Louisiana governor should be jailed - Katrina

McCall ^

[Milligan]

Where is the Lt Gov of Louisiana?

[uncitizen]

He and his baby sister Mary Landrieu are in hiding while the blame is being thrown around.

[Happy2BMe]

"Looking back, I think the time he "lost it", he was absolutely disgusted with the situation."

=========================================

Nagin readily welcomed the president into NOL when they met and even said he "Felt much better." after talking to him.

Nagin was abandoned and up to that point all hope was literally lost of being able to help the people of his city.

I don't agree with the way the man reacted, but as you did - looking back . .

[LA Woman3]

Maybe the people of LA will think twice about putting another useless, power-centric liberal in the governor's mansion...
You think any of the thousands learned anything from this? I'll go out on a limb and say, there make be a dozen out of the thousands. But maybe not even a dozen.



People actually feel sorry for her. Insane, isn't it?

[LA Woman3]

What you saw in Nagin was a desperate man who had been completely and utterly abandoned by the very source of help he needed at the time of the crisis - his own governor. I find no fault in him.



Oh, I find fault with him. This is the same mayor that announced he had to consult with his lawyers before calling a mandatory evacuation. At the same time, he was evacuating his own family!

[the Deejay]

People actually feel sorry for her. Insane, isn't it?

Or quite the norm. Generational stupidity lasts and lasts for centuries. Blanco is the people's worst nightmare and enemy and can't figure it out. Sad.

[DallasMike]

Fellow Freepers:

At the suggestion of writer Michelle Malkin last Friday, I have cobbled together a blogsite called Texas Clearinghouse for Katrina Aid to serve as a clearinghouse for refugee efforts in Texas.

Texas is getting more refugees than any other state -- that's fine, we'll take them all -- but we need help providing them with food, clothing, medicine, and shelter. We need help taking care of their pets, too.

If you are a refugee, you can information that will help you find relief. If you want to donate or volunteer, you can find someone who needs you. Believe me, there are a lot of organizations who need your help.

Right now the site mostly covers Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas but I'm adding more every night. My wife was down at Reunion Arena in Dallas Tuesday handing out care packages and spiritually ministering to the refugees as a representative of her employer. She says that the situation is tragic and that there's a lot of work to be done. There are so many children who don't know where their parents are or even if their parents are still alive.

There are a lot of churches and other organizations in Texas that need help in dealing with the problem and I would appreciate it if you would get the word out.

Many thanks,

Michael McCullough

Stingray blogsite

[Happy2BMe]

"Oh, I find fault with him. This is the same mayor that announced he had to consult with his lawyers before calling a mandatory evacuation. At the same time, he was evacuating his own family!"

===========================================

Wouldn't you evactuate your family from NOLA if it was in your power to do so?

==================================

Nagin's tirade on radio got president's attention

HURRICANE KATRINA

NOAA

Hurricane Katrina swirls toward the Gulf Coast.

• Complete Chronicle coverage
Katrina news via RSS

---

HELP FOR REFUGEES:
• Housing offers • Shelter links
• Food • Look for people
• Web sites devoted to reuniting Katrina families
• Red Cross people search
• Search temp jobs in area
• Evacuee discounts

---

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
• LATEST HOUSTON UPDATES
• Where to send donations
• How to help locally
• Houston Mayor's Volunteer Initiatives Program
• Harris County Citizen Corps
• Red Cross volunteer training

---

BLOGS:
• Voices of Katrina: Stories from the aftermath
• DomeBlog from the Reliant Astrodome
• In Exile: An evacuee blogs for New Orleans
• Eric Berger's SciGuy

---

WEBCAST:
• Live coverage from WDSU-TV in New Orleans

---

VIDEO:
• Wednesday morning Katrina update 9/7
• Mayor orders mandatory evacuation of New Orleans 9/7
• New Orleans desolate as water is removed 9/6
• Evacuees settle into shelters 9/6
• Tuesday morning update 9/6
• FSU counts the cash for Katrina relief 9/6
• Lawmakers blast government response 9/6
• Flooded city swamped by fires 9/6
• War effort will not be slowed by Katrina 9/6
• Bush vows government will help students 9/6
• White House on Katrina probe 9/6
• Recovery efforts continue in New Orleans 9/6
• Bush promises investigation 9/6
• Bush in Baton Rouge, Bush-Clinton fund announced 9/5

---

PHOTO GALLERIES:
Associated Press:
• Latest images
Houston Chronicle:
• Dome City report
• Houston relief effort
• Gulf Coast recovery
• Evacuees settle in Houston
• Evacuations continue in New Orleans
• Mississippi picking up the pieces
• Temporary shelter in Houston
• Evacuees arrive at Astrodome
• Louisiana residents cope
• National Guard relief arrives
Chronicle News Services:
• Gulf Coast aftermath

