A new start for Katrina's victims

Jack Kemp wrote in Townhall Three cheers for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Democratic party leader Donna Brazille, who are rising above politics to help the president in attempts to rebuild the Gulfport region of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Both Obama and Brazille have made dramatic statements that reflect a common commitment for racial reconciliation and for waging war on poverty to restore hope to people and families in Biloxi, New Orleans and other cities and communities in the hurricane-ravaged region.

I praise them as well, but I notice that even Bill Clinton has started complaining about Bush, even though Bush gave him a share of the spotlight with his Father raising money for Katrina victims

In the same spirit, former Secretary of Housing Henry Cisneros, Urban League President Marc Morial and I (among others) are helping lead a home-building effort to raise money to bring Habitat for Humanity into the relief and reconstruction campaign. We've enlisted the support of Warner Bros. Records, NBC, and Tim Blixseth, a lumber and resort entrepreneur, to raise money and challenge others to get involved in helping low-income families to get their shot at a dream of ownership.

A very good idea

I was thrilled to hear President Bush refer to Habitat as integral to his urban homesteading initiative. Our hope is that mayors and governors in the region will donate vacant properties where Habitat for Humanity volunteers can build homes that will house families, help communities expand the tax base and stabilize neighborhoods.