PRES. OBAMA SKIPS MISSISSIPPi

President Obama is bypassing Mississippi on his Gulf Coast visit
Hattiesburg - WDAM

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I am asking: WHY is the President skipping out on Mississippi, where the EYE of KATRINA made landfall?!

The WDAM story, which came across Twitter, is full of long-winded excuses made by Obama's team, but I say there are NO REASONS that he should not have come to Mississippi and made a tour from Pearlington to Pascagoula!!! Nothing short of that should have been No. 1 on his so-called Katrina visit to "The Gulf Coast!"

No amount of telling the President what Katrina did to Mississippi can replace the importance and profundity of actually walking through the results of Katrina!

It seems that Katrina only made New Orleans worthy of a visit from the President. And it still seems like most of the nation continues to believe that "New Orleans" and "Gulf Coast" are one and the same.

Sad indeed!

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posted via iPhone

$2.8 BILLION FOR RECOVERY - UNSPENT

SOUTH MS REBUILDING PROJECTS – SNAIL'S PACE RECOVERY

$1.2 billion in FEMA public assistance funds
$218 million for CDBG community revitalization
$590 million for CDBG regional water/wastewater infrastructure
$570 million for CDBG Port of Gulfport
$200 million for CDBG Hancock County long-term recovery
(Stats from Governor Barbour's office)

Barbour says the money is there, it just needs to be used and if it's not used by Sept. 1, it may get taken away by the state. For example, only $16.7 million of the community revitalization money has been spent. Also, construction has begun on only 23 of the 86 projects that are supposedly in the pipeline to the Gulf Coast's dream of recovery.

As for Barbour's attempts to solve this beleaguering matter, he was supposed to meet with the director of Homeland Security on March 6th. He wants all issues between local governments (councils in general have been a huge sticky-wicket to work with) and FEMA settled by June 30.

I think that is a huge request at this late date. Why hasn't he taken a steps to solve this situation long before now? What has he been doing all these months? Where has the money been "sitting"? Has it collected interest??

This is truly ridiculous!

A PERSONAL RANT

This goes for the greed-driven developers, the whims of city "leaders" and "supervisors," the short-sightedness of state and local government, the decisions of HUD and Haley relative to the port expansion, the re-zoners and the deciders who want to make it impossible for the little person to have a home whether rental or MEMA . . . this goes especially for Waveland and Bay St. Louis city leaders:

It's been nearly 3 years and 4 months . . .

You want to be REAL leaders of the community??? You want to make a REAL difference?

If you want true positive effect, how about getting down to reality instead of pie-in-the-sky casinos and condos.
How about helping ALL people of the coastal neighborhoods by giving them fair and equitable zoning that allows them to rebuild their homes, rent a fair and equitable house or apartment, or allows them to own a MEMA cottage (which is NOT a TRAILER!!).
How about helping those who must rent have fair housing to rent!
How about requiring anyone who wants to build condos and casinos to include a certain percentage of rental property in their projects that will allow those of lesser means to have a home! (Remember those initial days of Haley's SMART CODE dreams??)
How about pitching a good ole southern hissy fit over the fact that people of lesser means than those owning a fancy town home built by some outsiders don't have a place to call home or are about to be forced to move their MEMA cottage to a "trailer" park because construction of their home and rebuilding has been stalled and stalled!
How about getting your greedy narrow-minded heads out of your collective selfish asses!

I think it's time that people stand up to the nuts in charge. I'm not a gun-loving person by any means, but I think if I were in a position where someone was about to MAKE me move my cottage because my house wasn't completed by some ridiculous dead line, it would be time for a fence and then a gun and I would dare you to step foot on my land! This isn't necessarily a literal interpretation of "standing up," I'm just trying to make a point.

HURRICANES & MS 2008

Mantras for My Beloved MS Gulf Coast :



To see the effects of Ike in Biloxi as early as Thurs. Sept. 11, check out this easy to view slideshow with photos taken by Vincent Creel, Public Affairs Manager for the City of Biloxi: Ike Flooding





For info about Gustav's damage in Mississippi as well as news on Ike and continuing news on Katrina recovery efforts visit: Gulf Coast News