Alphonso Jackson is such a tool. He has approved MS Governor Haley Barbour's plan to divert HUD Community Development Block Grants for housing to be used for port repair and expansion. And he did so even though he believed that MS was indeed diverting funds needed and intended for housing, something which Haley denies. From the Sun Herald....
GULFPORT --The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved a state plan Friday to spend $600 million in grants on the Port of Gulfport instead of housing.
Fair-housing advocates have been the loudest critics of the plan, and their concerns were backed this week by two congressional Democrats - U.S. Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Maxine Waters, D-Calif. - who urged HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson to oppose the plan.
But despite those cries, Jackson sent a letter to Gov. Haley Barbour on Friday approving the state's plan to divert the $600 million, initially earmarked for housing, to repair and expand the Port of Gulfport, the third-busiest container port along the Gulf of Mexico.
Frank and Waters sent a letter to Jackson on Thursday, citing a recent FEMA report that estimated more than 40,000 Mississippians remained displaced after the storm as of November 2007.
Opponents of the port spending say curing the state's profound housing crisis is a much more pressing need than upgrading the port.
The money is part of $5.5 billion in HUD Community Development Block Grants approved by Congress after Hurricane Katrina. The Mississippi Development Authority, which answers to Barbour, is charged with administering the grants.
The MDA disputes the claim that the money is being yanked from affordable-housing programs. Barbour has said the state's original request in 2005 for Katrina-relief funding through HUD included the port project, in addition to housing.
Barbour issued a statement Friday, saying he appreciated HUD's recognition; he said the port's restoration "has been a key component of Mississippi's comprehensive recovery plan since the fall of 2005."
I bet he does appreciate Alphonso when even though Alphonso believes Haley is diverting the funds he finds a way to blame Congress....
In the letter from HUD, the federal housing secretary did express some qualms with the plan to move the money.
"I remain concerned that this expansion does indeed divert emergency federal funding from other more pressing recovery needs, most notably affordable housing," Jackson wrote to Barbour.
But Jackson said specific "congressional language" associated with the recovery grants gave him little choice but to approve the diversion.
For some silly reason I thought when the Dems took back Congress we'd see an end to this crap but here is Water's weak reaction.....
Waters told The Associated Press on Friday she could not understand why Jackson believed he didn't have the authority to reject the plan.
"I am suspicious that Barbour receives favored treatment with this administration. He kind of gets his way," Waters said.
One of the first blog-based books, the anthology Special Plans examines Feith's role in misleading America into war. Buy from 
he's a republikkkan. what did you expect.
Posted by: pansypoo | January 29, 2008 at 10:59
I mentioned this to my wife the other day (she's from MS)...
-So? Don't you remember the Delta before the casinos came into Tunica? They need the money...
Uh, this was money intended to rebuild peoples' houses.
-^%#$%#$^&$&*^$*^%$*&$%&ers!
Posted by: minusp | January 29, 2008 at 13:31
thanks sooo much for picking this story up.
(btw, if you haven't heard about it yet, there's still time to vote in the online poll at Politico to get a question about recovery into the next round of Presidential debates. Color of change has instructions.)
http://www.colorofchange.org/gccwpolitico/
Posted by: gene'o | January 29, 2008 at 15:03
Is anyone getting kickbacks here? Just askin'?
Posted by: Grandmère Mimi | January 29, 2008 at 15:55
New Orleans' resident Susan Cowsill's POV video about government post Katrina inaction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRjEjkCKASg
Posted by: Tracy | January 29, 2008 at 18:38
Mimi:
Probably so. But also, I suspect, the port improvements are going to make the surrounding area more attractive for big hotel and casino development. Probably a lot of land that changed hands right after the storm for pennies on the dollar is going to go through the roof as commercial property. Just my suspicion.
Also, did you guys hear about the FEMA/CDC suppression of information in the formaldehyde studies? it was in the WaPo and all over the news down here today.
I've been going at this issue since the MSNBC thing broke Friday and just beginning to wrap my head around it. I think it's big, and it's deep. MSM has barely scratched the surface and will bury it soon.
Would love some input on what I've got if anyone is interested.
http://geneo.wordpress.com
Posted by: geneo | January 30, 2008 at 00:11
Tracy, that video is well done. At first, the timing of the shots of the politicrats with the lyrics seemed humorous until I realized how TRUE it was.
Posted by: Kate | January 30, 2008 at 15:16
Hey, Tracy, great video! Thanks for sharing that link with us. Awesome song, too. I'll have to check out more of Susan's music!
Posted by: Barb | January 30, 2008 at 16:11