Day 1092: Live From Rising Tide 3 - Politics Panel
August 23, 2008 - Filed Under blogistas, crime, government, new orleans
Adrastos moderates a politics panel that includes Greg Peters (*groan* oops, I mean *cheer*), Brian Denzer, Gordon Russell from the Times-Picayune, Ethan Brown and our very own “queen of the universe,” Dangerblond!
Who’s going to / whom do you want to run for Mayor? Boos for Jackie Clarkson and Rob Couhig. Yay for Karen Carter, Mitch Landrieu and our Eli Ackerman.
District Attorney race: Ethan Brown says that the blogosphere the law enforcement establishment in New Orleans (thanks for the correction, Ethan!) has a “zombie narrative” going that New Orleans entertains a very liberal/lax policy when it comes to incarceration. New Orleans has a high incarceration rate for drug-related crimes and Louisiana has a very high number of people in prisons. High rate of 701 releases, yet only 2% of NOPD arrests are for violent crimes. Dangerblond says we need a DA who does not spend the first term preparing for the second term. We need a DA who is not going to prosecute every low-level “jughead” with “resin and a crackpipe.” Any avenue for social restitution for these people is now squandered because now they have a criminal record in their background. Greg Peters wants our new DA to have good managerial skills, not just lawyer finesse. Schroeder reminds us that we don’t have good metrics - “making quantitative records available to the public is important.” violent offenders tend to be repeat offenders and need to be put behind bars, but crack-pipe criminals may be able to go to Drug Court, as proposed by Linda Bizzarro as well as Jason Williams, who is with us at RT3 today.
Jason Williams says we need to prosecute cases using a Quality of Life dynamic. 95% of arrests are small change offenders. “Repeat violent offenders are allowed to go back to the street very quickly. First there are the 701 releases, but the justice system here is ill-equipped to deal with all of the cases.” So violent offenders are thrown back out with the low-risk folks. All was cool until the “Vote For Me” plug at the end - so unnecessary.
2nd District Congressional Race: Adrastos refers to William Jefferson as “a tragic figure, but, man, does he like money.” To help us understand the race better, Brian “The Nerd” Denzer gives us statistics, maps and visual aids. The thrust is that the 2nd District is majority black and this is going to be a major factor in this race. Based on a Southern Media poll, Brian says that Byron Lee, Dollar Bill and Kenya Smith together will garner about 16% of the vote. The poll shows Troy Carter, James Carter and Cedric Richmond going head to head, with Helena Moreno not making it to second primary.
(I don’t know who to vote for. *sigh*)
Gordon Russell is unsure how the voting is going to play out, but agrees that race is a factor. Helena Moreno is the only white candidate and could benefit from white votes in a sea of all black candidates. Greg states that Dollar Bill is not going down because of scandal but because he is no longer adept at bringing home federal money. Dangerblond is on the OPDEC and says James Carter (?) has national appeal and has OPDEC endorsement - yet states that people don’t know whom to believe. (My indecision is vindicated.) Ethan: “I’m from California where no one cares about the garbage contracts … We have a smaller pot of money so everyone is fighting over it.” Brian brings up coastal restoration and the Stafford Act: “They all lack the ability to speak to particular constituencies.”
Senate Race: Question is “Will Obama at the top of the ticket help or hurt Mary Landrieu’s chance for re-election?” Greg thinks it doesn’t matter because “John Kennedy is as useful as tits on a bishop.” Brian: “It helps because it increases black voter turnout.” Gordon: “It doesn’t matter.” Dangerblond brings up a $50 reward for anyone who can prove a credible story of corruption on the part of Moon Landrieu or anyone in his family. At this conference, Dangerblond raises the reward to $100.
Bobby Jindal:
Me: “Bobby Jindal exorcised me!” Adrastos points out that the exorcism obviously hasn’t taken and introduces me as his friend with lovely eyebrows. “I don’t get them waxed, either.”
Greg: “He’s a hydroponically-grown prototype,” “fake ideologue persona who will do what it takes.”
Brian: “He’s got a long way to go as an elected official.”
Gordon: “His ambition seems to have no limit and he will run for president.”
Dangerblond: “He’s a glib phony.”
Q&A Time a la Oyster:
* Are crime cameras and traffic cameras of any political relevance? Dangerblond says that we as a nation have turned into sheep allowing ourselves to be searched before flights, on trains, etc., so NOLA is not different. Brian wants crime cameras to be taken off streets and placed outside City Hall.
* Gary Wainwright gives a rambler of a sermon. And then asks us to vote for him?!?!
