Gentilly Girl- a part of the 99%

June 24, 2010

A Message To Judge Feldman Concerning the Drilling Moratorium

Filed under: Gulf Coast,Louisiana,New Orleans — Morwen Madrigal @ 11:29 pm

Your decision to block the Department of the Interiors’s moratorium on deep sea drilling is based in fallacy. An accident has occurred on a relatively new technology that has no answers for errors when it comes to their mistakes. There are no real back-up plans. Where are the Real Life solutions to disasters such as the Macondo disaster?They didn’t plan, or maybe they just didn’t care, yet our World, our lives and dreams are in danger.

There aren’t any solutions at this point in time. There are no solutions forthcoming from the industry that has caused this calamity. I find this deeply troubling. It smells  of “Who cares about those people”.

It stinks to the Heavens.

There are no plans for something like this, but your lifting of the deep drilling moratorium opens us to more of what Macondo has gifted us: children cannot wade in the Gulf waters, people cannot fish, many animals will die from either the oil or the chemicals that are supposed to quell the problem. The air stinks of petro chemicals even 100 miles away.

And as far as those who claim that the moratorium will, “put thousands out of work”, and “There are millions of dollars that will not be coming in” are somewhat false.

There are over 3,300+ rigs running in the Gulf near Louisiana. They need to be served, personnel transferred and materials be delivered. This moratorium will not kill the drilling industry, only put on hold on one aspect of it that is proving itself not safe at this point in time.

Don’t let these companies and the chimps they fund as elected officials lead you down the wrong path. These corporations that will attempt to go into risky ventures in order to make more money will do anything, anything, for the dollar, even if it means wiping out the livelihoods and meaning of cultures for their own gain.

What the Hell, they aren’t part of that which is being destroyed.

So I’m going to speak plainly to you Sir:

Your Honor, please don’t believe their lies when it comes to the economic impact of the moratorium on the Gulf states. It will be minimal. They don’t care what happens to us. Look at what they have done to the wetlands of Louisiana over many decades in their unbridled search for money disguised as oil/gas exploration: destruction of wetlands that protected major population centers and the poisoning of our environment. They are “helping” America at the expennse of the Americans who live in the effected areas.

Now they seek to “own ” the Gulf as their private money pit and the people of this region, well… who cares about them? It’s about energy self-reliance (B/S), or it’s about Progress,  it’s all about profit and control. They destroy the Gulf for those who live here and then there is only one option left: turn it into a petrochemical mine.

This is not the notion of a Nation I fought to protect. This not the America I believe in.

Sorry Your Honor, I can’t abide by that decision. This is OUR Coast. These are OUR waters. This region is a treasure for the Nation, and I’m not talking Black Gold or Gas. This is OUR home.

The real treasure for the Nation is our cultures, the natural world, beauty and a sense of harmony with Nature.

We live with the cycles of Nature: spawning seasons, tides. The stock market means little to us as we bait our crab nets, tong the silt for oysters or chase the shrimp runs. When we sit down to eat we are ready for the bounty that Nature, in Her bounty, delivers to us, and we are grateful. We live the old way. There is no other way for us to live and be real.

Our lives, no matter what we are doing in the present are based on the patterns our ancestors followed, and in a major way we must follow them. It is intrinsic to our beings. It is what we on the Coast are… creatures who in many ways must live within our sphere, our nature. It’s Nature’s way. To go elsewhere is a violation of our being.

This is our our World, and the current BP oil spill, no matter the reasons or the blame, are putting us and our World in danger.

Right now under the current situation, we have become an endangered species. My extended family’s boats are idle, as are my friend’s jobs in the restaurants of New Orleans. People are canceling their trips to the Coast… a place we love to show off as a wonderful place to be. Our economy is threatened by this unbridled wildcat drilling with no protections for mistakes. This is wrong.

What if the spill happened off the coast of the Everglades? How would you explain to the people and the creatures that it was okay? What would you say if another wetland area was sentenced to die all for the oil/gas industry and it’s earnings for shareholders that didn’t work for the money?

We are talking about people who just live their lives.

So Your Honor, I ask that you reconsider allowing the deep drilling moratorium to stand so that we, as a country, our engineers and planners, can get a handle on what is needed just in case another Deepwater Horizion event does occur.

It is only fair for those who have no part in these “explorations/exploitations” of our lands and seas by corporations that are only looking for treasure. We LIVE in these places, and our lives have meaning. Our lives, connections, history… the feeling of belonging to a place. These things must matter. Otherwise, the United States is a sham. It will be seen as a shell for money to do what it will and American citizens will have to grin and bear what comes their way. And just maybe will be seen as, “Since you bought us in 1804, we are your chattel”. Ever think about that one?

This is not the Country that I gave many years of my life to defend. Not the Nation that I swore to protect. It is definitely NOT what I was taught, and steeped in, to protect.

