Save Public Housing in New Orleans

[Swamp Rat]

"On the 12th day before Christmas, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is planning to unleash teams of bulldozers to demolish thousands of low-income apartments in New Orleans. Despite Katrina causing the worst affordable housing crisis since the Civil War, HUD is spending $762 million in taxpayer funds to tear down over 4600 public housing subsidized apartments and replace them with 744 similarly subsidized units - an 82% reduction. HUD is in charge and a one person HUD employee makes all the local housing authority decisions. HUD took over the local housing authority years ago - all decisions are made in Washington DC. HUD plans to build an additional 1000 market rate and tax credit units - which will still result in a net loss of 2700 apartments to New Orleans - the remaining new apartments will cost an average cost of over $400,000 each!"

http://www.justiceforneworleans.org

Save Public Housing in New Orleans video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuQv4eAsvGE

http://www.peopleshurricane.org

http://www.defendneworleanspublichousing.org/index.html

[EFerrari]

1. K&R

:grr:

[Rosemary2205]

2. I hate public housing projects.

I'd rather see a requirement to mix affordable housing in with middle class housing and scatter it about. Concentrate the poor in one place and they will be abandoned there. We've already proved that.

That said, something has to be done to house homeless Katrina survivors.

[Swamp Rat]

3. They already did that in New Orleans - the mixed affordable housing did not survive Katrina

because, though they were MUCH more expensive, they were not built very well and made from crappy materials.

The buildings HUD wants to destroy are built with strong materials (long leaf pine floors, etc.), and could be renovated to be made more beautiful on the outside.

[Leopolds Ghost]

14. I hate private housing projects. Seriously

Alexandria VA (near the DC Beltway) recently tore down the last factory in city limits, an old Ford machine plant, to make way for a "neotraditional housing development" in which the most expensive units -- 1 million dollars and up -- had formaldehyde wallboard and petroleum based, furan-emitting plastic mantlepieces designed to look like wood.

[bobbolink]

37. So your purity is worth having people living on the street?

I really don't get your point.

I guess it's nice being so far above the fray that you don't have to worry about having a roof.

[Leopolds Ghost]

40. I said PRIVATE housing projects -- manufactured low-density housing, enforced by zoning laws

And otherwise completely unnatural and alien to the cultural preferences of most humans, except for Anglos and a few other historically nomadic, antisocial tribes. Even Anglos tend to prefer multi-family housing when the option is presented to them, of housing not being built by and for the profit of a few speculators and slumlords whose profit motive (manipulation of property values) depends on economic segregation, enforced by driveways, gates and cul de sacs.

That is not to say detached housing cannot be urban, but New Orleans already has more than enough historic shotgun houses that are cheek by jowl. To tear down multi-family housing and replace it with "neotraditional" houses for the upper middle class -- who recieve a subsidy for being willing to live on the site of a FORMER housing project -- is an outrage.

[bobbolink]

48. OK... got it. What was confusing is that so-called "low-income" "projects"

are actually built and run by private individuals or companies.

Yeah, another "privatizing" that is crapping all over poor folk.

"To tear down multi-family housing and replace it with "neotraditional" houses for the upper middle class -- who recieve a subsidy for being willing to live on the site of a FORMER housing project -- is an outrage."

I'm glad to hear someone outraged by this! It's gentrification at it's ugliest.

I'm hoping there will be MASSIVE protests on the site!!!

Slightly off-topic, but not really -- Low-income housing EVERYWHERE needs to be saved! There is a vote tomorrow on the budget, that if it doesn't get a veto-proof majority, will mean further cuts in low-income housing. I posted about it and BEGGED people to call today... but it sank and got hardly any responses.

It just isn't a sexy issue.

:cry:

[jwirr]

5. I hear you but if they are allowed to doze these existing homes they

will not replace them with anything else. They (the government and the wealthy) do not want the poor in NO.

[rocktivity]

4. It is true that the units weren't even affected by Katrina?

Then why waste money tearing down units that could be occupied now?

:crazy:
rocknation

[Vincardog]

6. IT is true that the units were not harmed by Katrina. They are tearing them down because

they never want the poor and or black people back in New Orleans especially not the Democratic ones.

