Well, I let you know about the sad news of our site's retirement last week I said I'd tell you more about the future and then... well I dropped off the face of the planet. Before I tell you about the future one last story... Tuesday afternoon(September 11th, ugh) the a rain the dusted the city was the final staw for the roof of the building my apartment is in and water started to pour (and I do me pour) into my bedroom. My poor extremely pregnant better half was home and managed to move the last of our future offspring's future out of the room before the ceiling started to come down around her. So now I'm in a bad situation with an apartment that needs to be emptied and a new one that needs to be found (and now you know why the podcast was late). I have some options and the help of our families is going to help a lot, but I had to cut off my blogging for the week and only just now could get to you... so on to the future... I think my future includes a break for blogging. I loved being able to post my thoughts on the state of the city in this space, but I think I need to take a step back. The tracking of some of the underbelly of the recovery can be really upsetting and I am finding the stress of the country looking at us as the ugly step-sisters of the nation extremely hard. Sometimes you just want to be a techwriter who fauns over the latest websites instead of dealing with hard realities of the recovery.

Maybe I'm just a little tired (as are many in the city). Maybe I'm just a little to angry. Maybe I just need a break.

Wow, that was a little depressing. On a high note, we must end. Thanks for reading my rants. Thanks for commenting on my podcasts. Thanks for sending in your ideas. Thanks for saying hey. Thanks for everything.

I loved covering Jazz Fest for you. I loved getting to know my city again for you. I loved getting politically angry for you. I loved posting for you.

Thank you.

Last Saturday, the Common Ground Health Clinic in Algiers Point celebrated its second year of providing free health services to thousands of New Orleanians since its formation in the week after Katrina struck. Clinic supporters organized a block party at the corner of Teche and Socrates where the Clinic is located, serving up a barbecue and music and offering tours of the recently refurbished clinic (see photo below).

In a city with an international reputation for low-quality health care post-Katrina, the two Common Ground-sponsorerd free clinics -- the first in Algiers, the second on St. Claude St. in the Lower 9th Ward -- are much-needed community institutions that have served thousands of people since opening. Ancillary programs like the Latino Health Outreach Program, a spinoff project that serves the needs of non-English speaking residents and workers, also spread the tattered net of social services in New Orleans a little wider.

A staff member at the Algiers Clinic informed me that the Algiers Clinic sees between 20 and 50 people per day of operation; due to limited resources and red tape, the clinic is open on a limited schedule four days out of the week (Monday through Wednesday at various hours, and Saturday 12 - 3 pm). Despite ongoing shortages of medical services in the area, and despite the tremendous need for basic health care in the city, the Common Ground Clinics have had to fight for everything they have.

Judging by the state of medical services here two years after the traumatic events of 2005, it looks like their struggle to provide free, basic health care to neglected or impoverished populations will remain an uphill battle. But the anniversary party demonstrated that the community still needs and supports the services they offer.

Last Saturday night, local supporters of the internationally-known Jena 6 -- six young black men facing dozens of years in prison for a school yard beat-down of a white antagonist in the hamlet of Jena -- held a fundraiser and rally for the young men, whose initial court-appointed defense lawyers have been replaced with higher-caliber legal representation.

Their case is becoming a focus for activists concerned about racial justice in Louisiana. It's now a lightning rod for global criticism of the racial situation in the United States, attracting bogeyman-to-whites Al Sharpton (do any of the whites who believe that Sharpton is only exploiting the situation for personal gain understand that history is on his side?) and perrenial photo-op visitor to New Orleans Jesse Jackson (whose calls for racial unity are falling on the deaf ears of Jena whites in denial, who claim, of course, that they are not racist, therefore there are no racial problems in Jena; a white bus driver who spoke to one reporter said, "No, no no. It's not [racism]" ).

Perceptions, informed by history, are one of the foundations of racism in America. When a white person, particularly a white person in a position of power, does something to offend a black person, whites can't be surprised when that black person questions the white's motives. Racism does exist here, and denying this only makes racial prejudice harder to disembed.

Prosecutors in Jena postponed the sentencing of the convicted Mychal Bell, the first of the 6 to go to trial, in order to avoid publicity. This half-baked strategy has guaranteed that the sentencing, now scheduled for September 20, will be heavily attended. Postponement has only allowed activists to spread the word on the perceived injustice in Jena, and the more the word spreads, the more attention will be paid to the good people of Jena, and their tolerance of injustice in their midst.

