Why Are We Buying What Donelon Is Selling?

Louisiana insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon explained last week on Angela Hill's radio show (at about minute 13:00) why our auto insurance is so high.  Auto insurance rates in Jefferson, Orleans, and a couple of other parishes are 40% higher than rates in the rest of the state because of a prolific "soft tissue" market, Mr. Donelon said.  That is, the proclivity of locals, aided by lawyers and doctors, towards seeking compensation for injuries resulting from auto accidents.  It pains me to agree with that characterization of the local citizenry.

It also leaves alot unexplained, in my opinion.  Seven years ago I paid about $74/mo. for a policy in Nashville with $100,000/$300,000 (100/300) limits and about $80/mo. for the same coverage in Chicago.  When I moved back to New Orleans, I had to slash my coverage limits to 50/100 just to barely afford auto insurance here.  Turns out I couldn't even barely afford it.  I just plain could not afford it, not even if I doubled my deductible.

With each passing year, I tacked on 365 more days to my flawless driving record *knock on wood*.  Still, my premiums continued to rise despite my car and me both being six years older and my having aged into an (allegedly) cheaper rating class; and five years into my move back home, I had to drop my coverage to the 25/50 state minimum.  

Commissioner Donelon's explanation does not even come close to explaining why I and every Louisianian shell out 50% more money for about 1/5th of the coverage that we would get in other major cities.  The WDSU report that ran last evening seems to confirm my hunch that the prevalent "soft tissue" industry is not to blame for much of this disparity in auto insurance rates because it only accounts for approximately 10% of the increased premium.  That news story also makes very fuzzy links between a national rise in auto insurance fraud and cell-phone caused driver distraction, but Louisiana's ridiculously high insurance rates long pre-date either of those phenomena.  

Even if auto insurance fraud accounts for 40% of our premiums in metro N.O., that does not satisfactorily explain why it's 40% more for WAY less coverage.  I am, in fact, now paying 40% more than I paid in Chicago and Nashville, but shouldn't I be paying 40% more for 100/300 coverage instead of 40% more for shitty 25/50 coverage?  Maybe there is an actuarial table somewhere that that backs up Mr. Donelon's explanation, but until I see it, I ain't buying it.

Budgeting for Little Outcomes

The little things in life really are important, probably because those little things -- a child's smile or embrace, a joke told in passing by a friend that lifts your spirits on a shitty day -- eventually end up playing a big role in the quality of your life.

The same holds true for the little things that bring not joy but irritation, and eventually, high blood pressure if you're not careful.  Take light bulbs and dollar-store paint, for example. 

At 4:36PM yesterday during school zone hours, the school zone lights in front of KIPP Believe on S. Carrollton were not flashing, but I saw the speed camera flash on at least 5 different drivers who couldn't have been driving more than the regular posted speed limit of 30mph due to the volume of traffic at the time.  As was the case THREE MONTHS AGO when I reported this issue to my Councilwoman whose office then notified 311 and Dept. of Public Works Traffic Engineer Allen Yrle of the issue, the school zone lights were flashing on the opposite (lakebound) side of S. Carrollton, but not on the riverbound side.   New school year, same problem.  

Another little thing that bothers me in New Orleans are parking tickets, especially the ones for parking within however many feet ordained by city law from an intersection or crosswalk.  Now maybe it's just me hating on the meter maids for their amazing ability to eyeball distances with such pinpoint accuracy, but folks like me who were not blessed with that talent would appreciate a visible demarcation of the forbidden parking zones.  Every other city I've lived in has accomplished this through the modern miracle of painting white, sometimes yellow, lines on the pavement.  Yes, we are New Orleanians, and we pride ourselves on marching to the beat of a different drum; but maybe doing this one thing the way other modernized Western civilizations do it isn't so bad.  Just this once.  I SWEAR, just this ONE THING, and that's it.  And only temporarily, just until we come up with parking stripes more representative of our unique culture that have something to do with Mardi Gras Indians, or second lines, or the Saints or something.

It just so happens that we are once again upon that most wonderful time of year <*cue Johnny Mathis*> when the mayor requests citizen input regarding the next year's budget.   "Budgeting for outcomes," I believe he likes to call it.  Well, here's my advice, Mayor Landrieu: How about we start with budgeting for easily achievable, even cheap, outcomes like replacement bulbs for school zone signs and heavily discounted gallons of paint?  Nothing says RE-ELECT ME like a list of accomplishments!  Yes, even if it's just a list full of the little accomplishments. 

