Quote of the Day

[Montgomery Burns]

You might remember Louisiana's Aaron Broussard, the loud and antagonistic President of Jefferson County, who blamed all the ills visted on his Parish on everyone but himself. Typical.

Well, it appears that the citizens of Jefferson County aren't too happy with Broussard:

Much of East Jefferson, like much of the rest of greater New Orleans, was built on drained swampland. An elaborate network of drainage canals and pump stations is crucial to keeping water off the streets. But for 36 hours on Aug. 28 and 29, Jefferson pump stations sat vacant, after parish officials sent a total of 1,100 workers and 700 vehicles to Mount Hermon, near the Mississippi line. East Jefferson residents whose homes took on water are right to wonder whether that decision contributed to the damage.

[...]

Sending pumping station workers to a site 100 miles away surely hampered Jefferson's ability to respond to conditions created by Hurricane Katrina.

And now for The Quote Of The Day™:

"This wasn't an act of God," resident Danny Callahan told the paper. "It was an act of stupidity, and we're the little guys now stuck between the parish and the insurance companies. We are the ones who have to pay for the decisions politicians make. Higher insurance rates, deductibles, financial ruin. I don't want any politician deciding what they think is best for me. When he pays the mortgage on my house or takes my place in filing for bankruptcy, then he can make the decisions."

Damn. I wish more Canadians had Danny Callahan's attitude. Cheers to you, sir.

Unfortunately, Canada is infested with labor unions who seem to constantly strike. The BC Teachers Union wants a 15% raise over 3 years and they already make $65,000 a year for not a terribly demanding (to be polite--15 to 30 hours a week and tons of paid holidays) job.