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New Orleans public housing activist Sharon Jasper

Sharon Jasper says she’s poor and is demanding her “right” to her government-subsidized housing.

Sharon Jasper, a former St. Bernard complex resident presented by activists Tuesday as a victim of changing public housing policies, took a moment before the start of the City Hall protest to complain about her subsidized private apartment, which she called a “slum.” A HANO voucher covers her rent on a unit in an old Faubourg St. John home, but she said she faced several hundred dollars in deposit charges and now faces a steep utility bill.

“I’m tired of the slum landlords, and I’m tired of the slum houses,” she said.

Pointing across the street to an encampment of homeless people at Duncan Plaza, Jasper said, “I might do better out here with one of these tents.”

Jasper, who later allowed a photographer to tour the subsidized apartment, also complained about missing window screens, a slow leak in a sink, a warped back door and a few other details of a residence that otherwise appeared to have been recently renovated.

This is Sharon Jasper’s “slum.”

[Ted Jackson / Times-Picayune] Sharon Jasper sits in the living room of her voucher-backed private residence. “I might be poor but I don’t like to live poor. I thank God for a place to live but it’s pitiful what people give you.”

Nice TV, huh? Nice hardwood floors, too. Furnishings aren’t too shabby, either, are they?

BITCH.

By the way, Sharon Jasper isn’t just some random “victim” picked off the streets by activists. She IS an activist herself, according to none other than the New Orleans Labor Media Project, which is very much a part of the protests.

[T]he politicians, the government agencies and the developers have surrounded St. Bernard with a chain link fence topped by barbed-wire. And they’ve told hard-working, God-fearing people like Sharon Jasper to stay the hell out.

“Our families have been displaced all over the United States. Bring them back, then let’s talk about redevelopment,” Jasper argues.

Jasper is fighting back. She spearheads a tenant association that is working with the AFL-CIO’s Gulf Coast Revitalization Program to convince local authorities to rehabilitate rather than annihilate public housing stock.

“We, the poor working class, are the people who helped build this city,” Jasper says, jabbing her finger into the air, as if she were about to pull down the menacing barbed wire barrier. “We have a right to return. This is our home.”

Somebody call a waaahmbulance. As you might expect, there is plenty of housing available to her in New Orleans.

As housing activists continued to protest the proposed demolition of four public housing complexes, federal housing officials provided new details Tuesday about hundreds of public housing units available across New Orleans, with dozens of units ready for occupants in the B.W. Cooper, the former Desire and the Guste developments.

Housing officials said hundreds of private apartments where disaster or Section 8 vouchers can be used are also available to help meet the needs of displaced public housing residents, both in the short and long term.

Anyone else sick of the people of New Orleans who demand more, more, more, but apparently do nothing to try to improve their own situations (much less anyone else’s) themselves?

Anyone else here who pays his or her own rent or mortgage who wouldn’t mind having a home like Sharon Jasper’s, massive teevee and all? Oh, but she’s “poor” and doesn’t like living in that “slum.” Disgusting, disgraceful leech.

For Those Of You In Texas

Here’s the projected path of Hurricane Dean.

stein hoist Hot Air comments.

Active Hurricane Season Predicted for 2007

I know, they said that last year and (thankfully!) it was a bust. Don’t get complacent–complacency about hurricanes is what gets people killed. Make sure you’re ready in case you need to hit the road! Here’s the report:

NOAA’s 2007 Atlantic hurricane season outlook indicates a very high 75% chance of an above-normal hurricane season, a 20% chance of a near-normal season, and only a 5% chance of a below-normal season. This outlook is produced by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center (CPC), National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Research Division (HRD), and Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC). See NOAA definitions of above-, near-, and below-normal seasons.

The outlook calls for a very high likelihood of an above-normal hurricane season, with 13-17 named storms, 7-10 hurricanes, and 3-5 major hurricanes. The likely range of the ACE index is 125% to 210% of the median. This prediction signifies an expected sharp increase in activity from the near-normal season observed in 2006.

