Gentilly Girl- a part of the 99%

February 29, 2008

Raise the Drawbridge! Release the Gators to the Moat!

The peasants are revolting! (or they might not be… depends on your point of view.)
Lonely is the head that bears the crown. The Defender of New Orleans paces wearily upon the the ramparts of the Fortress of Orleans pondering the rumors that have been brought to light by his operatives in the Kingdom. He looks out into the fog-shrouded night for the glow from and armed crowd. He tries to listen for the creaking wheels of siege engines being moved into position, the sounds of marching feet or the whoosh of an arrow flying by, but alas, there are no sounds such as these tonight just as there is only the glow of street lamps.

The noble Defender stands guard through the night knowing that one day the end is coming. His End and the ending of all of the magnificent works which he so generously gave to the people of the Kingdom. Tears run down his cheeks as he wonders what went wrong…

I call B/S on the above narrative. Our Invisible Mayor is beefing up security at City Hall months after the fracas that accompanied the City Council Meeting that voted for the demolition of the Projects, but only a week after he informed the World that his picture is now on the Aryan websites. (I wonder if that’s what all the new cop toys must be for: protecting the his castle.)

Yes violent crime is up in the City, but since the Flood there have only been the aforementioned skirmish in the Council Chamber in December and the 5k+ March on City Hall to decry the upward spiral of murders here in Jan. ’07. Nothing bad happened at the march, and the probs during the skirmish was limited to a few “outside agitators”. Outside of the fact that City Hall is a bitch to get to work for your needs, it’s a fairly peaceful place (amazing, ‘eh?)

So why the beefing up of security at this time? Is King Amon-C. Ray going to spring some new crap on us in the near future? Will his minions announce the start of more stupid Nagin tricks upon the city? Or did he sell us to Disney?

I really wanna know.

Sinn Fein!

(Note to self: stock up on Greek Fire and arrows. Should get some more torches and pitchforks. Get boots… flats just won’t do for the assault upon anti-logic. Where’s my Captain’s hat? Hitch teh Katz to my chariot!)

Finally, I’ve Heard What I’ve Been Waiting…

to hear.

From the Bilerico Project comes this letter from Sen. Obama on LGBT issues.

This is not the time to make comments outside of me saying that I am pleased by his statements. Doesn’t mean shit will actually happen, but at least Barack put it in print. (Like Hill could do something like this? Remember “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”?) Obama actually mentioned Trans folks and Gender Identity…. *Damn!* Is that a Log Cabin Repug falling apart?

Oh yes baby… that was better than sex.

February 28, 2008

Nagin’s 39 Pages of “New Rules”

Crossposted to the Wild Wild Left, and Docudharma.

Alright, I’m an anti-blight type of gal. I’ve watched buildings slowly collapse over the last six years since I returned into piles of rubble. Most of the ones I’ve been watching for years still stand, and the City ain’t done Jack concerning them. (Many are owned by churches, Black non-profits (?) and “little people”. The usual suspects.)

Back in ’04 I was trying to purchase a blighted building to create a Trans shelter and education house. Whenever I approached a member of the City with this concept, there was a sputtering sound, accompanied with the sounds of crucifixes banging against the walls. All I was doing was to locate some property and then it was up to me to get support from the Trans community to make it whole. Bingo! One less blighted property in a neighborhood. One gem amongst a block of bits of coal. (not a Racial statement, but one of a geological nature, thank you very much.)

So today, our “Chocolate City” Mayor springs a 39 page revamping document changing the city’s anti-blight rules on the City Council. Needless to say, as a homeowner, I didn’t get a copy, and neither did Betts. I don’t know of anyone else who has seen this document. So we are to just be mushrooms: kept in the dark and fed shit until you decide to “use” us? To fine us? Fuck you Bro! And fuck you with a hayfork.

I am not against many of the prohibitions on the list of offenses, but I am against a wholesale overwhelming of the City Code covering 170 chapters. This “feels” like a takeover and a Disneyization, especially when it comes to the poorer neighborhoods which are primarily Black and poor.

