Ray Nagin's Skewed Perspective

Good old Ray still crazy after this whole year. Here is what he said yesterday:

"And I, to this day, believe that if that would have happened in Orange County, California, if that would have happened in South Beach, Miami, it would have been a different response," Nagin said

Well, Mayer Nagin, I agree with you about that. The difference between Orange County and Miami and New Orleans is you. Different Mayors, different Governors, different outcome. Leadership does matter and you lack leadership ability. He continues:

On Friday, Nagin condemned federal regulations that discourage rebuilding in the largely black and low-lying Ninth Ward.

Wow, I'm trying to imagine why the Federal Government might not want whole blighted neighborhoods which would be essentially "projects", built twenty feet below sea-level while global warming alarmists predict worse and more hurricanes. Hmmm.... Does that make sense to anyone except Mr. Nagin? With the vast majority of his city elsewhere, and settling in, too, where are these people who would live in these lovely neighborhoods?

While tens of billions of dollars in federal aid have flowed to Louisiana and other states devastated by Katrina, much of it has gone to developers and contractors, Nagin said.

And who, pray tell, is rebuilding the city? My guess would be, and this is just a guess, developers. And now the punchline:

"We are being strangled, and they're using the money to set local policies to try to take control of the city to do things that they had in mind all along, and that's to shrink the footprint, get a bunch of developers in the city, and try to do things in a different way," Nagin said.

"We're not going to let that happen. They're going to give us our money, and we're going to rebuild this city."

They are going to give us OUR money? Your money? Excuse me? I think, Mr. Nagin that you are talking about my money and the money of every other American taxpayer. Your city's history has shown to be completely inept at management. As it is, I feel that too much of my money has been misused and abused in your little corner of the universe.

And the Federal government wants to do things "a different way". I wonder why that might be, especially since your way, your state's way has been demonstrated to be such a great way.

This man is delusional. I know it would be great fun for the Federal government just to write Ray a blank check and let him spend it as he sees fit, but New Orleans specifically and the state of Louisiana generally, is a corrupt pit of vipers. The government might as well throw fist-fulls of money into the gulf as give NOLA direct control of anything.

New Orleans is the posterchild for bad city governance. New Orleans will never be the "same", Mr. Nagin. Thank God for that.