"Me-Maw's tranked"
Posted on 11/06/2005 5:46:06 AM PST by Ellesu
We are finally getting back to normal, as the state Legislature convenes today, apparently prepared to enrich its own members and incur ruinous debts for the taxpayer.
Gov. Kathleen Blanco's call for the Katrina session will remove any doubts in Washington that Louisiana does not deserve the money it is requesting for relief and cannot be trusted with a dime.
Blanco, who came to office touting ethics, says it is perfectly fine for public officials to handle government reconstruction contracts on the side. "They are private citizens initially," Blanco said. But contractors who are just private citizens will be at a serious disadvantage. The spoils will go to senator this, or police juror that, every time.
Blanco offers a veneer of probity by requiring that public officials report their Katrina profits to the state ethics board. But the board is too feeble ever to scare a politician straight, and the stampede for easy moolah is on.
These may be happy days for politicians, but their constituents are not so lucky, for Blanco proposes massive borrowing, and only modest retrenchments, to deal with the budget deficit wrought by Katrina. The deficit is projected at $1.5 billion, but Blanco has not sought any cuts over the $300 million she can impose by executive order. It is too late in the fiscal year to save much more, according to the administration.
If it is too late, the only reason is that Blanco is none too swift. It was a gross dereliction to wait until November before calling a session in response to a hurricane that struck in August.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
"Me-Maw's tranked"
Governor Blanco Addresses the Legislature
Tonight at 6:30
See Governor Kathleen Blanco's live address to the opening of the special session of the Louisiana Legislature.
http://int.lpb.org/live.ram
Greedy pigs.
The current budget, at a record $19 billion, is a bloated abomination. The scope for slashing superfluous spending is enormous, yet Blanco has been silent even on such blatant rip-offs as the rural and urban slush funds that legislators use on a whim to reward cronies back home.
A responsible and diligent Legislature would go through the budget line by line excising every boondoggle in sight. It's a pity we don't have one.
State Treasurer John Kennedy says it is a big mistake to borrow money that could be realized through budgetary rigor, with an assist from the rainy day fund. He is a queer fish to find in Louisiana politics, for he knows what he is talking about and seems to be on the level. They must hate his guts at the state Capitol.
Blanco is in the tank-o.
She is STILL the gov? I would have thought she would have been impeached by now!
The citizens and voters of Louisiana deserve everything negative they get. They voted for this incompetent Democrat swine, and after Hurricane Katrina, they had an opportunity to throw her and the other vermin Democrats into the street. They chose to be like sheep, being led to the slaughter, and did nothing. Now they can pay the price in higher taxes, less governmental service and support, and condoned criminal activity. Why, my goodness, Louisiana looks more and more like France every day.
Apparently their fiscal year runs Jan 1 to Dec. 31. Can anyone confirm this? If anyone is really interested, studying the existing years budget might reveal appropriations which were made for out years. Those could certainly be curtailed.
It will be interesting to watch this one unfold.
Haven't you heard it's all Brownie's fault.
It's funny that I didn't even know who Brown was during Florida's 4 hurricanes last year. The media kept saying Jeb Bush better perform well.
The constitution gives all the power to the governor during a natural disaster but Fema gets blamed. Who would ever want to work for Fema. You have no power and then get blamed for the incompetence of the governor. Fema has 2,000 people. It is basically an insurance agency that hands out money.
Blanco, Nagin, and that idiot on Meet the Press Broussard were making the decisions. Those three do all the damage and get to stay in power and dem congressmen like Melenchon can be Blanco's water boy and put all the blame on Brownie.
I didn't vote for Blanco. Kicking her out would be fine with me but I am very busy at the moment. I am digging out the sluge out of my home. I am waiting on inspectors. I just got electricity. I was without water for a time after Katrina. I lost my car and am looking for a replacement within my budget. We were dining on MREs because there wasn't one business open. So as soon as I get all these things accomplished, I will go to the polls when the time comes and VOTE her out as well as Mary Landrieu.
Guess she won't be going to the Saints game today....
She barely got into office, so it isn't like she won with a huge margin. There was a groundswell to impeach her but then we got slammed with Rita and people are simply trying to recover and get their homes and jobs in order before winter. Several parishes were literally wiped off the map. Politics is the last thing on those folks mind at the moment.
It's one thing to sit on your ass bitching and moaning and quite another to actually be out there dealing with the aftermath of two major hurricanes striking a month apart. The entire southern coast was nearly wiped off the map and the damage in areas is 100 miles inland.
Let me add for all those who don't realize it, the good folks that work in the refineries and other petrochemical industries have been working tirelessly to get them back online so that the rest of the country can get cheap gas and heating fuel. My brother works for Dynegy in Johnson Bayou and there were 4 employees that still had homes yet they are working around the clock in order to get back online so that the people up north won't freeze to death because they process heating fuel.
FEMA did not perform that great either. They change their policies on a whim and the mass confusion is frustrating. There are some serious problems that needs to be addressed because God help us if there is a major terrorist attack on a major city. Personally I say dismantle FEMA and people will get back to taking responsibility for themselves like they used to do.
Blanko and the others were on their way to impeachment when Hurricane Rita struck three weeks later. The people here in southwest, south central and southeastern Louisiana are too busy cleaning up and getting their lives, homes and jobs back in order before winter to deal with the politics of this mess at the moment. They will be dealt with after we get back on our feet.
I understand that she did cut $500 million yesterday evening. An inside source said this was to "please the conservatives". I bet this ouchy piece may have influenced this also.
We are just now moving out of the initial crisis phase of Wilma. It seems to me that everyone has wasted a lot of time and effort trying to prodice services that people don't really need. We have seen 3 hr lines to get free water and ice. I drove by one where I bought ice for $1.39. Roof tarps, available at Home Depot, are also the subject of "programs."
Well said. Too many adults have forgotten how to act their age. It does not take a whole lot of money or time if you simply always stay prepared. I for sure didn't want to stand in line in 100 degree heat for some ice, and water.
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