[rocktivity]

9. That went without saying, LOL

But we should be equally outraged by the fiscal irresponsibility of wasting our bloodstained tax money on destroying housing that is and has has been fit for habitation.

:mad:
rocknation

[Swamp Rat]

11. And that's an excellent point too.

That tax money would not only cover the costs of repair to the existing, STRONGLY BUILT, housing, it could also be used in order to revamp our schools, fix the roads, plant trees, rebuild our infrastructure, etc.

CARPET BAGGERS! :grr:

[rocktivity]

10. dupe, sorry n/t

.

[KoKo]

16. I heard a report on NPR saying that they were better built than the crap they want to put up now...

I think NPR was talking about alot of those old "shot gun houses" built with good timber...but if the Public Housing is pre the 1970's then it's probably good wood, too.

They want to turn NO's into a Disney World Plastic City for Tourists alone. They worked hard on doing that with Charleston, SC which is NO's Sister City in architecture and similar age and they've almost succeeded. Not much left of the original folks who sold out after Hurricane Hugo decimated the place and folks rebuilt and the Real Estate folks came in and drove prices up forcing out those who either couldn't afford to rebuild (not enough insurance) and those too old and poor to deal with it.

America's great cites with Heritage and Culture sold out to Multi-MIllion/Billionaires who buy as second homes and just want the address and cache of managing to plunder a piece of America that still has some heritage. ROBBER BARONS...they WANT IT ALL!

[Breeze54]

7. Why hasn't the Senate moved on S.1668 yet?

:grr: It's just sitting there!!

S.1668

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN01668:@@@L&summ2=m&

Title: A bill to assist in providing affordable housing to those affected by the 2005 hurricanes.
Sponsor: Sen Dodd, Christopher J. (introduced 6/20/2007) Cosponsors (10)
Latest Major Action: 6/20/2007 Referred to Senate committee.
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

SUMMARY AS OF:
6/20/2007--Introduced.

Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007 - Requires the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) to allow specified uses by Louisiana of certain funds under the Road Home Program.

Requires state reports, made public on the Internet, on each state grant program for household
assistance programs funded with community development block grant (CDBG) disaster assistance.

Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to require Louisiana to make certain
funds available for specified community development pilot programs in Orleans and other parishes.

Authorizes additional funds for the Road Home Program.

Permits a state or locality to use, as a matching requirement, share, or contribution for any other
federal program, certain CDBG funds previously made available for disaster relief, long-term recovery,
and infrastructure restoration in major disaster areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma.

Authorizes appropriations to HUD, via FEMA, of certain Hurricane-related unobligated disaster relief
funds to reimburse metropolitan cities and urban counties for amounts used to provide rental housing assistance to hurricane-evacuated families.

Directs the Secretary to provide for an independent survey of public housing residents of New Orleans about returning to a repaired public housing or comparable dwelling unit.

Sets a deadline for the Housing Authority of New Orleans (Authority) to make a certain number of dwelling units available for occupancy.

Grants a right of return to previous public housing households.

Prohibits the Authority from: (1) preventing such households from occupying a replacement dwelling unit, except as prohibited by federal law; or (2) demolishing or disposing of any public housing
dwelling unit operated or administered by it (including any uninhabitable unit), except pursuant
to a HUD-approved replacement plan.

Requires the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees on all public housing projects
in the Katrina or Rita disaster areas for which plans exist to transfer ownership to other entities
or agencies.

Authorizes appropriations for repair and rehabilitation of the Authority's public housing.

Extends through June 30, 2008, the HUD Disaster Voucher Program and the Secretary's authority
to waive specified requirements related to section 8 rental assistance.

Provides for: (1) tenant replacement vouchers for all lost units; (2) voucher assistance for households receiving FEMA assistance, including residents of FEMA trailers; (3) voucher assistance
for supportive housing; (4) waiver of limitations on project-basing of vouchers; (5) preservation
of project-based housing assistance payments contracts for dwelling units damaged or destroyed;
and (6) reimbursement to landlords for damages resulting from abrogation by FEMA of commitments
entered into under the city lease program.

Prohibits the HUD Secretary from denying conveyance of property title to HUD and payment of hazard
or flood insurance benefits in specified circumstances.