The true treasure to be found here is in living in the cycle of Life here and the coming of the tides.

And I will stand for the Gulf Coast and you have much to answer for concerning your decision about the drilling moratorium. Who is the real American Sir? That which places themselves amongst the people, or that which is tangled up with business?

It is your turn to answer.

August 31, 2009

Protecting Coastal Communities

Filed under: Coastal Restoration,Gulf Coast,Levees,Louisiana,New Orleans,Rebuilding,Wetlands — Morwen Madrigal @ 3:37 pm

This is how the Dutch do it. America can do it too if only it wanted to.


WATCH

h/t- Levees.org

August 29, 2009

Remember-

Filed under: Federal Flood,Gentilly,Katrina,Levees,Louisiana,New Orleans,Rebuilding,Sinn Fein — Morwen Madrigal @ 3:29 pm

Sinn Fein!

REMEMBER-

Filed under: Federal Flood,Grey Ghost,Katrina,Levees,Louisiana,New Orleans,Rebuilding — Morwen Madrigal @ 12:20 pm

August 28, 2009

A Katrina/Flood Timeline-

Filed under: Federal Flood,FEMA,Fools,George Bush,Katrina,Levees,Louisiana,New Orleans,Politicians — Morwen Madrigal @ 2:08 pm

Go here.

July 4, 2009

Dear America, Have a Happy Birthday!

Well Darlin’s this day makes Year 233 A.R. (After Revolution).  We all should be proud of the fact that somehow the strange collection of folks that have lived through those years managed to keep it all together (The War Between the States was a major blip on the screen…), and so much has been done by the people of this Nation. I can’t say by the Nation because the people are the Nation. It has always been up to citizens to create, build and advance our lives here and to provide for the ones to come.

I am proud to be an American.  I’m proud of the service I rendered in the Navy to help protect this country. But…  I am upset with the Government for the slow, and possibly non-existent rebuilding along the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike.  Many private people stepped up to the plate to help all os along the Coast out from the devastation, but the Government has been sorely lacking, especially for those of us in New Orleans who lost almost everything from the failure of the Federally  designed and built floodwalls and levees.  Betty and I lost 95% of our pasts and four years of our lives fighting to rebuild our little world. Many others have lost and they have yet to be able to get to the restoration point that we have reached. Along the Coast many of us feel as if America, the Government, has forgotten us.  We know that America the People didn’t.

The Church of Our Lady of Gentilly wishes many Blessings to the American People. Party hearty!

Sinn Fein

Check out- Odd Bits of Life in New Orleans for his take.

April 24, 2009

Ban Smoking in Bars? Betty’s Response.

Filed under: Food and Drink,Fools,Louisiana,Politicians — Morwen Madrigal @ 3:37 pm

My Betty is one who loves to write letters to lawmakers who step on our liberties. The other day State Rep Gary Smith introduced House Bill 844 to ban smoking in bars. This is her response to a wingnut Rep. who represents a very polluted place. I like it.

Enjoy.

Dear Representative Smith,

Regarding House Bill 844 you state:

“I am just trying to take the next step and bring the ban to bars” as a way to combat second-hand smoke and the illness it causes, Smith said. “Twenty-five other states have done this, some of the more progressive states, and some of the more progressive cities have done this. . . . This takes another step in trying to create a clean-air environment.”

On the surface this “sounds” like a noble pursuit. It is not. The next paragraph of the article states:

“Smith said he is not including casinos or gambling riverboats in the ban because it would put the gambling outlets in the state at “a competitive disadvantage with Mississippi’s” gambling industry.”

So on one hand you are a noble crusader for clean air but on the other you are saying that profits (but only your friends in the gambling industry’s profits) are more important than clean air. What exactly does it take to get on your list of whose profits are more important than clean air? I’m sure that the bar owners of Louisiana , whose rights you want to trample on, would like to know.

I’m sure you have handed out numerous brochures about the dangers of second hand smoke, blah blah. The truth is we live in non-sterile world and to attempt to legislate sterility in our environment is both draconian and unrealistic especially when it is designed to target only Louisiana’s bar owners. This is a large group of small business owners trying to survive in a down economy. Thank goodness we won’t be threatening the profits of your gambling friends.

The truth is that if I and a group of friends would like to meet at a bar and lets say watch a New Orleans Saints game and some of them smoke they have to sit for 3 hours without being able to. But wait a minute, there is a solution , we can go to your gambling friends‘ bars to watch the game and smoke all we want because their profits are more important than the air you say you want to clean up.

You mentioned and I repeat:

“Twenty-five other states have done this, some of the more progressive states, and some of the more progressive cities have done this. . . . This takes another step in trying to create a clean-air environment.”

Here is the reality of that situation.

