Laying Blame

While many are blaming the federal government for much of what went wrong after Hurricane Katrina, at least some are faulting local leadership. Mounting evidence is showing that the Mayor of New Orleans failed to inact his own disaster plans:

"Mayor Nagin has blamed everyone else except himself," said the Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, founder and president of the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny. "The mayor failed in his duty to evacuate and protect the people of New Orleans. ... The truth is, black people died not because of President Bush or racism, they died because of their unhealthy dependence on the government and the incompetence of Mayor Ray Nagin and Governor Kathleen Blanco," he said.