SUPEROWL WRAP UP NEW ORLEANS EDITION

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS FOR WINNING THEIR FIRST SUPERBOWL AND CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PEOPLE OF NEW ORLEANS FOR STICKING WITH THEM.

The people of New Orleans should be proud of their Saints. The perennial losers of the NFL, where at one point, fans attended the games with paper bags over their heads so they couldn't be seen as supporters of the team. These "Ain'ts" fans have now been replaced by Detroit Lion fans and in baseball, by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

This year the Saints have lifted the spirits of the people of New Orleans and have given the residents something to look forward to and some pride to cling to. That may sound trite, but it's all some of these people have

One of the things I like to do is watch the pre-game show, the one that starts at noon and goes on until kickoff around 6:30PM. I don't get to see all of it, but I do see maybe half of it. One of the stories they ran was about the famous 9th Ward of New Orleans. Mostly black, it is being S-L-O-W-L-E-Y rebuilt. It has been FIVE YEARS since the hurricane named Katrina blew through New Orleans and many people, an unthinkable number of people, still do not have their homes rebuilt or fixed!

It is a national travesty.

Hundreds of millions of billions of dollars has flowed into New Orleans since the hurricane and people are still without their homes? Bobby Jindal the REPUBLICAN governor of Louisiana was on the piece saying that they don't want to rush things. This was a depressed area before the hurricane and they want to do it right this time. BULLSHIT.

In my opinion, they want to move most of the people out of there permanently in the hopes of building nicer housing and attracting a "desirable" resident.

New Orleans is a city where crime runs amuck. It is the murder capital of the WORLD, with more murders per 100,000 people than any city on this earth. The cops are thugs because they are underpaid and need to "supplement" their income. The French Quarter is fairly safe, but don't venture outside of the safe zone or you become a statistic.

What a perfect way to reduce your crime. Don't rebuild a section that you feel is "bad" and the bad guys will move to another town.

Another theory is that they want to run out the low income and replace them with higher income families, increasing the tax base and image of the city.
Whatever the reason is, it is wrong. These people suffered through the most horrible experience imaginable and deserve better than they have got.

Say what you want about George Bush, it doesn't all rest in his hands.

There's Ray "Chocolate Town" Nagin the democrat mayor who let 250 school buses drown rather than evacuate the city. Where has the money gone Ray? You fixed the downtown area, the French quarter, (which wasn't hit that bad) and other areas, what about the 9th Ward?

Mary Landrieu the democrat senator who got a special deal during the health care debate, but lets the 9th Ward remain a graveyard.

How about David Vitter the REPUBLICAN senator? What has he done for the 9th Ward beside walk through there giving out false promises.

It has been five years and that area is not rebuilt? Why? This isn't a winter snow storm where the streets are not done (more on that later) it's about rebuilding people's lives! Where has the BILLIONS of dollars gone? Who is accountable?

Of course, in Florida, there are still some parts that are recovering from hurricane Andrew and that came and went over 20 years ago.

Do we have a problem with hurricanes?

Republicans and democrats, stop playing politics with people's lives. This is the United States of America, not a third world country where we are dependent on others. We plowed BILLIONS of dollars into New Orleans, so money is not the issue. We have the technology and know how to rebuild, so why don't we? What is the reason that after five years and all that money, people still don't have a home? Give me a good reason.

Kathleen Blanco the former democrat governor should have been put in jail for her contribution to the problem. It was a political ploy for her to wait two days before she officially requested Federal aid and her actions caused an un-told number of lives being lost. She had three years to help the 9th Ward and she didn't.

Bobby Jindal, you've had two years to "do it right this time" why haven't you? You think you're Presidential material? I don't think so, not with the leadership you have been showing.

Some of us have better play sets in our backyards than what some people in the 9th Ward have. Why? Why? Why?

The ONLY explanation for all of this is politics. Turf wars, power grabbing, politics, plain and simple. Republicans and democrats in Louisiana should be ashamed of themselves for playing politics with people's lives.