At last week's "International Tribunal on Katrina and Rita," one of the more striking parts of the event was the presentation of the second witness on the subject of Women's Rights. Ms. Stephanie Mingo, a resident of New Orleans for 40 years, lived in St. Bernard Housing project prior to Katrina. After the storm, she evacuated with four children and one grandchild in tow. Her mother died on the Gentilly bridge, unable to survive the physical and mental anguish of the storm's aftermath. Ms. Mingo's testimony was powerful and informative.

Ms. Mingo and her family evacuated, returned, and are now staying in the Iberville project. She doesn't like it there and wants to move back into her St. Bernard home. She has worked for the Orleans School Board for ten years -- "not that long" Ms. Mingo says -- and is determined to stay in her home town.

Her stubbornness in staying in a project known as much for trouble as for housing might seem odd to those of us who have never stayed in government housing, but it's the home that she wants to come back to. She loves her job as a food services technician at a local school, and isn't afraid of hard work. As Ms. Mingo said from the witness seat while testifying to the court, "When I tie these shoes, I'm not too proud to do anything." Her home and community were humble, but she managed to raise and put through college three of her kids, and the fourth is college-bound.

Public housing may be the upscale-white developer's nightmare, but a lot of hard-working, disciplined people lived there before Katrina, and want to return to their homes and communities which they are trying against all odds to preserve.

The second editorial in the Times-Pic today ("Share the excitement") gently took the Mayor and City Council to task for the secrecy surrounding the recently-approved plan for the first stages of redevelopment of 17 targeted zones throughout the city. The editors should have gone much further in their criticism. The secrecy of the elected leaders could be characterized as disingenuous at best, at worst, it is rife with the opportunity for corruption, influence-pedaling, and back-door politics. The kind of things that people living here are pretty sick of already.

If the plans to redevelop New Orleans are agreed upon by elected officials, then the democratic population who voted for these officials are entitled to see these plans, comment upon them, and above all, take hope from these plans.

Citizens like you and me won't be able to do this, though, until next month. This month is reserved for the New Orleans power structure to assure itself a profitable central role in the rebuilding effort. There are properties to be acquired, and little old ladies and blind old men to be unscrupulously evicted or bought out of their homes for a pittance by scheming developers.

There are dummy corporations to set up, in order to apply or bid for contracts (presuming, that is, that there are any contracts left to be claimed on the first $117 million in development funds; it's even money that big time disaster profiteers Halliburton and Bechtel had a seat at the table when these plans were shown to "other stakeholders" by Tsar Blakely. After all, there's federal money being poured around, and while many still suffer, there's no reason that good, highly-connected corporations like Kellogg, Brown, & Root or Fluor can't earn a buck or two million while shutting out local contractors until the cream has been skimmed from federal largesse.).

Admittedly, the bulk of planning was likely done long ago, and the REAL players didn't have to wait for the council's approval. They already have their schemes in order, you can believe that. Incidentally, this may be the reason why Nagin's office has been so insular lately; he and his cronies have probably been busy making calls and setting up deals with friends, family, and high-powered interests. There's a lot of loot on the way.

Which reminds me of the spray painted warnings after Katrina: You loot, we shoot. Only now, the shooting should be metaphoric.

But don't be surprised to find an awful lot of looting when the development money comes to town.

I managed to get by the International Tribunal for Katrina and Rita a couple of times last week, and sat in on the proceedings. The five-day event was meant to draw accountability for federal and local failures and abuses of power in the immediate aftermath of the storms, and was hardly an impartial hearing. Tears shed on the witness stand were many, as those testifying before the panel of judges found that, even two years after the tragedy, the emotions from those days of grief, confusion, and all too often death, are still very fresh.

The witness's testimonies related to a range of issues that affected people during and after the storms of 2005. Organized by the People's Hurricane Relief Fund and sponsored by dozens of local and international activist organizations, the Tribunal was kind of a political dog-and-pony show insofar as it had no pretense of being an impartial assessment of the facts. On the panel were respected leftist activists, including the notorious Ward Churchill (whose remarks about 9/11 led to his July dismissal from a professorship at the University of Colorado) and others from Europe, Africa, and South America.