Not Even If It's Charity

I'm reading a book called Where We Know: New Orleans as Home. It was a gift from three creatively maladjusted friends, who also happen to be three of our great literary citizens: Sam, G Bitch, and MF.

An essay in the book written by Eve Troeh contains what is definitely the quote of the day. Troeh recalls the story told to her by a family rescued from the Superdome and bussed to Arkansas:

"God bless them I know they were trying to be nice, but you do not put hot dogs in gumbo, even if it's just charity."

Who Dat? U Ain't, Colts!!

For this gem, I give all credit to our wonderful young people at Lusher Charter School in New Orleans!
GEAUX SAINTS!!!!

Don't Lie, Jeff Crouere

This fetish that old school local white people have with blaming Moon Landrieu for the fall of New Orleans continues to fascinate me. It is both amusing and sad, and it lives on as displayed by a recent piece by Jeff Crouere.

"Since the beginning of the Moon Landrieu administration, the population of New Orleans has declined by approximately 300,000 people, going from over 600,000 in the early 70’s to just over 300,000 today."[Jeff Crouere, BayouBuzz.com, 1-22-2010]

A quick Google search yields numerous hits showing Census numbers which placed New Orleans' population at 627,525 in 1960 and 593,471 in 1970. The population began its decline before Moon Landrieu took office in 1970 and was already below 600,000 by then. Also, I wasn't even born yet, but I do know that urban decline was a national phenomenon during that time that can hardly be blamed on Moon Landrieu. In addition to New Orleans, a number of cities' populations peaked between 1950 and 1960 followed by a precipitous loss of people since then, among them: San Francisco, Oakland, Birmingham, Mobile, Hartford, New Haven, D.C., Augusta, Savannah, Chicago, Gary, Des Moines, Sioux City, Louisville, Baltimore, Boston...I think you get the point. Jeff Crouere, however, apparently does not.

Interesting Takes on the Jeff Parish Christmas Special

I thought the following nola.com comments on the gift exchange between Pres. Broussard and his appointees were interesting.

Angela...now that's a person who could blow this wide open !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by FauxU December 28, 2009, 12:53AM

$1352 paid by the tax payer/political contributor and he gets back $4775. He's more reasonable at controlling the cost to the taxpayer when it comes to rewarding himself. At least he doesn't waste $10,000 in tax payer money to get only a $1000 in his pocket. He should get the good government award.It might not be above the IRS limits, but it is above the monetary limits set by the state ethics board for receiving gifts.

Posted by mayormustgo December 27, 2009, 7:38AM

Whatever happened to everyone pitching in and buying a tie as a gift. This stinks. All tax free gifts to their bosses, with money from taxpayer paid salaries. The citizens of Jefferson actually paid for these gifts. This gets worse every day. I wonder if someone did not pay, would they get canned immediately, or have all the rights and the delays given to Whitmer. . Just remember all this as you write your property tax check, or you pay for the short yellow light you got caught at. Jim Letten, please stop this, everyone else in the state just ignores it.

Posted by leveeliar December 27, 2009, 8:32AM

Same thing is happening in Plaquemines, at will employees need some protection from these criminals...

Posted by plaqer December 27, 2009, 8:52AM

Can Aaron Broussard spend campaign money legally for holiday gifts for his employees? I don't think so! The U.S. Attorney should look at the Aaron Broussard President Campaign Committee (run by attorney David Sherman) and the Tim Coulon Campaign Committree (run by Tim Whitmer and Tom Wilkerson). These campaign committees are used to laundry money and avoid taxes.

Posted by crabstew December 27, 2009, 9:02AM

These are the same idiots that had no problem cutting from the budget, tenure pay that hourly employees receive at christmas time. To earn tenure pay you have to be with the parish two years, and from that point you would receive $25 for each year of service. This is given by check where TAXES are deducted. A ten year employee receives less than $200.

Posted by carlielynn December 27, 2009, 9:21AM

These corrupt idiots will force honest, hard working businessmen like me to jump into the political cesspool and straighten up our system. WE THE PEOPLE will have our day.

Posted by jimmylikesnola December 27, 2009, 9:59AM

I hope so, "jimmylikesnola." Just make sure you have friends standing nearby to fish you out when you get tired swimming, and sinking down into the cesspool with the rest of 'em starts to look like an attractive option.

The First Step to Recovery is Still...

[you guessed it!]
...Admitting You Have a Problem

As expected, I received some pushback from the previous post and would like to respond to the questions and criticism received. Most importantly, I mis-cited the report from which I drew the history of previous hurricane flooding in N.O. That info came from the Independent Levee Investigation Team (not IPET). I greatly appreciate Editilla of New Orleans Ladder for pointing out this huge error! Like the Corps engineers, I am also human and thus fallible.

