Category: Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood

Athenae, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Stupid Republican Tricks4 Comments

What a Charmer

Allison Hantschel

That Republican re-branding is going gangbusters: “Listen to what [Jimmy Carter] said yesterday talking about Hurricane Katrina. Now bear in mind, 10,000 people there are listening to this, and the current sitting president of the United States of America — this is what Jimmy Carter said. ‘We only have to recall the color of the faces of those of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi who are most devastated by Katrina, to know’ — listen to that, he knows — ‘that there are not yet equal opportunities for all Americans.’ You got to be kidding me. ‘Look at the color of the … Continue reading What a Charmer

Athenae, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Stupid Republican Tricks4 Comments

What a Charmer

Allison Hantschel

That Republican re-branding is going gangbusters: “Listen to what [Jimmy Carter] said yesterday talking about Hurricane Katrina. Now bear in mind, 10,000 people there are listening to this, and the current sitting president of the United States of America — this is what Jimmy Carter said. ‘We only have to recall the color of the faces of those of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi who are most devastated by Katrina, to know’ — listen to that, he knows — ‘that there are not yet equal opportunities for all Americans.’ You got to be kidding me. ‘Look at the color of the … Continue reading What a Charmer

Athenae, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Stupid Republican Tricks4 Comments

What a Charmer

Allison Hantschel

That Republican re-branding is going gangbusters: “Listen to what [Jimmy Carter] said yesterday talking about Hurricane Katrina. Now bear in mind, 10,000 people there are listening to this, and the current sitting president of the United States of America — this is what Jimmy Carter said. ‘We only have to recall the color of the faces of those of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi who are most devastated by Katrina, to know’ — listen to that, he knows — ‘that there are not yet equal opportunities for all Americans.’ You got to be kidding me. ‘Look at the color of the … Continue reading What a Charmer

Athenae, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Stupid Republican Tricks4 Comments

What a Charmer

Allison Hantschel

That Republican re-branding is going gangbusters: “Listen to what [Jimmy Carter] said yesterday talking about Hurricane Katrina. Now bear in mind, 10,000 people there are listening to this, and the current sitting president of the United States of America — this is what Jimmy Carter said. ‘We only have to recall the color of the faces of those of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi who are most devastated by Katrina, to know’ — listen to that, he knows — ‘that there are not yet equal opportunities for all Americans.’ You got to be kidding me. ‘Look at the color of the … Continue reading What a Charmer

Athenae, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Stupid Republican Tricks4 Comments

What a Charmer

Allison Hantschel

That Republican re-branding is going gangbusters: “Listen to what [Jimmy Carter] said yesterday talking about Hurricane Katrina. Now bear in mind, 10,000 people there are listening to this, and the current sitting president of the United States of America — this is what Jimmy Carter said. ‘We only have to recall the color of the faces of those of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi who are most devastated by Katrina, to know’ — listen to that, he knows — ‘that there are not yet equal opportunities for all Americans.’ You got to be kidding me. ‘Look at the color of the … Continue reading What a Charmer

Athenae, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Stupid Republican Tricks4 Comments

What a Charmer

That Republican re-branding is going gangbusters: “Listen to what [Jimmy Carter] said yesterday talking about Hurricane Katrina. Now bear in mind, 10,000 people there are listening to this, and the current sitting president of the United States of America — this is what Jimmy Carter said. ‘We only have to recall the color of the faces of those of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi who are most devastated by Katrina, to know’ — listen to that, he knows — ‘that there are not yet equal opportunities for all Americans.’ You got to be kidding me. ‘Look at the color of the … Continue reading What a Charmer

Adrastos, Diary, Food and Drink, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Kids Today, LOL2 Comments

From Debrisville To Kaleville

Peter Adrastos Athas

Right after the Flood, I began calling New Orleans Debrisville. In fact, my inaugural First Draft post was entitled Greetings From Debrisville. It wasn’t much of an inauguration, there was no 21 gun salute and we drank beer instead of champagne. Anyway, the New York Times seems to be jealous of how many hits Buzzfeed generates with clickbait so they published a ludicrous article about hipster musicians, actors, and artists who have moved to New Orleans. It’s written by some silly billy named Lizzy Goodman who treats the aforementioned hipsters as if they were cultural anthropologists. The story starts off … Continue reading From Debrisville To Kaleville

Adrastos, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Law/Justice, Political Crack2 Comments

Guilty

I’ve had a lot of fun riffing about the #nagintrial but now that it’s reached it’s inevitable conclusion, I feel sad. Nagin was one of my primary subjects as a blogger and I always found him to be as entertaining as he was infuriating. I even voted for him in 2002 before he’d established that he was in over his head. Even though he got what was coming to him, I still find it difficult to celebrate anyone being sent to jail. There were also some disgusting tweets after the verdict. Why do people think that prison rape is funny? … Continue reading Guilty

