New Orleans Mayor Says God Mad at U.S.

[rodeodance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060116/ap_on_re_us/katrina_nagin;_ylt=AvjFWCrepHjNRWrTaH9mAjms0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-
New Orleans Mayor Says God Mad at U.S.


By BRETT MARTEL, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 31 minutes ago

NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Ray Nagin suggested Monday that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and other storms were a sign that "God is mad at America" and at black communities, too, for tearing themselves apart with violence and political infighting.

"Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it's destroyed and put stress on this country," Nagin, who is black, said as he and other city leaders marked Martin Luther King Day.

"Surely he doesn't approve of us being in
Iraq under false pretenses. But surely he is upset at black America also. We're not taking care of ourselves."

Nagin also promised that New Orleans will be a "chocolate" city again. Many of the city's black neighborhoods were heavily damaged by Katrina.

[rox63]

1. Has Nagin finally lost it?

He's been through a lot. Has he finally cracked? That sounds like something Pat Robertson and his ilk might say.

[CottonBear]

8. I'm thinking he may have cracked. He can do no right & his city's in ruin

Not to mention the fact that the citizens of his city have been dispersed in the largest displacment of people in US history. To top things off, the Republicans have been very mean to Nagin, a former Republican (and six figure yearly corporate salry type) himself.

[0007]

50. I think he smoking crack!

What is the hell is wrong with this nitwit that I once thought was genuine.

[Carni]

12. It strikes me as pretty weird as well

I don't think any amount of *taking care of themselves* would have helped the people in the lower 9th ward against Katrina...

Perhaps the city should stop dicking around telling people they can rebuild one day and then the next saying they'll not guaratee they won't just be wasting their time and money if their neighbors don't come back to rebuild with them because they can't afford to (or are dead--who the hell knows how many are REALLY dead there)

While I agree that if there is a God that he would indeed have good reason to be pissed about Iraq -- I would have to wonder then, why one very big assed bolt of lightning wouldn't have struck in Crawford, Texas?

[Up2Late]

13. I think he's desperate and running out of ideas to make people like him

The pressure must be enormous.

[Judi Lynn]

62. What thas happened to him has never happened to an American

mayor in our lifetimes. I wouldn't blame him for feeling out of his depths.

[roguevalley]

76. imagine the pressures he's fending off practically by himself.

no wonder he feels like Job

[GrumpyGreg]

14. I agree----he sounds a bit addled to me!

[MrMonk]

29. The "God" thing is probably a rhetorical device . . .

when it comes from someone who is not a religious figure.

That doesn't mean Nagin has not cracked. He's been under a tremendous amount of pressure, some of which he has earned.

It's not at all clear what he was talking about. Where should I look for context?

On edit: I see it now. He was making an MLK day speech. The God and "chocolate city" references make sense. Wasn't "Chocolate City" one of New Orleans' nicknames?

[AngryAmish]

64. Chocolate Thunder from the Planet Lovetron

That was Darryl Dawkins

[Mike Daniels]

77. I think Chocolate City is generally used as a nickname for DC

Although I imagine it could apply to any city with a black majority population.

[still_one]

42. landrui, nagin are pretty incompentent

add the incompentence of the bush administration and you have a disaster

This has nothing to do with God

[Jacobin]

57. Three wounded in second-line shootings (yeah, he's pissed)

Three people were wounded by gunfire Sunday afternoon on Orleans Avenue after a second-line parade that attracted thousands of people, including hurricane-displaced residents who were back in town for a day of celebration.

Police were busy Sunday night trying to figure out what prompted the shootings, which broke out at least twice between Claiborne Avenue and Broad Street, the end point of a procession that started in front of the Backstreet Cultural Museum on St. Claude Avenue. One onlooker said there were two gunmen.

