A Zombie Fascination

I used to think that zombie movies were kind of dumb, and a little scary, but mainly dumb. But then there was 911 and then there was Katrina and then the idea of the collapse of civilization, the breakdown of transportation, electricity, the potential menace of other people who were desparate and wanted the same things as you, became a little more intriguing.

I just finished reading Cell by Stephen King and it was scary and reminded me a lot of the recent British zombie movie 28 Days Later. The mecanism of turning everyone into zombies was totally different and the zombies themselves quite different in their behavior. But the adventure of normal people trying to move from here to there in the scary world, liberating supplies in peoples homes or stores they break into, and finding both hope and despair in a radically transformed world, is highly recommended. It's great fun, morbid, fascinating, and not necessarily going to put you in a good mood. But you wont forget it either. So go rent 28 Days Later, and read Cell. Or perhaps read 28 Days Later, presuming theres a book out there somewhere. So then the crumbling levees and abandoned streetlights of Louisiana still seem like a problem, but, at least you arent having to exterminate zombies while you gawk at them.

Go Tigers

I havent been paying much attention to sports lately but then the Tigers hit me over the head with their big win over Duke. Finally paying attention, I watched the fantastic Texas game, which kept me on the edge of my seat until the Tigers pulled ahead in overtime to win the day. I know what I am doing this weekend.... Go Tigers!

Chemical Plant Security

The New York Times ran an editorial today under the heading Secretary of Homeland Insecurity. Yes, they were questioning Chertoff the Jerk Off's commitment to safety. On this occasion the Times was calling him on his refusal to put any rules in place to protect chemical plants around the country, and in many cases advocating for weaker rules.

This is an area of some concern in many communities. This is certainly an issue in New Orleans. I was cycling along the levee in Gretna the other day and couldn't help but notice how easy it would be to breach security at some of the facilities along there. Specifically, I noticed several tanks which I assume contained oil or gas (they were in an Exxon compound) located only yards from the levee and separated by a feeble looking chainlink fence. It wouldn't take much imagination from a terrorist to attack one of these.

Given the obviously lax state of security at these facilities, we need to see leadership from government rather than pandering to campaign contributors. Just like the Port deal, the government can preach the gospel of fear and the need for unwarranted wiretapping, and then capitulate to big business when it's convenient.

New Orleans Population Recovery

A new study by the RAND Corporation suggests that the population of New Orleans will recover to only 58% of its pre-Katrina level by September 2008. They concluded that this is primarily attributable to the inability to rebuild areas like Lakeview and the Lower 9th. As we have previously reported, rebuilding in these areas has not started. Indeed, much of the clean-up has yet to begin.

Furthermore, reconstruction cannot start for the majoriy until our friends at FEMA release the new flood maps. This is isn't expected until later this summer. How can we expect people to put their lives on hold this long? With federal aid capped at $150,000 many will not even be able to afford it. People will hesitate further as they try determine whether their neighborhood is even viable. The longer people have to stay in Baton Rouge, Atlanta, or Houston the more settled they will become. We can't delay any longer in helping these people to restart their lives; this is what our government is for.

The other observation in the report is that many poorer New Orleanians may not be able to afford a ticket back to town. Shouldn't government be providing this too? After all the hoopla about how these people should be forcibly evacuated (and didn't because they couldn't afford a ticket out of town) shouldn't they at least be given money for a ticket back to town. Of course these people no longer have homes to return to. Many were renters and of course rental units are in short supply too.

To a large degree these people are the economic engine that drives the New Orleans economy. Without them, the economy cannot rebound. So we are in a housing chicken and egg situation. The city's economy cannot return until the people return. The people cannot return until the money is in place for them to rebuild. This does not a pretty picture for New Orleans. Without fixing this fundamental problem, New Orleans will become a city for the wealthy and white.

Golf at a Time of Crisis

Lee Hae Chan the prime minister of South Korea resigned yesterday. How does this relate to our Confederacy of Dunces? Well, he was called out for playing golf on a national holiday... on the first day of a national transit strike. This caused outrage among South Koreans who felt their leaders should be engaged at moments of national crisis.

Sound familiar? One of the first posts on this blog (Bush must resign! Sept 5, 2005) called out the Dunce in Chief for playing golf in Arizona during that fateful week. To be fair, Lee Hae Chan had gotten into trouble for playing golf. He was playing golf when a wildfire burnt a 1,300 year old temple, and again when heavy rains struck southern South Korea. So maybe Bush should get a few more chances... Wait! Wasn't he playing golf in August of 2001 when he was supposed to be reading the PDB entitled "Bin Laden to hit inside the United States". And what was he doing when his team signed off on the Dubai port deal without telling him. And what was he doing in th 6 months between gas topping $3/gallon and having the revelation that America is addicted to oil. And he was certainly at least clearing brush when Cindy Sheehan camped in his driveway waiting to see him on a matter of national importance for a month.

