Wall Street Journal Slams La Politicians

The WSJ recently had an article, The Big Not-So-Easy. The article is mostly about Jindal and how "it's his race to lose" but there are a few other interesting notes: Huey P Long, Georges, Edwards, David Duke, Vitter, Jefferson, and more.

The best part of the article, and the most damning for anyone who cares about New Orleans and La:

Sadly for Louisianans the list goes on. And it grew longer after the political bumbling in the wake of Katrina and its destruction. Gov. Blanco and Ray Nagin, the mayor of New Orleans, aren't so much real people anymore as walking editorial cartoons. For lampooning purposes only, not to be taken seriously.

When I talk to people from out of state, about New Orleans, one of the first things people say about Nagin is, "Well, the people there re-elected him. They deserve what they get." That sucks but it's something a lot of people are thinking. Blanco and Nagin are worse for New Orleans than Katrina could ever hope to be.

Gubernatorial candidates offer array of insurance ideas

CityBusiness had a good article today, Gubernatorial candidates offer array of insurance ideas. Decent prices for insurance is important to the entire Gulf Coast so this is a good discussion for the candidates to have.

Walter Boasso and Bobby Jindal want to force more insurers to offer homeowners policies covering wind damage. Foster Campbell wants to team up with other coastal states and negotiate, as one, with insurance companies for lower rates.

John Georges said he would consider offering insurers $100 million in incentives — on top of the $100 million in taxpayer money that's already being offered to companies that agree to write policies along Louisiana's coast.

"I want to provide the carrot approach, as opposed to the stick," said Georges, an independent from New Orleans.

I think Georges is out of his mind. How does he plan to pay for that? What is the benefit of paying insurance companies who are already ripping people off?

I do like one approach though.

Campbell said he would talk with governors of other Gulf and Atlantic states and pool their insurance markets into one, multi-state market. That coalition of states would then represent a massive insurance market whose governments could negotiate with insurance companies from a position of greater strength, demanding more reasonable rates for homeowners along the coast and farther inland.

"Then you could tell them, 'If you want to do business in our states, we're not going to be robbed. You're going to have to do something for our coastal people,'" said Campbell, a Democratic member of the Public Service Commission from Bossier Parish.

This is a great approach. It benefits the people instead of the insurance companies (which Blanco and Georges seem to want to do) and spreads the goodness of it across all the gulf states. I'd like to hear more from Campbell. Actually, I would like all of the politicians in La, Miss, Fl, and Al to hear more from Campbell.

LewisC

A Bit of New Orleans History

New Orleans is a city surrounded by water. It is one of the few cities in the world that is in such a situation but is not an island. The land where New Orleans was to be built was a mosquito infested, swampy, hurricane-prone, flooded landscape. Why would anyone in his or her right mind built a city in such a place?

It is hard today to fathom why. After Katrina and the devastation it caused, many people wondered why build a city in a bowl. The answer lies in its position between land, river and ocean.


Photo Courtesy of Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

When New Orleans was founded, and for several hundred years afterwards, shipping was the most efficient method of moving goods from one place to another. Even today, that still holds true for international goods. In the mainland of the US, trains have replaced shipping but for many years, ships provided good everywhere.

The Mississippi river connects Canada and the interior of the US to the Gulf of Mexico. Anyone who could hold (militarily) the mouth of the Mississippi would control the shipment of goods throughout the US. Thus, New Orleans, with its strategic location would become one of the premier cities of the United States. It was even considered as a Capitol city at one point, but that is a different story.

Jumping ahead to 1800, Spain controlled a vast territory in the New World called Louisiana. The small, at that time, US had no particular interest in buying that land. That land which ran from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. The US and Spain had a treaty, the Pickney Treaty of 1795, that allowed American navigation of the Mississippi River and access to the Port of New Orleans. More than a quarter of everything produced in America traveled to the Gulf via the Mississippi River.

In 1801, France resumed control of Louisiana and America's views on that changed. President Jefferson was concerned that France would try to block American use of the river stangling American growth. France at that time was the traditional American enemy. To make matters worse, Napoleon made public his intentions to occupy Louisiana and make that land the bread basket of France in America.

Many in the US wanted to declare war on France. Not just for this but it added fire to the flame. The Federalists had wanted war for a long time and this gave them added impetus. Jefferson did not want war and struggled for a way out. He wrote to the US ambassador to France and said (I paraphrase), "The day that France takes possession of New Orleans is the day we must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation." Meaning that he was willing to go to war over New Orleans. He also instructed the ambassador to make sure that the French, in particular, Napoleon, understood that.