The parade ended about 4 p.m., and shortly afterward police officers patrolling the parade route heard gunfire. They first found a 34-year-old man with multiple wounds at Orleans and Dorgenois Street, police spokesman Gary Flot said. Minutes later, after more shots rang out, officers found an 18-year-old woman, 18, wounded in the leg at the Orleans and North Rocheblave Street. A man, 20, also was shot in the leg, in the same area along Orleans Avenue

Back Sunday for the first time since Katrina, both said they're determined to rebuild their lives here, though they were clearly disgusted about the violence at the fringe of the parade. "We want to come home, but we don't want to come home to this," Jenkins said. The root of incidents like the one Sunday, Jenkins said, is the tendency of some individuals to use big gatherings to retaliate against their enemies: "Out of 50 second-lines, 39 to 40 are going to have a shooting," he said. "If I've got a beef with you, I can guarantee you I'm going to see you at a second-line."

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1137430904313980.xml

Yeah, he's pissed. First Mardi Gras Second Line parade after Katrina and his citizens start shooting each other up.

I'd be pissed too

[slackmaster]

81. Sounds about right

Damn shame.

[JVS]

83. Sounds like it

[Carni]

2. I honestly don't know what to make of this

Sort of strange IMO

[CottonBear]

3. OK. Nagin may have gone off the deep end or he's pandering to the

religous wingnut crowd. I'm having a hard time getting a fix on where he's going with this statement.

[hiley]

4. We really need Ray Nagin

translating from God for us..
:sarcasm:

[JVS]

84. I love when public figures offer to do that

NOT!

[Mike Nelson]

5. YUCK! -nt

eeeewwwwwwwwwwwww

[trotsky]

6. He's upset that you're not "taking care of (y)ourselves", so...

he sends a big storm to kill a bunch of you? What kind of f*cked up message is that?

[superconnected]

35. apparently Robertson is getting to him.

[hogwyld]

7. I don't think NOLA

Actually voted for the criminal in chief, so why would the spaghetti monster punish them?

[zalinda]

9. It's

:sarcasm:

[MindPilot]

10. oh please don't go down that road

It was a very nasty storm, made worse by Global warming and governmental incompetence. Don't make yourself look stupid with Robertson-esque blathering about god's wrath.

[VegasWolf]

11. Get the white jacket with laces ready! This one's going down. nt

[DoYouEverWonder]

15. So it's okay for MLK to evoke religious imagery

but it's not okay for Ray Nagin?

[Tom Joad]

19. MLK would never say god sends hurricanes on people.

That is religion for morons. Or opportunists.

[PassingFair]

20. I missed something.

Is Ray Nagin a PREACHER? I thought he was a Mayor.

[DoYouEverWonder]

38. In the black community

there is not much difference between the two usually.

[PassingFair]

44. Tell that to

Coleman A. Young!

[Name removed]

51. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DoYouEverWonder]

61. I was the leader a community redevelopment task force

sponsored and funded by my local government. First of all, I would never even think to lead off a meeting in this communtiy without asking someone to lead of the invocation. Many times even though we were a government group, we held our meetings in the local churches. Many of the people here, who are from the black community and are active in politics and community issues, are also very active in their churches and it is not unusual for people from this community. both elected and government officials to also be preachers and deacons. I am sorry if you take offense by my comments but I speak from direct experience. That's is why Nagin's comments didn't surprise or shock me. I was just trying to point out that what his 'preaching' wasn't that out of the ordinary in the black community.

[Voltaire99]

75. Fair point.

And in any case, supernaturalism is so prevalent in US political discourse that I see nothing unusual about Nagin's comments, either.

He's just one more pol working the sheep in Jesusland.

[JanusAscending]

72. Sounds a little bigoted to me?!!

n/t

[goclark]

97. Exactly!

We are not afraid for our politicians to quote the Bible or make references to it.

It is a part of our daily lives.

As I heard an elderly Black woman say the other day," George Bush don't own my Jesus!"

That is why I never understood why Democrats allowed the no good Republican party to own God.

Black America feels very comfortable with their religion and they are pretty politically together.

Please recall that African Americans have been able to see through GW from day one.

Black America put GORE and Kerry in office, the SC and Diebold installed King George.

Black America pushed Clinton in office and he did not disappoint us.

I really don't understand why some are getting all in a twirl about Nagin's comments.

