New Orleans Sues For 77 Billion Over Katrina

[FaninAma]

I wonder if they named the most culpable party in this disaster.....the city government of New Orleans.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1172907036292410.xml&coll=1&thispage=2

[usmc-sooner]

WTF happened to millions they already received?

[StoopTroup]

If they win...I might move there. ;)

The streets will be paved with gold.

[proud gonzo]

If they win...I might move there. ;)

The streets will be paved with dead hookers, broken bottles, and vomit. :twinkies:

[Ike]

If they win...I might move there. ;)

The streets will be paved with gold.

A normal city would pave them with gold....NOLA will pave them with chocolate.

;)

[FaninAma]

WTF happened to millions they already received?

Probably the same thing that happened to the money appropriated by the federal government years ago to upgrade the levee system....into the pockets of the crooked politicians in the city.

[SoonerGirl06]

Can I just put my foot down and refuse to have anymore of my tax dollars go to that city?!?!This is about the most ridiculous thing ever!

From my understanding the corp recommended improvements to the levee system years ago but the city and state leaders didn't do anything about it. For them to turn around and put the blame on everyone else just infuriates me. :mad:

[Scott D]

Can I just put my foot down and refuse to have anymore of my tax dollars go to that city?!?!This is about the most ridiculous thing ever!

From my understanding the corp recommended improvements to the levee system years ago but the city and state leaders didn't do anything about it. For them to turn around and put the blame on everyone else just infuriates me. :mad:

the Army Corps of Engineers doesn't answer to New Orleans or the State of Louisiana...there are more places blame go than just those two. The issues with the levees escalated in the late 70s and the funding went up and down between then and 2005.

[SoonerGirl06]

the Army Corps of Engineers doesn't answer to New Orleans or the State of Louisiana...there are more places blame go than just those two. The issues with the levees escalated in the late 70s and the funding went up and down between then and 2005.

What happened to all of that funding then... other than the obvious... it went into the pockets of the crooked politicians there... and what leg does NO have to stand on with this lawsuit? Personally I think it's a bunch of bologna and it makes me mad that they're doing this... especially with all of the funding they've received so far.

[Scott D]

What happened to all of that funding then... other than the obvious... it went into the pockets of the crooked politicians there... and what leg does NO have to stand on with this lawsuit? Personally I think it's a bunch of bologna and it makes me mad that they're doing this... especially with all of the funding they've received so far.

Federal reappropriation also went on. Everyone in Congress tries to take as much of the budget pie as they can for their home districts, primarily to win re-election.

I'm not saying New Orleans is faultless, nor that their lawsuit is even credible. Just that placing all of the financial blame on them doesn't work rationally.

[SoonerGirl06]

Just that placing all of the financial blame on them doesn't work rationally.

Giving them more money isn't exactly rational either.

[Scott D]

Giving them more money isn't exactly rational either.

it's as rational as expecting fiscal responsibility from any level of government in this country ;)

[SleestakSooner]

The Army Corp of Engineers made the recommendations for upgrading the levees. The federal government never approved the expenditures.

Since New Orleans is this country's largest port, it would have made some sense to make sure it and the people who run it were protected.







Here's how the British hold back the waters from flooding London:

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/3372/cidpart1040001050403010vd5.jpg

And the Dutch solution to protecting an entire nation that mostly rests below sea level:

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/9859/cidpart2010808050708060of8.jpg


The Italians are defending their city on the sea, Venice:

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/1653/cidpart3090107090607050fz5.jpg



And the richest, most powerful and technologically advanced nation on earth...USA!

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/5171/cidpart5070006050100080vr5.jpg

[SoonerGirl06]

it's as rational as expecting fiscal responsibility from any level of government in this country ;)

Dammit! I can't argue with that! :D

[SoonerGirl06]

The Army Corp of Engineers made the recommendations for upgrading the levees. The federal government never approved the expenditures.

Since New Orleans is this countries largest port, it would have made some sense to make sure it and the people who run it were protected.

It would have made sense for the state to keep after the government to approve the expenditures. Someone dropped the ball somewhere and my guess is it was somewhere within the state of Louisiana.

[OUAndy1807]

why do most people ignore to see the obvious: no one person or party screwed up on this thing, they all did.

I guess because it's a far right white house and a far left state gov?

(props to Scott for pointing this out earlier in the thread, btw.)