Let me address the most significant criticisms.

There is no evidence, beyond unverified verbal accounts by Army Corps spokespersons, that local citizens "limited the scope of the first round of levees which failed so catastrophically" during Katrina.

I didn't speak to Army Corps spokespersons. This information, which is the extent of my evidence, was lifted directly from the ILIT report:

In 1960...the Corps plan opted to solve the drainage canal freeboard problem by installing tidal gates and pumps at the drainage canal outfalls along Lake Pontchartrain. This obviated the need for condemning all the homes built along the canal levees. The Corps soon found itself embroiled in a clash of cultures and goals with the levee districts, the S&WB, and the local citizenry, who flatly opposed the Corps' proposal.

...the Corps focus shifted to heightening the drainage canal levees using concrete walls, which was what the opposing groups desired. These walls were to be designed to withstand a Category 3 storm surge with 12 ft tides and 130 mph winds. (ILIT report, pp. 4-22 to 4-23)

We [Levees.org] stand by our assertion that allegations in a 3-page sworn affidavit by NOLA.com Founder Jon Donley thoroughly validate our suspicions of a deception campaign being waged by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The Corps shouldn't be posing as individuals spouting off deceiving and incorrect information in online comment forums, but individual Corps employees should be able to spout off their personal views via any forum they choose. In my opinion, the way this issue about the Nola.com comments is playing out makes Levees.org look like it doesn't know how to handle criticism.

We hope to see both our supporters and critics at Rising Tide IV where we will sponsor the Early Riser Breakfast.

I do support Levees.org, which is why I care if some of the things they say is questionable. Often, the most helpful criticism comes from those who want to support and stand behind you.

[note: comment courtesy of Editilla~]This ILIT study lays a lot of blame in many places, but the cause of 80% of the flooding of New Orleans 8/29/05 is still indisputably the Corps of Engineers failure to get it right the first time --NOT Katrina storm surge. The ILIT study pretty much devastates that misnomer.

Umm, have ya read the ILIT report? The hurricane, of which a defining element is storm surge, is the FIRST in ILIT's list of what caused our levees to fail:

In the end, it is concluded that many things went wrong with the New Orleans flood protection system during Hurricane Katrina, and the resulting catastrophe had its roots in three main causes: (1) a major natural disaster (the Hurricane itself), (2) the poor performance of the flood protection system, due to localized engineering failures, questionable judgments, errors, etc. involved in the detailed design, construction, operation and maintenance of the system, and (3) more global "organizational" and institutional problems associated with the governmental and local organizations responsible for the design, construction, operation, maintenance and funding of the overall flood protection system. (ILIT, p. xix)

There is a reason hurricane storm surges are measured, recorded, studied, and feared: because they matter. If storm surge were not a factor, then levees and floodwalls would not be built according to how much storm surge and wave overtopping they could handle. Just because our floodwalls failed with 7ft as opposed to 14ft of storm surge does not mean surge was not a factor.

I mean, really, where exactly do people think all that fucking water that the levees did not hold back came from?

[by Editilla~] Other perimeters of influence do not factor into the basic successful engineering of those flood walls and levees.

Basic successful engineering includes selection of types of structures as well as placement and maintenance of structures, both of which local government and citizens had some degree of control over:

The three drainage canals should not have been accessible to the storm surge. The USACE had tried for many years to obtain authorization to install floodgates at the north ends of the three drainage canals that could be closed to prevent storm surges from raising the water levels within the canals. That would have been the superior technical solution. Dysfunctional interaction between the local Levee Board (who were responsible for levees and floodwalls, etc.) and the local Water and Sewerage Board (who were responsible for pumping water from the city via the drainage canals) prevented the installation of these gates, however, and as a result many miles of the sides of these three canals had instead to be lined with levees and floodwalls. (ILIT, p. xxiii)

New Orleans officials were the ones who funded and built the outfall drainage canals despite being warned in the 1870's that they would direct storm surge right into the heart of the city, much like MRGO did. Until the 1950s, before the Corps became involved, it was the Orleans Levee Board who opted to raise these outfall canal levees again and again following each of the many overtoppings and breaches (listed in my previous post) that occurred during hurricanes. It was New Orleans officials who allowed homes to be built so close to those drainage canals, and once that occurred, do you really think the Corps faced any chance of constructing the wide, sturdy levees like the ones that have protected us from the Mississippi river since the 1850s? I understand that people don't want to have their homes torn down and forced to move. Hell, I wouldn't, but I also understand that we need to understand how we got to where we are today.