France was facing a slave revolt in the Caribbean. Between fighting and yellow fever, Napoleon lost over 40,000 soldiers. He could not afford a war with the US and Britain. The US wanted to purchase New Orleans for $10 Million. Napoleon sold all of Louisiana for $15 Million, only 3/4 of which they were required to pay (the rest went to reparations to the US government).

In one fell swoop, the US doubled its land by acquiring Louisiana. The purchase was ratified in 1803 and Louisiana was admitted to the Union in 1812.

Thanks,

LewisC

What is K-Ville? Why is New Orleans called K-Ville?

Two questions that I have been asked and have been seeing in forums.

K-Ville is a new series coming in September starring Blake Shields, Cole Hauser, Maximiliano Hernandez, Anthony Anderson, John Carroll Lynch & Tawny Cypress.

K-Ville is also a new name for New Orleans. Note that people who live in New Orleans, do not call it K-Ville.

Why is New Orleans called K-Ville? It means Katrinaville. I don't know who first coined the term but it was first used not long after Katrina hit.

Technically, I guess it could mean any place inundated by Katrina and that would include a large portion of the gulf coast. I typically hear it referring specifically to New Orleans, though.

A good description that I read some time back is in this article in the Guardian Unlimited, Hell and high water.

Katrina-ville is not just a trailer park. It is also a state of mind. It is a Checkhovian nightmare of bureacracy, corruption and insurance rip-offs that has plagued the region devastated by the storm and slowed reconstruction to a disgraceful crawl. It is of politicians unable to rise to the challenge. It is why New Orleans has still not unveiled a rebuilding plan. It is why $2bn of reconstruction funds have been wasted or stolen. It is the corruption that allowed 1,100 prison inmates to claim $10m in rental relief or saw renovations for an Alabama shelter eventually cost $416,000 per evacuee (more than the cost of a new home each).

An Important Announcement from Treasurer John Kennedy...

Does this qualify as good news? I am deciding that it does. Not so much as why he is changing. I figure he's probably changing because it's a good bet the state democrats are going to take a beating. And they should.

But I digress. The news today is the State Treasurer John Kennedy is switching from democrat to republican.

Your support and friendship are very important to me. I have always tried to tell you where I stand and what I stand for. That’s why I’m writing this letter.

I have decided to join the Republican Party. I wanted you to be among the first to know, and to hear it from me. It has been an honor to serve as your State Treasurer and I will seek my third term this October as a Republican.

He says he is converting due to his beliefs.

I believe in certain fixed, bedrock principles: that government should be responsive and accountable to the taxpayers who pay for it; that economic growth originates in the private sector; that education is the best safeguard of liberty; that ethics in government is critical to people’s faith in democracy; that the values of faith, work, family, personal responsibility and individual liberty are the building blocks of a prosperous society. I have concluded that the Republican Party is the party that best reflects my values today.

I also believe in the power of ideas. Every advancement in art, science, technology, business, cooking and medicine has occurred only after someone challenged the rules and tried another way. My career in public service demonstrates my belief in the power of looking for a better way. For the past several years, it has increasingly been the case that those public servants who have embraced my ideas and my philosophy of trying new approaches are primarily Republicans. I am grateful for their support and their willingness to try something different. I also believe for this reason it is time to join the Republican Party.

That's fine with me. What struck a chord with me was his comments about what he sees Louisiana as needing and what it needs to become.

Finally, I believe that Louisiana state government needs to change. It has to change. And it must change now. Otherwise, Louisiana will become a place our children visit when they come see us at Christmas, instead of a place they can live, prosper and raise their own families. I feel I can best contribute to that change as a Republican.

I am one of those people who don't care what political party someone is in. I tend to lean republican but over the last few years, I have become mostly disgusted by all politicians. If switching parties will make Kennedy feel that he can help make Louisiana a place where people can "live, prosper and raise their own families" (which I don't believe is the case right now), then I am all for it.

Rudy Giuliani talks hurricane, emergency preparedness in New Orleans

Today's headline is from the NY Daily News. The headline is Rudy Giuliani talks hurricane, emergency preparedness in New Orleans posted on September 4, 2007 at 4AM by David Saltonstall.

Best Quote: The plight of Katrina's victims was made worse by bungling and delays in getting aid to them. Giuliani's speech in Pearl, Miss., a Jackson suburb, will spell out his commitment to "ensure that every community in America is prepared for terrorist attacks and natural disasters."