Obama on shaky ground during first visit to New Orleans

Obama defends himself against New Orleans critics

news.yahoo.com...

Obama wanted to use his first visit as president to the Gulf Coast to listen to residents' concerns about the recovery effort. And although most questions were on unrelated subjects, one man gave him an earful.

"I expected as much from the Bush administration, but why are we still being nickeled and dimed in our recovery?" asked Gabriel Bordenave, 29, of New Orleans.

"I wish I could write a blank check," Obama replied, promoting Bordenave to shout back, "Why not?"

(visit the link for the full news article)
news.yahoo.com...

Now, we remember Hurricane Katrina from 2005 quite well. It looked as though a hydrogen bomb went off in Mississippi and a flood of biblical proportions had laid waste to New Orleans when the levees failed. Then, we remember former President Bush and his apparent lack-luster response to the disaster. Well, the problem remains, and it is going on four-years now, and yet, New Orleans is still feeling the brunt from the hurricane.

Now, this is during the bailout period as well. We have over a trillion dollars going to this and that financial institution and the auto industry. However, New Orleans is still a shell of it's former self. The very same people suffering, and feeling neglected, are the people tasked with funding the bailout with their tax dollars. Yet, their city remains in shambles? Imagine if all that money was thrust into New Orleans, I think the President would find the "The Big Easy," far more welcoming than he has thus far.

Now, I would think, as well as others, that Katrina relief would be high on President Obama's plans, but according to this article, his time has been consumed by other pressing issues. Here, we have a major American city in its death throes and on life support, but money is going everywhere else but where it should. This is not to bash the President, but a call to action. They need to make this issue the highest priority in terms of their domestic policy initiatives. This is a hold-over that he and his advisers were well aware of before assuming office, but still the problems persists, and people in New Orleans are upset at the perceived lack of interest by the current administration. He criticized during the campaign about the Bush Administration's performance in recovery after Katrina, but, judging by this article, "The Emperor has new clothes."

As a candidate, Obama criticized former President George W. Bush's response to Katrina, when the government showed up late and unprepared and the Federal Emergency Management Agency became the object of widespread scorn.

news.yahoo.com...

So far, all I have seen from this new administration is the typical smoking mirrors and the political double talk. I am still giving President Obama the benefit of a doubt, but come on, all this money going all over the place, but New Orleans and the greater Gulf Coast is still reeling from a disaster that happened years ago. Lets face it, money is not going where it should.

[edit on 15-10-2009 by Jakes51]

So, what do you all think about the article? Is Obama doing everything he can to ensue that the Gulf Coast gets the vital funding and resources to move forward from Katrina and the utter failure of the Federal Government in its response. Before this thread goes down by the wayside, lets look at the current administration's performance thus far.

After reading this article, I walked away with more of the same as shown by the previous administration. Lets take a look at how much the current administration has put forth thus far.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has committed more than $1.4 billion for Louisiana and $160 million for Mississippi since Obama took office, according to an administration statement. The money is for rebuilding schools and other infrastructure projects.

www.bloomberg.com...

So, with the aforementioned figures above, it looks like only a drop in the bucket has been exerted by the Obama administration to address both respective disaster areas. What does everyone think about it?

The fiscally responsible thing would have been to abandon NOLA and just let it sit at the bottom of the gulf.

Sorry, when you live below sea level it comes with the territory. I feel bad for the people that were in Katrina, but I don't feel bad for anyone who stayed after.

reply to post by


You don't feel 'sorry' for anyone who had no where else to go,or not enough money to take them selves anywhere else of use!?...WHERE you LIVE is not a 'camping trip',and im guessing you also live somewhere on planet earth effected by 'natural disasters' as we ALL do...Maaany countries/cities have survived THOUSANDS of years 'below sea level' WITH the right technological upgrades... ...If the land was left to sink,there WOULD still be people to take care of,and thats obviously not been done nearly as much,as attention has been placed on others all over the world...

Remember People,Anytime your house/town/city washes away,burns,shakes or otherwise does not remain fully intact against all things weather related...your only REAL choice,is to just 'up and leave'...I heard 'whatukno' is excepting large groups of refugee's to take the weight off the Administration...Nice guy,eh?

[edit on 16-10-2009 by Rory27]

Obama is not responsible for this anymore then Bush was not responsible for this.

who is Obama gonna give the check too? The state and local government that is the most corrupt in the US?

New Orleans would not of been in the condition it was if the state had not sold off all the wetlands to oil and developers. Where did that money go? Certainly not the education system.

When the city does get some money to rebuild, they finish the fracking football stadium first before the hospital!

Originally posted by nixie_nox

When the city does get some money to rebuild, they finish the fracking football stadium first before the hospital!