Per the “unknown, and therefore invisible document”: “owners of unoccupied buildings would have to maintain in good repair such decorative features as cornices and trim, keep insect screens on open windows and doors, and repair cracks in foundation walls .” If the place is unoccupied, what’s the point in this? I know many folks who own homes here and there are cracks in their brick foundations. Screens on windows of an unoccupied home? FUCK me now! (There’s no one living there.) Cornices? Shit you fuckmooks, the costs of recreating the cornices and gingerbread could easily pay for 25 sheets of wallboard to make the interior whole and livable. Is Disney trying to require us to keep things looking nice so it won’t cost them too much when they do a corporate takeover of the city as an amusement park?

Will “No-See-Um” Ray become the Mayor of the new Wonka-ville? Will he wear a funny hat? Is there going to be a flowing chocolate river where Bayou St. John once flowed?

Inquiring minds would like to be clued in.

Here’s another one: “unhealthful biological growths” . We have eliminated the two greatest threats to Humanity from our yards: kudzo and St. Augustine grass. I fail to see where theses are “unhealthful growths”, just unsightly pains-in-the-tushes.

Here comes the killer: “Other possible penalties against owners whose properties harm the “public health, welfare, morals, safety and the economic stability” of their neighborhoods could include fines of as much as $500 per day, or foreclosure to collect outstanding liens.” . MORALS? Sweet Zombie Mother Freakin’ Jesus! We are going to legislate morality in this housing shit? Dammit! Most of the offenders of this part of the Code can’t find a trashcan for their McDonald’s shit… they do like at home: drop it on the floor. Morality? Fuck babies, clothing is optional in our courtyard (I’m the only one who will go sky-clad in the side yard for my morning prayers). If some purient cross-wearer peeks over our security fences and sees naked bodies running around and reports it, we’re in violation of this new Code? Fuck you again Mr. “Shouldn’t Be” Mayor. “Morality”? What about your dealings with folks that do not involve prior information (like more than a 24 hour heads up) before you bulldoze their homes? “Morality”? Does that mean anything that would upset the Disneyites visiting our Sacred City?

I want that 39 page report in my inbox in the morning Mr. Nagin. (Your minions can pull that one off, right?) I want a copy of that document in every homeowners’ hands by Monday you massive whack-job. We are the constituants, the Council are our representatives, and you aren’t God passing down the Golden Tablets about how things will be here. It’s OUR city you congenital idiot. (You can run back to Dallas when the shit hits the fan, but we live here.)

The Council will consider this on March 21st… okay, I want copies of this document in all homeowners’ hands by the 7th. We are the homeowners of the City, so we should get some say on this shit… savvy?

Or do you have a hidden agenda with these kinds of pronouncements?

February 25, 2008

Where Is Your Political Compass Pointed?

Filed under: Aside,Politicians,Socialist Progressive — Tags: , , — Morwen Madrigal @ 3:51 pm

Alright, I took the Political Compass test and this is what the results were:

Your political compass

Economic Left/Right: -7.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.41

Where is your compass pointed?

Curtsey to Raybin at the Wild Wild Left for this one.

February 24, 2008

The Center of the Universe

Filed under: New Orleans,Rebuilding — Tags: , — Morwen Madrigal @ 6:17 pm

In today’s T-P, Chris Rose write a very spot on description of life here post-Flood. It dovetails nicely with many of my posts over the last few years, including last night’s piece and this recent one.

Curtsey to World Class New Orleans for the heads up.

A Tightly Wound Spring…

Filed under: Aside,Gentilly,Insanity,New Orleans,Our House,Rebuilding — Tags: , , , , , — Morwen Madrigal @ 1:26 am

These last several days have been very, very tiring for me: getting the house fixed enough to get us out of this “dumpster” we been living in for two years, deciding how I’m go to pack stuffs and have it moved to the house… when do we get the girls fixed so they can roam the courtyard and then, how will the catz act through the entire process. There are mounds of papers and files all through the hovel (must not lose them…. that’s Grants and SBA poop). And then there are the tools and the kitchen.

Setting up the offices are first, but I need the Contractor’s map of all the wiring in the house to bring it all together in order for Betts to be able to function on the next workday. Four ‘puters need to be networked right away and the three extra terminals must be ready for the cottages and the gameroom. (have two new 8-point routers and 16 lines running through the place.) Must get Cox in so Betts can have her phones. Still need to get Entergy up there in order to put in the new gas and electric meters.

