MORE FREE MARKETS IN LOUISIANA

Sen. Jack Donahue R

The Louisiana Legislature is poised to take $4 million of your tax dollars away from supporting disabled Louisianians in order to give it to a corporate indycar event at a private racetrack owned by a multi-millionaire. That is not spin:

“We’re taking money away from the disabled community and giving it to motor sports?” Claitor asked during the committee meeting.

“The answer to your question, Sen. Claitor, is yes,” said Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville, the committee’s chairman, in response.

Sen. Dan Claitor - R

NOLA Motorsports is owned by Laney Chouest, a multi-millionaire co-owner of Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO). He seems like a fine enough chap, one devoted to building a world class racetrack. Now, of course, he’s done it with his own fortune. Good for him. He even opened it to the public, so normal folks could go racing or go-karting around his prize.

At least Jack Donahue is honest to admit that he takes from the disabled to give to the rich. I'll give him that, though he appears to have no heart.  He hopes to find the money to replace what's been taken away from the disabled.  We shall see.

Of course, the governor can't break a promise to a wealthy supporter.  Jindal is forever paying out money to draw business to Louisiana. I posted earlier today about bringing the bananas back to the Port of New Orleans and paying a fertilizer plant (Oh joy!) to build in Louisiana. Jindal preaches loud and long about the free market, but why then does he pay companies to establish businesses in the state?  The payments are euphemistically labeled "incentives", but how is that the free market in operation?  And how do the governor and the legislature justify such a policy to disabled citizens and the parents of disabled children, not to speak of their own consciences.

THE FREE MARKET IN LOUISIANA

If the free market is free, why do we have to pay companies to move to Louisiana?

The Port of New Orleans is set to regain its position as one of the main entryways for the billions of bananas imported to the United States each year, a windfall officials hope will create a few hundred new jobs and boost shipping container traffic in New Orleans by as much as 15 percent.
....

Jindal cited three types of incentives that eventually helped persuade the company to relocate. He said Louisiana will give Chiquita $11.3 million to help offset the company’s costs over the next 10 years. That grant will be performance-based, tied to the number of units the company actually ends up shipping through the port, with clawback provisions in case of shortfalls. (My emphasis)

Chiquita Brands is the old United Fruit Company, which once owned the governments of several Central American countries.   My father was born in Honduras when his parents were visiting relatives there who worked for United Fruit.

Here's another.

AM Agrigen LLC, a Delaware company formed in 2013, has an option on 650 acres in St. Charles Parish as the site of a proposed $1.2 billion fertilizer plant.

LED said it began working with AM Agrigen on the project in October 2012. To secure the project, Louisiana offered the company a performance-based $5.6 million grant to offset infrastructure costs of the project. AM Agrigen would receive help from the state’s LED FastStart workforce training program and is expected to use the state’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.  (My emphasis)

Great care must be taken by fertilizer plants to prevent air pollution and soil pollution.  The plant will be located near the Mississippi River, the source of drinking water for a large population.  Should any of the chemical containers used in the manufacturing process spring a leak,  river water contamination would result.  Further there is the danger of explosion and fire unless fertilizer plants are duly inspected and held accountable for maintenance of equipment and safe working conditions.

Louisiana's history of weak regulation and oversight of manufacturers is less than encouraging for citizens who live near the the construction site of the plant, but I hope for the best.  I understand the need for well-paying jobs, but the jobs should not come at the cost of quality of life for those who live near the plant.

Photo from Wikipedia.

MEMORIAL DAY - 2014

Each year it's more difficult for me to write something meaningful about the day, now especially, because members of our military are still dying and suffering from wounds today.  Though I have not lost anyone close to me in a war, I've lived through five wars in my lifetime, and that's not counting incursions or excursions, or whatever is the euphemism of the day for our interventions in countries with which we are not at war, including the drone attacks up to the present time.   Five plus is enough. 

