Bear Bryant Artwork on the Walls!?

I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of reading of the collapse of aid to the Gulf region following Hurricane Katrina. The latest is the building of football condos in Tuscaloosa, Alabama,with grant money that was designed to spur rebuilding of the economy and infrastructure in the Gulf disaster area. Ten condominium projects are going up about the University of Alabama. The builders are asking upwards of $1 million dollars for each which have granite counter tops, king-sized bathtubs and what is called "Bama" decor, including crimson upholstered furniture and Bear Bryant wall art.

To set the record straight, I am NOT an Alabama fan. I have never been to Tuscaloosa. I do not hate Bear Bryant. However, the good people of the University of Alabama should be embarrassed by such use of the GO Zone grants.

Many of the investors who purchase the condos with plans to rent them. They also plan to take full advantage of tax benefits to investors under the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005 (GO Zone). Needless to say, the developments in Tuscaloosa are completely legal. However, many in the area are galled by development such as these. Some believe that the act was created to encourage the building of housing and shopping centers of the worst hit areas of the region. Tuscaloosa only got heavy rainfall during the storm. Many developers that the grants should not have been use for condos and other development is Tuscaloosa. They think that the harder hit areas of Mobil, Biloxi, Gulfport, and New Orleans are the most likely places for this development.

My wife and I rode around Pearlington, Mississippi, recently and observed very little improvement in commerce in the area. We also noted families still living in Katrina campers. The elementary school is not open and the post office has not be rebuilt. A great nation that we claim to be is failing at all levels. Government at the Federal Level has failed in the recovery following the worst natural devastation in our history. The displacement of the victims is terrible. Local investors, at times, would rather invest in condos decorated in Bear Bryant wall art, than to build a small subdivision in Pearlington or condos for the working poor in Louisiana. Church denominations have left existing churches instead of attempting to rebuild. Pearlington is the poorest place I have ever visited. A few months following the storm, it looked like third-world. It seems that this great nation has decided to use Katrina to rid itself of slums in the larger cities of the gulf and to make more and more homeless and displaced people.

I am approaching the time when I am going to use the character Howard Beale's call to action in the 1976 movie, Network.

I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it:'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!'

You may remember the movie and Peter Finch played the role of Howard Beale.

If we really get angry about this lack of action and inappropriate action, then maybe we can get something done.