Politics and Potpourri

Public Education for the 21st Century?

2011-08-16T14:36:00.002-04:00

Education is a touchy subject these days. I figured that it was the right time of year to put in my two cents on the topic. I figured my opinion was worth at least that much considering my career (educator) and my role as a parent to a school age daughter. Schools are just starting to fire up. Many states are trying to change public schools into public private partnerships.

Considering the current reputation of public education in this country, I can understand the interest in alternatives. These public-private partnerships are FOR PROFIT. I didn't understand how this worked until this year, when we started considering a charter school for our daughter. I knew that charter schools typically (in my state) get about 70% of the government funding that the average traditional public school gets.

How then do they make it work? How does a school like that make enough money to be profitable. Well, the school we are considering, could get sponsorships from local businesses. They could also sell advertising. Imagine that.....

As you enter your child's classroom, you hear over the loudspeaker...
"Excuse me for the intrusion, Ms. Peterson, but 3rd grade today will be brought to you by Coca Cola corporation, children please remember It is the Real Thing. Ms. Peterson, you may now continue with your discussion of Integers."

Also realize that there are numerous programs (Gifted, ESOL , or ESE), that are required to be available in the traditional public school. These same programs are not guaranteed in the charter school setting. The traditional public school is THE great melting pot for our society.

It is my feeling that public schools don't need more money, nor do you need to pull your child out and put them into charter schools for the perfect educational experience. To guarantee a solid education for your kids, do one thing .

Spend 1 hour with your child doing homework or going over what happened in school. In other words, take ownership in your child's education and they will soar, regardless of the school setting.

By the way, here is the school supply list for the charter school for each child:

1 8 ct. Crayola watercolor paint set
1 pack of construction paper
1 primary half page journal composition book
2 primary full page composition books
1 regular composition notebook
3 packs of 3X 5” (lined) index cards
1 ruler with inches and centimeters
4 packs of #2 Ticonderoga (brand name) sharpened pencils
2 packs of 24 Crayola crayons (no twistables please)
1 pack of 8 count Crayola markers (thick)
12 glue sticks
1 pair of blunt scissors
1 pencil pouch (no boxes please)
6 rolls of paper towels
2 hand sanitizer bottles
2 containers of Clorox wipe cleaners
2 cans of Lysol spray
3 boxes of tissue
3 bottles of liquid hand soap
2 red plastic duo-tang with side pockets and center clips
2 green plastic duo-tang with side pockets and center clips
3 reams of copy paper
1 pack of Primary Writing Paper
1 pack of multicolor Expo dry erase markers (thick)
1 pack of black Expo dry erase markers (thin)
2 white magic rub erasers
1 pack of brown paper lunch bags
2 packs of Ziploc quart size bags
2 packs of Ziploc gallon size bags
1 disposable camera
***1 labeled seat sack
Spanish – green folder (duo tang w/ pockets)
composition notebook
pocket size Spanish-English dictionary
ream of paper
PLEASE DO NOT LABEL ANY ITMES WITH YOUR CHILD’S NAME
ONLY BOOK BAGS AND SEAT SACKS ARE TO BE LABELED

I wonder why I'm not supposed to label this stuff with my child's name on it?

I don't think that word means what you think it means

2011-08-02T15:00:00.002-04:00

Entitlement:
3. The right to guaranteed benefits under a government program, as Social Security or unemployment compensation.

Origin:
1825–35; entitle + -ment

As a youth, I watched the political establishment warp and maim ideas so that people became embarrassed to be labeled certain things. The most obvious example I can give is the word liberal. Hell, that word has been so successfully maligned over the last 30 years, that the liberal elements in this country now call themselves "Progressives". As far as I know liberal means vile things like open-mindedness and the nasty willingness to embrace change for the purposes of improvement. Improvement and open-mindedness, the mere concepts make me sick.

The same thing appears to be going on now in the media with the word (get ready to run from your monitor), ENTITLEMENT..... Did the lights flicker over your head, or the thunder crash right near you when you read that NASTY word?

I'm going to say it now; when I work for someone I am ENTITLED to a paycheck. It is an ENTITLEMENT. There is that nasty word again. No one gave me anything, I worked and under the terms of that contract I am ENTITLED to get paid. Well, when taxes are pulled out of my check, some of those taxes go to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and unemployment insurance. Therefore, as I work I am paying some of the costs of those various programs.

I am ENTITLED to the benefits of those programs, as are all of us because as we work we make a deal with government that we paid into the system and when we retire because of age or infirmity we are guaranteed a social safety net to avoid poverty. The word ENTITLEMENT is being redefined as government giveaway.

I don't think anything is a giveaway, if I've already earned it in my paycheck. Please feel free to correct me...

I'm now going to watch " The Real L word "; I hear it has some real Liberals.

Praying at the Altar of Stupidity

2011-07-09T15:53:00.000-04:00

As I approach my 40th birthday, it might make sense that I have mellowed, relaxed, chilled or “slowed my roll”. Churchill

said “If you’re not a liberal at twenty you have no heart,

if you’re not a conservative at forty you have no brain?”. I decided not to

google the quote but am certain it is something like that. Hell, since this is a blog about laziness, I’m going to google the term now and get you the exact quote. The summer is upon us, and it truly is not the heat, but the stupidity that disturbs me.

Whether it is the idiocy of Representative Weiner who along with countless others does not understand the ramifications of cyberspace communications, or the countless politicians who have taken leave of their respective senses and are about to drive the shaky economic recovery over a cliff, because they don’t understand what the debt ceiling is. I’m giving them credit; they might want to destroy numerous Americans’ jobs for political gain. Neither ignorance nor political avarice are terribly attractive in politicians.

Everyone reading this blog is probably very well aware of the debt ceiling debate as well as the various and tawdry personal scandals that pervade Congress, lately. The real question is “ Why should anyone be surprised?” I’m concerned about the possibility of federal default because I have a job that is at least partially federally funded. (I figure full disclosure is the way to go.) I also have numerous friends that are unemployed, and a default probably won’t help them in their various searches for gainful employment.

Honestly though, why is it surprising that politicians are acting like idiots. Look at the way we disrespect education in this country. Most industrialized countries in the world are putting a greater emphasis on education than we are? If anyone really needs an outside source on this one here it is. No matter which state you are reading this from, it is almost a certainty that schools in your community are having funding cut. With funding cuts teachers have to do more with less. While the education system us being starved, the American public has become enamored of shows such as Jersey Shore and various other reality T.V. shows. It has also become almost a political liability to be perceived as intellectual. To be fair, that problem appears to go back to the 1950s at least in Presidential elections.

As I approach my 40^th birthday, I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t want my politicians to be someone who I can have a beer with. I don’t want every tawdry detail of their respective lives on a 24-hour feed. I want these people to understand the ramifications of their actions both in relation to legislation, and personal restraint so that they might set forth the best path for our country. In return, we as citizens should be expected to educate ourselves, and take responsibility for our children and what they do.

Interesting take from Huff Post

2011-06-28T22:13:00.001-04:00

I find this interesting, just heard a writer from Huff Post say that this was going to be discussed as part of the debt limit debate. I wonder what this might mean, I mean these documents are so vague. The U.S. Constitution is well known for being written in a specifically vague manner. I mean it seems clear to be clear to me, but I'm just a simpleton.

U.S. Constitution Amendment 14-4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

If the Bill in question, concerning the debt limit of the nation has been raised numerous times previously, then precedent says it is an acceptable part of legislation. Boy it would be nice if I was more well read.

It's Coming.....

2011-06-04T14:08:00.000-04:00

JOBS LOST UNDER RICK SCOTT | Pink Slip Rick Scott

2011-04-27T21:11:00.000-04:00

JOBS LOST UNDER RICK SCOTT | Pink Slip Rick Scott

Why can't Obama just release his own birth certificate... and be done with all of this B.S.?

2011-04-24T09:35:00.000-04:00

Happy Passover

2011-04-17T11:43:00.002-04:00

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Passover humour is the best

2011-04-16T11:47:00.000-04:00

Expecting too much from our elected officials

2011-04-08T22:29:00.003-04:00

"Everybody goes to clinics, to doctors, to hospitals, so on. Some
people go to Planned Parenthood. But you don’t have to go to Planned
Parenthood to get your cholesterol or your blood pressure checked. If you want an abortion, you go to Planned Parenthood, and that’s well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does."
- Senator Kyl 4/8/11

I had just left college, with a fire in my belly, when the government shutdown in 1995. I understood the arguments on both sides, both then and now, but am baffled by the lack of honesty. If you really think that a policy rider is important, then stand up for it. I was listening to some of the debate today during lunch. It's kinda stressful as a school teacher, right before standardized testing begins so I thought, maybe I had misheard the statement, not paying full attention between bites. Then I heard the quote again on the ride home. After hearing it this second time, I decided to find out where Sen. Kyl got his stats from.

As I crawled, in my metal turtle, through afternoon rush hours traffic, I called a random Capitol Hill office number and the person was nice enough to give me Senator Kyl's office number. My purpose was simply to find the source of the statistic the Senator had used on the floor.
The Washington Post's Ezra Klein highlights this chart showing exactly what Planned Parenthood does:

I was lucky enough to work on the House side of Capitol Hill 17 years ago. I knew even then that everything the Congressman said on the floor (Speeches, and or recorded debate) was all researched before hand. Very, very rarely did the Congressman go in front of C SPAN cameras having to give a speech unprepared. I do not believe the Louisiana delegation was that far ahead of the curve. That means, that most, if not all federal legislators probably follow the same formula.

When I called the office, (I presume) an intern answered the phone. This young man could not answer my question. He first told me that he was not certain that the Senator had said this. I assured him that it had, and asked him where the statistics could be found. He told me he did not know. I asked to be placed on hold, and to be put through to a staffer who could help me. He refused saying the office was too busy at the moment. This interchange makes me think there was no basis for this information. I feel like a broken record here; if you are going to make a statement that could possibly be recorded, then stand by it, and explain it.

Hangover II sequel

2011-04-06T18:45:00.001-04:00

We are really looking forward to the new Hangover sequel... Here is the trailer...

This phone contraption can cause problems

2011-04-01T18:07:00.001-04:00

“Who are these evil teachers who teach your children, these evil policemen who protect them, these evil firemen who pull them from burning buildings? When did we all become evil?” said Canterbury, whose union endorsed Bush in 2000 and 2004 and John McCain in 2008.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52359.html#ixzz1IJBEonIC

I was energized (read agitated) enough today to call my local Florida state representative asking about a bill that is detrimental to state employees. I called the local office number for my legislator and was greeted by a pleasing voice on the other end. I asked the woman what the status of HR 1405 was. It was explained to me that I had called the Florida state house. I replied by saying that it was a local measure and was told to hold on while she looked it up. I was then told that the legislator did not sponsor it. I then asked if she could just tell me the status of the bill. The bill has passed out of committee.

Once a bill has passed committee it needs to be passed in the exact same form by the membership of both chambers. I explained my opposition to the bill, and asked that the legislator, (MY legislator), vote in opposition to the bill.

At this point in the conversation, and I've been on numerous of these calls, the person/ constituent is thanked for their participation in the process, and told that their opinion will be passed along to the elected official. Something like this is standard boilerplate script, even if the request goes against the position of the elected official.

This person I was talking to did not say anything like this. I thought this was a standard call, because I'm pretty certain that the legislator in question supports my position. However, the person representing the office on this call , heard my request and then told me "There is nothing we can do it passed committee".

Regardless, of the fate of this piece of legislation that was the absolute wrong thing to say to me. If you hire people that can't properly handle standard constituent communication, or exude a defeatist, I don't care attitude to my interests, maybe I don't care whether you get reelected. This is not something that will encourage me to vote for this person in the near future.

UN Security Council Resolution 1973- Libya No Fly Zone

2011-03-18T14:43:00.001-04:00

Here is the full text of UN resolution 1973 imposing a no-fly zone and other sanctions on Libya.

"The Security Council,

Recalling its resolution 1970 (2011) of 26 February 2011,

Deploring the failure of the Libyan authorities to comply with resolution 1970 (2011),

Expressing grave concern at the deteriorating situation, the escalation of violence, and the heavy civilian casualties,

Reiterating the responsibility of the Libyan authorities to protect the Libyan population and reaffirming that parties to armed conflicts bear the primary responsibility to take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of civilians,

Condemning the gross and systematic violation of human rights, including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture and summary executions,

Further condemning acts of violence and intimidation committed by the Libyan authorities against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel and urging these authorities to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law as outlined in resolution 1738 (2006),

Considering that the widespread and systematic attacks currently taking place in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya against the civilian population may amount to crimes against humanity,

Recalling paragraph 26 of resolution 1970 (2011) in which the Council expressed its readiness to consider taking additional appropriate measures, as necessary, to facilitate and support the return of humanitarian agencies and make available humanitarian and related assistance in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,

Expressing its determination to ensure the protection of civilians and civilian populated areas and the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian assistance and the safety of humanitarian personnel,

Recalling the condemnation by the League of Arab States, the African Union and the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference of the serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law that have been and are being committed in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,

Taking note of the final communiqué of the Organization of the Islamic Conference of 8 March 2011, and the communiqué of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union of 10 March 2011 which established an ad hoc High-Level Committee on Libya,

Taking note also of the decision of the Council of the League of Arab States of 12 March 2011 to call for the imposition of a no-fly zone on Libyan military aviation, and to establish safe areas in places exposed to shelling as a precautionary measure that allows the protection of the Libyan people and foreign nationals residing in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,

Taking note further of the Secretary-General's call on 16 March 2011 for an immediate ceasefire,

Recalling its decision to refer the situation in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya since 15 February 2011 to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, and stressing that those responsible for or complicit in attacks targeting the civilian population, including aerial and naval attacks, must be held to account,

Reiterating its concern at the plight of refugees and foreign workers forced to flee the violence in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, welcoming the response of neighbouring States, in particular Tunisia and Egypt, to address the needs of those refugees and foreign workers, and calling on the international community to support those efforts,

Deploring the continuing use of mercenaries by the Libyan authorities,

"Considering that the establishment of a ban on all flights in the airspace of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya constitutes an important element for the protection of civilians as well as the safety of the delivery of humanitarian assistance and a decisive step for the cessation of hostilities in Libya,

"Expressing concern also for the safety of foreign nationals and their rights in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,

Welcoming the appointment by the Secretary General of his Special Envoy to Libya, Mr. Abdul Ilah Mohamed Al-Khatib and supporting his efforts to find a sustainable and peaceful solution to the crisis in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,

Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,

Determining that the situation in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security,

"Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

1. Demands the immediate establishment of a ceasefire and a complete end to violence and all attacks against, and abuses of, civilians;

2. Stresses the need to intensify efforts to find a solution to the crisis which responds to the legitimate demands of the Libyan people and notes the decisions of the Secretary-General to send his Special Envoy to Libya and of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union to send its ad hoc High-Level Committee to Libya with the aim of facilitating dialogue to lead to the political reforms necessary to find a peaceful and sustainable solution;

3. Demands that the Libyan authorities comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, human rights and refugee law and take all measures to protect civilians and meet their basic needs, and to ensure the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian assistance;

Protection of civilians

4. Authorizes Member States that have notified the Secretary-General, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, and acting in cooperation with the Secretary-General, to take all necessary measures, notwithstanding paragraph 9 of resolution 1970 (2011), to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory, and requests the Member States concerned to inform the Secretary-General immediately of the measures they take pursuant to the authorization conferred by this paragraph which shall be immediately reported to the Security Council;

5. Recognizes the important role of the League of Arab States in matters relating to the maintenance of international peace and security in the region, and bearing in mind Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, requests the Member States of the League of Arab States to cooperate with other Member States in the implementation of paragraph 4;

No-fly zone

6. Decides to establish a ban on all flights in the airspace of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in order to help protect civilians;

7. Decides further that the ban imposed by paragraph 6 shall not apply to flights whose sole purpose is humanitarian, such as delivering or facilitating the delivery of assistance, including medical supplies, food, humanitarian workers and related assistance, or evacuating foreign nationals from the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, nor shall it apply to flights authorised by paragraphs 4 or 8, nor other flights which are deemed necessary by States acting under the authorization conferred in paragraph 8 to be for the benefit of the Libyan people, and that these flights shall be coordinated with any mechanism established under paragraph 8;

8. Authorizes Member States that have notified the Secretary-General and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, to take all necessary measures to enforce compliance with the ban on flights imposed by paragraph 6 above, as necessary, and requests the States concerned in cooperation with the League of Arab States to coordinate closely with the Secretary General on the measures they are taking to implement this ban, including by establishing an appropriate mechanism for implementing the provisions of paragraphs 6 and 7 above,

9. Calls upon all Member States, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, to provide assistance, including any necessary overflight approvals, for the purposes of implementing paragraphs 4, 6, 7 and 8 above;

10. Requests the Member States concerned to coordinate closely with each other and the Secretary-General on the measures they are taking to implement paragraphs 4, 6, 7 and 8 above, including practical measures for the monitoring and approval of authorised humanitarian or evacuation flights;

11. Decides that the Member States concerned shall inform the Secretary-General and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States immediately of measures taken in exercise of the authority conferred by paragraph 8 above, including to supply a concept of operations;

12. Requests the Secretary-General to inform the Council immediately of any actions taken by the Member States concerned in exercise of the authority conferred by paragraph 8 above and to report to the Council within 7 days and every month thereafter on the implementation of this resolution, including information on any violations of the flight ban imposed by paragraph 6 above;

Enforcement of the arms embargo

13. Decides that paragraph 11 of resolution 1970 (2011) shall be replaced by the following paragraph : "Calls upon all Member States, in particular States of the region, acting nationally or through regional organisations or arrangements, in order to ensure strict implementation of the arms embargo established by paragraphs 9 and 10 of resolution 1970 (2011), to inspect in their territory, including seaports and airports, and on the high seas, vessels and aircraft bound to or from the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, if the State concerned has information that provides reasonable grounds to believe that the cargo contains items the supply, sale, transfer or export of which is prohibited by paragraphs 9 or 10 of resolution 1970 (2011) as modified by this resolution, including the provision of armed mercenary personnel, calls upon all flag States of such vessels and aircraft to cooperate with such inspections and authorises Member States to use all measures commensurate to the specific circumstances to carry out such inspections";

14. Requests Member States which are taking action under paragraph 13 above on the high seas to coordinate closely with each other and the Secretary-General and further requests the States concerned to inform the Secretary-General and the Committee established pursuant to paragraph 24 of resolution 1970 (2011) ("the Committee") immediately of measures taken in the exercise of the authority conferred by paragraph 13 above;

15. Requires any Member State whether acting nationally or through regional organisations or arrangements, when it undertakes an inspection pursuant to paragraph 13 above, to submit promptly an initial written report to the Committee containing, in particular, explanation of the grounds for the inspection, the results of such inspection, and whether or not cooperation was provided, and, if prohibited items for transfer are found, further requires such Member States to submit to the Committee, at a later stage, a subsequent written report containing relevant details on the inspection, seizure, and disposal, and relevant details of the transfer, including a description of the items, their origin and intended destination, if this information is not in the initial report;

16. Deplores the continuing flows of mercenaries into the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and calls upon all Member States to comply strictly with their obligations under paragraph 9 of resolution 1970 (2011) to prevent the provision of armed mercenary personnel to the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya;

Ban on flights

17. Decides that all States shall deny permission to any aircraft registered in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya or owned or operated by Libyan nationals or companies to take off from, land in or overfly their territory unless the particular flight has been approved in advance by the Committee, or in the case of an emergency landing;

18. Decides that all States shall deny permission to any aircraft to take off from, land in or overfly their territory, if they have information that provides reasonable grounds to believe that the aircraft contains items the supply, sale, transfer, or export of which is prohibited by paragraphs 9 and 10 of resolution 1970 (2011) as modified by this resolution, including the provision of armed mercenary personnel, except in the case of an emergency landing;

Asset freeze

19. Decides that the asset freeze imposed by paragraph 17, 19, 20 and 21 of resolution 1970 (2011) shall apply to all funds, other financial assets and economic resources which are on their territories, which are owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the Libyan authorities, as designated by the Committee, or by individuals or entities acting on their behalf or at their direction, or by entities owned or controlled by them, as designated by the Committee, and decides further that all States shall ensure that any funds, financial assets or economic resources are prevented from being made available by their nationals or by any individuals or entities within their territories, to or for the benefit of the Libyan authorities, as designated by the Committee, or individuals or entities acting on their behalf or at their direction, or entities owned or controlled by them, as designated by the Committee, and directs the Committee to designate such Libyan authorities, individuals or entities within 30 days of the date of the adoption of this resolution and as appropriate thereafter;

20. Affirms its determination to ensure that assets frozen pursuant to paragraph 17 of resolution 1970 (2011) shall, at a later stage, as soon as possible be made available to and for the benefit of the people of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya;

21. Decides that all States shall require their nationals, persons subject to their jurisdiction and firms incorporated in their territory or subject to their jurisdiction to exercise vigilance when doing business with entities incorporated in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya or subject to its jurisdiction, and any individuals or entities acting on their behalf or at their direction, and entities owned or controlled by them, if the States have information that provides reasonable grounds to believe that such business could contribute to violence and use of force against civilians;

Designations

22. Decides that the individuals listed in Annex I shall be subject to the travel restrictions imposed in paragraphs 15 and 16 of resolution 1970 (2011), and decides further that the individuals and entities listed in Annex II shall be subject to the asset freeze imposed in paragraphs 17, 19, 20 and 21 of resolution 1970 (2011);

23. Decides that the measures specified in paragraphs 15, 16, 17, 19, 20 and 21 of resolution 1970 (2011) shall apply also to individuals and entities determined by the Council or the Committee to have violated the provisions of resolution 1970 (2011), particularly paragraphs 9 and 10 thereof, or to have assisted others in doing so;

Panel of Experts

24. Requests the Secretary-General to create for an initial period of one year, in consultation with the Committee, a group of up to eight experts ("Panel of Experts"), under the direction of the Committee to carry out the following tasks:

(a) Assist the Committee in carrying out its mandate as specified in paragraph 24 of resolution 1970 (2011) and this resolution;

(b) Gather, examine and analyse information from States, relevant United Nations bodies, regional organisations and other interested parties regarding the implementation of the measures decided in resolution 1970 (2011) and this resolution, in particular incidents of non-compliance;

(c) Make recommendations on actions the Council, or the Committee or State, may consider to improve implementation of the relevant measures;

(d) Provide to the Council an interim report on its work no later than 90 days after the Panel's appointment, and a final report to the Council no later than 30 days prior to the termination of its mandate with its findings and recommendations;

25. Urges all States, relevant United Nations bodies and other interested parties, to cooperate fully with the Committee and the Panel of Experts, in particular by supplying any information at their disposal on the implementation of the measures decided in resolution 1970 (2011) and this resolution, in particular incidents of non-compliance;

26. Decides that the mandate of the Committee as set out in paragraph 24 of resolution 1970 (2011) shall also apply to the measures decided in this resolution;

27. Decides that all States, including the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, shall take the necessary measures to ensure that no claim shall lie at the instance of the Libyan authorities, or of any person or body in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, or of any person claiming through or for the benefit of any such person or body, in connection with any contract or other transaction where its performance was affected by reason of the measures taken by the Security Council in resolution 1970 (2011), this resolution and related resolutions;

28. Reaffirms its intention to keep the actions of the Libyan authorities under continuous review and underlines its readiness to review at any time the measures imposed by this resolution and resolution 1970 (2011), including by strengthening, suspending or lifting those measures, as appropriate, based on compliance by the Libyan authorities with this resolution and resolution 1970 (2011);

29. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter."

