Nagin: I Need You Back Here, Baby!

I have figured out why the Mayor of the toxic mudhole formerly known as New Orleans is encouraging people to return even though there are not nearly enough resources to support them. Even though to return will mean certain death for some if another storm just grazes the fragile levees and causes them to break again.

But the Mayor cannot be concerned with that. He knows if he does not have his patronage system rebuilt soon, then most of the greenback rain coming from the Federal moneycloud will not fall in his backyard, he might not even get wet!

If he does not have any people in Nawlins, how's he going to be in any position to distribute the goodies. You cannot have a patronage system without patronees.

At this posting he has rescinded his call for move backs. I wonder what he will come up with in its place.

Nagin: N.O. should get most aid dedicated to hurricane recovery New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin speaks at a news conference Thursday about support from the National Conference of Mayors and his plans for returning residents to the city. At left is conference president Beverly O'Neill. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says some cities are trying to use Hurricane Katrina to grab federal aid even though they were not affected much by the storm. Nagin said Thursday that New Orleans should get the bulk of the $100 billion or more he expects the federal government to spend rebuilding areas devastated by the storm and its related flooding. "Maybe let a little bit go to the cities that were less affected," he said at a Baton Rouge news conference, without naming any of those cities. As Nagin spoke, East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Kip Holden was in Washington, D.C., to present federal officials with an $11.2 billion wish list for improvements ranging from roads to housing to help handle the massive influx of evacuees from the New Orleans area. Nagin was asked if his statement about other cities applies to Baton Rouge. "The city of New Orleans was hit by a Category 5 storm" and "80 percent of the city was under water," Nagin said in comparing the damage to his city versus others seeking federal aid. ... By JOHN LAPLANTE and GERARD SHIELDS, Advocate staff writers