just don't know it yet. Given the social cleansing that has occurred, I think NO will win, bigtime as VP Cheney would say.

[Piquaboy]

They will go all out to disprove the fact that the liberalism down there is what done them in.

[Chuck54]

There is not and never will be a greater indication of the failed "Progressive" party's ideals than the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

Sad.......... Hopefully many of the affected will see the error of total government dependency and rethink their prioritities. Some will, most will not.

[standingfirm]

This is a multi-generational mentality - it keeps the poor people down and corrupt officials elected.

Also, whatever happened to the "welfare to work" program? I thought we had ended institutionalized public assistance at the federal level if one was able to work. Did I miss something. Wasn't that a republican idea became a bill that Clinton signed and took credit for?

[Roccus]

Just the thought of that porcine, drunken, pervert murderer questioning the ethics of Roberts makes me want to puke!

[Pessimist]

"those people who had cars and money got out, and those people who were impoverished died"

He should know about cars and water...

[OESY]

Must see video:



There is a shot where Blanco is being set up several days ago for a TV interview, and her press secretary is helping her adjust her mic. They’re having a personal conversation, but the cameraman catches it! In it, she kinda jokes to her press secretary something like “yeah, well I guess I really need to ask for troops,” and a couple more things she says. A bit later in the segment she gets into a semi-argument with CNN reporter Miles O’Brien, and he’s pointedly asking her exactly WHEN she asked the President for troops. She gets frustrated and says she didn’t even know what day it was, she was confused, but Miles presses her. -- Hat tip: Reader LadyCop

DOWNLOAD and view video on thepoliticalteen.net

NOTE: "Some... limitations were built into the Constitution's limits on federal powers. President Bush could not nationalize the Louisiana National Guard without the consent of Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, which was not immediately forthcoming. The Northern Command of the U.S. Army, set up specifically for homeland defense three years ago, also was prevented from acting immediately because the Posse Comitatus Act (circa 1878) bars the army from conducting police activities on U.S. soil without a waiver. The best army in the world was ready, with equipment and men in place, but was left waiting for orders." -- George Melloan, WSJ, 9/13/05, http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112657951035438991,00.html?mod=opinion%5Fmain%5Ffeatured%5Fstories%5Fhs