Thursday, January 14, 2010

And the conspiracy theory continues...

http://www.wdsu.com/video/22236256/index.html

Quote from Troy Henry last night:

"As it relates to representation yes, African-Americans have a large representation but there is a move afoot people to change that. If you look out there today there is a move afoot to have a majority white city council, the Inspector General is white, a District Attorney that's white, a US Attorney that's white, a head of education that's white - all of a sudden you begin to wonder is there even going to be African-American representation in our elected officials so there is a move afoot to not only continue the racial divide but also to create a representation divide when you have a 65% African-American city.

There is a whole move afoot now to create a whole bunch of oversight organizations for African-American-run organizations - let's face it - whether it be the Metropolitan Crime Commission, the BGR, public private Horizon Initiative to outsource that element of government, outsourcing the element of NORD -- all of sudden what the plan appears to be is in essence to neuter African-American power and have economic leadership stay in the hands of the minority white."

This bullshit is killing this city. It's so sad.

The move to broaden the racial divide is afoot....and he's responsible for it, along with Riley, and Nagin. Their attempts to polarize the New Orleans' community along racial lines only perpetuate the exact evil they proclaim to despise.

I think from now on, in any debate or mayoral forum....people should bring a mirror and the moment Henry starts spouting this crap everyone should hold their mirrors up. A reflection campaign.

My hopes for this election is that it will be the beginning of the end for this mentality....that doesn't mean I hope a white mayor is elected...it means I hope we get to the point where it doesn't matter what a candidate's skin color is. Or at least get to the point where race isn't used to polarize our community for the sake of getting an egomaniac elected at any cost.

41 comments:

anonymous-lady said...

Desperate measure for desperate people, huh? Troy is killing his own chances for success.

I have to wonder if/why he is trying to sink his campaign. He is definitely pizzed at Perry for not agreeing with his call out of the media. Now, he is calling out the population.

What happened to "earning" your place at the table? Crying wolf does is not a good tactic.

Anonymous said...

Well said, AZ.

Anonymous said...

Well, Mr Henry is doing a great job at representing nothing but a crock. Just think - this is what the national media feeds on.

Why can't this city attract more capable officials? One word - REPUTATION. Good luck with it and thank the gods I only have to live here 3 days a week...

mcbrid35 said...

You want to talk outsourcing - take a look at Henry's campaign donors:

http://204.196.0.52/cgi-bin/la98/forms/CAN991223/17784/102A-1

It's rather eye-popping how few are actually from New Orleans, or even Louisiana.

Of course, most of his money is actually from personal loans, but it's still surprising.

Xavier said...

Knew the RiledUp and Nagin comments were calculated to enrich a particular candidate and it was only a matter of time to see who would be the beneficiary. His comments are so disrespectful of the African American community as if they cannot succeed without patronage, as if they do not have the wherewithal to make a life for themselves and their children. The absolute gall of this philosophy. Who did the Nagin admin benefit? A few black businesses and lots of out of town corporations. Is this middle class any better off, NO. This stuff makes me so mad

George Mauer said...

Although I agree with everyone else it IS pretty messed up how few black people are ending up in prominent positions of power.

Its of course not a conspiracy but what in the world is the reason?

Anonymous said...

george --

first, these are ELECTED positions save for a few.

second, the reason they are losing elections is because they keep running people who don't offer any real change. people like troy henry.

people are tired of this crap. i think that perry is a real alternative here once people realize what a fraud this henry guy is.

jeffrey said...

McBride says, It's rather eye-popping how few are actually from New Orleans, or even Louisiana.

Could we not say the same thing about Perry?

Anyway, I think this is going to work for Henry. I guess I've sort of been saying that all along, really. I'll have to bring all this stuff together the next time I guess at the results, but I still don't see any reason to believe my last guess was very far off.

I think the next time I count everything up, I'll move some of what I gave to Ramsey over to Henry, and then split some of what I gave to Georges between Couhig, Mitch and Henry. (I think Georges is fading but mostly to Henry's advantage.) Somebody get Oyster to fire up the ole Punditbook. I still haven't seen a single poll and yet I think I'm pretty much dead on.

Jason Brad Berry said...

Jeffrey, I agree with you that it's probably going to provide a surge for Henry, the question is how much. What amazes me is this guy has lied repeatedly and possibly misappropriated campaign funds and the MSM is silent. What the hell?

George Mauer said...

