BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (Reuters) - Gov. Kathleen Blanco appealed for an end to the bickering that has dominated Louisiana's hurricane recovery on Monday as she announced the creation of a new panel to oversee the process. The 24-member Louisiana Recovery Authority will be charged with developing everything from a 30-day plan to a five-year plan for helping the state's households, schools and businesses, Blanco said at the state capitol. | Ah, so they're not really doing anything, they're just going to develop a 5-year plan. How very Politburea of them |
The panel will work with a similar commission set up by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Blanco said she had asked it to "ignore ancient rivalries of politics, race and religion." | Religion? Somebody start a religious war in Louisiana without letting us know? |
"We can succeed only if we put aside politics and partisanship," she said. | "We must focus on putting the blame on George Bush. Somehow." |
The call marks a shift from the bickering between state, local and federal officials since Hurricane Katrina struck on August 29, followed by Hurricane Rita weeks later.
Xavier University President Norman Francis will lead the panel and former CNN executive Walter Isaacson will serve as its vice chairman. Dr. Norman C. Francis has been president of Xavier University (the only historically Black and Catholic university in the United States) for 35 years-since his appointment on june 26, 1968. His tenure is the longest of any sitting U.S. university president. he is a Louisiana native whose college degrees are from Louisiana universities: B.A. from Xavier University and a J.D. from Loyola University of New Orleans. he began his professional career as Dean of Men at Xavier in 1957.
Walter Seff Isaacson: Born in New Orleans, Times-Picayune Reporter, Columnist. Starting in December 1995, managing editor for Time magazine, and in July 2001 appointed as Chairman and CEO of CNN cable network. Author of Kissinger: A Biography, and Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. |
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