Hows that dirt taste Lee?

914, I think a more relevant phrase might be:

"How do those balls taste, Lee?"

J.

If it didn't happen to the Left, it didn't happen. If the two republicans assaulted had been non-caucasian, it still wouldn't of happened. If a member of a minority group goes republican (or libertarian, CP, etc) they give up their minority status.

I can understand the left no following it. It makes them look bad and takes them off message.

The difference, of course, is that the right has a moral compass and we take seriously the actions from our side that take away from our message.

By contrast the left really doesn't care. They don't care about people not of the left who get hurt. They don't care about people from the left who assault others or commit crimes for the purpose of advancing their agenda.

So the left won't ever talk about this. They have no interest in self examination. They already know they are perfect and therefore have nothing to regret. Their motives are pure so their actions are always justified no matter who they hurt or, eventually kill.

TPM has something.

Figures, James, that they'd post something 39 minutes after I said they didn't have anything.

Now Lee Ward has "caught me in another lie..."

J.

Well, if its not political it must be racially motivated? Right Lee?

The left isnt covering it because they arent suprised by the actions of their members. In short, walking down the street isnt news, it is done every day. Same with this situation.

To be honest, my opinion of the motives wavers back and forth. The police are being awfully cagey.

Apparently the Louisiana GOP wants to have the 2010 GOP convention in New Orleans. That is a terrible idea: (1) the city is corrupt and badly run, (2) money spent in New Orleans supports the worst in Democratic politics, and (3) the police cannot or will not protect GOP supporters. (This incident is a small sample of what will happen if a convention is held there.)

The LA GOP is probably obscuring the political nature of this incident because they know it will hurt their chances of hosting the GOP convention.

Please drop a note to the national GOP: no convention in New Orleans until the city cleans up it's act. (Like that's going to happen.)

The problem for everyone here, myself included, is that that there isn't much evidence to work with. So everyone is grabbing at every scrap of data to use to reinforce their own preconception of what happened.

This COULD be a hate crime, or it COULD be a robbery. But everyone is letting their biases get in the way.

The Lefties don't want to believe in the possibility that its a hate crime. To do so would undermine their moral outrage that it's the right that is violent and mean. So instead they grasp at any straw to say it was just a robbery.

The Righties want to believe its a hate crime, just to hoist the left by its own petard.

We all need to throttle back and let the cops do their work. They aren't going to sweep this under the rug. This didn't happen to some nameless tourist, this was an attack on a staffer to the governor, and it has his attention. I don't think the NOPD wants to cross the Governor to protect a bunch of bums who beat up a woman on the streets of New Orleans, no matter what their motive.

After a week, Fox News has finally picked up the story. So far, the only Fox News anchor that has even brought the story to the forefront, has been Megyn Kelly. She is discussing it right now (1:29 pm et)

A spokesman for the New Orleans Police Department tells us that he does not know the motive of the alleged assault of Gov. Bobby Jindal's chief campaign fundraiser last Friday. The comments from spokesman Bob Young come after a conservative blogger quoted Young as saying the attack was political.

lol!

Another lie exposed.

Every day another right wing lie is exposed on this story.

First Jay trumpeted that the pair were wearing Palin pins when they were attacked.

100% Bullshit.

Then Jay reported that her purse wasn't stolen.

100% Bullshit. We don't know who stole it, but it was stolen, and there is no proof that the purse in the photo is hers. Why can't we prove that? Because her was stolen, despite reports to the contrary...

And now another lie has been exposed - somebody quoted the NO PD spokesman and he's now denying the quote is accurate.

He's saying that no motive has been established, and countering right wing reports that he said the attack was indeed politically motivated.

Oh what a tangled web they weave... and their credibility is for shit.

Wow.

The pattern is clear, just as it was with Ashley Todd. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit then retract 24 hours later.

and Jay wonders why left wingers aren't reporting on this story?

Because so far this is nothing more than a mugging.

Lee, forgetting about the Palin Pin and Ashley Todd, what makes you so sure that it was a robbery?

Another quote from New Orleans PD spokesman Young.

Now, Young says he was misquoted. In an email to TPM he says:

"My comments were that I did not know the motive of the attack, that the incident was still under investigation and that information was not given to me in the initial report. Mr. Dollard misquoted me and inserted his own statement to me."

Mr. Dollard lied.

And lots of right wing bloggers picked up the lie and spread it.

