Norleans Mayor-How did he get into office??

[labgeek]

He came from the private sector - Cox Communications. He's wealthy, educated, and takes no crap from anyone... He was a lifelong republican before switching sides because there'd be no chance in hell he'd get elected otherwise. And he has fought quite hard to improve New Orleans regardless of the outside pressures. As someone who has spoken with him personally on a couple of occassions, you all, sitting back in your deskchairs or la-z-boys, are the ones looking like asshats to me.

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: psteng19
I heard his interview. "Ghetto" best describes the way he speaks.

What "unprecedented powers" did we give Bush?

And wtf is lickety quick?
ROFL, apparently a term he came up with - Text

Well lickety split means quick.
So lickety quick might mean super f-ing quick because people are dying and we need help?

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: labgeek
He came from the private sector - Cox Communications. He's wealthy, educated, and takes no crap from anyone... He was a lifelong republican before switching sides because there'd be no chance in hell he'd get elected otherwise. And he has fought quite hard to improve New Orleans regardless of the outside pressures. As someone who has spoken with him personally on a couple of occassions, you all, sitting back in your deskchairs or la-z-boys, are the ones looking like asshats to me.

Maybe times have changed since Tupac?

 

[Budmantom]

I'm sure if he was president we wouldn't be in this mess.... look at what a great evacuation plan that city had. :roll:



Tom

 

[CrimsonChaos]

Originally posted by: MrDingleDangle
i agree, but he also deflects any blame that could go towards himself.

im not saying he is more to blame, but some blame has to fall to him too for the city not being prepared and I have never heard him say he made a mistake, just the other guys f'ed up.

:thumbsup:

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
How can you criticize a man who's been under so much pressure the last week as he has?

What have you accomplished in your life to make you better than him?

I've performed all of the jobs I've been hired to do extremely well, and took responsibility when I failed.

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
How can you criticize a man who's been under so much pressure the last week as he has?

What have you accomplished in your life to make you better than him?

ditto. i think he's done a fine job getting as many people as he did out of NO in such short notice. he cant be held liable for other people's incompetence and apathy.

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: DonVito
I had never heard of Mayor Nagin until last week, and have no idea about his background (he may be the worst mayor in the US for all I know, and he certainly doesn't seem to be the best), but in all fairness you have to consider what he's been through recently in evaluating his mode of speech.

I've seen the infamous interview in which he unleashed on President Bush and FEMA, and it appeared he just kind of snapped for a moment. He actually reeled it back in and sounded pretty composed later in the interview.

He is essentially suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and it's not surprising to me that he isn't at his most articulate.

Also, I don't see that it makes much sense for any Bush supporter to be attacking any politician for being inarticulate, when he himself appears to be the least articulate President in history.

hah...good point

actually...reading thru this thread, i realized how many racists there are in ATOT

 

[Stuxnet]

Originally posted by: vtqanh

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: Babbles
That guy is a first rate asshat.

I totally agree.

We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories ? And we'll find more weapons as time goes on. But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them."

What does the mass destruction weapon crap have anything to do with this thread?

Nothing... just an opportunity for an idiot to mouth off about how Bush is teh Satan.

 

[Rudee]

Apparently he was on Oprah on Tuesday and made an a$$ out himself when Oprah was wanting to go into the Statium to take a look at the devastation.

 

[TechHead87]

Let's see:

N.O. gov't officials (for YEARS) begs for funds to secure city from major flooding
Disaster funds cut...sent to Iraq instead (read: why?)
FEMA money cut by President in 2004.
New Orleans finally floods over.
President, while on vacation hears about flooding in N.O..Thinks to himself, "My @ss is grass now!"
President, as well as FEMA, finally pull their heads at least halfway out of their collective rear-ends
One week later, help is "on the way"

There's not much you can do but tell everybody to get the F--k out of dodge. Since everyone breathing doesn't have bus fare money, gas money to evacuate, and no money to live anywhere else while their homes gets ripped to shreds, some people will just have to suffer.