Establishes within HUD an FHA-New Orleans Homeownership Opportunities Initiative.

Authorizes appropriations for the fair housing initiatives program.

Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on methods of improving distribution
of federal housing funds to assist states with hurricane recovery.

Commends the actions and efforts by individuals and organizations who contributed to the hurricane relief effort.

MAJOR ACTIONS:

***NONE***

ALL ACTIONS:

6/20/2007:
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8064-8065)
6/20/2007:
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
(text of measure as introduced: CR S8065-8073)

COSPONSORS(10), ALPHABETICAL : (Sort: by date)


Sen Boxer, Barbara - 7/17/2007
Sen Brown, Sherrod - 6/27/2007
Sen Casey, Robert P., Jr. - 9/11/2007
Sen Clinton, Hillary Rodham - 9/11/2007
Sen Durbin, Richard - 7/30/2007
Sen Kerry, John F. - 7/19/2007
Sen Landrieu, Mary L. - 6/20/2007
Sen Menendez, Robert - 11/1/2007
Sen Obama, Barack - 7/30/2007
Sen Reed, Jack - 11/1/2007

CONTACT THEM ALL!!!!!

My post from Nov. 14th, 2007 - Will you please help save Affordable Housing in New Orleans?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=2283412

:kick: & Recommended!!!

:grr:

[Swamp Rat]

8. Because none of them are homeless or jobless.

:grr:

[Breeze54]

22. Maybe also because not enough people are screaming at them??

C'mon people!! SCREAM!!!!!!!!!!!

[Leopolds Ghost]

24. Is any Democratic Blog doing an organized campaign on S.1668 ? Here?

Lemme guess... MoveOn does not care... too DLC-infested and well-to-do.

I ask because I don't know who to call or what the status of the bill is or what to say... do you\?

[Breeze54]

26. WTF are you talking about??

Gheesh!! Move On is NOT DLC infested and if you knew anything about S.1668

Then you'd know where it sits right now and what action has and hasn't been taken thus far!!

BTW??? If you knew anything about Move On and Color of Change

Call on your senator to support S. 1668

Help Katrina survivors come back home

http://www.colorofchange.org/s1668/?id=1580-220969

Public housing residents have been blocked from returning home for over two years. The Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007 (HR 1227 / S. 1668) would help them come home by repairing and opening thousands of minimally damaged public housing units. The bill passed in the House of Representatives, but some senators are standing in the way of the bill, supporting the interests of those who would like to see a richer, Whiter New Orleans and Gulf Coast.

Demand that your senator protect affordable housing in the Gulf Coast by supporting S. 1668 now.

Add your voice now!

Then you'd ALSO know that Color of Change...

What Is ColorOfChange.org?

http://www.colorofchange.org/about.html

ColorOfChange.org exists to strengthen Black America's political voice. Our goal is to empower our members—Black Americans and our allies—to make government more responsive to the concerns of Black Americans and to bring about positive political and social change for everyone.

ColorOfChange.org is comprised of Black folks from every economic class, as well as those of every color who seek to help our voices be heard. Our members are united behind a simple, powerful pledge:
we will do all we can to make sure all Americans are represented, served, and protected—regardless of race or class.


What We Do

Using the Internet, we will enable our members to speak in unison, with an amplified political voice.

Snip-->

How It Started

James Rucker and Van Jones came together in the wake of Katrina to use the organizing power
of the Internet to give Black Americans and our allies a renewed and strengthened political voice.


James Rucker

James Rucker, 36, served as Director of Grassroots Mobilization for MoveOn.org Political Action and Moveon.org Civic Action from the fall of 2003 through the summer of 2005, and was instrumental in developing and executing on fundraising, technology, and campaign strategies. Prior to joining MoveOn, James worked in various roles in the software industry in Silicon Valley: co-founded and leading Imana, Inc., an enterprise software company, in San Francisco, as well as providing management coaching and technology consulting for other start-up ventures. James is also passionate about school reform and issues of equity, and serves on the boards of two area schools. James grew up in Seaside, California and has a BS in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University.