Our guys are doing great work, but weather (humidity) and final probs keep cropping up. (The ceiling in the offices had the beams a little warped when the tidal wave from the canal walls lifted one end of the house, and the resulting ceiling looked like the surf at Moloki.) The plumbers put the drain collection pipe for our bedroom potty in a strange place, and I want that fixed. The first part of the back deck must be built next week… I want a back staircase and the generator landing ready soon.

And there’s things we should be attending to, but it’s hard to get out of here early enough to get them done. Betts’ biz is hopping, so we can’t bug-out of the office in order to take care of things like buying the appliances (they don’t take payment over the phone), getting the last few fixtures and buying/making curtains. The rains force us to stay in since the sidewalks have 8″ of water on them and we can’t get out, or the traffic starting around 3 PM is so bad we can’t make it to where we need to. (Still haven’t picked up Opal’s ashes.)

The rains are also slowing down the cementing of the new connection to the sewer main, and that means we still have a huge hole in front of the only garage that we can get to at this time. The gravel for that one drive cannot be laid yet, and that means slogging through a mud pit to get into and out of the place. The sewer drain for the FEMA trailer still needs to be moved to our side yard connection so’s the dumpster can be put in place and we can move forward on finishing (and re-finishing) the drives.

Still awaiting the delayed House Elevation Grant and the next infusion from the SBA. Both will come through, but waiting and worrying is taking it’s toll on both of us. Things would have been pretty much done now if the grant would have hit last Summer as promised… the State had to find a way to screw up what we were to get months ago. This kept our worker count lower than expected so we could keep them doing our house instead of running off and starting other projects (thus putting us on the back burner).

It seems like the only times we leave this dump are for food, household stuffs and buying building materials. We have only played one tournament since right after Thanksgiving. Going to the bar to socialize doesn’t really happen anymore: we show up at odd times once in a while, and it’s almost always that the two of us are the only folks there. Shopping for some nice clothes is out: no place here to store them. (I’ve learned to mix and match various warm weather clothes in layers with my short supply of winter stuff to stay warm)

I’m just rambling and peeved that with all we have done to rebuild here, it is still like slogging through 4′ deep mud. I can’t do Psych meds because they either do nothing or they knock me out for the day. There’s only so much I can drink (and not become a total lush). Betts and I alternate with bouts of stomach attacks. I’m lucky to have a decent night’s sleep one a week… most of the nights are spent laying there with my mind racing over the entire ‘Verse. The only thing in my mind are how’s this affect the Coast, or the city, then Gentilly and lastly our home. It is like living in the center of a merry-go-round that never stops, and the characters are always changing on each spin.

Alright, enough bitching and moaning. We ARE the lucky amongst many in this city. We are almost home, though it seems like that promise changes daily. Many folks here haven’t even started on rebuilding. (I don’t know how they are keeping it together in the face of all this shit)

And I just made a decision: I’m waking Betts up from her nap in a few minutes, and we are going to the Starlight for a few drinks as we should have done earlier. Thank the Goddess that the bar is open all weekend nights. Maybe I’ll get to see the Sun rise as we leave with our to-go cups make it home and fall into a deep sleep.

“Bartender? GROG! NOW! Aaarrrggghhh me maties. We have returned… “ 

February 21, 2008

Nagin Wants to Cold Cock the NOLA Bloggers (and everybody else with a brain)

“No-See-Um” Nagin, our transparent, or is that the invisible, Mayor took umbrage over the flap concerning his little play-time fun with “Do Nothing” Riley, our Chief of Police. He’s also bitchin’ because the media is against him and his sparkling record here in NOLA, causing Racists to come out of the woodwork and make him live in fear for himself and his family. He also talks about the “evil” Blogs, and how if he is approached wrongly he will cold cock the person(s) responsible.

Try to cold cock me you worthless piece of political trash, and I’ll sink my knee so deep in your genitals that you will sound like Minny Mouse for the rest of your life. That or I’ll stick a 7 inch pump somewhere (but you might like that, Bitch.). You always find a way to make yourself look so freakin’ silly, and by extension you soil the images of the folks here who are ACTUALLY doing the rebuilding. You are NOT an asset to New Orleans.

