Mayor Ray Nagin interview

[Shakermaker]

I was really impressed by the interview with the mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin. CNN has a transcript of the full interview.
<LINK>
In there there's a link to the audio of the full, uncensored interview originally aired on WWL Radio.

EDIT This is the link to the interview on the WWL site.

 

[jimbo118]

yeah he came across well i thought....

 

[CptStern]

ya I heard it this morning uncensored on cbc radio ....man does he sound pissed (I dont blame him) ...he even started crying at the end

 

[Shakermaker]

ya I heard it this morning uncensored on cbc radio ....man does he sound pissed (I dont blame him) ...he even started crying at the end

I don't blame him either. It's a disgrace what's going on down there. I'm with Nagin.

Man, listening to it again and it still gives me the chills, esp. to the end.

 

[jimbo118]

i like his rebuttal about formally requesting for help when he mentioned the tsunami and iraq...

well said...

 

[CptStern]

I don't blame him either. It's a disgrace what's going on down there. I'm with Nagin.

Man, listening to it again and it still gives me the chilles, esp. to the end.

ya I cant listen to it cuz I'm at work but will when I get home ...good find btw

 

[Solaris]

He said what needed to be said.

I agree with him, its seems impossible that the government cant do more.

They seem to be deliberatly slowing things down.

Cant they call up a reserver or something and send them there, get all the nearby public transport, and send that there. Cummon its not hard, no nee dfor buerocracy, just say. Every state nearbering neworleans needs to send 400 busses there right now, or you all get your asses fired.

Done.

 

[Feath]

I really don't ****ing blame him. See the other thread for a mini rant.

 

[clarky003]

I heard about it and was quite emotionally struck by it when I listened to the guy,, which i guess is why i posted it without searching. But yeh very moving.

 

[Sulkdodds]

And when you read that shit about FEMA already having warned about it but nothing being done...

 

[CptStern]

And when you read that shit about FEMA already having warned about it but nothing being done...

if the war in iraq doesnt get him impeached this should ..I mean come on people how much more does bush have to destroy your country before you get rid of him?

 

[Sulkdodds]

I just saw him on the telly, hugging little girls amidst the ruins. Grr.

 

[EC]

if the war in iraq doesnt get him impeached this should ..I mean come on people how much more does bush have to destroy your country before you get rid of him?

What's funny is if I recall correctly, his approval rating was in the upper 30s, BEFORE the hurricane. If anyone else can confirm this, I'd appreciate it, as I'm getting ready to leave for work.

 

[CptStern]

ya it was, there's a thread in the politics forum about his approval ratings

 

[staticprimer]

if the war in iraq doesnt get him impeached this should ..I mean come on people how much more does bush have to destroy your country before you get rid of him?

I think it would take him kicking an infant on national TV in order for that to happen. Even then, they would probably spin it, saying that the baby was a terrorist in disguise.

 

[CptStern]

I think it would take him kicking an infant on national TV in order for that to happen. Even then, they would probably spin it, saying that the baby was a terrorist in disguise.

hehehe

 

[Shakermaker]

What's funny is if I recall correctly, his approval rating was in the upper 30s, BEFORE the hurricane. If anyone else can confirm this, I'd appreciate it, as I'm getting ready to leave for work.

In the last WP/ABC poll Bush's approval rating was 45%, an all-time low in that poll. In the last Gallup poll his approval rating was 40%, also an all-time low in that poll. This disaster won't do him any good either.

It's a relief to hear a man like Nagin say it like it is and in normal speech, not some weird political lingo. Example:

You have drug addicts that are now walking around this city looking for a fix, and that's the reason why they were breaking in hospitals and drugstores. They're looking for something to take the edge off of their jones, if you will.

 

[gh0st]

stern just shut the **** up right now. BUSH caused the hurricane, BUSH is killing all those people. the national guard is THERE. the coast guard and the navy are THERE. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, when asked if the federal government is dropping the ball:

I really don't, and I think it's very unfair for the federal government -- for you to say we knew this was a great, powerful storm. This is a category one hurricane when it hit Florida.

no. the government is NOT dropping the ball. take your stupid, high horse criticism and shove them up your ass.

then you have the audacity to tell bush to bring troops from Iraq into the deep south. good idea buddy! because there arent already 15 thousand troops there bringing medical supplies and evacuating people as best they can. they aren't dealing with several thousand angry, armed thugs in the streets. they aren't wading through in some cases 12 feet of water to get to people. oh no, they aren't doing a damn thing! but, if we bring troops away from a combat zone into this one, WELL HELL, that will solve everything!