The tribunal was predicated on the assumption that the government was culpable for much of the chaos and loss that happened after the storms, and the testimonials from each witness -- with no oppositional questioning -- were very personal and direct. Each was angry about something that has affected her or his life since Katrina, whether it's a lack of public housing, a crushed teachers' union, armed vigilantism in Algiers, police brutality, or de facto voting disfranchismement of New Orleanians. To hear the witnesses was to be reminded anew of the anguish that people endured after the storm, and the hardships that many citizens bear every day in the effort to rebuild.

In truth, the government at all levels is responsible for many of the tragedies of fall 2005. Poorly built levees, relief supplies tied down with red tape, lethargic federal financial assistance, opportunistic seizures of schools and rebuilding contracts; for these and many more, the federal, state, and city governments need to be held accountable and procedures put in place to avoid the recurrence of any such tragedy.

The Tribunal didn't claim to have answers for the questions the testimonies raised. Many of the "justices" on the judges' panel sympathized -- lengthily -- with many of the witnesses whose testimony had been particularly harrowing. Some related, through translation, their own experiences in addressing the problems revealed in the testimonies.

I don't mean to sound as if I thought the Tribunal a waste of time, or too politically skewed to have any value. It was very slanted, but it gave people a chance to relate their experiences to an international audience (make that an international left audience) and it offered something more than simply commemorating the anniversary of Katrina and getting back to work. I learned a good bit about how voting rights have become something of a joke in the area, as the displaced tens of thousands of evacuees still can't cast their ballot, for a number of reasons from the practical to the ridiculous.

In other places, such tribunals often look into delicate times in the past, such as the South African commissions regarding apartheid. In Greensboro, North Carolina, a recent Truth and Reconciliation Commission was empaneled to collect witness testimony regarding the 1979 killing of five labor organizers by the Ku Klux Klan (caught on tape, and for which no Klansman ever went to prison). The effect these commissions have on larger patterns of justice may remain an open question, but I personally support each of them. It's quite easy for those in positions of power to want to forget the past, but for the victims of yesterday, there can be no forgetting.

The men and women trapped for days on the I-10 overpass, denied entry to Gretna across the bridge and kept under conditions of martial law, won't be able to forget their ordeals anytime soon. It behooves us all to remember their stories, though, and to learn from their experiences.

Whether or not the International Tribunal will contribute to a restored sense of justice in New Orleans has yet to be seen. We can always hope, right?

So its very possible I will be unable to make it to the polls on election day this fall (due to a new arrival) and my wife and I have decided to vote absentee. Why not just not vote you ask, well if you don't vote you can't complain. Voting is a right in this country that to few decide to use. To many out there think the system is broken and think not voting with change it. Little do those idiots (yes they are total morons) realize that their voter apathy is what is killing our political system. By not voting you are helping re-elect corrupt politicians and helping pre-picked bad choices make it into office when they have neither the experience nor the good of their state in mind. You are the reason why so many morons get elected and so many bad people control our system. Heck Tom Delay (supposed Bobby Jindal contributer) is a product of voter apathy and the general public's dis-interest in their country.

Full instruction after the jump.

Anyway, how to vote absentee in Louisiana. First head over to the Secretary of State's website and check out this page with information on how to vote and a link to a PDF you can download and print out to request an Absentee Ballot. Mail the ballot request form off to your Parish's Registrar of Voters. In Orleans Parish send it to:

Hon. Sandra L. Wilson
1300 Perdido St., Rm. 1W23
New Orleans, LA 70112-2127
her email is orleansrova@elections.state.la.us

In Jefferson Parish on the east bank send it to:

Hon. Dennis DiMarco
P. O. Box 10494
Jefferson, LA 70181-0494

Or on the west bank sent it to:

Hon. Dennis DiMarco
P. O. Box 2248,
Marrero, LA 70073
his email is vote@jeffparish.net

If your request is valid (registered to vote in the given Parish you are requesting a ballot from and sent in no more than 2 months before an election and no later than four days before election day) then you will receive a paper ballot by mail that you can fill out and send in. You can even fax in your ballot if you sign away your right to a secret ballot (someone has to see the ballot on the fax machine).

