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Home Front: Politix
Incompetent mayors a risk for big cities
2006-06-30
Crime is soaring in New Orleans and the National Guard has been activated to assist in restoring order. How can this be? The city of New Orleans has been run by Democratic mayors for more than 100 years, and the governor of the state has been a Democrat for all but three times since 1877. This should be the Garden of Eden since the Democrats have held sway for so long. Everyone should be happy and prosperous; the good guys are in charge and have been for decades.

What is the realty? The education system is terrible, crime is off the page, illegitimacy is the norm and poverty is rampant. Yet when one reads about the results of Hurricane Katrina, it was all the fault of the feds.

I am shocked. The city and state had ample warnings to prepare for the storm, yet school buses were left to be destroyed, the poor were left to fend for themselves, the police abandoned their post, and the "leaders" blamed the federal government. That occurred because most of the population had been accustomed to the government taking care of their needs.
Posted by:Fred

#19  I took part in a "pin shoot" one time with a 9 mm. I hit all the pins but could not knock them off the table. I had a friend try to put down a sick cow with a 9 mm. 9 mm didn't much faze the cow. Better go with advice of advice of #17.
Posted by: JohnQC   2006-06-30 19:26  

#18  Places and events like these makes one sigh that maybe the whole place should have been put under martial law and kept there until the whole place was sorted out. It appears our uniform military in Iraq are putting things back together faster than the possers in LA can or will deliver.
Posted by: Uninter Whereting4376   2006-06-30 19:21  

#17  Besoeker, get rid of that pansy 9mm while you've got the chance. Get something with real punch, like a .45 or .40 S&W. I read one of Massad Ayoob's comments once in which he said, "Never go into a fight with a handgun whose caliber doesn't start with .4." That was good enough for me.
Posted by: mac   2006-06-30 18:29  

#16  Vote for the Crook!
Posted by: 6   2006-06-30 15:32  

#15  Fascinating bit about Nagin vs Landrieu, NS. An example of choosing the lesser of two weasels, I guess.

What a place that NOLA! Like Dale Dribble says, "Ah, to eat fried dough in the most corrupt city on earth."
Posted by: SteveS   2006-06-30 15:03  

#14  France first. Then Spain, then France, then us.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-06-30 14:04  

#13  I've been keeping an eye out for Matt's comments, 6, but he's local, so the flavour is different.

Didn't France acquire NO from Spain as spoils of Napolean's little adventures?
Posted by: trailing wife   2006-06-30 13:47  

#12  It was held longer by Spain I think. I blame the easy availablity of shellfish, rum and wymen. Which of course is just another reason to retire there.
Posted by: 6   2006-06-30 12:59  

#11  NO's first mistake was being colonized by France. It's gone down hill from there, at least politically.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-06-30 12:55  

#10  TW if you want before/after commentary you wanna talk to RBs Matt. He's a lawyer, but also a Tulane grad. :>
Posted by: 6   2006-06-30 12:46  

#9  TW: Peachtree City is a conservative enclave south of Atlanta. Basically, it's one of the first "planned communities" (read: expensive) and basically where all the Delta Airlines pilots live (Delta's HQ here). Sadly, I imagine it's gonna be sparse soon, if Delta goes under. Amazing little piece of sanity (lots of greenspace, golf courses, and everyone rides around on golfcarts on the paths around town) just south of a town rivaling NOLA's corruption. I think it had the highest per capita income in the state and rivals many FL communities in retirees.

And, Besoker: Cop was in DeKalb County, so I can't imagine any issues in P'tree City, although you never know in "da ATL." In fact, I was listening on WSB (750 AM channel in ATL) last night and the Crock show guy said he had a funny (not so funny) story on the whole recent GA law for registered sex offenders in the State. Long story short, a woman had an overnight layover in ATL and decided to spend the night with her sister (in Forest Park area). She decided to look up her sister's zip code on the Sex-offenders website and found 70-something sex-offenders in her sis's ZIP CODE ALONE! Then, she noticed there were 18 of them listed at 1 address, so she hopped in car, and drove over to that address to find out it was a HOTEL! Now, either there's actually 18 sex offenders "living" at this hotel, or they all gave a fake address to skirt the laws (no pun intended). And, according to the radio show, this was NOT a run-down by the hour type hotel, it was one any of us RB'ers would stay at (not that some of you wouldn't stay at a by the hour hotel, mind you, lol!).
Posted by: BA   2006-06-30 11:44  

#8  Goodness, Nimble Spemble, they can't win for losing! And just when I've been seeing a bunch of ads saying, "Thank you, America! Come down and visit us," ads for the rejuvinated NOLA, too.