[Soonerus]

The whole mess is just pathetic on multiple levels...

[SoonerGirl06]

why do most people ignore to see the obvious: no one person or party screwed up on this thing, they all did.

I guess because it's a far right white house and a far left state gov?

(props to Scott for pointing this out earlier in the thread, btw.)

I don't think party affiliation has anything to do with the whole debacle. Crooked and greedy politicians are who to blame... which is who Louisiana primarily has representing them and have had representing them for a multitude of years. And because of their inability to take care of matters like they should have and could have... billions of tax dollars are having to run through their pockets to help clean up their mess and now they're suing for more.

[SleestakSooner]

It would have made sense for the state to keep after the government to approve the expenditures. Someone dropped the ball somewhere and my guess is it was somewhere within the state of Louisiana.

This project would have costs billions. The matter was quickly voted down in favor of less expensive temporary fixes. It was the whole country that decided (via their legislative representatives) not to handle this appropriately. This happened over 20 years ago. There have been many who tried to bring the matter back before the congress but were ignored.

Blame the coon a$$es all you like. The truth is we all dropped the ball on this one.

Saying all that, I don't believe this law suit should be taken seriously. What's done is done. We are all helping to rebuild the city.

To me living in a city or country below sea level is like living in a lemming den. Sooner or later it's all gonna come to a messy ending for a lot of the residents.

[OUAndy1807]

I don't think party affiliation has anything to do with the whole debacle. Crooked and greedy politicians are who to blame... which is who Louisiana primarily has representing them and have had representing them for a multitude of years. And because of their inability to take care of matters like they should have and could have... billions of tax dollars are having to run through their pockets to help clean up their mess and now they're suing for more.
crooked politicians who just happen to be from the opposite party of you.

don't get me wrong, I tend to lean to the right, and I know LA has some of the crookedest politicians, but there is plenty of blame to go around everywhere.

plus, all politicians are crooks.

[royalfan5]

I think it's fair to say that the State of Lousiana should not be allowed to administer their own affairs. Just let make them go along with whatever Arkansas or Mississippi decides.

[OUAndy1807]

and, for the record, I think that the way the politicians from LA have handled this whole thing AFTER Katrina and her immediate aftermath has been disgraceful and that they deserve severe scrutiny for that. But as for the the events leading to and directly after Katrina, they're all to blame.

[SoonerGirl06]

crooked politicians who just happen to be from the opposite party of you.

That's not accurate of my thinking. Not once have I mentioned partisan politics on this thread.


don't get me wrong, I tend to lean to the right, and I know LA has some of the crookedest politicians, but there is plenty of blame to go around everywhere.

Yes, there's plenty of blame to go around... most of which belongs to the politicians in the state of Louisiana... IMO.

The whole point of this thread is not which party is at fault. The point of this thread is that NO is suing for MORE money and pointing the finger at everyone else but themselves for the mess that they're in.

I for one am tired of the whole "Poor Pity Party" angle Nagin and the rest of his croonies keep tossing out to the American people and holding us responsible for their inabilities or irresponsibilites in making things better for their city.

[OUAndy1807]

I'm tapping out.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

It was the whole country that decided (via their legislative representatives) not to handle this appropriately. This happened over 20 years ago. There have been many who tried to bring the matter back before the congress but were ignored.

Wasn't it determined a lot more than 20 some years ago that the NOLA levees were inadequate for storms over cat. 3, and hasn't tons of federal taxpayers' money been given to State of LA, and/or city of NOLA for a VERY long time(way before the last 20 yr. period you spoke of)? What was done and by whom with that money?

The main blame for the inadequate levees falls somewhere within the state of Louisiana. That should have been among the very highest priority expenditures for all the people who lived below sea level. Those same people should have put just as much money as possible for as long as it took into building those levees to withstand cat. 5 storms, even if there was 0 support from outside the area.

[SleestakSooner]

Wasn't it determined a lot more than 20 some years ago that the NOLA levees were inadequate for storms over cat. 3, and hasn't tons of federal taxpayers' money been given to State of LA, and/or city of NOLA for a VERY long time(way before the last 20 yr. period you spoke of)? What was done and by whom with that money?

The main blame for the inadequate levees falls somewhere within the state of Louisiana. That should have been among the very highest priority expenditures for all the people who lived below sea level. Those same people should have put just as much money as possible for as long as it took into building those levees to withstand cat. 5 storms, even if there was 0 support from outside the area.