Van Jones

Van Jones, 37, is the founder and executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (EBC). Headquartered in Oakland, California, EBC is helping to lead the national fight for alternatives to the U.S. incarceration industry. Born in rural west Tennessee, Van completed his undergraduate degree in 1990 at the University of Tennessee at Martin. In 1993, he graduated from the Yale Law School. A pioneering human rights activist, Van is well-known as a steadfast opponent of police brutality and mass incarceration. He has worked with a variety of well-known organizations and initiatives in the social justice and environmental arenas. In recent years, Van has expanded his work to incorporate insights from ecology, spirituality and social entrepreneurship. He is now working to create environmentally-friendly, "green-collar" jobs for formerly-incarcerated persons. He believes the path to peaceful streets and healthy communities is through "green-collar jobs, not jails." In the meantime, Van has recently earned two important, new titles: happy husband and proud father (of a one-year-old son).

:argh:

[Leopolds Ghost]

43. No, I don't, I've been in NOLA helping build houses -- no phone lines in the L9.

Most of the groups that nominally support public housing have made
no coordinated, mass campaign to help C3 and Bring our People Home.

And these are perfectly progressive organizations. They're just
ambivalent about public housing.

I assume the same is true of MoveOn since I have not gotten mailings
on it. I expect at least three mass e-mails to all MoveOn members,
to raise money AND call Congressmen.

It is not a "black" issue confined to Color of Change. It is a national issue.

I'll ask flat out:

Does MoveOn support the HOPE VI program enacted by the President in 1996?

(I wish the answer were "no")

Does MoveOn, ACORN, Common Ground, Hands On support the provisions of
S.1668 that allow for immediate demolition of all projects provided
HOPE VI requirements to find new housing for these people is followed
rigorously?

(I hope the answer is "no".)

If so they aren't on the same page with the groups that are trying to
prevent this disaster from happening. I'll warrant most of these
groups don't even view it as a disaster necessarily. Nobody viewed
the Supreme Court's overturning of desegregation in schools as a
disaster worth railing on about... they just shut up about it. Once
the buildings are gone, there is nothing to talk about.

The objective here is to stop the demolitions, don't you agree?

[Breeze54]

45. "They're just ambivalent about public housing. I assume the same is true of MoveOn "

Then do you remember what they say about people that 'assume'? It makes an ass, out of you and me! Never 'ass-u-me' anything! You're unbelievable and I understand your frustration, anger and hurt and I don't blame you one bit for feeling that way but there are groups trying to get people to help OUR cause!! I'm sorry you don't have a phone in the L9 but MoveOn isn't going to send you a letter/e-mail. 'Color of Change' is an off shoot of them, so you have to sign up at Color of Change with Van and James to get the e-mail alerts. Take a deep breath. I'm very proud of you for being there and helping to rebuild homes. You rock, as far as I'm concerned but you aren't abandoned at all. I can only imagine that it feels that way but there are still people trying to help and get the word out! :hug:

:yourock:

[Leopolds Ghost]

12. K&R. Unfortunately, Dems DON'T SUPPORT PUBLIC HOUSING. Only SR 1668 Can save NOLA Now

And the DEM Senate, in accordance with the Clintons' DLC wishes, is SITTING ON IT.

This demolition is the FULFILLMENT of Clinton's HOPE VI Plan for ALL PUBLIC HOUSING, which REQUIRES:

* Total demolition of existing units, even units in good condition.

* New units must be majority market rate.

* New units must be sold to a developer.

* Prospective affordable units must be Section 8, Reagan's favorite program, a waiting list for vouchers given directly to landlords.

* Prospective below-market tenants MUST HAVE GOOD CREDIT.

* Most "affordable" new units are OWNER OCCUPIED NOT RENTAL.

* "Affordable" is defined as below 50% of the AVERAGE income/price, which is skewed by the huge number of super-rich and inflated prices (average i.e. "affordable" price of a new home = $300K - $600K). NOT by the nationwide average.

* LIBERALS IN THE MOST LIBERAL CITIES IN AMERICA are calling for an OWNERSHIP SOCIETY where all rental units are converted to "AFFORDABLE" CONDOMINIUMS so the "poor can benefit from owning real estate".

Don't believe me?

TAKE A COURSE IN FUCKING REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT.