When are our leaders going to be held accountable? Russ Feingold at least tried over the wire tapping debacle, but literally no one would go along. Our system of government is on the verge of collapse when the Executive Branch can rise to this level of incompetence and the Legislative Branch turns a blind alley. More importantly, it is a national crisis when the American people can stand blithely by while fellow citizens drown or are blown to smithereens in a war the President lied us into.

New Orleans Needs Stronger Dykes

Why would Bush have asked questions?

I am stumped over how people are shocked, just shocked that George Bush did not have any questions when he was briefed on Hurricane Katrina. Have you ever actually heard him ask a question about anything? I've read articles saying that Bush is supposed to be an incisive, sharp witted manager in private who knows just the right question to ask. Is there anyone who really believed that? Apparently so.

Let me suggest another reason why Bush had no questions. Incompetence, as has been suggested? Well, yes, but that is a consequence not a cause. Bush believes in minimizing government and minimizing taxes. He believes in keeping the money in the pockets of the people and decisions in the hands of local communities, whether governmental or civic (think faith based) organizations. He has, in his mind, slimmed the scope of federal government to the point where he truly beleved there was no need for a major role in disaster management. Perhaps a few coordinators, OK. But the local authorities, the Red Cross, and faith based groups or other volunteers were the ones with rescue, recovery, and relief on their plate. What business is it of the federal government to be involved in local weather disasters? It never occurred to him that his leadership may be required, that the incapacitating of broad swaths of 3-4 states may be a federal problem. Why would he have questions? He intended to have no role. It is Bush's small government philosophy that leads to his incompetence. He believes he is in place to protect people from the burden of heavy government, and he has squeezed the government out of existence. If you believe that government has a role in managing our society, Bush must go.

I was listening to some conservative on the TV not long ago and he pointed out Bush's big government practices like health benefits, that he spends like no conservative ever would. This is true. But is does this mean that Bush is not the man of small government? Is this spending really on "government"? No. Its on benefits, like health care. The possibility that staff might be needed to coordinate the benefits and tie together the computer systems was not considered. The initial mass chaos and bailout of the federal program by various states due to federal incapability to deliver the promised services was due to the lack of execution. The "thin government" turns out to be thin on competence.

Political Capital

In my last post I discussed whether the Dunce in Chief would spend some of his "political capital" to drive needed funds to New Orleans. After his reelection in 2004 Bush announced that he had this capital and was going to spend it. Now here's the problem when it comes to spending it for New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast. Bush treats political capital like money. In little more than a year, he's run up massive deficits in political capital which are beginning to catch up with the federal budget deficit. After his Katrina response, the quagmire in Iraq, the domestic wiretapping, the port deal etc etc, he's running out of political capital creditors.

Does The Dunce in Chief Really Get It Now?

The Dunce in Chief finally managed to visit one of the devestated parts of New Orleans today. Yes, Bush finally managed to get beyond Canal Street and out to the Lower 9th Ward. The press reported that there were few residents to greet him. As I posted earlier, the vast majority of the Lower 9th is uninhabitable. The only residents he might have seen would have been people visiting the remains of their homes. The only resident CNN could find lived in a house that quite frankly didn't look too bad by comparison to most--at least it was still standing. She must have lived on the St Bernard Parish end of the area.

Bush's comments finally suggested he gets it. Of course, they were delivered in his usual style in which he made it sound like it was his observation that was a lot of work to be done. Sorry Chief, your a few months too late on this one. At least he's quicker on the uptake than his revelation that America is addicted to oil. Bush observed that Congress had short changed New Orleans and suggested more money was needed.

Let us now see if Bush has the balls to put his "political capital" where his mouth is and force through the needed cash.

More Mardi Gras Update

I have to dispute those who say crowds were light for Mardi Gras at the parades - they werent on my block. I've never seen more people, on Sun and on Tues. Granted Mon was a bit light. Saturday day crowds were healthily full, days are always a bit lighter. "Supercrewe Sunday" was comically crowded where we were, with throngs of what appeared to be LSU students milling on the other side of St. Charles Ave. Their DJ rotated primarily between Audubon Zoo, the LSU fight song, and "Hey Baby" an oldie by one hit wonder Bruce Channel. Down at Superior Grill a similarly festive group were seen line dancing in the street between parades at one point.