The rest of up to you, so vote in the election this October 20, 2007. Now you have no excuse not to.

You read Shelley Midura's open letter to the President this morning and felt the power of a councilmember ripping the 'leader' of the free world a new one. Now you need to read the Times Picayune's Editorial that basically does the same thing. the paper does an accurate job of comparing the aid giving to Louisiana and the aid given to Mississippi. It doesn't say 'hey they got to much' but 'hey why didn't we get treated equally'. The number one quote in the Editorial is:

The people of Louisiana are no less deserving of disaster aid because their representatives are newer to Congress or because some of the people we trusted to lead us turned out to be scoundrels.

Yes, the TP is saying what we have been thinking since the first jeer about Jefferson came out of the mouth of a congressman from anywhere else who wanted to make us pay for his mistakes. We do deserve to be treated like the good citizens we are and not punished for our politicians choices. If you give money with checks and balances and realize that one guy isn't going to get it all (hopefully) then you help the recovery. If you hold back and make a blanket accusation of an entire region of the country you only alienate us and show exactly the type of person you are. Of course empty promises by members of the executive branch don't help either.

via E&P

image of You Go Girl by skeletonkrewe found on Flickr

What's going on here? Why am I posting so much? Today, in honor of Katrina I am attempting another 24 hour 24 post blogathon.

Today, instead of going down to the former site of the Industrial Canal levee breach in the Lower 9th Ward and joining the march of returned residents to Congo Square, I went to the courthouse to see how the courts of law marked the anniversary. What I found was business as usual. A few violent assault cases were on the docket, the most serious one was for second degree murder, but the majority of cases before the court today, as usual, had to do with drugs, either simple possession or possession with intent to distribute.

A group of people emerged from the courtroom I was about to enter, roughly a half dozen women, a lawyer or two, and a shackled man in an orange OPP jumpsuit. They were all smiles; something favorable just happened with the man in chains, I inferred.

Although most of the cases processed were for drugs, there were other cases. In one non-drug case in Section H, an evidentiary hearing was being held against a defendant accused of shooting into a car on July 29, 2005. One month before Katrina, Herman Johnson was arrested after shots were fired through the glass of a car window. The defense team for the accused seeked to quash the charges due to a lapse in evidentiary processes, which at first glance appeared to mean that the evidence -- photos and the car in question -- had been destroyed in the storm. Without the evidence, the defense argued, it couldn't be proven that Mr. Johnson fired out of the car, or if another man fired into it.

Later the defense explained that the evidence had not been destroyed by the storm, but the defense team had not been able to look at it, nor had the police apparently properly secured it after the storm. Despite this bit of confusion, the judge denied the defense's motion, and the trial was set for September 4.

After the trial was set, another defense attorney brought up a matter of evidence that the prosecution had only that day turned over to the defense, a copy of the 911 tape from when the crime was reported. The judge's patience was wearing thin, but it seems the tape being handed over to the defense so late in the game (the crime being two years and one month old) might justify an appeal, or so said the judge.

In other evidence, the testimony of an eyewitness named Katrina (no lie) was discussed, as well as the two police officers who spoke to Katrina after the crime. The judge made sure that the officers would be subpoenaed, she even had the prosecutors look through a roster of police officers to confirm their employment and which district they work in. With that, the day's business in Section H was closed.

Outside, the storm clouds rolled across the city. On the way back to my car, the sky opened up, and I was lucky to get in before the rain really started to fall.

The good thing about deciding to not run for re-election is Governor Blanco can say whatever she wants and be as direct as she wants about what actually happened before and after Katrina. She doesn't need to pull punches and her testimony at yesterday's trial in St. Bernard Parish of two owners of a nursing home that failed to evacuate showed her resolve. Before taking the stand she rebuffed a defense supena and accepted an invitation to testify for the procecution. Her testimony is one of the few times you will here honesty about Katrina's prep from a politician. She doesn't need to slant anything to get people to see things her way. She can be truly honest and was.

She said, "I wanted people to understand that this is potentially the biggest storm we will ever deal with, and I urged people over and over to protect themselves and their families by evacuating."

And, "We were relying on individual responsibility during Katrina."