LITTLE DID I ****ING KNOW I WOULD HELP ELECT A HURRICANE CAUSING MONSTER!

if the war in iraq doesnt get him impeached this should ..I mean come on people how much more does bush have to destroy your country before you get rid of him?

This takes the cake, really. bush is destroying new Orleans? really class act stern. FEMA couldn't act for the first few days because your precious city dwelling liberals were rioting and stealing plasma screen TVs and shoot at them. now they can, they are protected by the national guard which has mobilized and is in the city.

pretty soon you will be criticizing him for walking through the damaged areas hugging people. "oh he was just using the hurricane for his advantage." can you ever just let your stupid politics slide? i don't recall anybody blaming bush for 9-11 immediately afterward... it is far dumber to blame him for a natural disaster. obviously you have no perception of how devastated new Orleans is right now, and how much TIME it will take. you bitches would be griping even if bush had gone down there and jimmy carter-style rebuilt the city in a week.

 

[Sulkdodds]

So you don't trust the mayor of New Orleans? I mean, he's there. No offence but he probably knows more about what's going on and whether or not the government is helping enough.

 

[CptStern]

stern just shut the **** up right now. BUSH caused the hurricane, BUSH is killing all those people. the national guard is THERE. the coast guard and the navy are THERE. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, when asked if the federal government is dropping the ball:
no. the government is NOT dropping the ball. take your stupid, high horse criticism and shove them up your ass.

then you have the audacity to tell bush to bring troops from Iraq into the deep south. good idea buddy! because there arent already 15 thousand troops there bringing medical supplies and evacuating people as best they can. they aren't dealing with several thousand angry, armed thugs in the streets. they aren't wading through in some cases 12 feet of water to get to people. oh no, they aren't doing a damn thing! but, if we bring troops away from a combat zone into this one, WELL HELL, that will solve everything!

LITTLE DID I ****ING KNOW I WOULD HELP ELECT A HURRICANE CAUSING MONSTER!


This takes the cake, really. bush is destroying new Orleans? really class act stern. FEMA couldn't act for the first few days because your precious city dwelling liberals were rioting and stealing plasma screen TVs and shoot at them. now they can, they are protected by the national guard which has mobilized and is in the city.

pretty soon you will be criticizing him for walking through the damaged areas hugging people. "oh he was just using the hurricane for his advantage." can you ever just let your stupid politics slide? i don't recall anybody blaming bush for 9-11 immediately afterward... it is far dumber to blame him for a natural disaster. obviously you have no perception of how devastated new Orleans is right now, and how much TIME it will take. you bitches would be griping even if bush had gone down there and jimmy carter-style rebuilt the city in a week.

blah blah blah ...dont like it, DONT READ IT

 

[gh0st]

So you don't trust the mayor of New Orleans? I mean, he's there. No offence but he probably knows more about what's going on and whether or not the government is helping enough.

ray nagin and louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco are completely, and utterly BLOWING it. they arent doing shit. Nagin should be held singularly responsible for the deaths in New Orleans by making evacuation voluntary. he created this mess and is begging for the federal government to speed up their response? the MI governor is there too, i'd trust any state governor over some blubbering city official who has no clue whats going on. he has no leadership in him, unlike rudolph guiliani. they could have gotten people out of there nearly 40 hrs before this storm made landfall, but their slow, bumbling response cost thousands of NO residents their lives.

"Criticizing Nagin and Blanco for their failure to recognize the uniqueness of the threat could be seen as hindsight, what came next is unforgivable – dismissing the lawlessness sweeping the city as secondary. As we have since discovered – in a near-perfect validation the "broken windows" theory – first you had the "victimless" looting of plasma TVs and jewelry. And next you have rape and murder and snipers picking off evacuees. And the best the Governor can do is pout. "

blah blah blah ...dont like it, DONT READ IT

dont read what? you are a sad, sad individual. i swear to god is there anything you wont blame that man for? he's youre scapegoat for everything. maybe you should find some logic for your asinine assumptions.

