Katrina hit New Orleans and Miss. 1 year ago.
The rebuilding is getting a lot of media attention. So is perperation for the next one, possibly Ernesto this week. Can the Federal Govt. rebuild a city effectively? Can the State of La. do so? How about the locals? Nagin still seems out of focus. He was apologizing for yet another remark today on Chris Matthews.
Any thoughts or comments? It’s a meaty issue for both Republicans and Democrats.
[quote]hedo wrote:
Katrina hit New Orleans and Miss. 1 year ago.
The rebuilding is getting a lot of media attention. So is perperation for the next one, possibly Ernesto this week. Can the Federal Govt. rebuild a city effectively? Can the State of La. do so? How about the locals? Nagin still seems out of focus. He was apologizing for yet another remark today on Chris Matthews.
Any thoughts or comments? It’s a meaty issue for both Republicans and Democrats.[/quote]
Post the specific remark made. How is he out of focus?
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Post the specific remark made. How is he out of focus?[/quote]
Nagin dropped the ball every way it could be dropped.
He still doesn’t know how to manage - or prepare.
His re-election reminds me of when the idiots in DC re-elected the crack head.
Nagin, and the La. governor should be in jail for their mistakes.
[quote]rainjack wrote:
Professor X wrote:
Post the specific remark made. How is he out of focus?
Nagin dropped the ball every way it could be dropped.
He still doesn’t know how to manage - or prepare.
His re-election reminds me of when the idiots in DC re-elected the crack head.
Nagin, and the La. governor should be in jail for their mistakes. [/quote]
Yes, I rememebr every news outlet projecting that Nagin would lose. Why do you think the people who voted for him are so stupid? What I have seen from the media is a capitalization on every word he utters. The man is not very eloquent and often puts his foot in his mouth which gives plenty of ammo. Could it be that those around the man and those who voted for him are focused on other qualities than how good he is with words or how great of a politician he is? Being a politician today requires word play and games. It is about who can smile more while presenting an image of perfection even if their entire personal life is falling apart behind them.
I hate true politicians. You are never being told the flat truth by one.
Maybe those people are tired of it just the same.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Could it be that those around the man and those who voted for him are focused on other qualities than how good he is with words or how great of a politician he is? [/quote]
Of course they were. They were focused on his “chocolateness”.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
I hate true politicians. You are never being told the flat truth by one.
Maybe those people are tired of it just the same.[/quote]
I think Nagin is a racist jerk. I think he should be tried for murder, or at the very least negligent homicide. But that is just my opinion. He has no influence on my life - thank God.
Were the folks in DC so tired of politicians as well that they re-elected crack head Barry(sp) to another term after he got out of jail?
Nagin’s leadership:
“Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it’s destroyed and put stress on this country,” Nagin said as he and other city leaders marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“Surely he doesn’t approve of us being in Iraq under false pretenses. But surely he is upset at black America also. We’re not taking care of ourselves.”
“It’s time for us to come together. It’s time for us to rebuild New Orleans – the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans,” the mayor said. “This city will be a majority-African American city. It’s the way God wants it to be. You can’t have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn’t be New Orleans.”
"In October 2005, K&L Auto Crushers of Tyler, Texas, approached Mayor Nagin with an offer to pay $100 apiece for each flooded, abandoned vehicle it removed from New Orleans and to have emptied the city of such junkers within 15 weeks.
(The company would have taken title to the vehicles, crushed them, and sold them for scrap). Given that there were then an estimated 50,000 such vehicles to be removed, had that plan been agreed to, by January or February of 2006 the city would have been both rid of its wrecked car problem and $5 million richer.
The mayor turned down that offer, instead opting to pay an engineering company $23 million to perform the same task. That arrangement collapsed, and New Orleans instead ended up joining a towing contract arranged by the state of Louisiana.