I say all solutions start from the top, and works their way down. Big problem + no solution (or solution $ spent on a meaningless and non-winnable war), the "big gun" is responsible. Not the Mayor...not the Governor. Big gun.

If the roof needs repairing, the ruler of the household is responsible. If homeowner spends roofing money on little Johnny's college laptop, and roof collapses during heavy rain, homeowner is responsible. Not big brother Tom, not leeching Uncle Bob....Homeowner.

End of story

 

[TechHead87]

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4200/is_20050207/ai_n10176537

*edit*
" The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has identified millions of dollars in flood and hurricane protection projects in the New Orleans district.

Chances are, though, most projects will not be funded in the president's 2006 fiscal year budget to be released today.

Unfunded projects include widening drainage canals, flood- proofing bridges and building pumping stations in Orleans and Jefferson parishes. The Corps also wants to build levees in unprotected areas on the West Bank.

Demma does not expect the Corps to award many more projects before fiscal year 2005 ends. "

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: TechHead87
Let's see:

N.O. gov't officials (for YEARS) begs for funds to secure city from major flooding
Disaster funds cut...sent to Iraq instead (read: why?)
FEMA money cut by President in 2004.
New Orleans finally floods over.
President, while on vacation hears about flooding in N.O..Thinks to himself, "My @ss is grass now!"
President, as well as FEMA, finally pull their heads at least halfway out of their collective rear-ends
One week later, help is "on the way"

There's not much you can do but tell everybody to get the F--k out of dodge. Since everyone breathing doesn't have bus fare money, gas money to evacuate, and no money to live anywhere else while their homes gets ripped to shreds, some people will just have to suffer.

I say all solutions start from the top, and works their way down. Big problem + no solution (or solution $ spent on a meaningless and non-winnable war), the "big gun" is responsible. Not the Mayor...not the Governor. Big gun.

If the roof needs repairing, the ruler of the household is responsible. If homeowner spends roofing money on little Johnny's college laptop, and roof collapses during heavy rain, homeowner is responsible. Not big brother Tom, not leeching Uncle Bob....Homeowner.

End of story

Bullsh!t:

Some interesting facts pulled from an op/ed by Jeff Johnson:

Research into more than ten years of reporting on hurricane and flood damage mitigation efforts in and around New Orleans indicates that local and state officials did not use federal money that was available for levee improvements or coastal reinforcement and often did not secure local matching funds that would have generated even more federal funding.

In December of 1995, the Orleans Levee Board, the local government entity that oversees the levees and floodgates designed to protect New Orleans and the surrounding areas from rising waters, bragged in a supplement to the Times-Picayune newspaper about federal money received to protect the region from hurricanes.

"In the past four years, the Orleans Levee Board has built up its arsenal. The additional defenses are so critical that Levee Commissioners marched into Congress and brought back almost $60 million to help pay for protection," the pamphlet declared. "The most ambitious flood-fighting plan in generations was drafted. An unprecedented $140 million building campaign launched 41 projects."

The levee board promised Times-Picayune readers that the "few manageable gaps" in the walls protecting the city from Mother Nature's waters "will be sealed within four years (1999) completing our circle of protection."

But less than a year later, that same levee board was denied the authority to refinance its debts. Legislative Auditor Dan Kyle "repeatedly faulted the Levee Board for the way it awards contracts, spends money and ignores public bid laws," according to the Times-Picayune. The newspaper quoted Kyle as saying that the board was near bankruptcy and should not be allowed to refinance any bonds, or issue new ones, until it submitted an acceptable plan to achieve solvency.

Blocked from financing the local portion of the flood fighting efforts, the levee board was unable to spend the federal matching funds that had been designated for the project.