This wasn't a question of interpretation - it was outright fraud. Just like the lie that they were wearing Palin pins, etc.

And the fun thing is the more you poke them about their lies, the more new lies they come up.

And why do they lie? I guess they thing their audience is stupid enough to believe those lies.

Are you?

Lee,

I know you remember me you asshole. It's nice to see that you've stayed consistent.

If you look at his posts, he's always leaving himself some room to escape later ("SO FAR, this is nothing more than a mugging"). If you read between the lines, he knows there is very real possibility of political motivation -- it's just his consistent way of being an asshole that he doesn't want to admit it. By the way, he mentions Ashley Todd on every post, has he ever on his life ever said anything negatie about Tawana?

Does anyone by the way find it a bit odd that "just a mugging" involves a fractured jaw, broken leg, etc.? That sounds like there is something emotional involved -- most muggings are about getting the money and getting gone. Isn't it, asshole?

Lee,

Check out Yahoo news which is now carrying the story that it was politically motivated.

The earlier story was saying the the police were confirming that the victims had said that their attackers had shouted politically motivated insults.

Yahoo news is now confirming that story.

Keep spinning. You only make yourself and your cause look more stupid.

Yahoo News has now corrected that report, Jim.

Update: This post initially didn't note that in Dollard's characterization, NOPD Public Information Officer Bob Young back-tracked on his initial repeated characterization of the attacks "as politically motivated" to say he "wasn't sure." We've added copy to make that clear. We will have more reporting on this later today.

Update: Bob Young, though confirming that the question of political motivation is a part of the investigation, is denying Dollard's report that he said the attacks were of a "political nature" to Politico's Ben Smith and saying Dollard's account of what he said is "completely incorrect."

Sorry, Jim - Yahoo made the mistake of believe a lying right wing blogger.

That'll teach 'em. I bet they don't make that mistake again anytime soon.

Yes, the questions of whether this was politically motivated or not is part of the investigation, but so far THERE IS NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER THAT THE ATTACK WAS POLITICALLY MOTIVATED.

To me the bigger issue is that we've already have had lefty commenters here say so what they basically deserve it because of O'Rielly and Beck and Limbaugh. That's just freaking ridiculous and they know it. Their side engages in the most vile vitriol I've ever seen.

Isn't it the left that encourages our troops to frag their officers, isn't it this same bunch from New Orleans that breaks windows and accused the President of the United States of engineering the 911 disaster, good lord can it get any more hateful than that? Look in the freaking mirror once in awhile!

What's the "teabagger" crime? Oh God we're against irresponsible fiscal policy and over taxation, we're all about National Secruity and equal OPPORTUNITY for all (not equal outcome.) That of course makes us Racist. Good Lord catch a clue!

Jay,
You mentioned the LEGENDARY Lee Ward!!!! I thought he fell off the earth, but it is nice to know he is still providing troll-like fodder for the rightous!!

The troll sounds like he knows more than he should about the attack. His ISP wouldn't happen to be from New Orleans, would it?

Yeah, those leftards are pissing all over your parade, eh Jay?

Leftists like Michelle Malkin:

New Orleans beating follow-up: Attackers yelled "Little blonde b*tch," "f**king faggot," nothing political

The boyfriend of Gov. Bobby Jindal's chief fundraiser says he's unsure whether protesters were responsible for attacking them April 9 outside a Republican event in the French Quarter. Joseph Brown, 29, told police protesters were outside Brennan's restaurant during the Louisiana Republican Party event. But most had left about an hour before Brown and Allee Bautsch, 25, left the restaurant. According to a police report obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, Brown said a group of men yelled obscenities and taunted them, but he heard nothing suggesting the attack was politically motivated. Bautsch suffered a broken leg in the attack.

I'm transcribing part of the police report for you:

