Free Republic

FEMA asks Louisiana for $3.7 billion By BRETT TROXLER btroxler@wbrz.com 2theadvocate.com staff From a report by News 2's Tony Jones tjones@wbrz.com The federal government is asking Louisiana to come up with more than $3.7 billion. According to FEMA, the amount is a down payment for what the state owes for its share of hurricane relief. Denise Bottcher, a spokeswoman for Gov. Kathleen Blanco, said the state just can't come up with that kind of money. Bottcher said when members of the governor's staff first heard the request, they "just about fell over." Louisiana is already facing a $1 billion budget...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Could Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have another "woman problem" on his hands? He has made headlines in recent months by deriding political opponents as "girlie men" and publicly ridiculing a group of nurses at a state women's conference. His latest effort to paint the state's teachers as little more than a balky special interest group has angered many critics, who have begun to question why constituencies dominated by women have been singled out for such tough talk. "He behaves like an arrogant patriarch with respect to women's occupations," said Rose Ann De Moro, executive director of the...