* Jimmy Huck brings up shifting populations and demographics and the Latino vote. Brian is disappointed with Helena Moreno for running as a white candidate and not as an advocate of the growing Latino population. Gordon asks, “If we have more Asian and Latino voters, would we have more sophisticated politics instead of I Look Like You, Vote For Me?” Yes! Adrastos supports immigration and that we have more people identifying as other than White or Black. (Hello! Dedra jokes that they have me lumped in with the Vietnamese.)
* Cynthia wonders how to go about advertising New Orleans as a destination for living. (We need to keep crime down and grow better schools for that.)
* More Latino community discussion. It’s puzzling to me that there are people here named Hernandez and Juarez (historically Spanish folks) who don’t want Hispanic immigrants moving in here or don’t advocate for them.
Ok, I’m done with this panel. Time for the Awards Ceremony.
Day 1088: Crime March Part Deux?
August 19, 2008 - Filed Under We Are Not Ok, crime, new orleans, recovery
ReX of NOLA Rising just wrote a beautiful letter to the City of New Orleans which touches on the same emotions of frustration and indecision I brought up yesterday. Please read the post in its entirety before coming back here.
Here are some of ReX’s words that stuck with me:
… I am a father to two girls who no longer live in New Orleans because their mother had the foresight to move them to another city far away from the madness. I didn’t argue with her moving because sadly I knew it was the right thing. Yet, I am still a citizen of New Orleans who has stayed behind to try and make our city a better place. I am a New Orleanian who came back home when I could have gone anywhere because I believed we could build a better New Orleans. Up until last week, I held that belief fervently but now I am not so sure at times.
… I am an artist, not an anti-crime activist. I am one man with a voice and I am not afraid to use it. If my words reach one set of ears and it produces something positive, then I have served my purpose. BUT, I am no longer content being a lone voice while our city is falling apart. A city is a place full of citizens and we must get involved, be involved and stay involved if we are going to make our city a better place.
At the end, ReX invites us to participate in a United For Peace anti-crime march on Saturday, September 20th. I am inclined to participate, but am simultaneously hesitant when pausing to consider what a Saturday march will accomplish. We should be there to demand change from a government forced to witness the deaths and anger of its people. To that end, I suggest that the march take place on a weekday and that it end at City Hall, like the last time. Make the mayor, DA and police chief come out in the open again. Have them be physically answerable to their citizens and media instead of hiding behind their buildings and schedules, as we’ve allowed them to do for too long.
If you’re a planner of this march or know someone who is, please consider this. I love the concept of the UFP march, but on a Saturday when Ray Ray and City Council are barbequeing in their backyards, it’s not marching for system change, which is what is required in New Orleans today.
Day 1055: A Superhero For New Orleans
July 17, 2008 - Filed Under crime, movies/tv, new orleans
Batman is my kind of superhero - dark, reclusive and inherently good. Forget Superman and Spiderman, who are goody, britches-wearing Archie Bunkers when compared to The Dark Knight. Last night, I watched Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of the Dark Knight on the History Channel. What I thought was going to be a shlocky dissection of the man behind the mask turned out to be a rather good comparison of Batman and his evil counterparts with the fight between good and evil in our daily lives. There were the occasional hip shots like one psychologist who considers Batman to be obsessive-compulsive because in one comic he stopped a business meeting to watch the sun go down - um, no, that’s not obsessive-compulsive behavior, he just wanted to watch a beautiful sunset and then leave to conduct his nightly affairs. Overall, however, the show explored nicely the Batman vs. Evil Villain situation and reduced it to one simple fact that can be applied to people and places that have suffered horror, abuse and indignity: after Bad has occurred, one has the choice to go forward in life and work to ensure that Bad happens as little as possible to others or to marinate oneself in the Bad and inflict it on the world.
Ever since moving here, I’ve wished a superhero on New Orleans. One who, like Batman, does not kill, but hunts down perpetrators of wrong all the way from murderers and thieves to corrupt white collar people and politicians, and beats the living tar out of them in dark alleyways. One who will find the murderers of Dinerral Shavers, Helen Hill and everyone on The List and bring them to justice while NOPD and the DA cannot. Besides, in this city of costumes and voodoo metaphysics, a person flying from building to building dressed in spandex and wings is unlikely to receive public disbelief or derision.
Gotham hasn’t become bright, gay and safe because of Batman and his crime-fighting buddies and the doors of Arkham Asylum are monitored worse than that of OPP, but at least they have Batman. Whom do we have?
The Spirit would be a perfect fit. He is “rookie cop Denny Colt [who] returns from the beyond … a hero whose mission is to fight against the bad forces in Central City.” Dead cop, ghost, Central City - hand, meet glove. How about a partnership with Super Muse who has “the power to lift tons of debris, super boots [that] give her the ability to fly over BS and red tape and she can even read the minds of politicians.” Along with Po’ Boy, their little yet scrumptious sidekick, they take on the mean streets of Louisiana delivering Pow! and Zap! to the likes of Mighty Mouth Nagin, Vitterman and Jindal Boy. I thought about adding Supa Saint to the ensemble but the bad guys would see his gold cape and blond jheri curls coming from a mile away, and his powers may wane outside the Dome Party District.