Adrastos, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Law/Justice, Political Crack

Trial by Twitter: Closing Arguments Edition

Peter Adrastos Athas

It’s looking bad for the Walking Id aka former New Orleans Mayor C Ray Nagin. The prosecution’s closing was strong and its rebuttal even stronger. The defense seems to be trying the lay groundwork for an appeal based on the NOLA.com commenting scandalat the US Attorney’s office. It has already led to several convictions being reversed. I spent much of today riffing on the trial again. Here are some highlights or lowlights depending on your perspective. The case is now in the hands of the jury who will commence deliberations at 2:30 after chowing down. Note: Jenkins is C Ray’s … Continue reading Trial by Twitter: Closing Arguments Edition

Adrastos, Diary, Food and Drink, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Political Crack

Paragraph Of The Day: Craig Giesecke Edition

Peter Adrastos Athas

Craig is one of the good friends I made in New Orleans after THE THING He and his darling wife Kim made like Horace Greeley and went west young (?) man (?) a few months back. Craig is a renaissance man: chef, writer, reporter, blogger, sailor, chocolate fancier as well as a cantankerous recovering Texan. Kim and he ran the much loved restaurant J’anita’s, which became something of a hang out for Dr. A and me when they were located in NOLA no man’s land. Business was so slow that they weren’t embarrassed to be seen with the likes of … Continue reading Paragraph Of The Day: Craig Giesecke Edition

Adrastos, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Law/Justice, Music, Political Crack1 Comment

NOLA Notes: Shakedown Street

What do former Virginia Gov. Sponge Bob McDonnell and former New Orleans mayor C Ray (The Walking Id) Nagin have in common? They’re both cheap bastards who have never picked up a check in their lives and feel that they’re entitled to free shit including money, money, money. Don’t give me that do good goody good bullshit. The #nagintrial gets more interesting every day. It has kept me glued to the Twittah. The Feds case is looking more and more like a steamroller and C Ray and his attorney, Robert Jenkins are getting flattened like Wile E Coyote. The latter … Continue reading NOLA Notes: Shakedown Street

Adrastos, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Law/Justice, New Orleans, Political Crack1 Comment

NOLA Notes: Undercover Brother

Peter Adrastos Athas

You’re probably wondering why I’m going on about a bad 2002 movie that I’ve never seen, not even at 2AM on HBO-Malakatude. Here’s why. It was mentioned Friday at the corruption trial of former Mayor C Ray Naginaka the Walking Id (stole that nickname from my old buddy Liprap.) It seems that C Ray is a fan of the movie, if, that is, it has any adherents: Among the messages was one where Nagin advised Meffert not to deal with businessman Aaron Bennett because he talked too much, including to then-TP investigative reporter Gordon Russell. There was also a message … Continue reading NOLA Notes: Undercover Brother

Adrastos, Diary, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Television5 Comments

The Thrill Is Gone

The final season ofTreme commenced tonight. It was a mixed bag but some of the characters I *really* hoped would vanish-Sonny, Annie, and Nelson Hidalgo-were still there. Bummer, man. I’d rather spend more quality time with La Donna, Antoine, and Big Chief Lambreaux but what can I say? The series has charted a course quite similar to the post-federal flood city that it’s set in. The high hopes of season one have given way to the sporadic pleasures of seasons 3 and 4. I’m going to stick it out because there’s still a lot of good stuff going on, and … Continue reading The Thrill Is Gone

Adrastos, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Law/Justice, New Orleans12 Comments

NOLA Notes: Danziger Bridge Convictions Reversed

Peter Adrastos Athas

Speaking of careless people, our former US Attorney’s staff screwed the pooch on this important post-K police brutality case: In a 127-page order, U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt overturned the jury convictions of five New Orleans police officers accused of shooting unarmed people a week after Hurricane Katrina and then orchestrating a cover-up. His decision focused largely on the two high-ranking former prosecutors who anonymously posted online comments about the case, as well as other pending cases, when it was still in its infancy and during the month-long trial. “This case started as one featuring allegations of brazen abuse of … Continue reading NOLA Notes: Danziger Bridge Convictions Reversed

Athenae, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Immoral Values, So Called Liberal Media3 Comments

The Gods Lift Those Who Lift Each Other

Allison Hantschel

Cats and kittens, we have fallen down on that job: The city secured a permit to tear down the house in November 2011. James, who had driven down from Baton Rouge to attend a prior code enforcement hearing, said she never received notification of the hearing at which the city’s demolition request was considered. According to city spokesman Tyler Gamble, the city’s Code Enforcement department does not send letters to property owners to inform them of such hearings. The Neighborhood Conservation District Committee, he said, “would have posted the notice of hearing on the building itself and the agenda would … Continue reading The Gods Lift Those Who Lift Each Other