I'm not trying to reopen old wounds or rehash something that's been put to bed, like one person [i.e., Editilla~] insinuated about my motivations for writing my last post. This has been on my mind precisely because of the decisions we as New Orleanians are being asked to make once again and the coverage every Corps public meeting receives in the press. Also, my original post was not just about the Corps and floodwalls, it was about questioning the reluctance of our City Council to adopt higher elevations for rebuilding in a city that has been flooded 38 times -- THIRTY FRICKIN' EIGHT, people!! -- by Lake Pontchartrain. It was also about some people wanting to place pumps in City Park because they'd look too ugly by their lakefront houses, to hell with physical science and gravity and history which keep trying to tell us that that's just not a good idea no matter how you slice it. It was also about the continued lack of leadership in this City willing to face the hard truths and shepherd its citizens toward facing some tough truths when we need to. How can we expect the Corps and the feds to address their faults when we are insulted whenever asked to address our own community's faults?

By reading some of the dissenting comments, one would think I laid 100% of the blame at the foot of New Orleanians. I clearly said the Corps was to blame for the unacceptable design and failure of our flood protection, and I most certainly don't have a reputation of being a Corps sympathizer. What I would like to think I have a reputation for is pointing out facts, even the ugly ones; and the fact (unless the revered engineer and known Corps critic Robert Bea & his colleagues got it wrong in their ILIT report) is that many local officials and citizens prior to Katrina preferred the very system of outfall canals and floodwalls now in place. This does not mean we're stupid for living here. This does not mean the Corps did an excellent job of overseeing their design, maintenance, and construction because they didn't. It does not mean those walls didn't fail at half their design specifications. They did. It most certainly does not mean that people opting for the floodwalls should have seen the future and fully understood the implications of their decisions at that time. It just means what those words placed in that particular order are supposed to mean: that many people here preferred the Corps to build floodwalls instead of closing or reconfiguring the outfall canals, instead of the tidal gates and pumps at the mouth of the lake, and instead of giving up their homes.

So why even bring all this up? It's not an attempt to retell the Flood story in a manner that benefits the Corps, as one commenter [a.k.a. Editilla~] insinuated. It's an attempt to tell MORE of the story, beginning from the 1800s instead of starting halfway through (or even near the end of) the story at August 29, 2005. Sometimes life gives us the gift of past experience and hindsight, and we'd be doing ourselves and everyone who has to live with our decisions a giant disservice to not use that wisdom when we can. Those who do not understand history, or flat out deny it, are destined to repeat it...or at the very least act surprised when it occurs again.

Unfounded Racism Not the Same as Unfounded Concern

Let me get this out the way now: Good transparent government is good transparent government regardless of race, and Mayor Nagin is a terrific asshole as well as an out-of-touch, incompetant mayor.

That said, it bothers me that some white people don't take some of these racial issues seriously. Although some white people don't see how race plays into some issues, when white politicians just dismiss the race issue as "unfounded," that adds fuel to the city's race problem as much as the black politicians who cry racism when there is none. It's akin to a doctor telling you that there's no physical cause of the back pain you've suffered for years and that it's really all in your head; but he's not the one experiencing the pain. I don't think the white councilmembers' actions were racially motivated, but that doesn't mean they get to ignore black citizens' suspicions. If I remember correctly, what Hedge-Morrell said was that some of her constituents viewed the issue as a racial one. Good politicians take their constituents' concerns seriously and don't just ignore them (something Mayor Nagin does all the time), which is an extremely patronizing and thing to do and infuriating to the person with the concerns.

Black politicians like Nagin are playing the same games that white politicians have long played in this state. White people in New Orleans have gotten rich off of back room deals for centuries, so you can't just chalk it up to paranoia when black citizens ask why is that white people want to create transparency now that black people have the power to enrich a few other black people -- along with alot of white people who still benefit from being politically connected (e.g., the Business Council of N.O.). Like Oyster said, these are tricky issues and you can't just blow them off without addressing them. As much as it sucks, white politicians have to tell us why their vote isn't racially motivated and they have to be convincing -- as convincing as I have to be that I'm not a thief when pulled over by the police or when I'm followed around the store by white salesclerks. This shit sucks, but you have to deal with it.

JoAnn Taylor, Poster Child for Misdirected Outrage

Instead of being outraged about people being murdered in front of her own home, JoAnn Taylor is mad about her neighbor's memorial to her slain son. Other neighbors like it. Her artwork has even opened the door for youngsters in the neighborhood to deal with their grief over their own murdered loved ones.

