Posted on 09/02/2005 8:44:35 PM PDT by nwrep
Shepard Smith eyewitness report on O'Reilly: Mayor Ray Nagin intervened today to help tourists (many foreigners) staying at the upscale W hotel downtown escape New Orleans ahead of many of the people in the Superdomw. Tourists were shipped in buses to the Superdome and other connecting buses took them to safety.
Black Mayor Ray Nagin favors "W" tourists. Imagine that headline after all the racist garbage thrown at the President.
I had to stop watching after the Geraldo spectacle last night. Holding up babies, crying and blustering as if no one outside the convention center cares or is aware of their existence. Geraldo, who probably had a limo full of sandwiches and beer parked offscreen. We're all moved by the suffering but he is merely reinforcing the perception being foisted by Sharpton/Jackson etc that no one cares about black people and no one knows they're there.
I live in Florida, and we treat those tourists extremely well...Good, Bad or Indifferent. They, on the other hand, can be extremely difficult to deal with at the best of times. So whether they return to this Country or not, I couldn't care less. In fact I'd rather some of them didn't.
They always eat their own.
yeah,how about those 2 babies. One was crying,I guess in fear of Jerry.He is such a joke
..and hookers.
I'm sure you are aware that the highway has a checkpoint and those who try to walk (in case you're wondering why they haven't), are turned around and sent back to the dome.
So they can't even walk out.
Bush called the governor twice, not the other way around, to take over... he was told no. He also called the mayor, he said everything was under control. That's why Bush came on television and asked everyone to get out re: state of emergency early. It had to be requested by the state.
Obviously, by Nagin's rant then shock when he was asked if he knew the governor had to request it (states rights) for federal entities to get involved. I saw it, I am telling you he had no clue of the Standard Operating Procedures.
Case in point... from Gov. Blanco's site, notice the date:
Press Release
Date: 9/1/2005
Contact:Denise Bottcher or Roderick Hawkins at 225-342-9037
Governor Blanco Announces Executive Orders
Baton Rouge, LA— Governor Blanco today announced the following Executive Orders:
Executive Order NO. KBB 2005-23- Suspends the bonding requirement of persons issued a special officer's commission by the superintendent of state police. This will facilitate immediate activation and incorporation of out-of-state troopers and out-of-jurisdiction Louisiana law enforcement officers into law enforcement efforts in the disaster area.
Executive Order NO. KBB 2005-24- ensures that all evacuees occupying a hotel room shall be allowed to continue to occupy such rooms under the normal terms, conditions, and rates of the hotel or motel.
Also the date of this: http://gov.louisiana.gov/Press_Release_detail.asp?id=998
The full text of the above mentioned Executive Orders is available on the Internet at www.gov.state.la.us.
I dont know if this is the same hotel but...I was told the other day that one of the hotels had arranged a fleet of buses to come into to New Orleans to rescue the people stuck in their hotel. Each resident paid $45 as part of the cost to bring the buses in. When the buses arrived, they were commandered by the Mayor to pick up people at the Superdome. If he allowed some later buses to pick up visitors at the hotel, he may have been paying them back for taking their privately funded buses.
Pardon my FRench, but how the ... were these guests supposed to evacuate? There was no public transportation. Other than a few lucky ones you couldnt get a cab or rent a car. DElta Airlines sold worthless tickets leaving some stranded at the airport with no planes to take them out.
Take about classism. You act as though these people were rich and deserved what they got.
Not so fast... My understanding is that the W Hotel PAID for the buses to evacuate their guests. It is entirely fair for the Mayor to commandeer the buses with the understanding that the hotel guests would be evacuated ALONG WITH others to fill up the remaining capacity of the buses bought and paid for by the W Hotel. Those buses would not be there if the W Hotel had not provided them. It's a win-win.
I guess..I'd define it as ...people who don't live there. ; )
While Rome burned, Nero fiddled,
While NOLA flooded, Nagin diddled.
"Steve Haragin that preceded Shep was emphatic and riveting...He couldn't contain his rage, but stuck exactly to the facts....
Consummate professional....
So has been Shepard. That 1-2 combo with both Steve and Shep was some of the most poignant and powerful reporting I have seen...
And they didn't inject one scrap of bias or politics...
Great stuff"
I agree. Compare them to Jerry Rivers and there you see a REAL contrast.
Actually, it doesn't sound as though anything as orderly as taking turns was occurring. I just think that most of the tourists had alternative means of evacuating before the storm and should have used a little creative thinking and some of their money to get out.
My travel agent in America has cancelled my trip to New Orleans, as it won't be cleaned up any time soon. In a way, I'm relieved - I love the city, however, its government does not deserve any patronage.
Regards, Ivan
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