The prediction for an above-normal 2007 hurricane season reflects the expected combination of two main climate factors: 1) the continuation of conditions that have been conducive to above-normal Atlantic hurricane seasons since 1995, and 2) the strong likelihood of either ENSO-neutral or La Niña conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean.

An updated Atlantic hurricane outlook will be issued in early August, which begins the peak (August-October) of the hurricane season.

Regarding La Niña:

“There is some uncertainty this year as to whether or not La Niña will form, and if it does how strong it will be,” said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center. “The Climate Prediction Center is indicating that La Niña could form in the next one to three months. If La Niña develops, storm activity will likely be in the upper end of the predicted range, or perhaps even higher depending on how strong La Niña becomes. Even if La Niña does not develop, the conditions associated with the ongoing active hurricane era still favor an above-normal season.”

Bleh. I hate dealing with the nagging threat of hurricanes, but I guess it’s the price you pay to live in Paradise. It sure gets old, though, and I’ve only lived here for a few years. I have a feeling that a lot of people that don’t evacuate stay home because they get sick of packing up and heading for higher ground, because I know that by the time Katrina came, I was already thinking of riding it out. If my daughter had been on vacation with her dad, I just might have stayed home (out of laziness more than complacency). Katrina certainly straightened out that sort of thinking.

I just pray we’ll get lucky again this year. There are still a lot of people who need a break from hurricanes–people who still haven’t gotten even close to being back to normal yet.

Is She Insane Yet?

I. Just. Wanted. To. Do. This. Post. Because. I’m. A. Guy. And. I. Have. No. Boobies. And. I. Think. No. I. Believe. That. I. Can. Drive. Traffic. To. This. Blog. If. Beth. Goes. Really. And. Truly. And. Clinically. And. Diagnosed. By. A. Psychiatrist. Insane. Because. She. Well. I’ll. Leave. It. At. That.

Katrina, one year later

Well, here we are, one year after being nuked.

I got lucky–extremely lucky. I only lost a bunch of shingles from the roof, which was such minor damage that exactly one year later, as I write this, I’m just now getting shingles delivered to replace the roof. (That’s only because I never bothered to file the claim until a couple weeks ago, not because the insurance company was slow.) Obviously you know most people didn’t get so “lucky,” although I guess that’s kind of subjective. Plenty of people in Mississippi and Louisiana feel far more blessed just to be alive, and to have not lost everything.

Seawitch has been photographing and writing about Katrina from Gulfport, MS for the last year. She writes today about it,

My eyes continually seek the familiar and fail in its endeavors. Even away from the beach, the familiar has changed. Buildings and homes are gone and replaced with either trailers or just slabs. Trees which one shaded roads and homes are gone.

It’s incredible how much of people’s lives has vanished. The house in Pascagoula that my mother grew up in, and where I spent summers growing up, is gone. Nothing left, not even debris was left behind. When my mother went there after the storm, she couldn’t even find where she spent her whole life until she went to college, because everything on the beach in Pascagoula was gone. I have deep roots in the Biloxi/Gulfport area, but I was never as familiar with the area as she was. Still, there’s no way to not feel loss.

Anyway, enough from me. Seawitch is far more eloquent than I am in writing about it–she lives virtually at ground zero and has seen infinitely more than I have. I’m putting a video she made about six months ago below the break, but she’s got a new one in her post too.

Also see The American Princess; she was just in New Orleans two weeks ago and shares her thoughts. It is a MUST-READ!

NOOOOOO!!!

STAY AWAY!!!!

Tags: Ernesto

The National Guard mission in NOLA that you didn’t know about

You heard about the thousands of dead bodies, the cannibalism, the gang-rapes in the Superdome, but did you hear about one of the largest missions performed by the National Guard…in history?

From the Dome, the Louisiana Guard’s main command ran at least 2,500 troops who rode out the storm inside the city, a dozen emergency shelters, 200-plus boats, dozens of high-water vehicles, 150 helicopters, and a triage and medical center that handled up to 5,000 patients (and delivered 7 babies). The Guard command headquarters also coordinated efforts of the police, firefighters and scores of volunteers after the storm knocked out local radio, as well as other regular military and other state Guard units.