Tuesday brought out the best of the quarter, with popular costumes including blind FEMA/levee inspectors (with walking sticks), pirates (as always), gay cowboys (of course!), various costumes involving blue tarps and pieces of houses, fleur-de-lis type designs, and the usual cross-dressers. I dont know if it aired but Fox News recorded a hilarious interview with the blind levee inspectors as they explained their evaluation procedure for detecting leaks. Their panic at stumbling across a puddle of water in the gutter inspired a frenzy of stabbing at the ground with their walking sticks which seemed about as competent as recent performance of real levee inspectors.
Very popular as well were "chocolate city" costumes, Hershey bars, Willie Wonkas, and Charlie and Chocolate Factory references. We managed to also catch the Pete Fountain Half-Fast Marching Band on Bourbon St and were confused to see a much younger and thinner man playing clarinet. We later heard that Pete had not felt well and bowed out of the unit at the last minute this year. The weather was as close as you get to a 911 day in New Orleans on Tues, bright blue and not a cloud in the sky. I couldnt believe how many news reporters, photographers, and the like we saw, they were swarming everywhere.


In all it was a great Mardi Gras season and the French Quarter merchants I talked to all said they had a good take - better than last year. Mardi Gras was a bit toned down in the sense of 1. fewer marching bands 2. less nudity in the French Quarter 3. fewer and less elaborate drag queens at French Quarter Awards costume competition 4. Some krewes did not parade 5. Many restaurants still have reduced hours/services. It was also a glorious Mardi Gras for New Orleanians, as the spirit of New Orleans carries on despite our challenges and tragedies.

Don't Forget New Orleans

Mardi Gras has been rated a major success. The Times Picayune reported that the last weekend of Mardi Gras brought in over $200 million. We can' t let this success go to our collective heads. It's too soon to tell whether this will be sufficient to allow local businesses to survive.

New Orleans has a long way to go. Don't believe it when Anderson Cooper announces that "New Orleans is back!" I spent some time cycling around New Orleans this past week. The French Quarter and Uptown look and feel like nothing happened (less a few closed and short staffed businesses). The rest of the city is a different story. Thousands of flooded cars remain abandoned under I-10. Yes, in Lakeview there are signs of life. But they are minimal. No more than 1 in 100 homes has a FEMA trailer in the driveway. Not many more are actively working to rebuild there homes. This means that more than 95% of households remain homeless 6 months after Katrina.

The outlook in Lakeview however is bright compared to the Lower Ninth Ward. Last time we were in New Orleans the worst hit parts of the Lower Ninth Ward weren't open to the public and few images have appeared in the media at all. Back then, even the best parts of the Lower Ninth were beyond belief. The worst hit parts stretch our imagination even further... Blocks and blocks of homes have not just been destroyed, they have been annihilated. All that remains is concrete slabs. In other areas, houses have been washed into the street. There are no signs of people coming back to the Lower Ninth, and quite frankly it's hard to imagine how this can ever happen.

One good week in New Orleans does not solve all its problems. The needed federal aid still has not arrived and hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced. The levees and wetlands have not been restored. Don't forget New Orleans.

Climate Change and Hurricanes

Ahhhh. Back to the internet. That CityofNewOrleans wireless internet could be seen but not connected to at my place. I knew it was too good to be true.

First, on the tenuous link between climate change and increased hurricane ferociousness. Warren Buffet seems to think there's something to it, and he's a man who knows about risk assessment. You can be sure the increased reinsurance costs will come out of your pocket eventually.

Berkshire Hathaway, the investment group run by Warren Buffett, is pushing up the price of hurricane insurance as a precaution against the possible impact of climate change.

Mr Buffett said it remained an open question whether "atmospheric, oceanic or other causal factors have dramatically changed the frequency or intensity of hurricanes" but after the worst quarterly losses in industry history it was prudent to limit exposure.

Also I am seeing some more ominous headlines North Pole Meets South Pole: Both Ends of Earth Are Melting that make me wonder what other steps may be prudent. Will our levees hold up to a significant sea level rise?

The state of the wetlands in Louisiana is still TBD. Recent updates indicate we have more fish and less habitat, so its going to take some time to see how the system sorts out after the storms, with both Katrina and Rita doing significant damage.

Pearlington Update

Angela Cole has her own web site now for the Pearlington Project, check it out to see what is happening in this small town. Also she has taken some more
photos. There was reportedly some more coverage on CNN on Pearlington this past Tues but I dont have a link to that.