Moldy, Cheesy and just plain wrong

2011-02-23T18:51:00.006-05:00

Before I start this blog let me put the responsible disclaimer here...
I am a public school teacher in another state. I am a member of the union that represents educators. The governor here is looking to do the same thing to us, that Governor Walker is looking to do in Wisconsin. All of that being said, here I go.

I'm not going to bore you with the standard we are teachers we deserve better tripe. While I do happen to believe that we are underpaid, I know very few people that think they should not get more money for the given job that they perform. I went into this profession understanding that the lack of pay would be replaced by the glowing plaudits people would send me way. It isn't unusual to hear people say "It's great that you chose to become a teacher, we need good young minds in the classroom", or "Noah's a teacher, he's shaping the future". While I'm not as young anymore, I guess to some (very,very,very,very... well, you get the idea...small) degree I am shaping the future. These kind words do not however, stop me from looking at contemporaries often making 200-300% of what I make, and wondering.... I know, I know that is not where I am going with this piece.

Recently, there has been a push for government, both at the state and federal level to cut budgets because of the weak economy. I understand this, and to some degree support it. Unfortunately, the actions of most of these states legislatures and governors alike have been downright bopkes. From coast to coast, we here state governments crying poverty. The oratory for shared sacrifice comes from Republicans and Democrats alike. If I hear anyone tell me that the government at whatever level, needs to tighten its belt like any other American, then I will, heck I don't want to fill in that blank because, I don't want to be held to the obvious.

While the politicians are saying this they are extending the Bush tax cuts in D.C., or cutting real estate taxes in Florida, or making it much harder to raise taxes in Wisconsin. Wait, that whole supply side economics thing... If you cut taxes on the wealthy the economy will get better, isn't that the way it works. I realize that I'm on one side of the aisle so to say, but President George H.W. Bush agrees with me on this. Here is the video that supports me.

Let me get this straight, the government is running low on money because the economy has gone south. The answer according to the leaders of Wisconsin's, and Florida's majority party are to cut revenues on those most able to pay them and reneg on legally agreed to contracts with our teachers, policemen and firemen. They aren't even in league with their nationally elected bretheren. The House of Representatives just passed a budget that cut heating fuel subsidies for the poor, and funding for veterans returning from Afghanistan. Never fear though, they successfully kept the funding for the Defense Department to advertise with Nascar.

The American budget needs to be reigned in after 10 years of neglect. I like my fellow teachers, and civil servants in Wisconsin are middle class tax payers, and average citizens. We will do our part, but don't ask us to take on more burden, that we can't really handle, so that those on the top prosper even more.

Wisconsin Governor Walker: 43% Approval Rating - Rasmussen Reports™

I understood the 'Throw the bums out' mentality in November. Unfortunately, no one seems to remember the old political adage.

I'd rather the bums I know, than the ones I don't.

P.S.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker won his job last November with 52% of the vote, but his popularity has slipped since then.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Wisconsin Voters finds that just 34% Strongly Approve of the job he is doing, while 48% Strongly Disapprove. Overall, including those who somewhat approve or disapprove, the new Republican governor earns positive reviews from 43% and negative reviews from 57% of voters statewide.

Olbermann joins Current TV - Entertainment News, TV News, Media - Variety

2011-02-09T16:55:00.001-05:00

Olbermann joins Current TV - Entertainment News, TV News, Media - Variety

This is the best meteorologist I've ever seen

2011-02-01T22:10:00.000-05:00

Uncle Noah wants... YOU

2011-01-29T12:36:00.002-05:00

While I don't look nearly as good in a designer red dress ( I presume), I want to get people motivated as well. If I can start a walking regimen, I think you can too. Therefore, I challenge anyone reading this blog, to join me in some sort of exercise activity. Not only will it benefit you, it will allow you to make fun of Glen Beck. Sorry, sorry I didn't want to tell you what to do...

There are people in the country.... the ones that tell us which god to pray to, or who we can and can not love, or tell us what we can or can not do in our own homes...

Those people don't want anyone to promote exercise or healthy eating, because that is a grave infringement on personal liberties... so lest I upset them... Don't feel any pressure from this post, or the ranting of this middle aged man.

I just finished a mile... Nanny Nanny Boo Boo

Crescent City Classic Training

2011-01-27T19:41:00.002-05:00

I'm not certain if it is because of the new year, or because middle age is coming upon me. Either way I've determined that I will be following the training regimen for the Crescent City Classic 10K road race.

Today, I completed day 3 by walking to pick up my daughter at kindergarten and in the process completed a route of .62 miles. The weather is nice here, so it really isn't a big problem, yet.

The more that I think about it, I'm quite certain that this has very little to do with the fact that getting up off the couch during halftime of the Packers-Bears game wasn't supposed to hurt that much.

Somethings are just obvious

2011-01-09T19:14:00.001-05:00

Subject: No more shootings, no more hate

Hi,

In the wake of the mass shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others in Tucson, we must end the violent rhetoric that has exploded in American politics over the past two years.

That's why I signed this petition calling on every member of Congress, as well as the major TV news networks, to put an end to any overt or implied appeals to violence in our political debate.

Can you join me at the link below?

http://pol.moveon.org/debatenothate/?r_by=25759-3446701-d7hal5x&rc=paste

Thanks!

Logic and politics just don't go together.... sometimes

2010-12-22T17:15:00.001-05:00

“Every American recognizes the heroism of the 9/11 first responders,...But it is not compassionate to help one group while robbing
future generations of opportunity.” - Sen. Coburn 12/22/2010

For the 30 years that I've been following politics Republicans have tried to wrap themselves in the American flag, and proclaim that they are the party of blue collar patriotic Americans.This group has always said that they are more staunchly supportive of our national defense. This week however, all of that has gone out the window. The Republican leadership has voted against a bill that should have been easy to pass. I'm referring to the First Responders Health Bill(James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act). The Zadroga Bill has been passed, over significant Republican objection.

The Bush administration and Republicans in general have used 9/11 as an electoral cudgel for almost 10 years now. The Republicans supposedly kept us safe from terrorist attack for 7 years after the event and therefore should be elected, because they will keep us safe. Hell, who can forget the imagery of President Bush standing amidst the rubble of the World Trade Centers, with a bullhorn in hand talking about how brave and patriotic the workers were. This is the imagery that helped numerous politicians on that side of the aisle claim the high ground on national defense, and security. Dr. Coburn now claims that this legislation which is fully paid for by taxing foreign businesses, is too expensive.

The Republicans, who just recently passed a tax cut for the uber wealthy, that was not paid for; are complaining about the cost of a bill that honors and supports true American heroes. This bill is offset, or paid for, by charging foreign business interests that work here in the United States. I thought I understood Republicans. I thought the Republican party supported the American business community and the wealthy interests above all else. I didn't realize that the Republican leadership supports and defends Foreign business interests over the needs and interests of true American heroes who supported this country in its greatest hour of need.

Happy holidays and stay warm.

In putting together this piece, I spoke with the offices of Senator Gillibrand, Nelson, and LeMieux. I also tried unsuccessfully to contact the office of Senator Coburn. I want to thank everyone I spoke with.
I also read the letter from the Congressional Budget Office regarding this bill. If anyone wants to read it; here it is.

That Girl's Got Talent.... and she's our niece

2010-12-17T22:03:00.000-05:00

Open Letter to any Senator that will listen

2010-12-07T19:28:00.001-05:00

Senator Sanders,

Thank you for standing up to President Obama and the Republicans. I am a life long Democrat, but the extension of these tax cuts is long term fiscal suicide, without much short term return.

I voted for President Obama, but don't see any wisdom in this agreement. The national debt is not a legacy I want my daughter saddled with so that millionaires can get a bigger tax break when they do not need it.

Thank you very much for standing up to stop this deal.

Senator Sanders, thank you for the work that you do.

Sincerely,

Noah Jacobs

The Dad Life

2010-09-12T18:09:00.003-04:00

As I sit here, we've just returned from a viewing of "Despicable Me". It's not a bad movie. Earlier this morning, I got to spend time coloring with Cassie, and we went to a local diner for our regular weekend breakfast daddy daughter date. She got her favorite french toast, and drank most of my coffee. We've been doing some version of this weekly for the better part of four years.

I intended, in my youth, to be a world diplomat. As anyone that reads this must know, I've always had a passion for politics. I've got cousins, that I love dearly, that will talk with me about the minutiae of Constitutional Law. I always am cruising various websites about what is going on on the Hill.

However, at this point I can't imagine anything better than going to watch a movie with my 6 year old, and splitting a Brownie after the fact. While discussing and debating legislation is a wonderful past time; how much time does that leave me to be a dad and a husband? I am not the mover and shaker of governance that I once imagined,. One day I might get to be on this board or that, but right now doing homework with my daughter, and watching a movie with my wife make me very happy.

There is not much more I can hope for.

News for the new year

2010-09-09T16:49:00.002-04:00

I've not posted in a while so I figured it was time to put something to paper. First and foremost, L'Shana Tova to all of you who are celebrating Rosh Hashanah. This year is going to be a good one, and we are going to see alot of positive changes in the world.

The school year seems to be treating me well, but as sure as hurricane season rolls around or football season occurs, the superintendent of schools told us to brace for more cuts. Welcome to the new economy, I guess. My school has been forced to cut staff so significantly that I am expected to be covering more than one class at the same time, and sometimes even three. Well, considering that I need to go on Weight Watchers, this should help. Considering the number of people looking for work, I'm thankful to have a job.

Rather than continue and talk about the ills of the world,teabaggers, the healthcare system, or intolerance, I'm going to relax and enjoy the beginning of " Operation Break Brett", that should start in about 3 hrs.

Geaux Saints

Mosque at Ground Zero is a slap in the face...There are two sides to the face

2010-08-01T20:34:00.003-04:00

For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are
upon us.
-Governor John Winthrop 1630

(1630 on board the Arbella)

We are coming upon the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. As someone who was living in metro D.C. when the attacks occurred I felt especially ill at ease. I had friends working in the Pentagon thank G-D they were safe. I remember, as everyone else does, where I was when first hearing about the planes crashing into the World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon. However, while listening to the local news radio station, we heard stories of car bombs going off at the State department building and the Newseum catching fire. At that point the general public did not know who had perpetrated the cowardly attack.

Recently, there has been talk that a group is trying to build an Islamic community center at the WTC location. Within the community center there would be a mosque. This would not be the only aspect of the complex, but it appears to be the part that is drawing the most interest. This is the part of the center that has raised the ire of a large number of the right wing press gaggle. I appreciate the worth of this story, but for a moment I shall look at the integrity of the press corps pushing this story.

These are the same press outlets that have no faith in the NYPD's ability to hold a trial for a terror suspect in lower Manhattan. These are the same people who jumped to conclusions and got Ms. Sherrod fired from her job, based on a doctored youtube video. This sort of knee jerk behavior is much more damaging to the United States than a mosque, synagogue or church has ever been. The right to free religion is a pillar upon which our great nation was built and to restrict that freedom is a slap in the face of the founding fathers these same "news" organizations love to quote. The "Yellow Journalism" so prevalent at the turn of the last century has reared its ugly head again.

It is common that when nations are in a bad position economically, and it generally leads people to challenge those that are not like themselves. I say however that our diversity is strength not a weakness. There is no need to attack one group for short-term political benefit, when the long-term damage would be so much more significant. I'm not entirely certain that the location of the mosque is a good idea, for the purposes of a political statement I guess it draws attention and makes hay, but from a pragmatic standpoint is this really the best place to put a mosque? While that is true, it is in remarkably bad form to decide that a mosque can't go there because it is a mosque. Make the zoning law so that it does not allow for any houses of worship and then all is well.

Let me be clear because you will not hear it often in my words, President Bush was right. The group that attacked the country was Al Quaeda, not the Islamic faith.
As you can see below is the Youtube video of Pres. Bush on 9/17/2001, he understood the diff. If there was anytime to be infuriated and not reasoned in the approach to this disaster it was 6 days after the horrible attacks. These are difficult feelings to confront. I had trouble sleeping for months after the events of that day. That however, does not mean that I cannot separate an entire faith with the horrendous and despicable acts of one small group.

GWB's entire "Islam is Peace" speech

As a nation we are better than this. There is no legitimate reason that the Moslem American citizens should be treated any differently than anyone else. We are a shining city on a hill to all of the other nations in the world. If that weren't so, then we wouldn't be hearing so much about immigrants risking life and limb just to come to this great country. Moslem Americans pay taxes, and work to achieve the American dream just like everyone else. We are all trying to find jobs and get a good education for our kids.
We have a great document that the world looks up to called the U.S. Constitution. This world renowned document secures the freedoms of religion and assembly. Are we willing to water down these rights so that they are only given to a privileged few. Wouldn't this make us no better than those other countries. We are better than that. This is a light to the nations and/or a shining city on the hill. This is a place the world looks to as a leader. To our nations leaders, continue to be the better angel. Give Americans something to be proud of, and others something worth coming to.

Here is a chance at real transparency

2010-07-27T20:03:00.002-04:00

I don't remember which election, either 1992 or '96, but at some point there was a significant cry from Republicans because Al Gore had some sort of fundraiser that was tied to Buddhist monks. I never thought of average monks as great fundraising targets. Maybe there is a secret cabal of billionaire monks.

I'm not certain whether the monks were citizens of the U.S., but the national media portrayed them as foreign nationals. The Republicans and Fox News focused on this "scandal" for a significant period of time. Well, now the current Congress is trying to take steps to allay the concerns that the Republicans had then. The piece of legislation I am talking about is called the DISCLOSE Act. The Republicans are filibustering it.

The Bill has simple purposes:
From OpenCongress.org

It seeks to increase transparency of corporate and special-interest money in national political campaigns. It would require organizations involved in political campaigning to disclose the identity of the large donors, and to reveal their identities in any political ads they fund. It would also bar foreign corporations, government contractors and TARP recipients from making political expenditures. Notably, the bill would exempt all long-standing, non-profit organizations with more than 500,000 members from having to disclose their donor lists.

I appreciate that everyone including corporations want to take part in this, out great experiment in Democracy. Wouldn't it be nice for everyone to admit who they are supporting rather than hiding behind bogus new groups with made up names.

Help everyone to be proud of their political beliefs, by calling your U.S. Senator and telling him/her that you support the DISCLOSE Act.

While the rest of America is worried about the Lebroncalypse

2010-07-09T18:52:00.006-04:00

For the last week or so, it seems that every news organization, including CNBC, has been giving us hourly Lebron updates. For those not in America, people are living and dying according to the results of the World Cup. Well now that LeBron has gone to the Heat, Spain has won and Dan Gilbert has gone plum crazy we can go forward with life.

I am going to whip out my vuvuzela(sp?), if today's BP well cap works. I'm going to try to attend a pep rally with Adm. Thad Allen and his two top lieutenants, if the cap does what it is supposed to. I worry for the environment and the fishermen not the NBA or FIFA.

I hope the fisheries can be rebuilt and the way of life returns for those fishermen in Grand Isle and Venice (La.) is able to be recaptured. I pray that the environmental damage can be overcome. This is a great opportunity to turn something tragic into a step in the right direction. Focus on doing doing what's right by cleaning up the damage and then use some of that $20 billion dollar fund to rebuild the barrier islands. Use some of that money to push forward solar cell technology, or maybe better safeguards and regulation so that the blowout preventers are actually more likely to do they are supposed to do (perchance prevent... well you get the point).

As someone who appreciates the importance of oil related jobs to the state of La. I do not want to see that type of employment just disappear. However, it is important that we do not turn our natural resource (The Gulf) into a permanent cesspool of oil and tar. We should understand the necessity to drill in certain areas for fossil fuels. For environmental, food safety and even national security interests, however, we should use some of the petroleum revenue to promote safer energy options.

According to the most recent study by the Congressional Budget Office, released in 2005, capital investments like oil field leases and drilling equipment are taxed at an effective rate of 9 percent, significantly lower than the overall rate of 25 percent for businesses in general and lower than virtually any other industry.

Other countries have much better regulation, and much more stringent taxing structures. Norway taxes their petroleum industry to the tune of 75%. We tax ours about 9%. Many of the big companies also have decided for tax reasons to relocate their respective headquarters offshore. Generally, if the company is headquartered in another country, their tax burden will be lowered,as will the regulation and oversight of their operation. These are legal and proper steps for a private company to take to maximize profits. By the way, British Petroleum made 14 billion dollars in profits last year. There is a bill on the floor of the Senate to change some of these loopholes.

Senate Bill 3405 as introduced by Senator Menendez, would close some of those loopholes. It would impose a 13% excise tax on oil extraction, and denies the tax benefits that oil companies get for moving their headquarters overseas. I have no problem with a fair profit, but the oil companies put our communities and our environment at risk. For those reasons, they should pay their fair burden. Please call your Congressmen and Senators to support S. 3405.

All of that being said my thought and prayers are focused on hoping this latest effort to cap the Deep Horizon well are successful, and that the cleanup can begin.

If you would like to see the articles I read for this piece:
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/25/nation/la-na-oil-spill-subsidies-20100525/3
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/04/business/04bptax.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&src=twt&twt=nytimes
http://green.autoblog.com/2009/01/30/exxon-mobil-posts-record-45-2-billion-profit-in-2008/

WebJunk to start the weekend

2010-07-09T11:10:00.001-04:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Does G-D Watch the World Cup?

2010-06-26T19:56:00.004-04:00

I have to admit that as an American I follow soccer very casually. I catch a few of the exhibitions the national team plays between World Cups, but only get focused for the World Cup. Being on vacation allowed me to structure my day around the various matches during the first round.
I woke Cassie up on two different mornings, so that I could get her to school and get back to watch the various matches. I even tried to get my wife to go with me to buy a vuvuzela, enhance the experience and all. The first round of games were both thrilling and agonizing. It was still a thrill without my vuvuzela.
As I got ready to watch today's match against Ghana, my daughter, Cassie chose to watch Men in Black II instead. Rather than fight my 5 year old for control of the TV, I watched the univision feed online. Whenever I've watched a sporting event online there has been an area to converse with others watching the same event. Most of the time these conversations are about good or bad plays, good or bad refereeing and the like. However, occasionally during these events (not just the World Cup) people will ask others to pray to G-D in order for their chosen team to win. I wouldn't have brought this up except that it happened again today.
Don't get me wrong; I lose sleep over the Saints or the University of Arizona. My mood improved immeasurably when the Saints beat the Colts for the Super Bowl victory. I enjoy and take sports pretty seriously. However, I think it is crazy to ask G-D to favor one team over another. The Saints won, does that mean that Brees is divinely favored over Manning? Does some cosmic force like Colston more than Wayne? Considering today's match, does the Lord like Ghana more than the good old U.S.A.?
This whole line of argument is ludicrous and insulting to the individuals. If G-D involves himself or herself in the matters of men, I can understand inspiring men or women to great things, such as solving international crises, or other major issues.

I brought this up to someone once before, and they said G-D had limitless resources and could do it all. Presuming that is true, I still don't think divine forces get involved in whether one athletic enterprise is successful and another is a failure. Please do not misunderstand me, if a group prays before or after the game regarding the health of all the participants that is a different issue entirely.

But as for the success of an athletic team, I think people should respect and honor the participants that take part, and not bring the divine into it.

