Ray Nagin is an ass.

[Shimmer]

Can we say open mouth and insert foot?

Quote:

NEW YORK - New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says he’s sorry he used the term “hole in the ground” to describe the World Trade Center site. “I wish I would have basically said that it was an undeveloped site, which it is,” he said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Nagin had criticized efforts to redevelop the World Trade Center site following the Sept. 11 attacks when confronted about delays in rebuilding his city after Hurricane Katrina. During a “60 minutes” interview, a CBS correspondent pointed out flood-damaged cars still on the streets of New Orleans’ devastated Ninth Ward. Nagin replied, “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,” according to CBS. The “60 Minutes” interview aired Sunday night. Text and a video clip from it were posted on CBS’ Web site Thursday. Nagin told NBC he didn’t mean to offend anyone. “I meant no disrespect for anyone,” he said. “I have seen death, I have the destruction, and I was just using it as a comparison to show how difficult it is for people to rebuild after a major disaster.” He said he was sorry to the families of those who died on Sept. 11, 2001, and believe the World Trade Center site is sacred ground.

HI. The city of New Orleans had warnings, mandatory evacuations, etc. in the days prior to Katrina.

WTC? The civilians had NO warning.


What an ass.

 

[Lady_MAC]

Meh, big deal. It was an accurate comparison, and very true. They really do need to get it together and fix New Orleans, though.

 

[Hawkeye]

I hate that guy. he is the most ungreatful person in the world. I heard somewhere where he said it wasn't fair that nobody came to help NO. Um excuse me-as soon as it happened you had Americans pouring out hundreds of millions of dollars and supplies to donate to help and you had Texas opening up its arms....

He is just.... an ASS! And I can't believe that ungreatful peice of dirt (Yes I said it-I have very high opinions against him) Got re-elected. WTH? He could've said a mandatory evac a lot earlier-did he? NO!

I better stop or I'll get in deep trouble but I'll be honest-I hate his guts. I think the entire situation could've been held a lot better and if he would just shut up and actually do his job-maybe they would be a lot further along then they are now.

And quite frankly- you can see the differance. When 9/11 happened-the US opened our hearts, our wallets etc and we got a constant, Thank you so much, etc etc.

When Katrina hit all we've got are a bunch of whiners who can't even thank the american people for EVERYTHING they have done for them. Many even took strangers in their homes. But a thank you, do we get it? NO!

GAH. SOrry makes me never want to help anyone again in a big disaster.

AND Further more-I'm getting tired of hearing how we're not doing enough for NO.

Let me begin with the Fraud list:
FEMA FRAUD TOPS $1 BILLION

It's been almost a year since Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans, breaking levies and displacing thousands of residents. The belief of the public has been since then that FEMA did not do enough in the aftermath of the hurricane. They didn't respond fast enough and when they did respond, it wasn't with enough resources. Well, there is news today that perhaps the latter isn't true anymore.

We've heard these stories before involving these debit cards FEMA handed out to Katrina "evacuees." Essentially cash, the debit cards could be spent on anything anywhere credit cards were accepted. And "anything" about describes what these poor refugees did with the taxpayer's money. Among the findings of the Government Accountability Office in a new report on the subject:

Over $1 billion in fraud and waste was found in the distribution of federal assistance after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That's billion with a "B."

The debit cards handed out were used to buy everything from diamond jewelry to a vacation in the Dominican Republic.

The displaced evacuees also bought a $200 bottle of champagne at a Hooters in San Antonio and $300 worth of Girls Gone Wild videos.

$1000 was spent on a divorce lawyer, $600 at a strip club and $400 on other adult products.
Which all proves one thing: Hurricane Katrina was the best thing that could have happened to a lot of people it displaced. All of a sudden they got all this free money and we can now see what it was spent on.


Rant over!

 

[Shimmer]

It was a completely INaccurate comparison.
NO was a city beneath sea level, and it's been all of a year. Cleanup on that massive scale in less than a year is hardly reasonable to be expected.
Cleaning up from WTC took a LONG time, and, there are a lot of different interests holding up the rebuilding of that area.
NOLA?
It'd be a waste of money, IMO, to rebuild a city below sea level. No levee is going to hold forever, and there is no guarantee that there won't be a storm hit the city that looks at the levees, laughs, and says "Watch me knock those suckers DOWN."

 

[Hawkeye]

Exactly. I mean I feel bad for them it was something incomprehensible at the time but you know we gotta think logically here.

THe only problem is that the culture would be something that would be a devestation if we lost.

Anyway. I just wanted to add to my post the fema idea was a desaster anyway and yes - I still think Ray Nagin is an ass as well!

 

[Shimmer]

We considered taking a family in for a day to allow them some normalcy and to g ive their kids a break, but after evaluating the situation, it just wasn't worth it. Too many reports of things being stolen, or people squatting, or whatever.

