Nagin Blames Delays on Racism, Red Tape

AP ^ | 8/18/6 | KEN KUSMER

[SmithL]

Indianapolis -- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on Friday blamed racism and government bureaucracy for hamstringing his city's ability to weather Hurricane Katrina and recover from the disaster that struck the Gulf Coast nearly a year ago.

In remarks to the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists, Nagin said the hurricane "exposed the soft underbelly of America as it relates to dealing with race and class."

"And I, to this day, believe that if that would have happened in Orange County, California, if that would have happened in South Beach, Miami, it would have been a different response," Nagin said.

New Orleans was 60 percent black before Katrina struck Aug. 29. Early this year the mayor called on fellow blacks to again make New Orleans a "chocolate" city, but he later apologized.

On Friday, Nagin condemned federal regulations that discourage rebuilding in the largely black and low-lying Ninth Ward.

While tens of billions of dollars in federal aid have flowed to Louisiana and other states devastated by Katrina, much of it has gone to developers and contractors, Nagin said.

"Very little of those dollars have gotten to the local governments or to the people themselves," Nagin said.

[SmithL]

It takes a Wonka to rebuild a chocolate city.

[edcoil]

Everyone's fault except the chocolate city?

[coconutt2000]

Is it just me, or are black, liberal leaders the most racist, anti-black politicians in the country?

[Mongeaux]

Once the chocolate city melted, there were plenty of leftover nuts.

[MPJackal]

Yes that's right, the govt with its high percentage of black employees is racist against blacks. Bite me nagin

[kinoxi]

Yeah, the white man did it. Yup.

[SaveTheChief]

So the "chocolate" mayor is crying racism?

I can't believe New Orleans re-elected this disgrace.

[avacado]

Katrina ripped the roof off of the Liberal Plantation and exposed 3rd & 4th generation welfare families who can't even do for themselves. How embarrassing for the Liberal Plantation!

[SaveTheChief]

"And I, to this day, believe that if that would have happened in Orange County, California, if that would have happened in South Beach, Miami, it would have been a different response," Nagin said.

You mean the kind of response like, oh.... not waiting until the last minute to call for a mandatory evacuation of your city, Mayor Nagin?

[backhoe]

HURRICANE KATRINA- archive of links Click the picture:

[JoeSixPack1]

If Nagin had at least two brain cells that worked he'd be touting his and everyone else's failures by encouraging solutions and recommending remedies, which could grandstand him into a national office. But, he's an idiot.

[NautiNurse]

The federal and state aid the city has received is inadequate and comes with too many rules...They're going to give us our money, and we're going to rebuild this city.

Whose money is "our money"?

[Doe Eyes]

Is it just me, or are black, liberal leaders the most racist, anti-black politicians in the country?

I'll definitely give you racist.

[weegee]

I can't believe New Orleans re-elected this disgrace.

Houston helped.

[BenLurkin]

bttt

[Obie Wan]

Nagin's got it right,he's a racist and a bureaucrat !!!

[caisson71]

The loose-lipped idiot is at it again. Where are those air conditioned Greyhounds?

[LA Woman3]

[mass55th]

Maybe he can call on Cynthia McKinney to share her campaign donor list with him since she's not going to be using it. New Orleans could be the new Mecca of the South.

[HarleyLady27]

Anyone care to explain whats wrong with this idiot's statement?

Seems to me when he said he wanted a Chocolate City, that mean for me, being white, to stay out....so stay out I will do...

Now the idiot says we are 'picking' on him and we would have done things differently if it was CA or FLA, how about Lebanon???? How about Iraq??? How about all the aid we give everyone around the world, and we are picking on this idiot....

This guy got what he wanted...."A Chocolate City"

[weegee]

But can he prepare for a lethal molasses flood?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Molasses_Disaster (killing 21 and injuring 150)

[C210N]

Racism!

Is there anything it cannot do???

[hosepipe]

"its hard out there for the race PimP"...

[avacado]

Great picture and great link! Bookmarked!

