Wednesday, August 30, 2006

The Supreme Repudiater Rises to New Heights

"I'm 50 years old. For me, things have kind of set in," Nagin said Tuesday. "I'm learning every day. I get smarter. But I believe in truth and I believe in answering the question very directly. Some people may not like the words, but if they step back and really study the context of what I'm saying, I think they'll understand.

He believes in the truth...that's rich.

“Very little money has actually hit the local level yet. Local people are being left out and it’s just not right. It’s not American. We deserve much better than this and pretty soon, we’re going to put everyone on notice. Once we finish grieving, we will hold everyone accountable who’s holding up our money. I don’t want to hear any more about flood elevation maps! I don’t want to hear about ‘we don’t have a plan’!”

Unbelievable....I don't even know how to respond to this one. He doesn't want to hear it? It's your fucking job, dipshit. He doesn't have a plan...he doesn't have anything tangible. He was the CEO of a multi-million dollar business...he is supposedly a business man...show me any VC firm or investor that would turn over a dime to any venture that didn't have a business plan. We're talking billions here...and he has produced nothing to explain how these billions will be spent.

He's going to put everyone on notice....WTF does that mean? Who is everyone? He has some imaginary enemy in his mind that's hindering this recovery. Well here's the truth since you believe in it Ray....you're the one hindering this recovery, bro...you're the enemy.

He went on to say, “We’ve been planning for 11 months now!”

And what has he produced? A whole bunch of nothing. Once again this man is pathologically incapable of accepting responsibilty for anything.

How long must this go on? I mean seriously...short of another hurricane walloping us, this was our last big moment in the media spotlight to plead our case. While Spike Lee's film was amazing and educated a lot of Americans to our reality, Nagin had the opportunity to plead our case to the country on the heels of this film and the media attention we had yesterday.

How about, "We are hurting, America, and we desperately need your help." Instead we got, "We're going to hold everyone accountable...we're going to put everyone on notice."

We're so screwed....we're just screwed.

4 comments:

Steve T. said...

Clinical depression is something I know a little about, as I've been on antidepressants for years and probably always will be. Depression can be feeling sad, like most people assume, but it often can be feeling...nothing. Total numbness. And with the numbness comes paralysis, the inability to make a move one way or the other, even when you know intellectually that this inaction is leading to disaster.

Sound familiar?

Jason Brad Berry said...

interesting speculation. were it not for his incessant energy to boost his own persona and career, I might buy that theory. He's not inactive with his personal life and his machinations, he's just blowing smoke when it comes to the city itself. So I don't know if I buy that overall. But it's certainly a thunk.

Steve T. said...

Good point, but there's the possibility that his self-boosterism is just running on automatic pilot. Would that surprise anybody? But the ability to make hard decisions that matter may be another thing entirely.

And that's the problem. He keeps saying, let the market decide. But the market needs information to make good decisions, info on long term plans that can only come from City Hall. That's just what we're not getting.

Jason Brad Berry said...

I don't think that's the case. from the info. i"ve gleaned, he wasn't capable of making decisions before the storm. I've heard tales of gross ineptitude.

Compounded by his overwhelming sense of arrogance during and after the election...I just find it hard to believe the guy is sufferning from anything other than ego-maniacal delusions. I think he's disassociated himself from the fate of the city. I'm not blaming him for this, but with that disassociation I think he has lost the gumption to actually "face the dragon". I think he lacks the courage and the conviction, plain and simple.

and for the sake of argument, let's say he is suffering from clincal depression....he should step down from the post. we don't have the option of nuturing his frailities at this time....we need a strong leader, not an emotionally incapicitated one. May sound harsh, but it's true.

He picked up the bat and stepped up to the plate....if he's afraid of the fast ball he needs to step aside and let us find a DH...quick, cause it's the bottom of the ninth, the stadium is half empty, and we and we really need a fucking base hit.