Yes that was a mistake, unfortunately a few in positions of authority proved they couldn't be trusted to do the right thing and get those in their care to safety before the storm. And this could have been prevented. The only question now is, are the owners of the home going to be held responsible?

What's going on here? Why am I posting so much? Today, in honor of Katrina I am attempting another 24 hour 24 post blogathon.

Local literary lion Joshua Clark, publisher of French Quarter Fiction and author of recently released Heart Like Water, emailed Yours Truly and asked if I'd put up a link to his website http://www.hurricanekatrinanews.org So I went to check it out, and its motto of "everything you need and need to know is right here" seems pretty apt. At least, it's got everything you need and need to know about Katrina and New Orleans' recovery from it.

The site opens with "The Latest News," linking to numerous articles, including the infamous August 2007 National Geographic article which I hear - haven't read it as I've got enough depression in my life - pretty much states that New Orleans is a big waste in a dirty bowl and we should all move to Kansas. Or at least, that's how my sources have summed it up for me. But note: when I tried the link to the NG article on Clark's site, it came up as "File Not Found." Is my computer screening content for me? Keeping me from ugly depictions of our wonderful city?

At any rate, if you're under the age of two or have been under a rock for the last 24 months, the site also has basic Katrina information, such as the storm's path and timeline. This is also good for all you stoners out there, who've self-medicated so much since The Event that you might need a refresher on what the hell happened.

There's a bunch of other useful stuff on there, too, such as emergency phone numbers and links to resources, charities, and info. about our vanishing wetlands. The site's most intriguing section carries the title "Lessons Learned," which I doubt can be summed up with a few weblinks, but it's a good start.

As seen on the blogs of Ashley Morris and Oyster, Shelley Midura has decided to welcome our streetcar stopping president with arms a swinging. She has written an open letter to the president asking him to stop half-truthing the public with money numbers that don't actually represent reality. She is saying some of what Nagin was saying off the cuff almost two years ago, but with research and intelligence to backup her position. She rips into the $116 billion line with a point that New Orleans and Louisiana and all effected by Katrina are being forced to do what no other part of the USA has been forced to do, take out huge loans for most of the cost of a recovery. Midura asks W to make good on his 'promise' in Jackson square with the following:

These are some concrete steps you can take to make good on your 2005 Jackson Square promise:
o. Completely fix the federally managed levees
o. Fully fund our expertly crafted recovery plan
o. Give New Orleans all that you have promised to Baghdad - schools, hospitals, infrastructure, security, and basic services
o. Forgive the community disaster loans, as authorized by the new Congress
o. Appoint a recovery czar who works inside the White House that reports daily and directly to you and whose sole job is the recovery of New Orleans and the rest of the region
o. Restore our coast and wetlands
o. Work with Congress to reform the Stafford Act
o. Cut the bureaucratic red tape
In turn Mr. President, the people of New Orleans are more than willing to do our part. We have already:
o. Consolidated and reformed the state levee board system.
o. Consolidated and reformed our property assessment system.
o. Passed sweeping ethics reform legislation.
o. Created an Ethics Review Board.
o. Hired an Inspector General.
o. Submitted a parish-wide recovery plan.

As the rest of the NOLA Blogosphere thinks, this letter is something that should have been served up by a public official months ago. This is a letter that could make her mayor, if she keeps pushing the points within. If she is willing to challenge the pres everyday from now on and is willing to take up the good fight in partnership with the rest of our leaders. But I wouldn't expect anything less from one of our newest council members and one of our most politically vocal.

Full letter after the jump.

What's going on here? Why am I posting so much? Today, in honor of Katrina I am attempting another 24 hour 24 post blogathon.

An open letter to President George W. Bush:

August 28, 2007

Dear Mr. President:

Thank you for visiting New Orleans for the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the worst federal levee-failure disaster in United States history followed by the worst federal disaster response in United States history. We're also grateful for the $116 billion federal allocation for the Gulf Coast. That $116 billion has served you well, as your spokesmen often cite it as an indicator of your dedication to our recovery. But, it hasn't served us as well -- it's not enough, it's been given grudgingly, and only after our elected officials have had to fight for it. So I feel I must correct the record about you and your administration's dedication to our recovery and implore you to take action to make things better.

