Free Republic

The Roots of Corruption: Part 3 -- Lowering the Bar Until the early 1980s, the New Orleans Superintendent of Police was usually chosen by the mayor from the ranks of the Old Guard. By the middle of the decade, however, the ranks of the Old Guard were thinning out through retirement and attrition. Many of them were leaving for better paying jobs in the private sector or with the federal government. At the same time, the city's racial composition had begun changing radically. "White flight" to the outlying suburbs had given New Orleans a population that was 65% black. Black...

Sen. Mary Landrieu threatened the president of the United States with physical violence on Sunday, saying that if he or any other government official criticizes New Orleans police for failing to keep civil order in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina - "I might likely have to punch him - literally." "If one person criticizes [our sheriffs], or says one more thing, including the president of the United States, he will hear from me - one more word about it after this show airs and I - I might likely have to punch him - literally," Landrieu railed on "ABC's "This...