READ THE CHAPTER TITLED

"HOPE VI AND THE END OF FEDERAL COMMITMENT TO GOVERNMENT OWNED PUBLIC HOUSING".

This is the course and the standard textbook real estate lawyers and Realtors are required to take. It is written from a mainstream urban businessman's perspective, i.e. a DLC perspective. NOT a liberal perspective.

[Swamp Rat]

20. Hope Six SUCKS!

:grr:

[Leopolds Ghost]

13. PICS of the Housing Some Dems Hate (link)

Housing infected with the sickness of being once occupied by poor people,
and therefore unworthy of being fixed unless people with more money
are willing to move in and "clean it up":

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2431499&mesg_id=2431499

In the real estate industry, it is known as "ensuring full
depreciation prior to redevelopment", i.e. disinvestment
in poor neighborhoods and then redevelopment of same for
the benefit of the rich (90% of all new housing in America
is built for the top 10% income bracket, and according to
developer statistics, lending policies enforce this on a
micro level as well.)

[KoKo]

15. After all this time...they are still trying to kill the heart and soul of NO's

It's so sick...Thanks for the post on this...there's just so much...it overwhelmes. IF DU'ers didn't keep posting to keep the past horrible events in our minds...our hard drives would be wiped out.

Maybe NO's should be this year's DU charity. Saving what they want to bulldoze down and rebuild "on the cheap" so Cokie Roberts and her friends can say they "cleaned up NO's" and just "Come on Down." :-(

[Swamp Rat]

19. Please suggest it to Skinner

:hug:

[countryjake]

17. Did that pig actually say "I want only the best people back in public housing"

Am I hearing this right? They publicly admit their push to keep the poor from living in NOLA? I'd read so much double-talk and syrupy spin coming from Nagin previously, pretending that they cared about disadvantaged black folk and having to read between the lines to see what was really meant during these past two years. This Alphonso Jackson makes no bones about it...HUD only wants "good" poor folk using their system.

Sweet jesus, I'm a skeptic of "conspiracy" theories and such, but all that talk of "cloud seeding" and "levee bombing" to "cleanse" the region sure seems to be within the realm of possibility now. Our government has used that hurricane as "a gift from heaven" from day one, right before our eyes! Like that lawyer says, all they need are signs saying "Black renters need not apply"!

Brick structures that STOOD up to Katrina, buildings that have already been proven possible to be reclaimed by some industrious residents, are going under the blade of the bulldozers to be replaced with cardboard cracker boxes, "Desire-able" projects that do nothing to storm-proof New Orleans or prepare for an even bigger catastrophe with the reality of climate change and global warming. $762 million to replace what survived with crap that won't and not even half of the capacity to house people?

Thanks for posting those links, this makes me, thousands of miles away, mad as hell!

[Swamp Rat]

18. Thank you for caring

:hug:

[Tejas]

21. Noble cause but I don't understand this part

"How to Destroy an African-American City in 33 Steps"

I don't get the logic of calling NOLA an "African-American City".

[Breeze54]

23. Check the deomographic stats.

[Tejas]

29. so, "NOLA is an African-American City" ?

NOLA is a "majority African-American City". That and "African-American City" are two entirely different connotations and calling NOLA the latter lends itself as hype to promote an otherwise noble cause.

[Breeze54]

30. All I said was check the stats!

I believe, and I may be wrong but that before the hurricane,
the majority of residents were of African American descent.

But you didn't check the stats, so we don't have a link or anything to look at.

[Tejas]

32. correct, "majority" is correct, why aren't they using that?

Does any of the MSM not use "majority"? For that matter, can't say I recall any politician or CNN or any of the rest using anything besides the phrase "majority African-American city". Heck, even mayor Nagin uses it.

Again, a noble cause and a good dose of in-your-face advertising is indeed needed, as long as truth in advertising is used.


:)

[Breeze54]

35. You're asking for 'facts' from the M$M ??

:sarcasm:

:rofl:

That went out the window with * (bush) being selected and the FCC
allowing monopolies on the M$M by five companies in total!!