The situation here is absurd, so don’t scoff at a New Orleanian superhero unless you have better ideas for solving this city’s crime problem. One can’t help but dream. Who would you like to see out there? The Golden Lantern? Bucktown Banzai? The Roach? Nominate away for the New Orleans Justice League.
Day 1049: Crackdown
July 11, 2008 - Filed Under crime, culture-society-history, government
On the exposure of elastic, boxers and briefs and, as my niece puts it, “the crack of daaaawn.”
Apparently, NOPD is not the only outfit that creates inane crimes and exorbitant punishment to go with them. When there is much else to be fought in the nation’s third most violent city, the Flint, MI police department spends vital time and resources on visual aids such as this one (via Reason):
Feel free to wander the streets if you put a cap in someone else’s crack, but by no means will you show your own.
This is nothing new to us Louisianans. When the reputation of the state is constantly at stake and federal corruption charges against him were in the balance, Louisiana State Senator Derrick Shepherd shepherded a bill through state legislature that would criminalize saggy pants. Thankfully, this bill was recently put to rest but not before taxpayer money was used to debate it.
Law enforcement does not understand that baggy/saggy pants often works to their advantage and gives us thirty- and forty-somethings a chance to laugh at Kids These Days. Besides, shouldn’t this law be applied to plumbers and the exposure of their proverbial butts as well?
Update: Is the graphic above also Flint PD’s way of expressing their dislike of Blue Man Group?
Day 1046: This Week In Irony
July 8, 2008 - Filed Under computing & internet, crime, new orleans
Day 1040: New Orleans Keeping Up With
July 2, 2008 - Filed Under We Are Not Ok, crime, new orleans, recovery
So, how’s rooting folks out of their FEMA trailers coming?
Day 1013: Another Shooting In My Neighborhood
June 5, 2008 - Filed Under crime, new orleans
In what continues to be a busy crime scene in the Lower Garden District, a gunman shot a 36-year-old man near the corner of Annunciation and Market streets, then led police on a foot chase through the neighborhood.
… Officers eventually lost sight of him of the suspected shooter, according to police radio reports. By 8:21 a.m., officers had found a gun and were guarding it. Police were also keeping people away as they combed the area for the suspect.
Kill the FEMA-trailer resident in Lakeview but lose sight of a shooting suspect. I am so tired of this.
Day 978: Newsweek’s Take On New Orleans Today
May 2, 2008 - Filed Under We Are Not Ok, crime, new orleans, recovery
Newsweek: Towards A New New Orleans
This latest mainstream media piece on New Orleans seems to contain a bit more ground truth (except, as Oyster points out, there ain’t no Beaujolais St. here) and is yet somehow more non-committal than its predecessors. The feeling I got when reading the article is that it throws up many pieces to the jigsaw puzzle that is current New Orleans, but doesn’t go the step further to reach some obvious conclusions.
Example 1: The authors don’t arrive at the fact that in order for artists to live and thrive here, and not just the ones interviewed that have regular gigs and recording contracts, affordable housing is key. The kind provided here and there by Tulane architecture students or Global Green is laudable, but in the absence of a philosophy and systematic legal implementation of affordable rents and mortgages, a “vibrant culture” taking root here again is going to be very difficult to impossible.
Example 2: The recovery here is 100% citizen-led. The artists mentioned in the article aren’t back here and supporting New Orleans because city infrastructure is in any way better. They are here because this is home and their staying here is funded through their own credit cards. All New New Orleans ever did for Dinerral Shavers is acquit his murderer twice. Kirsha Kaechele shouldn’t be surprised when, one day, she returns back to her street to find one of her houses randomly demolished.
The authors are well within their rights to be wishy-washy about the very fluid situation of this city, but should have expressed it as: “It’s not good because of the infrastructure chaos and it’s not bad because there are citizens who want to be here and are doing all the work of recovery. How long can this model sustain itself?”
Well, how long?
Lack of affordable housing, rent and mortgage increases, insurance rate hikes, citizen-led recovery, the high murder rate, misplaced police priorities, misplaced educational priorities and so much more to overcome. Yet, many came or came back inspite of a city and government that make simple everyday living so hard.
Newsweek’s quaint assessment that “New Orleans is dead, long live New Orleans” is both wrong and right. It’s the same as it ever was. There will forever be the ones who are drawn to the age-old charm and context of New Orleans and those who run away from her equally legendary crime and chaos. But, given today’s economic challenges, who will those people be, where and how will they live and how will the culture, look and feel of New Orleans fare in their presence and absence?
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