Posted on 09/03/2005 6:02:14 PM PDT by Grig
The following is a partial transcript of an interview between Garland Robinette of WWL radio in New Orleans and the city's Mayor, Ray Nagin.
Robinette: Have you talked to the President?
Nagin: I've talked directly with the President. I've talked to the head of the Homeland Security. I've talked to everybody under the sun. I've been out there, man. I flew these helicopters, been in the crowds talking to people crying, don't know where their relatives are.
I've done it all, man, and I tell you, man, Garland, I keep hearing that it's coming. This is coming. That is coming. And my answer to that today is BS. Where is the beef? Cause there is no beef in this city. There's no beef anywhere in southeast Louisiana and these goddamn ships that are coming -- I don't see them.
Robinette: What did you say to the President of the United States and what did he say to you?
Nagin: I basically told him we had an incredible, uh, crisis here and that his flying over in Air Force One does not do it justice, and I have been all around this city and I am very frustrated because we are not able to marshal resources and we're outmanned in just about every respect.
You know the reason why the looters got out of control? Because we had most of our resources saving people, thousands of people that were stuck in attics, man, old ladies, when you pull off the doggone ventilator vent and you look down there and they're standing in there in water up to their freakin' neck and they don't have a clue what's going on down here.
They flew down here one time, two days after the doggone event was over with TV cameras, AP reporters, all kind of goddamned, excuse my French, everybody in America, but I am pissed.
Robinette: Did you say to the President of the United States, "I need the military in here?"
Nagin: I said I need everything. Now I will tell you this, and I give the President some credit on this: He sent one John Wayne dude down here that could get some stuff done and his name is [Army Lieutenant General Russel] Honore and he came off the god-danged chopper and he started cussing and people started moving. And he's getting some stuff done. They oughta give that guy, if they don't want to give it to me, give him full authority to get the job done and we can save some people.
Robinette: What do you need right now to take control of the situation?
Nagin: I need reinforcements. I need troops, man. I need 500 buses, man. They're talking about, you know, one of the briefings we had, you know, they were talking about getting uh, uh you know, public school bus drivers to come down here and bus people out of here. I'm like, 'You gotta be kidding me!'
This is a national disaster. Get every doggone Greyhound bus line in the country and get their asses moving to New Orleans. That's, they're thinking small man, and this is a major, major, major deal. And I can't emphasize it enough, man.
This is crazy! I've got 15,000 to 20,000 people over at the convention centre, it's bursting at the seams. The poor people in Plaquemines parish, they're air-vacing people here over to New Orleans. We don't have anything and were sharing with our brothers in Plaquemines parish. It's, it's, it's, it's awful down here, man.
Robinette: Do you believe that the President is seeing this, holding news conferences on it, but can't do anything until [Louisiana Governor] Kathleen Blanco requests him to do it and do you know whether she has made that request?
Nagin: I have no idea what they're doing but, uh, I will tell you this: You know God is looking down on all this and if they're not doing everything in their power to save people, they are going to pay the price, because every day that we delay people are dying. And they're dying by the hundreds I'm willing to bet you.
Robinette: What can we do here?
Nagin: Keep talking about it.
Robinette: OK, we'll do that. What else can we do?
Nagin: Organize people to write letters, make calls to --
Robinette: E-mails
Nagin: -- to their Congressmen, to the President, to the Governor. Flood their doggone offices with requests to do something.
This is ridiculous. And I don't want to see anybody do anymore goddamned press conferences. Put a moratorium on press conferences. Don't do another press conference until the resources are in this city and then come down to this city and stand with us when there are military trucks and troops that we can't even count.
Don't tell me 40,000 people are coming here! They're not here! It's too doggone late. Now get off your asses and let's do something! Let's fix the biggest goddamned crisis in the history of this country.
(Several seconds pass where neither man speaks. Quiet crying can be heard.)
Robinette (openly crying): We're both pretty speechless here. Yeah, I don't know what to say.
Nagin (voice breaking): I gotta go.
Robinette: OK. Keep in touch. Keep in touch.
(Several seconds pass where neither man speaks. Quiet crying can be heard.)
How sweet!
I would cry too if I had that kind of blood on my hands.
" I need 500 buses, man"
You had 500 buses, man.
Nagin should be held personally accountable for his incompetence.
ping
Think this clown can pass a piss (drug) test?
He would've had the buses rolling if it had been an election day instead of a killer hurricane, I reckon.
The poster above is right.
The guy has the blood of thousands on his hands and he's frantically trying to wipe his paws on W's shirt.
Ain't gonna work.
I dunno "man"....;))
"Man, I need 500 buses'...just make sure they're not waterlogged."
He will be accountable in hell. The FEDs have quickly taken over the entire operation giving LA and NO prestege but no power. The NG troops are in time for body counting and summary justice.
Oh, you meant a drug test...sorry. Never mind.
L
Two days notice of a Cat 2 storm projected to hit somewhere within 200 miles of NO.
Hey man, we only have 300 buses. I said I need 500 buses, man.
Scum does indeed float to the top.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.