Getting a little skeptical about Ray Nagin

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

hiphop

Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Joined
Apr 2, 2001
Messages
7,410
Location
in the jungle
What is this man about? Really. He seemed very sympathical and natural when he freaked out in the crisis.

Now I hear on my local news station that he wants New Orleans to be a second Las Vegas.

Excuse me Mr Nagin can you get more of an idiot maybe? Or you wanna lick the Mafia´s feet?

I visited both cities last summer and while Las Vegas is a shithole, full of oversized retarded cheap crap that tries to impress as if it was stylish, crap hotels and luxury no one needs, fake history without a grain of style, just pomp pomp, arrogance, waste everything like a shit

(while I think the rest of Nevada is ok, and nature is very impressive)

-New Orleans was the best city with the best mood in all the U.S.A.! The artists, the hipsters, the funky mood, the old buildings, the music, music, music, the freedom, the makesyoudance atmosphere,...

Please tell me this is NOT true.

Please Americans please avoid that. Make New Orleans a decent city where you can freak out again. Not a hellhole like Vegas.
 
Last edited:
and ps. I am not meaning to "hurt" anyone with that statement ok? Its just that

Vegas and New Orleans had a very very different mood.

Yes, both are about entertainment, but those of you know both cities can tell the difference, hello, in Vegas you can´t even survive when yo´ a pedestrian.

So please can you kick the butt of this man, throw him out of office and vote someone in who KNOWS what Orleans was about?
 
I think I will look for the email of this guy and tell him what an idiot he is.

A little more diplomatic though.
 
Last edited:
"What is this man about? Really. He seemed very sympathical and natural when he freaked out in the crisis."


I don't know, all I remember was that all the blame for the so-called slow response was on President Bush and the Feds.

Mayor Ray Nagin was.... where?

Now the Federal Goverment seeks the power to send federal troops/FEMA into states without the consent of local governments.


*just a Libertarian*
 
Last edited:
no one to be reached now, email doesnt work anyway. but i got a couple of phone numbers, including city hall of NO, new orleans TV station WWLTV or sth., and 3 tel. numbers of the Governors office.

So I will spread the word on Monday.


Yes folks I know you all think I am a little hotblooded but things like this REALLY make me angry.

Meanwhile, you can maybe tell me if my letter to Mr. Nagin is decent enough?


Dear Mayor Ray C. Nagin,

I am writing because I am concerned about the report of our local Austrian news service that says you want to make New Orleans to "a second Las Vegas".

I will try to stay as diplomatic as possible, please excuse me when I state my point in clear words.

I visited both cities last summer and while, with all due respect, Las Vegas is a hellhole, full of oversized retarded cheap crap that tries to impress as if it was stylish, stupid theme hotels and luxury no one needs, fake history without a grain of style, just pomp pomp, arrogance and wasting everything (you can not survive as a pedestrian in Vegas by the way),

New Orleans was the best city with the best mood in all the U.S.A.! The artists, the hipsters, the funky mood, the old buildings, the music, music, music, the freedom, the atmosphere, the people...

Mayor Nagin, before of the devastating hurricane, have you ever been to Frenchmen Street by night? Not Bourbon, no, Frenchmen. The best artists of the world played there, I also had the honor to play the Blues there.

Have you ever been to the tomb of Marie Laveaux?
Did you ever breathe in the rich history of Congo Square?
Have you ever visited the tough, but beautiful outer districts of New Orleans, where one is requested to say "yo whats up" to everyone passing, and everyone treats you with respect anyway?
Have you ever sat in BJs ballroom at Lesseps/ Burgundy and talked to Little Freddie Kings harmonica player?
What about New Orleans´ rich history? Its churches?

Since you are the Mayor of this city, I do expect you know your old New Orleans.

I´ll tell you what, that´s all things you will never ever find in Las Vegas.

Please tell me you did not mean that serious. Please rebuild New Orleans to be the cultural heritage of the U.S.A. like it once was, with so many influences of so many different ethnic groups. Frankly, you don´t have many cities in the U.S. that have the style and grace of New Orleans.

I know Katrina was a catastrophe. I know you need economy back. I know you want to rebuild it.

Please, Mayor Nagin, I am asking you with the voice of so many international visitors who loved and adored your city for what it once was: please do not attempt to make it into a second Las Vegas. Why should anyone visit New Orleans then? Artists and tourists loved this city for its unique atmosphere.

Make New Orleans a decent funky place like it was. Take your time. Ask for resources. All Jazz and Blues musicians in the world will thank you with all their heart if you are able to recreate this city, so make it a bustling place of innovation, creativity and art.

I am waiting for your reply on this.

Thank you for your time,
 
hiphop, you might want to start by trying to find out more about what exactly Mayor Nagin *meant* by that statement. Maybe you'll have to ask his office directly, or maybe you could find a story online that you could post for all of us to discuss. I wouldn't automatically assume he meant he wanted to emulate the ATMOSPHERE of Las Vegas. Perhaps he admires how its tourist economy ties into its tax base, or how efficiently it functions as a tourist destination, or how well it promotes itself as a tourist destination...I do not know.

Also, keep in mind that most of NO's pre-Katrina population will probably never return, that its ecologically perilous setting cannot be fully "fixed," and that these facts are going to bring irrevocable changes whether anyone likes it or not. You wouldn't want it to become some phony living museum that no one calls home, would you?
 
The mafia already had a lot of activity in NO and I believe slots were already there.
 
yolland said:
hiphop, you might want to start by trying to find out more about what exactly Mayor Nagin *meant* by that statement.

Ok sounds fair. Maybe it was just a statement for the media.
 
I share some of your concern, hiphop. The idea of New Orleans has (had?) a certain richness about it, of jazz and blues, a kind of oasis feel to it. That New Orleans was a place unto itself, a place like no other. And Vegas is Vegas, an artificial city, a series of theme parks, an illusion.

I haven't been to either city, but my impression towards New Orleans was warm and my impression towards Vegas was cold.

Will wait to see what the mayor meant by it. But I don't know if we'll ever have New Orleans back again.
 
There's always been a ton of corruption in New Orleans and Louisiana politics in general. Someone told me that the company that built the levees is full of crooks. Now they're trying to raise money to rebuild the city, and the guy wants to build casinos. I think you can already gamble in the Big Easy.
 
I think it would be a mistake to try and recreate New Orleans brick by brick the way it was prior to Hurricane Katrina. It will take some mental adjustment, but I think they should start fresh and build a truly modern city fitting for the early 21st century. It should be our cultural gift to our future descendents, who will someday develop sentimental attachments of their own to "new" New Orleans. "Old" New Orleans, for better or for worse, is dead.

Melon
 
I agree, they can't rebuild the old New Orleans. It'll be a new city. I'm looking forward to visiting it again when they're through rebuilding. I have to say I'm very pleased that St. Louis Cathedral made it through the storm intact. It's a beautiful building and an important part of the French Quarter.
 
Back
Top Bottom