@anon

"they keep running people who don't offer any real change"

Who is they? I mean there is some sort of a 'black establishment' in the same way as there is a 'white establishment' but why in the world is it necessary in this day and age to be associated with either?

Agree about Perry. I like him quite a bit so far.

Anonymous said...

George

Simple answer: the winners were the ones that got more votes than the other candidates.

I am not trying to be flip, but that is how elections are won. If you get more people to vote for you than the other candidates do, then you win. What does race have to do with that?

And we can't choose who runs. We only choose from those individuals that choose to run. This matters.

For instance, in the DA's election, the only African American candidate was Jason Williams. Jason is an incredible attorney and a fantastic person, but is young and mostly unknown to the city at large and did not have the fund-raising power of the two older, more well known candidates (who were White). So, he got beat. No science needed there.

For City Council, Oliver Thomas was an "at large" councilman. He was also the man likely to be the obvious choice for Mayor now. He took bribes from Pampy Barre and is now in prison.

The way the two "at large" members are elected is certainly odd, but is wholly unrelated to the race of the candidates. Oliver won his "at large" seat by a wide margin. He would be dominating the field now if he were not a federal prisoner.

The President of the United States chooses the US Attorney. If the President wanted us to have a Hawaiian go-go dancer in that job, we get a Hawaiian go-go dancer. We have no say-so in the matter.

So, while your question seems to hark upon something more, it really is a simple issue: the public (white and black) chooses its leaders from those who choose to run. If we have horrible candidates, we end up with horrible elected officials.

In this election, I think we have some decent candidates (and one who's experience in government allows him to stand out). I hope our electorate makes its choice based on the quality of the candidate rather than the color of his skin. To paraphrase the dream.

Anonymous said...

Jeffrey

Polls will come out next week (most likely) but here is how the votes will fall in Feb.:

1. Landrieu - 47% - 33,800
2. Henry - 22%- 15,500
3. Georges - 12% - 8,600
4. Perry - 7% - 5,040
5. Couhig - 6% - 4,300
6. Ramsey - 6% - 4,000

This assumes the following:

1. Georges' votes does not abandon him. This is a real possibility for him now.

2. Henry is able to weather the bad press that he will sustain in the next two weeks. The MSM will get the story of his partner's lawsuit against him and his connections to Pampy Barre will turn off a lot of voters. Most important, he lacks connective tissue with the City and if he starts getting pelted may slide.

3. Landrieu does not fumble the ball.

4. Perry does not punch Henry on TV. If that happens, all bets are off!!!!

Anonymous said...

Who is Daniel Michael Wallace?

He owns two companies:
1. Federal Computing, LLC
2. Big Idea Computing, LLc

With those two companies and his personal contributioin he has given $14K to Heny.

BeverlyRevelry said...

Anonymous, elections are waged and won by money. Period. The "they" that puts "them" up is the "they" with money.

Anonymous said...

In response to: George "they keep running people who don't offer any real change"

Who is they? I mean there is some sort of a 'black establishment' in the same way as there is a 'white establishment' but why in the world is it necessary in this day and age to be associated with either?

Answer:

When candidates start to put together their funding picture they look at two monied sectors: the well to do Creoles and the well to do whites. To run an effective citywide race other than a mayoral contest, say a judgeship, we look at a minimal of $500,000. To raise that you have to have most of the members of those two groups in your camp and you have to look at getting 28% of the votes from the other person's racial group to win. And the "They" people in either group pick who can run effectively and then leads, basically.

George Mauer said...

@Anonymous

Are you saying that it's random chance that the field is mostly white?

I agree.

At least I agree if the alternative is 'conspiracy'. I do think that there is some interesting force at play here that tilts the deck; some sort of social or economic principle perhaps. There are probably professors at UNO that can point me to whole journals dedicated to investigating the issue, and I would be interested.

Just why exactly is it that black politicians seem to fail without the ardent backing of the amorphous blob that people refer to as the 'black establishment'? I think I kinda get it why this situation came to be, but why in the world is it still relevant? Racism? I don't buy it.

@Beverly and other anon
Of course you are correct, but I DO object to the language. I just don't think that referring to what might be a smaller but still highly heterogeneous group in such cabalistic terms is helpful to a conversation.

Many of "them" are generous and well intentioned, many are greedy and conniving - and almost at no time do the goals of any two people line up perfectly. And honestly, we've got a president that became the democratic nominee largely through grass-roots efforts. I just don't see how "they" are monolithic, single-minded, or all powerful.

beanwave said...