 

[CptStern]

you're an idiot ........Bush made me say that


you're a wanna-be white supremacist ...oops that pesky bush made me do it


shut up gh0st ..you're not wanted here, you're not welcome here...in fact this place would be a lot brighter without your temper tantrums and idiotic statements


you should never have been let back in

 

[Feath]

Now now, Children.

 

[CptStern]

ok I'll go back to my little corner and think about what I've done


at recess I'm going to kick your ass gh0sty ...nah maybe I'll just tease you till you develop an eating disorder :E

 

[Sulkdodds]

blah blah blah ...dont like it, DONT READ IT

Wait, what kind of response is that? "If you don't like Bush, ignore him"?

 

[CptStern]

Wait, what kind of response is that? "If you don't like Bush, ignore him"?

heeh no, I meant "if you dont like my comments dont read them"


btw that was the third version of my post ...the first 2 were a lot less ....nice

 

[diluted]

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 do something, and let's fix the biggest goddamn crisis in the history of this country.

Well ****ing said. More politicians need to be like that.

 

[Sulkdodds]

Hey, guess what I'm seeing on BBC? Ten cops surrounding one looter in a supermarket while fifty refugees huddle with no food or water just down the road. Helicopters landing and throwing out food for people to fight over. The strong are getting everything, the weak and scared are getting nothing.

Whether it's the fault of Bush or Nagin or Gh0st or God or Munro, this doesn't seem like it's being handled right, does it?

 

[Tr0n]

Well ****ing said. More politicians need to be like that.

Where's that quote from?

 

[Direwolf]

I'm as pissed as anybody, but putting the blame on someone like Bush is just kinda stupid at this point, and is really just an attempt to pin it on someone that everyone recognizes. The crisis point with the hurricane was in the three days immedietly following the storm, a time in which the local authorities that are in the immediate area are the quickest and most reliable means of getting help and information in and out of the city. And its at this point that all the problems seem to have occurred.
When I hear stuff about how FEMA didn't know about the convention center crisis until we did because no one in the city bothered to tell them, it certainly seems to point to failures at a local level, not a Federal one (at least not yet). Even if it does leave us without a public scapegoat to funnel our anger towards.

 

[gh0st]

Hey, guess what I'm seeing on BBC? Ten cops surrounding one looter in a supermarket while fifty refugees huddle with no food or water just down the road. Helicopters landing and throwing out food for people to fight over. The strong are getting everything, the weak and scared are getting nothing.

Whether it's the fault of Bush or Nagin or Gh0st or God or Munro, this doesn't seem like it's being handled right, does it?

you know, we certainly are the worlds richest nation and we are more than adequately equiped to do many things.

levitating a sinking city is not one of them. teleporting tens of thousands out of a ruined, flooded city is not one of them. the entire city is basicaly obliterated (i know, i am lucky enough to be in contact with relatives in BR) and things are being done as quickly as they can.

no thanks to douchebags like Ray Nagin. its easy for them to talk big on radio and tv but when shit hits the fan they cannot justify their actions. had the national guard been mobilized MUCH earlier (the governor of louisiana should have done this immediately) and done a door-to-door evacuation of new orleans (remember 80% had already left - it was required that you get the **** out of dodge), thousands of people would be alive, and this humanitarian disaster would not have happened. the national guard has plenty of resources and excellent leadership. unfortunately, it was too-little-too-late. its people blaming bush and FEMA that i cant tolerate. its ridiculous to expect fema workers to do their business while they are being shot at.

 

[Direwolf]

An added point on the cops not giving people food, refuge, and shelter: I spent some time in New Orleans this summer, and am no fan of the police system there. However, what we're hearing is that the cops themselves don't have any of those things either, and are as bad off as the refugees in most cases. Yet they still are trying to exercise some authority and keep the city from killing itself. I can respect that.

 

[Sulkdodds]

Steve's in BR. Wonder what he thinks of this...

My point is that those cops would be making more difference in the superdomes (or whatever they're called) keeping order and making sure supplies get handed out equally.

what came next is unforgivable – dismissing the lawlessness sweeping the city as secondary

But ISN'T the looting secondary? Aren't getting supplies to people, isn't human life more important?

 

[gh0st]

Steve's in BR. Wonder what he thinks of this...