You must be "right" :rolleyes:

None of the residents of the other united states have any interest in keeping our largest sea port from being harmed. None of us have much need to worry that some of the largest oil reserves and oil refineries are located in that area.

No those underfunded levee projects really weren't our concern at all. Leave it up to one of the poorest states in the union to build it from the table scraps we handed em. :pop:

[SoonerGirl06]

You must be "right" :rolleyes:

None of the residents of the other united states have any interest in keeping our largest sea port from being harmed. None of us have much need to worry that some of the largest oil reserves and oil refineries are located in that area.

No those underfunded levee projects really weren't our concern at all. Leave it up to one of the poorest states in the union to build it from the table scraps we handed em. :pop:

I think you're missing the point completely... it's not about partisan politics.

We're all concerned with keeping our ports protected and safe from harm as well as some of the largest oil refineries in that area. That's not what's a question here. What's at question is the misappropriation of all the funds that were sent to that area for the re-building after Katrina, not to mention the funds given prior to Katrina.

Nagin had plenty of opportunities to take care of the matter and chose not to... hell... the whole state legislature had plenty of opportunities to take care of the levees. Instead of putting the funds where they needed to go they chose to line their pockets and take care of themselves instead of the citizens.

I hardly consider millions if not billions of dollars as table scraps.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

You must be "right" :rolleyes:

None of the residents of the other united states have any interest in keeping our largest sea port from being harmed. None of us have much need to worry that some of the largest oil reserves and oil refineries are located in that area.

No those underfunded levee projects really weren't our concern at all. Leave it up to one of the poorest states in the union to build it from the table scraps we handed em. :pop:Your points, while good, are not "to the point" of PRIMARY responsibility. You would not get me to consider being a "major" citizen(forming businesses, real estate purchases etc.)in the area below sea level, until the da*n levees got built to required strength.
Those with a life-threatening danger should be eagerly and aggressively trying to eliminate that danger. That would be local government.

[SleestakSooner]

I am not at all saying that NO was not given some federal monies to improve the levees. What I am saying is they were never given the OK to proceed with the billion dollar project which the corp of engineers insisted was necessary.

There were some local voices that kept asking for the improved system to be built. Whether it was local politicians taking money or not, there was never the required amount to fix this on a more permanent level.

That falls not only on the locals but also on all of us. There were always more important projects going on, like war and supplying arms to third world insurgents.

[VeeJay]

i don't know why they didn't just shoot for $100 Billion to make it a nice round number.

[SoonerGirl06]

I am not at all saying that NO was not given some federal monies to improve the levees. What I am saying is they were never given the OK to proceed with the billion dollar project which the corp of engineers insisted was necessary.

There were some local voices that kept asking for the improved system to be built. Whether it was local politicians taking money or not, there was never the required amount to fix this on a more permanent level.

That falls not only on the locals but also on all of us. There were always more important projects going on, like war and supplying arms to third world insurgents.

How does it fall on to the shoulders of "all of us"? That's like me saying it's NO/Louisianas responsibilty to make sure the highways in Dallas are adequate for those of us that live here. No... it falls on the responsibility of the state, the citizens and their representatives to make sure that they are properly protected by having the levees repaired/replaced. It's up to the citizens to make sure their state legislature is doing what it's supposed to.

The state of Louisians/NO were given the OK to proceed with the levees. They chose not to. If I remember correctly I believe most of the political leaders didn't feel as though it was necessary to repair or replace the levee system there even though they were being told otherwise by the Army Corp of Engineers.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

I am not at all saying that NO was not given some federal monies to improve the levees. What I am saying is they were never given the OK to proceed with the billion dollar project which the corp of engineers insisted was necessary.

There were some local voices that kept asking for the improved system to be built. Whether it was local politicians taking money or not, there was never the required amount to fix this on a more permanent level.

That falls not only on the locals but also on all of us. There were always more important projects going on, like war and supplying arms to third world insurgents.You're still not addressing the omnipresent need from the time NOLA was settled, for having adequate flood protection, not just the last 20 yrs. or so. If I lived there I wouldn't want to have to swim to work and back every day. I wouldn't put up with it. Guess the citizens didn't think it important enough to deal with it among themselves.