Adrastos, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Political Crack12 Comments

Heckuva Job, Bush Library

Peter Adrastos Athas

The recently opened Dubya Bush mausoleum is putting the lie in lieberry. It’s not surprising that they’re offering a revisionist take on how the Bushies dealt with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the federal flood.Former Picayuneman Bruce Nolan went to Dallas so we didn’t have to and wrote about the exhibit for the Advocate: There was a time when George W. Bush minced no words about the federal response to Hurricane Katrina. He called it “unacceptable.” He fired his point man at FEMA and commissioned an internal review of the failures. A Senate inquiry led by his own party … Continue reading Heckuva Job, Bush Library

Athenae, Economy, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood1 Comment

It’s Almost Like Huge Corporations Ruined Things on Purpose

Allison Hantschel

Shove this in the face of the next person who talks about how nobody should live in New Orleans because Nature, Acts of God, etc: “For nearly a century, the oil and gas industry has continuously and relentlessly traversed, dredged, drilled and extracted in coastal Louisiana. It reaps enormous financial gain by exploiting the resources found there, sharing some of that bounty with the many residents whom it employs. Yet it also ravages Louisiana’s coastal landscape. An extensive network of oil and gas access and pipeline canals slashes the coastline at every angle, functioning as a mercilessly efficient, continuously expanding … Continue reading It’s Almost Like Huge Corporations Ruined Things on Purpose

Adrastos, Congress, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Nature is Scary, Political Crack, Stupid Republican Tricks7 Comments

How soon they forget

Peter Adrastos Athas

It’s not news that a GOP Congresscritter elected in the 2010 teabagger wave election would vore against aid for Hurricane Sandy victims. It is, however, news when that malaka is from Biloxi, MS and his district was ground zero for Katrina.Here’s a statement from Congressman Steven Palazzo’s office: Congressman Palazzo fully supports a Sandy relief package that includes spending offsets. On the heels of a fiscal cliff deal that added $4 trillion to our existing $16 trillion national debt, we must ensure that disaster relief is paid for. He also hopes we will be able to have a much-needed national … Continue reading How soon they forget

Adrastos, Current Affairs, Diary, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood4 Comments

You say gentrification, I say hipster takeover

Peter Adrastos Athas

There’s a swell article about gentrification in New Orleans by Tulane Perfesser Richard Campanella online at New geography.com. There’s been a lot of it post-Katrina and it’s a mixed bag. I have no issue with people renovating houses, opening galleries and such, but *some* of the new arrivals are hipster douchebags who want the locals to be grateful that they deigned to move here. I’m a transplant myself but I chose to *become* a local instead of hectoring them about how life is better with trend hopping Trustafarians pricing old hippies, black folks, and working class whites out of the … Continue reading You say gentrification, I say hipster takeover

Adrastos, Current Affairs, Diary, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood4 Comments

You say gentrification, I say hipster takeover

There’s a swell article about gentrification in New Orleans by Tulane PerfesserRichard Campanella online at New geography.com. There’s been a lot of it post-Katrina and it’s a mixed bag. I have no issue with people renovating houses, opening galleries and such, but *some* of the new arrivals are hipster douchebags who want the locals to be grateful that they deigned to move here. I’m a transplant myself but I chose to *become* a local instead of hectoring them about how life is better with trend hopping Trustafarians pricing old hippies, black folks, and working class whites out of the Bywater … Continue reading You say gentrification, I say hipster takeover

Adrastos, Diary, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Television5 Comments

The Thrill Is Gone

Peter Adrastos Athas

The final season of Treme commenced tonight. It was a mixed bag but some of the characters I *really* hoped would vanish-Sonny, Annie, and Nelson Hidalgo-were still there. Bummer, man. I’d rather spend more quality time with La Donna, Antoine, and Big Chief Lambreaux but what can I say? The series has charted a course quite similar to the post-federal flood city that it’s set in. The high hopes of season one have given way to the sporadic pleasures of seasons 3 and 4. I’m going to stick it out because there’s still a lot of good stuff going on, … Continue reading The Thrill Is Gone

Adrastos, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Law/Justice, New Orleans, Political Crack3 Comments

I got nothing for you

Peter Adrastos Athas

Former NOLA Mayor C Ray Nagin has been indicted for taking bribes and being a poser. I should be waxing eloquent or something like that since he used to be one of my favorite targets; instead the post title quotes what Jeff Probst says to the losing tribe on Survivor. I’m glad the vain sumbitch has been indicted but I’m bored with Nagin and everything about him. I may rally and write about his malakatude next week but all I have to add is this: the worst punishment you could inflict on C Ray is to bar him from looking … Continue reading I got nothing for you