Raffle for the Gulf Coast

2010-06-08T20:44:00.005-04:00

I saw this on WWL Email Alert- Every little bit helps:

Grand Prize:

Winner will receive an authentic New Orleans Saints Super Bowl Ring (the same exact ring
the players receive)
Winner will be announced at the Nationally Televised New Orleans Saints Season Opener
on September 9, 2010
Winner will receive a cash prize in the amount of $2,178.00 to mitigate the Winner's tax liability that results from winning the raffle. This prize is withheld and paid, on behalf of the Winner, directly to the IRS ($1,800.00) and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ($378.00)

Help the New Orleans Saints in their efforts to help those affected by the Gulf Coast Oil Spill and, in return, you could be wearing own New Orleans Saints Super Bowl Ring. Tickets start at just $2.00 each and decrease for orders of more than 5 tickets. The New Orleans Saints and are utilizing the Celebrities for Charity Foundation ("CFC") and netRaffle.org's patented concepts and technologies to conduct this raffle and tickets are only available online at this web site. Enter online today and rest assured that CFC never stores your credit card information and utilizes secure routers and IBM Servers, professionally managed, to ensure that your information is secure and that your order is accurately processed.

In addition to this, you should also rest assured that CFC values your generosity and netRaffle.org's patented concepts and technologies are designed to deliver the utmost efficiency and unprecedented results. Direct Expenses amount to approximately 8.5% of Gross Revenue and decrease to 5% (or less) of Gross Revenue as more tickets per order are sold. In addition to Direct Expenses, a 5% Gaming Tax is paid to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. After the Direct Expenses and the Gaming Tax are paid, the yield to charity is a minimum of approximately 86.5% of Gross Revenue for a minimum purchase of 5 tickets ( $10.00). This increases to approximately 90% of Gross Revenue for a purchase of 20 tickets ( $25.00), And the yield percentage continues to increase as more tickets per order are purchased. These proceeds will benefit the New Orleans Saints Foundation and the many charities supported by the Celebrities For Charity Foundation.

While you must be 18 years of age, or older, to purchase a ticket, which the Entrant will need to prove prior to being certified as the Winner, CFC's ordering process and rules allow the Entrant to Gift their tickets to another person, which may or may not be a minor. However, it is important to note that regardless of whether or not the Entrant gifts his or her tickets to another party, the Entrant will still need to prove that he or she is 18 years of age, or older, prior to the ticket holder being certified as the Winner. Furthermore, you should also note that neither the Entrant nor the Gift Recipient, if tickets are gifted, need to be present at the Drawing to win; the Winner will be notified. Also, although this experience of a lifetime is priceless, the value of the tangible prizes (e.g., as applicable in any given raffle, hotel, travel, meals, tickets, taxes, etc.) is $7,200.00.

https://celebritiesforcharity.org/raffles/raffles_or.cfm?id=135

Web Junk June 2010

2010-06-05T13:51:00.001-04:00

Thanks Jen....

Relief Wells

2010-05-29T19:36:00.005-04:00

A relief well is drilled to redirect oil when there is a problem with the initial well that was created. Everything that has been attempted to stop the flow of oil from the blown well at the Deep Horizon site has failed. The individuals at British Petroleum are eventually going to attempt this as a last best attempt at closing that well.

There was talk in the press that the Canadians demand that relief wells be drilled in conjunction with the initial drilling of a new well for the sake of safety in case of a problem such as the one currently in the Gulf. Recently, there has been a dispute as to whether Canadians actually demand that these extra wells be drilled in advance or if they just need a show of proof that the wells can be drilled.

Considering that BP made $93 million daily, and this is costing them about 17.5 million dollars daily according to the Washington Post aren’t a few risks to the environment.

Relief Wells are drilled in such a way to intersect with the initial well to allow the oil from the initial well to be brought under control. The Canadians have discussed this sort of well in regard to the Artic circle and other environmentally sensitive areas. Regardless of whether the Canadians demand a relief well be drilled in advance or not, the U.S. Congress should take the lead and demand that any of these oil companies, making obscene profits, drill just such a well in advance of iniating the flow of crude to avoid ordeals such as the one we are currently dealing with.

Sarah Palin... You are great Television

2010-05-29T14:37:00.002-04:00

Every now and then I just need a laugh.

When Junk Mail Goes too Far

2010-05-18T20:37:00.003-04:00

Every now and then, a seemingly everyday occurrence is so mind numbingly funny, the rest of the world is no longer important, at least for a little while.The school year is winding down. If you ask almost any sane school teacher, he or she will tell you they are looking forward to the end of the year. I'm not sure if the students are any more eager than us teachers, to be honest.

The day had ended, I picked up Cassie from nursery school, and headed home. All was well. Nothing unusual. As we drove home there were the usual number of abandoned cars in the middle of US 1 (unfortunately, not very unusual for South Florida). I personally believe that South Florida is the place where abandoned cars come to expire.... Maybe it's the weather. As we passed the flower stands, and bottled water peddlers that wander in the middle of the street, (where the neutral ground should be but isn't) we listened to the latest from Randy Kaplan or Agent 23 Skidoo on my Sirius radio.

Pulling up to my house nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I walked in. Elizabeth, my wife, gave me a kiss and we exchanged the usual, how was your day pleasantries. As I sat down at the kitchen table, I started to peruse the mail that came in that day. Wait, I need to be honest, I was actually looking at mail from the previous few days.

Most of the mail was everyday stuff that I can ignore (credit card offers, requests for charitable donations, newspaper coupon inserts). However, as I sat there drinking a Coke Zero, I was taken aback by one piece of mail that I had never asked to receive. This is a mailing that I never would have imagined getting in my entire life. No, no, no this is not my way of saying that Publisher's Clearinghouse sent me the million dollars (but I am still waiting). Regardless of rumors to the contrary, it is also not true that the Tennessee Republican Party has asked me to step in for Rand Paul due to his recent Palinisms.
I sat there at my table,dumbfounded,because I had been sent, with my name and address a complimentary copy of Counter Terrorist magazine: The Magazine for the homeland security professional. I appreciate that some people think I am on the front lines of education, but I always thought that was a bit hyperbolic.
Elizabeth and I sat at the table and went through the advertisements in the magazine. This periodical was the source of at least 2 hours entertainment. I mean some of the students are not always on top of personal hygiene, now I know where to go to get a full body suit that would protect me with a gas mask built in. Doesn't everyone need one of these post-nuclear apocalypse suits.
We have also found the perfect place to get Cassie's 1st car, LENCO armored vehicles. It is a top of the line humvee. In case that isn't enough the advertisement shows a mounted gun on the roof. Doesn't every individual need one of these.
Why in the heck is this sent out to the public? I appreciate those of you that are going to push libertarian arguments, but I disagree. As you can see by numerous instances in grade schools, high schools and universities, not everyone should be allowed to have a gun. Unfortunately, I've digressed. I don't know how I got this piece of junk mail.

As a side note, I feel sorry for any of Cassie's suitors 10 or 12 years from now.

Actions Speak Louder than Words, Sometimes

2010-04-17T07:00:00.003-04:00

As a parent, I’ve learned that no matter what I can’t just leave. As a professional, I can’t just quit my job. As a taxpayer, I can’t just decide I don’t want to pay taxes. If my daughter does something I don’t like, I’m still her parent and as such need to continue raising and teaching her. I can’t just walk away and say, I don’t like that I’m leaving. I’m responsible for her upbringing. As a teacher, if the school does something I don’t like, that does not allow me to reasonably just up and quit in the middle of the day, or the middle of the week.

As a matter of fact in Florida teachers are restricted by law from going on strike. However, a few weeks ago, the entire Republican delegation of the U.S. Senate decided to leave their jobs as a form of protest over the passage of health care reform. The entire Republican caucus of the U.S. Senate fell into line as their leadership invoked a rule of the Senate NEVER before used in the history of that august body. As a protest/stunt the Republicans made the entire body stop business at 2 o’clock on the following day. This rule while never before enacted, had been written so that the Congressmen’s’ horses would be able to see on the way home. (OK so I made that up, but I can’t think of a better reason.) This group of adult men and women were upset that they had lost a series of votes and therefore decided that shutting down the place where they work was the proper answer to that set back.

The Republicans made a big deal about a procedural tactic used to pass a bill called reconciliation. Reconciliation is a technical procedure to allow controversial policies to get passed into law with a simple majority of support. This technique was first written into law in 1974. It has been used 23 times in the 36 years since its creation. Republicans utilized the procedure on 16 occasions (very often on budget resolutions).

This is the mechanism by which Democrats were able to successfully pass healthcare reform. This legislation was a centerpiece of President Obama’s campaign in 2008. Republicans consider these changes in our healthcare system to be quite a detriment to our society. There is a fear that this creates a whole new government bureaucracy, and pushes the country toward socialism.

For over a year, the American Public has heard people talk about how bad this bill is. Propaganda like “There will be a figures in black hoods taking part in “Death Panels”, that will kill my grandmother if her healthcare becomes too expensive.” This along with supposed cutting of social security and/or Medicare were all thrown around in an attempt to scare the general public into rallying their respective Congressmen/Senators to vote against this bill. There is nothing in this bill that suggests death panels, or rationing of care. The ‘death panels’ misunderstanding came from an amendment put forward by Congressmen Isakson (R) of Georgia. This amendment would have the government pay for a meeting between the individual and his or her doctor to create a living will.[1] Boy Howdy, doesn’t that death panel thing sound better… You Betcha.

Another complaint is that the new law would send the federal deficit through the roof. There’s an old saying about numbers and liars that I don’t want to get into. Considering the budgets that were passed by the previous Administration I have faith the Republicans know what they are talking about when it comes to running significant budget deficits. I however, have faith in the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office when it says that the program is fiscally sound.[2] Honestly, who the hell knows? What I do know is that the people who are bashing the economic solvency of this bill are the same Republican brain trust that talked about how bad President Clinton’s economic policies were. I hope we can return to the horror of those frightening budget surpluses.

These are but two of the reasons numerous pundits talk about how this legislation will lead to the Republicans possibly taking control of the Congress and with luck the Senate in the upcoming elections this November. While it is normal for the minority party to pick up seats in an off year election; it is not always as significant a number as we saw in 1994 or 2010. I can understand the belief that there will be some Republican gains, but 40 seats in the House and 10 seats in the Senate is a bit too much. What causes such a tidal shift in these chambers?

Well, what causes most people to be cynical about politicians in general? Most of them say one thing to get into office, and then do something different once elected. In fancy wonk speak that is known as demobilizing the base. When President Clinton made healthcare reform and gays in the military signature issues at the beginning of his Presidency, and then didn’t come through on either of them. He was perceived as ineffectual and therefore the base of the party did not come out for him in 1994.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/percent_supporting_.png[3]

As you can see from the above chart when asked about the main parts of the new law, it is overwhelmingly popular. What this means is as long as the people know what is in the law they will not be dissuaded from coming out and supporting the Democrats. President Obama came into office and said he was going to pass this reform and he did it.

The President said he was going to pass a stimulus package to get the economy going again, and he did that as well. Unfortunately, the recovery is taking longer than any of us would like, but all of the indicators are their saying the national economy is going in the right direction. There are any number of actions that he has taken to fulfill his campaign promises, but I do not want to give you a laundry list. These things are only brought up to show that the accomplishments of the Administration should not cause a depressed electoral base.

Until recently, I had no real problems with the Republicans. All of their actions were understandable; I support the idea that you should voice your opposition in full throat if necessary to make certain that you are heard. My problems start with the co-opting of the whole party by the fringe rightwing elements. Spitting on people, and using derogatory terms are totally unnecessary, not to mention harmful to your own cause. Having Palin and Beck suggest violence is an example of going way too far as well. These are unfortunately, not unheard of in the halls of our Democracy. These oversteps of decorum occur whenever one side or the other feels they are very obviously losing a very important battle. The Republicans even invoked a rule never before used in the Senate to stop all business after 2 p.m. I guess this was their way of saying that if we do not get our way everybody needs to go home. That is remarkably childish.

If the Republicans really thought they were going to be on the winning side of history in this case, then they would just move forward without such stunts. Use the fact that no Republicans voted for this legislation in about 7 ½ months to take over both chambers, and repeal this legislation. However, shutting down the workplace smacks of desperation and gimmickry. Maybe that is why they only did it for one day.

President Obama was brought into office with a number of Congressmen and Senators on a platform whose central plank was healthcare reform. To think that he will appear ineffectual to his base and the country now that this part of his agenda has gone through seems unlikely. I’m curious which party seems less successful in its goals at this moment and time?

[1] http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/08/is_the_government_going_to_eut.html

[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/18/cbo-score-on-health-care_n_502543.html

[3] http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/02/is_health-care_reform_popular.html

Speechless

2010-02-08T21:39:00.002-05:00

Saints Superbowl Victory Celebration from Cottage Films on Vimeo.

I know. I know. Whoever follows this blog is probably sick of me just posting random videos. However, anyone that follows the Saints for the majority of their life must know that there isn't a helluva lot to say.

The above video pretty much covers it all...

Buddy D Parade

2010-02-04T21:13:00.001-05:00

Buddy D Parade from Cottage Films on Vimeo.

Boy, do I wish I was down there.... Wearing fishnets....

Let's see the NFL try and claim rights to this

2010-01-31T08:27:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure what this is worth but it made me laugh... And laughter is a wonderful thing....

I got it from Youtube and the Times Picayune

Rudy v. his evil twin

2010-01-30T14:44:00.002-05:00

New York Daily News Reports:

"When the 20th 9/11 bomber [Zacarias Moussaoui] was tried in Virginia, in a civilian court, and convicted, Mayor Giuliani testified in that case and he heralded the outcome," Axelrod said on CNN.

and

After Moussaoui was convicted in 2006, but spared the death penalty by a federal jury, Giuliani said he was "in awe of our system."

"It does demonstrate that we can give people a fair trial, that we are exactly what we say we are. We are a nation of law. . . .I think [Moussaoui's] going to be a symbol of American justice."

I am so sick of the garbage I hear from the conservatives lately. Former mayor Rudy Giuliani decided to talk up the wonders of American jurisprudence, and our amazing system when the Bush administration held the Moussaoui trial in Virginia.

Now that the Obama administration is suggesting the same thing for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (sp?), the Republicans are running scared. Does the former mayor think that the police force in Virginia is better prepared than the police of New York City?

Adam Sandler's Chanukah Song as done by Neil Diamond (video)

2009-12-13T21:51:00.001-05:00

Everyone has heard the song, but this was the first time I'd seen a video.

It's funny when she's 4.

2009-12-12T11:24:00.003-05:00

Cassie, my daughter, and I went on our regular weekend breakfast date today. It's a beautiful, clear low 80s day here in South Florida. As we entered the diner all was normal. We sat in a booth no different than any of the others. Cassie sat on one side of the table and I, the other.

I ordered french toast for her and pancakes and eggs for myself. Dear reader, this is a boring post so far. I promise it gets better.

We're sitting there coloring at the table. Her coloring is getting better, but I have to say that mine is as well. Breakfast is served. To drink I had coffee and orange juice, and milk for her. Don't tell anybody, but Cassie loves coffee (I let her have some). As we ate Cassie had about as much coffee as I was willing to allow, so I looked at her and said " Cassie, you know that coffee puts hair on your chest."

This is a statement an uncle of mine used to say, and that I believed. I thought, maybe it would work and stop Cassie from drinking the coffee. Well, I was right and I was wrong.

Cassie cocked her head to the side and looked at me quizzically. She lifted up her shirt and pointed to her chest and said " Daddy, I don't have hair on my chest."

It's a good thing we're regulars.

Interesting Trivia

2009-12-07T04:27:00.002-05:00

It is great to see the Saints winning 12 in a row.
They are now exactly 274-375-5 as a franchise.

For more Saints historical information go to http://The New Orleans Saints Team Encyclopedia

It's got the Hebrew for me, and the Scotch for you

2009-11-11T15:29:00.003-05:00

As I entered a new shul (synagogue) this past Saturday morning, it looked like many I had seen before from any one of many states. It was cozy with dark wood benches facing a small, well-adorned ark, the cabinet where the Torah is kept. There were the usual pieces of furniture that you might find in any synagogue; bookshelves, a table to read the Torah from, nothing unusual. Unfortunately, being in my late thirties meant that I was one of the youngest adults there, also not unusual.
As the rabbi was getting ready to give his sermon he walked over to one of the bookshelves in the room. This particular shelf like many others had prayer books of various sizes lining the top shelves and cabinets on the bottom for storage. As he was waiting for the congregation to finish the prayers he started to open one of the cabinets.
Up to this point I had not really paid anything other than cursory attention to this bookshelf. As he stood there, I noticed a bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label Whiskey sitting on the top of the cabinets. This bottle was not sitting in the corner of the bookshelf, as it might for decorative purposes. This bottle was not there for ambience. It was not as if an important congregant had given it to the synagogue and it was being displayed. This bottle was open and ready for business.
The rabbi, approximately fifty years of age with the first signs of gray in his full but not long beard, proceeded to get himself one of the small plastic disposable cups from the cupboard and pours himself a little bit of the scotch. I notice that other people quietly finish and have a bit of the whiskey. When one of the men recognized that I have finished the rabbi offers me some of the scotch. At that point I declined explaining that I drink vodka.
When the group was done with that section of the service, the rabbi started to give his sermon. He explained that before he does anything else he wants to take a moment to discuss some synagogue business with us. Apparently, he bought some Johnny Walker Blue Label Whiskey (Really Expensive), for the congregation and it appears to have been misplaced could it be returned. He goes on to explain that while he does not drink the whiskey there are members of the congregation that do.

Just remember, in business it is most important to please the customer. By the way at the Oneg (Light Lunch), after the service there was a bottle of vodka.....

I think they are on to something.

Loss of Civility

2009-10-07T17:57:00.001-04:00

I remember being completely stunned when I first heard the news. A student at a high school near where I work had been killed that morning. The students I teach are likely to go to high school there. As I ate my lunch composed of a lean pocket and a fruit cup, a coworker asked if I had heard the news. Naively, I said yes, thinking that the reference was regarding health care or some other national issue. I kept eating, unknowingly, blissful in my ignorance.

A student, who just a few years ago had attended my workplace, killed another student while at school. There are still teachers that remember him. There are still substantial ties between this young man and the school. He had a dispute with another young man and is accused of stabbing this other student numerous times. This dispute concerned a girl. Unfortunately, while this event is rare it is not unheard of around the country.

Why mention this? Serena Williams goes off on a profanity filled tirade, and does she get punished? Joe Wilson is totally inappropriate in his actions during a joint session of Congress, and how is he reprimanded? Kanye West interrupts Taylor Swift, with a drunken tirade, as she accepted the Video Music Award for Best Female Performance. What sort of rebuke does he get for this abomination of behavior?

For those of you that followed these events, the answers are obvious. Each of these individuals got reprimanded, but the overall effect for each of them was beneficial. As I write this, I’m tasked with the job of helping young adults not only learn, but also teaching them the rules of good manners. Don’t misunderstand; this is one of the jobs of teachers in general, not just me.

We have basic rules. Teachers are taught to limit the number of rules so as not to confuse or overwhelm the students. Typically, there are about 5 on every list. Within these five two are; don’t speak when others are speaking and don’t use profanity. So what is this all driving toward?

As I teach how can I tell my students to respect each other if our national figures are lauded as heroes when they act like idiots.

By the way, there were reports that a student in my school had a weapon this week.

Sarah Palin is for End of Life Planning

2009-08-13T23:25:00.003-04:00

I know I've said this before but could these Republicans please realize that their positions are being recorded... but here is a position from Sarah Palin just about 4 months ago...

Healthcare Decisions Day

WHEREAS, Healthcare Decisions Day is designed to raise public awareness of the need to plan ahead for healthcare decisions, related to end of life care and medical decision-making whenever patients are unable to speak for themselves and to encourage the specific use of advance directives to communicate these important healthcare decisions. WHEREAS, in Alaska, Alaska Statute 13.52 provides the specifics of the advance directives law and offers a model form for patient use.

WHEREAS, it is estimated that only about 20 percent of people in Alaska have executed an advance directive. Moreover, it is estimated that less than 50 percent of severely or terminally ill patients have an advance directive.

WHEREAS, it is likely that a significant reason for these low percentages is that there is both a lack of knowledge and considerable confusion in the public about Advance Directives.

WHEREAS, one of the principal goals of Healthcare Decisions Day is to encourage hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, and hospices to participate in a statewide effort to provide clear and consistent information to the public about advance directives, as well as to encourage medical professionals and lawyers to volunteer their time and efforts to improve public knowledge and increase the number of Alaska’s citizens with advance directives.

WHEREAS, the Foundation for End of Life Care in Juneau, Alaska, and other organizations throughout the United States have endorsed this event and are committed to educating the public about the importance of discussing healthcare choices and executing advance directives.

WHEREAS, as a result of April 16, 2008, being recognized as Healthcare Decisions Day in Alaska, more citizens will have conversations about their healthcare decisions; more citizens will execute advance directives to make their wishes known; and fewer families and healthcare providers will have to struggle with making difficult healthcare decisions in the absence of guidance from the patient.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Sarah Palin, Governor of the state of Alaska, do hereby proclaim April 16, 2008, as:

Healthcare Decisions Day in Alaska, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.