Louisiana’s first attempt at getting the state’s Katrina-damaged junkers hauled to the crusher had it inking a $62 million contract in March 2006 with TruSource Facility Services, a small Georgia janitorial firm, and L&L Steel Builders, a tiny contractor based in New Orleans. Concerns were repeatedly raised that neither of these companies had the manpower or experience to handle the job and would not be able to complete the work successfully. However, those concerns became moot once the companies proved unable to secure financing for their performance bond and therefore lost the contract.
The statewide contract has since been awarded to DRC, a construction and disaster services firm in Alabama that bid $33 million for the job. It began the work of removing cars in mid-June 2006 and expects to complete the task by 30 August 2006.
DRC is currently being sued by the U.S. government over its USAID work in Honduras. The 2004 lawsuit (still being contested in D.C. federal courts) alleges that DRC misrepresented its personal and equipment assets, improperly subcontracted most of the work, and submitted false invoices totaling more than $12.6 million, of which DRC pocketed $5.2 million after paying subcontractors. Federal prosecutors are seeking to recoup triple that amount in damages plus other costs.
As to who is footing the bill, in March 2006 FEMA set up a fund to cover 100% of the towing costs for wrecked and abandoned automobiles in southern Louisiana. However, under that fund’s reimbursement formula, the state would be required to pony up 10% of the costs for work performed after 30 June, a date that would have been a reasonable cutoff point if the job had been begun in March, but which is wildly unrealistic in light of the 18 June 2006 commencement date. It is not yet known if FEMA will still insist on collecting the 10% fee or will waive it."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/24/60minutes/main1933092.shtml
On a tour of the decimated Ninth Ward, Nagin tells Pitts the city has removed most of the debris from public property and it?s mainly private land that?s still affected ? areas that can?t be cleaned without the owners’ permission. But when Pitts points to flood-damaged cars in the street and a house washed partially into the street, the mayor shoots back. “That?s alright. You guys in New York can?t get a hole in the ground fixed and it?s five years later. So let?s be fair.”
[quote]Professor X wrote:
hedo wrote:
Katrina hit New Orleans and Miss. 1 year ago.
The rebuilding is getting a lot of media attention. So is perperation for the next one, possibly Ernesto this week. Can the Federal Govt. rebuild a city effectively? Can the State of La. do so? How about the locals? Nagin still seems out of focus. He was apologizing for yet another remark today on Chris Matthews.
Any thoughts or comments? It’s a meaty issue for both Republicans and Democrats.
Post the specific remark made. How is he out of focus?[/quote]
Quote
“You guys in New York can?t get a hole in the ground fixed and it?s five years later. So let?s be fair.”
Mayor Ray Nagin
This comment was in response to a question about why basic cleanup is taking so long (cars and debris) it ignores the fact that the debris from the WTC was cleared in less then a year and a half despite having to sift thru the wrecage for bodies and body parts.
A focused man would have answered the question with the actual reasons and not try to make comparisons that are way off base and factually wrong.
Black people in NO chose a man because he is black. The dude is obviously a front man with little speaking or intellectual skills whatever. However, the powers-that-be knew he’d win; blacks seem to be convinced that only a black person can represent their interests. I don’t blame them due to our history, but it plays right into the hands of the people who pull the strings.
I love this LBJ quote, so here goes again: “I’ll have those n###ers voting Democrat for the next 200 years!”
[quote]hedo wrote:
A focused man would have answered the question with the actual reasons and not try to make comparisons that are way off base and factually wrong.
[/quote]
Maybe the way to describe that isn’t a lack of focus but possibly a lack of skill. I hate to hear anything about what the man says in public. You could put together an entire novel of “Nagin-isms” that would put Forrest Gump to shame. Because of that, I don’t care any longer.
I want know about what has been done up to this point and why progress may be delayed or behind schedule. I wish they would quit giving him a microphone. I do not care about Nagin. I care about what the city is going to do. Is his being there directly hindering progress? If so, how specifically?
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Is his being there directly hindering progress? If so, how specifically?[/quote]
http://www.snopes.com/...cs/carcrush.asp
"In October 2005, K&L Auto Crushers of Tyler, Texas, approached Mayor Nagin with an offer to pay $100 apiece for each flooded, abandoned vehicle it removed from New Orleans and to have emptied the city of such junkers within 15 weeks.