By 1998, Louisiana's state government had a $2 billion construction budget, but less than one tenth of one percent of that -- $1.98 million -- was dedicated to levee improvements in the New Orleans area. State appropriators were able to find $22 million that year to renovate a new home for the Louisiana Supreme Court and $35 million for one phase of an expansion to the New Orleans convention center.

The following year, the state legislature did appropriate $49.5 million for levee improvements, but the proposed spending had to be allocated by the State Bond Commission before the projects could receive financing. The commission placed the levee improvements in the "Priority 5" category, among the projects least likely to receive full or immediate funding.

The Orleans Levee Board was also forced to defer $3.7 million in capital improvement projects in its 2001 budget after residents of the area rejected a proposed tax increase to fund its expanding operations. Long term deferments to nearly 60 projects, based on the revenue shortfall, totaled $47 million worth of work, including projects to shore up the floodwalls.

No new state money had been allocated to the area's hurricane protection projects as of October of 2002, leaving the available 65 percent federal matching funds for such construction untouched.

"The problem is money is real tight in Baton Rouge right now," state Sen. Francis Heitmeier (D-Algiers) told the Times-Picayune. "We have to do with what we can get."

Louisiana Commissioner of Administration Mark Drennen told local officials that, if they reduced their requests for state funding in other, less critical areas, they would have a better chance of getting the requested funds for levee improvements. The newspaper reported that in 2000 and 2001, "the Bond Commission has approved or pledged millions of dollars for projects in Jefferson Parish, including construction of the Tournament Players Club golf course near Westwego, the relocation of Hickory Avenue in Jefferson (Parish) and historic district development in Westwego."

There is no record of such discretionary funding requests being reduced or withdrawn, but in October of 2003, nearby St. Charles Parish did receive a federal grant for $475,000 to build bike paths on top of its levees.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Consider the type of people in NO who voted for him.

That says a LOT about them.

 

[Gravity]

There seems to be a different grammatical standard here in the south. Elected officials and professors are loathe to speak english as it is commonly accepted elsewhere. Otherwise they are seen as "high falutin".

There was a plan to evacuate the city via bus but the good mayor failed to implement it. I'm surprised to hear that it didn't come up in this interview. It has come up in others.

I didn't see it mentioned in the posts that the mayor was CEO level in Cox communications at one point. I do think he's an improvement over the previous mayor that has since been indicted if ICRC. I've heard him speak at functions and I think he's as capable as any local official to be in his position. That ain't saying much.

 

[psteng19]

Originally posted by: Lonyo

Originally posted by: psteng19
I heard his interview. "Ghetto" best describes the way he speaks.

What "unprecedented powers" did we give Bush?

And wtf is lickety quick?
ROFL, apparently a term he came up with - Text

Well lickety split means quick.
So lickety quick might mean super f-ing quick because people are dying and we need help?

I know what he was trying to get at.
Just pointing out how stupid he sounds when he makes up words.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: Nik
Consider the type of people in NO who voted for him.

That says a LOT about them.

What are you implying?

 

[Doggiedog]

Originally posted by: CrimsonChaos

Originally posted by: MrDingleDangle
i agree, but he also deflects any blame that could go towards himself.

im not saying he is more to blame, but some blame has to fall to him too for the city not being prepared and I have never heard him say he made a mistake, just the other guys f'ed up.

:thumbsup:

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
How can you criticize a man who's been under so much pressure the last week as he has?

What have you accomplished in your life to make you better than him?

I've performed all of the jobs I've been hired to do extremely well, and took responsibility when I failed.

Flipping burgers doesn't count. If you fk up the fries all you have to do is throw them out and make a new batch.

I'm talking about being an elected public official. Have you accomplished even that much?

 

[KC5AV]

WSJ

Blame Amid the Tragedy
Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin failed their constituents.

BY BOB WILLIAMS
Wednesday, September 7, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT

As the devastation of Hurricane Katrina continues to shock and sadden the nation, the question on many lips is, Who is to blame for the inadequate response?

