Obama, New Orleans, and Katrina recovery
What President Obama's brief visit means for the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast
Obama in New Orleans in 2007
(Lee Celano/Reuters/Corbis)
President Obama is in for an earful, said Chris Kromm in Facing South, during his brief stop in New Orleans on Thursday. Obama promised to do better than George W. Bush did to help the Gulf Coast recover from Hurricane Katrina, but community organizers give the new president a D-plus grade so far. This is his "chance to disprove his critics here—to show that for him, Katrina wasn't just a campaign-trail political football."
The important thing isn't what Obama says in New Orleans, said Mary Carmichael in Newsweek. It's "what his administration actually does over the next three years for the Gulf Coast's population, especially its children, who are still suffering mightily." And, although Obama has had to focus on other priorities since taking office, his administration got a good start by freeing up $1 billion for recovery efforts in Louisiana alone "after years of bureaucratic haggling."
And what about the rest of the Gulf Coast? said Stan Tiner in the Biloxi, Miss., Sun-Herald. Barack Obama's decision to make a three-and-a-half-hour stop in New Orleans without visiting South Mississippi, too, only sends the message to the rest of us trying to recover from Katrina that we are invisible.
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6 Comments
Posted by Aftermath of Katrina, Thursday, October 15, 2009, 7:45 pm After making NO and Gulf Coast a means of insulting Pres. Bush, it took the messiah almost 9 mos to visit and pay lip service to the area. One thing people outside of Baton Rouge dont know is that the NO refugees have been provided brand new apartments with ALL bills paid and free tenancy, compliments of Bush and the BR citizens who are paying hugely higher utility bills to cover the refugees expenses. The refugees are furious they have not received their million dollars each for having suffered like the 911 victims.
Posted by Aftermath of Katrina continued, Thursday, October 15, 2009, 8:07 pm The refugees are rude and treat BR residents like they are their servants. My 85 yr old mother has been knocked to the grocery floor three times, and one of her attackers told her to Get out of my way, you old bh! Many senior citizens now shop in groups for safety. Assuredly, there are exceptions to this violence, rudeness, and individual viciousness, but unfortunately, no one even helped my mother to her feet. The crime rate in Baton Rouge has exploded, but fortunately not as badly as New Orleans record as murder capital of the US.
Posted by Aftermath of Katrina continued, Thursday, October 15, 2009, 8:26 pm The refugees are constantly angry and dont expect to work because they're victims. The fed gov and LA have spent BILLIONS but no monetary amt is satisfactory for these people. The Gulf Coast has suffered deprivation in order to attempt to satiate the insatiable demands of the NO refugees. To refer to these people as trash is to be too kind. Now after 9 mos. the messiah comes to save the victims. All residents of BR see is another campaign swing and more big bucks thrown at people who after 4 yrs are still sitting on their collective buts.
Posted by Aftermath of Katrina continued, Thursday, October 15, 2009, 8:33 pm These refugees were bused here to BR from tenements in NO. The FEMA trailers were parked everywhere and were totaled by these people. There is nothing salvageable. The brand new apts are already looking like ghettos. The refugees didnt pay rent in NO before Katrina and they have kept up their lifestyle since being forced on BR residents. Go ahead and cry me a river for these poor people who get housing, utilities, food, clothes, entertainment, etc for free and still hold their hands out for moreespecially the childrenbullshiz!
Posted by Mike, Friday, October 16, 2009, 6:48 am Remind me again why I'm supposed to feel sorry for people who chose to live below sea level with no insurance, and chose to remain there when authorities told them to evacuate over a week ahead of the hurricanes. The same people who shot their AK47s at rescue helicopters. And this was four years ago? The statute of limitations for pity and aide has long since passed.
Posted by katrinasos, Monday, October 26, 2009, 9:01 pm Why hasn't there been help for people that owned homes and paid mortgages before Katrina? People like me with homeowners insurance that wasn't enough for repairs? We are the taxpayers that go to work every day to pay our bills like good citizens. What about us??? Please see our story posted at katrinasos.wordpress.com or follow katrinasos.
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