I was going to take this rant farther, but there are too many good NOLA Bloggers who have already weighed in on this poop:

Try Dr. Morris, or the Zombie, or DangerBlond, or Adrastos, Maitri, Think NOLA, We Could Be Famous… (and yes I know I missed some, but I’m busy hiring protection.)

And there are my pieces from last week.

I wonder if we Bloggers can get Restraining Orders against this congenital Repug lunatic?

Sinn Fein!

Update: I missed these few comments from Nagin’s interview this morning:

“Nagin: I don’t know. I’ll probably settle down and get to the business of the recovery. I’ll probably go talk to an attorney and the FBI about hate crimes and all that good stuff, but I’ll be back to business.

Roberts: Have you received any direct threats?

Nagin: I’m not going to get into that. I’m a fairly high profile person and I’ve made some pretty hard decisions and it’s made some people angry. So it is what it is.”

So I guess that “No-See-Um” Ray doesn’t believe in Free Speech, the telling of the Truth or Civil Disobedience. It’s just sad… he should return to the world of cable TV and spare the rest of us anymore of his insanity.

Curtsey to the Swampwoman for filling me in.

OMG! Colbert has us on his “On Notice” board.  Thanks Leigh! (I think…. need to get the Rad Faeries to protect me.)

February 18, 2008

Lives Lost to Ignorance/Confusion

Filed under: LGBT,Trans-Feminist — Tags: , — Morwen Madrigal @ 11:21 pm

Last week a 15-year old was murdered by a 14-year old in Oxnard, CA.. All of this was because the kid sometimes wore make-up, high heels and nail polish to school. The murderer is described as having a slight build and looking effeminate.

I wanted to write about this last week, but the tale brought up many issues from my Past… my teen years. Last night Betts and I talked for hours about that era in our lives, and finally I can start on this topic.

My teen years were a living Hell in SW Alabama. It didn’t help that my father was a Labor leader or that I had been raised to have my own viewpoint by my parents. Mom had just died, and my sibs and I had just spent the Summer in Houston with the aunts, uncles and our cousins being part of the South’s “Summer of Love”.

My hair was growing to my waist, puberty was hitting… I was one confused kid, ovaries and testicles operating, and my body looked femme (no boobs though). I was into music, literature, math, physics and history. I was a Gentle Freak who tutored kids, helped them along and worked full time as a fast-food manager. I bought my own car, paid room and board and lived an individual life. I was also scared shitless over anyone finding out about my other life.

I had been a school Quarterback: third string brought in for the first game of the season because the starter and the back-up were wiped out. I won the first three games of the season, and then quit because my body wasn’t large enough to face the defensive lines. (Dad insisted that I play sports, but he was the one that signed the paperwork to assign me as “male”.) That was never forgotten by the rednecks. I was also the Class Valedictorian.
Every month, I would carve out 3 or 4 days in which I didn’t have to show for work and no performances for our jazz-rock band. I’d pack and head to Panama City for a “Chelsea” weekend (my nom de plume back then). I’d book a hotel and just spend those days wandering around the place and just being myself. (Same as the Navy years later, but the location was Monterey)

The girl lived at least for a time every month.
Each and every day I had to live with oppression: it wasn’t about being “Gay”, but about being “Different”. The only reason I didn’t get bashed is because my mind and mouth were faster then that of the ogres that wanted to beat me to a pulp. I counted on others to speak out in support of me as friends.

And being beaten is a Hell-of-a-lot better than being executed, but it still wasn’t high on my list for life experiences.

Though my soul screams in pain for the slain 15 year old, my heart also aches for the effeminate boy who pulled the trigger. It’s obvious that Societal pressures created this action. Maybe he couldn’t deal with what is going on inside his psyche. Maybe he is Straight, but his appearance opened him up to all kinds of hassles over mis-identification. I don’t know.

Our Culture MUST GET OVER THIS CRAP! There are Gay boys, Lesbians, Trans folk and Queers. There are also Christians, Jews, Muslims, Pagans and atheists. There are men and women. Folks come in every shape, form and fashions. Same goes for skin color. We are all Human, and that’s the way it freakin’ is.