As a former state legislator who represented the legislative district most impacted by the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, I can fully understand and empathize with the people and public officials over the loss of life and property.

Many in the media are turning their eyes toward the federal government, rather than considering the culpability of city and state officials. I am fully aware of the challenges of having a quick and responsive emergency response to a major disaster. And there is definitely a time for accountability; but what isn't fair is to dump on the federal officials and avoid those most responsible--local and state officials who failed to do their job as the first responders. The plain fact is, lives were needlessly lost in New Orleans due to the failure of Louisiana's governor, Kathleen Blanco, and the city's mayor, Ray Nagin.

The primary responsibility for dealing with emergencies does not belong to the federal government. It belongs to local and state officials who are charged by law with the management of the crucial first response to disasters. First response should be carried out by local and state emergency personnel under the supervision of the state governor and his emergency operations center.

The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city. Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin cannot claim that they were surprised by the extent of the damage and the need to evacuate so many people. Detailed written plans were already in place to evacuate more than a million people. The plans projected that 300,000 people would need transportation in the event of a hurricane like Katrina. If the plans had been implemented, thousands of lives would likely have been saved.

In addition to the plans, local, state and federal officials held a simulated hurricane drill 13 months ago, in which widespread flooding supposedly trapped 300,000 people inside New Orleans. The exercise simulated the evacuation of more than a million residents. The problems identified in the simulation apparently were not solved.

A year ago, as Hurricane Ivan approached, New Orleans ordered an evacuation but did not use city or school buses to help people evacuate. As a result many of the poorest citizens were unable to evacuate. Fortunately, the hurricane changed course and did not hit New Orleans, but both Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin acknowledged the need for a better evacuation plan. Again, they did not take corrective actions. In 1998, during a threat by Hurricane George, 14,000 people were sent to the Superdome and theft and vandalism were rampant due to inadequate security. Again, these problems were not corrected.

The New Orleans contingency plan is still, as of this writing, on the city's Web site, and states: "The safe evacuation of threatened populations is one of the principle [sic] reasons for developing a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan." But the plan was apparently ignored.

Mayor Nagin was responsible for giving the order for mandatory evacuation and supervising the actual evacuation: His Office of Emergency Preparedness (not the federal government) must coordinate with the state on elements of evacuation and assist in directing the transportation of evacuees to staging areas. Mayor Nagin had to be encouraged by the governor to contact the National Hurricane Center before he finally, belatedly, issued the order for mandatory evacuation. And sadly, it apparently took a personal call from the president to urge the governor to order the mandatory evacuation.

The city's evacuation plan states: "The city of New Orleans will utilize all available resources to quickly and safely evacuate threatened areas." But even though the city has enough school and transit buses to evacuate 12,000 citizens per fleet run, the mayor did not use them. To compound the problem, the buses were not moved to high ground and were flooded. The plan also states that "special arrangements will be made to evacuate persons unable to transport themselves or who require specific lifesaving assistance. Additional personnel will be recruited to assist in evacuation procedures as needed." This was not done.

The evacuation plan warned that "if an evacuation order is issued without the mechanisms needed to disseminate the information to the affected persons, then we face the possibility of having large numbers of people either stranded and left to the mercy of a storm, or left in an area impacted by toxic materials." That is precisely what happened because of the mayor's failure.

Instead of evacuating the people, the mayor ordered the refugees to the Superdome and Convention Center without adequate security and no provisions for food, water and sanitary conditions. As a result people died, and there was even rape committed, in these facilities. Mayor Nagin failed in his responsibility to provide public safety and to manage the orderly evacuation of the citizens of New Orleans. Now he wants to blame Gov. Blanco and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In an emergency the first requirement is for the city's emergency center to be linked to the state emergency operations center. This was not done.

The federal government does not have the authority to intervene in a state emergency without the request of a governor. President Bush declared an emergency prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans, so the only action needed for federal assistance was for Gov. Blanco to request the specific type of assistance she needed. She failed to send a timely request for specific aid.