[FlingWingFlyer]

If Chocolate Ray Nagin wasn't such a racist, he would have sent all those school buses out to evacuate the people in New Orleans before Katrina struck.

[Chode]

this POS is definitely breathing air somebody worth it could be breathing...

[Enchante]

"Very little of those dollars have gotten to the local governments...."

In the case of NOLA, I should hope not!! We have seen what generations of corruption, incompetence, and decadence led to, and if there's any hope for decent use of said dollars it's by keeping the money away from the local pols..... not that I have much more confidence in most of the other actors in this drama, but I have none in Nagin & friends.

[evets]

Madness

[BillyBoy]

>> I can't believe New Orleans re-elected this disgrace. <<

I can't believe many freepers were rooting for this disgrace solely because his opponent was Mary Laudrieu's brother. It's like rooting for North Korea over Iran.

[Plains Drifter]

Hmmmmmmmmm? Let me see if I understand this bozo, it's okay to send white money to a chocolate town?

[rvoitier]

Given the names on McKinney's donor list, Mecca is a good word (or is that what you were implying?).

[WasDougsLamb]

"And I, to this day, believe that if that would have happened in Orange County, California, if that would have happened in South Beach, Miami, it would have been a different response," Nagin said.

---

Yeah. Maybe those in charge there would have used COMMON sense.

[backhoe]

Great picture and great link! Bookmarked!

Appreciate it- thank you.

[hershey]

How about local stupidity or the culture of graft, greed and ingrained corruption.

[cgbg]

If Chocolate Ray Nagin wasn't such a racist, he would have sent all those school buses out to evacuate the people in New Orleans before Katrina struck

He would have done it, you know, but they were surrounded by hundreds of well-armed Klansmen so the city cops couldn't free up those buses. :-)

[BamaAndy]

It's not just you... to them everything is racist! I'd like to tell Nagin, it's GOVERNMENT! What do you expect, Mayor?

[Bullish]

"Very little of those dollars have gotten to the local governments....

For starters you can't be trusted with money, and the race card your dealing is obscene.

[Caipirabob]

It takes a Wonka to rebuild a chocolate city.

And there you have it. Well said, and in truth "Looney Toons" Nagin deserves no better response.

[beyond the sea]

Nagin/Bus-ted

[mass55th]

"Given the names on McKinney's donor list, Mecca is a good word (or is that what you were implying?)."

Yep...that's what I was implying.

[Houmatt]

I'll give Nagin this: If he has nothing else, he certainly has chutzpah.

Remember "Chocolate City," you f*****g hypocrite?

[LA Woman3]

But can he prepare for a lethal molasses flood?

Can a bus drive through molasses? Oh, never mind....

[antivenom]

"We are being strangled, and they're using the money to set local policies to try to take control of the city to do things that they had in mind all along, and that's to shrink the footprint, get a bunch of developers in the city, and try to do things in a different way," Nagin said.

"We're not going to let that happen. They're going to give us our money, and we're going to rebuild this city."

OKKKAAAYYYY

The truth unravels in the 2 paragraphs above....Naggin' has figured out that people who have a hold of the purse strings are SENSIBLE enough not to place low income people BACK into the flood prone areas that Naggin' is willing to place them. Therefore Naggin' is a bit pissed that his "pull the lever for a democrat" plantaition has been destroyed and can't be put back into the swamp.

SO...we are now seeing Naggin' become petty and childish therefore HE will take it UPON HIMSELF to "strangle" the efforts of the government to push "anything" forward that could possibly benefit "anyone" else other than the "pull the lever for a democrat" plantation dwellers.

Naggin' has singlehandedly in this article revealed his "stranglehold on money and progress" because he can't have his "plantation" back.

Naggin' is the biggest racist poverty pimp plpaying the double negative race card west of the Mississippi.

[moondoggie]

When all else fails...pull out the race card.

[Welsh Rabbit]

"And I, to this day, believe that if that would have happened in Orange County, California, if that would have happened in South Beach, Miami, it would have been a different response," Nagin said.

Yeah, because those places would have had more competent leadership. Did he mean to sound ironic?