Sad and Pathetic but True

2009-08-13T19:21:00.004-04:00

Private insurance companies are spending over $1 million DAILY to kill the public option by inventing phony citizen groups, and trying to scare the elderly with lies about euthanasia and pro-lifers with concerns about abortion; they know the only way to kill reform is to get people of good conscience fighting over misinformation, while they laugh all the way to the bank. They don't think very highly of our intelligence.

I have run into a story that is quite ironic, at least to me. A conservative activist in St. Louis was protesting the proposed healthcare reform bill. During the protest things got physical and this activist, Mr. Gladney, got a bit roughed up. He needed medical attention for injuries that were not life threatening. He ended up in a local emergency room to care for these injuries. It later became known that he went to the emergency room because he has no insurance and needed medical care.

Healthcare Debate: Fog of War or Outright Lying

2009-08-12T14:00:00.003-04:00

One-sixth of all our government spending is on health care, twice as much as any other country spends out of its budget. Our nation pays $2.5 trillion for care costing $912 billion.

- 11 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aFRY..TvUM2M

I'm open to discussion on this one. Here goes...

There is currently a myth out there that the health care reform bill will allow the federal government to set up "death panels" so that the government overseers can put to death the most extreme (READ: Elderly) health care users.

All of the people voting on this bill are elected officials. Almost everyone admits that most politicians first priority is to get reelected. Passing a law with this provision would make it much more difficult for these politicians to get reelected. Considering that the cohort within the electorate that is most likely to vote are the elderly, this provision makes no sense and is not even close to true.

The provision being misquoted for this scare tactic allows for federal funding of end of life counseling. That is a fancy term for a living will. This provision is really funding individuals , only if they choose, services to create a document that instructs health care personnel and next of kin what health care procedures and lifesaving procedures the individual might desire.

The truth is not nearly as scary as the smear tactics that interest groups are putting out is it...

I'm open to differing opinions on this one.

The Children are our Future

2009-07-27T22:23:00.001-04:00

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Governor Palin and the Media

2009-06-27T17:13:00.003-04:00

If Governor Palin was hoping to position herself for a run at the 2012 Republican Presidential ticket, I have a piece of advice for her. Governor Palin , shut the hell up. I admit that free advice is worth about that much, but this advice actually has some merit to it. For those of you that read this blog on a semi regular basis my bias is obvious. I am inherently left leaning in my opinions, but having worked for a conservative republican on Capitol Hill, I am able to view things from the center.

Governor, please take my advice. (For those of you unaware of what this is about) Recently, Governor Palin has been keeping her name in the public eye in all the wrong ways. The two most obvious events are a (bad) joke made by David Letterman early last week. To see Letterman's apology click here. After David Letterman apologized twice, Governor Palin finally let the matter drop. This kept her in the news for a few days, but simply as a late night comedian's punchline. This week she is upset that a blogger clearly aligned with the Alaskan Democratic Party chose to photoshop a picture of her and her son who has Down Syndrome ( To see the picture in question go to the post from June 25 at 23:24:35).

This change was made to show how close Governor Palin is to a specific radio talk show host in Alaska. Her spokesperson is now sending out statements claiming that this is an improper manipulation of Governor Palin's special needs child. I feel it is important to tell any of you reading this that I have Cerebral Palsy. I am considered mildly disabled by the general public. I do not want someone's disability used for political fodder. However, the only one manipulating the disability in this case is the Governor herself. This photoshopping had nothing to do with the disability, it had everything to do with her relationship with a media person.

Her complaint is centered around the fact that children of politicians are generally off limits. Two good examples of this are the Obama girls, and Chelsea Clinton (circa 1992-2000). In both these cases, these children were not at many political events, and even on those rare occasions, they were not the center of attention. The Clintons and the Obamas did there best to ignore the occasional joke about the children, and succeeded in keeping the children out of the spotlight. I also think President Bush did a good job keeping his twins out of the spotlight. I give the Governor some credit for her argument the media has treated her family differently.

There is a significant difference in the way Governor Palin has treated her own family in the public eye. Governor Palin has made a point of putting her family out there from the beginning. In her convention speech she chose to take her special needs child on stage with her, using him as a prop to get votes.

Here is her problem (and the problem of Senator Ensign and Gvernor Sanford for that matter) the core of the Republican Party is more interested in the family dynamic than policy initiatives. This is no longer a fight worth having. The Governor is going to get the core Republican vote so bringing herself down to the level of a late night comedian or some left wing blogger does not serve her purpose. If she want to be taken seriously as a contender for 2012, stop worrying about what Letterman says, and start worrying about what the Federal Reserve says. Stop making yourself the joke of the election cycle.

BBC Report about the protests in Iran

2009-06-17T18:24:00.001-04:00

Louisiana Recovery Authority Press Release

2009-06-10T16:16:00.003-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

 June 10, 2009

Media Contact:
Christina Stephens
Louisiana Recovery Authority
225.603.3896

christina.stephens@la.gov

Governor Bobby Jindal Announces Second Allocation  of Federal Recovery Assistance - $620 Million in Aid for  Hurricanes Gustav & Ike Recovery

BATON ROUGE - This afternoon Governor Bobby Jindal announced that the federal government's second allotment of recovery assistance to assist the state in building back from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike totals $620 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the funding earlier today, and this second allotment follows the first allotment of $438 million to Louisiana from HUD last year.
Governor Bobby Jindal said, "Louisiana has been struck by four major hurricanes in three years, and this assistance is critical for helping our parishes support their housing, economic development and infrastructure priorities. We are absolutely committed to building back stronger than ever before, and this funding will give communities the vital assistance they need to rebuild and encourage growth in their local economies.
"This second allotment of recovery assistance meets the state's federally approved recovery plan to provide $57.8 million in assistance to agricultural needs, $27.4 million for coastal restoration needs, $27.4 million to support our fisheries and $84.9 million for affordable rental housing assistance. Many industries in our state are continuing to recover from the storms as they also work to compete in this challenging national economy. These funds will help them take a positive step forward in their recovery efforts."
Wednesday's announcement is the second allocation of a $6.1 billion pool of CDBG funds Congress set aside for states affected by disasters in 2008, including Louisiana and Texas for hurricane damage and states in the Midwest for flooding. In November, HUD allocated $438 million to Louisiana in their first round of funding.
Additionally, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today that HUD is creating a pool of $312 million in competitive disaster innovation grants for states affected by disasters in 2008.
"Hurricanes Gustav and Ike struck Louisiana in one of its most vulnerable times - when we already faced a recovery from two major hurricanes. In the months since, state and local leaders have worked diligently to set priorities for recovery," said Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. "These additional recovery funds will help parishes face housing and economic development issues head on and allow the state to offer much needed aid to its fishing and farming sectors, while continuing to address coastal restoration and affordable housing needs."
"We will be working with state agencies and local leaders to come up with creative applications for further rebuilding funds and look forward to competing for these dollars and demonstrating innovations in recovery," Rainwater said.  Damage levels were determined for each parish based on HUD analysis of FEMA damage assessments. Accordingly, the 10 most damaged parishes were: Terrebonne, Cameron, Iberville, East Baton Rouge, Lafourche, Jefferson, Assumption, St. Mary, Ascension and Calcasieu.  To use federal CDBG funds, states must present action plans for federal approval. HUD already approved Louisiana's first action plan for using these funds, giving the state the ability to draw down administrative and other funds. The approved plan is as follows:
State-level set aside: $197.5 million 
Agriculture -- $57.8 million 
Coastal Restoration -- $27.4 million 
Fisheries -- $27.4 million 
Affordable Rental Housing -- $84.9 million 
Parish-level allocations for housing, infrastructure and economic development: $565.5 million 
Local and State Administrative costs: $40 million 
Additionally, Louisiana has submitted its first amendment to this action plan, which HUD must also approve. The state has held several outreach events for parish leaders and has already signed Cooperative Endeavor Agreements (CEAs) with 30 of the 43 round one designated parishes and the Department of Agriculture, which will allow these entities to act as subgrantees of the state and administer their own programs.
Many parishes, working in conjunction with municipalities, have started holding required community participation meetings to obtain citizen input on their recovery plans and critical needs. The state anticipates beginning to approve individual parish plans this summer.

Man on the Moon

2009-06-06T07:58:00.006-04:00

As I was putting my four year old to bed this past week, she looked at the moon.She was climbing under the princess covers, in her cute little pajamas, and looking out of the window. As she looked up into the heavens, she turned her gaze on me and said quite seriously, " Daddy, I think we should live on the moon".

"Not tonight, dear" was my response. This is the same response I would have given if she had asked to live with Dora and Diego, or to drive herself to preschool in the morning. With very little thought I respond to many such requests with "Not tonight, dear". I imagine that this is not that unusual a response for a parent of a preschooler. Nothing more was said of it as she settled in for the night.

I thought about the comment, briefly, the next day. She had not asked what the moon was made of (Green Cheese, of course), but whether we should live on the moon. I can safely say that I do not know what the future holds. On its face the idea of living on the moon is pretty silly. The more I thought of it though the more intrigued I got.

I decided to see what strides technology has made in the average person's lifetime to get an idea of how far we have gotten. Give me a minute I need to google...

Here are some facts about 1929 America...
-The Federal Budget was $3.13 Billion
-The US Population was 121,767,000
-Penicillin was first used to fight infection
-Life expectancy: Male 53.6 Female 54.6 (for some of you this might be scary)
-Average annual earnings $1236; Teacher's salary $970
-It took 13 days to reach California from New York There were 387,000 miles of paved road.

I found these bits of information at American Cultural History and at Information Please. A couple of other things I did not put on the list, Vatican City was founded by The Lantern Treaty in 1929, and Leon Trotsky was still a major world figure. This is to say that much has changed since 1929.

I wonder how many American households didn't have a phone in 1929, I would bet that those people did not opt out of a land line because their Blackberry would suffice. I've heard stories of the early 1950's, where people would go to a neighbor's house to watch television because there was only one TV set on that block. I would imagine the majority of American homes have more than one television set. Even without computers and the internet it is safe to say that communications have come a long way since the day of the "flappers".

What else has changed significantly since 1929... How about everything! Medical care while not perfect, as evidenced by the difficulty in getting insurance, is significantly better for everyone than it was in 1929. Diseases like Polio were very scary and very real in 1929, today Polio has been eradicated. If you look just at life expectancy, it is obvious that the quality of medical care has improved tremendously. Thoughts of the hospital at Andersonville are not memories of my grandparents, but confined to horror stories, and history books.

Politically, we have a President who could not realistically have voted if he were alive in 1929, He visited a country (Saudi Arabia) last week that did not exist until 1932. He visited two memorials (Buchenwald and Normandy) to the victims of a war now in our distant memory that would not happen for another ten years. There are any number of other political changes that show significant change in the last eighty years.

If you even look at some popular icons from as late as the 1960's and 70's, you will see the progression of technology. The Foodamatic 3000 that is prominently featured in the Jetsons cartoon by Hanna Barbara is remarkably similar to that microwave I just used for my lunch. It is also easy to take some of the carousel of progress at Disney World as the prototype for Home Shopping Network and even on line sales to some degree.
These are not even the most obvious benefits to technology.

Considering planes now get us coast to coast in three hours, instead of 13 days transportation has made significant leaps in a relatively short timeframe. Commercial air travel started in or around 1914, with the Ford Trimotor being the first American airline in 1925. While air travel was basically in its infancy back then, there is now talk of space tourism (Richard Branson) today.

With all of these technological advances I feel it would be foolish of me to tell my daughter that her dreams of living on the moon are impossible. While I would not bet on it, who would have been able to foresee the last 80 years of advancement. Now if you will excuse me, I need to upload pictures of my daughter to my IPhone so that my friends in Kuala Lumpur can see her visit to Disney.

I relied a good bit on google for information in this piece

New LRA Press Release

2009-06-01T18:00:00.002-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 
June 1, 2009
Media Contact: Christina Stephens
 Louisiana Recovery Authority  225.603.3896
 christina.stephens@la.gov

State of Louisiana Approves $5.3 Million for Revitalization of Lakefront Area in Lake Charles, Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony

BATON ROUGE, La. - A ceremonial groundbreaking was held today in Lake Charles to celebrate the state of Louisiana's approval of a $5.3 million project that will enhance the Lakefront Promenade and provide associated infrastructure improvements.
At the groundbreaking event, Louisiana Recovery Authority Deputy Director Robin Keegan said, "This project will act as a catalyst to promote increased interest and investment in the Downtown and Lakefront areas of Lake Charles. Using disaster recovery money to redevelop damaged commercial and recreational sites is a key strategy in promoting the return of those vital businesses and mixed-use venues that anchor our recovering communities."
Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach said, "The Lakefront Development project was developed through the FEMA Recovery Planning Process and ranked as one of the most beneficial projects in terms of the redevelopment of the region. This initial phase is the first of many that will follow as the City works to remake the Lakefront-Downtown area in the wake of Hurricane Rita."
The state's approval allows the Downtown Development Authority to access federal Community Development Block Grant funds needed to implement the project. The funding comes from the Long Term Community Recovery Program, a $700 million pool of federal CDBG money set aside by the Louisiana Recovery Authority and Office of Community Development to help local governments rebuild and implement long-term recovery plans.
When Hurricane Rita damaged the lakefront's boardwalk, hotel and casino, it wiped out a major recreational and economic venue that was enjoyed by local residents and visitors. This project will replace the blighted section of boardwalk along Bor du Lac Drive from South Lake Shore Drive to the North Civic Center Site, and will attract new investments to replace the revenue lost from the shuttered hotel and casino.
The $5,357,748 project includes the construction of multi-use walkways for access to both the lakefront and cultural events; underground electric service for streetscape lighting; earthwork berms as a buffer from the lake; turf, landscaping and irrigation systems; public seating areas including benches, seating walls, trash receptacles and shade islands; water drinking systems; way-finding and interpretive signage; up to six ornamental steel gateway entrances; up to 10 textured crosswalks; colored concrete pavers for disability access; refurbishing of existing handrail; approximately 45 wind-resistant palm trees; removal and replacement of damaged electrical hookups; and replacement of broken sidewalks.
In the associated infrastructure improvements, the project will fund construction of a new sewer pump station, sewer main and gravity sewer; and installation of a water main, fire hydrants, subsurface drainage and catch basins.
The state's LTCR program supports implementation of local governments' long-term recovery plans in the most heavily impacted communities in the state. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved LRA's request to reallocate $500 million in CDBG dollars to the program, bringing to $700 million the total amount of long-term recovery funding available to the parishes. Funds are distributed among the parishes through the LRA/Office of Community Development according to a formula based on estimated housing and infrastructure damages inflicted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
In total, the LRA has allocated $18,391,496 of CDBG funding to Calcasieu Parish for LTCR projects.
Created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005, the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the coordinating and planning body leading the most extensive rebuilding effort in American history. The central point for hurricane recovery in Louisiana, the LRA works closely with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and partners with state and federal agencies to oversee more than $20 billion worth of programs, speed the pace of rebuilding, remove hurdles and red tape and ensure that Louisiana recovers safer and stronger than before.
###

Definition of an Idiot: Feherty Should be Fired!!!!

2009-05-08T20:54:00.003-04:00

id⋅i⋅ot
/ˈɪdiət/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [id-ee-uht] Show IPA
–noun
1. an utterly foolish or senseless person.
2. Psychology. a person of the lowest order in a former classification of mental retardation, having a mental age of less than three years old and an intelligence quotient under 25.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < L idiōta < Gk iditēs private person, layman, person lacking skill or expertise, equiv. to idiō- (lengthened var. of idio- idio-, perh. by analogy with stratiōtēs professional soldier, deriv. of stratiá army) + -tēs agent n. suffix

Synonyms:
1. fool, half-wit; imbecile; dolt, dunce, numskull.

Sometimes I hear things that make me stop and think. Last night was one of those times. Cassie, our four year old daughter, had gone to bed, so we were no longer watching Fairly Oddparents.I was thanking G-d for non-animated television, when we Elizabeth and I flipped the channel to Countdown with Keith Olbermann.

This is what I saw....

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

We have friends that are of all political persuasions, some actually farther to the left than yours truly. I know, I know that is really hard to believe. Here is my question, when did political disagreement for many become justification for the disappearance of civility?

New Library in Gentilly

2009-05-08T17:54:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 8, 2009

MEDIA CONTACT:
Christina Stephens
Louisiana Recovery Authority
225.342.1790
christina.stephens@la.gov

State of Louisiana Approves Nearly $400,000 for Temporary Library in Gentilly Neighborhood of New Orleans

BATON ROUGE, La. - The state of Louisiana has approved $395,000 for a three-year lease on a commercial space that will provide a temporary library in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans, allowing the city's Office of Recovery and Development Administration to access federal Community Development Block Grant funds needed to implement the project.

The city plans to locate the temporary library within walking distance of the damaged Norman Mayer Library at 2098 Foy St., which will be rebuilt with FEMA funds.

The funding comes from the Long Term Community Recovery Program, a $700 million pool of federal CDBG money set aside by the Louisiana Recovery Authority and Office of Community Development to help local governments rebuild and implement long-term recovery plans.

After sustaining major damage from Hurricane Katrina, the Norman Mayer Library in Gentilly remains shuttered. As a result, local residents do not have easy public access to critical information and resources that could help improve their lives and those of their families. The proposed temporary library will offer basic library and internet services, as well as provide community meeting rooms.

The CDBG disaster recovery funds will be used to pay monthly rent at the commercial space for three years.

LRA Executive Director Paul Rainwater said, "The temporary library in Gentilly will serve as a community center where friends and neighbors can reconnect and exchange important recovery information while their main library is under construction. Investing disaster recovery funding in this project will give residents access to much-needed information that can help guide their rebuilding efforts with best-practice models for success."

"Libraries are critical to the life of every community," said Mayor C. Ray Nagin. "As we move forward with rebuilding libraries throughout our city, citizens will be well served by temporary facilities where they can obtain books and other materials, obtain important information and take an active part in their neighborhoods."

The state's LTCR program supports implementation of local governments' long-term recovery plans in the most heavily impacted communities in the state. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved LRA's request to reallocate $500 million in CDBG dollars to the program, bringing to $700 million the total amount of long-term recovery funding available to the parishes. Funds are distributed among the parishes through the LRA/Office of Community Development according to a formula based on estimated housing and infrastructure damages inflicted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

In total, the LRA has allocated $410,720,016 of CDBG funding to the city of New Orleans for LTCR projects.

Created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005, the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the coordinating and planning body leading the most extensive rebuilding effort in American history. The central point for hurricane recovery in Louisiana, the LRA works closely with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and partners with state and federal agencies to oversee more than $20 billion worth of programs, speed the pace of rebuilding, remove hurdles and red tape and ensure that Louisiana recovers safer and stronger than before.

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Is the Republican Party Imploding?

2009-05-02T19:55:00.005-04:00

My Momma always said, "Be careful what you wish for... you just might get it". Politicians, of both parties, have fallen into this trap numerous times over many years. An example that many of you might be aware of occurred in the great state of Louisiana. The powers that be, created the open primary system for the Pelican state in 1978. I learned, although I do not know where, that this was done in an attempt to permanently hobble the the state Republican Party. The belief was that enough of the local voters identified as Democrats that the top two vote-getters in most elections would be Democrats. Needless to say, that projection ended up being faulty, and if anything, the Republican Party of Louisiana has been stronger in the last 30+ years than at any other point since the end of Reconstruction.

This story should be a lesson to the Republican Party, and it definitely would benefit the Democrats if they paid attention to it as well. The Democrats have been out of power for the better part of eight years and therefore, are eager to push forward legislation that will shape the nation in a way they see fit, they should be careful of over-reaching. While the Republicans are so shocked at being out of power, that they are in the process of "purifying" the party. Neither of these are good ideas.

Just this week, Senator Specter left the Republican Party in the hopes of holding his seat in the 2010 race. It appears from the outside to be a remarkably selfish decision. He basically said that this was done in an attempt to keep his seat and it was not a remarkable problem with the stances of the Republican leadership. Michael Steele, the head of the Republican National Committee, basically responded by saying something akin to (I'm paraphrasing) 'He wasn't a real Republican anyway'. Uh Mr. Steele when you are the head of a party that is down to 21% of people calling themselves Republicans, you are not in a position to be choosy.

The Republicans appear to be reacting to the last two election cycles by acting like a spoiled 6th grader, (I teach 6th grade, I know what they sound like). This is a quick version of the Republicans response from my perspective. For the sake of this example the Republicans are Johnny.

Teacher: "Johnny you are wrong. Everyone else in the class says you are wrong, you got the wrong answer. Here is the correct answer."
Johnny: "But Teacher this was the right answer for my brother when he took the test last year..."
Teacher: "Johnny, We have new information"..
Johnny: "But, it was the right answer when my parents took the test."
Teacher:"Sorry. You are wrong."
Johnny:"I don't care what you say I'm sticking with that answer.".

The Republicans inability to accept that they can not just be a party of the White South seems to be a problem for them. The Northeast is almost without Republican representation at this point, and considering how the Hispanics are voting recently the West and Southwest are definitely uphill battles for a party that proclaims at least through its actions to have disdain for immigrants that are currently one of the fastest growing voting blocs in the country. The Republicans need to recalibrate their policies, rather than just saying effectively, "I'm still right I don't care what everyone else says.