[yermom]

How does it fall on to the shoulders of "all of us"? That's like me saying it's NO/Louisianas responsibilty to make sure the highways in Dallas are adequate for those of us that live here. No... it falls on the responsibility of the state, the citizens and their representatives to make sure that they are properly protected by having the levees repaired/replaced. It's up to the citizens to make sure their state legislature is doing what it's supposed to.

The state of Louisians/NO were given the OK to proceed with the levees. They chose not to. If I remember correctly I believe most of the political leaders didn't feel as though it was necessary to repair or replace the levee system there even though they were being told otherwise by the Army Corp of Engineers.

do the highways in Dallas hold up oil transport to the US when they are stopped?

does anyone have any numbers as to what funding was actually getting to the area, or are you guys just coming up with "millions and billions"? what about federal budget cuts on preparing the levees?

i haven't heard anything either way, i'm just curious

[SoonerGirl06]

do the highways in Dallas hold up oil transport to the US when they are stopped?

does anyone have any numbers as to what funding was actually getting to the area, or are you guys just coming up with "millions and billions"? what about federal budget cuts on preparing the levees?

i haven't heard anything either way, i'm just curious

Slee came up with the billions part. I'm pretty sure on the millions. I read an article about it several months ago and for the life of me I can't find it. It was very interesting.

And quite frankly if the roads are tied up on I-35... then yes, it does slow down the transportation of goods to the rest of the country...

My argument was with Slee and his comment on how the rest of the country is responsible for the irresponsibilities of the Louisiana and NO governments.

[Frozen Sooner]

Are you trying to claim that the State of Texas receives no federal funding for the interstate system? 'Cause I think you're wrong on that.

[SoonerGirl06]

Are you trying to claim that the State of Texas receives no federal funding for the interstate system? 'Cause I think you're wrong on that.

Noooo.... that's not what I'm trying to claim. And if that's what I implied... well... that's not what was meant.

I was merely trying to comment on Slee's argument that the rest of America is responsible for the irresponsibilites of the Louisians and NO governments.

[Frozen Sooner]

Well, here's sorta what Sleestak is getting at:

The Federal Government has jurisdiction over all navigable waters. Navigable waters include any waters over which interstate or international commerce can flow.

The Port of New Orleans is most definitely navigable water, and ensuring that the port facilities of New Orleans remain operational is certainly in the purview of the federal government. As has been discussed ad nauseam, the United States needs a port where New Orleans is for various reasons, not least of which is food distribution-wheat from the Midwest doesn't move itself.

Every state benefits from the Port of New Orleans. All of 'em. Therefore, we have a vested interest in keeping that port functional. The US Army Corps of Engineers (which is tasked partially with making sure that vital port facilities stay open) recommended that certain improvements be made. Sleestak's point is that it should not have fallen only on the State of Louisiana to make those improvements-and it's hard to argue that point, considering that the Federal Government spends all kinds of money on infrastructure much less vital than this all the time.

Now, I'm not sure how much money was appropriated for shoring up the levee system, or if any even was. I'm not sure if money that was appropriated found its way into the pockets of politicians or cronies. However, whether it was or not, it's obvious that not nearly enough got spent on actually DOING the improvements that needed to be made.

[SoonerGirl06]

Well, here's sorta what Sleestak is getting at:

The Federal Government has jurisdiction over all navigable waters. Navigable waters include any waters over which interstate or international commerce can flow.

The Port of New Orleans is most definitely navigable water, and ensuring that the port facilities of New Orleans remain operational is certainly in the purview of the federal government. As has been discussed ad nauseam, the United States needs a port where New Orleans is for various reasons, not least of which is food distribution-wheat from the Midwest doesn't move itself.

Every state benefits from the Port of New Orleans. All of 'em. Therefore, we have a vested interest in keeping that port functional. The US Army Corps of Engineers (which is tasked partially with making sure that vital port facilities stay open) recommended that certain improvements be made. Sleestak's point is that it should not have fallen only on the State of Louisiana to make those improvements-and it's hard to argue that point, considering that the Federal Government spends all kinds of money on infrastructure much less vital than this all the time.

Now, I'm not sure how much money was appropriated for shoring up the levee system, or if any even was. I'm not sure if money that was appropriated found its way into the pockets of politicians or cronies. However, whether it was or not, it's obvious that not nearly enough got spent on actually DOING the improvements that needed to be made.

