Brokeback Levees, Gods & Monsters, and The Producers

Tonite is the Golden Globes Award, and I couldn't help myself with the headline once I came across Whiplash Nagin's latest nonsensical ravings.

Why, oh why, does Mayor Whiplash Nagin continue to be denied an award for being a dumbass? Or an Oscar for stupidity? He went ahead and said that God was mad at the US for our actions in Iraq and . Umm, is that so? Maybe He was mad at that subset of folks in New Orleans? Or, God was being more subtle and screwing over Republicans who will have to pay for the rebuilding. Or, in a much more likely scenario - God had absolutely, positively nothing to do with what happened.

Did God have anything to do with the Mayor Nagin Memorial Motor Pool? Or the inability to properly design, construct, and maintain the extensive levee system that failed under a situation that was well within its supposed design maximums?

And why doesn't the media slam Nagin for these stupid comments at a time when they've gone out of their way to excoriate Pat Robertson for doing the same (claiming that Sharon's stroke was punishment for giving up parts of Israel, Katrina comments).

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.

Or maybe Nagin would much prefer New Orleans being a 'chocolate city'?

For this, Mayor Whiplash Nagin should win the Knucklehead of the Day award from The Florida Masochist.

Elsewhere, developers are looking inland to build apartment complexes, which are crucial to attracting workers back to devastated communities.

Cliff Bates, director of acquisition for Park Development, the largest multifamily housing developer in the state, is asking D'Iberville to rezone 15 acres for a 160-unit complex. The company is also building a 204-unit complex on Broad Avenue in Gulfport just south of the Seabee Base.

The Gulfport units will start at $425 and go up to $605 for a three-bedroom apartment.

Hurricane relief laws passed by Congress include tax credits for developers of affordable housing.

"We will use tax credits to assist in the financing," Bates said. "That's what allows us to rent the property for extremely low rates."

Slidell, LA is increasing reinspection fees. A FEMA subcontractor was arrested for looting in Slidell. It was the best of humanity, it was the worst of humanity. Waveland continues to need assistance - and will need assistance for the foreseeable future. And even more than four months after Katrina made landfall, some people are first beginning to contemplate the amount of damage. It's big news when the third restaurant in Waveland reopens for business. And the owners are among the lucky ones despite not having flood insurance:

Whether unlucky or unwise, the Brookses' plight is shared by thousands of others along the coast whose homes and businesses were well outside federally defined flood zones. Flood coverage is mandatory for those buildings considered to be at greatest risk - those in category A flood zones - but not for others.

Tommy, with more than 30 years in the insurance business and about a decade of experience in dealing with coastal mortgages, never thought he'd need flood coverage. All of his properties are in category C zones, defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as being at the lowest risk.

Flood maps are being completely redrawn in the aftermath of Katrina, but that is small comfort to those who believed they were safe.

"We're not in a flood zone," Tommy explained. "At least, we weren't before."

That means there will be almost no insurance money to help the family get back on its feet, unless Congress eventually steps in and allows federal flood coverage to be purchased retroactively.

Posted to: Jo's Cafe, Bloggin' Outloud, bRight and Early, Choose Life, Right Wing Nation, and Third World Nation.

UPDATE:
LauraW at Ace of Spades catches Nagin's comments and notes the significance of them on MLK day.

UPDATE:
The Political Teen has the Nagin video.

UPDATE:
More folks are picking up the story, including Lashawn Barber, Michelle Malkin, Right Winged, [updated as necessary.]