Mitt, Big Government, and the Deeply Confused Deep (Red) South

People living on the Gulf Coast, especially Louisianians, should be the last ones complaining about big government programs.  D-SNAP, FEMA, NFIP, USACE, National Guard, Road Home Program, etc.  Need I say more?

No I don't.  But I will.

Many local Republicans decry the amount of federal dollars spent on those no-income-tax-paying leeches living off the government dole, those same leeches who Mitt believes will never support him.  What many local Republicans seem unable to recognize, or at least admit, is that they are those leeches.

Source: http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/politics/nonpayers.banner.taxfound.jpg

Such folks are either misled, uninformed, or disingenuous.  Either way, if they want the rest of us to start taking them seriously, Republican politicians and their local supporters need to walk their talk.  The ones living in St. John the Baptist, Plaquemines, and St. Tammany need to vote for enough new taxes to cover the full cost of the levees they want.

(Well OK, they don't have to hold that vote now.  We can wait until after they get out of the disaster food stamp line.)

Isaac Debris Picked Up?

Nope. Not yet. (taken 9/10/12)

Hurricane Isaac: A Post-Mortem Analysis

I was going to do a comparison/retrospective pre-storm post cleverly titled "Isaac Meet Gustav.  Gustav, Isaac" --  a flashback-flashforward piece, if you will, involving this post.  However, my detailed prep routine highlighted in that Gustav post prevented that.  

Folks getting their extra 2 inches of parking elevation pre-Isaac

Isaac, as irritating as he was, provided positive experiences I would not have otherwise had.  I learned that I have some very interesting neighbors.  Despite New Orleans' reputation for close-knit communities, I had never gotten to know these folks.  A lot of bonding can happen on a neighbor's front porch on the pitch black, windy, wet second night of a 'cane.  The cool Tulane college students who live next door and I finally had the opportunity to really hang out.  They even came over and made a delicious meal in my candlelit kitchen, complete with enthralling conversation that made me feel like a dope compared to their brilliance.  I, in return, provided some "radio action" during which Margaret Orr wowed them and, consequently, gained a new fan or two.  I experienced the kindness of my neighbor, about 7 or 8 years old, who swept the leaves off of my side of the porch in the heat of the morning without even being asked to.  

 

I learned that if you have older candles you haven't used in a while, you should make sure before the power goes out that the wicks aren't buried in the wax. 

I learned that my cat BoBo gets car sick. 

I learned that given the choice, I would pick air conditioning over cable TV, telephone service, and yes -- even Internet.

The bluish (some see more green, others more purple) glow given off by transformers in the pitch black darkness of a windstorm is eerily cool!

Tree down on Leake Av. - Wed., Aug. 29th, 2012

I learned that my what-to-cook-in-the-order-it-will-spoil-without-electricity strategy needs a great deal more refinement.

I learned that if it involves using the oven in an already sweltering house that I will most likely not cook it.  To hell with it spoiling!