If Black America doesn't like what he says, we know exactly how to vote him OUT.
If you watched some of the open forums with Nagin and some of the citizens of NO, they let him know EXACTLY how they felt about him. They did not mince words one bit.

[Bill McBlueState]

46. i don't care who's evoking it

The idea that some invisible being sends hurricanes to kill people for not "taking care of themselves" is astoundingly superstitious and backwards, no matter who says it.

[JVS]

85. MLK had a religious training and ability that enabled him to evoke it...

with intelligence rather than sounding like some fool who's been hit in the head by a large bible too many times

[VegasWolf]

16. Did we just start the 14th Century? nt

:sarcasm:

[Journeyman]

48. Read Mr Lincoln's Second Inaugural. . .

http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres32.html

[KamaAina]

17. Maybe whatever King Dumbass** has is contagious

Ray Ray was sitting right next to him the other day, with, I might add, the most perfect look of absolute contempt and boredom on his face.



How ironic that Shirley Franklin, mayor of unaffected Atlanta, seized the occasion to call for greater Katrina relief, while Nagin appears to have gone off the "Ray-ils". :eyes:

Note: The C in C. Ray Nagin stands for "Clarence". Does this mean that somewhere, an angel is getting his wings? :shrug:

[54anickel]

52. Perfect background pic behind the ass-clown 'n thief. eom

[Tom Joad]

18. God is mad cuz religious wackos blame Her for hurricanes.

[Clutch Cargo]

21. I'll bet god is mad at Nagin

for dragging him into this.

[gunsaximbo]

22. How does Bush do it?

How did his father get Ross Perot to give up the Presidency? How did Bushler get MCCain to give up the Presidency? How did bush get all of those "Nay Sayers" the last 5 years including the latest - Nagin, to turn around and either kiss his ass or get them to say something as ridiculous as "God is mad at America"?

I'm perplexed.

[drm604]

27. I would hardly say Nagin is kissing Bush's ass.

Not considering this part of his statement: "Surely he doesn't approve of us being in
Iraq under false pretenses..." I don't think that Bush is behind him saying that.

As other's have said, I think the pressure is really getting to the guy.

[Clutch Cargo]

31. I agree.

He just wasn't of the makeup to handle a huge crisis. He would probably be an excellent mayor for a small town, but NOLA is a fairly big town that had a huge crisis, and he wasn't the man for the job.

[drm604]

36. I think nearly anybody would be under strain in his position.

I know very little about the man (before Katrina, I couldn't have even told you who the mayor of NOLA was) so I don't want to be unfair and say he wasn't the man for the job. It may well be that nearly anybody would break under the kind of strain he must be experiencing. Especially when you consider, on top of everything else, what the right wing noise machine has been trying to do to him.

[Clutch Cargo]

39. OK. Good point. n/t

[gunsaximbo]

43. Whoooooa!

I'm not attacking Nagin - I think he did a phenomenal job and has NOTHING to be ashamed of. (except for taking the pressure off of Bushler).

It just seems that Bush has some way of.....something and I hate it.

[951-Riverside]

23. What happened is partitically this assholes fault...

If you listen to the tapes released by the NPR he was more conserned with traffic so he sat on his hands until the last minute. If it was up to me he would be following Michael Brown out the door TODAY.

[Clutch Cargo]

26. He was in way over his head

He has shown himself to be an average administrator but a piss-poor leader. That comment he made about the "John Wayne" guy showing up to take charge spoke volumes. He felt relieved that someone else was finally in charge to make the decisions and relieve him of responsibility. I don't necessarily fault him, but he obviously didn't have the right stuff to lead when a leader was called for. He froze.

[951-Riverside]

30. Don't get me wrong I respected him but...

but when he made this comment he crossed the line IMO.

[Clutch Cargo]

32. Point taken. n/t

[Clutch Cargo]

33. With 20/20 hindsight

If I had my choice of who I would have wanted as mayor of NOLA during this crisis, it would have been Richie Daley, hands-down.

[Iris]

71. Perhaps beause he started out as a Republican?

I believe he switched to the Democratic party b/c he knew he couldn't win as a Repug.