I agree with what you're saying about the importance of the ports and all. My argument is that it's the responsibilites of the Louisiana voters to make sure their representatives are doing what they're supposed to be doing to make sure those things happen. If there was such a concern over the structural sound of the levees waiting two days before a Cat 5 storm is supposed to hit and months after it does hit, is not the time to be debating what needs to be done.

IMO it's because of the Louisiana politicians and city leaders that NO is in the mess that it's in now.... not the rest of the country.

[Jimminy Crimson]

Shouldn't they be suing France for building New Orleans in the first place? I think those frenchies knew it was pretty damn near or below sea level...

[Okla-homey]

I hope NOLA receives sanctions for filing a frivilous lawsuit.

[Scott D]

I agree with what you're saying about the importance of the ports and all. My argument is that it's the responsibilites of the Louisiana voters to make sure their representatives are doing what they're supposed to be doing to make sure those things happen. If there was such a concern over the structural sound of the levees waiting two days before a Cat 5 storm is supposed to hit and months after it does hit, is not the time to be debating what needs to be done.

IMO it's because of the Louisiana politicians and city leaders that NO is in the mess that it's in now.... not the rest of the country.

The problem is that there has been concern over the integrity and design of the levees for many years prior to 2005.

As Slee said, the Army Corps. of Engineers said the project to make the levees to an adequate level would run a lot higher than what anyone wanted to pay. The majority of the funding for the project was to come from the federal budget that gets parcelled out to the state.


Funding for the Lake Pontchartrain project has declined from 1996 through 2005. During that period, the Clinton and Bush Administrations requested $58 million for the project; Congress appropriated approximately $70 million more than requested. A funding trend for the Corps’ two other New Orleans projects, however, is less evident.

The other two projects being West Bank and Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project.


Although the Corps civil works appropriations have increased in the last decade, competition for funds among projects has been tight, with many projects that historically received appropriations not being included in recent budget requests. Federal investments in water resources infrastructure
remains considerably lower than levels of the 1950s and 1960s, and the Corps has warned of problems associated with aging infrastructure and a backlog of construction activities.

Technically this could be seen as a national problem, but that depends upon the results of any studies the Corps does. But, obviously the port in New Orleans should make that a higher priority.


In August 2002, the Corps completed a reconnaissance study of whether to strengthen coastal Louisiana’s hurricane damage reduction projects, including the New Orleans projects, to protect against Category 4 and 5 storms. If implemented, coastal Louisiana would have the only Category 5 protection system in the country. The next step in the Corps’ project development process is a feasibility study. The feasibility study for this project was estimated to cost $8 million and take at least five years; construction would take another 10 to 20 years and $2.5 billion. A congressionally-added FY2005 appropriation of $100,000 for the feasibility study was to be used for completing a project management plan and executing the cost share agreement with the local sponsor of the study. The study was not included in the President’s FY2006 request. According to a Corps document, $500,000 for FY2006 is required to initiate work on the feasibility study. The House report (H.Rept. 109-86) for the pending Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act for FY2006 (H.R. 2419) did not include funds for this study; the Senate report (S.Rept. 109-84) included $250,000.

Now, this study was done 3 years before the Hurricane hit, and there was concern before that about it's ability to withstand a Cat 3. The question here is if this information was presented to the White House and Congress, why was it missing from the budget?

[Sooner24]

Why don't they just build the new levee out of theses?


http://www.educationreport.org/media/images/2006/mer2006-03p1a.jpg

[yermom]

Tuba's going to be ****ed you beat him to that pic ;)

[Sooner24]

Tuba's going to be ****ed you beat him to that pic ;)


:D

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Now, this study was done 3 years before the Hurricane hit, and there was concern before that about it's ability to withstand a Cat 3. The question here is if this information was presented to the White House and Congress, why was it missing from the budget?Gotta be Bush's fault... gotta be Bush's fault... AH YES, THERE IT IS. It IS , OBVIOUSLY Bush's fault!

[MamaMia]

Didn't God make plenty of land for everyone to live on and share without altering its natural flow?

[royalfan5]

Didn't God make plenty of land for everyone to live on and share without altering its natural flow?
Not according to the Dutch, he didn't.

