Houston Has No Love For Katrina Evacuees

[journalist3072]

It appears as though a majority of Houston, Texas residents want the Katrina evacuees now residing in their city to get lost!

A recent survey conducted by Stephen Klineberg, a Rice University sociologist, found that 76% of the survey participants believe that the Katrina evacuees have been a burden on the city of Houston, while 66% say the evacuees are responsible for an increase in violent crime in Houston.

As well, 49% said they did NOT believe the city of Houston would be better off if the Katrina evacuees stayed. The results of the survey were published in the Houston Chronicle.

Two thoughts here: 1) How's that for the edict "love thy neighbor" and 2) Was Barbara Bush surveyed? ("What I’m hearing which is sort of scary is they all want to stay in Texas.")

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060324/ts_nm/hurricanes_poll_dc

[muntrv]

1. Houstonians are not

showing that George-Bush-Culture-of-Life-Compassionate-Conservatism.

[laheina]

2. Or maybe they are.

There isn't really such a thing as a compassionate conservative anyway.

But these people were already victims of our country once before, to vilify them as well is heartless.

[muse]

5. Oh, come on!

We have taken in tens of thousands of Lousiana kids into our Houston area public schools and teachers and administrators are doing a terrific job by these kids. A lot of extra work has been done by countless educators to make sure these kids get a good education in Texas public schools. This has been a tremendous challenge and will continue to be.

[KamaAina]

3. You'll never guess which repuke congresscreep came up with these

gems of compassionate conservative sentiment.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3745006.html

"These results reflect what I'm hearing from my constituents," said U.S. Rep...., R-Houston. "I think the percentage of people unhappy with the deadbeats from New Orleans would be larger but for the big hearts of Houstonians who want these folks to get back on their feet, as I do."...

"If they can work, but won't work, ship 'em back," he said. "If they cause problems in the schools, if they commit crime, there ought to be a one-strike rule — ship 'em back."

And the answer is -- not Tom DeLay! Right on "The Hammer"'s heels in terms of general repuke hatefulness is John Culbertson. See, this way, even after Nick Lampson "hammers" DeLay into retirement (or the Faux News* desk :puke: ) this fall, we'll still have a repuke nutball from Houston to kick around!

I mean, really, "ship 'em back"? To Louisiana? The Louisiana that has been part of the U.S. for three decades longer than Texas? What a moran. If Heckuvajob Brownie and the rest of Bush**co had anything on the ball, the evacuees would have "shipped themselves back" months ago.

edit: spelling

[muse]

4. Sigh

What a slanted article and what a slanted post title. 49% saying Houston would not be better off if Katrina evacuees stayed does not mean Houstonians hate Katrina evacuees. Um, 49% is not a majority.

Yes, crime has increased. Fact.

Yes, I am a Houstonian.

In the Houston Chronicle article today about these same statistics, the point is made that as time goes on, Houston will take care of the crime element. That should effectively go away. The 150,000 people or so that have been added to the metropolitan area of 5.6 million should start to not seem like so many - in terms of the effects on our schools and infrastructure - over time.

So, I think these statistics will flatten out.