Monday, May 22, 2006

New Orleans SLAMS the Door on the Future!


The people of New Orleans make it more than a little difficult to feel anything short of “disdain” for them.


They had a wonderful opportunity to rid themselves of an inept mayor and they chose to put him right back into office.

It is a fact that we are known by the choices we make. The people of New Orleans have just thumbed their nose at the rest of America while, with the other hand, grasping for all the US taxpayer dollars they can grab!

You think it’s bad now? Wait ‘til the next storm hits New Orleans, most likely this summer or fall. If, and when, the storm hits, do not expect me to feel compelled to lend a helping hand. If one “chooses to remain in a burning building, of one’s own volition, then I respect that choice and I will make no attempt to extricate them from the fire.

Look, New Orleans has the potential to be a great city. Not just a city of sleaze and ease. Most of the states of the South got with the program way back in the sixties and pushed their state governments into the 20th century (now the 21st, of course). But not Louisiana. (Especially New Orleans) No, Louisiana maintained the “good ole boy” system of politics and remained steadfast in the Democrat party’s clutches. Every social program, every money-making scheme, to come down the pike has been tried in that state. The good ole boys continue to run the state as they see fit. As a result the state is about 75 years behind the remainder of the south. It is a joke.

As bad as the damage from Katrina was, it opened a huge door for New Orleans, and Louisiana, to pass through, into the modern world, and join the remainder of the South. Both New Orleans, and Louisiana, refused.

Today, much of the state lies in ruins. It will be years before it regains even the low rung on the ladder of prosperity it had attained before the storm.

Just look to her neighbor to the east, Mississippi. They were hit by the same storm. They suffered millions of dollars in damages and lives lost, but they sucked it up, and got on with their lives. They had leadership, something that is sorely lacking in Louisiana.

I feel sadness that a single city, and a single state, in the union, can be so devastatingly backwards. I shudder every time I hear of more money being poured into that doomed city. It is, as the expression would have it, “like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic’. No matter how much money the US taxpayers finally spend on New Orleans, it will do no good.

Until the people of Louisiana, and especially New Orleans, decide to rid themselves of the good ole boy system of government, slide out from under the crushing hold the Democrat party has on the state and go to a two-party system of government, it will remain a fiefdom of the “socialist” party in the US... the Democrat party. What we see in Louisiana is the end result of “socialism” as it is practiced in America. Everybody suffers equally... except, of course for the upper tier of Louisiana’s society.

New Orleans should be held up as a warning to America. THIS is what you get when you are ruled entirely by the Democrat party!

A multiple party system is healthy for America. Each party acts as a check on the other. (Most of the time at least.) But when either party has total control... society tends to swing to extremes… either to the left or to the right.

I will waste no more time worrying about the people of New Orleans, or the state of Louisiana. They had a chance, handed to them, to better themselves, and they decided to remain in the squalor they were in prior to the Hurricane.

There is an old expression: “God helps those who help themselves”. Apparently the people of New Orleans missed the lesson in that expression... somehow.

Longstreet

9 comments:

  1. Longstreet----The voters of N. O had no real choice. Breaking news is that Howard Dean and the DNC had secretly supported Nagin's opponent with organization and funds. This does not smell good for the opponet if he had won. Same old same old!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think a lot of you know that Louisiana was my home, my birthplace, and where 'most' of my family is, even today, and I have CLOSE ties with the state and the people, so, I don't think I'm speaking out of turn, the people of New Orleans are about as dumb as a box of rocks, leaving yourselves the option of electing the lesser of 2 incompetent evils??

    You're bound to end up with an evil Mayor that's STILL incompetent...

    Well New Orleans, you got what you voted for and any sympathy I had for New Orleans has been overcome by DISGUST, ignorance CAN be overcome, STUPIDITY is permanent...

    And STUPIDITY is one thing New Orleans has PLENTY of...

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a horrible choice they made. Totally clueless.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey man, don't judge us all by what the people in New Orleans do. Many of us would rather New Orleans be a different state. Here in SW Louisiana, our citizens actually DID help themselves in rebuilding after Hurricane Rita, which was just as every bit as powerful as Katrina, yet our side of the state is forgotten because we are not New Orleans. The good people of SW LA and SE TX HAD to rebuild themselves b/c the state and federal gov'ts were too damn worried about New Orleans and its political influence.

    Also, in regards to who won the run-off for mayor, New Orleans chose the lesser of two evils. Nagin is a complete bafoon who is too incompetent to be mayor. However, the last thing Louisiana and New Orleans needed was another Landrieu with real power in this state. The Landrieus are a big reason why New Orleans was in the shape is was BEFORE Katrina. Basically, New Orleans is full of generations of people who have been brought up to live off of and depend on the gov't for everything (thankfully Houston has many of them now, and they appear to have no intention of returning).

    The problem with Louisiana overall isn't Dem or Repub. It's that 98% of the state politicians, regardless of party affiliation, can't help but approve every tax increase bill that passes their desk. Louisiana was just recently ranked as the 10th highest state in regards to personal income tax burden. However, our citizens rank in the bottom 5 in avg. income earned.

    People like myself are starting to get involved and will be involved in being outspoken. We need to kick out 95% of our legislators and put party politics aside, as most of them do not represent our best interest.

    Again, please don't judge all of us because of New Orleans. Much of the rest of Louisiana is just as tired of hearing about their "troubles" as yall are. We still have another half of our demaged coast that has been neglected by our state "leaders."

    ReplyDelete
  5. They had a wonderful opportunity to rid themselves of an inept mayor and they chose to put him right back into office.
    *********************
    The same could be said fot the idiots in the Whitehouse and controlling Congress.

    A multiple party system is healthy for America. Each party acts as a check on the other. (Most of the time at least.) But when either party has total control... society tends to swing to extremes… either to the left or to the right.
    ************************
    Beautifully said Longstreet.... Look at our Federal Failure, I wouldn't even call them a government, mor like the Mistake along the Potomic.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nick: I couldn't agree with you more! Good luck on getting involved in LA. politics and saving your state! It has been in bad shape since "The Kingfish".

    Go for it. Our prayers are with you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Frank:

    Washington made a terrific choce when he chose the swamp "Foggy Bottom" to locate the nation's seat of government. However, from time to time, the swamp still needs draining! (We also need to eradicate some of the alligators!)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I wasn't speaking geographically, when I called it a mistake, the mistake is in the "misleaders" we sent there. Honestly speaking I can't recall this much failure in Washington, by a Pres. or Congress ever.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks Longstreet. I did a piece of few days ago on Louisiana's future. Check it out if you'd like:

    http://conservativecajun.blogspot.com/2006/05/future-of-louisiana-louisiana-is-state.html

    ReplyDelete