Wait... is that really what happened? If that's true, then the city needs new leadership. That's truly pathetic!

reply to post by sos37


I was trying to find the info for you but I can't find the articles. But I remember it clearly because I was incensed with the discrepency. Their reasoning was that people needed a pick me up and a distraction, so it was important.

My thoughts were, I hope the football players don't get hurt on the field because they don't have a hospital to go too.

Originally posted by whatukno
The fiscally responsible thing would have been to abandon NOLA and just let it sit at the bottom of the gulf.

Sorry, when you live below sea level it comes with the territory. I feel bad for the people that were in Katrina, but I don't feel bad for anyone who stayed after.

Your post shows your ignorance of the vital role the Port of New Orleans plays in the everyday needs of the entire nation/ world. It is the 4th largest port, in total trade, in the world. The port of South Louisiana is 3rd. Why would we possibly want to keep that up and running?

You don't feel bad for the people of NOLA, so quit lying to yourself. You obviously don't know anyone from here and probably have never been. As another poster stated, EVERY geographic region faces it's own threats of sudden natural disasters, yours as well, I'm sure. By your logic, nowhere is worth inhabiting.

And FYI, the NOLA metro area has a population of over 1 million. Where do you suggest these million people just pick up and go? How will over 1 million people flood the rest of the nation and find work, especially in the specialized fields such as shrimping and other coastal/off-shore related industries that MANY people of South LA rely on for their livelihood?

On the topic of the Superdome vs. Charity Hospital, the Superdome is a CRUCIAL part of our economy, much much deeper than just the Saints. It is nearly constantly occupied by various events that generate much needed revenue for our beloved struggling (due mostly to political corruption) city. But if you must know, this is who paid for the renovations:

FEMA: $115 Million
State of Louisiana: $13 Million
NFL: $15 Million
LSED Bond: $41 Million

The actual public hospital, Charity, would have actually required MORE money to restore to a usual facility for health. There actually IS a public health hospital setup in downtown NOLA, and has been for a good while since the storm. It is in the Lord & Taylor building right next to the Superdome.

Next time you think New Orleans is an expendable city, do some research, talk to somebody from here or has visited. This city has provided more culture (food/ music/ etc), mystery and history to America than many other states combined.

In my time spent in Afghanistan I was not the least bit surprised when the locals instantly knew about NOLA, its food, music, Mardi Gras, etc. Can't say that about many other cities, let alone some states. In short, it is a VITAL city, locally, nationally and globally.

Rethink your flawed logic and understand that you don't live in New Orleans, it lives in you. It's a hard concept to grasp unless you've bled it since day one.

NOLA till I die.

Originally posted by Rory27
reply to post by

 

You don't feel 'sorry' for anyone who had no where else to go,or not enough money to take them selves anywhere else of use!?...WHERE you LIVE is not a 'camping trip',and im guessing you also live somewhere on planet earth effected by 'natural disasters' as we ALL do...Maaany countries/cities have survived THOUSANDS of years 'below sea level' WITH the right technological upgrades... ...If the land was left to sink,there WOULD still be people to take care of,and thats obviously not been done nearly as much,as attention has been placed on others all over the world...

No, I don't really feel sorry for people that won't lift a finger to help themselves, but would rather sit and wait and unfortunately die in some cases waiting for the government to come and bail them out.

Remember People,Anytime your house/town/city washes away,burns,shakes or otherwise does not remain fully intact against all things weather related...your only REAL choice,is to just 'up and leave'...I heard 'whatukno' is excepting large groups of refugee's to take the weight off the Administration...Nice guy,eh?

[edit on 16-10-2009 by Rory27]

And yes I do remember:

1 -remember the photo of hundreds of school buses in NOLA sitting under water after the mayor of NOLA claimed their was no way to evacuate the residents.

2 - remember how the mayor of NOLA and the governor of the state refused federal assistance before the hurricane hit. But let's continue to blame Bush ...

3 - remember how it takes at least 3 days for FEMA to respond to ANY disaster of this magnitude, and help started coming after 3 days. But let's continue to blame Bush ...

4 - remember how police in NOLA unlawfully confiscated legally owned firearms from NOLA residents leaving them defenseless against the "animals" that remained.

5 - remember the later midwest floods where more people died and more property was lost than in NOLA and less federal aid was offered. Some people in the midwest even turned down what was offered, preferring to take care of themselves rather than let the government do it.

Seems to me that many government officials had a part in the Katrina mess, but if you're going to wrongly blame Bush for what happened after the hurricane hit, you're going to have to blame obama for what's happening there now.

reply to post by centurion1211


...Funny,i don't seem to see where i made any assertion to blaming anyone,so don't try accusing me for what your clearly willing to do to innocent victims...