@Anonymous: I wish Perry WOULD punch Henry in the mouth, but fortunately for his campaign, he's WAY too nice of a guy in real life to ever do anything like that. :)

If in the last two weeks Henry has shot himself in the foot, Georges has also shot himself - in the groin. I think the scramble for the run-off against Landrieu is now between Perry and Ramsey, with Perry securing it.

Clay said...

Today's Picayune has their "meet the candidate" profile of Henry. Let's see what's inside...

WolfJam said...

At the LEH Mayoral History panel disccusion the other night, Kenya Smith pointed to the Dallas meeting with Jimmy Reese and the rest of the Rex Krewe who were trying to hold Nagin Hostage "Unless you change the demographics of the city we're not coming back." Boutique city was the term they used to signal a deduction in the african-american population and a smaller footprint. As a white citizen of the city I can say without pause, the Rex Racist's don't represent me and that is the last thing I wanted. I wanted a smaller footprint, so the poorest of the poor were not subjected to live in lands that will flood again. Every citizen is vital except for those who resort to violence. But 90% of the violence I believe can be averted with better education. But to hear Henry, Riley, Nagin, and now Smith point to the other racists and say they are the ones we need to be afraid of is truly sad. And to qoute Charles Rice at the same forum "If Oliver thomas had not been convicted of corruption, we would not have to be worried about a white mayor," signifies the exact point you are making. We have been and are currently led by a confederacy of racists. Both Black and white. People who have transcended this are truly unrepresented. And our political elections have resorted to Racists v Racists. Only Landrieu and Perry seem to have gotten over this bitterness and are offering a different paradigm. To point, those racists in Rex have vowed to never vote for a Landrieu, so that and 'total conciousness' appear to be what he's got going for him. I vote for a Landrieu-Perry ticket, where perry handles day to day and Landrieu handles govermental relations.

oysterboy said...

Keeping in mind that I have a great deal of respect for all of your opinions, and am grateful to AZ for exposing corruption time and again ... I don't think that we can assume that even a majority of whites living in New Orleans share our hopes of a post-racial New Orleans. I would say that many if not most whites in the city will be biased towards white candidates, and it's just as true in the black community. Henry has to address this in some way, and though the method he did it may be a bit dramatic, it's a campaign ... not a surprise. In fact, there was a misrepresentation by MSM after Murray pulled out of the race, that's pretty clear.

As far as the "president" issue goes, it's a waste of time pursuing it. After all, it's "Tracy Porter, cornerback for the Saints," not "Tracy Porter, one of three cornerbacks for the Saints." Now, if Tracy Porter claimed he was a QB, that'd be different.

oysterboy said...

Anonymous

"Simple answer: the winners were the ones that got more votes than the other candidates."

What an incredibly true but naive statement.

Anonymous said...

The Times Picayune endorsed a white mayor (Forman) and a white majority council in 2006.

Most of the white people in the city supported the BNOBC plan to demolish the black community.

And you think Henry is deluded in suggesting that there is a movement of whites to take over the city, regardless of who the white mayor or council members are? The more we dismiss these feelings, the further we get from building racial trust. Once again, by denying the truth, whites only increase distrust and deliver black voters into the hands of any black politician willing to point out the duplicity, however incompetent that may be.

Anonymous said...

Now that I see you are censoring posts on this blog, this is my last visit. So much for freedom of opinion.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I hope that Perry is in the run-off.

I like that guy.

Troy Henry is a jerk. There are three black candidates in the race, and only the one whose resume is "screw over the vulnerable" from beginning to end is talking racism.

If Gen. Honore were in this race, he'd blow Mitch out of the water, no contest.

No doubt Troy Henry has felt the sting of racist injustice many times. But the scorn people in New Orleans feel for him is not an example of such racist injustice.

Women also ask why there aren't more women running for office.

Money is always part of it, and not just at the level of fundraising, though that is huge.

Shift your thinking from the idea of 'money' to the idea of 'value', and count 'time' in there as an equally precious resource.

You don't ever again get the chance to be with your babies as babies if you choose to do something else when they are small.

Once your parents are dead, they are dead.

A lot of politically underrepresented people are busy being active citizens at a smaller, deeper, more informal and localized level, one that is both more intangible, and also more enduring, harder to strip away.