Jack Harrison, a spokesman for the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Virginia, cited “10,244 sorties flown, 88,181 passengers moved, 18,834 cargo tons hauled, 17,411 saves” by air. Unlike the politicians, they had a working chain of command that commandeered more relief aid from other Guard units outside the state. From day one.

Folks, I’m on the inside on this story in so many ways, and even I didn’t know it was this big of an operation from the military. And the whole thing is just so dumbfounding, I couldn’t believe it my own self - it’s a must-read. It’ll make you shake your head at how absolutely none of this has been covered by anybody, not even FOX News (the bastion of ultra-right-wing extremism).

Hmm…maybe we should tell Chris Matthews about this, he’s got the desired right-wing bias…

From WILLisms

Ugh. Hurricane season.

Maybe I should just ignore this and hope it goes away.

I guess I should be happy we’re not in the “high” or “very high” probability regions. I think I’m still kinda shell-shocked from last year, and I was just inconvenienced by the ‘canes. OK, very inconvenienced, but still. :sigh:

From the National Hurricane Center at NOAA:

NOAA’s 2006 Atlantic hurricane season outlook indicates an 80% chance of an above-normal hurricane season, a 15% chance of a near-normal season, and only a 5% chance of a below-normal season. This outlook is produced by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center (CPC), National Hurricane Center (NHC), and Hurricane Research Division (HRD). See NOAA’s definitions of above-, near-, and below-normal seasons.

The outlook calls for a very active 2006 season, with 13-16 named storms, 8-10 hurricanes, and 4-6 major hurricanes.

I guess I’d better start getting sandbags for this year. Maybe if I over-prepare they’ll stay away. (Please, God?)

And what has Bush done?

He’s done NOTHING.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it expects a busy hurricane season in the United States this year. The U.S. government agency’s predictions were released in its 2006 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook.

Where are the water trucks? Where are the National Guardsmen? Emergency generators ?The schoolbuses? How can this have happened AGAIN?

Bush is probably playing farking golf with his friends from Big Oil™ while Americans are DYING. Dying in our own streets, as those we slaughter in the quest for black gold are dying on the streets of Baghdad. A catastrophe of monumental proportions, an epic disaster for humankind, and for what?

This Presidency is absolutely rotten to the core, and detached from reality - Chimpy McBushi’iteler and his cronies watch idly as thousands are drowned in their homes, so he can AGAIN award a no-bid clean-up contract to Halliburton. A supine media sits on its hands, and fails to bring these criminals to justice! Administration-toady Helen Thomas lobs softballs at Tony Snow as innocent Americans live their last moments in a salty, windy, watery terror. History has not witnessed this level of callous indifference to loss of human life since 1980 through 1992.

The time for action is now. Impeachment proceedings should start immediately - Russ Feingold, your hour is upon us. Write to your congressperson and DEMAND they act in support of Senator Feingold NOW, in the wake of this scandalous and avoidable human tragedy.

Tags: Hurricanes, FEMA, Katrina, Rita, New Orleans, Halliburton, Hurricane Clean Up, Disaster, Hurricane Season, Impeachment, Feingold, MoveOn.org

I have a plan!

No, not John Kerry, this time it’s Generalissimo Nagins. With the upcoming hurricane season, our glorious leader has taken it upon himself to come up with a comprehensive exit strategy in New Orleans. In case there’s another disastrous storm on it’s way to the NOLA region, now you know that Generalissimo Nagins has a plan!

It involves buses… I just marvel at this guy’s forward-thinking approach. Why didn’t somebody think of doing this before?

Picture stole from me.

Ray Nagin’s head is really shiny

Don’t you think?

Tags: Ray Nagin, New Orleans, Katrina, Shiny Head, Racist Asshole, Chocolate City

Michael Brown: the stinky public fart

Michael Brown
Wow, what an asshat!

It’s not my fault! It’s not my fault! What do you want me to do, I’m just a simple caveman! Nobody told me! Secretary Chertoff ignored me! Those, those emails, they were not my fault! You’re reading them wrong! Everyone else did everything wrong EXCEPT ME! Quit picking on me!