For at least a few years, the Republicans talked about a permanent majority and how the Democrats would be relegated to the opposition for years to come. Less than 10 years ago Karl Rove talked up the permanence of the Republican majority in both houses of Congress and the Executive. The belief being put forward was that Republicans had the right mix of social beliefs and governing philosophy. Obviously, this permanent majority was about as long lasting as some of my favorite T shirts from college. The governing strategy by the Republicans in Congress and the White House was that of exploiting narrow majorities, and winning by the slimmest of margins. In this way the Republicans were able to advance their agenda without the need of anything close to a significant majority.

Recently, The Democratic Congressional Leadership passed a rules change that will allow them to pass a Universal Health Care Bill without achieving sixty votes to gain cloture. The Republican Leadership responded with such howls of protest that you would think that their favorite pets had just been killed. Senator McConnell talked how this was a travesty of the Senate rules, and that it was a bad precedent for the future. He forgot to mention that the Republican Leadership had used the same tactic less than 10 years ago to pass the Bush tax cuts.

I hope the Democrats take a lesson from this. Do not get too comfortable in that position of power that yall now hold. Those individuals that put you in power in the last 3 cycles, can very easily push you out of power in a year or two. This is still a Democracy of the people, for the people, and by the people.

To be honest, I'm happy that President Johnson was wrong to the tune of 5 years.

Economic Stimulus

2009-04-13T18:33:00.003-04:00

As most of us are getting involved in tax season, surrounded by shoe boxes and faded receipts, the government is trying to encourage most Americans to spend what they can afford. President Obama has given pep talks, and any number of stores have had significant sales. The government is constantly talking about how to kick start the economy.

Every now and then a lightbulb goes off in my head. That lightbulb is quite painful, (searing flesh and hair aren't comforting) but it means that I have an idea. I got this idea as I was watching Nickelodeon Jr. with Cassie, my four year old. She asks for nearly every item that comes on the commercials. These items range from Play Doh and Pixos to Barbie Dolls and Bendaroos. Those items she is not personally interested in she will then suggest for her cousin. In many respects she is as persistent as any car salesman(woman). After speaking with other fathers of four and five year olds, I've learned that this behavior is quite common. Now how does this solve the macroeconomic problems our great nation currently.

If we pair every four and five year old in the country with an individual or couple with disposable income we can solve two problems at once. Instead of Big Brothers/ Big Sisters, we could call the new program.... Big Spenders.

You Get Out of it What You Put Into It

2009-03-15T16:25:00.001-04:00

The struggles in the school system of Florida are significant. I hope that our troubles are an anomaly but I doubt it. Classroom teachers are being let go and basic supplies (paper clips, toilet paper, loose leaf, pens and pencils) are not easy to get from the schools. The school district does not have the money to meet its basic bills. Choices were made by the public, and by politicians that created a situation that has been significantly magnified by the economic downturn.
When I first started teaching (mid 1990s), I was a bright eyed, bushy tailed history teacher just coming off work on Capitol Hill. I’ve always worked in the public school system (mostly Title I). I really like the idea of doing a job where I can be a positive influence on people. I still like the idea. I’ve always wondered what is the difference between a high performing school and a school that struggles.
For those readers in and around New Orleans, there are actually some very good public schools in this country. The answer for education is not necessarily privatization of schools. While charter schools might be appealing to some they are not affordable to everybody. I hear someone out there sitting at there computer screen saying “ But that is what the vouchers are for”. It is my belief that vouchers will do nothing to help families move their children from a low performing public school to a high performing private school. This should not shock anyone but there are some private schools where the education is not exactly stellar. By the way, for the purposes of full disclosure, I attended both public and private schools as a child.
If the government sets up a voucher program then they will need to publicize it. I will presume that the government program will give every family $3,000 (arbitrary figure) per child as a voucher to go to any school. What is to stop the upper echelon private schools from raising their tuition rates by that same exact figure? For those of you saying that would be discriminatory, I don’t believe so. As long as the school raises their rates on all students equally then there is no argument concerning discrimination.
What brings all of this up? Why write an article on education concerns with the banking crisis, various bailouts and China making bombastic comments left and right? Well, dear reader, this is the time of year that standardized tests are being administered. In Florida, it is the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT); in Louisiana it is the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP). Numerous other states have tests similar to these. These are the tests that determine the success or failure not only of our children/students, but they are also the instruments used to determine the success of schools as a whole.
This test is given at numerous grade levels throughout the career of a student (while they both give it earlier as well, La. & FL both give it to students in 8th and 12th grade). On an individual level if a student does not test well on the FCAT he or she cannot get the standard High School Diploma. That student might have a 3.0 or higher but not test well, and will be saddled with a certificate of attendance or participation rather than a High School Diploma. In Florida that Certificate of Attendance will get you into a Junior or Community College, but not a traditional four/five year institution.
At the school level teachers and or administrators are pressured to bring up test scores. Teach the students the material, but also teach them how to take the test. Give them practice tests; teach them strategies do whatever you have to do to get these kids ready for the Test. Now why are we as a nation all pushing these standardized tests? Why is it a national belief that public schools are failing this generation? What is the difference between a good school and a bad school?
I’ve always heard that the schools need more money. I’ve always heard that some teachers are better than others, and we need to get paid more. In my various teaching jobs over the last 7 years; this is the 1st time I can agree with these statements. However, while I agree with these statements, that is not my belief as to why some schools are more successful than others.
Throughout my life, I’ve taken part in numerous organizations. There is a saying I learned in a high school fraternity, many years ago. ‘You get out of this what you put into it’. Public schools need funding, and teachers, they need capital improvement. They need many things that I’ve not mentioned. That being said some are successful, and some are not.
The teachers at a private school are trained in the same education schools as public school teachers. We read the same professional literature and get many of the same continuing education courses. By the way public school teachers, while woefully underpaid, are generally paid better than their private school counterparts.
If all other things are equal, such as school funding teacher-student ratio, quality of materials etc., there is only one significant difference between a high performing school and a low performing school. The only real difference is parental involvement.
If the community of families that make up any given school make education a priority then their children, those students, and that school will be successful. If the parents figure it is the responsibility of the school to educate, counsel, raise, and discipline their children then those parents are not involved enough. Generally, students with parents who are involved, get better grades.
There are numerous ways the education system can improve and this one does not cost any federal dollars. If you want your daughter or son to get the best education she/he can take a few minutes to ask about school. In my opinion if parents make education a priority at that level then the system might improve more than people think.

Public Invited to Comment on LRA Plan

2009-03-13T16:11:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 13, 2009

MEDIA CONTACT:

Christina Stephens
Louisiana Recovery Authority
225.342.1790
christina.stephens@la.gov

Public Invited to Comment on Amendments to Louisiana's Action Plan for Gustav, Ike Funding

BATON ROUGE, La. - The Louisiana Recovery Authority and the Office of Community Development on Thursday published the first amendment to the state's action plan for spending its allocation of federal Community Development Block Grant funds set aside for recovery from hurricanes Gustav and Ike, outlining programs aimed at addressing housing and infrastructure recovery, as well as assisting the agriculture and fisheries industries and providing funds for coastal restoration.

Action Plan Amendment No. 1 includes program details for:

Coastal Communities recovery, $15 million, to be administered by the Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration:
Sustainable Coastal Communities Program;
Public Facilities and Improvements;
Wetlands Restoration;
Agricultural aid, $30 million, to be administered by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry:
Louisiana Farm Recovery Loan and Grant Program;
Louisiana Agribusiness Recovery Loan Assistance Program;
Louisiana Critical Farm Infrastructure Grant Program;
Fisheries aid, $15 million, to be administered by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries:
Critical Fisheries Infrastructure Program (Mobile Ice Fleets);
Commercial Fishing Gear Program;
Sustainable Coastal Communities Program;
Recreational Fishing Access and Recovery Program.
The amendment also includes more details about housing and infrastructure programs to be administered by individual parishes.

Citizens, community leaders and elected officials can access the plans and submit comments online by visiting http://www.doa.louisiana.gov/cdbg/dractionplans.htm and opening "Action Plan Amendment 1 to the Action Plan for the Utilization of CDBG Funds in Response to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike." A copy of the plans can be requested by calling (225) 219-9600.

The public can submit comments several ways:

Using the online form at http://www.doa.louisiana.gov/cdbg/dractionplans.htm;
Emailing them to ocd@la.gov;
Mailing them to Disaster Recovery Unit, P.O. Box 94095, 70804-9095, Attn: Paul Catrou;
Faxing them to the attention of Paul Catrou at (225) 219-9605.
To use federal CDBG funds and to amend existing disaster recovery plans, states must present action plan amendments for federal approval, following a public comment period. The LRA will address the amendment at its March 18, 2009, meeting, before forwarding it to the Legislature for approval.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced last week in New Orleans that HUD had approved Louisiana's plan for using its Gustav and Ike funding. So far, HUD has allocated $438 million to Louisiana for recovery from the 2008 storms.

Last fall, Congress set aside a $6.1 billion pool of CDBG funds for states affected by disasters in 2008. HUD has allocated the first third of the funding and will allocate the remaining funds in the coming weeks. Louisiana anticipates that it could get as much as $800 million total between the two rounds.

The state will set aside 25 percent of its total allocation for projects dealing with rental housing, agriculture and fisheries recovery and hurricane protection. The bulk of the funds will be allocated to the parishes based on their level of damage. Parishes will select from a menu of options and decide how they will spend the funds.

Created in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the coordinating and planning body leading the most extensive rebuilding effort in American history. The central point for hurricane recovery in Louisiana, the LRA works closely with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and partners with state and federal agencies to oversee more than $20 billion worth of programs, speed the pace of rebuilding, remove hurdles and red tape and ensure that Louisiana recovers safer and stronger than before.

More Housing Units Coming.... LRA Press Release

2009-03-10T19:47:00.002-04:00

State of Louisiana Funds Two Workforce  Rental Complexes in New Orleans
Preserve, Meridian Developments Hold Grand Opening on Tulane Avenue Corridor

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Representatives from the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the Office of Community Development and the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency joined investors, lawmakers and city officials at today's grand opening of two new multi-family rental housing developments in mid-city New Orleans, representing a combined public and private investment of more than $60 million.
The workforce housing developments, the Preserve and the Meridian, used $17.2 million in Community Development Block Grants from a pool of federal disaster recovery funds earmarked for low-to-moderate income households. The CDBG funds were "piggybacked" by the LRA onto almost $3 million of annual GO Zone Housing Tax Credits administered through the LHFA.
Paul Rainwater, LRA executive director said, "When hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit Louisiana, more than 82,000 units, or 47 percent of the rental housing in the state, were damaged or destroyed. In New Orleans alone, we lost more than 44,000 rental units. These new workforce housing developments will help restore critically needed rental stock to a valued workforce that drives our rebuilding efforts. Our recovery needs workers, and workers need affordable housing."
The new apartment complexes are located along the Tulane Avenue corridor, a section of the city that is vital to the growth of New Orleans because of its proximity to the central business district and the proposed medical complex.
At the Preserve, developer Domain Companies used $15.9 million in CDBG funding and $1.6 million in federal Go Zone Housing Tax Credits to create 183 units - of which 60 percent are market-rate rentals and 40 percent are workforce housing units.
At the Meridian, developer Domain Companies used $1.3 million in CDBG funding and $1.2 million in housing tax credits to create 72 units - of which 100 percent are workforce housing units.
Louisiana has awarded a total of 57 Piggyback projects in areas of the state most impacted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, amounting to more than $580 million. Twenty-four of the projects, or 42 percent, either have closed on their financing packages or are under construction.
In total, the Piggyback program will create 8,185 rental units to help replace housing stock lost in the storms. More than 80 percent, nearly 7,000 units, will be built in the New Orleans metro area. Right now, 3,831 units are under construction statewide.
A total of 1,800 units are anticipated to come online by June, with an anticipated total of 3,200 units online by Dec. 31.

Hypoc(R)isy

2009-02-20T21:58:00.004-05:00

I grew up in a time when televangelists were on all the television channels on Sunday mornings. This was a time before cable television gave us 500 channels of nothing to watch. I never really watched the programs, but I do remember one with a man who was named Reverend Lovelady. That name always made me chuckle (I’ve got to confess it still does). These were the days of the blue laws in Louisiana where most businesses were closed on Sunday.

Without watching these programs, I seem to have gathered a rather jaded opinion of most televangelist clergy. I would imagine that I probably was at least somewhat biased because at an early age it seemed that these programs were causing me to wait longer to watch Archie Manning and my beloved Saints. Therefore, one of my reasons for disliking televangelists was not very well thought out. Not everyone has a good reason behind biases toward or against other religions, and at the age of eight I wasn't much different. This negative opinion remains to this very day.

Recently, I found out that Pat Robertson justified China's forced abortion/one child policy. He claims that China has a significant population problem, and unemployment problems and while it is abhorrent, he understands its necessity. Well in the article you will find that China actually has a lower population density, and lower unemployment than many other countries. The real story is that Robertson has significant business interests in The People's Republic. The government of China does not handle criticism well and Robertson knows it.

While this part of the story is a bit old, realize that John McCain's daughter is currently in the news begging the Republicans to modernize their understanding of technology. If Pat Robertson and others like him understood modern technology (like say a tape recorder), then maybe he wouldn't be on record supporting a regime that forces abortion on its own people.

SNL Bailout Skit..... SNL has improved lately

2009-02-18T19:59:00.002-05:00

The current economic morass that is confronting the country has me troubled. I'd rather laugh than cry... This video helps in that endeavor.

FDA Recall of Peanut Items

2009-02-14T19:56:00.000-05:00

FDA Product Recall List

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A science story that caught my eye.... From the BBC

2009-02-12T21:29:00.000-05:00

BBC NEWS
Neanderthals 'distinct from us'
By James Morgan
Science reporter, BBC News, Chicago

Scientists studying the DNA of Neanderthals say they can find no evidence that this ancient species ever interbred with modern humans.

But our closest ancestors may well have been able to speak as well as us, said Prof Svante Paabo from Germany's Max Planck Institute.

He was speaking in Chicago, US, where he announced the "first draft" of a complete Neanderthal genome.

The genetics information has been gleaned from fossils found in Croatia.

Prof Svante Paabo confirmed that Neanderthals shared the FOXP2 gene associated with speech and language in modern humans.

A total of three billion "letters", covering 60% of the Neanderthal genome, have been sequenced by scientists from Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and 454 Life Sciences Corporation, in Branford, Connecticut.

The majority of the sequence comes from bones from Vindija Cave in Croatia.

The draft genome can give us clues to the genetic regions which make us "uniquely human", Prof Paabo told BBC News.

"It was always a dream to look at the DNA of our closest evolutionary relatives.

"Now that we have the Neanderthal genome, we can look for areas in the human genome where a change seems to have swept rapidly through us since we separated from Neanderthals.

"There, something special may have happened in us. The cool thing is, now that we have the whole genome, we can look for these changes without bias."

Prof Paabo released details about the latest stage of his research at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Tongue twister

Neanderthals lived in Europe and parts of Asia until they became extinct about 30,000 years ago.
THE DNA MOLECULE
# The double-stranded DNA molecule is held together by four chemical components called bases
# Adenine (A) bonds with thymine (T); cytosine(C) bonds with guanine (G)
# Groupings of these "letters" form the "code of life"; there are 3.2 billion base-pairs in the Neanderthal genome
# Written in the DNA are genes, which cells use as starting templates to make proteins; these sophisticated molecules build and maintain the body

They were the closest relatives of currently living humans, sharing between 99.5% to 99.9% of our DNA sequence.

Pinpointing the differences may reveal the crucial evolutionary changes that enabled modern humans to leave Africa and rapidly spread around the world, starting around 100,000 years ago.

Accordingly, Prof Paabo and his team have focused on genes of special interest in recent human evolution, such as FOXP2, which is involved in speech and language.

Humans differ from chimpanzees at two key points in the FOXP2 gene.

But the preliminary results suggest that Neanderthals shared these same variations.

"There is no reason to believe they couldn't speak like us," said Prof Paabo.

"But of course there are many other genes involved in speech and language, so there are many more studies to be done."

Breeds apart

Since Neanderthals lived side by side with modern humans in Europe for many thousands of years, it has been speculated that we may have inherited some Neanderthal DNA in our genome today, thanks to interbreeding.

But Professor Paabo's team have found no evidence for this.

They focused on a gene implicated in brain development - microcephalin-1 - which shows significant variation among present day humans.

It has been suggested that a particular variant of the gene, found commonly in Europeans, was contributed by Neanderthals.

But the Croatian Neanderthal fossils harboured an ancestral form of the microcephalin-1 gene, which today is also found among Africans.

Overall, it seems that Neanderthals have contributed, at most, a "very limited" fraction of the variation found in contemporary human populations, said Prof Paabo.

"What is exciting now, is that we are beginning to look the other way - from early modern humans into Neanderthals."

Professor Chris Stringer, from the Natural History Museum, London, UK, commented: "If the the Neanderthal genome data show little evidence of potential hybridisation, that would fit with my view from the fossil evidence that, while interbreeding was probably possible, it may have occurred only rarely, with trivial impact on modern humans.

"The populations had been separate for hundreds of thousands of years and I think there would have been significant physical and behavioural differences between them. However, larger samples would be desirable to get a more complete picture, and hopefully those will follow soon."

Dead end

Prof Paabo said the team did not expect to find any clues which might help solve the riddle of the Neanderthals' demise.

"I don't think they became extinct due to something in their genome," he said.

"It was clearly something in their interaction with the environment or with modern humans that caused them to be extinct.

"That will not be something you can see from their DNA sequence."

And Prof Paabo was quick to pour cold water on any suggestion that the genome sequence would facilitate the cloning of a Neanderthal.

"We are talking about a very complex mammal," said the 53-year-old.

"I don't think that technology will improve fast enough to make this possible in my lifetime.

"It is more in the realm of science fiction than science."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7886477.stm

Published: 2009/02/12 15:51:45 GMT

© BBC MMIX

Dear Senator Ensign.... IT IS THAT BAD

2009-02-08T10:31:00.003-05:00

This will be one of my shorter posts... I've been bouncing around a few ideas, but nothing had caught my attention sufficiently until 5 minutes ago. Senator Ensign was on Meet the Press this morning.
He stated, and I paraphrase, Those people saying policemen and teachers are losing jobs are just fearmongering , things aren't nearly that bad.

Well as a member of Miami Dade Public School System.... I can tell you Senator Ensign, teachers are losing their jobs.... AND IT IS THAT BAD.

Reflections on MLK day and the Inauguration

2009-01-18T18:19:00.002-05:00

It seems that many people have focused on the historic nature of the next 2 days. I appreciate the importance of this, but think fatherhood has made it much easier for me to understand. I was not alive during the 1960s, but growing up in New Orleans in the 1970s and 80s gave me a good understanding of racism from the perspective of a young white boy/man.
I got a sense of the inequality that ran through the South due to my upbringing even if the force of it was not clearly aimed at me. I came to understand that certain people were denied equality at least in a subtle way based on their ethnicity. Has that changed much in 40 years? Is there still a problem with racism in our society?
I can very assuredly say that the generation I am part of still feels racism. I'm also of the belief that racism for people my age is not nearly as obvious or state sponsored as it was for my parents generation. I grew up as a teenager, when David Duke was at the height of his power. While I was growing up, there was still a significant social stigma to inter-racial friendships, not to mention dating. There was still at least a small color barrier to be overcome.
This however, was an improvement over my parents' generation. During their youth, segregation was the law of the land, and blacks had very few practical rights. Remember that as recently as 40 years ago there were still lynchings in the South, and White sympathizers got beaten or killed if they fought for Civil Rights.
And I would say that my daughter, Cassie's, generation is even more tolerant. I do not know when society imprints intolerance on children, but her best friend at school is African-American, and that seems not to be a problem for anyone, or even an anomaly. I hope that this ignorance of color remains the norm for her generation.
For a bit of historic context, in the early days of colonial America, the wealthy elite was having trouble controlling the poor white farmers. These farmers were agitating for more rights and privileges. Very often they would join forces with runaway black slaves and revolt against the colonial government. In an attempt to keep these rebellions from spreading, the colonial government gave the poor whites a few privileges based on their color that, blacks freedmen or otherwise did not have. In this way, racism was created as a governing control in the early days of British colonial America.
While there is still racism in this country, most of the inequities in America appear to be reverting to those of the early 1600's based more on class than race. I think discrimination is a terrible thing, but it appears this country is making some progress. I've got hope that we can continue in the right direction.

Would You Open Your Door If People Were Shooting at Your House?