It's easy to get ticked off by the absurd aspects of Ms. Taylor's stupid vendetta: the fact that she moved there years after the sidewalk and home were already creatively painted (or so said the grieving mother today on WWL) or that Ms. Taylor's real problem is her own issues with her neighbor's "lifestyle." The Times Picayune website already has tons of comments about this story, most of which I actually agree with for once; but this one best articulated to where Ms. Taylor and all of us should really be directing our outrage [a little background: the city is threatening to fine the woman $100 per day until she paints the sidewalk gray]:

How about we fine Ray Nagin and Warren Riley $100 a day until they can get the murders under control?

Why not fine the Public Works Department $100 for all the damage done to our vehicles by some of the worst roads in the Western Hemisphere?

Driving around town, a visitor could easily mistake our infrastructure for that of Port-au-Prince.

This woman has filled the vacuum of lawlessness in this city with something of her own creation. Those complaining about the liberties she has taken with public property are under the delusion that this is still a place of law.

Amen, Hallelujah, and Thank You Jesus to that.

On The Road Again

Like nearly 2 million fellow Louisianians, I participated our new age tradition of getting the hell out of dodge before Gustav before completing a few minor rituals that accompany getting ready for storms:

• Hitting at least 5 stores to stock up on beer, liquor, food, water, batteries, cat food, cat litter, paper towels, styrofoam ice chests, medicine, beer, liquor, heavy duty gloves for post-storm clean up, flashlights, beer, liquor, transmission fluid, motor oil, beer, and liquor
• Spending about 4 hours on the Internet and phone with 3 relatives and 4 rental car companies and 1 bank executive figuring out how my non-driving, non-credit-card-owning grandparents could rent a car for them and a relative willing to drive them in a day and age when apparently good ole American cash is no longer good enough for conducting good ole American lifesaving business
• 2 hours on the phone and Internet trying to find a hotel that takes pets
• Washing 4 loads of laundry and packing some of it (hey, I was without a dryer for a few weeks so I was a bit behind, OK?!)
• Trying not to get too stressed out
• Helping a friend board up windows and move stuff out of her basement
• 2 trips to the gas station
• Checking the weather forecasts 40-50 times a day
• Securing a few outdoor items to keep them from flying away
• Planning my contraflow evacuation route and devising alternate routes to avoid that pesky problem of ending up in Florida instead of Texas
• Accepting that I'd be driving to Texas without that much needed front end alignment after pulling up to Firestone and not even being able to find a parking spot
• Gathering up papers needed to work on a manuscript due August 30th (LOL-- yeah like THAT happened)
• Backing up important computer files on my flash drive
• Checking in with relatives and friends to find out if, when they were leaving and devising alternate plans of communication for when cell phones would inevitably become useless
• Washing the dishes in the sink so they wouldn't mold and smell up the place
• Taking out all the trash in the house
• Throwing away all food in the fridge that would spoil after losing electricity
  
• Packing the car at 4:30AM with part of my stockpile detailed in bullet #1, important briefcase of important papers already packed and ready to go at moment's notice, shrimp boots I believe are given to every male born in south Louisiana at birth, first aid kit, CDs for the drive (even though I know I'm going to listen to news radio damn near the whole way), family photos that post-Katrina wisdom dictates are no longer safe left at home on top of an 8-foot high bookshelf, strategically placed cat food, water, litter, & cat toys (before realizing my cats were planning a hunger-drinking-pooping-playing strike to protest the interruption of their livelihoods);
  
• Helping the friend I tailed to Shreveport pack her car at 6AM; aaaaaand...
• Playing that fun game with my employer of Do I Have to Go to Work? When Do I Need to be Back? How will I know I need to be back? Hell, I Just Hope to Have a Damn Job a Week from Today
  

You know, it's quite amazing there aren't more tragedies on the road when 2 million sleep deprived people are driving for their lives. Then again, who had the energy for road rage?

Once I settled into my comfortable, spacious hotel room in Dallas (ever thankful and knowledgeable of the fact that many of us were living without that luxury and reminiscing on my own lack of such accommodations during Katrina), I realized that I needed this vacation. Gee, I wonder why.

One thing about disasters is that they do bring us together. Especially when Louisianians outnumber Texans on Texas highways and essentially commandeer their hotels for a week or 4. I imagine the same applied in every state below the Mason-Dixon line and east of the Rockies. Prompted by my formidable friend who runs New Orleans: A Labor of Love (still bringing folks here to rebuild from Katrina, by the way) to get off my ass and do something while in exile, here are a few pics of fellow citizens I got to know while away. I don't even know the last names of these families, yet I'm still thinking of them and hoping & praying that things work out for the best for them.