OK, he didn’t say THAT, but it’s basically the same bottom line. It’s like listening to a teenager making excuses and not taking responsibility for missing curfew or something.

DUDE, settle down! A little defensive, are we?

He’s going to be embarrassed by this little performance. I’m just talking about what I’m watching on Fox News right now–there’s nothing on the internets yet about his tantrum with Senator Coleman, but damn. Michael Brown. What a freakin’ loser.

I think I’m going to take a nap, because this is embarrassing to watch. It’s like when someone farts in public, the polite thing to do is ignore it and walk out of range, not make a point of calling attention to it with, “hey, who shi’ite their pants?!?” He’s the stinky fart. I’ll just pretend I didn’t notice this for now, or else I might have to start throwing things at the TV. This guy is a real piece of work.

OMFG…this is pathetic: I succeeded in Florida and in the Space Shuttle disaster, but not this time and it was ALL the fault of DHS!!! I am infallible! Pitiful.
And Senator Lautenberg, saying he’s a “designated scapegoat?” Come ON. “Human beings make mistakes.” Yeah. Poor widdle baby.

How DID this bunghole get that job, anyway?

Hurricane Wilma, the definitive edition.

Living an hour north of Orlando, I have survived Wilma!

Granted the storm actually went through several hundred miles south of us and all we received were the outerbands of the storm. I still feel completely qualified to give my firsthand account of the terror that was these outerbands:

Rain and Wind. Lots of it.

Okay. Thatisall.

(Whew!)

…Actually no. Although we were technically in the predicted cone of impact for most of the hurricane forecast; once the hurricane came closer, we were no longer part of the “CONE of destruction.” But don’t tell the local newscasters this. They did their best to report evacuation routes, school closings, best methods of plywooding your windows…and scaring the heck out of a lot of people. I know, I know. The weather was bad, but why not just report it instead of giving dire circumstance after circumstance of what could happen? The “what ifs” were as implausible as the newscasters NOT wearing yellow rain jackets as they tied themselves to a pole to keep from “blowing away.”

Do you wonder why people don’t evacuate from these storms? Because our local media makes it out that everyone is in danger. You’re in Naples? Yeah you’re going to die! Want to evacuate to Orlando? Well that’s fine but there will be possibly hundreds of tornadoes and the wind gusts could down trees and homes and small animals and young children could be blown away. Plus alllll the hotels are filled up.

People were asking themselves where they could go, because no place was safe! The ENTIRE Florida Pennisula was going to be in someway completely devastated…either by the stormwall, the tornadoes, the pythons, the sharks with the laser beams attached to their head… whatever.

Again, report the facts without the hype. And how about red rain jackets next time?

Enough, already!

What the fark happened with Wilma overnight?

OK, I am officially sick of 2005, because of the hurricanes.

AccuWeather’s Joe Bastardi on Wilma:

In Florida, I expect a hurricane hit with sub 950 pressures and most of the coast from Cedar Key to Jacksonville to have at least hurricane-force gusts. I have a landfall 3:00-9:00 a.m. Sunday between Tampa and Key West and an exit within 25 miles of Cape Canaveral 12-15 hours later. Unlike the fist of fury that was Charley, this will be more of a large-scale brawler, much like Isabel. Also unlike Charley, which underachieved and disappeared farther north, this is likely to help produce plenty of wind and rain farther north.

StormTrack’s projected path based on numerous sources (click for StormTrack’s full-size view and discussion):

WILMA!!!!!!!

Yeah. This is going to be fun, in that Schadenfreude sort of way.

Everybody and their neighbor is reporting that “Mayor Ray Nagin warns New Orleans to prepare to evacuate for another storm.” Or something.

Remember, Bush and Brown = incompetent boobery, while Ray Ray and Mary L. are sinless creations of purity and light. ‘Cause, you know, they’re Democrats. Democrats never bumble any large-scale operations. Only Republicans. Let’s just keep that strait.

Also, Nagin was heard muttering something about, “okay, THIS time I’m gonna get it right…” or something.

Expect more Flintstones jokes in the coming days.

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