It was most unfortunate that last year my husband wouldn't really be comfortable with me going to Wal-Mart or Target alone because when I tried I was accosted by evacuees begging for money. Too many times on the news there were reports of people claiming to be evacuees begging for cash or merchandise and upon being told no the customer was roughed up or robbed or their car was damaged.

I'm not saying everyone was like that because lets be honest, they weren't b ut the majority of the ones who I had to deal with were, and I think it's a statement of the character of the individuals in question.

Add in the fact that many of the hotels who were putting up evacuees were having to deal with loss of money due to vandalized and damaged property as well as paying customers not wanting to stay in the hotel because of the evacuees, and you'll get me on a whole new soapbox.

 

[Hawkeye]

Oh yes, the evacuees- it truely gave me a new perspective on new orleans. The culture the people etc. Even here where I live (GA) our mayor had a town meeting and told us point blank-2 weeks after the Katrina happened-this isn't the same world we used to live in.

You can definately see the culture of people and let me say my opinion on many of them are not very high.

 

[MAC_Whore]

Did you see him on Meet the Press last Sunday? He is ridiculous. I don't understand how he got reelected. Why do people insist on hanging on to that sinking ship (Nagin)?? He is cleary racist. He tries to imply and use shrouded language, but it is pretty f**king obvious.

 

[Shimmer]

He can't be racist! He's black!

 

[Katura]

Quote:

He can't be racist! He's black!

Black people can be racist too...I dont think you need to be a certain race to have a crappy outlook on other people...

 

[Shimmer]

I was being sarcastic

 

[Katura]

My bad...I totally didnt catch that...*whoops*

 

[Shimmer]

lol no biggee

 

[pumpkincat210]

He is really incompetent.
I live in Houston, so I hear this crap all the time.
He did not warn the people of his town to leave, isn't that why a mayor is there..to make sure his people are okay?
I can't believe this guy got reelected and that Kathleen Blanco lady. both are idiots!!!

 

[Beauty Mark]

He may have been re-elected, because some people don't like to switch leaders in the middle of a big crisis like Katrina. They think someone who's already in motion with it will do a better job than a new guy. I don't agree with that logic, but people do vote like that.

The quote was pretty disrespectful and you would think someone who's had to deal with the press as much as he would be able to speak more eloquently and not be a jackass.

 

[Shimmer]

he likes to purport himself as a harthitting realist.

 

[kimmy]

Nagin's an asshead. for sure.

okay, first thing: New Orleans is a CITY where people LIVED, therefore, i think it's a little more urgent to have that rebuilt.

second thing: there was and still is alot of work to do at Ground Zero, did he not see what happened? idiot. AND there's supposed to be a memorial built on the site of the WTC, building a memorial is nowhere near the priority level of rebuilding a city. Jesus. plus there's ALOT of controversy on what that memorial should be, and it's an extremely touchy subject, so the memorial that's built there needs to be carefully planned out.

a city isn't that difficult to rebuild, all it takes is some money (which the Federal gov't is HAPPY to give him) and some competence.

to take the blame off yourself by pointing out the fault in something else is one thing, but to be pointing out that fault in something like the resurrection of the WTC almost makes it seem like he's trying to make light of 9/11.

what i'd give for 5 minutes alone with that douchebag...

 

[Professor Fate]

i think we all know that the people that hold government office poisitions aren't the brightest around.

this country is led by dumbshits.

force.change.now

 

[Hawkeye]

The problem lies in the fact that the american public is too busy B*tching about how much our government heads are-instead of doing anything about it. We cry and sob we want change but we do nothing about it. Because our society is a give me society and we would rather have all the hard work and thinking made for us.

 

[MAC_Pixie04]

My friend almost hit me for saying the same thing about Ground Zero. But I was being asked to describe what it looked like, and I was describing it out of shock, it was my first time seeing it. But to compare a disaster like Hurricane Katrina, which could have been less devastating had he instilled a mandatory evacuation, is disgusting. He had days to call for an evacuation, and it wouldn't have taken as long a time to get people out as he had alotted.

Now, I lean on the side of 9/11 as being the biggest government conspired scandal in United States history, not that I don't believe it was an act of terrorism, but I do believe that the citizens of New York City didn't see it coming. So to compare the two is just wrong especially when Hurricane Katrina was being tracked and pinpointed, the attacks on 9/11 came completely out of no where. And like The Anthem has pointed out, it's touchy to try and build a memorial like that, especially when so many people are against its design and it's representation. And for those of you who haven't been to Ground Zero, it IS a big hole in the ground...it's a CITY BLOCK sized hole in the ground that used to house two of the world's tallest buildings, and people died when they fell. And people died during Hurricane Katrina, but there are too many displaced survivors to not rush the process of rebuilding. It's harder to take care of homeless survivors who've lost it all than it is to take care of casualties, not to sound cruel.

It's a mess, and it's being cleaned up with the greatest level of incompetence I've ever seen.