[Scott D]

Gotta be Bush's fault... gotta be Bush's fault... AH YES, THERE IT IS. It IS , OBVIOUSLY Bush's fault!

now be fair..it's not only Bush's fault, but Clinton's fault, Bush's fault, Reagan's fault, Carter's fault, Ford's fault, Nixon's fault, Johnson's fault, and Kennedy's fault as well.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

now be fair..it's not only Bush's fault, but Clinton's fault, Bush's fault, Reagan's fault, Carter's fault, Ford's fault, Nixon's fault, Johnson's fault, and Kennedy's fault as well.It still seems to me the MAIN problem is apathy and/or corruption on the local level. If I was a below-sea-level land resident, I wouldn't rest til the flooding problem got solved, or I'de move away if it didn't appear to be readily fixable.

[Frozen Sooner]

Of course, there's the school of thought that balances the cost of improvements against the likelihood of the improvements being needed.

For example, it would be relatively simple to build every house to withstand earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, etc. Nobody does it, because the cost is so prohibitive that it's just cheaper to rebuild the house if it gets destroyed than build it to that spec.

Similar thinking may have prevailed with the levee system in New Orleans-nobody thought a Cat 5 hurricane was imminent.

[Big Red Ron]

The "Chocolate City" gets another black eye.

[Sooner24]

Mardi Gras, crime go on in New Orleans
By: Jeff Franks

Sat Feb 17, 2007 8:10 AM EST

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - New Orleans got ready on Friday for the bead-throwing and bacchanalia of the final, climactic weekend of Mardi Gras amid ugly reminders of the violence gripping the storm-shattered city.

Two people were killed and seven others were wounded in two shootings ahead of a steady stream of parades scheduled from Friday night all the way to Fat Tuesday.

Neither of the incidents occurred at Mardi Gras events, but officials who had predicted a big turnout for this year's festivities feared they could frighten away would-be visitors.

Police said two men were shot to death and a third man critically wounded on Thursday evening while in a car in the Ninth Ward, one of the areas still devastated by damage from Hurricane Katrina.

Early on Friday, six people were wounded in a shooting at a nightclub. The gunman escaped along with 150 other people who stampeded out in a panic, police said.

The killings were the latest in a wave of murders that has rocked New Orleans since the beginning of the year.

Police Sgt. Joe Narcisse said 26 people had been killed in 2007.



What a great place to visit. :rolleyes:

[Big Red Ron]

What a great place to visit. :rolleyes:Sounds like planning a vacation to Compton, CA. Yay

[TUSooner]

Excuse me for presuming the usual amount of ignorance, narrowmindedness, and harsh, cynical judgments from afar on this thread.
In case it hasn't been mentioned, the Corps of Engineers has all but admitted that they did not build the levees the way they were supposed to have done - at least some of them. That's not to say there is and has been plenty of disfunction and other stuff.
Seriously, folks, Louisianians ARE your fellow Americans, and have been since before the 5 Tribes got driven off to Oklahoma. And they have been let down by the National gubment as well as themselves.

Lest you think I'm deluded or just whining - I issue a standing invitation to one and all to come to New Orleans and see what's what. Some is worse than you think, some is better, but I'll be happy to show you around. Once you meet a few real people, you might not be so cynical and judgmental.

If I have presumed wrongly, forgive me; the invite still stands. (You can sleep at Bourbon St. Sooner's place.) :)

[royalfan5]

Excuse me for presuming the usual amount of ignorance, narrowmindedness, and harsh, cynical judgments from afar on this thread.
In case it hasn't been mentioned, the Corps of Engineers has all but admitted that they did not build the levees the way they were supposed to have done - at least some of them. That's not to say there is and has been plenty of disfunction and other stuff.
Seriously, folks, Louisianians ARE your fellow Americans, and have been since before the 5 Tribes got driven off to Oklahoma. And they have been let down by the National gubment as well as themselves.

Lest you think I'm deluded or just whining - I issue a standing invitation to one and all to come to New Orleans and see what's what. Some is worse than you think, some is better, but I'll be happy to show you around. Once you meet a few real people, you might not be so cynical and judgmental.