---

INTERACTIVE:
• New Orleans devastation
• Zoomable satellite image of New Orleans / 8/31
• Hurricane Katrina: Devastation follows storm's path

---

IN NEW ORLEANS:
• Nola.com's breaking news blog and Hurricane Center

---

GRAPHICS:
• Graphic: Post-Hurricane Biohazards 09/08
• Graphic: Katrina's Economic Impact 09/08
• Graphic: Disasters lead to rise in suicides 09/06
• Graphic: The world comes to U.S. aid 09/06
• Graphic: Timeline of Katrina's aftermath 09/06
• Graphic: Comparing New Orleans, Houston Evacuations
• Satellite Images: New Orleans Before and After Katrina
• Graphic: When levees are breached
• Graphic: Fixing the Levee
• Graphic: Katrina's Aftermath
• Map: Katrina's Path
• Graphic: New Orleans and Storm Surge
Note: Some graphics are oversized and require scrolling

---

SPECIAL REPORT:
• The Big One: Is Houston ready?

---

Video, graphics courtesy Associated Press and KHOU; free Real Player, Flash plug-in and Acrobat Reader may be required.)

NEW ORLEANS - The public speaking style of New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin could be charitably described as informal, if not freewheeling. He is also known as man who, for a politician, can be surprisingly candid and emotional.

On Thursday night, with his city underwater, with thousands of his citizens feared dead, with looters besieging hospitals, with bodies floating in floodwaters, with people still marooned on rooftops, with tens of thousands of evacuees threatening to riot, the mayor exploded.

Critical of Bush

In an interview with a local radio station, Nagin accused the federal government, including President Bush, of failing to respond quickly enough to the catastrophe inflicted upon his city by Hurricane Katrina. In remarks later rebroadcast nationwide, he criticized Bush directly, saying "his flying over in Air Force One does not do ... justice" to the crisis.

Less than 24 hours later, the mayor found himself aboard Air Force One, face to face with the president at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. He repeated his criticisms, he said in an interview Friday night, and got a positive response from the president.

"He said he was fully committed to getting us the resources we need," Nagin said in the tattered Hyatt hotel next to the Superdome. "I told him I knew we could work together, and he said he understood."

In their two hours together, first on Air Force One and then during a flyover of the city in the president's helicopter, Nagin said Bush did not mention the radio tirade until the mayor himself brought it up.

"I told him: 'I said some things yesterday that may have offended you, and if they did, I apologize. But if you were in my shoes, what would you do?' " Nagin said. "He said he had heard I had said some things, but that he really didn't understand all of it. And then he said: 'You and I are OK.' "

Nagin grinned, adding: "The president loves frankness."

[LA Woman3]

Where is the Lt Gov of Louisiana?


Silently watching and waiting.....
Mitch Landrieu is Lt. Governor. Mary Landrieu's brother.

[LA Woman3]

Wouldn't you evactuate your family from NOLA if it was in your power to do so?

Oh, absolutely! I live South of Baton Rouge and we evacuated to Texas. Everyone knows the legend of the "Big One" hitting New Orleans!

[bitt]

'Blanco failed -- and should be jailed'

Smartass - can you put this in your fancy script??

[bitt]

thankd for the ping. your red 'x's are very good tonight!! lol

[Smartass]

The truth isn't really out yet on Governor Blanco's screw ups. That's why the dems could be further screwing up, by shrilling for an investigation. I agree with the article. For starters, she should be charged and jailed. Besides being dogmatic about denying the Red Cross and Salvation Army to go to the Dome, where did all the fed FEMA money go?

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Elyse]

I had to vote for Edwin Edwards that year. I can't tell you how much my stomach turned when I pulled that lever. There was just no other choice.

[Ellesu]

Kind of off topic of this thread but here is an example of priotity spending in thus state.

http://www.nola.com

Landrieu office updates raise eyebrows -
Renovations total nearly $1 million
Times-Picayune, The (New Orleans, LA)
August 14, 2005
Author: Jan Moller
Capital bureau
Estimated printed pages: 5

BATON ROUGE -- Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu has spearheaded renovations of his office and official residence totaling nearly $1 million since his election in 2003, spending that his staff said is a critical part of their efforts to improve the state's image. But others noted that the state has a long list of facility needs identified as more critical.

Public records show taxpayers have paid more than $950,000 for the two renovation projects involving Landrieu's office: a $419,000 face-lift of a reception area and personal residence in the historic Pentagon Barracks across from the state Capitol; and a $536,000 upgrade of Landrieu's executive office at the Capitol Annex, in the same area with the state Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, which the lieutenant governor oversees.

Most of the money was spent on basic materials and labor. But the projects include upgraded carpeting in the executive suite, a decorative glass partition in the reception area and $10,000 for an interior design firm. The residential renovations include a new spiral staircase connecting the second and third floors, and commercial-grade kitchen appliances.