In addition, unlike the governors of New York, Oklahoma and California in past disasters, Gov. Blanco failed to take charge of the situation and ensure that the state emergency operation facility was in constant contact with Mayor Nagin and FEMA. It is likely that thousands of people died because of the failure of Gov. Blanco to implement the state plan, which mentions the possible need to evacuate up to one million people. The plan clearly gives the governor the authority for declaring an emergency, sending in state resources to the disaster area and requesting necessary federal assistance.

State legislators and governors nationwide need to update their contingency plans and the operation procedures for state emergency centers. Hurricane Katrina had been forecast for days, but that will not always be the case with a disaster (think of terrorist attacks). It must be made clear that the governor and locally elected officials are in charge of the "first response."

I am not attempting to excuse some of the delays in FEMA's response. Congress and the president need to take corrective action there, also. However, if citizens expect FEMA to be a first responder to terrorist attacks or other local emergencies (earthquakes, forest fires, volcanoes), they will be disappointed. The federal government's role is to offer aid upon request.

The Louisiana Legislature should conduct an immediate investigation into the failures of state and local officials to implement the written emergency plans. The tragedy is not over, and real leadership in the state and local government are essential in the months to come. More importantly, the hurricane season is still upon us, and local and state officials must stay focused on the jobs for which they were elected--and not on the deadly game of passing the emergency buck.

Mr. Williams is president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a free market public policy research organization in Olympia, Wash.

 

[marsrunner]

Originally posted by: TechHead87
Let's see:

N.O. gov't officials (for YEARS) begs for funds to secure city from major flooding
Disaster funds cut...sent to Iraq instead (read: why?)
FEMA money cut by President in 2004.
New Orleans finally floods over.
President, while on vacation hears about flooding in N.O..Thinks to himself, "My @ss is grass now!"
President, as well as FEMA, finally pull their heads at least halfway out of their collective rear-ends
One week later, help is "on the way"

There's not much you can do but tell everybody to get the F--k out of dodge. Since everyone breathing doesn't have bus fare money, gas money to evacuate, and no money to live anywhere else while their homes gets ripped to shreds, some people will just have to suffer.

I say all solutions start from the top, and works their way down. Big problem + no solution (or solution $ spent on a meaningless and non-winnable war), the "big gun" is responsible. Not the Mayor...not the Governor. Big gun.

If the roof needs repairing, the ruler of the household is responsible. If homeowner spends roofing money on little Johnny's college laptop, and roof collapses during heavy rain, homeowner is responsible. Not big brother Tom, not leeching Uncle Bob....Homeowner.

End of story

You certainly display an incredible lack of understanding of this nation's government. It is not the President's responsiblity or even right to take care of individual states; that falls to the governor. Everyone was complaining about the lack of national guard troops; the governor controls the national guard for his/her state, not the president. There was no cutting of funds to FEMA, they reduced the increases that were asked for. The money was there for the local authorities to use and they didn't do so. See Amused's post following yours.
It just kills me, because if a liberal had been in office, the exact same thing would have happened because of incompetance at the local/state level; but hey, any reason to attack the President and the war in Iraq, even when it has nothing to do with it. It is only the President's job to go in and clean up the mess afterwards if the state asks. The President advised an evacuation plan, and instead of having one, the Mayor just threw up their hands and said, "I don't know, I guess go to the Superdome. But I wouldn't recommend it." Why weren't all these busses brought in before the hurricane to get those out who couldn't get themselves out? Why wasn't there a plan in place? How could the state government nevermind the city government not have an evacuation plan that was better than "Run for your lives!"?

 

[Proletariat]

Originally posted by: Aharami

Originally posted by: DonVito
I had never heard of Mayor Nagin until last week, and have no idea about his background (he may be the worst mayor in the US for all I know, and he certainly doesn't seem to be the best), but in all fairness you have to consider what he's been through recently in evaluating his mode of speech.

