Jesse Jackson busload of workers includes few New Orleanians

WWL TV ^ | Tuesday, October 11, 2005 | WWL TV

[chemicalman]

Reverend Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition brought about 200 people to town Tuesday to find jobs reconstructing New Orleans, but most of those talked to by Eyewitness News were not displaced residents.

Jackson organized the bus tour, which began in Chicago Monday, as an attempt to bring displaced residents back to participate in the rebuilding of the city. When pressed as to how many of the job seekers were from the New Orleans area, Jackson said he didn’t know.

[maggief]

http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/101205/new_seekers001.shtml

Jackson's buses bring job seekers to N.O.
By JOE GYAN JR.

New Orleans bureau

METAIRIE -- As promised, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and members of his Rainbow PUSH Coalition rolled into town Tuesday on five buses carrying Hurricane Katrina evacuees from New Orleans who were eager to find a place to live and work.

But reporters who converged on a Piccadilly restaurant in Metairie to interview the returning residents were surprised to find that some of them were not even from Louisiana, and still others were not hurricane evacuees. Some of them were from Memphis, Tenn., and Chicago.

(snip)

[i_dont_chat]

I've said all along that Jesse probably can't find 20 people who left New Orleans who will be willing to return to work on the recovery.

Seems I am correct. According to news reports, Jesse is having to fill his "bus" with the underemployed from other cities, most of them Mexicans.

[Eagle9]

CommercialAppeal.com - Memphis
'The right to return'

Job-seekers, not Jackson's message, may fill bus

By Kevin McKenzie
Contact
October 10, 2005

Giving New Orleans evacuees first priority in getting jobs, job training and contracts as the city rebuilds is the message Jesse Jackson's Operation Rainbow/PUSH Coalition wants to send with a bus caravan bound from Chicago through Memphis to the Big Easy.

However, as the caravan leaves Memphis this morning, the message will be a bit more mixed because not only hurricane evacuees will be aboard.

With empty seats on the buses arriving in Memphis, Jackson opened up the invitation for a ride to anyone looking for work.

By the time Jackson finished a press conference at the National Civil Rights Museum with a prayer, about 50 people from Memphis had signed up to join the bus ride.

[snip]

Matthew Craig/The Commercial Appeal

Jackson held a press conference Monday at the
National Civil Rights Museum on his way to New Orleans
with two busloads of Hurricane Katrina evacuees. He
opened up the caravan to job-seekers in general.

[Bob Buchholz]

This doesn't exactly match the story as reported by Brit Hume yesterday. He said that on one bus there were only three people and two of them could only speak Spanish. I prefer Brit's version.

[chemicalman]

The folks that Jessie was supposed to pick up that were from NO are still on their 2000+ dollar vacation courtesy of FEMA.

[stylin19a]

can 200 people fit on one bus ?

[stylin19a]

article said one bus...another article said 5 buses....nevermind

[caryatid]

All that big talk about bringing them back to "their" city to get jobs. All I can say Jesse is "embarassin'"

It's not about New Orleans or New Orleanians ... it's all about Jesse. He is desperate for attention and full of his own self-importance. It brings to mind a scene from one of the wonderful Rex Stout Nero Wolfe books [The Mother Hunt] where a character says something like: "Well, if it is not about me ... I am just not interested".

That fits Jesse Jackson to a "T". He is yesterday's/yesteryear's news.

[WasDougsLamb]

I know. You are right. It was just all this hype about him doing this. And it didn't turn out the way he wanted. You have to laugh at this fool.

Have a great day,
Lauranne

[WasDougsLamb]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/evacueesshungoinghome

[Sometimes A River]

Why would New Orleanians want to work when they're getting debit cards, free housing, food, etc?

[pepsionice]

I watched about two minutes of Jesse on-air there at CNN, and I can only think three things concerning the speech element shown. He might had a slight stroke and hasn't grasped that. He also might be showing his age finally and unable to quickly respond at the normal speed he used to. And finally, yes, he might have had a drink or two before the show....although I'd doubt that. There is no doubt that he wasn't the normal old Jesse.