If I have presumed wrongly, forgive me; the invite still stands. (You can sleep at Bourbon St. Sooner's place.) :)
I'm planning on going down for Mardi Gras or New Year's next year. My old college roommate is from Slidell, and has promised to show me a good time. From everything he has told, New Orleans is a fun though slightly dysfunctional place.(His dad was a higher up in the LA Republicans, lots of fun stories from that)

[MamaMia]

Not according to the Dutch, he didn't.
Well then they should be sued. Sue the Dutch! Its all their fault. :D

[yermom]

I'm planning on going down for Mardi Gras or New Year's next year. My old college roommate is from Slidell, and has promised to show me a good time. From everything he has told, New Orleans is a fun though slightly dysfunctional place.(His dad was a higher up in the LA Republicans, lots of fun stories from that)

i was not impressed with NYE in 2004/2005

i'd still like to make Mardi Gras there one of these days, maybe after things have settled down a bit :eek:

[royalfan5]

i was not impressed with NYE in 2004/2005

i'd still like to make Mardi Gras there one of these days, maybe after things have settled down a bit :eek:My friend that lives down there as an unerring ability to find a good time. Every scenario, I imagine that might occur with me going to down there to visit, ends with me in Angola or multiple STD"s.

[FaninAma]

Excuse me for presuming the usual amount of ignorance, narrowmindedness, and harsh, cynical judgments from afar on this thread.
In case it hasn't been mentioned, the Corps of Engineers has all but admitted that they did not build the levees the way they were supposed to have done - at least some of them. That's not to say there is and has been plenty of disfunction and other stuff.
Seriously, folks, Louisianians ARE your fellow Americans, and have been since before the 5 Tribes got driven off to Oklahoma. And they have been let down by the National gubment as well as themselves.

Lest you think I'm deluded or just whining - I issue a standing invitation to one and all to come to New Orleans and see what's what. Some is worse than you think, some is better, but I'll be happy to show you around. Once you meet a few real people, you might not be so cynical and judgmental.

If I have presumed wrongly, forgive me; the invite still stands. (You can sleep at Bourbon St. Sooner's place.) :)

The problem is they've already been given over $60 Billion. And another problem is that NO, as compared to other large American cities, is a dysfunctional city with a dysfunctional city government and a dysfunctional police force predating Katrina. And I'm sure that funds ear marked for levee improvement were, in the past, diverted for other "causes".

So, unless the lawsuit names former city and state politicians/leaders as defendants then it is a totally bogus action.

[TUSooner]

The problem is they've already been given over $60 Billion. And another problem is that NO, as compared to other large American cities, is a dysfunctional city with a dysfunctional city government and a dysfunctional police force predating Katrina. And I'm sure that funds ear marked for levee improvement were, in the past, diverted for other "causes".

So, unless the lawsuit names former city and state politicians/leaders as defendants then it is a totally bogus action.

Come on down, Mr. Sunshine!

[FaninAma]

Come on down, Mr. Sunshine!

Do you disagree with anything I posted? Or do you as a resident(or former resident) of Louisiana just expect there to be an unlimited amount of aid for NO without any expectations for accountability on the part of the NO and state government leaders?

[picasso]

Excuse me for presuming the usual amount of ignorance, narrowmindedness, and harsh, cynical judgments from afar on this thread.
In case it hasn't been mentioned, the Corps of Engineers has all but admitted that they did not build the levees the way they were supposed to have done - at least some of them. That's not to say there is and has been plenty of disfunction and other stuff.
Seriously, folks, Louisianians ARE your fellow Americans, and have been since before the 5 Tribes got driven off to Oklahoma. And they have been let down by the National gubment as well as themselves.

Lest you think I'm deluded or just whining - I issue a standing invitation to one and all to come to New Orleans and see what's what. Some is worse than you think, some is better, but I'll be happy to show you around. Once you meet a few real people, you might not be so cynical and judgmental.

If I have presumed wrongly, forgive me; the invite still stands. (You can sleep at Bourbon St. Sooner's place.) :)

I'll be there at the end of the month. Rebuilding houses.

[TUSooner]

Do you disagree with anything I posted? Or do you as a resident(or former resident) of Louisiana just expect there to be an unlimited amount of aid for NO without any expectations for accountability on the part of the NO and state government leaders?

We've been through this already, and I know better than to waste time or energy on it (or reliving the Civil War).
I'm not kidding about coming down and seeing what's what. At least you'll see it's more than numbers and dollar signs and vague allegations of corruption and ineptitude. I'll buy you a couple of beers and show you around. If you just want to argue some more, you'll have to do that by yourself.