[Orsino]

24. A God that *isn't* mad at us...

...isn't worth worshiping. We have allowed government and media corruption to deepen sufficiently to allow the * Administration to assume and maintain power. 'Nuff said.

[Jacobin]

25. A little background

A couple of days ago, at a "Welcome Back to New Orleans Second Line" function, someone shot three people. Black on black crimes, I believe.

He's a wittle peeved at the citizenry's response to the disaster and particularly their response to the aftermath/cleanup/rebuilding.

I think he's being a bit sardonic/thematic on this gawd bringing hurricanes down upon us claptrap, using a bit of faux bombast to make his points. Besides which some of this comes from gospel influences.

New Orleans is a complicated place, with complicated people, complicated cultures and a real problem on its hands

[drm604]

40. Thank you for that context.

Your post does put a different slant on things.

[shirlden]

56. I was in that "second line"

It was yesterday, Sunday and was not a welcome back party. The theme was RENEW ORLEANS. It was a benefit for the New Orleans Fund that is trying to get the musicians back. Several thousand second lined. many of them driving from where ever they are now located to take part.
BTW....I am a 70 year old pure white old woman.
I am not ready to call that shooting a black on black crime. Being a member for several years of this DU group, I know how quickly we can sometimes put on the tinfoil hat, but I am starting to dust mine off. I am from the midwest, but came here a few days after Katrina blew thru to help my brother and I used to live here. Just let me say I am beginning to believe that there is some truth to the complaint that forces here are doing all that they can to keep some people from returning.
That second line went thru the Treme neighborhood and if you know New Orleans you have to know that it is a choice piece of real estate. But it has always been black. It borders on the quarter and the CBD. What a super great place for some highrise condo's and maybe a shopping mall and by all means some more casino's and hotels.. Yeh, I can just see megabuck developers salivating over Treme. How much does it cost to get a thug to fire a couple of bullets into what was one of the most law abiding crowds I have ever been a part of? Makes ya stop and think a bit.

:eyes:

[Jacobin]

58. Times Picayune report on it

Back Sunday for the first time since Katrina, both said they're determined to rebuild their lives here, though they were clearly disgusted about the violence at the fringe of the parade.

"We want to come home, but we don't want to come home to this," Jenkins said.

Too close to home

The root of incidents like the one Sunday, Jenkins said, is the tendency of some individuals to use big gatherings to retaliate against their enemies: "Out of 50 second-lines, 39 to 40 are going to have a shooting," he said. "If I've got a beef with you, I can guarantee you I'm going to see you at a second-line."

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1137430904313980.xml

The parade ended about 4 p.m., and shortly afterward police officers patrolling the parade route heard gunfire. They first found a 34-year-old man with multiple wounds at Orleans and Dorgenois Street, police spokesman Gary Flot said.

Minutes later, after more shots rang out, officers found an 18-year-old woman, 18, wounded in the leg at the Orleans and North Rocheblave Street. A man, 20, also was shot in the leg, in the same area along Orleans Avenue.

All three were admitted to local hospitals, where the 34-year-old was listed in guarded condition; the 20-year-old was in fair condition, and the 18-year-old in good condition Sunday night, Flot said. Their names were not immediately available, he said.

Violence at the fringe

Dozens of police cars moved in after the gunfire to disperse the huge crowd that gathered on Broad for what had been a festive occasion for New Orleanians determined to make their way back from temporary homes in places such as Houston and Atlanta. The Social Aid & Pleasure Club All-Star Second-Line featured clubs marching in support of New Orleans' renewal and their own role in the city's future.

"This is not what I came back here to see," said Delanda Garner, who was scheduled to head back to Houston today.

[funkybutt]

66. I was there too!

For me, it was an invigorating and wonderful experience. THOUSANDS of people...dark chocolate, white chocolate dancing together in the street. What I experienced was a diverse and positive crowd celebrating New Orleans' recovery.
I wasn't still on the second line when this violence broke out but it really saddens me that this is all that will be remembered of the event.

A great encouraging event now marred by a few violent thugs.