Adrastos, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Law/Justice, Political Crack3 Comments

I got nothing for you

Former NOLA MayorC Ray Nagin has been indicted for taking bribes and being a poser. I should be waxing eloquent or something like that since he used to be one of my favorite targets; instead the post title quotes what Jeff Probst says to the losing tribe onSurvivor. I’m glad the vain sumbitch has been indicted but I’m bored with Nagin and everything about him. I may rally and write about his malakatude next week but all I have to add is this: the worst punishment you could inflict on C Ray is to bar him from looking in the … Continue reading I got nothing for you

Adrastos, Congress, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Nature is Scary, Political Crack, Stupid Republican Tricks7 Comments

How soon they forget

It’s not news that a GOP Congresscritter elected in the 2010 teabagger wave election would vore against aid for Hurricane Sandy victims. It is, however, news when that malaka is from Biloxi, MS and his district was ground zero for Katrina.Here’s a statement from Congressman Steven Palazzo’s office: Congressman Palazzo fully supports a Sandy relief package that includes spending offsets. On the heels of a fiscal cliff deal that added $4 trillion to our existing $16 trillion national debt, we must ensure that disaster relief is paid for. He also hopes we will be able to have a much-needed national … Continue reading How soon they forget

Athenae, Economy, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood7 Comments

What We Can Afford

We never question the price tag on this type of stuff, do we: The US Army Corps of Engineers plans to supervise construction of a five-story underground facility for an Israel Defense Forces complex, oddly named “Site 911,” at an Israeli Air Force base near Tel Aviv. Expected to take more than two years to build, at a cost of up to $100 million, the facility is to have classrooms on Level 1, an auditorium on Level 3, a laboratory, shock-resistant doors, protection from nonionizing radiation and very tight security. Clearances will be required for all construction workers, guards will … Continue reading What We Can Afford

Adrastos, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Political Crack4 Comments

Kaiser Rhymes With Liar

Peter Adrastos Athas

Remember my open letter to Andrew Cuomoabout former Katrina Kaiser (as opposed to Kay Kyser) Ed Blakely? I kept wondering why there was no confirmation from Noo Yawk and when the Sandy Commission was announced, the pompous Dr. Blakely’s name was missing.Here’s how the Gambit covered it: Brad Penuel, the co-chair of the New York Hurricane Sandy commission to which Dr. Ed Blakely claimed he had been appointed last week, told Gambit by phone today he wasn’t familiar with Blakely — and in a subsequent email, added, “Just received confirmation that Ed Blakely will not be serving on the Commission.” … Continue reading Kaiser Rhymes With Liar

Adrastos, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Political Crack4 Comments

Kaiser Rhymes With Liar

Remember my open letter to Andrew Cuomoabout former Katrina Kaiser (as opposed to Kay Kyser) Ed Blakely? I kept wondering why there was no confirmation from Noo Yawk and when the Sandy Commission was announced, the pompous Dr. Blakely’s name was missing.Here’s how the Gambit covered it: Brad Penuel, the co-chair of the New York Hurricane Sandy commission to which Dr. Ed Blakely claimed he had been appointed last week, toldGambit by phone today he wasn’t familiar with Blakely — and in a subsequent email, added, “Just received confirmation that Ed Blakely will not be serving on the Commission.” Blakely … Continue reading Kaiser Rhymes With Liar

Adrastos, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Political Crack5 Comments

Dear Governor Cuomo:

Peter Adrastos Athas

May I call you Andrew? Let me start with a few compliments. I think you’re doing a good job so far as Governor of the Empire State and I’m a *great admirer* of your father, Mario. Yeah, he left me at the altar in 1988 and 1992 but the man is too awesome to hold a grudge against. Of course, you know that, and are probably tired of hearing about your dad when you have your own national ambitions. Okey doke, that was the sweet part of this open letter, here’s the bitter. What on earth were you thinking when … Continue reading Dear Governor Cuomo:

Adrastos, Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Political Crack5 Comments

Dear Governor Cuomo:

May I call you Andrew? Let me start with a few compliments. I think you’re doing a good job so far as Governor of the Empire State and I’m a *great admirer* of your father, Mario. Yeah, he left me at the altar in 1988 and 1992 but the man is too awesome to hold a grudge against. Of course, you know that, and are probably tired of hearing about your dad when you have your own national ambitions. Okey doke, that was the sweet part of this open letter, here’s the bitter. What on earth were you thinking when … Continue reading Dear Governor Cuomo: