Monday, July 7, 2008

Katrina Aid diverted to state agencies

As a Mississippian this is by far one of the saddest stories I have reported on. If things were not bad enough for the thousands of Katrina victims still patiently waiting in temporary housing for their government to remember them and watching as the Clarion Ledger supports their Governor's plan to divert their aid money to EXPAND a coastal port, today's news might have been the proverbial last straw.

CNN reported today that Katrina aid was diverted from victims to Mississippi state agencies, a moral travesty

Prisons in Mississippi got coffee makers, pillowcases and dinnerware -- all intended for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The state's Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks took more coffee makers, cleaning supplies and other items.

Plastic containers ended up with the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration.
Colleges, volunteer fire departments and other agencies received even more.

But the Mississippi hurricane victims who originally were intended to receive the supplies got nothing, a CNN investigation has found.
I really don't have much to add to this. The story speaks for itself.

5 comments:

  1. What's even more awful is that we haven't seen it in any state papers.

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  2. But don't you remember? We hard-working Mississippians didn't need any help. Gub'ner Barbour said it hisself. We pulled ourselves up by the bootstraps. No bellyachin' or nothing.

    Let those freeloadin' prisoners (and state employees) get them supplies. We've got church groups to save us.

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  3. Whoa, Mitch. You have it nailed.

    What should we expect in a state that tries to divert low-income housing money to ports and federal Medicaid money put in to help Medicaid deal with Katrina victims in Mississippi to roads for the Toyota factory?

    Then we get to see the legislature struggle to fund Medicaid while the governor tried to take it out of hospitals, knowing full well the hospitals are going to get it back from the taxpayers. Just a lowdown way to tax us while claiming not to.

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