:shrug: oh well

On Sunday night after the second line, I attended a mardi gras indian practice where an older black man told me that I had no "right" to be there...b/c of the color of my skin.

Martin Luther King, Jr., I wish you were here now!

[KamaAina]

86. (Sigh) Things must have gotten worse since my day

On Sunday night after the second line, I attended a mardi gras indian practice where an older black man told me that I had no "right" to be there...b/c of the color of my skin.

Not that I ever did anything as cool as go to an Indian practice, you understand, BUT I did march in the MLK Day parade in '91. This was the early days of the King holiday, you understand, so white America had not (and still has not) truly embraced it as a holiday for all (I once had a boss in CT tell me "Oh, we don't take those goofy holidays!"). The feminist group I'd been working with (oh how the anti's hated that I am male!) decided to send me to the march since I had no job, not much else to do anyway.

So there I was on a school bus with forty of "those people", headed down to Florida Ave. in the now-iconic Lower Ninth Ward. That's where we marched: right past Fats Domino's house. You can tell it's Fats Domino's house because it has stars and the letters "FD" emblazoned on the front, in a most tasteful and understated manner. :sarcasm: Let's just say that if a group photo had been taken at the march, it would not have been difficult to pick me out. (Hmm... fourth row, third from the left?) And yet I do not recall so much as a dirty look, let alone someone telling me to my face that I "didn't belong there".

And here in 2006 it's come to this. To paraphrase our unofficial civic motto, "You shoulda been here fifteen years ago". :eyes:

[VegasWolf]

28. WWJH - Who Would Jesus Hurricane? nt

[superconnected]

34. W says God talks to him and he's pretty much chosen by God

to be our leader.

If there is any truth to this, then God hates the entire planet.

PS, I'm a liberal Christian.

[Clutch Cargo]

37. God talks to a lot of people

Too bad most of them don't listen to his message. If they did, this would be a much better world!

[rodeodance]

41. all and all--he was marching in a MLK parade with these comments--It

is not the same as a Pat. R. making these commetns.

[truth2power]

45. Ha haha! Did you read it??

He said, "Surely he (God) doesn't approve of us being in Irag under false pretenses."

What're the freepers gonna say?.. That God was wrong about that but right about everything else? That God only talks to Pat Robertson? Or that he couldn't possibly be talking to a black man, especially on MLK day?

Hoist on their own petard, I'd say! Heh heh.. :evilgrin:

[goclark]

88. I don't give a s--- what Freepers say!

Freepers don't run my life.

I bet Freepers think that every thing we say on DU is stuck on stupid.

They want us to be afraid of saying things, that is why it should now be called Plantation Bush America!

[truth2power]

98. I agree with you. I don't care what they think either..

I was just saying that Nagin backed the freepers into a corner where anything they say makes them look like fools. That's even allowing for the other parts of his statements.

And BTW, I wanna bang my head every time someone whines about "Whatever will the freepers think?" Who cares? If they can't find something to gripe about, they'll make stuff up! We should ignore them.

[goclark]

100. Absolutely right!

It cracks me up when Progressive Democrats say, "make sure that we only speak when we are absolutely sure they can't poke a hole in it."


Hello!


They poke holes in every TRUTH we have ever spoken.

It doesn't matter to them.

We must learn how to play their game.

Rev. Al knows how to play their game.
Dean knows how to play their game.

Maxine, Sheila Jackson Lee, Rangel and my man Conyers.

Bill Clinton can wear them out beautifully.

But the others run scared most of the time.

[Dunvegan]

47. How does Bush do it?

gunsaximbo
Mon Jan-16-06 04:00 PM

22. How does Bush do it?

How did his father get Ross Perot to give up the Presidency? How did Bushler get MCCain to give up the Presidency? How did bush get all of those "Nay Sayers" the last 5 years including the latest - Nagin, to turn around and either kiss his ass or get them to say something as ridiculous as "God is mad at America"?

I'm perplexed.

How does * do it?

Does the word "wiretap" ring a Bell (Telephone)?

