Comments on: wow, just….wow http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/ Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:09:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Anna http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/comment-page-1/#comment-13527 Anna Tue, 04 Sep 2007 00:43:00 +0000 http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/#comment-13527 A couple of years ago I wouldn't have believed it, but now... and with our government, I wouldn't be surprised. You should take a look at this article: <a href="http://www.gregpalast.com/hurricane-georgehow-the-white-house-drowned-new-orleans/" rel="nofollow">http://www.gregpalast.com/hurricane-georgehow-the-white-house-drowned-new-orleans/</a> It's by Greg Palast also. Made me sick when I read it because it made me realize that I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be true and that if it is many people died for no reason at all. A couple of years ago I wouldn’t have believed it, but now… and with our government, I wouldn’t be surprised. You should take a look at this article:

http://www.gregpalast.com/hurricane-georgehow-the-white-house-drowned-new-orleans/

It’s by Greg Palast also. Made me sick when I read it because it made me realize that I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be true and that if it is many people died for no reason at all.

]]> By: Brian B http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/comment-page-1/#comment-13526 Brian B Sat, 01 Sep 2007 02:40:33 +0000 http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/#comment-13526 When I had dreams about being the Mayor of New Orleans, one of my top priorities was to tear down that project and revitalize the old Krauss Building and make it a media outlet. Have a studio and market it to the local television stations, like WWL, so they can be right in the mix of things. Have it look, in some ways, like the Today show. And move all of those bus stops to a place under I-10, similar to what the West Bank has. "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country," was all fine and dandy til Katrina. But, the mentality of the "ghetto" is instilled in people's minds. The gubment is the owner and may do with it whatever they please with those luxury condos. If they offer you another place, better than what you had, but in a different location - why not shut your mouth and go! If your sense of home was tied to someone else's property, then you need help or a reality check. I don't think this is a race issue; It's more of a class issue. The Lafitte, the B.W. Cooper, and the Melpomene projects were littered with crime and less than a mile away from downtown. The criminal element would effectively "go to work" and travel to the French Quarter, the New Orleans Center with Macy's, and Canal St and disappear and retire into their home base after a killing, raping, stabbing, etc... Move those 3 gubment owned dwellings, and watch New Orleans come alive!! My solution for the poor people: Instead of the government spending money to rebuild garbage, spend that money on teaching those same people about home ownership. When people have a vested interest and a financial one, they tend to care about people hanging on the corner; they report crimes more often, the take pride in their neighborhood because it affects their resale value. "Feed a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime." Sorry for my long rant. When I had dreams about being the Mayor of New Orleans, one of my top priorities was to tear down that project and revitalize the old Krauss Building and make it a media outlet. Have a studio and market it to the local television stations, like WWL, so they can be right in the mix of things. Have it look, in some ways, like the Today show. And move all of those bus stops to a place under I-10, similar to what the West Bank has.

“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” was all fine and dandy til Katrina. But, the mentality of the “ghetto” is instilled in people’s minds. The gubment is the owner and may do with it whatever they please with those luxury condos. If they offer you another place, better than what you had, but in a different location – why not shut your mouth and go! If your sense of home was tied to someone else’s property, then you need help or a reality check.

I don’t think this is a race issue; It’s more of a class issue. The Lafitte, the B.W. Cooper, and the Melpomene projects were littered with crime and less than a mile away from downtown. The criminal element would effectively “go to work” and travel to the French Quarter, the New Orleans Center with Macy’s, and Canal St and disappear and retire into their home base after a killing, raping, stabbing, etc… Move those 3 gubment owned dwellings, and watch New Orleans come alive!!

My solution for the poor people: Instead of the government spending money to rebuild garbage, spend that money on teaching those same people about home ownership. When people have a vested interest and a financial one, they tend to care about people hanging on the corner; they report crimes more often, the take pride in their neighborhood because it affects their resale value. “Feed a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.”

Sorry for my long rant.