When we evacuated for Katrina we stayed in California which would qualify as one of your “progressive states” which has passed a no-smoking in bars law. When we went to any of of these bars you could see large groups of people standing outside smoking. I spoke to one bar owner about the law at which time he told told us that since this law was passed he has lost somewhere in the neighborhood of $ 7,000.00 to $ 10,000.00 per week and this was just one bar. Now lets take a guess at lost state revenues from all of the California bars who, in all likelihood, are having the same experience.

This law didn’t clean up anything, didn’t stop people from smoking and sabotaged revenues for both the bar owners and the state of California.

It is bar owner’s right to decide whether he or she has a non-smoking or smoking bar it is not nor should it ever be yours.

But since you mentioned a competitive edge with another state’s businesses, what about all the people who live in areas bordering other states that still allow smoking in bars. What would stop people from just going down the road to the other state where their rights have not been infringed upon and spending their money out of state? Nothing I dare say and how much lost revenue over time will Louisiana suffer. This, of course is anyone’s guess but I’m willing to bet it will be substantial over time.

Representative Smith, your House Bill 844 is shortsighted, ill timed, accomplishes non of your stated goals, will have a detrimental effect on small business owners statewide and cost the state of Louisiana much needed tax revenue.

The only group of businesses  this bill has any benefit for is your friends in the gambling industry.

Here are some other peoples comments from nola.com regarding this abomination of a bill:
_______________________________________________________________________________

To every smoker out there, pay attention. If you believe that this will end with the bars you are mistaken. Check out the progression of this legislation in CA and the other 24 states.

In CA specifically there are groups fighting to ban smoking in apartments, condos, multi-family dwellings and any residence that is close enough for a neighbor to smell the smoke. They are also trying to ban smoking in private vehicles.

Those that rant about socialism and marxism should be screaming about this whether they smoke or not.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Next thing you know they are going to tell us adults that we can’t drink alcohol in bars either.

Adults go to bars under their own free will and know that there may or may not be smoke there.

Is this going to be like “Demolition Man” and we will be stuck with Taco Bell?

________________________________________________________________________________________

Please, does Louisiana really have to join the growing ranks of nanny states? Grown adults can decide for themselves whether to smoke or not, and those who don’t want to patronize bars that allow smoking don’t have to. There are already several bars around NOLA that don’t allow smoking, and that’s fine. The state meddles in people’s lives enough… let bar patrons and owners decide for themselves.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Why NOT the casinos? It can’t be about money, can it?!

IF this ban passes, smokers and non-smokers alike should insist that casinos are included. If our government REALLY cares about the health of the people (and not the money) then ALL public places should be included. Let’s see how far this would get..

BTW, this message is from a smoker.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Rep. Gary Smith,

Make Norco smoke free first! And lets see how that works out for you!

Rep Gary Smith, SHOW ME YOU’RE BACKBONE!

_________________________________________________________________________________________

There are many more just like these and you can read them for yourself at nola.com.

Representative Smith we don’t need you as our Big Brother and we don’t want you as our Big Brother.

Do the right thing and rescind this fraudulent, ineffective and disgraceful piece of legislation before it does far more harm than good.

The erosion of our civil rights and rights of business owners has to stop somewhere. Stop it here. Stop it now.


Representative Smith, if you truly want to crusade for a cleaner environment I have some suggestions that will help you accomplish this without trampling on the rights of individuals and business owners state wide.

Lets take a look at your own district of Norco.

Using this legend I count:

3    discharges into the water system
14  Hazardous waste sites
1   Toxic release site
7    Air Release sites (and I know how important clean air is to you)
13  Sites which produce multiple types of discharges

Representative Smith, you have your work cut out for you. Since, as a representative your first duty is to serve the people in YOUR district Id say you should start cleaning up your own back yard before trying to mess up everyone else’s.

Best Regards,

Betty Anne Davis

February 25, 2009

For Bubba Jindal- Rushed to the Port of New Orleans

Filed under: Bobby Jindal,Economy,Fools,Louisiana,Politicians — Morwen Madrigal @ 6:17 pm

This is from SoCalDem over at the Democratic Underground and I couldn’t resist-

The Gret Stet of Guns

Filed under: Crime,Louisiana,New Orleans,NOPD — Morwen Madrigal @ 5:43 pm

Shootings abound in the city. Most of us fret and think it is all the problems of our police force.

THIS is the reason why law enforcment, especially as it relates to violent crimes is almost impossible to do.

February 20, 2009

One Toke Over the Line

Filed under: Aside,Louisiana — Morwen Madrigal @ 12:55 pm

I didn’t notice what the folks in Massachusetts voted on last November, but it pleases me greatly. As one of the mommies of the Medical Maryjane Movement any form of decriminalization for pot possession is high on my list.

I do find it interesting that local police forces are trying to find ways to increase the fines for possession. Guess they are just like NOPD in that they would rather issue a ticket to a Gentle Freak instead of going after armed murderers.

In 2010 I will go after this for the Gret Stet. (Going o get screwed for this)

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