Two of the masters of the Katrina disaster, former FEMA Director Michael Brown and former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, are on book tours.
During his appearance on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” Nagin said that in addition to peddling his self-published book, he’s “doing disaster consulting.” Stewart LOL.
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Back in the day, I would organize Saturdays around my favorite radio show, WPFW’s “The ‘Bama Hour,” hosted by the late Jerry “The ‘Bama” Washington.
Last month, hundreds of tornadoes touched down in the South. News about the death of 326 people and devastating property losses was washed away with the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Alabama was the hardest hit. In their hour of despair, Alabamans are worried they will be forgotten.
My friend Al White, a senior vice president with Hammerman and Gainer Inc., was recently in Birmingham, where he took photos of the devastation and Bethel Baptist Church of Pratt City. Or more accurately, what remains of the 114-year-old church.
Al expressed concern the survivors of the storms will be left behind:
With so many disasters occurring across the country, the tornado damage in Alabama and Mississippi with be forgotten and limited help will be provided to rebuild these communities. Many of these communities were facing financial problems before the disaster, and they have scarce resources to subsidize shortfalls in insurance claims to rebuild homes at current prices.
He added:
Many of the faith-based institutions in the South impacted by this disaster are not able to generate income from their church members because many are unemployed. Many of these communities will see a rapid decline in their population because there are no decent housing for their families. This will further erode their tax base. The homeless community will increase substantially.
Al’s concerns are shared by a coalition of organizations, including Mobilize.org and Rock the Vote, which is spearheading a national campaign to raise awareness of the disaster and solicit donations of money and supplies.
To find out how you can help, visit Rebuilding from Disaster.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says the omission of slavery in Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proclamation declaring April Confederate History Month “doesn’t amount to diddly.”
During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Barbour was asked whether the omission was a mistake. His response: “I don’t think so.”
This is the same Haley Barbour who thought it didn't amount to diddly-squat that FEMA funds were used to restore the retirement home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, which had been damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
A former chairman of the Republican National Committee, Barbour did nothing to reach out to black voters. He admitted as much in a Jan. 16, 1997, Washington Post op-ed:
We are failing to communicate effectively to many women and minorities why our proposals are the right policies to solve the problems that concern them most. Too often we Republicans are satisfied to say what we’re for, but not why we’re for it.
As a gubernatorial candidate in 2003, Barbour exploited the fight over the Mississippi state flag, with its Confederate emblem, to oust the Democratic governor.
In his speech before the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, RNC Chairman Michael Steele admitted the obvious, “I’m the first here to admit I’ve made mistakes.”
But Republicans would be making a colossal mistake if Barbour, a self-described “fat redneck,” becomes the face of the GOP. Their hopes of regaining control of the House would be gone with the wind.
