Tuesday, September 16, 2008
"Dollar Got The Blues" - "Gatemouth" Brown
From the Houston Chronicle:
ORANGE, Texas — Hurricane Katrina chased bluesman Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown from his adopted home in New Orleans -- to the Texas Gulf coast.
Brown died in exile in Orange, where he grew up.
Now another hurricane has disturbed his rest.
The 1982 Grammy Award winner's casket was one of dozens belched up by the ground when Gulf and rain from Hurricane Ike flooded Hollywood Cemetery.
Gatemouth did not R.I.P. Here's Gatemouth performing in Hamburg, Germany, in 1983, and here we are again, 25 years later, with the dollar blues.
Thanks to Paul (A.) at OCICBW for the tip.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Joe "The Mouth" Biden Gets Going
In a conversation with a friend this morning, I discovered that she used the same pet name for Sen. Joe Biden that I did. I assume that he was chosen as Obama's running mate for his vast knowledge of foreign policy and because he would use "The Mouth" to enlighten the electorate on many issues. I've been getting a little impatient waiting for "The Mouth" to get to work. Well, he did today in Michigan, according to TPM. Her's a quote from his speech:
Eight years ago, a man ran for President who claimed he was different, not a typical Republican. He called himself a reformer. He admitted that his Party, the Republican Party, had been wrong about things from time to time. He promised to work with Democrats and said he'd been doing that for a long time
....
We saw how that story ends. A record number of home foreclosures. Home values, tumbling. And the disturbing news that the crisis you've been facing on Main Street is now hitting Wall Street, taking down Lehman Brothers and threatening other financial institutions.
We've seen eight straight months of job losses. Nearly 46 million Americans without health insurance. Average incomes down, while the price of everything -- from gas to groceries -- has skyrocketed. A military stretched thin from two wars and multiple deployments.
....
Eight years later, we have another Republican nominee who's telling us the exact same thing:
This time it will be different, it really will. This time he's going to put country before party, to change the tone, reach across the aisle, change the Republican Party, change the way Washington works.
We've seen this movie before, folks. But as everyone knows, the sequel is always worse than the original.
....
Barack Obama believes that progress in this country is measured by how many people have a decent job where they're shown respect. How many people can pay their mortgage. How many people can turn their ideas into a new business. How many people can turn to their kids and say "It's going to be okay" with the knowledge that the opportunities they give will be better than the ones they received.
....
That's why his tax cuts - benefit the middle class. That's why he'll make it easier for families to afford college for their kids. That's why he says everyone should be able to have the same health care that members of Congress have. That's why his energy plan will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, bring down gas prices, and, in the process, we'll create five million new green jobs. Those are the changes we need.
Yo, Joe! State in simple, straightforward words what has happened over the last eight years of the Bush administration. Then ask, "Do we want four more years, or eight more years of the same?"
In plain English, Obama will not increase taxes on anyone earning under a quarter of a million dollars a year. If anyone tells you different, then they are lying.
Eight years ago, a man ran for President who claimed he was different, not a typical Republican. He called himself a reformer. He admitted that his Party, the Republican Party, had been wrong about things from time to time. He promised to work with Democrats and said he'd been doing that for a long time
....
We saw how that story ends. A record number of home foreclosures. Home values, tumbling. And the disturbing news that the crisis you've been facing on Main Street is now hitting Wall Street, taking down Lehman Brothers and threatening other financial institutions.
We've seen eight straight months of job losses. Nearly 46 million Americans without health insurance. Average incomes down, while the price of everything -- from gas to groceries -- has skyrocketed. A military stretched thin from two wars and multiple deployments.
....
Eight years later, we have another Republican nominee who's telling us the exact same thing:
This time it will be different, it really will. This time he's going to put country before party, to change the tone, reach across the aisle, change the Republican Party, change the way Washington works.
We've seen this movie before, folks. But as everyone knows, the sequel is always worse than the original.
....
Barack Obama believes that progress in this country is measured by how many people have a decent job where they're shown respect. How many people can pay their mortgage. How many people can turn their ideas into a new business. How many people can turn to their kids and say "It's going to be okay" with the knowledge that the opportunities they give will be better than the ones they received.