You ever find yourself being introduced to an older Black man who is gets described as "the Mayor" of his neighborhood? Sure you have.

He's usually not someone who sits on a thousand neighborhood committes, either.

Some jerk with money can thwart every good effort you have at a legislative level.

But if you know who among your neighbors is hungry and feed them, if you help maintain people's homes, teach people to read, show kids how to use tools and how to play instuments or draw, if you do those old "country" things for one another, you build a community that is much harder to wash away.

One that lasts through changes of government, good economic times and bad, and even through forced relocations.

The funny thing is, putting your time and energy into people, plants, and art roots you deeper in a place, but also allows you to up stakes if you need to, the way refugees and immigrants keep their connections to their old places once they moved.

It is their family, friends, food and art forms they keep, not their governments.

It takes time to raise a good child and to keep a marriage healthy, gardens take time, and it takes daily time to learn and practice any art form.

Nourishing what will sustain you for real doesn't leave much time for the BS involved in the political game.

A lot of people look at how little connection there is between the real world of the family and neigborhood, and the world of electoral politics, and they pick to contribute to the places, activities, people who nourish them and let them give the best of themselves.

Jason Brad Berry said...

- Anonymous said...

Now that I see you are censoring posts on this blog, this is my last visit. So much for freedom of opinion.


I didn't censor your comment...grow up. I fucking asleep, I just woke up and published 7 comments.

Jason Brad Berry said...

- As far as the "president" issue goes, it's a waste of time pursuing it. After all, it's "Tracy Porter, cornerback for the Saints," not "Tracy Porter, one of three cornerbacks for the Saints." Now, if Tracy Porter claimed he was a QB, that'd be different.

No...that's not it at all. You need to go back and re-read what he was claiming.

Anonymous said...

This is Charles Rice, my quote was "if Oliver Thomas had not been convicted of corruption. We would not be having a discussion regarding the possibility of the white mayor." And for the record, anyone who truly knows me, would surely inform you that it would be difficult to consider me a racist by any stretch of the imagination.

Jason Brad Berry said...

- The Times Picayune endorsed a white mayor (Forman) and a white majority council in 2006.

Most of the white people in the city supported the BNOBC plan to demolish the black community.

And you think Henry is deluded in suggesting that there is a movement of whites to take over the city, regardless of who the white mayor or council members are? The more we dismiss these feelings, the further we get from building racial trust. Once again, by denying the truth, whites only increase distrust and deliver black voters into the hands of any black politician willing to point out the duplicity, however incompetent that may be.

It's ridiculous. I will dismiss it. Do you honestly think there are some white guys sitting in some secret room somewhere in the city plotting to eliminate African Americans from political positions? There is no racial conspiracy...there are conspiracies, but they're economic and corruption related, not racial.

Henry pushing this notion is no different than the fear mongering Bush/Cheney pushed on Americans to systematically destroy our Constitution and push us into endless wars.

And here's what I don't understand. How does one wake up every morning and only view themselves by their race? Isn't it more fulfilling to go through life perceiving yourself as a human being instead of category?

I have two children who are mixed race, they don't give a damn what color they are or what color anyone around them is. One day, soon, my kids and a younger generation is going to rise up in this city and take the reigns from the fools of the older generation and that day can't come soon enough.

I think James Perry represents the beginning of this shift...I wish he had a shot and I hope he gets in Troy Henry's face every time he starts spouting this racial conspiracy bullshit.

If we can't pull ourselves up and out of this destructive mentality, we deserve to flounder in our own ignorance and we deserve to lose our children to other productive, progressive cities.

lbowface2000 said...

A bit confusing, maybe purposely so. If Henry states that to "outsource that element of government, outsourcing the element of NORD" is indicative of a white supremacist power grab, then where does he stand on United Water's attempts to take over the SWB management back in 2003. At the time there were several black members on the board, the interim director at the time was black, and the SWB served a majority black city, so why is that form of outsourcing legitimate. Please comment if this analysis is a bit facile. Thank you

Jason Brad Berry said...

No it's not facile it's germane. He was once championing privatization efforts in this city for subsidiary of a European meglo-corporation.

That has been point with Nagin all along....the guys he has funneled money to are mostly white republicans. If you're looking for a conspriacy it's green, not black or white.

Xavier said...