(The company would have taken title to the vehicles, crushed them, and sold them for scrap). Given that there were then an estimated 50,000 such vehicles to be removed, had that plan been agreed to, by January or February of 2006 the city would have been both rid of its wrecked car problem and $5 million richer.
The mayor turned down that offer, instead opting to pay an engineering company $23 million to perform the same task. That arrangement collapsed, and New Orleans instead ended up joining a towing contract arranged by the state of Louisiana.
Louisiana’s first attempt at getting the state’s Katrina-damaged junkers hauled to the crusher had it inking a $62 million contract in March 2006 with TruSource Facility Services, a small Georgia janitorial firm, and L&L Steel Builders, a tiny contractor based in New Orleans. Concerns were repeatedly raised that neither of these companies had the manpower or experience to handle the job and would not be able to complete the work successfully. However, those concerns became moot once the companies proved unable to secure financing for their performance bond and therefore lost the contract.
The statewide contract has since been awarded to DRC, a construction and disaster services firm in Alabama that bid $33 million for the job. It began the work of removing cars in mid-June 2006 and expects to complete the task by 30 August 2006.
DRC is currently being sued by the U.S. government over its USAID work in Honduras. The 2004 lawsuit (still being contested in D.C. federal courts) alleges that DRC misrepresented its personal and equipment assets, improperly subcontracted most of the work, and submitted false invoices totaling more than $12.6 million, of which DRC pocketed $5.2 million after paying subcontractors. Federal prosecutors are seeking to recoup triple that amount in damages plus other costs.
As to who is footing the bill, in March 2006 FEMA set up a fund to cover 100% of the towing costs for wrecked and abandoned automobiles in southern Louisiana. However, under that fund’s reimbursement formula, the state would be required to pony up 10% of the costs for work performed after 30 June, a date that would have been a reasonable cutoff point if the job had been begun in March, but which is wildly unrealistic in light of the 18 June 2006 commencement date. It is not yet known if FEMA will still insist on collecting the 10% fee or will waive it."
[quote]Professor X wrote:
hedo wrote:
A focused man would have answered the question with the actual reasons and not try to make comparisons that are way off base and factually wrong.
Maybe the way to describe that isn’t a lack of focus but possibly a lack of skill. I hate to hear anything about what the man says in public. You could put together an entire novel of “Nagin-isms” that would put Forrest Gump to shame. Because of that, I don’t care any longer.
I want know about what has been done up to this point and why progress may be delayed or behind schedule. I wish they would quit giving him a microphone. I do not care about Nagin. I care about what the city is going to do. Is his being there directly hindering progress? If so, how specifically?[/quote]
I would agree with you that he is terrible in front of a microphone. Nagin could have answered with specific reasons when asked about the debris.
The delays, from what I have seen, in New Orleans almost stem from the size of the problems and the coordination required under the various agencies. In other words the bueracracy and the various interests involved. Debris removal is a good example. The actual contractors doing the work are 3 to 4 levels removed from the ones who have the federal contract to do the work. Each one marks up the cost and the delays continue. The problem is the first tier contractors don’t really have the expertise to do the work so they hire subs, the subs hire subs and the third tier subs then hire labor to do the work. It’s a tremendous waste. I can’t see Rudi or Bloomberg putting up with that in NYC.
The mayor for better or worse is the chief executive of the city and he needs to set clear goals and more improtantly a vision for the place to move forward. He then needs to get all of the stakeholders involved. I don’t see that he has done that. If he is a confident leader that inspires confidence he will bring in capital and private investors that will help the city grow. Trump took a shot but the small and mid-sized employers are still hesitant about the city. It’s as much about the levees as it is about crime and the tax base.
I gave Nagin the benefit of the doubt last year. I thought he was overwhelmed but would come through after things settled down. He didn’t.