....
That's why his tax cuts - benefit the middle class. That's why he'll make it easier for families to afford college for their kids. That's why he says everyone should be able to have the same health care that members of Congress have. That's why his energy plan will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, bring down gas prices, and, in the process, we'll create five million new green jobs. Those are the changes we need.
Yo, Joe! State in simple, straightforward words what has happened over the last eight years of the Bush administration. Then ask, "Do we want four more years, or eight more years of the same?"
In plain English, Obama will not increase taxes on anyone earning under a quarter of a million dollars a year. If anyone tells you different, then they are lying.
Thought For The Day
Before the oil and gas companies contributed in large part to the destruction our wetlands in Louisiana, with their criss-crossing pipelines, we were much better protected from hurricanes. Therefore the oil and gas companies, who are, even now, raking in record profits at your expense and my expense, should pay for the restoration of our wetlands.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
We Both Missed It
As if our lives haven't been eventful enough, we had another event this morning. It's not Christmas, and it's not Easter, but Grandpère announced that he was going to church with me. I said, "Really!" He said he thought he should go to give thanks to God that the members of our family are all safe and our homes made it through Gustav and Ike with no damage or relatively light damage. And isn't that exactly right?
At the time in the service for prayers for birthdays and anniversaries, GP turned to me and asked me what was the date of our anniversary. He did know it was this month. I thought for a minute and said, "It was yesterday." We both missed the anniversary of 47 years of wedded bliss, and the rest of the family forgot, too. We are all still rattled and revved up from the serial hurricanes. GP and I went up for prayer with the hope of spending further years together. Afterwards, we went to lunch in a local restaurant for a quiet celebration with just the two of us. I got a little buzz from my one glass of wine, and all is now cool.
At the time in the service for prayers for birthdays and anniversaries, GP turned to me and asked me what was the date of our anniversary. He did know it was this month. I thought for a minute and said, "It was yesterday." We both missed the anniversary of 47 years of wedded bliss, and the rest of the family forgot, too. We are all still rattled and revved up from the serial hurricanes. GP and I went up for prayer with the hope of spending further years together. Afterwards, we went to lunch in a local restaurant for a quiet celebration with just the two of us. I got a little buzz from my one glass of wine, and all is now cool.
"For Cynthia and Grandmère Mimi"
Jim at JindalWatch put together this video in honor of his niece, Cynthia, and me. Cynthia lives in Houma, Louisiana, and we both left our homes to escape Gustav. It's beautiful. Jim, I loved that you used the picture of Our Lady of the Driveway and that you posted the Latin for the "Hail Mary".
Thank you. You made me cry. I seem to be crying quite a bit lately. People are so very kind.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
R. I. P., Ruthie The Duck Girl
Ruthie the Duck Girl, a French Quarter eccentric who zoomed from bar to bar on roller skates, often wearing a ratty fur coat and long skirt and trailed by a duck or two, died Sept. 6 at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge. She was 74.
Ruthie, whose real name was Ruth Grace Moulon, had been suffering from cancer of the mouth and lungs when the residents of her Uptown New Orleans nursing home were evacuated to Baton Rouge as Hurricane Gustav approached, said Carol Cunningham, a close friend who watched over her for nearly 40 years.
"I've always looked at Ruthie like a little bird with a broken wing," Cunningham said. "She was always so dear to me."
If you have visited the French Quarter in New Orleans, you may well have spotted Ruthie, and you would not easily forget her. She zipped all over the Quarter on her roller skates. She was a typical New Orleans eccentric, my kind of woman.
From the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Hurricane Ike And Terrebonne Parish, LA
From Houma Today:
HOUMA – Hurricane Ike so far has flooded more than 13,000 buildings and 200 miles of road, affecting a population of 20,000, according to estimates from parish officals released this morning.
“We were hoping not to have a repeat of Rita, but we have that and worse,” Sheriff Vernon Bourgeois told reporters at a news conference Saturday morning.
As search-and-rescue operations continue in low-lying bayou areas, the water continues to rise in East Houma, where the Intracoastal Waterway and Houma Navigation Canal continue to swell from Ike’s massive surge.