Algiers, Avondale, & Harvey, Louisiana

Cut Off, Louisiana (a.k.a. down da bah-yoh)

Church Point, Louisiana (outside of Lafayette)

Beau-Barack & Bella-Michelle hanging out in Dallas, TX during Gustav

Cats don't much care for evacuating either

My All-Time Favorite "You Know You're a New Orleanian If..."

YOU CAN CROSS 2 LANES OF HEAVY TRAFFIC AND U-TURN...

THROUGH A NEUTRAL GROUND...

WHILE AVOIDING 2 JOGGERS...

AND A STREETCAR,


THEN FIT INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC...

WITHOUT EVEN TOUCHING THE BRAKE

Too Disgusted to Even Think of a Title

See, this is the kind of shit that leads me to spend my days contemplating whether I should move to another state before I suffer a stroke secondary to the most bomb-ass conniption fit ever recorded in human history.

Posted: Friday, 01 August 2008 1:40PM

Poll: Kennedy leads Landrieu
Dave Cohen Reporting

A Zogby poll shows Republican John Kennedy has taken the lead in the U.S. Senate race against Democrat Mary Landrieu.

According to the Zogby International website, "Republican John Kennedy is among the GOP's best hopes to oust a Democratic incumbent. He leads Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu, 47%-41%." The poll's margin of error is less than 5%.

I know it's still a bit early and only a poll, but I mean really, people. Do you know that getting rid of Landrieu would mean getting rid of our most senior Congressperson? Besides Charlie Melancon in the House, who has been a better, more effective advocate for us? Not to mention, if you (cuz it sure as hell won't be me) elect Kennedy, we'd have him and Vitter for Senators -- two Republicans in a Democrat controlled Congress, and possibly a Democrat president too. What the FUCK do you think a newbie and a man more concerned with trying to use his campaign money (i.e., the money you sent him) to pay off legal debts stemming from personal behavior he himself called wrong and sinful can accomplish for us?

And no, I'm not a Democrat. I'm a registered Independent, which is what Kennedy should run as, since he can't make up his damn mind. I used to like the straight-talking, sensible sounding Kennedy; but has anyone else noticed he's been damn quiet and useless since this talk of running for the Senate started.

And if you're part of the old New Orleans establishment who refuses to vote for ANY Landrieu because you think Moon "betrayed" you by being the first mayor to allow black people to work in City Hall, get over it or fucking DROP DEAD ALREADY! You're NOT helping!!!

Interesting Piece of History

While perusing the web just now looking for a place to play racquetball, I came across this interesting tidbit of local history on the NY Times website. (Still looking for racquetball courts if anyone knows of any).

New Orleans Athletic Club Votes 109-33 to Admit Blacks

AP

Published: November 4, 1986

The New Orleans Athletic Club voted last week to admit blacks for the first time in its 110-year history.

Don Williams, the club president, said the vote was 109 to 33 to remove the ''whites only'' wording from the club's constitution.

The vote was Oct. 28.

''Already I've received three new applications for membership, one or two of which I know are from blacks,'' Mr. Williams said Wednesday.

Reciprocal privileges with athletic clubs across the country will be re-established, he said. They were canceled in 1976, after the New Orleans club refused to admit Thomas Perkins, a black member of the Harvard Club who was here on a visit.

Mr. Perkins sued the club, and Federal District Judge Alvin B. Rubin awarded him $1,000 in damages. The club then canceled its agreements with other clubs for fear of more lawsuits, Mr. Williams said.

Let's Be Honest Here

Can we please just call this battle to annex Timberlane subdivision to Gretna what it is? It's nothing more than the manifestation of that sick Greater New Orleans disease that causes wealthy and even barely-middle-class whites to insist they have the right to not have "people" (pronounced with the disgust normally deserved for rats) drive down THEIR street!! You can practically see their goosebumps from their gated entrances, can't you?

And the people in Bellemeade are just mad because the people in Timberlane are whiter and richer and about to beat them to the punch in closing their subdivision off.

Why does it irk me so? Because this is just the proliferation of the isolationism and parochialism and PURE SELFISHNESS that has destroyed this city and eventually this region, pretentious people with inflated concerns about securing their antiques while pretending to not have the time to tutor the schoolkids who, ironically, will drop out of school and grow up more likely to be the guy unloading their stupid antiques off the back of a delivery truck than the guy trying to steal them. It's no longer good enough to live in Jeff Parish because those black people have now moved to Terrytown and it only costs the ones from across the river .40 in toll with a toll tag to get to Timberlane Drive and -- yes, take the 3 minute drive down your street to get to either Lapalco or Belle Chasse Hwy at 30mph because no one is stupid enough to speed through there knowing how heavily police patrolled its been for 30 years. Jesus Gawd, the horror.