New Orleans is coming back but I think it is coming along slowly. When it’s done I think New Orleans ends up at half it’s size and with an almost exclusive tourist based economy. I don’t know if that’s what all of the residents want.
Follow the money.
[quote]Headhunter wrote:
Follow the money.[/quote]
That’s just basic La politics. Always has been.
[quote]Headhunter wrote:
Black people in NO chose a man because he is black. The dude is obviously a front man with little speaking or intellectual skills whatever. However, the powers-that-be knew he’d win; blacks seem to be convinced that only a black person can represent their interests. I don’t blame them due to our history, but it plays right into the hands of the people who pull the strings.
I love this LBJ quote, so here goes again: “I’ll have those n###ers voting Democrat for the next 200 years!”[/quote]
So you hate Nagin but you love Bush? What sets them apart, besides the color of their skin?
[quote]rainjack wrote:
Professor X wrote:
Post the specific remark made. How is he out of focus?
Nagin dropped the ball every way it could be dropped.
He still doesn’t know how to manage - or prepare.
His re-election reminds me of when the idiots in DC re-elected the crack head.
Nagin, and the La. governor should be in jail for their mistakes. [/quote]
Well of course Nagin doesn’t know how to manage, prepare…he was/is a Republican and Bush supporter!–nuff said!
[quote]100meters wrote:
rainjack wrote:
Professor X wrote:
Post the specific remark made. How is he out of focus?
Nagin dropped the ball every way it could be dropped.
He still doesn’t know how to manage - or prepare.
His re-election reminds me of when the idiots in DC re-elected the crack head.
Nagin, and the La. governor should be in jail for their mistakes.
Well of course Nagin doesn’t know how to manage, prepare…he was/is a Republican and Bush supporter!–nuff said![/quote]
I guess even the republicans will have their share of incompetent idiots. Party affiliation aside - the guy stood by while citizens that elected him died.
I know that you will make the lame and all too predictable parallel with Bush - so I’ll sit back and wait for it.
WOW!
Other than X and Hedo, I have to wonder how any of you other folks function without the media telling you what to do or think.
Saying Nagin or Blanco should be in jail is just plain ignorant. That is of course unless they are in the same cell with Bush, Brown and Chertoff…
The media has you all so brainwashed you are completely clueless as to what REALLY happened here or what the future holds for this region. Monday morning QB’ing is a weak way to criticize how things happened and the pictures of flooded busses as well as the snopes towing tid bit are feable minded attempts to act as if you have a clue. More brainwashing.
Pitt’s was badgering Nagin. He answered the same question 3 fucking times with solid (PC) correct answers before he made the hole in the ground comment. For a moment, look at what he said more than who said it. Is it true or not? The fact of the matter is that the WTC memorial is now wollering in a bunch of political BS and the damn hole is still there. I’m glad Nagin said what he said because it’s the truth. Just like when he screamed on the radio to get us some GOD DAMN HELP after 5 days with no food or water being sent into the city.
Up until Gen. Honre showed up, Brown and Chertoff were screwing up everything…Yet when Bush met with him it was…“you’re doing a helluva job Brownie”
Do any of you wise guys even know who the first aid and support came from to the people suffering here? The fucking Canadian Mounties were here helping people before or own US troops. Explain how that’s Nagin’s fault becuase I am searching for understanding how that could even happen.
As for the busses, who drives them? What is your point. Once they were flooded they were useless. And as for the flooded car towing, remember that those vehicles were/are personal property and under Louisiana law Nagin did not have the authorization to use taxpayer money to have them towed away. But don’t let facts get in the way of your brainwashing.
There was a plan.
DID YOU KNOW, that there is a FREE registration system here for all people who can not evacuate themselves? All you do is register and when a evacuation is ordered you have a way out of town. Problem is, little to no one registers.
Quote: the guy stood by while citizens that elected him died.
In 3 foot of water carrying people to safety and trying to get help into the city.