....
The parish is sheltering about 480 people in four shelters at Houma Junior High, Dumas Auditorium, and the Schriever Recreation Center, which filled to capacity last night, officials said. The parish is working to open up Evergreen Junior High as an additional shelter, while South Terrebonne High is serving as a holding area for those rescued by boat.
In certain coastal areas of southeastern Louisiana, Ike left more damage in its wake than Gustav. Rising water is the danger, and it's rising still.
HOUMA – Hurricane Ike so far has flooded more than 13,000 buildings and 200 miles of road, affecting a population of 20,000, according to estimates from parish officals released this morning.
“We were hoping not to have a repeat of Rita, but we have that and worse,” Sheriff Vernon Bourgeois told reporters at a news conference Saturday morning.
As search-and-rescue operations continue in low-lying bayou areas, the water continues to rise in East Houma, where the Intracoastal Waterway and Houma Navigation Canal continue to swell from Ike’s massive surge.
....
The parish is sheltering about 480 people in four shelters at Houma Junior High, Dumas Auditorium, and the Schriever Recreation Center, which filled to capacity last night, officials said. The parish is working to open up Evergreen Junior High as an additional shelter, while South Terrebonne High is serving as a holding area for those rescued by boat.
In certain coastal areas of southeastern Louisiana, Ike left more damage in its wake than Gustav. Rising water is the danger, and it's rising still.
Bishop Charles Jenkins Blog
From Bishop Charles Jenkins of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana:
Saturday, September 13, 2008
IKE Update - Saturday Morning
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
There is no communication yet from Texas or Western Louisiana. We continue to pray and hope for the safety of all.
As noted, IKE put more water into southeast Louisiana than did Gustav. A priest wrote this morning saying that he and his family are safe but stranded as their neighborhood is surrounded by water. He fears a rain storm would flood their home. There is a good deal of flooding here on the north shore. Louise and I are fine.
The third choice of the Collects for Mission (see Morning Prayer, Rite II) contains the phrase, that we reaching forth our hands in love. The Collect implies that our reaching forth is like that of our Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks reflects upon “Love as deed” in his book, To Heal a Fractured World. Quoting Stephen Carter, Sacks writes, In the Jewish tradition . . .civility is called hessed, the doing of acts of kindness – which is in turn derived from the understanding that human beings are made in the image of God...What is hessed? It is usually translated as “kindness” but it also means ‘love’ - not love as emotion or passion, but love expressed as deed. (page 45)
May God grant us grace and resources to continue to the reaching forth of our hands in love. It Is a joy and an honor to share in your reaching forth. I hope for you a quiet, safe and restful day.
Bishop Jenkins
Saturday, September 13, 2008
IKE Update - Saturday Morning
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
There is no communication yet from Texas or Western Louisiana. We continue to pray and hope for the safety of all.
As noted, IKE put more water into southeast Louisiana than did Gustav. A priest wrote this morning saying that he and his family are safe but stranded as their neighborhood is surrounded by water. He fears a rain storm would flood their home. There is a good deal of flooding here on the north shore. Louise and I are fine.
The third choice of the Collects for Mission (see Morning Prayer, Rite II) contains the phrase, that we reaching forth our hands in love. The Collect implies that our reaching forth is like that of our Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks reflects upon “Love as deed” in his book, To Heal a Fractured World. Quoting Stephen Carter, Sacks writes, In the Jewish tradition . . .civility is called hessed, the doing of acts of kindness – which is in turn derived from the understanding that human beings are made in the image of God...What is hessed? It is usually translated as “kindness” but it also means ‘love’ - not love as emotion or passion, but love expressed as deed. (page 45)
May God grant us grace and resources to continue to the reaching forth of our hands in love. It Is a joy and an honor to share in your reaching forth. I hope for you a quiet, safe and restful day.
Bishop Jenkins
Water Still Putrid
From the Daily Comet in Thibodaux:
Bayou Lafourche’s soupy black color comes as a result of Hurricane Gustav’s strong winds, which churned decomposing organic matter settled on the bottom of the bayou onto its top layer, water officials said.