Landrieu declined to be interviewed about the construction projects but issued a written statement that said they are consistent with his efforts to "re-image" the state by allowing for a more polished presentation.

"Renovations to the space occupied by the office of lieutenant governor and the office of the secretary of DCRT (Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism) were designed to give us a place to host dignitaries, conduct economic development and tourism business meetings -- basically to show the state in a more professional, positive light to those who we do business with," the statement said.

Project not unusual

State officials said the project is not unusual, and that it makes sense to have the lieutenant governor working from the same office as the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. But others question why the projects were financed at a time when the state faces a $263 million backlog of "critical" repairs to other buildings and property.

"Given all the other capital outlay needs, that's an awful lot of money to be spending for the operation of that office," said Sen. Jay Dardenne, R-Baton Rouge, who was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee under former Gov. Mike Foster.

Dardenne said he's not familiar enough with the project to know whether the renovations were needed, but he said he suspects there were other projects that could have used the money.

"I'm sure it's very nice now, and I'll also assume it was not the highest spending priority," Dardenne said.

Jerry Jones, state facilities director for the Division of Administration, estimates there is a $2 billion backlog of repairs needed on state-owned buildings, including $263 million deemed "critical" and needing to be done immediately. Charity Hospital in New Orleans, for example, needs $508,434 worth of roof repairs and $4.3 million to fix an exterior wall.

"I don't want to say he jumped ahead of everybody else, because this was part of the . . . plans," Jones said. "But that's not to say we don't have those . . . critical things we need to take care of."

Another state construction official said the only thing unusual about the project was that an outside firm was hired to provide "design oversight" for the architects chosen by the state.

"It's not normal," said Billy Wilson, who heads the Office of State Buildings. "That's my first experience with that."

Secretary of Culture, Recreation and Tourism Angele Davis said the renovations were a necessary part of Louisiana's effort to project a more "professional business image," which had become difficult to do before the renovations. She said the space previously used by the lieutenant governor's office in the Pentagon Barracks had water stains on the walls and other signs of wear and tear.

"We are in the business of selling our assets and our culture to the rest of the world," Davis said. "You don't do that in an office that has watermarks and torn up carpet."

Special fund pays

The money to renovate the lieutenant governor's residence and reception area came from the Budgetary Control Council, a 12-member group that meets once a year and is controlled by the speaker of the House and the president of the Senate.

The financing for converting the fifth floor of the Capitol Annex into a 6,800-square-foot suite of offices for Landrieu and other top tourism officials came from a special state fund that pays for construction and renovation projects in and around the Capitol.

Furniture for both spaces was purchased from Prison Enterprises, and that cost was not included in the price.

In his statement, Landrieu said the projects should be judged in the context of a government building boom in the capital, with at least four new state office buildings recently completed or under construction.

"In 2002, the state spent over $320 million to build new buildings in the Capitol Complex," Landrieu said. "None of the renovations or new buildings incorporated our department. That is why we worked with the Division of Administration to use funds that were already slated for the repair work to the Annex."

Before the renovations, the lieutenant governor had both a residence and office in the Pentagon Barracks, a historic complex of four buildings that sit diagonally across the street from the state Capitol and also includes apartments for legislators. The tourism staff worked across the street in the Capitol Annex, a Depression-era building nominated for the National Register of Historic Places.

Landrieu's active interest

Wilson, the head of the Office of State Buildings, said the renovation of the fifth floor of the Capitol Annex had been on a five-year list of proposed projects. But the project did not gain momentum or financing until Landrieu presented his plan to consolidate the functions of his office under one roof.

A series of e-mails obtained from the Division of Administration through a public records request indicate Landrieu took an active interest in the project, down to reviewing carpet samples and asking that a private toilet be built adjacent to a large conference room.

"The carpet samples were transmitted to the lieutenant governor's office, and they are not happy with the 'industrial' look of carpet tiles," reads a typical e-mail.

Eventually it was decided a suite of offices for Landrieu and Davis would have a higher-grade carpet than the rest of the offices on that floor.

Not all of the lieutenant governor's requests were granted. For example, the state turned down a request by Landrieu's hand-picked interior designer to raise the ceilings in Landrieu's personal office by a foot. A suggestion by the designer to hang a chandelier in the reception area also was rejected out of fear it would be too large for that space.

[Ellesu]

Red Cross Volunteer arrested on sex charges

http://www.nola.com/newsflash/louisiana/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1126208641155411.xml&storylist=louisiana

[expatguy]

She is though a woman and that represents diversity.

[Happy2BMe]

#76 - thanks for posting that.

[pointsal]

Gee whiz....send your citizens to a facility that does not have food or water...WOW?

Is it okay to bring back a New England-style pillory post?