"Shortly before 10:30pm, Mr. Brown and Ms. Bautsch left the restaurant and began walking towards St. Louis. Street. Mr. Brown noted there were still several protestors loitering in the area, but not nearly the number which had been present earlier. Soon after leaving the restaurant, he heard what he described as 'cat calls.' At an unknown point within the 400 block of Royal Street, both Mr. Brown and Ms. Bautsch then crossed from the Brennan's side of the street to the Supreme Court side of the street. They continued to walk towards St. Louis when Mr. Brown began to hear people behind him scream obscenities. Initially he was not sure if thoese were being directed at him and his girlfriend, or if they were simply the outbursts of drunken revelers. As they neared the intersection, Mr. Brown stated he heard subjects state thing such as, 'Little blonde bitch,' 'You're a fu**king faggot,' and 'You think you're fu**king special.' At this point Mr. Brown realized these derogatory terms were being directed at Ms. Bautsch and him. He then requested she begin to walk faster toward the Omni-Royal hotel located at the intersection of St. Louis and Royal. Mr. Brown also recalled the farther they got from the restaurant, the closer these subjects got to them. When they reached the corner of St. Louis and Royal, Mr. Brown and his date turned south on St. Louis. It was at this time that one of the subjects pushed him into the iron gate which surrounds the State Supreme Court. He then fell to the ground, and one of the attackers got on top of him and began to attack him. Mr. Brown stated as he was being pushed to the ground, Ms. Bautsch was also either pushed down or fell down near where he was. As he fought to get his attacker off of him, he heard his girlfriend cry out in pain. She then repeatedly stated,"Oh my god, my leg is broken."

All of the attackers then ra away in an unknown direction. Mr. Brown then saw two uniformed Police Officers respond to their location. He requested they notify an ambulance as Ms. Bautsch was in obvious physical pain. The officers then did so. In response to Sergeant Gernon's questions, Mr. Brown stated the majority of the protestors had left the area outside of Brennan's about an hour prior to their leaving the restaurant. Additionally he was unsure if the attackers were the protestors. It should be noted that other than making reference to the victims being nicely dressed, along with other observations about their physical appearance, Mr. Brown did not hear them make any other comments.

Watching the right wing blogospher, led by Jay Tea, race around in their little clown car, piling out and running in circles every time they come across a new lie, has been amusing.

The "news" that this was politically motivated?

Nothing more than total unmitigated 100% bullshit - and Wizbang led the bullshit band - with Jay Tea as Chief Clown.

Congratulations, Jay - another milestone. I'll happily accept your apologies in a future post.

Lee Ward

Much like every conclusion you ever reach, Lee, your masturbatory self-congratulations here are, ummm, premature.

Lee -

You're frothing again. Please use your hankie.

And the "Blonde Bitch"? "Fucking Faggot"? If that's what they were yelling, then I've really got to congratulate you - it's now gone to hate-crime level. Beaten up because of perceived characteristics? Or sexual preferences? Yep - it's a hate crime.

Oh, wait - they're not Democrats! Whew - for a while there I thought the perpetrators were going to be in TROUBLE!

"Mr. Brown stated the majority of the protestors had left the area outside of Brennan's about an hour prior to their leaving the restaurant. Additionally he was unsure if the attackers were the protestors."

Simple reasoning says the attackers may have been some of the protesters, or maybe not. No conclusion can be made as to the motive for the attack, including the troll's conclusion that the attack was *not* politically motivated.

Lee has his own vision of reality, and won't let ANYTHING get in his way.

Bautsch HAD HER PURSE AFTER THE ASSAULT. It turned up missing AFTER THE POLICE ARRIVED. It was photographed with her and a police officer.

Were I the banning sort, Lee, I'd DEMAND that you ADDRESS THE FACT THAT THE ASSAILANTS DID NOT TAKE THE PURSE or be banned as a troll.

I know you won't. Just like you won't acknowledge that I corrected the "Palin pins" 13 hours after I first said it, and almost a day and a half ago.

I repeated what was originally reported, and corrected when better information became available.

My next update will reflect the best information available at that point, and correct anything that needs correcting.

And Lee Ward is still a punkass oxygen thief. The latter is especially egregious, considering how frantically hissy he gets.

J.

I do believe that Lee Ward is actually ecstatic that these people got assaulted. Shame on you Lee, for taking pleasure at other people's misery and misfortune.

Woo hoo! I'm a leader of the right-wing "blogospher" (sic!) Now I know how Rush Limbaugh felt when he was named "head of the GOP" by leading liberals.

Now, as Mr. Ward notes, "the majority" of the protesters left. Which means that a minority lingered. I'd wager that "three to five" would qualify as a minority.

Bautsch herself said she used her own purse as a pillow. So there's Lee, lying again. The guy lies his ass off so much, he spends half his day re-cinching up his belt.

Of the insults: "you think you're so fucking special" would certainly fit into the "elite Republican fatcats" stereotype Lee and his more boisterous ideologues would toss at folks like Bautsch and Brown. The rest is garden-variety baiting (kind of like what Lee does), so it doesn't show anything either way.

