Can the U.S. Government continue to humiliate and control the poor in

[frankly_fedup2]

Louisiana by continuing to keep them from what is left of their homes as well as any property that they own? You bet they will! These poor, mostly African American neighborhoods have been holding up the redevelopment of New Orleans for years. Now, with the help of a deadly hurricane, Katrina, they can finally let progress of rebuilding for their profit begin. After all, look who has already gotten the contracts to do the cleaning up . . . not the local contractors.

Just like the tragedies of 9/11 gave this administration an excuse to attack a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, but is unfortunate enough to be sitting on the second largest oil reserves in the World; this horrible tragedy of Hurricane Katrina will workout for them in a similar fashion of cronyism, profit, and power.

Again, they and their friends are going to be the only ones who will profit from the hurricanes damages (profit politically as well as financially). Bush and Cheney continue to use these tragedies for any purpose they see fit, and right now, that is purging New Orleans of its poor, and plans of selling the land to developers for a huge profit. It's rumored that these "so-called" developers have been wanting to build a new "Los Vegas" in Louisiana; however, that may just be a rumor.

This administration and its chicken hawks continue to use our fears against us so we will not get too involved, and not ask too many questions regarding what has been going on in this country for the last five years. They constantly use God to get the attention of a large group of people who, apparently, have fallen under Bush's spell, and that would be the Religious Right. The Religious Left has not been fooled by them, their lies, their secrecy of government changes, and claiming all power over the Congress, the SCOUTS, The Constitution itself, and even the people, they say, because we are at war. That is their excuse. . . they are above the law.

Now we are told that our Government is going to help those that have nothing left in New Orleans a big, BIG favor. You believe that? I didn't think so. See below.

Representative Richard H. Baker, a conservative Republican from Louisiana, has proposed rebuilding homes in New Orleans through an $80 billion federal buyout.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/05/ninth.ward/index.html

snip) Those 120 homes are all in the 9th Ward, which has a predominantly black population.
Meffert told CNN on Tuesday there is a delicate balancing act between public safety and property owners' rights. Houses that have "come off the slab and gone into a right of way or into a street" are "really all we're talking about with these 120," he said.

"We have to balance that property owner's notification of -- again, they know it's already demolished -- but to balance that with the fact that this thing is in the street or it's about to hurt somebody," he said.

Some property owners argue that they've been allowed only to look at their homes since the city reopened the 9th Ward December 1 and that there hasn't been adequate time to look for possessions or make big decisions. (end snip)

Representative Baker's bill states to a certain degree that The U.S. government plans on purchasing large areas of New Orleans, but gives the people that previously lived there 60% of what their land and homes were valued at before the storm. That would then make the U.S. Government the largest landowner in the Nation. Then after the Halliburton subsidiary contractors get all the cleanup work, the government will then sell this land at a huge profit to developers. Wonder if these "developers" will be foreign or domestic? Wonder if they will be Saudi Developers. It is still rumored that there plan is for the developers to build another Los Vegas.

However, the residents, who most have lived there all of there lives, just simply want to return to their homes/property hoping to find some of their belongings that might still exist before everything is totally destroyed and/or hauled off by the construction cleanup. These people have only been allowed to drive by in busses to view what was once their homes.

Finally, the people of New Orleans are fed up and have started protesting in what use to be their old neighborhoods. They cannot even look for a family picture that might be left. Also, they have only been allowed to view the areas they lived in. Now they are going in to try to stop the bull dozer's until they can, hopefully, salvage something of their homes.

Basically, the government is going to take their land because they are poor, cannot afford to rebuild, did not have flood insurance, plus the plan is to give them only 60% of their properties value before the storm. Seems like a good deal for the government and future developers yet, again, the people are the losers. This disaster has opened the door for those with money, power, and of course, greed yet again.

Unfortunately, this offer from the government may be the only thing the residents of New Orleans can do. Mississippi residents have already started receiving checks to rebuild and/or repair homes and businesses. Louisiana has not been so lucky. Could it be due to the Republican influence in Mississippi? Yep, I'd say that is pretty much why IMHO.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/05/national/nationalspecial/05buyout.html?hp&ex=1136523600&en=1aba7a97c5c9afe3&ei=5094&partner=homepage

(snip) The passage of the bill has become increasingly important to Louisiana because the state lost out to the greater political power of Mississippi last month when Congress passed a $29 billion aid package for the Gulf states region. The package gave Mississippi about five times as much per household in housing aid as Louisiana received - a testimony to the clout of Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi, a former Republican National Committee chairman, and Senator Thad Cochran, chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

Louisiana officials say they were forced to go along with the appropriation, because they may not have received any aid package at all otherwise. But now they are focused even more intently on
Mr. Baker's buyout bill; many economists here say there may be no alternative to buyouts for homeowners who cannot make mortgage payments on ruined properties. (end snip)

God forbid they help those without flood insurance to catch up on their back mortgage or rent with some of the charity money that poured in. By the way, what has that been spent on?? Anyone???

Now I'm starting to wonder if that Levy was messed with. After all, Katrina turned out to be a category III hurricane after all. That levy should have held.