Have you seen, "OUTFOXED: Rupert Murdoch's War On Journalism" yet? :shrug:

If not, rent it or get it at the library. It 'splains a lot! :P :(

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418038/">Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism

Documentary on reported Conservative bias of the Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox News Channel
(FNC), which promotes itself as "Fair and Balanced". Material includes interviews with
former FNC employees and the inter-office memos they provided.

but it doesn't stop there... it's now permeating all the M$M!

Why do you think there are so many political blogs and messageboards
and progressive talk radio now? Check out: www.novaMradio.com and www.airamericaradio.com

Oh and also check out Media Matters... a dot.org i think.
for starters! ;)

OR


outfoxed rupert murdoch's war on journalism

Watch video - 78 min - Rated 4.7 out of 5.0

video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6737097743434902428

[Tejas]

36. so, conservatives invented the word "majority"?

You're trying to take this way beyond a simple opinion I stated as to the use of a word by an organization.
1) The city I live in is 52%/68%/73%/99% African-American in population, my math tells me I live in a "majority African-American city", not a "majority Mexican-American city".
2) There is no such thing as an "African-American city", "Mexican-American city", etc.

Learned both of these in 60's grade school.....not from Murdoch, Bush, or you.

have a nice day.

[Breeze54]

38. No, I answered your question.

"Does any of the MSM not use "majority"?"

NO, THEY DON'T, In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)!

Unless it's in their favor or for their candidate or current Big Pharma advertiser!

You want ME to answer a question that you're asking the M$M?? :P

That's fucked up and good-bye to you too. I don't have a need to educate you.

Do it yourself. I was just trying to help you out with some links.

YOU'RE WELCOME!! :grr:

Sorry if it offended you that I gave you to much information.

I'll bet that hurt. :eyes:

[Tejas]

46. Besides flying

your "MSM is teh debil and here's a ton of links that say so" flag, do you have any thoughts of your own as to the use of the wording?

[Breeze54]

47. I gave you my take on it.

The M$M sucks. They don't care about the truth or getting the 'truth' out.

They serve the corporate master. $$$$

[Kurovski]

25. K&R.(nt)

[flashl]

27. K&R n/t

[usaftmo]

28. "Relief" may be coming soon;

since LA just elected a rethuglican as Governor, once he takes office shrub just might provide a blank check...not for the sake of helping others...but to make it political.
:grr:

[Swamp Rat]

31. We'll never see it.

Most of the money will end up in Baton Rouge.

[Tejas]

33. the glass is half full

The message is spread far and wide, Justice for NOLA seems to have a lot more support out there than one might think. Just a quick google shows tons of supportive blogs etc. Keep your chin up! :)

[Swamp Rat]

34. Es muy difícil

especially since I see so many homeless people living under bridges, for such a small city.

But you are right: think, "glass half full."

Gracias. :hug:

[Leopolds Ghost]

44. The homeless camps are half full. It's a small city, after all. ;-)

[Leopolds Ghost]

41. Governot Bobby Jindal ran a "law and order" campaign against NOLA

Pandering to upstate rednecks who literally wanted it to sink beneath the waves
ever since Hurricane Betsy.

He promises to get more Road Home money for homeowners PROVIDED it is tied
to defunding public housing and programs for the poor.

He wants it to be a social experiment for neoliberal / neoconservative
privatization, like Congress is doing in DC.

And Ray Nagin (who calls himself Creole) agrees with him.

It is possible for people who are not white to align themselves with white racists from Jefferson Parish of the lowest order (talking oil barons and Klansmen here).

[Leopolds Ghost]

42. In essence, Bobby Jindal is their "beard".

He and Nagin gets away with Nixonian rhetoric that would outrage people if spoken by a white man.

He fully supports the sealing off of the city by Gretna sherriffs, for instance.

Indeed, anyone who challenged the shooting of "criminals who refused to leave the city in an orderly fashion" would be derided by most Louisianans.

I just was in Louisiana (and visited folks on the coast and up in the cotton belt). I know this to be true...

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

39. This is displacement/dispossession being practiced by our own government...

...on its own citizens in order to serve the moneyed elites.

The Declaration of Independence speaks to what must be done when the government turns on its own people:

http://www.law.indiana.edu/uslawdocs/declaration.html

[countryjake]

49. kick