But whatever, go ahead. Go buy your fucking gate.

Another Day in the Big Easy

It occurred to me, as an afterthought, that this excerpt from an email I wrote today to a friend/colleague might not make such a bad post for today:

Another day here in the Big Easy: Nagin nowhere to be found, racial tension in north LA (Jena), a woman known as "Mama Dee" is running for election to the council-at-large seat vacated by our latest indicted politician (even more interesting considering her history of being escorted out of council meetings for screaming that everything they do is "racist," including of course her managing to get herself kicked out of chambers), and the powers-that-be at the Army Corps of Engineers are rediscovering prayer as a tropical storm warning was just issued for the area. At least the weather is gorgeous, which we don't get to say too often.

This Explains EVERYTHING...

From Beautiful Crescent: A History of New Orleans (Garvey & Widmer, 2002, 11th ed.):

"Many paupers who strayed into Paris, or prisoners who would not volunteer were kidnapped and shipped, under guard, to fill the emptiness of Louisiana. Prostitutes, and the inmates of jails and hospitals, were all sent to populate the colony and to start the flow of wealth to the stockholders.

Franz, in his Kolonisation des Mississippitales (Leipzig, 106), writes [of the Company of the West, an entity charged with settling the new French colony]:

'The company even kept a whole regiment of archers which cleaned Paris of its rabble and adventurers, and received for this a fixed salary and 100 livres a head . . . . .Five thousand people are said to have disappeared from Paris in April, 1721, alone.'

'Prisoners were set free in Paris in September, 1721 . . . under the condition that they would marry prostitutes and go with them to Louisiana. The newly married couples were chained together and thus dragged to the port of embarkation.'"

It's Called "INVESTING IN ONE'S FUTURE"

Yet another example of how our leaders' small-mindedness and lack of foresight and ingenuity only feed the ignorance of our populace and hold us down. Senator Vitter is reacting as if building a world-class medical complex is the absolute worst idea ever proposed. I've posted my thoughts on this before . (In a nutshell, I'm all for going bigtime on this thing. I mean, raise your hand if you'd rather not have the best doctors and hospitals in your own city. Unless, of course, you enjoyed your exodus in Houston so goddamn much, you'd do anything to go all the way to M.D. Anderson for treatment.)

It's also funny how those with access to the best in life (and who will do anything to keep that standard of living) suddenly become all apoplectic when the rest of us would like to use OUR public money to get the best for US. That's a whole 'nother post though. I'm not at all knocking the awesome healthcare providers we've had past and present. But what's wrong with aiming higher?

Why haven't things gotten better here in the past several decades? Because people here want easy answers.
Crime's up? Just lock everybody up in jail.
The schools suck? Just blame parents and morality.
Huge fuckin' pothole on your street? Ehh, just put some cones and yellow caution tape around it. Aw shoot, it's flooding again? Just go rake your damn leaves out of the catch basins!

Oh, we forgot to re-open the hospitals down there? Just throw some paint on Charity and open it back up like it was before.

To OPPOSE improving pretty much the only industry we had aside from tourism just plain don't make a lick o' sense to me.

Wake up, my neighbors! It's time to realize we have to INVEST in our future, which means putting something IN to get something good out. Most good things don't come without sacrifice, and these days good healthcare sure as hell don't come cheap.

Typical

Typical Louisiana leaders, always missing the goddamn point and trying to fix everything but our problems. Consider these examples I just happened to come across in the paper this week:

Chief Juvenile Court Judge David Bell, instead of locking up the state officials taking their sweet time to send money down here to hire the public defenders we need, jails one of the few people (a volunteer, no less) trying to keep the system going.

The state's ethics board forces a lowly St. Helena Parish employee to end her "contractual relationship" with Wal-Mart due to the conflict of interest. This single mother's problematic conflict of interest: she worked a part-time job at Wal-Mart. This was of course in light of the countless conflicts of interest the powerful throughout the state have:

• "If Cutrer had possessed the political connections to get involved in a conflict of interest in the first place, it is unlikely that she would ever have been punished by the board. Insiders can always get the Legislature to grant them an exemption to the ethics laws. It has happened more than 100 times."