2009-01-11T11:26:00.001-05:00

4 January 2009

Happy New Year, I was going to write a piece about resolutions and the future. Most readers know this as the typical end of the year puff piece. Then reality set in. Here I am just back from Metairie and getting ready to put on the optimistic colored spectacles, the Middle East reared its ugly head. Before I start the blog, I want to wish everyone safety, health, happiness and more than likely a better 2009.
A friend of mine called me last week and asked me what caused the latest flare up between the Israelis and the Palestinians (in Gaza). I thought for a moment because I didn’t know where to start. I wondered how far back to go.
Should I mention the relationship between the Palestinians and a possible connection with the Phoenicians of ancient history books? Should I mention the connection between the Torah and the real estate in question? Rather than get into a long drawn out history discussion, I decided to go back about a month or so.
Roughly thirty days ago, the truce between the group Hamas, and the government of Israel expired. The country of Egypt had brokered this truce. The group Hamas currently rules the Gaza Strip. Hamas does not recognize Israel’s right to exist. They therefore feel justified in starting rocket attacks on Israeli cities. These rocket attacks were heaviest in and around Christmas Day. A day or two later, Israel started the bombardment that led to this current ground offensive. These are the basics, but why is all of this not solved already. As everyone knows there have been innumerable efforts at diplomacy in the last 60 years, so why has there not been a “bargain”.
Most important the concept in America that all Arabs have similar interests is about as accurate as saying all Europeans have similar interests. Thankfully, this belief is beginning to disappear. Not only are there significantly different views based on the religion of Islam (Shia v. Sunni), there also nation-state goals that give different groups individuals goals. In this way Palestinians are not necessarily representative of all Arabs in the region. The Palestinians are struggling against not only the Israelis, but also the other Arabs and even themselves to gain political autonomy.
No matter how elementary it sounds it is necessary to understand the individuality of the various Arabic groups. If the Arabic peoples are viewed in a monolithic way then properly relating to them will be almost impossible. Do not expect that the goals and aims of the Kingdom of Jordan to be the same as the goals and aims of the country of Egypt, anymore than you expect Honduras and Mexico to have the same policies. For many years the American press seems to have supported this myth. The goals of the Palestinian population are separate and unique from the other groups in this way. Don’t misunderstand me. The Egyptians, for example, have an interest in the cause and plight of the Palestinians. The same can be said of most of the Arab countries in the region. But their desired resolution is very likely not synonymous with the desired goals of the Palestinians.
The moderate Arab states want to keep the Palestinian problem going. Hey wait that doesn’t make sense. They always talk about how they want a resolution for the Palestinians that helps their Arabic brethren. This issue is much more useful for them, than any positive resolution would be. To the moderate (minority) governments in places like Egypt and Jordan, it is just another political talking point, oh dear those horrible Israelis, oppressing another group of Arabs. These are just propaganda items to express to the West. For proof I look at the assassination of Anwar Sadat in Egypt.
Muhammed Anwar Al Sadat was President of Egypt from 1970-1981. Egypt was the most powerful military force in the Arab world during this time. President Sadat came to the conclusion that it was in the best interests of his country to make peace with Israel. He achieved this goal in the late 1970s, and many people think this was one of the reasons he was assassinated in 1981. (For the wikipedia article click here)
This was an example of the national leadership going against popular national opinion. Within the referenced article there are other reasons, including economic policy changes, but it is generally accepted that signing the peace treaty with Israel was a significant cause that energized some of the assassins. By the way, Omar Abdel-Rahman and Ayman al Zawhari were both implicated in the assassination plot. Both of these men have acted as agents of terror toward the United States recently.
The governments of many these countries learned lessons from the assassination of Sadat. Allow the general population to vent its anger toward Israel or the West, and that same anger is less likely to come back on the national government. Many school children have textbooks and teachers that vilify Israel, so the general public support of the rocket attacks is easy to understand. Current Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak came to power shortly after Sadat’s murder and is not a friend of the Palestinian cause. The same elements supporting the Palestinian cause within Egypt are not supportive of their own government.
The people of Gaza are stuck between Israel (to the north and east) a country that they are not willing to recognize, and Egypt (to the south), a country their sympathizers have tried to destabilize. This is not exactly the model for winning friends in world diplomacy. The Gazans keep talking about how they want a truce and yet, to this day, they’ve not agreed to dismantle the rocket launchers targeting southern Israel. Nor have they agreed that Israel has the right to exist. Why should Israel agree to leave Gaza if those conditions don’t change?
The main complaint of the Gazans, apart from the obvious, appears to be that Israel won’t open its borders for the purposes of trade, and work. If someone were shooting at you would you open the door to your house?

. For those interested in technicalities, Egypt is still the national government responsible for the Gaza based on U.N. documentation; I wonder why they aren’t eager to take the area back. I appreciate the humanitarian concerns for the people of Gaza. It is remarkably unfortunate what is going on, but rather than blame everyone else the people of Gaza should start taking the Hamas leadership to task for what is happening.

Louisiana Recovery Authority Press Release

2009-01-06T19:47:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

January 6, 2008

MEDIA CONTACT:

Christina Stephens
Louisiana Recovery Authority
225.342.1790
christina.stephens@la.gov

WEDNESDAY: Rita Task Force to Meet in Lake Charles

BATON ROUGE - The Rita Task Force of the Louisiana Recovery Authority will meet Wednesday in Lake Charles to discuss recovery from Hurricane Rita in Southwest Louisiana and challenges resulting from the 2008 hurricanes.

Task Force Chairman Randy Roach, the mayor of Lake Charles, and LRA Executive Director Paul Rainwater will provide updates on recovery efforts. Also, representatives from Cameron Parish and the Governor's Office of Coastal Activities will discuss the Digital Flood Insurance Rating Maps (DFIRMS) issued by FEMA and their effects on rebuilding in coastal communities.
Click here for a copy of the agenda.
WHAT: Rita Task Force Meeting

WHEN: Wednesday January 7, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE: Buccaneer Room (third floor) of the Lake Charles Civic Center, 900 Lake Shore Drive in Lake Charles, La.

Meeting agendas are posted on the LRA Web site as soon as they are available. All meetings are open to the public.

Louisiana Recovery Authority Press Release

2008-12-31T16:56:00.001-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

December 31, 2008

MEDIA CONTACT:

Christina Stephens
Louisiana Recovery Authority
225.603.3896
christina.stephens@la.gov

Road Home Program Surpasses $500 million in Elevation Payouts in 2008

State Hazard Mitigation Grant Program holding one-on-one appointments with homeowners to begin second phase of elevation awards

BATON ROUGE, La. - The state of Louisiana has paid homeowners more than $543 million in federal funds through the Road Home program for home elevations after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, with the vast majority - almost $500 million -- coming since program re-launched this spring with a simplified award process.

So far, the Road Home has paid $543,608,113 in elevation funds to 18,914 homeowners through the program. Additionally, more than 4,400 applicants have been moved to closing.

"The half billion of elevation funds homeowners received this year will go a long way to ensuring safer rebuilding across Louisiana. The success of this elevation program hinges on our decision to simplify the award process and give homeowners flat award amounts," said Paul Rainwater, executive director of Louisiana Recovery Authority. "We have much to do in 2009, including working through thousands of sometimes complicated Road Home cases, paying out the remaining program elevation checks, pushing forward with elevations funded with hazard mitigation dollars and transitioning the Road Home program as the state's contract with ICF ends."

Louisiana put its elevation program on hold in April 2007 - after disbursing around $47.9 million to 2,000 homeowners - because of concerns over a potential shortfall in the Road Home budget. In late February 2008, the state announced it was reactivating the elevation program and notifying homeowners who qualified for elevation awards by letter.

To simplify and speed the process, rather than each homeowner having an individual elevation grant calculation, Louisiana altered the program so homeowners receive standard elevation amounts through the Road Home program. The Road Home Elevation Incentive provides up to $30,000 for site built homes and $20,000 for mobile homes to elevate to meet the current Advisory Base Flood Elevation or Base Flood Elevation levels. Total compensation through the Road Home, including the elevation award, is still capped at $150,000 per applicant.

In addition to the Road Home program, the state has started outreach to homeowners through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), with the first checks currently being processed. In total, the new state HMGP staff has reached out to 1,784 applicants and is actively working 600 project files. In recent weeks, targeted outreach sessions have resulted in 445 homeowner appointments. Because of the level of documentation required by federal HMGP regulations, the state is conducting one-on-one outreach with applicants to gather documents and check elevation progress.

Louisiana's $750 million elevation program is the largest HMGP elevation program ever run. Coupled with the $1 billion in CDBG elevations the state is paying through the Road Home, Louisiana is undertaking the largest elevation effort in American history.

State HMGP awards are separate from the Road Home Program and funds may exceed the $150,000 cap from the Road Home. Therefore, eligible homeowners can receive up to an additional $30,000 from the HMGP program for elevation or pilot reconstruction activities.

If you have questions about the Road Home Elevation Incentive call 877-234-1513 (Road Home Elevation Technical Assistance Hot Line). Questions about the State HMGP program should be directed to 877-744-7235. TTY users call 711 relay or 1-800-846-5277.

EMail Humor....

2008-12-22T20:01:00.001-05:00

Due to the current financial crisis facing the world at the moment,the light at the end of the tunnel will be switched off to save on electricity costs, until further notice.

Sincerely yours,

God

Daddy Daughter Time

2008-12-21T10:47:00.001-05:00

Cassie remembers minute details of events that I would never even think about. Sometimes it is easier to focus on things as a youngster than it is as an adult. Unfortunately, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve begun to take certain things for granted. Just recently, I asked my students to write a paper on who or what they are thankful for. On occasion I think it is important to try my own assignments, so here goes.
Ever since we moved in to our current house, I have gone to a nearby diner and picked up breakfast for the 2 or 3 of us. This is almost a weekly occurrence. In that time, I’ve come to know most of the staff at least by sight and a few by name. As she has grown Cassie has learned of this diner. She knows that if she wants breakfast on the weekend that this establishment is always a possibility.
Periodically, I try to give Elizabeth a break on the weekends. She does so much more than I do around the house normally, so on occasion I take our daughter, Cassie, to breakfast. This allows Elizabeth to stretch out or sleep in a bit while we are gone. Cassie has gotten to the age where this is really not that difficult. Not to mention that everyone seems to benefit.
Recently, Cassie has started asking to go to this restaurant with me, but without Elizabeth, more and more frequently. She looks forward to this as one of the highlights of her week. As many of you might agree the economic downturn has made employment more tenuous, even for schoolteachers such as myself. As the work situation has deteriorated, I’ve had to focus on the other parts of my life a bit more.
Recently Cassie and I were at the diner in question. We were sharing crayons and drawing in a coloring book as we waited for our breakfast. By the way, Cassie appears to stay in the lines better than I do. We had already said our hellos to various wait staff and were just talking about the nothings that pass as normal conversation in families with small children. As we sat there, I drinking my coffee, Cassie her apple juice, she looks under the table. I thought maybe a crayon had hit the floor. She looked up quizzically, and said: ‘Daddy there is gum under the table’. Thankfully, I didn’t think about this observation very long, I simply said: They are dirty don’t touch them. There are things you do not think about going through life, Gum under tables fits in that category.
Every so often I go to sporting events, like Heat games or Dolphin games. These events are much more glamorous. In the long run however, weekend breakfast with my daughter is a much better event. I’m a middle-aged dad there are worse things. I’ve often wondered how to tell grownups from children, maybe I’ve stumbled upon one of the indicators.
I’m very lucky to have a wonderful wife and daughter. Elizabeth is able to keep me together enough to get me where I need to be. Without her I would probably lose my head. She handles many of the household responsibilities that I wouldn’t know how to do at all. She also takes care of Cassie much of time. Because of this, I feel she needs a bit of down time on occasion during the weekend. Not to mention, she allows me to disappear for sporting events periodically.

Don’t tell Elizabeth, but I kind of like those weekend meals as much as my daughter. As we left, Cassie told me to finish my breakfast.

For Breakfast I'll have Coffee, Orange Juice and a side order of WAR

2008-11-30T11:22:00.003-05:00

This is from Wikipedia...

The Anglo-Zanzibar War was fought between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted around 40 minutes and is the shortest war in recorded history. The immediate cause of the war was the death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August 1896 and the subsequent succession of Sultan Khalid bin Barghash. In accordance with a treaty signed in 1886, a condition for accession to the sultancy was that the candidate obtain the permission of the British Consul, and Khalid had not fulfilled this requirement. The British considered this a casus belli and sent an ultimatum to Khalid demanding that he order his forces to stand down and leave the palace. In response, Khalid called up his palace guard and barricaded himself inside the palace. The ultimatum expired at 9:00 am East Africa Time (EAT) on 27 August, by which time the British had gathered three cruisers, two gunships, 150 marines and sailors and 900 Zanzibaris in the harbour area. The Royal Navy contingent were under the command of Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson whilst the Zanzibaris were commanded by Brigadier-General Lloyd Mathews of the Zanzibar army. A bombardment was opened at 9:02 am which set the palace on fire and disabled the defending artillery. The flag at the palace was shot down and fire ceased at 9:40 am. The Sultan's forces sustained roughly 500 casualties, while only one British sailor was injured. The British quickly placed Sultan Hamud in power at the head of a puppet government; he abolished slavery within a few months. The war marked the end of Zanzibar as a sovereign state and the start of a period of heavy British influence.

State of Louisiana Issues Last Call for Homeowners Interested in Road Home Elevations

2008-11-20T18:21:00.001-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

November 20, 2008

MEDIA CONTACT:

Christina Stephens
Louisiana Recovery Authority
225.342.1790
christina.stephens@la.gov

State of Louisiana Issues Last Call for Homeowners Interested in Road Home Elevations

Pace of payouts has increased, will exceed half a billion by year's end

BATON ROUGE, La. - Road Home applicants who are interested in receiving elevation funding from the Road Home program must return their Elevation Incentive Forms to the program by December 5, 2008.

In April, the program began mailing letters to Road Home applicants who were potentially eligible to receive elevation funding for their homes. The letters described elevation programs that were being offered by the Road Home and by the state under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Included with the letter were interest forms for both programs, which applicants were required to return to the program if they wished to be considered for elevation funding. Continued inquiries, educational opportunities presented by August outreach events and a steady flow of letters returned to the program after the original cutoff led the state to continue accepting interest forms, thus bringing more than 6,300 additional applicants into the elevation program.

A deadline of December 5, 2008, has been set for all Road Home Elevation Incentive Forms to be returned to the program. It is important to note that although a deadline has been established for Road Home forms to be returned, the state will continue to accept interest forms for the HMGP Elevation program past this deadline.

"We wanted to bring as many people as possible into the elevation program, which is why we have been accepting these forms, in hopes of identifying as many applicants as possible," said Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. "That said, it is time for the interest period for Road Home elevations to come to an end, so we are issuing one last call for homeowners to return these forms within the next two weeks."

"The pace of this program has sped up significantly because of the decision to pay homeowners a flat elevation amount, rather than using a complicated formula to determine awards. We've paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in the past few weeks and we are very likely to pass the half-billion mark before the end of the year," Rainwater said.

So far, the Road Home has paid $418 million to 14,651 homeowners through its elevation program. The vast majority of this progress has been since the state restarted the program earlier in the year and streamlined the process by offering flat grant awards to homeowners. Another 3,983 elevation payouts, totaling almost $116 million, are in the pipeline to close at the closing companies.

The state Hazard Mitigation Program has started a pilot program for several hundred homeowners, including one-on-one meetings with these homeowners and visits to their homes. It anticipates cutting its first checks before the end of the year.

By signing these forms, homeowners are ONLY indicating interest in learning more about these elevation funds. Returning the forms does not guarantee the receipt of an award, nor does it obligate a homeowner to accept an award.

Homeowners who returned these forms should have received a postcard confirming receipt. Homeowners who have not received an elevation information letter, but believe they are eligible for elevation funds may contact the Road Home by calling 1-888-762-3252. Also, homeowners who have need to request another copy of their letter may do so by calling this number.

Those Four Little Words

2008-11-10T19:14:00.001-05:00

Most people have a few common experiences. One of these experiences is to think that they will do things differently than their parents did, in terms of raising children. In this way Elizabeth and I are no different. During childhood, most people conclude that they could parent better than they themselves were parented. Sorry, Mom, but I had always imagined that there were certain things you did, that I could do better.

When Cassie was a newborn, I was going to be the best parent. Does this sound familiar, anyone? I would run to the nearest Walgreen's for anything (diaper's, wipes, Boudreaux's, Mylicon, etc.). Whenever she had the slightest problem we were going to be on top of it. I continued thinking that I could parent better than I myself was parented.

Sorry Mom, but that is what I thought. As I look back it was obvious for all to see that I knew nothing of this parenting gig. We got help from both parents and got advice from everyone under the sun. As Cassie began to understand and communicate we told her what to do, and generally she complied, if necessary with assistance.

For instance, when bath time rolls around we have various strategies to either get Cassie into or out of said bath. Yes, I did say...or out of.... sometimes coercion is used, or bribery, or even some sort of reasoning/bargaining. These tools/tactics/strategies can be used for any number of different activities. These are all things that my parents at some point did with me.

Both Elizabeth and I have always tried to avoid, and still try to avoid, using brute force. This is still a good policy. Recently, however many of these tactics have stopped working. So I have now learned something in my parenting style, as anyone in my group should know. As was done with me, so shall I do to mine. If all else fails in parenting Cassie, I can break out those four little words... Because I Said So.

Dear Blue States (2004)

2008-11-09T17:41:00.001-05:00

Dear Blue States:

Well, imagine our relief that you’ve decided to secede and form some sort of bathing-optional commune headquartered in California. The money we'll save in aspirin, now that we won’t have headaches from listening to your interminable whining, will be worth it to us alone.

We'll finally be rid of you lazy, moping, latte-sucking Streisand fans now that you're actually going to follow through--for once--on your promise to finally get off your butts and leave, as so many of you claimed you would every election cycle and then chickened out of actually doing. (Yeah, we’re looking at you, Alec Baldwin.)

But not so fast. You don’t get to take all the Blue States with you--just the Blue parts.

We hate to break it to you, but your Blue States aren’t actually "blue." Mostly, they’re states full of Red counties with pockets of Blue urban blight in them, who vote Democratic in such numbers that if the same results came out of a Third World country—which, come to think of it, many of the "Blue" counties pretty much are—we’d think it was fraud and send some election observers from the UN.

Even California is pretty much a Red State: Bush won 35 out of 58 counties, while Kerry won LA and San Francisco. You want 'em? we certainly won’t fight you for them but you're going to have to found New California without 35 of your most beautiful counties and your second-largest city. Sorry about that.

Nationally, Bush won over 2.5 million square miles of U.S. counties (and an extra three and a half million votes, but we won't rub that in.) Kerry won less than 600,000 square miles--meaning that in most states he was popular downtown and pretty much nowhere else. In other words, your guy won the places that people like him would get shot if he walked through them at night. Our guy won every place else.

So, the bottom line is that you don't get the Blue States. Those states have lots of towns and counties that would rather blow their dams and flood themselves out of existence rather than go with you. No, instead, you get the Blue Cities.

But wait…we really feel we owe you full disclosure on this exchange. This might come as an unpleasant surprise, but you don’t actually get the lower divorce and single-motherhood rates and all that other good stuff you think you're going to snag. Those are the conditions that are actually found out in the Red counties—not in the Blue cities, and you can't have them.

Instead you get the urban single moms, not the soccer moms; the drug addicts, not the doctors; the waiters, not the chefs. You get the fine service you've come to expect from the brutal and corrupt inner-city police departments. You get the abysmal literacy rates and schools that are more dangerous than most prisons. All in all, you get to take with you a public sector in most cities so unmanageable they make Mogadishu seem like a tidily run little municipality by comparison.

You get the labor union shakedown artists, "teachers" who can’t pass tests in their own subject, and city government leaders for whom graft, racial spoils systems, and outright theft are a way of life. They’re all very enthusiastic Blue voters, as you know, and we’re sure they’ll stampede their way to New California to start draining your wallets, wrecking your schools, and in general making a mess of your lives.

(And don't come complaining back to us when socialist central planning does for New California what it did for garden spots like East Berlin and Pyongyang. We're putting a strict visa system into place once you all go.)

We, on the other hand, get those Red city suburbs and rural districts. You know, the ones with the good schools, the high property values, the quiet streets and the sheriffs and cops who don’t need to walk around armored up like they’re about to storm the Sunni Triangle.

Oh and don’t concern yourself with our agricultural capacity after all, they don't call it "the breadbasket" for nothin'. We’ll keep right on producing the vast majority of wheat, corn, oats, rye, potatoes, soybeans, beef, chicken and pork.

We’ve always preferred a nice, unpretentious, frosty mug of brew anyway and hey, maybe you can make a salad with those pineapples, stem cells, and lettuce.

And don't even think about keeping the National Parks, the wide open spaces, all those water resources, and all the rest of America's natural splendor, since those are all pretty much located in Red counties.

Hell, we even get most of Oregon and Washington ...ain’t it ironic? You get the urban liberals in Portland and Seattle and their friends in important social organizations (like, say, drug-running street gangs) and we get the rest of the Northwest.

Ok by us; we’d be fools not to take you up on it.

Here’s how it will work; all of you Blue whiners, please feel free to look at a map of the electoral results county by county in each state, and take the people with you who’ve made it clear they’d like to go.

That means you get places like downtown Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and we get to keep the rest of beautiful Pennsylvania, thanks.

You get to administer bloated public services to the violent, drug-addled, gunslinging populations of delightful inner-city sinkholes of poverty and corruption such as Miami, St. Louis,Atlanta and the ever-popular District of Columbia--which has been governed by liberals (and the occasional crackhead) for so long and so incompetently that any semblance of order has broken down (beyond the carefully guarded borders of your Georgetown bistros, natch) to the point where even the mayor once asked the President to have the city patrolled by National Guardsmen.

Lucky you, it's all yours--enjoy it in good health, and don’t forget to wear your Kevlar...Blue "voters" up there in Northeast DC tend to be jumpy on the ol' trigger finger.

In fact, all around our great nation, you get to keep all the Blue voters who’ve made urban war zones like downtown Detroit--a Blue bastion, of course--the proud showplaces they are today.

We get the rest of Blue states like Michigan and Wisconsin and Illinois and...well, frankly, just about every state in the Union with the exception of Hawaii and New England--and even there, we’ll just hang on to a couple of chunks of New Hampshire and Connecticut.