My point is that those cops would be making more difference in the superdomes (or whatever they're called) keeping order and making sure supplies get handed out equally.



But ISN'T the looting secondary? Aren't getting supplies to people, isn't human life more important?

not necessarily secondary, but it shouldnt be dismissed at all... because the looting is what lead to these armed thugs attacking helicopters and police officers. its all a slippery slope, and the city officials giving permission to loot stores, like wal mart who lots stores and millions of dollars worth of merchandise (and then come back and donate nearly 15 million dollars) they probably didnt expect such idiocy at the hands of the looters.

 

[Sulkdodds]

I'm not trying to make a point with this post, just relaying information:

3,000 members of the Louisiana National Guard's 256th Brigade are currently on a tour of duty in Iraq.......

......Many critics have noted that while the local government gave the order to evacuate the city before the storm hit, they did not provide the means for people to get out. The Evacuation was mainly left up to individual citizens to find their own way out of the city.

The 2004 hurricane season was the worst in decades. In spite of that, the federal government came back in the spring of 2005 with the steepest reduction in hurricane and flood-control funding for New Orleans in history. Because of the proposed cuts, the Corps office there imposed a hiring freeze. Officials said that money targeted for the SELA project was reduced to $10.4 million, down from $36.5 million. [35] The money would have gone into funding studies about the feasibility of upgrading the current levees to withstand Category 4 and 5 Hurricanes instead of just Category 3.

Another major criticism is that the mandatory evacuation called on August 28 made no provisions to evacute homeless or low-income and carless households, as well as large numbers of elderly and the infirm. In 2000, a census revealed that 27% of New Orleans households, amounting to approximately 120,000 people, were without privately-owned transportation.

There are also major concerns about the Government suspending search and rescue efforts to focus on protecting businesses from looters. U.S. President George W. Bush has said that saving lives should come first but he and the local New Orleans Government have also stated that they will have "zero tolerance for looter". White House press secretary Scott McClellan said on Wednesday September 1st that looters should not even be allowed to take anything even food, water or shoes. [36]

Once officials became aware of the conditions at the convention center a small amount of basic food supplies were diverted there by helicopter, but there were no large-scale deliveries until a truck convoy arrived at midday on Friday, September 2, due to the damage incurred by the still present flood and the attacks on those who have attempted to deliver aid. Federal officials have also underestimated the number of people converging on the convention center. Even as refugees are evacuated, more are arriving every hour. [38]

Hmm. Those are selected bits from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina#Criticism

 

[Dr. Freeman]

And when you read that shit about FEMA already having warned about it but nothing being done...

which is why it angers everyone even more than they should be.
what has me wondering is.. when CNN showed clips of people hugging Bush.. god, if i was one of them victims, far from hugging, i'd be questioning him right there on the spot if not worse :frown:

far from hugging i tells ya :flame:

 

[gh0st]

FEMA. FEDERAL Emergency Management Agency. They only come in at the states request, do they not? Did the governor of louisiana request their presence earlier? It seems to me a very slow reaction speed from state officials. And honestly all officials, the whole thing is one big mess. The only strong leader i've seen in this is Bg. Gen. Honore.

 

[MjM]

Meanwhile bush is sightseeing

NAGIN: But we authorized $8 billion to go to Iraq lickety-quick. After 9/11, we gave the president unprecedented powers lickety-quick to take care of New York and other places.

Now, you mean to tell me that a place where most of your oil is coming through, a place that is so unique when you mention New Orleans anywhere around the world, everybody's eyes light up -- you mean to tell me that a place where you probably have thousands of people that have died and thousands more that are dying every day, that we can't figure out a way to authorize the resources that we need? Come on, man.

You know, I'm not one of those drug addicts. I am thinking very clearly.

And I don't know whose problem it is. I don't know whether it's the governor's problem. I don't know whether it's the president's problem, but somebody needs to get their ass on a plane and sit down, the two of them, and figure this out right now.

WOrd

 

[gh0st]

Meanwhile bush is sightseeing

and what exactly, pray tell, more could he do? he's signing into law 10.5 billion dollars of relief a "down payment" from the federal government. its not like he is sightseeing in cancun or whatever, he is in a place that very few would want to get in to. but i bet if YOU were president you would go down there and get your hands dirty building homes! because a president doesnt have anything else to do!