And in keeping with the theme of this week's march, my favorite example of the stupidity of our leaders: Nagin and Riley want the cops to do checkpoints and they want us to -- well, to do everyfuckingthing else it seems, including stand in as substitutes for evidence. Seriously, if it's too hard for them to make sure evidence is being collected, they need to have easier jobs

• A reporter who once covered criminal court for this newspaper told me she had sat through 11 murder trials in New Orleans before she observed the first one where prosecutors produced actual evidence. The first 11 cases, she explained, were based solely on eyewitness accounts.
• a judge in Criminal District Court told me that in all his years on the bench, he'd only presided over one case where the investigating police officers had dusted the crime scene for fingerprints and presented such evidence in court
• A colleague who served on a jury in a New Orleans murder trial remembers prosecutors trying to dampen potential jurors' expectations...If they required such evidence to convict the defendant, they needed to say so up front and they would be dismissed in favor of those who would demand less of the state.

Jarvis DeBerry, New Orleans T-P, 1/12/07

I hope we don't forget the importance of holding our leaders accountable, a sentiment angrily expressed at the crime march last week. That means more than calling them out. It means kicking them out too, when necessary.

I am also, however, pissed at my neighbors who knew this shit was going on all along and never stepped up to the plate to call it to attention. That's the biggest problem with New Orleans. Barely anyone does shit about anything except bitch about it, and then has the nerve to point the finger at everyone else when the problem comes back around and bites them on the ass.

I'm afraid that the personal responsibility part of the message in Thursday's rally, as much as we like to invoke that phrase when discussing what OTHERS should do about social problems, probably wasn't even grasped by most citizens. It doesn't take much to do one's part. Can you imagine what a difference it would make if just 1/10 of us just called our elected officials each day to tell them to get off their asses? I imagine alot more folks would have their Road Home money.

More Nuggets of Wisdom from the "Food Critic"

I don't have much time to comment on this, but I think it pretty much speaks for itself. It's a volley of communication between me and the alleged GQ Magazine food critic and reportedly human, Alan Richman. JudyB and a few other bloggers, whom I apologize for not recalling at the moment, have also written about him. Fortunately, I have professional experience dealing with the severely mentally disturbed. Enjoy.
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Date: Dec 4, 2006 5:52 PM
Subject: From a Real Live Lepre -- I mean, Creole!
To: thecritic@optonline.net

Dear Mr. Richman,

I figured you'd like to know that we Creoles do indeed exist! We even have a language and a cuisine and other cultural traditions that also still exist, just like the real Cajuns you seem so fond of. In fact, Creole French has been the native tongue of my relatives up to and including my grandparents' generation; and although born in America right outside of New Orleans, they did not speak English until they began their schooling. Such was the case for many Creole New Orleanians well into the 20th century. There is no way you spent as much time as you say you did here without coming into contact with the "mythical" Creole. We are very much a part of this culture, even though we don't walk around with C's on our foreheads so that visitors can easily identify us. (It's sort of like how Manhattanites can spot someone from the B&T culture far better than tourists can.) Also, you probably didn't see many of us with shovels because we were at work, school, or likely INSIDE fixing our homes since, well, we figure that re-installing walls and floors and whatnot takes precedence over gardening at this stage in the rebuilding game.

I won't waste anymore of my time with this, not because I'm afraid you'll liken me to "drunks screaming in a bar," as you have called some of my fellow New Orleanians, but because you are clearly the type of ignorant ass I prefer to not waste time on. However, before I say "au revoir" (did you know that Creoles say that too? I learned it from my grandmother long before I set foot in a French class), let me suggest that while you are sparking the national debate on New Orleans which you say "this country badly needs," that you also debate the existence of New York City, one of the most hurricane-vulnerable cities in the nation and likely to face a 20-foot storm surge during the next big storm to strike there.

So get your shovel ready,

Dr. E.J.
A Real Live Creole American
New Orleans, LA
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On 12/10/06, thecritic@optonline.net thecritic@optonline.net wrote:
Dear Dr. EJ,

RE: "ignorant ass"

I'm reasonably certain you don't exist, but I'm absolutely certain you're fabricating your higher education.

Best ,
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Date: Dec 10, 2006 7:44 PM
Subject: Re: From a Real Live Lepre -- I mean, Creole!
To: " thecritic@optonline.net"

Mr. Richman,

I would never make up credentials just to impress an ignorant ass.

-Dr. E.J.

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From: thecritic@optonline.net < thecritic@optonline.net>
Date: Dec 11, 2006 2:18 PM
Subject: Re: From a Real Live Lepre -- I mean, Creole!
To: dr.ej

And you studder, too. Let me hear you say "ignorant ass" again. It's so cute.

WTF?

Idaho is apparently afeared o' gettin' Katrina "refugees." I am not amused.

And didn't we settle this whole "refugee" thing on like Aug. 30, 2005?