Besoeker, report back on your impressions, if you would be so kind -- somehow I suspect you have detailed "before" memories...
Posted by: trailing wife   2006-06-30 11:09  

#7  BA: Thanks for the warning, 9mm by my side. Headed to Peachtree City in 20 minutes.
Posted by: Besoeker   2006-06-30 10:08  

#6  #1, Besoker:

Sodom & Gomorrah is what it already IS. The Garden of Eden is what the Donks promise it'll be, even though they haven't delivered in 100 years. BTW, the beat goes on. Here in Atlanta, a local cop was shot and killed last night by a Katrina Evacuee (assumed N.O. resident). Fortunately, the cop got off a shot too, and killed the punk DRT (Dead Right There).
Posted by: BA   2006-06-30 09:28  

#5  TW, this post is by a resident of NOLA who has been pretty astute about the place in the time I've been reading him. For those who don't want to read it, the bottom line is that Landrieu, Nagin's opponent, would have made his top priority rebuilding NO slums to attract back reliable donk voters to assure his sister's re-election to the senate. So Nagin got the white vote to prevent this. Amazing Place.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-06-30 08:55  

#4  New Orlean's residents need AWNAA

Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA)

WASHINGTON, DC - Congress is considering sweeping legislation, which provides new benefits for many Americans. The Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA) is being hailed as a major legislation by advocates of the millions of Americans who lack any real skills or ambition.

"Roughly 50 percent of Americans do not possess the competence and drive necessary to carve out a meaningful role for themselves in society," said Barbara Boxer. "We can no longer stand by and allow People of Inability to be ridiculed and passed over. With this legislation, employers will no longer be able to grant special favors to a small group of workers, simply because they do a better job, or have some idea of what they are doing."

The President pointed to the success of the US Postal Service, which has a long-standing policy of providing opportunity without regard to performance. Approximately 74 percent of postal employees lack job skills, making this agency the single largest US employer of Persons of Inability.

Private sector industries with good records of nondiscrimination against the Inept include retail sales (72%), the airline industry (68%), and home improvement "warehouse" stores (65%) The DMV also has a great record of hiring Persons of Inability. (63%)

Under the Americans With No Abilities Act, more than 25 million "middle man" positions will be created, with important-sounding titles but little real responsibility, thus providing an illusory sense of purpose and performance.

Mandatory non-performance-based raises and promotions will be given, to guarantee upward mobility for even the most unremarkable employees.

The legislation provides substantial tax breaks to corporations which maintain a significant level of Persons of Inability in middle positions, and gives a tax credit to small and medium businesses that agree to hire one clueless worker for every two talented hires.

Finally, the AWNA ACT contains tough new measures to make it more difficult to discriminate against the Nonabled, banning discriminatory interview questions such as "Do you have any goals for the future?" or "Do you have any skills or experience which relate to this job?"

"As a Nonabled person, I can't be expected to keep up with people who have something going for them," said Mary Lou Gertz, who lost her position as a lug-nut twister at the GM plant in Flint, MI due to her lack of notable job skills. "This new law should really help people like me." With the passage of this bill, Gertz and millions of other untalented citizens can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Said Senator Ted Kennedy, "It is our duty as lawmakers to provide each and every American citizen, regardless of his or her adequacy, with some sort of space to take up in this great nation."

Posted by: Besoeker   2006-06-30 08:33  

#3  Why do you say that, Nimble Spemble?
Posted by: trailing wife   2006-06-30 08:27  

#2  What's especially disturbing is that in giving Nagin anohter 4 years, the people of NO probably made the correct decision.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-06-30 08:25  

#1  This should be the Garden of Eden.....

Sodom and Gomorrah maybe.
Posted by: Besoeker   2006-06-30 08:21  

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