Posted on 09/02/2005 8:01:12 PM PDT by george76
Edited on 09/02/2005 8:06:13 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
This AP photo shows scores of New Orleans school buses sitting in flood waters after Hurricane Katrina - sitting where they sat instead of being used to evacuate thousands of poor people before Katrina hit.
Why are scores of school buses sitting in the flood waters of New Orleans today? Blame New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who is one reason things have gotten worse, not better, in his stricken city since it was hit by Hurricane Katrina. His laissez faire approach to looting allowed the looters to become increasingly armed and violent, interrupting rescue and recovery operations.
But even before Katrina hit, he failed his poorest citizens horribly. He told them to evacuate the city - and then gave his city's poorest residence no way to do so.
Nagin lashed out at federal officials yesterday for the government's relief efforts, pleading for the government to round up "500 buses" to send to New Orleans to evacuate survivors.
But Nagin, who ordered a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans before Katrina hit, ought to be made to answer this question: Where are the buses of the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority? Under water? Destroyed? Why?
You have got to be kidding.
Nagin has been viciously trashing GWB for the past couple of days. Now he 'makes nice' and he's all of a sudden not so bad. BTW, he's been out of town, 'directing' things from a safe place rather than being in the city. I do think it was nice of him to show up for the photo-op though.
Nagin has shown, through all of this, just how incompetent he is. At a time when he could have stood up and been a strong figure, he has chosen to be a limp-wristed, ineffective looser.
"Nagin had a plan for evacuation. Here it is on the NOLA website:... "
I just went through Nagin's entire drill and can safely say that any 5th grade student in our public school system (Fort Bend I.S.D., TEAXS) could have easily come up with a more viable plan, that would have made one hell of alot more sense. Then again, our community is a solidly REPUBLICAN community, where people generally have a high degree of self reliance.
"maybe he felt them too dangerous no seat belts"
He lets the children of New Orleans ride them every day to school. No, he just wasn't thinking, and now he wants to blame someone else for his failure to do his stinking job.
Whatever happens, he is a hero. Laws are there to preserve order. When that order is collapsing, and someone takes liberties in the name of saving lives, well, I just cannot see anyone prosecutor pressing a case against him. Still, I wouldn't bet the farm that that won't happen.
In urban areas, a lot of people use public transportation. Many of the poor did not have cars and did not have money to stay anywhere if they left.
Don't forget that Nagin, after evacuating his family on Fri. waited until Sun. to order the evacuation. Could the revenue that the city would make on Sat night have had any impact on this delay? Inquring minds want to know.
"Whatever happens, he is a hero. Laws are there to preserve order. When that order is collapsing, and someone takes liberties in the name of saving lives, well, I just cannot see anyone prosecutor pressing a case against him. Still, I wouldn't bet the farm that that won't happen."
I will bet that if someone starts something, a whole bunch of people, starting with that 80 people he got out of town, will jump to his defense, and make them rethink it. I'll scrape up some spare cash for his legal defense, myself, if needed. Not to mention calling the President and the Governor, and the Mayor, myself, and ripping the latter two a new one, verbally, at least.
Seems Nagin knew or was told that it would take a few days for federal supplies to get to NO. He warned folks to bring enough supplies to last several days. So not only did he cost the evacuation effort two days, he knew help wasn't coming right away.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WEATHER/08/28/katrina.neworleans/index.html
Nagin said the city's shelters should be used as a last resort and said that people who use them should bring enough food, water and supplies to last for several days. He said that the Superdome, the city's main shelter, "is not going to be a very comfortable place at some point in time."
"The shelters will end up probably without electricity or with minimum electricity from generators in the end," Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said. "There may be intense flooding that will be not in our control which would be ultimately the most dangerous situation that many of our people could face."
Lived in NYC for more than 55yrs so I'm well aquainted with mass transport. Ever try to get a parking spot in Harlem, Brownsville, Washington Hts. et? And then there's that traffic jam at the Wal-Mart that still has me puzzled. Were there poor that didn't have vehicles? Of course. But the videos we saw after the storm and before the flood prove that many did.
Imagine what FReepers would do with that image if it were Sh$%head Clinton. It would be hilarious.
Pandering politicians of all stripes make for serious entertainment.
So, let's caption it. Here's mine:
"Ok, Magic 8-Ball, what do I do now?"
Interesting angle.
If the mayor flubs on his level, it hampers those higher up. Neither the Governor nor the president has a fleet of buses immediately at his disposal. The idea that people couldn't leave because they had no transportation is not generally true. Those people manage to get around, normally. But, the lack of designated shelters for them to go to is shocking as is the lack of services at those shelters. Ours are manned by Red Cross volunteers and none of them are on welfare. Everyone had their hands out for a hand out, thinking the government could and should take care of them, but government workers all punched the clock and went home to take care of their own families.
bttt
"No. This is not an AP story."
Yes it is:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050901/480/flpc21109012015
Cops say Jeremy Nagin, 18, and a pal tried to make off with $800 in clothing and a $500 cell phone by using an altered credit card.
[snip] Authorities say Jeremy Nagin and Nantambu began their scam by stealing a credit card and using a decoding device to decipher its confidential data.
Then, they allegedly used a computer program to graft those numbers onto another credit card, which was used in the Bloomie's theft and in booking a room at the Courtyard by Marriott.
The two were charged with grand larceny, criminal impersonation, criminal possession of stolen property and forgery.
[snip]" The New Orleans mayor, who is married with three kids, was previously vice president and general manager of Cox Communications. He was responsible for Cox launching the first 24-hour television news service in the United States with CBS affiliate WWL, and is also a principal owner of the professional ice hockey franchise in New Orleans.
Maybe Nagin was hoping to have extra time for his workers to destroy some sort of evidence.
Yes, it would have been brilliant to have the school buses above sea level Sunday afternoon.
But, it wasn't stupidity not to.
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