We have to hand it to New Orleans politicians — they really know how to put their feet in their mouths. First Mayor Ray Nagin came out with his infamous "chocolate city" remarks, and now some New Orleans City Council members have said they don't want the city's poorest residents to return unless they're willing to work. The report initially came from the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

"We don't need soap opera watchers right now," said New Orleans City Council President Oliver Thomas, during a housing committee meeting. "We're going to target the people who are going to work. It's not that I'm fed up, but that at some point there has to be a whole new level of motivation, and people have got to stop blaming the government for something they ought to do."

During that same meeting, according to the newspaper, officials with the Housing Authority of New Orleans shared their plans. Some residents who lived in public housing before the storm will be able to return. Future residents, however, will have to comply with new restrictions, including a series of questions about employment history and job prospects.

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Later in Monday's meeting, Thomas, who is black, reiterated that his remarks were intended for African-Americans.

"There's just been a lot of pampering, and at some point you have to say, 'No, no, no, no, no.' ... If our legs don't hurt, you can walk somewhere," he said. "I'm saying these things to motivate my people."

Wow. Where do we begin? Oh yeah — how about by reminding Thomas (and councilmembers Renee Gill Pratt and Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson, who agreed with him) that the rest of the country is hosting the people he deems worthless? It must be nice not to be able to turn away people who depend on social services. Clarkson made it clear in a later interview that the councilmembers' stance doesn't target the elderly or disabled who once lived in public housing in New Orleans: "But it is an indictment of those who can work, but don't work," she said.

If New Orleans feels like it has a problem with people who have become dependent on the dole, maybe city leaders should look at how to fix that problem — not take the opportunity to shove it off on other parts of the country. Otherwise, people might start to think that it's the members of the New Orleans City Council who really don't want to do any work.