Decaying matter was then passed on to a different form of bacteria that sucked the oxygen out of Bayou Lafourche, giving it its stagnant quality.
But water officials have deemed it safe to drink for most of the 300,000 people supplied by Bayou Lafourche, except most of Thibodaux, all of Assumption Parish and small pockets in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes.
Except for those places, the water is fine. Believe that if you like. Unfortunately, we're in one of those places where they say it's not fine. We get regular reports on water quality, and there is often a slightly high bacterial content or too much of one chemical or another. The problem is not new, but no government agency has moved ahead to try to solve the problem.
A long-term fix to the area’s poor quality water that languished for two decades will begin Monday after receiving the federal approval its needed, a direct result of the disaster, officials say.
The plan is to smooth the bottom of a six-mile stretch of Bayou Lafourche from Donaldsonville to Belle Rose and increase the flow of water southward.
Sections of the bayou, including that area, are a rocky texture shaped like multiple sand dunes lined up in front of one another, which stops the flow of water, officials said.
....
The dredging project will cut into some private property along Bayou Lafourche and tear away some people’s bulkheads.
About 100 impacted residents impacted attended a contentious meeting with multiple political representatives and water officials Thursday night.
They were told the project would start Monday regardless of their opinion on the matter, but most appeared accepting of the move.
The waterways are public property. Folks have no right to build bulkheads into the bayou, so if your bulkhead goes, too bad. It should not have been built in the first place. The plan to dredge the bayou and allow more water to flow down Bayou Lafourche from Donaldsonville has been on hold for two decades partly because the people with their piers and their bulkheads protested loudly enough that action was stalled.
Bayou Lafourche is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is dammed at Donaldsonville, and water is pumped down the bayou. The pumps were off for two days during and after Gustav, resulting in the stagnant lake and polluted water drinking water that we have now.
Despite the protests of the residents along the bayou, Governor Jindal has ordered more water to be pumped and the dredging will proceed - finally. Kudos to Jindal again.
Bayou Lafourche’s soupy black color comes as a result of Hurricane Gustav’s strong winds, which churned decomposing organic matter settled on the bottom of the bayou onto its top layer, water officials said.
Decaying matter was then passed on to a different form of bacteria that sucked the oxygen out of Bayou Lafourche, giving it its stagnant quality.
But water officials have deemed it safe to drink for most of the 300,000 people supplied by Bayou Lafourche, except most of Thibodaux, all of Assumption Parish and small pockets in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes.
Except for those places, the water is fine. Believe that if you like. Unfortunately, we're in one of those places where they say it's not fine. We get regular reports on water quality, and there is often a slightly high bacterial content or too much of one chemical or another. The problem is not new, but no government agency has moved ahead to try to solve the problem.
A long-term fix to the area’s poor quality water that languished for two decades will begin Monday after receiving the federal approval its needed, a direct result of the disaster, officials say.
The plan is to smooth the bottom of a six-mile stretch of Bayou Lafourche from Donaldsonville to Belle Rose and increase the flow of water southward.
Sections of the bayou, including that area, are a rocky texture shaped like multiple sand dunes lined up in front of one another, which stops the flow of water, officials said.
....
The dredging project will cut into some private property along Bayou Lafourche and tear away some people’s bulkheads.
About 100 impacted residents impacted attended a contentious meeting with multiple political representatives and water officials Thursday night.
They were told the project would start Monday regardless of their opinion on the matter, but most appeared accepting of the move.
The waterways are public property. Folks have no right to build bulkheads into the bayou, so if your bulkhead goes, too bad. It should not have been built in the first place. The plan to dredge the bayou and allow more water to flow down Bayou Lafourche from Donaldsonville has been on hold for two decades partly because the people with their piers and their bulkheads protested loudly enough that action was stalled.
Bayou Lafourche is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is dammed at Donaldsonville, and water is pumped down the bayou. The pumps were off for two days during and after Gustav, resulting in the stagnant lake and polluted water drinking water that we have now.
Despite the protests of the residents along the bayou, Governor Jindal has ordered more water to be pumped and the dredging will proceed - finally. Kudos to Jindal again.
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