]]> By: El Stevo http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/comment-page-1/#comment-13525 El Stevo Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:44:47 +0000 http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/#comment-13525 "beautiful townhouses, with wrought-iron porches and gardens right next to the tony French Quarter." Oh myh, yes, they are SO beautiful and wonderful the projects. I want a beautiful townhouse too. “beautiful townhouses, with wrought-iron porches and gardens right next to the tony French Quarter.”

Oh myh, yes, they are SO beautiful and wonderful the projects. I want a beautiful townhouse too.

]]> By: El Stevo http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/comment-page-1/#comment-13524 El Stevo Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:44:46 +0000 http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/#comment-13524 "beautiful townhouses, with wrought-iron porches and gardens right next to the tony French Quarter." Oh myh, yes, they are SO beautiful and wonderful the projects. I want a beautiful townhouse too. “beautiful townhouses, with wrought-iron porches and gardens right next to the tony French Quarter.”

Oh myh, yes, they are SO beautiful and wonderful the projects. I want a beautiful townhouse too.

]]> By: El Stevo http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/comment-page-1/#comment-13523 El Stevo Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:44:38 +0000 http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/#comment-13523 "beautiful townhouses, with wrought-iron porches and gardens right next to the tony French Quarter." Oh myh, yes, they are SO beautiful and wonderful the projects. I want a beautiful townhouse too. “beautiful townhouses, with wrought-iron porches and gardens right next to the tony French Quarter.”

Oh myh, yes, they are SO beautiful and wonderful the projects. I want a beautiful townhouse too.

]]> By: jack Ware http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/comment-page-1/#comment-13522 jack Ware Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:44:31 +0000 http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/#comment-13522 In the case of Lafitte, which is practically adjacent to the Quarter, I always thought that was a strange location for a project for several reasons. The land has to be some of the most valuable land in Orleans Parish, It's proximity to the main tourist revenue stream allows for the criminal element, sometimes found in housing projects, to have easy access to cash from a transient group, or even better, the possibility of tourists wandering into the project to be victimized. On the other hand, I'm sure quite a few people that work in the Quarter live there which makes it a perfect place to house the necessary work force to keep the quarter rolling. Mixed income!! I'm a big fan. I think its the best answer we've got right now. It just takes time but its better in the long run. In the case of Lafitte, which is practically adjacent to the Quarter, I always thought that was a strange location for a project for several reasons. The land has to be some of the most valuable land in Orleans Parish, It’s proximity to the main tourist revenue stream allows for the criminal element, sometimes found in housing projects, to have easy access to cash from a transient group, or even better, the possibility of tourists wandering into the project to be victimized.

On the other hand, I’m sure quite a few people that work in the Quarter live there which makes it a perfect place to house the necessary work force to keep the quarter rolling.

Mixed income!! I’m a big fan. I think its the best answer we’ve got right now. It just takes time but its better in the long run.

]]> By: Robert Sutton http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/comment-page-1/#comment-13521 Robert Sutton Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:42:30 +0000 http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/#comment-13521 Sorry Jack, I couldn't read past this line: "But unlike the cinder block monsters in the Bronx, these public units are beautiful townhouses" Sorry Jack, I couldn’t read past this line: “But unlike the cinder block monsters in the Bronx, these public units are beautiful townhouses”

]]> By: Chris http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/comment-page-1/#comment-13520 Chris Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:35:17 +0000 http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/#comment-13520 I still think the real failure is that the government allowed some of these 'victims' to live in public housing for most of their lives. I am by no means a hardcore anti-welfare guy but the goal of any such government program should be to rehabilitate the poor and give them an opportunity to succeed, not to foster poverty and allow people to become dependent. I do see the closing of the projects as a harsh move that has not been handled well, but to return to the pre-k management of public housing would be equally disasterous. I still think the real failure is that the government allowed some of these ‘victims’ to live in public housing for most of their lives. I am by no means a hardcore anti-welfare guy but the goal of any such government program should be to rehabilitate the poor and give them an opportunity to succeed, not to foster poverty and allow people to become dependent. I do see the closing of the projects as a harsh move that has not been handled well, but to return to the pre-k management of public housing would be equally disasterous.

