Free Republic

It may be just me but I see a compelling parallel with the situation in Iraq and the situation in New Orleans. Both have suffered though a disaster, one from nature and one man made. However, regardless of the cause both were equally devastating on the populace and the "government." In New Orleans case the people suffered several casualties but major property loss and social disruption. In Iraq's case they suffered considerably more casualties, come property loss and certainly social disruption. It's interesting to note the differences in the response of the two populaces. New Orleans appears to be waiting...

FairPoint Communications owned one small rural telephone business in Kansas when the company first came to New England in 1994 to buy a cluster of small, rural operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. More than a decade later, the same small company is asking utility regulators in those three states to approve a deal with Verizon - the region's largest carrier - that will catapult FairPoint into the big leagues of the telecom industry. But before the company can swallow up Verizon's traditional telephone service in northern New England, FairPoint must prove to regulators that it has the money,...