We honor the fallen for their courage and dedication to duty. We extend our sympathy to their families and friends, whether the loss is recent or from long times past. We stand with you. We mourn with you.   In return, the highest form of honor to those who gave their lives is to care for their families as best we can and to care for their comrades in arms who survived the wars, but returned home wounded in body, mind, and spirit.  The fallen would have wanted it to be so, and, as was recently reemphasized, our past and present efforts fall far short of the needs of the veterans.  Shame on us.  We must do better. 

I posted the video below on Facebook in honor of Memorial Day, and it seems fitting to post it here, too.  Pete Seeger, the composer, and a good many other musicians have sung fine versions of the song, but Marlène's powerful performance is the most moving I've ever seen or heard.



When will we ever learn?

Lord God, Almighty and Everlasting Father, we pray for all those who have died in wars. We pray they rest in peace in the perpetual light of your love. We pray for your blessing upon the families and friends of all those who have died in service to their country. Console them for their aching loss. Bring them healing of body, mind, and spirit. Give them strength and courage to go forward, and, Lord God, above all else, give them your peace that passes understanding to keep their minds and hearts.  Amen.

Reposted from last year with slight editing.

SKY AT SUNSET

Ordinary (yet extraordinary) display at evening,
But for sometimes obscuring clouds,
Each sunset delights with colors gathered
From sky's broad palette.

Houses, trees obscure the view behind the house
Of fiery sun's swift plunge below earth's horizon,
Yet, hues and contrast enchant the eyes
As fast intake of breath reveals the wonder.

(June Butler - 5/25/2014)

LOUISE PENNY - "THE CRUELEST MONTH"

Spoiler alert!  If you have not read the third in the Chief Inspector Gamache mystery series, you may want to stop reading now.  I don't reveal the identity of the murderer, but I write more than you may wish to know.

Louise Penny writes well, and I enjoyed the third book in the Chief Inspector Gamache mystery series, with exceptions.  Had I not read Penny's two earlier books, Still Life and A Fatal Grace, I probably would have been puzzled by the side story of Chief Inspector Gamache's difficulties with his employer, the Sûreté du Québec.  Despite Penny's formidable writing gifts, her attempt to squeeze the two stories into one book seems less than successful to me.  Am I alone in thinking a mystery novel, even one that is part of a series, should stand on its own?  Even if characters in the series recur, the reader should be able to pick up any of the novels and read and enjoy.

Once again, the setting is Three Pines, the tiny, out-of-the-way, beautiful, and peaceful village - well, maybe not so peaceful, as murder is in the offing yet again.  With another murder in the same setting, the story crossed the boundary of my ability to suspend disbelief.  As I read the beginning of the book, I was much preoccupied thinking, "I can't believe this.  Another murder in Three Pines."

To detract further from the credibility of the story, with a visiting witch in tow, the villagers decide to hold a séance, just for fun, in the village "haunted" house, where terrifying events took place in the earlier mysteries, and - all too predictably - one of their group is murdered.

Except for the distracting side story, I enjoyed the middle of the book.  Alas, near the end, at the climax of the story, Gamache hopes to solve the murder - incredibly! - by gathering the villagers and returning to the "haunted" house where predictable mayhem takes place before the murder is solved.

I wanted to like the book more than I did, because Penny is a skilled writer who creates characters that come to life, and she has a gift for realistic dialogue.  The plot is the problem. The introduction of the side story, which doesn't mesh with the main story, the setting of yet another murder in the small village, and the return to predictable murder and mayhem in the "haunted" house stretched credibility beyond what was acceptable to me.

"DALLAS BUYERS CLUB" - THE FILM

On Sunday, I watched Dallas Buyers Club, an excellent movie released in 2013, but a film that was quite difficult to view. Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto were outstanding in their roles. Loosely based on the real life story of Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey), who was diagnosed with AIDS in the 1980s and given 30 days to live, the film won may awards, including an Academy Award for Jared Leto in his role as Rayon, a drug-addicted transsexual woman.

Ron is dissatisfied with his diagnosis and treatment in the hospital and, after reading and researching alternative treatments, he decides to treat himself and eventually others diagnosed with HIV and AIDS with advice and drugs from a doctor in Mexico, Dr Vass, who has lost his license to practice in the US. Ron's health and that of some of the others on the regimen improves, but, when the US Food and Drug Administration finds out about Ron's operation, they try to shut him down.

