Corruption Storm Warnings

John Fund's got a good piece in Opinion Journal, Swamp of Corruption, that sounds another clear call for caution in the funding of Katrina disaster relief:

Louisiana ranks third in the nation in the number of elected officials per capita convicted of crimes (Mississippi takes top prize). In just the past generation, the Pelican State has had a governor, an attorney general, three successive insurance commissioners, a congressman, a federal judge, a state Senate president and a swarm of local officials convicted. Last year, three top officials at Louisiana's Office of Emergency Preparedness were indicted on charges they obstructed a probe into how federal money bought out flood-prone homes. Last March the Federal Emergency Management Agency ordered Louisiana to repay $30 million in flood-control grants it had awarded to 23 parishes.

There are already many signs of corruption in the works, and if we are to truly rebuild Louisiana, we have to flood out those rats as effectively as Katrina flooded NOLA.

And while we're watchful in Louisiana, let's keep our eyes on Mississippi -- after all, they're #1 in political corruption.