You’re especially more than welcome to Rhode Island, which will immediately set up some sort of money-laundering scheme and bilk the rest of you once it has been incorporated into whatever sort of muddle-headed utopia you’re trying to create.

The former mayor of Providence should be out of Federal prison in time to join your Politburo and help you get things set up--for a small consulting fee, of course

If you would please, take another look at the list of best beaches and notice what color states they are in. We'll miss the Hawaiian beaches, but since long stretches of coastline from New Jersey down to Florida and yes, even in Southern California (including San Diego, thanks) are actually in Red counties, we'll be fine.

Sure, we get the rednecks and holy rollers. But since you're apparently willing to trade them for the gangs and psychopaths terrorizing your Blue cities, what can we say? You want the Crips and the Bloods in low riders raking your streets with automatic gunfire, and you're offering us Bubba heading off to church in his pickup?

Hey, a deal's a deal. Done.

True, you also get Manhattan, but darn the luck, you have to take the rest of the city, including the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn too, as well as Long Island, which is enough to almost make us feel sorry for you all out there in New California. (Almost.)

For our part, we’ll take most of the rest of gorgeous New York State, although you get the scam artists who infest the legislature in Albany.

And since for some unfathomable reason you actually want Elliot Spitzer, we’ll buy his plane ticket as a gesture of goodwill.

So that’s the deal. You get the cities, with all the crime, crack mommies, and corruption you can stand.

And sure, you get many of the elite colleges too, with the professors who think that terrorists in Fallujah are freedom fighters and that the people who worked in the Twin Towers on 9/11 were no better than Nazis—forgive us for not lamenting over this loss.

We get the suburbs, the countryside, and all the other beautiful places that remain unspoiled by liberal hypocrisy and addle-brained social experimentation.

And we'd like a favor, too: please keep your sky-high tax and crime rates, since we're happy to have the corporations and jobs that continue to flee your Blue cities into our Red counties. It's much appreciated, since our unemployment rates, to say nothing of our crime, single-parenting, and illiteracy rates, are far lower than yours.

Oh, and one last thing. We get the U.S. military, too. Did we mention that part? (You may have forgotten that they're volunteers, and most are happy Red state voters.)

Not to worry, though, since we’re sure that Islamic fundamentalist terrorists will be more than happy to reach an accommodation with a society that embraces radical feminism, gay marriage, gun control, hostility to organized religion of any kind, and Salman Rushdie. Good luck with that.

But one day when some misogynist Saudi freak--who no doubt will sneak into your country by strolling over the northern border after a few years sucking on the Canadian welfare system you all admire so much--blows up a couple kilos of plutonium on Sunset Boulevard, go send Sean Penn to ask the French for help. We’ll be busy that day.

Sincerely,

The Red States

PS: You can keep the marijuana. You're going to need it, since selling it is one of the last stable industries left in Blue counties.

Open Letter to the Republicans

2008-11-06T16:58:00.001-05:00

This came in from the Email

Dear Red States:

We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California , Hawaii , Oregon , Florida, Washington , Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan , Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.

To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss. We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama. We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

If marriage is so sacred then ban divorce. Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners) 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.

With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia. We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you crazies believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.

Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico

Peace out,

Blue States

Election Day is here and I Can't Sleep

2008-11-04T05:03:00.002-05:00

Hopefully, y'all are sleeping, well I can't and apparently neither can the people of Hart's Location New Hampshire. I don't know what the future holds but Senator Obama won both this town and the village of Dixville Notch.... Is this the beginning of a pattern, or are these just not the patriots Governor Palin keeps talking about?

Here is my guess at the map tomorrow night

2008-11-03T14:59:00.000-05:00

<p><strong>><a href='http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008/pick-your-president/'>2008 Election Contest: Pick Your President</a></strong> - Predict the winner of the 2008 presidential election.</p>

I tend to think that Pennsylvania will actually go to McCain, because of the big mouth of Rep. Murtha, and the western half of the state... I hope I'm wrong, maybe my family in Philly will help Obama pull this one out.

The unfortunate thing I see for the Republicans is that just about every swing state has to go for McCain for him to win.

Why didn't McCain go after Rev. Wright and Rezko

2008-11-02T21:09:00.000-05:00

I find it odd that the media has made a story of Senator McCain not successfully going after some of Senator Obama's past affiliations. There has been a recent spate of news about disgruntled Republicans. The jist of the story is that these relationships between Senator Obama and any of these people might turn the tide in favor of Senator McCain. These are "evil people", with insidious agendas as the story goes, and as soon as the general public learns of these relationships they will begin to question Senator Obama's judgement. He will then become less popular, and Senator McCain will become a more popular choice.

Well, why wouldn't Senator McCain exploit these relationships for political gain? Is it because he is honorable and forthright and doesn't think politics should be done that way? At one point he claimed to want a clean campaign, but his recent advertising has been so negative for so long that I doubt that answer is correct. Is it because these relationships have been exposed for almost 15 month now, and the primary season proved that these lines of attack were not very useful? Maybe, but the election cycle is so late it seems odd that he wouldn't try every line of attack. No, it appears to be a different more significant reason. Senator McCain, who started his campaign as the one who had the better judgement and the was going to be a steward the public could trust no longer wants that issue at the forefront. Why is this a problem issue for McCain?

Reverend Jeremiah Wright vs. Thomas Muthee

Rev. Wright's comments were disgusting to me. To ask G-D to damn this country is reprehensible. He was dismissive of what is the best country in the world. This is a political liability for Senator Obama. Reverend Wright is a problem. He says things that offend most Americans. It's almost sad though that people find his comments surprising.

A friend was on a jury recently. She was telling us about her experience shortly after the case ended. During the deliberations, this woman was surprised that a number of African American jurors were very distrustful of the police. Considering that community's experience with police the reaction while unfortunate makes sense to me. These experiences are the foundation for preachers like Reverend Wright being uncomplimentary to the powers that currently run this country. I would be surprised if Reverend Wright was a rarity in making those types of speeches from the pulpit. The negative sentiments are things I would rather not spoken from a position of influence ; but they are understandable considering the scope of Reverend Wright's experience.

While this is a problem character McCain isn't exploiting it. Why? Why not talk about an affiliation that would be problematic. Make Senator Obama's favorability ratings go down and then the race might tighten up some.

Now let me represent to you, Thomas Muthee and John Hagee (also known as reason #1 and reason #2). Governor Palin has a relationship with Thomas Muthee. Thomas Muthee was a visiting preacher at her pentecostal church. Normally, a visiting clergy would not draw this much attention. But, this clergyman has given at least 10 sermons at her church, so he's been there a few times. The reason this specific preacher has drawn some attention is twofold. First, Governor Palin claims that his prayers helped him when the Governorship. Second, while most people work their way up through seminary or going from smaller to larger congregations, he took a rather unusual route to gain fame. HE PRAYED A WITCH AWAY FROM TOWN.

Now, when someone says they are going to pray for me I say thank you. I figure I'm going to take all the help I can get. I also appreciate anyone's well wishes or positive energy. But, I've never thought or said that some specific person's prayers helped he graduate college or get a job. Governor Palin's problem is the thing that is one of her greatest assets, her believability. I believe her when she says that she thinks his prayers helper her get the governorship. Dear reader, who seems more risky a preacher who is angry about the inequities of the American experience; or a preacher who made his name battling Witches and Demons(Times Online 16 September 2008).

Tony Rezko v. Charles Keating

Even if the relationship with Reverend Wright is not a good line of attack, then there are others. For instance Senator Obama had a questionable association with Tony Rezko, a developer in Chicago. Certainly Senator McCain can use this friendship to tie his opponent to problems with lax banking policies and the current bad feelings toward Wall Street. I had heard of Tony Rezko but didn't really read an accounting of it until very recently.

In brief, in 1990 Rezko offered a job to a young lawyer, Obama. That job offer was declined by Mr. Obama. In 1993 Barack Obama took a job with a law firm representing developers of low income housing. Rezko's firm started working with that firm in 1995. Obama billed 32 hours to the project with Rezko. Rezko was an early supporter of Obama's campaign for state Senate in 1995. While running for U.S. Senate in 2003, Obama held a fundraiser at the Rezko home.

Here comes the tricky part... In December 2005, while Rezko was under federal investigation Obama bought a mansion next to land that Rezko's wife bought. Barackj Obama bought the mansion for 300,000 less than the asking price. Mrs. Rezko paid full price for the lot. Obama then bought part of the vacant lot from Mrs. Rezko for $104,500. Once Rezko was convicted of federal charges Obama gave donations from the Rezkos to charity(Chicago Sun-Times 24 January 2008).

The above link is the article where that information is pulled from. That is a pretty bad relationship. It smacks of influence peddling and gives off the appearance of impropriety. Senator McCain could definitely use this story as a way to go after Senator Obama. Maybe Senator McCain doesn't really want to get into "that one's" personal history, because he is afraid of something in his own closet.

The Keating 5 is a 20 year old story. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia that will give some background:

The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The five senators, Alan Cranston (D-CA), Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), John Glenn (D-OH), John McCain (R-AZ), and Donald W. Riegle (D-MI), were accused of improperly intervening in 1987 on behalf of Charles H. Keating, Jr., chairman of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which was the target of a regulatory investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB). The FHLBB subsequently backed off taking action against Lincoln.

Lincoln Savings and Loan collapsed in 1989, at a cost of over $3 billion to the federal government. Some 23,000 Lincoln bondholders were defrauded and many elderly investors lost their life savings. The substantial political contributions that Keating had made to each of the senators, totalling $1.3 million, attracted considerable public and media attention. After a lengthy investigation, the Senate Ethics Committee determined in 1991 that Alan Cranston, Dennis DeConcini, and Donald Riegle had substantially and improperly interfered with the FHLBB in its investigation of Lincoln Savings, with Cranston receiving a formal reprimand. Senators John Glenn and John McCain were cleared of having acted improperly but were criticized for having exercised "poor judgment".

All five of the senators involved served out their terms. Only Glenn and McCain ran for re-election, and they both succeeded. McCain would go on to become the Republican nominee for president in 2008.

Now here is my question if McCain's business dealing with a banker cost the American public $3 Billion dollars do you think he wants those relationships reexamined? I guess that explains some things. I would imagine that McCain's historical relationships give him pause before he goes after Obama.

Bill Ayers vs. The U.S. Council for World Freedom

There is still a connection that Senator McCain could exploit. Bill Ayers was a radical in the 1960s. He was tied to the Weatherman Underground. This group used violence if necessary to get the country out of Vietnam. He was doing this in the 1960s. Ayers met Obama in the early 1990s, twenty five years later. This could be a remarkably damning association for Senator Obama. Here is a man that wanted to blow things up, that met Barack Obama during the early years of his career. Wow, why isn't the McCain campaign taking advantage of this? This could cause alot of people to question his motives. I wonder what might be stopping this line of attack.
Let me google for a minute. Who else has heard of the U.S. Council for World Freedom? The USCWF was more prominent in the 1980s. It was an organization that got entangled in the Iran-Contra affair.
Now that I'm thinking about it don't get me started on his associate Governor Palin.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/06/why-mccains-time-with-cou_n_132470.html

Southeast Louisiana Small Business Recovery Conference Convenes on New Orleans

2008-10-28T16:50:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

October 27, 2008

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Kevin Williams
FDIC
504.782.9172
KWilliams@FDIC.gov

Christina Stephens
Louisiana Recovery Authority
225.603.3896
christina.stephens@la.gov

THURSDAY: Southeast Louisiana Small Business Recovery Conference Convenes on New Orleans

Conference will provide critical information to small business owners, bankers and accountants about tax credit opportunities

NEW ORLEANS, La. - Small business owners, bankers and accountants are encouraged to attend the 2008 Southeast Louisiana Small Business Recovery Conference in New Orleans Thursday, October 30, 2008, to learn about tax credit programs to assist entrepreneurs and participate in networking opportunities.

Hosted by the FDIC, the Small Business Administration, 100 Black Men of Metro New Orleans, Rebuilding Our Communities, Inc., UEP Gulf Coast, Inc. and the Southeast Louisiana Alliance for Economic Inclusion (AEI), the conference aims to inform entrepreneurs across South Louisiana about opportunities to stabilize and grow their businesses.

Southeast Louisiana cannot recover from the disaster caused by hurricanes Gustav and Ike without a stable small business base to help return essential basic retail and services to our severely damaged communities.

WHAT: Southeast Louisiana Small Business Recovery Conference
WHEN: Thursday, October 30, 2008, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
WHERE: UNO - Lindy Boggs Conference Center, 2045 Lakeshore Drive in New Orleans, La. 70148
For directions or more information, call 504-309-2073 ext. 107 or visit the Web site at www.aeiconference.org

"The conference is focused towards providing valuable resource assistance information to small businesses in the entire southeast Louisiana region ranging from Houma-Terrebonne to Baton Rouge Metro to Hammond/Tangipahoa and the New Orleans Metro/St. Tammany Parish region," said Kevin Williams, FDIC Community Affairs Specialist for Louisiana. "Establishing cohesive small business relationships between entrepreneurs, bankers, and credit unions involved in small business lending through the use of private-public financing partnerships is another key focus area of the conference."

"Small business owners form the base of Louisiana's successful recovery from hurricanes Katrina and Rita," said Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. "Conference attendees will have access to a wealth of information regarding municipal, state and federal government agencies, including the availability of $10 billion in federal tax incentives."

Business attire is requested. Attendees are encouraged to bring business cards, as this will be an excellent networking opportunity for businesses of all capacities. Continental breakfast and plated lunch will be served. Registration is required, and will take place during the first hour of the conference. Registration forms also can be submitted online at www.aeiconference.org. Registration is $35 in advance and $45 at the door.

General Douglas O'Dell, the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding, will be the keynote breakfast speaker and Mr. Lee Bowman, National Community Affairs Officer for the FDIC, will deliver the luncheon keynote address. Click here for a copy of the conference agenda.

"Local and regional experts will be presenting information on topics such as: Capital Access, Marketing with Technology, Special Non-bank Financing Programs, Doing Business with the Film Industry, Government and Major Corporations, Go Zone Tax Incentives, State Hurricane Assistance Initiatives and other useful information for entrepreneurs, their accountants and bankers," according to conference co-host, Reuben DeTiege of Good Work Network.

Southeast LA AEI will also host a networking reception following the conference with an expo of approximately 40 small business resource providers and lenders in the region.

This event is sponsored by 100 Black Men of Metro New Orleans, Inc., First NBC Bank, Good Work Network, Kauffman Foundation, Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA), Regions Bank, Regional Loan Corporation, Rebuilding Our Communities, Inc., and Whitney National Bank, Capital One, Liberty Bank and South Louisiana Bank.

For more information about the event, or to schedule a media interview with Reuben DeTiege of Good Work Network or Kevin Williams of the FDIC, please call 504-309-2073 ext. 103 or 107, or email Reuben at reuben@goodworknetwork.org, or visit goodworknetwork.org.

The Southeast LA Alliance for Economic Inclusion (AEI) was organized in October 2007 by the FDIC to focus on community issues resulting from Hurricane Katrina, The Southeast LA AEI represents a coalition of the region's financial institutions, small business development groups, affordable housing nonprofits, economic development officials, community-based organizations and federal bank regulatory officials. Assisting in the creation, expansion, and recovery of small businesses is one of several focus areas of the AEI.

Created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005, the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the coordinating and planning body leading the most extensive rebuilding effort in American history. The central point for hurricane recovery in Louisiana, the LRA works closely with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and partners with state and federal agencies to oversee more than $20 billion worth of programs, speed the pace of rebuilding, remove hurdles and red tape and ensure that Louisiana recovers safer and stronger than before. For more information about the LRA and its 17-member board, visit lra.louisiana.gov.

Road Home Applicants have One Week Left to Return Benefit Selection Forms

2008-10-27T20:49:00.000-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

October 27, 2008

MEDIA CONTACT:

Christina Stephens
Louisiana Recovery Authority
225.603.3896
christina.stephens@la.gov

Road Home Applicants have One Week Left to Return Benefit Selection Forms

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Road Home applicants who have not returned their benefit option letter, which indicates to the program their decision about what to do with their homes, have only one more week to do so.

The deadline to return the Benefit Selection Form, commonly called the "yellow letter," to the Road Home program is November 1, 2008. All forms must be post-marked by this date.

Road Home deadlines announced earlier this summer were cancelled at the end of August. Aside from the Nov. 1 deadline to return Benefit Selection Forms, the only deadlines remaining in the program are regular timelines related to the appeals process. As many as 1,200 homeowners may be affected by this November 1 deadline.

"If you haven't returned your letter, if you have questions about your option selection or if you need assistance making a final decision, now is the time to contact the program," said Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. "We cannot move your Road Home application forward until you notify the program of your decision of what to do with your home."

Homeowners who do not return their benefit selection forms or call the program to verbally select an option by this deadline will no longer be eligible for the Road Home program. The state expects that some applicants may have chosen not to participate in the program without notifying the Road Home. These applicants are asked to inform the state of this by returning their Benefit Selection Form and indicating that they wish to decline their grant.

In August, the Road Home program held outreach sessions across South Louisiana that served more than 4,200 homeowners; more than one third of these applicants were able to move forward in the process at these events.

In September, the program also called applicants to remind them of the deadline and assist them with their selection, if necessary. More than 600 people moved forward based on those calls.

Homeowners with questions about their files can call the Road Home hotline at 1-888-762-3252 (TTY: 1-800-566-4224) or call the Road Home representative who has been handling their case. For more information, visit www.road2la.org.

Th Best Explanation of how the Market works

2008-10-26T12:51:00.002-04:00

This came into my mailbox.... I had to share...

Yes, it really is this bad
Another example of humor that is deadly accurate.

I worked on Wall Street for a few years, elbow to elbow with "top" investment bankers.

It was one big casino with the saps in pensions funds and savings and loans (and us) being used to finance the game and cover the losses.

Amazingly, this was recorded in 2007.

Obama is a relative of the O' Henry's.

2008-10-17T14:29:00.001-04:00

This comes from Bill O Rights, the creator of this video.

Guest Blogger

2008-10-16T11:56:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine just sent this to me. I asked her if I could post it and she said yes. Here is her post. It is quite thought provoking.

Jo, thanks and great job.

As a proud American, I believe that any U.S. citizen who belongs to or openly agrees with a political party whose main objective is to secede from the union is a traitor to our country.
Alaska is the only state where such a body exists. It is the Alaskan Independence Party (AIP) created in 1978. As this factual article will show, Sarah Palin’s association with the AIP forces all Americans to question her credibility as a true American patriot.

The AIP’S official website includes the treasonous statement of party founder Joe Vogler: "I'm an Alaskan, not an American. I've got no use for America or her damned institutions."

In a March 21, 1991 interview with Margaret van Cleve (part of the British Petroleum sponsored "On the Road" series (http://uaf-db.uaf.edu/jukebox/yuch/htm/jvog.htm) Vogler stated:
"The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government and I won't be buried under their damned flag...and when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones home to be buried in my country…Is America destined for the trash bin? I think so, the trash bin of history."
The party’s motto, :“Alaska First—Alaska Always” is clearly displayed on the website’s homepage.

As recently as August, 2008, Lynette Clark, AIP’s chair, told ABC News: "We are a state's rights party” and that the AIP has "a plank that challenges the legality of the Alaskan statehood vote as illegal and in violation of United Nations charter and international law."

So, these facts beg the questions:
Why did Alaska Governor Sarah Palin attend, via videotape, the AIP’s 2008 convention?
At this year’s convention, did she tell members to “Keep up the good work”?
Why did she wish the party luck and refer to the gathering as an “inspiring convention”?
Why, according to former AIP Chairman Mark Chryson, did Palin and her husband attend the party's 1994 convention in Wasilla, Alaska?
Logic dictates that Palin is clearly still a believer in Alaska’s “right” to be its own entity, separate from the United States of America.
Merrian-Webster Dictionary defines treason as “The offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance.” Although there is no evidence that Palin has ever overtly acted to overthrow the U.S. government, according to Merrian-Webster Dictionary’s definition “traitor” as “One who betrays another's trust or is false to an obligation or duty,” how can Americans possibly trust a politician whose words and actions contradict that of a true American patriot?