The Reagan administration is notorious for ignoring the growing epidemic and for its slowness in researching the causes and treatment of the disease and developing programs to educate the public. People who contracted the disease were sickening and dying in large numbers and were desperate and willing to try any treatment that might offer hope.  Reagan did not even mention HIV or AIDS until near the end of his second term.  What finally made me sit up and take serious notice was Randy Shilts' book, And the Band Played On.

Everyone involved in the production of the film treated the subject seriously and respectfully.  I highly recommend Dallas Buyers Club.

IN HONOR OF INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA

Thanks to Kelvin Holdsworth at What's in Kelvin's Head? for noting the day.  Panti Bliss' "Noble Call" speaks so eloquently, that, like Kelvin, I have little to add.

SORRY ARCHBISHOP, THIS WILL NOT DO

Thanks to Colin Coward at Changing Attitude for the transcript of an interview with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby by Sarah Julian for BBC Radio Nottingham.  The interviewer asked questions about the recent civil marriage of Church of England Canon Jeremy Pemberton and Laurence Cunnington, which went against the rules laid out in "House of Bishops Pastoral Guidance on Same Sex Marriage".  The document states in bold type that despite the fact that same sex marriage is legal in England, Church of England clergy are not permitted to enter into civil marriages.

SJ  So what happens to Canon Pemberton?

ABC  “Well, the Bishop of Lincoln .. he’s actually in Lincoln Diocese .. the Bishop of Lincoln has commented on that and I’ve said all I’m going to say on that, really; I’ve commented on that a great deal recently and I don’t intend to add to it.”

SJ  We’ve not spoken to you here on BBC Radio Nottingham, though, and he actually does live in our diocese and does some work in our diocese so I’d appreciate if you could, you know, reiterate that, then …

ABC  “No, as I’ve said, I’ve said on nationally and it’s been in all the press and on the radio and, and I’m just not going to add to it.”

SJ  So you won’t repeat what you’ve said already?

ABC  “Er, no.

SJ  What will happen in future when more and more priests either do this or bless a gay wedding themselves?

ABC  “Well, the Church is heavily involved at the moment in discussions about policy, organised discussions which will take, er, involving loads and loads of people from all over the world and, er, all kinds of activities and that’s going to take quite a long time to do and as I say, I don’t want to preempt those discussion so I’m not going to comment further on that.”

SJ  But you must have an idea of what the Church should do in these instances ‘cus it’s already happening, you must have had a plan for what will happen to priests who do this.

ABC  “Well, that’s been announced publicly, it’s on the record, erm, but errrr, as I say, I’m not intending to add to what I’ve said previously.”

SJ  And if priests do break the rules, are they going to be kicked out of the Church of England?

ABC  “There’s processes for, errr, what happens and it’s very much down to local bishops and umm, yeah, that’s, err, you need to ask the relevant bishop about that.”

SJ  But you’re the head of the Church of England, they must come to you and ask you those questions, what do you tell them?

ABC  “Well, actually the Church of England doesn’t work that way, we don’t have an Anglican Pope, we operate on a collegial, collective basis and errrr, it’s very much shared, errr, decision making, and there was a paper published at the end of errr January on that.”

SJ  How do you think God feels about gay marriage?

ABC  “Well as I’ve said I’ve commented an awful lot about it, I’m not going to add further to what I’ve said already.”

SJ  But how do you feel about the current situation and the turmoil that this is in and how this looks to the rest of society?

ABC  “One of the things … there’s always disagreements in Church, there’s always been disagreements in Church, it’s, it’s varied over the centuries on different issues; there’s always been disagreement. One of the key things in the Church is that the Church is a family, it’s not an institution, it’s not a political party, erm, it.. it.. the way we operate is that we are bound together by the love of Christ, and in the way we disagree we have to express that love to each other.”