[Stand and Fight]

49. Well, this proves it... Nagin needs a rest - now. He's flipped.

No wonder though -- he used to be a Republican... :puke:

[rodeodance]

53. nominated

[rodeodance]

54. oops--i can't nominate my own. drats

[Fridays Child]

55. Get a grip, Nagin.

:eyes:

[localroger]

59. The local talk radio show was on fire with this

Most of the NOLA locals calling in to WWL didn't give a rat's ass about the "God is mad at us" comment because they were too busy noticing "New Orleans is going to be a chocolate city" to care. Much of Nagin's speech was actually good, but I thought it was a very risky device in the first place to pretend to be channeling MLK and the promise that NOLA will be majority black again (which he clarified a couple of sentences later, making it unmistakable) was completely inappropriate. And that was where he siderailed into "because God wants it that way."

It may just be that Nagin doesn't care any more. How thankless can a job get? He and the other local leaders pulled off a friggin' miracle getting the evacuation to work, a miracle that probably saved tens of thousands of lives, and now all they get is beat up over stuff that's completely out of their control. Then you had the shooting at the parade, and he probably decided phork it, he probably can't get elected dog catcher now anyway, so why not say what he really thinks. Some of which was quite inspirational, and some of which was unfortunately over the top.

[CottonBear]

65. Thanks for your insight .

My husband is a NOLA native and his family lives in St. Tammany Parish now. My mom's family lived in NOLA , Mobile and Orange Beach, AL. The stress on people in the Gulf Coast/NOLA area is huge. I hope they can all recover.
God help us all. Peace. CB

[KamaAina]

69. As is the NOLA rebuilding forum at the Times-Picayune

http://www.nola.com/forums/rebuilding/index.ssf

Amazingly, given the sky-high foot-in-mouth quotient of Nagin's remarks, quite a number of the (mostly white) posters are actually managing to overreact.

[Neshanic]

60. He's certifiable. He needs to just resign and be the inner moron he is.

People want hope and solutions from their mayor, not preaching and waving God's finger pointing hand at them.

[NVMojo]

63. well, I'm sure God is not impressed with the "godliness" of the US ...

the US is too self-righteous ...

[funkybutt]

67. I love chocolate! Willy Wanka for Mayor!!

I'd like our city to return to a majority black community (and I'm white) but I wish our mayor was better at choosing his words. This is a HUGE distraction now. All anyone is talking about and IMO, it's taking energy away from rebuilding and it's devisive.

On Edit: Also, I will never support a leader who thinks he needs to tell me what GOD thinks. Please leave god out of this chocolate factory! We've got a lot of work to do, and God isn't going to do it for us.

[Stand and Fight]

91. Are you the one behind that site?

http://www.imnotchocolate.com

If so, it's in very poor and questionable taste.

[Barkley]

68. I guess 'God don't care about black people.'

Black Americans have suffered so much and God had nothing to do with it.

Can you imagine; human beings influencing the mind and will of God?!?!?!

God mad at America?

Can you imagine the most powerful entity in the universe mad at the USA -- I think the result would be more than a couple of hurricanes.

We're not THAT important.

Nagin is taking it too seriously.

[AspenRose]

87. Thank you.

Nagin needs to read the book of Job.

Suffering happens. And it isn't necessarily anyone's fault.

[Iris]

70. You know, one of these days, God really is going to get pissed off. . .

at all these idiots who use his name to further their political careers.

[Phoonzang]

73. Dear Ray Nagin,

STFU. You're not helping the "cause". You're hurting it. I'm starting to think all those detractors were right about you... Also, what god do you worship anyway? Poseidon? Did New Orleans not sacrifice enough lambs at the temple?

[allisonthegreat]

74. while I see the many errors the feds made and are still making...

Nagin probably will not get reelected! he was just not mentally prepared for the cards he was dealt..That would be a hard pill for anyone to swallow...

[Strong Atheist]

78. Well, if god is responsible for disasters like this,

according to Nagin, then god is not a very nice guy/gal...

