- Brandon Darby of Austin, Texas, had only one thing in
mind when Hurricane Katrina hit.
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- He had to rescue his best buddy, Robert King Wilkerson,
as he was trapped and dying in the attic of his New Orleans home.
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- The race to save Wilkerson's life started in Texas with
a frenetic, high-speed life and death drive, ending with Darby up to his
neck in scummy New Orleans water and resisting arrest from uncooperative
federal authorities.
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- And after authorities arrogantly refused to go after
Wilkerson or let Darby go it alone, he jumped out of the Army Ranger jet
boat, defying the law and forcing them into action.
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- Let there be no doubt or the slightest question Darby
saved his friend's life with his heroic, in your face stand-off with cops
and FBI agents. And it was Darby who refused to take no for an answer,
which finally led to officials getting off their "fat behinds"
to pull Wilkerson out of his home.
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- Wilkerson, an aging Black man who had already spent 29
years in maximum security prison for a crime he didn't commit, lasted 11
long hard days without much food and water before Darby's efforts finally
got him pulled out of the high waters that flooded his home.
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- "I knew I had to save King's life and I wasn't going
to let federal authorities or the New Orleans Police force stop me,"
said Darby, who has now left his Austin, Texas, business behind to stay
permanently in the Crescent City to help others in need.
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- "I couldn't leave when I saw the misery and I saw
how many people really needed help. We formed a group called "Common
Ground Relief" of all political ideologies to help people save their
property from government programs designed to take it away illegally."
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- And so after saving Wilkerson, the articulate activist
immediately went to work helping others, filling a need left by FEMA and
its programs filled with red tape and basically designed to keep the poor
from returning home while helping the rich get on with New Orleans high
society life.
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- "You have to say these programs are designed to
racially cleanse the city," said Darby who appeared this week on Greg
Szymanski's radio show, The Investigative Journal on the Republic Broadcasting
Network at www.rbnlive.com. "I see it firsthand every day and the
media is just ignoring what is really happening here.
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- "Simply, the city, state and federal government
are using their illegal imminent domain powers to take away personal property.
There are 14,000 homes in the 9 th Ward ready to be bulldozed and most
of the people have been systematically kept away from the city and don't
even know what's going on.
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- Darby said after assessing many of the thousands of homes
in the 9th Ward and other poorer neighborhoods, it is his opinion and the
opinion of many others that most of the homes are in good enough shape
to be repaired, not demolished.
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- "The media is not telling this side of the story
as they all are working together, including New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin
and others all the way up to the White House, who are intent on
paving the way with billions of dollars of redevelopment money to first
level the homes and then replace them with casinos, hotels and other expensive
type housing," said Darby.
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- Darby added that Mayor Nagin has been "his worst
nightmare" since he has not only catering to rich developers but also
allowing federal agencies on the front lines to keep utilities purposely
turned off in the poorer neighborhoods, discouraging people from going
home.
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- "Think about it. Whole neighborhoods in the 9th
Ward and elsewhere completely empty even though the houses can be repaired
with a little hard work and effort," added Darby, who has been busy
in the last four months gutting homes with other private relief workers
in order to get people back in their homes.
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- "We have to get the word out to everyone across
the country about exactly what is going on here. The government is lying
and telling people to stay away in order to take their property out from
under them. It's criminal, unconstitutional and we have filed a lawsuit
trying to block the bulldozing which is starting as we speak."
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- And the sinister nature of this complete government rip-off
is not being played out the evening news, but is being fought behind the
veil of secrecy, as Darby and his band freedom fighters today stood between
cranes and a man's house in the 9th Ward set for demolition.
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- "Our attorney who filed the lawsuit to block the
demolitions, received a 24 hour temporary restraining order to stop bulldozing
the homes," said Darby. "Guess what happens then? We get a phone
call this morning from a man who said the city was now using cranes instead
of bulldozers. What nonsense. So we rushed over to his 9 th Ward house,
stood between the crane and the house and stopped the demolition.
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- "At least we stopped it for the time being as I
think we will have to do the same thing tomorrow if they return. We are
down here to help the thousands of people who need it and who have been
deceived by the government intent on taking their property, making way
for the rich developers to make millions. For example, I know this for
a fact, they are offering people in far away places like Minnesota or Alaska
$5,000 for their house, saying it's worthless when, in fact, it's in good
condition. Worth much more and can be repaired."
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- And the real tragedy behind what happened before, during
and after Katrina is that the tragic scene as it is playing out now catches
the feds, state and local authorities red-handed at a systematic racial
cleaning and land grab program of enormous proportions.
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- Before Katrina, Mayor Nagin was given more than $17 million
after Hurricane Ivan hit, to put together an evacuation plan to get the
poor out of the city quickly if another hurricane hit.
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- But instead of using the money wisely, no evacuation
plan was ever created, according to Darby's research, as thousands of poor
unable to get out were left to die during Katrina in the same manner that
occurred a year earlier when Ivan struck.
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- "What did he do with the money? I have problems
with that as I was here during Ivan and nothing changed when Katrina hit,"
said Darby. "After being left to die in their homes, they were left
to die at the Superdome and the Convention Center, left with no water and
food like animals.
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- "Then after that thousands of families were separated
and sent to hundreds of different faraway places. Ask yourself why? Isn't
it easier to bulldoze away houses when no one is around. That's why.
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- "But we must put up a fight and that's why I am
appealing to everybody listening not to let this happen as If we let them
take our fellow brothers' property here in New Orleans, the government
will do it all over the country. It's a land grab, pure and simple, an
illegal land grab designed to steal property and change the complexion
of this wonderful city."
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- Darby said the problems surfacing in New Orleans go very
deep, but that he has decided he's "in it for the long haul"
no matter what happens, making a last stand against the government land
grab.
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- "I have leased a home in one the areas scheduled
to be demolished and they are not forcing me to leave," said Darby,
adding he's hoping his story gets out to the people since the mainstream
media is on the side of the rich developers.
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- "If you read these words, send this story all across
America as we need all the help we can get. Political and ideological differences
shouldn't stand in the way of helping all these people.
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- "Think about it. If it can happen to the good folks
of New Orleans, it can happen to you next!"
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- Editor's Note: If you want to lend a helping hand
to Darby and his cause, contact the Arctic Beacon at www.arcticbeacon.com.
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- For more informative articles, go to www.arcticbeacon.com.
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- Comment
- Robert
- 1-8-6
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- Regarding the story on the web site titled: New Orleans
Residents All Over The Country Should Be Put On Red Alert: The Neo Cons
Are Trying To Illegally Bulldoze Your Homes And Steal Your Property
Written by Greg Szymanski.
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- This headline is misleading. Had Szymanski checked things
out, he would have found that the Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin is a
liberal Democrat, so is the Governor, so is the officials of both the
mayors office and the Governors office. If you look further, you will find
that is is liberal Democrat Ray Nagin that is the one promoting and wants
the destruction of homes in New Orleans for whatever the reasons. In essence
the headline should say something to the effect of Residents of New Orleans,
YOUR Mayor and YOUR Governor (both Democrats) are the ones pushing for
the destruction of YOUR homes. Personally I am not thrilled by the so called
Neocons. I am surprised that people don't want to admit that dirty little
secret, that its a liberal Democrat (from the same party who claims to
be concerned about the down trodden and the poor) who is promoting the
destruction of peoples homes in New Orleans.
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- Cheers,
Robert
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