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

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.


EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

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.

Right now they're dealing with scumbags who are capitalizing off this tradgedy in their neighborhoods by giving people tours of their broken & smashed homes.

I don't think these people will be able to go back to their neighborhoods at all if the rich have their way. Neighborhoods like the lower 9th ward will be bulldozed & redeveloped. You'll probably see $700,000 McMansions pop up all over the place. The city leaders probably won't help either, they'll sit back & justify this & say "Well those neighborhoods were so unsightly and crime-ridden before, but look at them now, aren't they great?"

The property owners of Louisiana should have all back mortgage payments suspended indefinitely until the land is cleared and rebuilt with mixed income properties. The former homeowners should be offered the first chance at the new housing with special mortgages, (possibly held by the holders of the suspended mortgages)assistance, or whatever the heck is necessary to return them to the land where many of them have lived for decades. If someone chooses not to return, then I actually think 60% of the value of an uninsured property is not all that bad, but I think the value should be actual market value at the time of the storm and not assessed value.

When they do the rebuilding, they should make this area a housing laboratory for new hurricane proof housing with materials, safe rooms, etc. Maybe they could also give better thought as to where to place and equip evacuation centers. They should give try to preserve the architectural history and regional vernacular that had been in place prior to the hurricane.

I know that some think that some low-lying areas of New Orleans should not ever be rebuilt due to probable future flooding. I guess it is all about the levee technology and I don't know enough to make an intelligent comment.

people's homes. Without the Wind the Water wouldn't have come, right? However, they used the excuse of flooding and water damage (which flood insurance is extra as we all know).

I think if the government is going to buy them out, it should be like what an insurance policy would pay for "replacement costs." That's the least they could do; especially since they are going to make the huge profits selling it to the developers (wonder how many politicians or previous politicians will be on the board of some of these companies? We'd probably be shocked like we have been with the Halliburton and subsidiaries conflict of interest.