Now I would bet your one of those Gulliani cock suckers that swears how great of job he did during the WTC. When in reality he rode in his limo to and from the site while smoking Bush’s pole deciding on how to posture themselves for the next photo shoot. Mayor Nagin was in a helluva worse situation, one 50x worse than the WTC and did more as a leader than the Republican poster boy ever had to do or dreamed of doing.
The funny thing is that you all are going to end up paying for the clean up and recovery and do not even know where to place propper blame. Had the Federal controlled Army Corp of Eng. done their job of building the levees correctly none of this would have happened in the first place. Had the people that could have evacuated themselves done so, the situation here would have been less daunting. Oh I forgot, Nagin did not call the evacuation soon enough, right? I mean really, even with a CAT 5 in the Gulf why would you evacuate unless Brotha Ray said so?
Flame away.
How much do they pay you for your PR work? is it hourly, or salary?
[quote]RHINO928 wrote:
WOW!
Other than X and Hedo, I have to wonder how any of you other folks function without the media telling you what to do or think.
Saying Nagin or Blanco should be in jail is just plain ignorant. That is of course unless they are in the same cell with Bush, Brown and Chertoff…
The media has you all so brainwashed you are completely clueless as to what REALLY happened here or what the future holds for this region. Monday morning QB’ing is a weak way to criticize how things happened and the pictures of flooded busses as well as the snopes towing tid bit are feable minded attempts to act as if you have a clue. More brainwashing.
Pitt’s was badgering Nagin. He answered the same question 3 fucking times with solid (PC) correct answers before he made the hole in the ground comment. For a moment, look at what he said more than who said it. Is it true or not? The fact of the matter is that the WTC memorial is now wollering in a bunch of political BS and the damn hole is still there. I’m glad Nagin said what he said because it’s the truth. Just like when he screamed on the radio to get us some GOD DAMN HELP after 5 days with no food or water being sent into the city.
Up until Gen. Honre showed up, Brown and Chertoff were screwing up everything…Yet when Bush met with him it was…“you’re doing a helluva job Brownie”
Do any of you wise guys even know who the first aid and support came from to the people suffering here? The fucking Canadian Mounties were here helping people before or own US troops. Explain how that’s Nagin’s fault becuase I am searching for understanding how that could even happen.
As for the busses, who drives them? What is your point. Once they were flooded they were useless. And as for the flooded car towing, remember that those vehicles were/are personal property and under Louisiana law Nagin did not have the authorization to use taxpayer money to have them towed away. But don’t let facts get in the way of your brainwashing.
There was a plan.
DID YOU KNOW, that there is a FREE registration system here for all people who can not evacuate themselves? All you do is register and when a evacuation is ordered you have a way out of town. Problem is, little to no one registers.
Quote: the guy stood by while citizens that elected him died.
In 3 foot of water carrying people to safety and trying to get help into the city.
Now I would bet your one of those Gulliani cock suckers that swears how great of job he did during the WTC. When in reality he rode in his limo to and from the site while smoking Bush’s pole deciding on how to posture themselves for the next photo shoot. Mayor Nagin was in a helluva worse situation, one 50x worse than the WTC and did more as a leader than the Republican poster boy ever had to do or dreamed of doing.
The funny thing is that you all are going to end up paying for the clean up and recovery and do not even know where to place propper blame. Had the Federal controlled Army Corp of Eng. done their job of building the levees correctly none of this would have happened in the first place. Had the people that could have evacuated themselves done so, the situation here would have been less daunting. Oh I forgot, Nagin did not call the evacuation soon enough, right? I mean really, even with a CAT 5 in the Gulf why would you evacuate unless Brotha Ray said so?
Flame away.
[/quote]
No flames necessary. I agree with you. It was a massive fuck up and to blame Nagin as if he is more at fault than the entire process that involved FEMA all the way up to Bush himself (anyone remember not hearing from Bush on the issue for days while people suffered?) is a little too much bullshit for words. If what you say about Pitts is true, it brings into question much of what people post here directly from media sources who are in it just to make a story one way or another.