Indeed, you have allocated $116 billion for the Gulf Coast, but that number is misleading. According to the Brookings Institute's most recent Katrina Index report, at least $75 billion of it was for immediate post-storm relief. Thus only 35% of the total federal dollars allocated is for actual recovery and reconstruction. And of that recovery and reconstruction allocation, only 42% has actually been spent. In fact, while your administration touts "$116 billion" as the amount you have sent to the entire area affected by Katrina and the levee failures, the actual long term recovery dollar amount is only $14.6 billion. This amount is a mere 12% of the entire federal allocation of dollars, billions of which went to corporations such as Halliburton for immediate post-storm cleanup work, instead of to local businesses. Contrast that to the $20.9 billion on infrastructure for Iraq that the Wall Street Journal reported in May 2006 that you have spent, and it's an astonishing 42% more than you have spent on infrastructure for the post-Katrina Gulf region. The American citizens of the Gulf region do not understand why the federal obligation to rebuilding Iraq is greater than it is for America's Gulf coast, and more specifically for New Orleans.

New Orleans has more challenges and fewer resources than we've ever had in my lifetime in the City of New Orleans. Yet, other than FEMA repair reimbursements, the only direct federal assistance this city has received from you has been two community disaster loans that you are demanding be paid back even though no other city government has had to pay back a these types of loans for as long as our research can determine (at least since the 70's). These loans are being used to balance the city budget to provide basic services to citizens who need far more than the pre-Katrina basics.

Despite this obvious contradiction, your administration blames local leadership for our continued need for federal assistance. But this argument is disingenuous, Mr. President. There are a host of tasks that only you and your administration can accomplish for our recovery. These are some concrete steps you can take to make good on your 2005 Jackson Square promise:
o. Completely fix the federally managed levees
o. Fully fund our expertly crafted recovery plan
o. Give New Orleans all that you have promised to Baghdad - schools, hospitals, infrastructure, security, and basic services
o. Forgive the community disaster loans, as authorized by the new Congress
o. Appoint a recovery czar who works inside the White House that reports daily and directly to you and whose sole job is the recovery of New Orleans and the rest of the region
o. Restore our coast and wetlands
o. Work with Congress to reform the Stafford Act
o. Cut the bureaucratic red tape
In turn Mr. President, the people of New Orleans are more than willing to do our part. We have already:
o. Consolidated and reformed the state levee board system.
o. Consolidated and reformed our property assessment system.
o. Passed sweeping ethics reform legislation.
o. Created an Ethics Review Board.
o. Hired an Inspector General.
o. Submitted a parish-wide recovery plan.

Much has changed in New Orleans for the better since the storm, and more progress is coming. Civic activism is at an all time high. For the first time in my lifetime, there is an actual reform movement in New Orleans driven by the people. "Best Practices" has become a City Council mantra. We have a new Ethics Board. Our incoming Inspector General, Robert Cerasoli, is considered one of the elite in the Inspector General world, as is our new Recovery Director Dr. Ed Blakely in that world and our Recovery School Superintendent Paul Vallas in the realm of public education. We are attracting the cream of the crop. Young people from around the country seeking to make a difference in their lives are moving to New Orleans to teach in public schools, provide community healthcare, build housing, work for nonprofits engaged in post-Katrina work, and, in general, do whatever they can for the recovery because they all know what I am not so sure that you know, mainly that what happens in New Orleans over the next few years says something about the very heart of America itself.

Mr. President, we are in fact doing our part locally in New Orleans despite contrary comments by your administration. Our intense civic activity and government reform initiatives are serious indicators of our local commitment to do our part for the recovery. But we are drowning in federal red tape. We are being nickel and dimed to death by your Federal Emergency Management Agency. We are resource-starved at the city level. The mission here is not accomplished. What we need is Presidential leadership, not just another speech filled with empty promises. Our recovery's success, struggle, or failure will be intimately woven into your legacy, for better or worse. What Americans think about America is deeply affected by how this country rises to national challenges, none more significant than post-Katrina New Orleans. Fully restoring New Orleans to its formerly unique and permanent place in American culture is this nation's greatest domestic challenge. Your leadership of our country through this difficult time will serve as an American character lesson for future generations.

Sincerely,