It couldn't possibly be that hurricanes are natural, and weather happens, could it?:eyes:

[DeepModem Mom]

79. CNN: Nagin calls for rebuilding 'chocolate' New Orleans

Nagin calls for rebuilding 'chocolate' New Orleans
Black majority city 'the way God wants it to be'
Tuesday, January 17, 2006


NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Mayor Ray Nagin on Monday called for the rebuilding of a "chocolate New Orleans" that maintains the city's black majority, saying, "You can't have New Orleans no other way."

"I don't care what people are saying Uptown or wherever they are. This city will be chocolate at the end of the day," Nagin said in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day speech. "This city will be a majority African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be."

Uptown is a reference to a mostly white part of the city.

Pressed later to explain his comments, Nagin, who is black, told CNN affiliate WDSU-TV that he was referring to creation of a racially diverse city in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, insisting that his remarks were not divisive.

"How do you make chocolate? You take dark chocolate, you mix it with white milk, and it becomes a delicious drink. That is the chocolate I am talking about," he said....


http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/17/nagin.city/index.html

[Strawman]

80. "Hey, uh, we didn't get our forty acres and a mule"

"But we did get you, CC, heh, yeah"

Parliament- Chocolate City

http://www.duke.edu/~tmc/motherpage/lyrics_parliament/lyr-cc.html#lyr-s-cc

[donheld]

82. If there is a god/goddess

they've got to be pissed at the US.

[Bridget Burke]

89. Why do the media report only that part of the speech?

I've clipped a bit from a much longer account of the speech:

Speaking to a fraction of the crowd typically drawn to a holiday parade honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on Monday predicted that displaced African-American residents will return to the rebuilt city and it "will be chocolate at the end of the day."

"This city will be a majority African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be," Nagin said. "You can't have it no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans."

Nagin's remarks were tucked into a wide-ranging speech, delivered on the steps of the federal courthouse, in which the mayor related a dream conversation he had with the slain civil rights leader.

In addition to discussing New Orleans' reconstruction, unity and numerous issues in the black community, in his speech Nagin attributed the recent hurricanes striking the United States to a God who is "mad at America" for waging a war in Iraq based on false pretenses. Nagin said God also is upset at the black community for not taking better care of its people.

www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1137481512176100.xml

I don't share his opinion of God. But many of the posters here have obviously disliked Nagin for some time. Nobody's mentioned the school buses yet?

NOLA was never Dark Chocolate--maybe Milk Chocolate is a better description. With a few nuts in the mix?

[Lorien]

90. *sigh* I really wish we could put this superstitious nonsense behind us.

It doesn't matter who uses it- it isn't helping.

[onager]

92. A-(theist)-men!

As one of my favorite movie lines sez...

"When all the other bullshit fails, they drag out the God bullshit." (Howard Beale in "Network.")

[Lorien]

99. Lol! n/t

[Barrett808]

93. Vengeful deity, or global climate change?

Of course, climate change is completely self-inflicted, so I guess that's off the table.

[Generator]

94. God hates everybody

How dumb do you have to be? I suppose Nagin hasn't heard of the Congo,oror Aids in Africa..and what about..the Guatamalans..they were covered in mud and near destroyed back in 1998. And what about Pakistan..or that little Tsunami that killed so many Asians.

If you want to blame God be sure to blame him for everything. God's busy killing all that he can, surely..it's not just gasp..Americans. I hate this myopic religious crap. Please..can we take God out of politics and have people take reponsiblity for what they are responsible for and let the "why" be left a mystery. Because GOD is not elected. I'm I the only one tired of leaders bringing up the GOD? What about the mayor's part? The governor? The president? The FEMA director? You can't fire GOD. Maybe if we just fire anyone that brings up GOD, it would be a start. Do your damn job and leave GOD out of it.

[Moondog]

95. Let's face it

he's become an embarassment.

[Zhade]

96. What nonsense!

As if he ~ or anyone ~ could know the alleged emotional state of a supernatural being that's never been proven to exist.

[Rocknrule]

101. So this guy is saying God hates black people?

[cboy4]

102. With comments like that about God....

maybe Nagin has a future with Robertson's disgusting 700 Club TV program....

Oh wait, Robertson surely doesn't like black people....never mind. :evilfrown: