Brown: Politics played role in Katrina

Politics? In New Orleans? (4.00 / 2)

I had heard rumors that Mayor Nagin was originally a Republican, and that the decision to let New Orleans collapse was the Bush League punishing him for switching to Democrat. According to Wikipedia {links and references removed], this is not true, but then again...it's Wikipedia not the New Orleans Registrar of VOters.

Several news sources, including BBC News and numerous blogs and editorials have stated that Nagin was a registered Republican for most of his adult life, switching to the Democratic Party shortly before seeking office. In a January 13, 2006 interview on the Tavis Smiley show, Nagin himself denied these rumors, stating that he "never was a Republican" and that he has been a "life-long Democrat", and several of the news sources reporting that he was a Republican have since issued retractions.

Here's a photo of me telling him to get it together fast.

There were security guards and tourists standing there, so I clenched my teeth and pretended to smile while hissing about the people who hadn't been able to come back yet. This was in April of 06. I am showing him my Fleur de Lys pin.

"I am not a Blogger...But I play one on the internet."

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by: tessa @ Sun Jan 21, 2007 at 00:50:21 AM UTC

The fleur de lis ploy; ah, I know it well but lack the nerve to employ it (4.00 / 1)

Checking the list from my Valentine's Day diary, I discover that by flashing a fleur de lis at The Dome, you were warding off security guards by conveying "Your Friendship Means so Much to Me, Faith, Hope, Wisdom and Valor, My Compliments" while snarling under your breath.

I compliment you on your deviousness, Tessa, and pronounce you as subtle as Paul Sutherland at the DSCC meeting.  You definitely pass the grocery store test, if you know what I mean.

You have my utmost respect for your skills in handling this situation.  You are my mentor and my vitamin T.  Would that my knees would stop wobbling.

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by: greenpeas @ Sun Jan 21, 2007 at 03:04:05 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

But wait, there's more (4.00 / 1)

...from craigslist on Friday...

Lost: Mayor of Big City

Lost:

Black man with shiny head and foot in mouth. Owners are looking for him. Has been missing since April 22, 2006. Goes by "Ray" or "C-Ray". Last seen hiding behind podium at peace rally. Needs medication. To catch him, approach slowly with a mirror. He will become entranced by his reflection at which point you can gently collar him.

If you see him, please call (504) 658-4000.

"I am not a Blogger...But I play one on the internet."

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by: tessa @ Sun Jan 21, 2007 at 00:52:45 AM UTC

Calling Senator Lieberman ... Senator Lieberman ...? (4.00 / 1)

Might this be a message to him from Brownie to get off his lazy ass and actually do what he's supposed to do as Chair of the Homeland Security Committee, which is provide some OVERSIGHT?

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by: Ryno @ Sun Jan 21, 2007 at 03:42:03 AM UTC

who has a CQ subscription for the rest of this story? (0.00 / 0)

One wonders if oversight is really lieberman's forte -- unless it involves looking over Susan Collins' shoulder.  Apparently the two of them regularly redact together. Some apparently question the nature of their bipartisan negotiations but Lieberman would probably counter by saying he's always maintained that dickering beats bickering.

Homeland, Sweet Homeland
CQ Weekly, November 22, 2006, by Patrick Yoest.
During a break on the Senate floor as the lame-duck session got started the week after the election, Maine Republican Susan Collins succumbed to a moment of levity, handing off a chocolate gavel to Joseph I. Lieberman. The move symbolizes the coming change in chairmanship for the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. When the 110th Congress convenes in January, the Connecticut senator will take the seat that Collins has had for four years. But the moment also underscored the close relationship of the two New Englanders -- a chumminess that some critics find all too close and all too sweet. "We keep each other informed, we consult, we share documents, we edit each other's documents, we present things as a committee," says a Lieberman spokeswoman, Leslie Phillips. But advocates of stepped-up oversight say the partnership hasn't been all that productive. Danielle Brian of the Project on Government Oversight calls the committee's past oversight efforts "tepid."

Source:  http://www.pogo.org/...
TPM Muckracker said:

Player: Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT)
Position: Chair, Committee of Homeland Security and Government Affairs.

As Waxman's Senate counterpart, Lieberman has remained largely quiet by comparison. "Issues like Halliburton have been sitting there like an 800-pound gorilla, and the committee has ignored it for years," a Senate Democratic aide said of Lieberman's committee to CQ reporter Patrick Yoest last month . . .

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by: greenpeas @ Sun Jan 21, 2007 at 07:39:23 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

OK? (0.00 / 0)

This is just fugged up... Brownie doin' a heckuva job on Bush?

I'll be waiting for the retractions and spin tommorrow.


Drinking Liberally in New Milford
ePluribus Media

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by: Connecticut Man1 @ Sun Jan 21, 2007 at 06:38:20 AM UTC

Lieberman - Bought and Paid for (0.00 / 0)

by the Bush Administration.  Support for the Iraq War, no oversight on Katrina or Halliburton, beating the drums for a war with Iran, the list goes on and on. 

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by: LAF @ Sun Jan 21, 2007 at 14:09:30 PM UTC

There must be some mistake here... (0.00 / 0)

"Whoever thought I said that didn't get the whole thing or must not have listened very carefully.  What I said was, er, I didn't say I'd do oversight on what happened with the levees in New Orleans, I said I'd overlook what happened..."

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by: greenpeas @ Sun Jan 21, 2007 at 20:53:25 PM UTC

[ Parent ]