SJ  We have two women here in Nottinghamshire who we’ve spoken to, they are planning to get married, the two of them. One of them actually works for the Church and she wants to become a priest. She feels that she’s had to choose between getting married and her calling to the Church. Is there any hope for her, or how does that make you feel?

ABC  “Well, I can only repeat what I’ve said before, that we’re, there’s a lot of discussion going on, err, we’re listening very, very carefully to people, but I don’t want to preempt that by adding further to the numerous things I’ve said on all kinds of media, including the BBC before.”

SJ  But not here in Nottinghamshire, and these are Nottinghamshire people who …

ABC  “I rather suspect that the BBC does reach in Nottingham, not only through the local radio.”

Kudos to Sarah Julian for not letting the - err - ABC get away with his - err - avoidance tactics. Most interviewers do.  The ABC's responses are beyond pathetic.  What message does Justin send when he refuses even to repeat his own words?  Not everyone in England pays attention each time he speaks.  Is he embarrassed by his words?  If this is the best he can do, perhaps he might consider refusing to grant interviews.

You may wonder about my excessive interest in the affairs of the Church of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury, and you may even call it an obsession if you like, but I have friends in England whose lives are already gravely and adversely affected by the words and direction of the leadership of the English church.  As a fellow Anglican, I care about them and all the others who pay the price for the delay of justice and equality for all members of the church, clergy and laity - the delay seemingly without end.

MUSINGS ON MOTHER'S DAY

My thoughts and feelings about Mother's Day are, at best, ambivalent. On the one hand, I'm enormously grateful to my mother, my grandmother, and my aunt for the love and support all three gave me throughout their lives.

On the other hand, the cynic in me says the gift and greeting card holiday was promoted by merchants who want to sell their goods.

In my family, I prefer the celebration to be very low-key, with no gifts that can't be consumed in one way or another since I'm trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to rid our house of stuff.

To mothers (and all parents and all who care for children in any way): You will never get it exactly right, so forget about achieving perfection, love the children, and do the best you can.

The camellia is for everyone to enjoy.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A KISS MAKES

Richard Haggis

What follows are the meandering thoughts of my friend Richard Haggis during one of his frequent walks near Oxford in England. 

Chatting with internet friends today, I bothered to check and see that 17 of America's 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, have ratified gay marriage. So has Uruguay, so has France. So has the UK (well, apart from Northern Ireland, which only seems to be united when it wants to be). It was only in 1996 that the America Congress passed the "Defence of Marriage Act", which the Supreme Court has since declared unconstitutional. And, although I sulk about the retarded crassness of the Churches to be part of this revolution, and in particular, my own Church of England's insistence on being protected by law from having to look reality in the face, I also see the amazing steps forward that people all round the world have been making, for the sake of a small (but let's admit it, glamorous and rather wonderful) minority.

And with such thoughts on my mind I was hobbling towards Cowley to sort things out at the building society which can only be sorted in person, and I saw two forms in the middle distance. At first I thought they were a girl and boy. Obviously teenagers, dressed from school, it was that time of day. But no, on coming into closer focus I saw that the willowy dark one was a tall black boy of perhaps Ethiopian ancestry, the other a meatier white Barton chav. They were clinched in the tightest embrace, sealed, before they parted with a passionate kiss.

What were they? 14, 16? I can't guess that. They weren't full-grown, but they were adult height, at least as tall as me. And I wondered as they parted their separate ways to go home to the "tea" (this is Barton) their mothers will have ready for them, whether their mothers know, and if they do, what they think, and if they don't, what they might.

And then I thought it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks, because that kiss in broad daylight on the street said it all - that it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks any more. We are free to live and love and pursue our happiness however we choose.

This is what we have fought for. It is happening. The truth is making people free.

Richard Haggis
Barton-upon-Bayswater, Oxford
May 2014

Richard's words about the affectionate teenage boys are wonderful and true.

Note: My church, The Episcopal Church, is part of the revolution and has taken its licks because of it, with some of the blows coming from the hierarchy in the Church of England.

Richard writes at Winsome, Lose some.