I've seen the infamous interview in which he unleashed on President Bush and FEMA, and it appeared he just kind of snapped for a moment. He actually reeled it back in and sounded pretty composed later in the interview.

He is essentially suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and it's not surprising to me that he isn't at his most articulate.

Also, I don't see that it makes much sense for any Bush supporter to be attacking any politician for being inarticulate, when he himself appears to be the least articulate President in history.

hah...good point

actually...reading thru this thread, i realized how many racists there are in ATOT

You just did? Did you miss out on the hundreds of "India this, India that" threads?

I think there are a lot of racists in America. Most of them just come out on message boards because they are too p*ssy to say these things in real life. Read: Nik.

On another topic:

"We spent a lot of time talking about Africa, as we should. Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease." ?Gothenburg, Sweden, June 14, 2001

Why the hell did you idiots vote for this guy? *Sigh* This is the current president of the United States of America.

 

[TheTony]

P&N :disgust:

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Originally posted by: Proletariat
I think there are a lot of racists in America. Most of them just come out on message boards because they are too p*ssy to say these things in real life. Read: Nik.

Wow. I call the people of NO stupid and I get called a racist.

Typical, Trolletariat.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: Desslok
I was listening to an interview with this guy and he came off as a stereotypical dumba$$ political wannabe.

For example I heard him say

"...we have to dewater the city" I never knew "dewater" was the phrase the Corp of Engineers used.

you are an idiot.

And I predict if he isn't burnt out from this mess that Ray Nagin will be governor in the next 8 years. Much like Giuliani, he has garnered the support of many of the locals for his attutiude post-disaster.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: Desslok
I was listening to an interview with this guy and he came off as a stereotypical dumba$$ political wannabe.

For example I heard him say

"...we have to dewater the city" I never knew "dewater" was the phrase the Corp of Engineers used.

you are an idiot.

And I predict if he isn't burnt out from this mess that Ray Nagin will be governor in the next 8 years. Much like Giuliani, he has garnered the support of many of the locals for his attutiude post-disaster.

Oh shut the fvck up. Don't you even fvcking dare compare NO to NY. Did the people of NY riot after 9/11? No. Did they loot? No. Did they rape? No. Guiliani didn't start complaining and bitching at the president that it was his fault. You know what he did? He picked up a hammer and began rebuilding.

This mayor did JACK SH|T to prepare. You've no doubt seen the pictures of dozens and dozens of school busses from one single school district all in one lot, flooded, unused. He was bitching about Bush not sending busses. Guess what, Einstein, YOU HAVE BUSSES. SCHOOL BUSSES. HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF THEM.

The mayor is a complete dumbass and he proves it every time he opens his mouth.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: Nik

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: Desslok
I was listening to an interview with this guy and he came off as a stereotypical dumba$$ political wannabe.

For example I heard him say

"...we have to dewater the city" I never knew "dewater" was the phrase the Corp of Engineers used.

you are an idiot.

And I predict if he isn't burnt out from this mess that Ray Nagin will be governor in the next 8 years. Much like Giuliani, he has garnered the support of many of the locals for his attutiude post-disaster.

Oh shut the fvck up. Don't you even fvcking dare compare NO to NY. Did the people of NY riot after 9/11? No. Did they loot? No. Did they rape? No. Guiliani didn't start complaining and bitching at the president that it was his fault. You know what he did? He picked up a hammer and began rebuilding.

This mayor did JACK SH|T to prepare. You've no doubt seen the pictures of dozens and dozens of school busses from one single school district all in one lot, flooded, unused. He was bitching about Bush not sending busses. Guess what, Einstein, YOU HAVE BUSSES. SCHOOL BUSSES. HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF THEM.

The mayor is a complete dumbass and he proves it every time he opens his mouth.

Learn how to read cocksvcker...where did I compare NOLA to NY? That's right...nowhere.