If this turns out to be a non-political crime, just a run-of-the-mill assault and battery that happens every day in a thoroughly Democratic city like New Orleans, then I'll retract this.

But I still believe that it's not. I still think that it was political, that members of the Iron Rail collective was involved, and that this will all come out eventually.

But apologize to you, Lee? In your fevered dreams.

Except for ever thinking you should be taken seriously. Man, am I ever sorry for that.

J.

Chip, that two people ended up seriously injured and in the hospital is utterly irrelevant to Lee. To him, all that matters is that he's "proven right" and he has "exposed the lying liars of the right." The only thought he probably has about Bautsch and Brown is that he's sorry they weren't killed, because then I'd have been even angrier and he'd have even more to crow over.

"The death of one is a tragedy; the death of a million is a statistic." That's pretty much Lee's attitude.

J.

I just read an interview with Allee Bautsch's mother on foxnews.com.

Bautsch's mother said her daughter has a rod that goes down the entire center of her leg with screws in her ankles.

"For a mother, it's a lot," she said. "The recovery is enormous. She has five different scars that's she'll have from this. This isn't just something that, you know, she was pushed down on the ground or she fell. That's not the case. They were stomping her."

Sounds to me like the assailants hated her almost as much as Lee Ward hates you, Jay.

Lee is big on citing the police report but it is obvious he has never read it. He would have read that the police consider the loss of the purse as unrelated and filed a separate report regarding the theft.

He would also have read that the couple was pursued from the restaurant, that while they cannot be certain that the attackers were from among the protesters, there were still protesters present and since they were followed from the restaurant one can reasonably assume that there is a very high probability that the attackers were indeed protesters.

Lee would have to be making the assumption that the couple was attacked with a motive of robbery despite there being no attempt to rob the couple. He is making the assumption that if there was no robbery that the couple was attacked by some random group of thugs who just happened to be in proximity to the protesters at the restaurant and then followed the couple shouting vulgarities.

Lee would stretch the limits of credulity to weasel out of the fact that leftist thugs did this. Not everyone lives in troother land Lee. We're not buying the crap you're selling.

Gather round boys and girls, today's story is The Boy Who Cried Wolf

There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. To amuse himself he took a great breath and sang out, "Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!"

The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf.

etc.

"Chip, that two people ended up seriously injured and in the hospital is utterly irrelevant to Lee."

More bullshit.

But without the made-up lies pretending this was politically motivated it's nothing more than a mugging. And that's all I complained about - the lie after lie after lie.

Obviously the whiff of a possibility that this was politically motivated -- which was then fueled by lie after lie after lie -- is the only reason Jay Tea and his band of Klown Kar Krazies are writing about this everyday, run of the mill mugging.

If it had been a gay man or a homeless person or my grandmother who'd been mugged would the Klown Kar Police have sprung into action?

Of course not.

They are motivated by hate, they are fueled by lies, and they are applauded by those who hate like them and want to believe the lies. It's a classic circle jerk of... jerks.

Jay pretending he gives a crap about anyone except his fellow Republicans is the joke here.

And the punch line?

But those who are insisting that there's nothing political about this despite the evidence to the contrary, demanding absolute proof (which they won't actually accept anyway) before they'll even consider the possibility -- they are digging their own graves.

And I don't feel the least bit inclined to stop them.

Hell, I'll cheerfully kick the dirt in after them.

Yeah, Jay's a caring soul alright. lol....

Gather round boys and girls, today's story is The Boy Who Cried Wolf

But in this case, the wolves (sorry wolves) kicked the crap out of the Boy and Girl...

Got any PROOF!!!!111!!! that you showed any compassion for the victims, Lee?

Thought not.

Got any PROOF!!!!111!!! that this was a "mugging" -- legally defined as "an assault with the intention of robbery?"

Thought not.

Got anything besides a hysterical shrieking and cat-calling?

Thought not.

I'm going to keep updating this story, regardless of where it leads.

What happened to all those anti-Obama stories you touted right up until you got off the Hillary bandwagon and started drinking the Hope and Change Kool-Aid? Ever gonna follow up on those?

Thought not.

I still believe that the attack on Brautsch and Brown was politically motivated, but I will not say so authoritatively before more facts at hand. At that point, I will decide if I need to revise my opinion.

What's the best way to describe your standard manner of operation?

"Thought not."