2008-10-15T20:48:00.002-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 15, 2008

MEDIA CONTACT:
Christina Stephens 

Recovery Authority christina.stephens@la.gov 225.603.3896
Louisiana Recovery Authority Moves Forward on Planning for Recovery Funding for Gustav, Ike

Board approves disposition plans for thousands of Louisiana Land Trust properties

BATON ROUGE, La. - The board of the Louisiana Recovery Authority today voted to approve a preliminary plan outlining the concept for spending anticipated federal funds for recovery from hurricanes Gustav and Ike, directing LRA and Office of Community Development staff to seek input from local leaders and write a full plan to take back to the board in November and for federally required public comment.
The plan would allocate pools of funds to parishes for infrastructure and housing repair programs to be administered with local discretion and state oversight.
"Today's action starts the ball rolling on Louisiana's plan for recovering from Gustav and Ike, one which focuses on letting local governments set priorities for housing and infrastructure repair," said David Voelker, chairman of the LRA's board. "The next few weeks will focus on discussions with local leaders and input from the public that will refine our approach to ensuring that Louisiana rebuilds safer and stronger than before."
Click here to view the preliminary draft of Louisiana's plan.
The state of Louisiana will dedicate its allocation of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds allocated for recovery from hurricanes Gustav and Ike to repair damaged housing and infrastructure, elevate and buy-out flooded homes and address unmet economic development, agriculture and fisheries needs. The plan will also include the possible use of funds for hurricane protection systems in coastal areas.
For infrastructure and housing programs, the state will allocate dollars to each affected parish based on its level of damage to housing and infrastructure according to data from federal, state and local agencies. Using this allocation, the parishes will determine which housing and infrastructure options they wish to pursue, based on local priorities for recovery, and then submit a plan to the state for approval.
"The state's top recovery priorities are repairing homes lost in the storms and rebuilding our damaged infrastructure to a safer standard," said LRA Deputy Director Robin Keegan. "But each of our parishes faces unique circumstances after the storms and our people will be best served by programs that account for these factors. So we will present a 'menu' of options for how parishes can address housing and infrastructure damage and allow local leaders to select a combination of programs and administer them locally, rather than out of central offices in Baton Rouge."
Preliminary damage estimates from Gustav and Ike in Louisiana show:
Approximately 12,000 homes flooded;
Agricultural losses total approximately $750 million;
Infrastructure damages total more than $1 billion;
Homes suffering some level of damage total 150,000 to 300,000;
K-12 and secondary educational facilities received $100-$150 million in damages; and
Business losses total approximately $2.5-$5 billion.
Louisiana anticipates that its damage level could garner the state as much as $1 billion in CDBG funding for the disasters. Congress approved the funds last month in a disaster relief measure signed by President Bush on September 30, 2008. The bill gives HUD until November 30, 2008, to push one third of the money to the states.
To use CDBG funds, the state first must publish an Action Plan outlining the use of the funds. The board's vote today allows LRA staff to design programs that fit within the preliminary plan, publish the Action Plan for public comment and then return it for approval by the LRA's board in November.
The board heard updates from officials from Cameron and Terrebonne parishes at its meeting today. In addition, LRA staff will meet with parish leaders to discuss the state's planned CDBG programs and incorporate this input into the Action Plan that is ultimately brought back to the board for approval.
Staff will present the Action Plan to the board in November to go to public comment and then send it to HUD in December after legislative approval. Subsequent programs and programmatic changes that HUD deems major must be approved as "Action Plan Amendments" through the same process.
Louisiana Land Trust plans
In other action, the board approved Louisiana Land Trust property disposition plans for Cameron, St. Bernard and Terrebonne parishes, which account for more than 3,500 of the properties owned by the organization. The LLT is the entity that temporarily holds, maintains and insures properties the state purchases through the Road Home when homeowners select "option 2" or "option 3" under the program. The LRA board must approve parish plans for using the properties before their titles can be transferred to the parishes for redevelopment.
As of the end of September, the LLT owned 8,701 such properties, including 89 in Cameron parish, 3,873 in St. Bernard parish and 36 in Terrebonne parish.
Cameron Parish has identified parcels of land it will use for the purpose "of enhancing economic development, providing housing, preserving recreation/open space and ancillary initiatives." The remaining properties the parish will offer the previous owners the right of first refusal. After the 10-day response period, properties will be offered to adjacent property owners through a "Lot Next Door" style program. If there is no interest by adjacent property owners the property will be sold by public auction.
St. Bernard Parish will dispose of properties using five strategies:
meeting public purpose use related to green space, recreation and draining;
sale to adjacent property owners (Lot Next Door);
meeting community identified neighborhood development priorities;
preserving the historic character of the Friscoville/Arabi area; and
sale to private entity for the development of new and affordable housing.
Terrebonne Parish is working to identify parcels whose reuse will address parish needs for:
public improvements and public facilities;
flood management;
workforce and elderly housing;
enhancing neighborhood;
stability (Lot Next Door); and
green space and spaces of ecological value.
The board had previously approved plans for Orleans and Jefferson parishes. The state received final approval on its plans from HUD in September. The state is completing federally required environmental reviews on LLT properties and signing cooperative endeavor agreements with the parishes in preparation for transferring titles for the properties to the parishes.

EMail Humor....

2008-10-12T20:38:00.003-04:00

Palin Bingo Game

2008-10-02T20:38:00.002-04:00

I wish I could've gotten this up sooner.... But for anyone who is looking to add humor to tonight's event, try playing Palin Bingo... This could be like watching a 7 car pileup.

Couric v. Palin THE INTERVIEW

2008-09-27T00:18:00.003-04:00

Every so often when I watch the news, the newscaster gives a warning about something so graphic it might cause people discomfort. Well, I feel that this video needs that same warning.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Sweet Home Hialeah

2008-09-26T20:44:00.002-04:00

This is a local radio DJ, while I only understand a bit of Spanish it gave me a laugh...

Palin Debate News

2008-09-22T19:54:00.002-04:00

The Republicans appear to have the utmost confidence in Sarah Palin if they are doing this:

"At the insistence of the McCain campaign, the Oct. 2 debate between the Republican nominee for vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin, and her Democratic rival, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., will have shorter question-and-answer segments than those for the presidential nominees, the advisers said. There will also be much less opportunity for free-wheeling, direct exchanges between the running mates. McCain advisers said they had been concerned that a loose format could leave Ms. Palin, a relatively inexperienced debater, at a disadvantage and largely on the defensive.

McCain advisers said they were only somewhat concerned about Ms. Palin’s debating skills compared with those of Mr. Biden, who has served six terms in the Senate, or about his chances of tripping her up. Instead, they say, they wanted Ms. Palin to have opportunities to present Mr. McCain’s positions, rather than spending time talking about her own experience or playing defense.
"

Talk about setting the bar low...

Coastal Caucus

2008-09-15T16:50:00.009-04:00

Let me start this by saying my thoughts and prayers are with those in Texas suffering through the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. I am certain that those people in Galveston and Houston are going to do whatever is necessary to put their lives back together. As soon as I get a link related to the rebuilding I will post it. I worry that our friends in Lafitte and Acadiana are being ignored.

While I watched some of the coverage on the news an idea came to mind. Those of you in Louisiana can attest to the destructive nature of Rita, Katrina, and our newest unwanted guests Gustav and Ike. Texas has recently been battered by Gustav and southern Texas has been hit by numerous storms. Florida residents, have come to expect hurricanes or related storms a few times a year. Add in the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi and you have the members of my group. Dear reader(s), (I think I'm up to 3 a day) I'm not trying to reform the Confederacy, I'm trying to see if a group of legislators can work together for coastal protection and wetlands renewal.

The folks over at levees.org are on the right track. I'm thinking a bit smaller scale though. I've already seen a canned food drive, and a clothing drive for victims of Hurricane Ike. Unfortunately, that's not enough. If the Congressional delegations agree to support each other in regard to issues concerning hurricanes then it will be much easier to get the needed support in the future. If twenty five percent of the states are already on board that makes it much easier to get any number of issues passed in an hour of need.

I am certain that beach erosion is a big issue in almost all of these states. Well, someone in this group should put forward a bill that funds wetlands renewal. Maybe Senator Landrieu's office could move forward with full funding for the Corps of Engineer's projects to finish the necessary drainage improvements in New Orleans. I'm certain there are projects concerning homeowners insurance that all of the residents in these states might have in common. I don't see why these states can't form a caucus to work to the communal benefit of their populations.

If these states are all on board, is the Congressman from Houston going to be harassed by questions about whether we should really rebuild Houston? Is the evacuee from Galveston going to hear, from a former First Lady, that she and her two kids are really better off in Oklahoma anyway? If these states work together are the people in Lake Charles going to wonder if the Federal government will support them like the city of New York after September 11th 2001? To all of these questions I can answer no.

There is enough popular strength and legislative muscle in this group of states that together they can get the needed support from the federal government. People in Homestead, and Houston, Brownsville and Biloxi deserve the same support from Washington that Manhattan got seven years ago. Unfortunately, if the delegations in the gulf coastal states don't start working together the folks at FEMA will continue to divide and conquer, as their forefathers did 143 years ago.

Comparison to think about

2008-09-14T21:15:00.002-04:00

This came into my email tonight....

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."

Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers: a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

Name your kids Willow, Trig, and Track: you're a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating: you're well grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather girl (sports caster), 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with fewer than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

If your husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DUI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

New Obama Ad 9/12/2008

2008-09-12T18:22:00.001-04:00

Blackout in Plaquemines

2008-09-11T20:15:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of WWL:

Get ready to be without power for a couple of hours this evening in
Plaquemines Parish.

"There's going to be an outage shortly after 5:00pm for about two hours.
The whole parish will be black," says Plaquemines Parish President Billy
Nungesser. "Everyone will have power when it comes back on."

New Obama Ad

2008-09-08T18:51:00.001-04:00

From The Bill Press Show... 101 Reasons to vote against McCain

2008-09-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

#58: John McCain is two-faced on lobbyists. He has constantly said he wants nothing to do with 'big-moneyed special interests'...but he has taken in $181,000 in donations from lobbyists.

What are Alaskans saying about Palin?

2008-09-06T11:35:00.000-04:00

Vice Presidential nominees are chosen for obvious reasons. It is the first executive decision a future President makes that the country is able to evaluate. This is a pick that might fill a gap in the resume of the soon to be President. The other possibility is that the Vice President will help solidify electoral votes from a state or popular votes from a constituency.

While all of these things are true, how should we evaluate the choice? We could look at the accomplishments of each candidate. Another way, to look at each candidate is to examine their stated positions on a variety of issues. In this way, the public gets an idea on how they might govern. It is quite similar to how the Presidential candidates were originally examined by the public at the beginning of the primary season.

What does Senator Biden bring to the Democratic ticket? Senator Biden has worked in the Senate for years. He is an expert on foreign policy issues. The President of Georgia specifically requested that he come to T'bilisi during the recent crisis. There were significant concerns that Senator Obama might not have the foreign policy experience to handle global concerns. If that was a concern then adding Senator Biden to the ticket should address those very concerns.

Senator Biden is a resident of Delaware. Delaware was always seen as safely in the Democratic column in regard to the Presidential election; so that was not the reason for his nomination. However, there are two things that might have also contributed to this pick. Senator Biden is also a very good friend of Senator Clinton, and he has significant ties to Pennsylvania. All of these things make it appear that Senator Biden is an obvious choice as Vice President on the Democratic ticket.

Finally, can you see him as President? I think the public would have no problem seeing him as President. He has the experience, and appears to have the ability to fill that role if necessity demanded it.

We finally found out who the Republicans chose as a Vice Presidential nominee. Governor Sarah Palin (Alaska) was chosen as Senator McCain's running mate. Most people do not know much about her. She is a first term governor. Why was she the choice? Alaska's three electoral votes were never really in doubt. She has very strong conservative credentials. As I type this, I'm going to use wikipedia to get information on her positions. She is definitely pro-life, the only exception she would make is if the health of the mother was in peril. She will also win points with Conservatives because she supports teaching creationism in school along with evolution.

It appears to me that she was brought onto this ticket to energize the Conservative base. That makes perfect sense. John McCain has always been a question mark to social conservatives. This might cause some of those voters, the essence of the Republican base, to become more enthused about voting for McCain. I'm not certain of that however. Doesn't it appear to be a bit of pandering, considering that Governor Palin does not appear to have any experience at this level. Was she given this position because she is a woman? Possibly, but I don' think the people that are former Hillary voters, are going to seriously consider voting for McCain because Palin is a woman. It seems more likely that those same voters might be insulted by the thought that McCain might think so little of them and be more energized to vote for Obama.

Outside of being very conservative socially what does she bring to the ticket? She isn't exactly a foreign policy whiz. She claims to understand Russia, because she lives right next door. No offense, but that is like me claiming to be an expert on Cuba. She talks about how she is against wasteful spending, but she was for the "Bridge to Nowhere" before she was against it. Finally, she claims that she is coming to Washington, D.C. to clean it up; this is the same woman who is in the middle of an abuse of power investigation at this very moment.

Before you think it is just a witch-hunt; this ethics panel is bi partisan and she is under investigation for firing the Public Service Commissioner she appointed the year before. Well, maybe she is a bit precocious.

Finally, voters might gain some understanding of Palin through what Alaskans think of her. Below you will find part of an article that I found on Politico:

"She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?" said State Senate President Lyda Green, a Republican from Palin's hometown of Wasilla. "Look at what she's done to this state. What would she do to the nation?"

House Speaker John Harris, said the following:
"She's old enough," and "She's a U.S. citizen."

With Republicans talking about her like this, imagine what the Democrats are going to say.

The Vice Presidential pick is the first for a Presidential candidate. It shows something about the new administrations. This leaves me with a question, after a choice like this, who do you trust to be President?

FEMA Help

2008-09-06T09:28:00.002-04:00

More useful Emails... again this is from WWL...

Officials admit there has been confusion on the topic, so we are trying to
simplify the matter.

First, do you live in one of the following parishes?

Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Cameron, East
Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson,
Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines,
Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St.
John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany,
Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermilion, Vernon, West Baton Rouge and West
Feliciana.

If so, you may be eligible for help.

Next, were you under a mandatory evacuation? Or, did your home suffer
damage or become inhabitable due to loss of water, power or sewer? If you
answered 'yes' to one of these questions, you may be eligible.

To register, you can go to FEMA.gov or call 1-800-621-FEMA. Later there
will be places to file in person.

FEMA Spokesman Ronnie Simpson says before the feds will pay anything, you
have to file with your insurance. FEMA picks up where insurance leaves
off. He also insists you keep all of your receipts. Many insurance
policies pay for hotel stays.

"If you don't have basic services... or if you had serious damage... we're
going to work with folks to make sure they are taken care of," Simpson
told WWL First News.

He says they are either making direct payments to hotels or paying
reimbursements.

"You keep those receipts, and when it comes time to deal with FEMA in the
next few weeks, the next a month or so, you present those for receipts for
reimbursement," Simpson said.

When making a FEMA claim, be ready to provide a description of property
damage, name, address, social security number and then they will get an
inspector out to assess your home. You will be given a new FEMA number.
Do not use your Katrina FEMA number if you had one.

The FEMA assistance eligibility started Monday Sept. 1st. Expenses before
that are not eligible for repayment.

After your insurance has paid you, FEMA may pick up any additional cost of
minor home repairs to make your residence inhabitable.

If you have more substantial repair costs, FEMA will refer you to the
Small Business Administration for and SBA loan. Despite the name, the
agency does make personal loans to individuals.

FEMA can also assist in identifying other grants that may provide funding
for immediate needs including clothing, personal hygiene, bedding and
other items that you may have lost in the storm.

HUD may be able to provide rental assistance as well. That applies when
the damage to a home is so extensive that the owner can't live there
during repairs. That could be paid for up to a year and a half.

Other programs are designed to pay for medical expenses, car repairs,
counseling, disaster unemployment (including for self employed
individuals), legal assistance and mortgage assistance.

It all starts with going to FEMA.gov or calling 1-800-621-FEMA and getting
your claim started.

When can we send the kids back to school?

2008-09-05T19:29:00.002-04:00

This email list came from wwl:

WWL-AM-FM-WWL.COM put together a comprehensive list of school openings.
Public schools: those with power will open Monday. Officials will hold a
press conference at 10 a.m. Sunday to announce those still without power.
Please keep your radio locked on WWL radio for the latest.

JEFFERSON

. Catholic schools: Monday.

. Memorial Baptist Christian School: Thursday.

These private schools will reopen Monday:
. Arden Cahill Academy
. Crescent City Christian School
. Faith Lutheran School
. John Curtis Christian School
. Ecole Classique
. Kehoe-France School Metairie
. Lutheran High School
. Metairie Park Country Day School
. Ridgewood Preparatory School
. Salem Lutheran School
. St. Martin's Episcopal School
. Xavier Prep
. Brother Martin High School
. Jesuit High School
. Holy Cross, pending power
. St Augustine High School
. St. Mary's Academy
. De- La-Salle
. Chrisitan Brothers
. Academy of the Scared Heart, pending power
. Ursline Academy
. St Mary's Dominican High School, Pending Power
. Cabrini

These private schools will reopen Tuesday:
.Mt. Carmel Academy

ORLEANS

. Algiers Charter School Association schools: Wednesday
. Orleans Parish School Board non-charter and charter schools: Next week
. Recovery School District non-charter schools: Monday
. KIPP New Orleans schools: Monday
•UNO Charter School Network schools: Monday
. Catholic schools: Monday
. St. John Lutheran School is scheduled to reopen Thursday
. International School of Louisiana: Monday

These private schools will reopen Monday:
. Isidore Newman School
. Louise S. McGehee School
. St. George's Episcopal School
. St. Paul's Episcopal School
. Stuart Hall School for Boys

PLAQUEMINES

. Public schools: partial opening Thursday
. Our Lady of Perpetual Help: Monday

ST. BERNARD

. Public schools: Monday
. Our Lady of Prompt Succor: Monday

ST. CHARLES

. The St. Charles public schools will open Wednesday.
Central office employees, school-based administrators, school office
specialists and cafeteria managers all return Monday. Custodians must
return Monday at 7:30 a.m. All other school system employees must return
to work Tuesday, with bus drivers directed to report to the transportation
department at 7:30 a.m. Anyone seeking more information can call school
system public information director Rochelle Cancienne-Touchard, at
504.416.6190, or view the district Web site at www.stcharles.k12.la.us.

Schools operated by the Archdiocese of New Orleans in the parish will
likely follow the public school schedule.

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST

. Public schools will reopen Wednesday if power is restored. All 12-month
employees, including central office personnel, principals, administrators,
head custodians and cafeteria managers must return for a meeting at 8 a.m.
Monday at East St. John Elementary School in Reserve. All employees were
directed to return to work Tuesday.

Schools operated by the Archdiocese of New Orleans in the parish will
likely follow the public school schedule.

ST. TAMMANY

. Public schools: Monday
. Catholic schools: Monday

Lafourche

Lafourche Parish schools will remain closed through Tuesday, September 9,
2008. An announcement will be made on Monday if schools will be open on
Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Terrebone
Schools will be closed until further notice.

East Baton Rouge
.Classes resume- Monday Sept. 15th; pending power

West Baton Rouge
.Classes resume-Monday Sept. 15th; pending power

This came into my Email at 12:48 PM

2008-09-02T18:06:00.002-04:00

I just got home and figured this was worth putting on the blog...

This is courtesy of a WWL blast Email.

Return dates, curfew times for southeastern La. parishes

Jefferson Parish:

Jefferson Parish residents are not allowed back into the parish until
businesses and and first responders are set up and prepared for them to
return.

The parish is implementing a two-phase re-entry plan. Tier 1 is made up of
critical businesses, contractors and first responders. Tier 2 is made up
of those businesses necessary to prepare for the return of residents, such
as groceries, pharmacies, gas stations and banks.

Both tiers are going to begin returning simultaneously Tuesday at noon.

Tier 1 and Tier 2 agencies and businesses must have "re-entry placards,"
which are credentials allowing them to enter and move about in the parish.

After Tier 1 and Tier 2 re-entry is complete, the parish will be open to
re-entry for residents.

A strict 24-hour curfew is in place throughout the parish, and residents
are instructed to stay inside their homes or face the possibility of
arrest.

Parish public schools and Archdiocesan parochial schools in Jefferson
Parish will remain closed through the end of this week.

Orleans Parish:

Right now New Orleans city officials are assessing the damage of Hurricane
Gustav, and there has been no set time table for when residents will be
able to return. Residents will not be allowed inside of the parish until
at least Wednesday, if not later.

Orleans is under curfew from dusk until dawn until further notice.

Plaquemines:

Plaquemines Parish residents are not allowed back into the parish and no
timeline has been set for them to return yet. That decision will be made
in the coming days by parish officials, who are still assessing damages
and services.

Only those with special passes will be allowed into the parish,
Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser said, and family members are
not allowed to tag along into the parish with those who have passes.

Plaquemines Parish is under lockdown and a curfew is in place from 8 p.m.
to 6 a.m.

St. Bernard:

In what St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro calls a "very
ambitious" plan to return, officials are hoping that they will allow
residents back into St. Bernard as early as sometime Wednesday morning.

Taffaro said that public service workers began cleaning up Monday night,
with Entergy officials working on the ground to restore power. He warned
that residents who do opt to return early should expect to not have full
power or services, but that their homes are safe and secure.

St. Bernard Parish is under a 24-hour curfew until further notice.

St. Charles:

Residents are not allowed back into St. Charles Parish in the aftermath of
Hurricane Gustav. A decision is expected 4 p.m. Wednesday on when
residents will be allowed back into the parish.

A curfew is in place in St. Charles Parish from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. until
further notice.

St. John:

St. John residents are not allowed back into the parish until further
notice.

There is a curfew in place from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. until further notice.

St. Tammany:

St. Tammany Parish residents are not allowed back into the parish
following Hurricane Gustav. The decision on the timetable for their return
will be made sometime Tuesday.

There is a curfew in effect from dusk until dawn until further notice in
the Parish. In Bogalusa, however, officials lifted the curfew Tuesday
morning.

Tangipahoa:

Tangipahoa Parish officials will decide Tuesday when they will allow
residents back into the parish. No residents are allowed to return at the
moment.

There is currently a mandatory curfew in effect from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
daily.

Terrebonne and Lafourche Parish:

Terrebonne officials said that the tentative plan is to let residents back
in Friday at noon.

Lafourche officials will make the decision of when they will allow
residents to return to their homes sometime Wednesday.

There are still major power outages in both areas, along with trees
blocking roads and a lack of services, officials said.

There is a curfew in effect in Terrebonne and Lafourche until noon
Wednesday, and could continue thereafter.

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