PoliticsLA -- The Latest News and Views on Politics in Louisiana

Wednesday, 25 August 2010

After Katrina, N.O. Police Told to Shoot Looters

In the frantic days after Hurricane Katrina, a command circulated among New Orleans police authorizing officers to shoot looters, according to present and former members of the department. It's not apparent how widely the order was communicated. The accounts of orders to "shoot looters," "take back the city," or "do what you have to do" are fragmentary. It remains unclear who originated them or whether they were heard by any of the officers involved in shooting 11 civilians in the days after Katrina.

New Orleans Needs Five More Years To Recover Says Landrieu

Five years after Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans, the city's mayor said Thursday that its recovery will take at least another five years. Katrina and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico brought the Louisiana coast "to its knees," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu (D) told those attending a luncheon at the National Press Club. The city's transformation will be slow and dependent on resources, but Landrieu said there will be more immediate transformation in the city's safety, schools and job market.

Mayor Ray Nagin Talks About Life After City Hall -- Will He Be a Paid Disaster-Recovery Consultant?

As time runs out on the administration of Mayor Ray Nagin, he sat down to talk about life after being Mayor of New Orleans for eight years. Nagin is reportedly considering work as a paid disaster-recovery consultant, and talks about corruption in his administration, the embattled New Orleans Police Department and his inability to win political support for his initiatives. Read what he thinks about this and more and see photos and video at the link.

The Pelican Republic debuts as a compilation of diverse viewpoints from different places and ideologies. You may find that The Boiling Frog frets over societal values while The Purple Veil delves into personalities; Politique Deux Centimes digs around Acadiana while Anonymous Rex keeps Louisiana in the DC picture and The Lively Pelican weighs in with more blabber from the Crescent City region.

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BIO Written by The Boiling Frog
"NOBODY HAS EVER DENIED THAT NEW ORLEANS IS A VIOLENT TOWN. IT IS. THERE IS NO QUESTION ABOUT IT." Mayor Mitch Landrieu

Come on Man! The New Orleans Times Picayune called it tough talk from the Mayor but is sounds like suspended reality for everyone who finds…

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BIO Written by The Boiling Frog
WAR, UHH, WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

I read a really disappointing USA TODAY front page story, "A Decade of War," that missed the point that we have been at war for…

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BIO Written by The Boiling Frog
BANDITS OF A BAD ECONOMY

As we share compassion for our fellow man being mugged in a bad economy, save your tears for one profession cashing in at the bank…

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BIO Written by Man on the Street
Is the Debt Limit the Real Issue?

In observing the fight over the national debt limit (which I am not convinced is such a big deal), my feelings about the political process…

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BIO Written by Politique Deux Centimes
The Killer Bill - Making It Legal

THE KILLER BILL....MAKING IT LEGAL In which Louisiana parish were the lives of two innocent, bright siblings with brilliant futures destroyed in an accident…

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BIO Written by Man on the Street
Family Forum: Bad for Louisiana

I believe the biggest danger of organized religion is that it can be used as a tool of hatred. Radical Muslim ideology uses the Koran…

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BIO Written by The Purple Veil
Who Killed the LA Democratic Party?

The Louisiana Democratic Party is dead. Let’s don’t waste time arguing that point. Let’s just admit it and talk about the mystery of how it happened. After all,…

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BIO Written by Politique Deux Centimes
A Real Race

Well isn’t this just becoming a rare event: A Louisiana State Senate race between only one well-educated Democrat and only one well-educated Republican…

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BIO Written by The Boiling Frog
DEMOCRACY’S DEMOLITION DERBY

From film's celluloid closet, the often spoofed scene where windows are thrown open and common folk scream, "I'm mad as he'll and I'm not gonna…

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BIO Written by The Lively Pelican
Finally Some Good News for New Orleans

New Orleanians are very happy with their new mayor and city council. Very happy.For a while, Mayor Mitch Landrieu looked a little star-crossed. First, his…

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