J.

I'm glad someone is giving this story the play it deserves. Thank you, Jay.

The thing with Lee and adrian is that they are clearly glad that this couple was put in the hospital with broken bones. Despite numerous opportunities to deny that fact they have remained steadfastly silent.

Never once have they said anything that even if this was not politically motivated (still the most likely story and the evidence certainly would lead one to assume such) it is still a horrible crime.

Instead they smugly deny any relation to the protest. They fixate on bogus details. First the Palin pin detail, which was quickly corrected, and then the purse, which they have yet to admit that it had nothing to do with the assault even though the NOPD says as much.

The clear message is that these lefties want very badly for this couple to have been assaulted for political reasons and they want almost as much to be able to deny that it was political.

"these lefties want very badly for this couple to have been assaulted for political reasons . . ."

That's the most obvious case of projection I've ever witnessed.

funny!

"The thing with Lee and adrian is that they are clearly glad that this couple was put in the hospital with broken bones."

The thing with right wing folks like Jim and Jay is that they have to make up bullshit like that statement in order to cover up their ignorance and willful disregard for the truth.

The stupidity of trying to make this a major story reminds me of why I have tuned out of politics. This is not a replay of the Dan Rather story fellows! The is the story of a mugging in a tourist town. I hope the cretins who did this are arrested and pay for their crime. What makes these two more important than all the other crimes happening every day in every town? I wish we could have gotten this much caring from you about the safty of the people in New Orleans in all the years following Katrina. I was a Republican then too. Why didn't you care then? Really. Oh, that's right. It is our fault. Well, perhaps these two people brought this on themselves. Stupid of them to go to a sin filled,corrupt, below sea level city and look like they have money in front of all those ignorant poor criminals. Personal responsibility people! LOL!

Sadly, your credibility at this point in time = FUBAR

Two theories are being argued here. 1) that the attack was a politically motivated hate crime 2) that it was a mugging/robbery.

After reading the police report, I don't see where #1 has been disproven. The evidence doesn't support it conclusively, but it doesn't disprove it.

However, #2 seems to be less certain. Since no possessions were taken by the attackers, then this was not a robbery. The loss of the purse is being investigated as a separate incident following the attack. So the police are not treating it as a robbery, but as a Second Degree Battery. This was not a mugging, mugging is defined as assault with intent to rob. The intent here was battery.

So now we get back to motive. Obviously, theft was not the motive. They were followed for several blocks by people yelling derogatory terms the whole way, and then were battered.

Since the term "You're a fucking faggot" was used, wouldn't that classify the attack as a hate crime?

Doctor2ju since you are turned off by politics go back to listening to your Moby albums.

Lee, I have missed you on the earlier thread...

Where I am asking why it is that you aren't interested by statements of other attendees of the dinner that they were pursued by protesters and they escaped by getting in a cab.

Where I ask you why you lied saying that Mr Brown's statement was released by the NOPD when the link to the police report contains no such statement.

Where I ask why you believe that the NOPD spokesman's refusal to characterize the assault is any different from his refusal to characterize the nature of the protest.

No you are not interested in truth (well "Trooth" maybe). You are just glad to see 2 conservatives put in a hospital.

You call the assault not out of the ordinary, yet most muggings do not break legs in 4 places, do not break noses and jaws or give concussions. Most muggings take money from the victims and yet in this one one of the attackers lost HIS watch.

You do not look at the evidence you just weasel and spin.

Actually Doctorj2u, a lot of conservatives did care about people who were hurt by the hurricane. I would ask you to shove your self righteousness and consider why did Mississippi recover far quicker form the disaster? They reached out to private industry and private charity and got the work done. NO and Louisiana stretched out their hands for government handouts and their incompetent dem governor and mayor screwed things up for political gain.

"Since the term "You're a fucking faggot" was used, wouldn't that classify the attack as a hate crime?"

Maybe...

The fact that nothing was said by the attackers about the victims politics or the political views of the attackers works against the meme that the attack was politically motivated.

There is no evidence whatsoever that the attack was politically motivated... but that falsehood is the only reason right wing blogs picked up this story.

The responsible right wing bloggers like Malkin took a cautious approach, not repeating the lies and correcting the facts as soon as the truth was known.

Others, like Jay, used the lies to build more hatred towards Democrats, suggesting that leftists may die of lead poisoning and the like.

That's just irresponsible.