I have lived in this community for 55 years. Granted I may be selective in my friends but I just don't see that much racial hatred out there towards African Americans. What I do see is a willingness to vote for someone who is African American to prove there is no prejudice. Sometimes in the rush to make this statement, we have not been wise in the candidates we have chosen. We need not be blinded by color in an attempt to be colorblind but just take skin color out as a determinant period. Look for the best most viable candidate. I really like James Perry and the voice he brings to this community and truly believe that he and other younger voters will change this city. But I am not sure he is electable or ready, so I want to spend my time outing all of the bad candidates and let people choose a good one. I think Landrieu is viable candidate and will not be racially divisive. He has seen a normal functioning government and may be the most able to move change quickly through the system. Also believe he will be able to enact ethics reform in the contracting dynamic.

Did not know about the Henry Pampy Barre connection. If he is hooked into Barre, then he is hooking into Jimmie Woods of Metro Disposal, Alvin Richard of Richards Disposal and Burnell Moliere of AME. These three guys get tons of money from the city and can use these funds to finance campaigns. If it is true, look for a connection. Also, Marlin Gusman is hugely hooked into the Barre Woods Richard Moliere and the old Eddie Jordan/Marc Morial structure. These are the leading engine on a corrupt power base.

Can anyone give me info on the Barre Henry connection?

My veriword forkesse One tough hombre with a fork

oysterboy said...

Dambala,
So is your point that Henry said that he was "The" president of United Water, rather than "a" President at United Water, or is there something else that I'm missing? I took your suggestion and re-read and listened to his comments. IMHO, while there's definitely a degree of marketing spin, I kind of feel about this one the way you felt about the fake Mitch website accusations against Georges ... that, to mix metaphors, there are bigger fish to fry and that it really doesn't have any legs.

I do, however, completely agree if there have been illegalities in terms campaign financing, that's another issue, and one that should be vigorously pursued with all of the candidates.

To be frank, Couhig and Georges bother me substantially more than Henry in terms of their business dealings and political connections.

Jason Brad Berry said...

I called United Water and verified what his role in the company was. The lable president was assigned to regional managers of 5 separate regions. In his flyer he clearly states that he was over 1500 employees and a 600 million dollar company....that was Chesner's job, the CEO. Henry fudged his job responsibilities with the company, pure and simple. He lied...it's not a matter of splitting hairs...he lied.

He also lied about never getting money from the city.

Jason Brad Berry said...

I haven't heard much about Couhig's business dealings, other than he's Aaron Bennett's lawyer and that definitely doesn't look so good.

Georges....if what I've heard about Georges is true, I'm afraid to even publish it. I am looking into it though.

oysterboy said...

Dambala,
I see your point, just think that fudging by a political marketing person is, sadly, par for the course.

I've heard some amazing stories about fudging of the facts regarding credit and responsibilities from people who've worked in Mitch's office in the past. There's some real bitterness there. I do like Mitch, however, and give him the benefit of the doubt.

Jason Brad Berry said...

OB,

I'd be interested in hearing the Mitch false claims if you're saying you heard that.

Anonymous said...

Georges....if what I've heard about Georges is true, I'm afraid to even publish it. I am looking into it though.

How about a hint? By the way, I'm half-wondering if Georges has now realized he's not going to make it to the run-off and is purely using the race to prop up Henry so that he can try to keep a Landrieu out of city hall.

bruthaman1 said...

i don't know if this would constitute a racial conspiracy. after katrina a very close family friend of mine, who was a major player in new orleans' tourism industry, told me that there was a push by big shots in the tourism industry to bring in immigrant workers so there would be much less of a need for the former employees to do the low skilled work. obviously the majority of those former workers being black. i don't know the political motives behind the push to bring in immigrants but there was a lot of black paranoia after katrina about the motives of some people in the city.

with that being said, the problems of this city are a lot more complex than if we have a black mayor or white mayor. crime is going to still be an issue. education is still going to be an issue. poverty is still going to be an issue. the comptency of nopd is still going to be an issue. and many more issues that will never get solved if this city continues the us against them mentality that some people of both races have.

Editilla~New Orleans Ladder said...

There is a movement, afoot in Troy Henry's mouth.

Anonymous said...

It sucks that Couhig is Aaron Bennett's lawyer. That's all I need to hear to write him off.

Please do tell to the posters who said they knew things about how both Georges and Mitch operate.

A Landreau-Perry partnership sounds good to me.

Captain Sassy said...

Thanks, Puddinhead, that's what I was thinking but didn't want to say it out loud. Wow.