]]> By: Dan F http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/comment-page-1/#comment-13519 Dan F Fri, 31 Aug 2007 13:25:08 +0000 http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/#comment-13519 It's really about conspiring to keep people out of the projects. I just don't think the gubberment could have secret meetings to conspire to keep people out. While it's true the peeps at HUD attempted to shut them down for repairs/renovation, the activists got them to bow down rather quickly. Those 400 units are available to anyone who resided in a housing unit before the storm. The main issue has been some folks not wanting to leave their previous complex. I think the majority of folks think that if something is being offered to assist, then beggars can't really be choosers. finally, incompetence does not equal conspiracy. It’s really about conspiring to keep people out of the projects. I just don’t think the gubberment could have secret meetings to conspire to keep people out. While it’s true the peeps at HUD attempted to shut them down for repairs/renovation, the activists got them to bow down rather quickly.

Those 400 units are available to anyone who resided in a housing unit before the storm. The main issue has been some folks not wanting to leave their previous complex.

I think the majority of folks think that if something is being offered to assist, then beggars can’t really be choosers.

finally, incompetence does not equal conspiracy.

]]> By: jack Ware http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/comment-page-1/#comment-13518 jack Ware Fri, 31 Aug 2007 02:28:33 +0000 http://neworleans.metblogs.com/2007/08/30/wow-justwow/#comment-13518 Maybe Conspiracy theory is the wrong word...I dunno. I've never been very good with words. It certainly is economic. But economic decisions by the government doesn't make for a very sympathetic victim - at least as not sympathetic as framing the situation in racial terms implying a civil liberties issue. It also strikes me odd every time someone talks about "My Home". In fact it angers me to some degree. But home is a sort of an abstract term. So technically, you have to allow it. To do otherwise implies that poor people aren't entitled to a sense of home, which they certainly are. But legally speaking, there's no good footing for them as far as I know. And I don't believe the constitution makes accommodations for the right to a home. If it did (or does) then it begs the question of what sort of protections are mandated for the roughly 2 million people that are going to lose their homes to foreclosure in the next few years as the housing bubble bursts. And these are people who legally purchased a home, albeit through risky, non-standard loans. Also, as of today's paper there are approximately 400 available, unoccupied public housing units in the city. Just not the specific units the people in the article are so eager to get into. Seems to me, if you're going to live on government assistance then you can only be just so specific in what kind of assistance you get. The other option is to somehow pull yourself out of poverty, but even then, you're restricted by economics. I would love to live it a half million dollar condo in the Quarter but economics makes that an unachievable goal for me and as such, I live in the Shanty. So I can relate to the frustration of not being able to live exactly where you want, but we all deal with that. Maybe Conspiracy theory is the wrong word…I dunno. I’ve never been very good with words.

It certainly is economic. But economic decisions by the government doesn’t make for a very sympathetic victim – at least as not sympathetic as framing the situation in racial terms implying a civil liberties issue.

It also strikes me odd every time someone talks about “My Home”. In fact it angers me to some degree. But home is a sort of an abstract term. So technically, you have to allow it. To do otherwise implies that poor people aren’t entitled to a sense of home, which they certainly are. But legally speaking, there’s no good footing for them as far as I know.

And I don’t believe the constitution makes accommodations for the right to a home. If it did (or does) then it begs the question of what sort of protections are mandated for the roughly 2 million people that are going to lose their homes to foreclosure in the next few years as the housing bubble bursts. And these are people who legally purchased a home, albeit through risky, non-standard loans.

Also, as of today’s paper there are approximately 400 available, unoccupied public housing units in the city. Just not the specific units the people in the article are so eager to get into.

Seems to me, if you’re going to live on government assistance then you can only be just so specific in what kind of assistance you get. The other option is to somehow pull yourself out of poverty, but even then, you’re restricted by economics. I would love to live it a half million dollar condo in the Quarter but economics makes that an unachievable goal for me and as such, I live in the Shanty. So I can relate to the frustration of not being able to live exactly where you want, but we all deal with that.

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