I think if an anti-gay slur was used then it may well qualify as a hate crime... now that the Democrats passed the Shepard Act -- something Wizbang bloggers spoke up against.

If it qualifies as a hate crime then the FBI can be called in to investigate, and that would take it out of the New Orleans PD hands...

but then, if the Feds are investigating you know Jay will claim that the evil OBAMATRON is manipulating the findings of the FBI!?!?!

The paranoid nutcakes on the right will spin ANYTHING in order to justify their hatred towards their fellow Americans who have different political views than their own.

As will the nutcakes on the left. I concede that.

We just happen to be commenting on a post written by one of the right's finer nutcakes.

Adrian in post 41:
"Sadly, your credibility at this point in time = FUBAR"

That's the most obvious case of projection I've ever witnessed.

funny!

Paranoid?

How many buses at the dem convention in 2008 were attacked, much less in a way that endangered every passenger on board?

How many dems have been assaulted at Tea Parties like Kenneth Gladney?

How many dems have been assaulted like Brown and Bautsch?

How many dems were assaulted at the Boston Tea Party this week? How many Tea Party attendees?

The violence has been growing from the left for a long time now. Ignorant assholes like yourself who ignore this fact and excuse it only encourage more of it.

jim m, don't forget the SEIU in Columbus that ended with 25 fine, upstanding union members (and almost guaranteed Democrats) were arrested. Which, by my calculations, is about 25 more than the number of Tea Party protesters that were arrested this week.

Oh, and Lee, let me repeat my challenge from the previous thread -- I wouldn't want you to miss it.

Lee, time to put up or shut up. Quote -- in the exact words -- where I was "lying." Remember, in the real world, not in the Wardiverse, "lie" has a very specific definition -- "to knowingly say something false with the intent to deceive." Show precisely where I did exactly that. Show the false words, show how you KNEW I knew differently, and show how you KNEW I intended to deceive.

J.

Jim M.,
I hate to burst your bubble, but you are talking to an eye witness and the BS that carried as "truth" in the political circles can't overcome what I saw and lived with my own eyes in the YEARS when most in America forgot about a destroyed American Gulf South. My 80 year old mother lived a block from the beach in Pass Christian, MS. She lived for 4 months without drinkable water. I knew New Orleans would survive April 2008. I knew the Mississippi coast would survive May 2009. We just moved my mom to a retirement community in LA this January. My thought as I left the slabs of a once beautiful community for the last time was maybe now I can forget Katrina like the rest of the country. Why was MS behind New Orleans? It was that New Orleans got more volunteers to help in the impossible task of rebuilding communities. The people of MS and LA were both brave, resilent, and hard working. What was the difference? The American people that cared heard more about the situation in New Orleans. The political people here called it "whining" Remember that if your world is ever destroyed.
BTW, I just finished watching a local New Orleans show on the news of the week. They spent a good amount on crime because it was a very violent week. The Brennan mugging was not mentioned. It is small potatoes even in the town where it occurred.

The Democratic Underground reminds me of the Arab World and the Holocaust. They say that the Holocaust never happened and that Hitler didn't go far enough.

Its sad to see comments like 50 that if critically examined support the antithesis of their argument. Seems to happen a lot on the "Left." I think it has something to do with the "inability to see the other side" of an argument.

I am referring to the last paragraph.

Don't worry my bubble didn't burst. I know that MS got way more in terms of private charity help. Primarily in actual hands on labor by people who took their own vacation time, drove down to MS and helped in any way they could. Countless churches organized multiple trips to MS. I know of zero of these trips to LA.

Gov Barbour did a far better job of reaching out to private charity than his counterpart in LA. In LA they dithered and waited for federal handouts and direction. They wasted time before the storm hit and wasted it afterward. They squandered what few resources they had and didn't encourage private help.

Granted MS doesn't have a city like NO. Granted NO had some significant issues that were brought on by years of corruption, neglect and incompetence.

While you say that MS was behind LA in recovering from Katrina and I don't doubt that there are pockets which are still recovering, I have heard and read numerous accounts of the recovery and every one has held out that MS has done a far superior job over all and that LA has wasted time effort and money over political waste and handout seeking. They have spent more time whining and wallowing in self pity rather than strapping on a tool belt and getting to work.

If it hasn't been said already, this

I'm particularly enjoying the [DU] talk that Bautsch and Brown might have staged the whole thing for political gain, that they arranged for their own assault so they could blame it on the left.