A young boy is facing many years in prison for a murder that came out of his conflicted sense of self (my interpretation), and another kid is dead. What a fucking damned waste.

When will we learn, and then just live?

What does it take to achieve a Human Culture?

My answer is to live and let live.

The Soul of America…

Filed under: Aside,New Orleans — Tags: , — Morwen Madrigal @ 6:27 am

So according to Dr.Morris, the networks in their crazed basketball frenzy keep referring to New Orleans as the “Soul of America”. Interesting considering how we have been treated post-Katrina/Rita/Federal Flood. Hell, I thought we weren’t worth the thought about the Future. (Thanks Bush Administration.)
We here in New Orleans are the Soul of America. It’s not about the French Quarter or the drinks on the streets, it’s about our belief in our Culture, our History and our Future. To live here, I mean truly LIVE here takes one to a place of acceptance and worship. What we have here cannot be imagined in most of the localities of America. We are our own.
I live this Reality day by day, and I thank the Goddess that She sent me home years ago. I had to be a part of this scenario… have to be a witness. Seattle: fucking Californication, Portland: being carved up as I type, San Francisco: god damned dot-com yuppies forced us out. I know… I was there for most of this shit.
All I have left is my hometown, and I’m not willing to let the bastards win, period. I’m like a creature backed into a corner, and it’s my turn to strike back. This is my home and my folks… I can’t back down.

For years I’ve fought for others, but this is what She wanted me to do: Fight for Her city. I see her statue on Decatur, and She tells me to fight. Therefore I fight.
New Orleans is a place that inspires. It also is a haven for those of us who no longer wish to face assimulation. We are ourselves, and what can be more realistic than that. We live… and love, and welcome  those who are searching for a safe-place.
Our world here is something that cannot be sacrificed to corporate desires or the entertainment crowd. We live as we always have. Our world is an anachronism, and yet, we are America’s hope. This is the last place to be assimulated to the corporate vision of the Borg. We are ourselves: Sinn Fein.

Betty and I are sworn to return, and soon it shall be so, but we did so because we believe in the culture here. We could have gone anywhere after the Flood, but we both agreed that we must stand for this wonderful place. Where else can a real Human Being live in our dessicated land? (Not any city I know of.) How could we look in a mirror if we just walked away?
Everything, every one here… my soul screams for. This city has been home for my folks for almost three hundred years.  Far be it from me to abandon familial ties. I must stand for New Orleans and the Coast. This is a labor of Love, not only for the Isle d’ Orleans, but for the country I gave some of my life for.

Wake up and understand: we are under attack from the elite 3%. Speak your voice and we can screw these fuckers to wall. Ya’s just gotta believe.

February 16, 2008

I’m Getting a B’Day Present

Filed under: Federal Flood,New Orleans,Our House,Rebuilding — Tags: , , , — Morwen Madrigal @ 4:51 pm

WHOO HOO! *does cartwheels*

We are moving back into our home at the end of this month. It will have been 30 months since Betts and I slept in our house. Things won’t be finished there when this happens, but we’ll have enough ready for us to be able to use the place. One bathroom will be finished, same goes for the kitchen, our offices and the bedroom.

I can’t wait to see how our construction crew deals with us being around 24/7, much less having to deal with the katz bouncing off the walls. (Thank goodness that they are painting this week: I don’t want the walls “textured” with cat fur.) And we also have to remember not to walk around in bras and panties. *giggles* Hell, we need curtains! I don’t wish to be seen in the office windows as a Hollywood Hustler second story display ad.

The first thing I’m cooking in the new kitchen will be two huge vats of seafood gumbo, followed by a vat of clam chowder. Betts will want some escargot, I just know it. Being back in that kitchen will be a salve to the last 30 months of Hell.

When the gameroom is finally finished I order the billiards table. This is becoming so much fun: getting to decorate the house our way, not the way the boys did before we bought the place. It’s a bright and airy space. And this time, it is all us and no one else’s. We get to make the changes that we wanted to do in the 8 short months we owned the place before the Flood hit. (Sadly, the yards are going to take a long time to fix up… they look like Godzilla and King Kong held a wrestling match there.)

Finally, we are going home.

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