Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

Louisiana corruption already coloring aid issues

Houston Chronicle:

Long before Hurricane Katrina filled New Orleans to its roofs in foul water, the city was struggling with violent crime, poverty and long-standing notoriety for corruption.

Now that it's going to take billions of dollars and an army of contractors to rebuild New Orleans, three former Louisiana governors fear that their state's reputation for under-the-table deals and FEMA's credibility problems may impede the reconstruction effort.

Former Republican governors Buddy Roemer, Mike Foster and David Treen are working up a plan to present to President Bush calling for a regional commission of private citizens, rather than state or local politicians or the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to administer the recovery effort and its treasury.

They are prepared to discuss their plan with Democrat Gov. Kathleen Blanco, Roemer said, but attempts by Roemer and Foster to reach her by phone have been unsuccessful.

...

A survey of 1,000 out-of-state businesses conducted by the Louisiana State University Public Policy Research Lab this year revealed the state's reputation for corruption is a major obstacle to doing business. (Emphasis added.)

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., has gone so far as to urge Republican congressional leaders to avoid giving any rebuilding money to Louisiana officials because of their "mind-boggling incompetence" in dealing with the disaster and the state's "long history of corruption."

Tancredo is calling for a 15-member House commission to oversee the disbursement of federal disaster funds. But, Roemer said, he and the other two governors want to keep state and local officials in the loop.

"You need local eyes, ears and hands to make sure the money allocated is spent specifically where it needs to go," Roemer said. But the master plan needs to be administered by independent authorities, he said.

Gov. Blanco has already demonstrated a high level of incompetence in handling the problems caused by the Hurricane as has Mayor Nagin. Neither should be trusted with aid money. Nor should the federal government start rebuilding before their is a comprehensive plan to deal with the problems posed by hurricanes in New Orleans. There is also the problem of the toxic waste that the city has been saturated in as a result of the flood. We should not be rebuilding in a flood prone site with toxic chemical residue.