Before we write a disapproving piece about the assault on Libya, we want to share a few cheerful views of the St. Patrick’s Day parade we enjoyed from beginning to end on Thursday in Marigny and the French Quarter. (See photos after...
NOLA, Gulf Coast
Happy Mardi Gras 2011
“To many New Orleanians, Mardi Gras is not just the day itself, but the season leading up to it. . . . In the two weeks before Fat Tuesday these [Mardi Gras] krewes throw their famous parades. Every night, people from every class and neighborhood make plans to meet...
A Letter from Senator Mary Landrieu
* Landrieu on Her Reluctant Vote for the Republican Obama Tax Deal In December during the fight against renewal of the Bush tax cuts (now the Republican Obama tax cuts) for millionaires and billionaires, we posted a tribute to Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu’s strong...
A Christmas Greeting and Good Wishes
In a year that has held good tidings and ill—the usual ingredients with some new and sometimes startling arrangements . . . We want to take a moment from our Christmas celebrations to wish you and your family and friends a good and cheerful holiday season. We wish you...
When Harry Met a Cover-Up:
Shearer Talks about “The Big Uneasy”
* [ cross-posted at Daily Kos ] We sat down recently with Harry Shearer—that is, we sat down and e-mailed him some questions, and he sat down and wrote some thoughtful replies—to talk about his new film The Big Uneasy, which tells the real story of why New Orleans...
Venice (Calif.) Hearts Venice (La.)
* 9/21 Rock and Rally for Victims of Oil Spill (with live stream) A benefit concert to aid citizens of Venice, Louisiana, and help with restoration of the BP oil–stricken Gulf Coast. The fund-raiser is the idea of Melissa McGinnis (in video below), host of the hit...
Is Katrina More Significant Than September 11?
Thoughts on Two American Traumas [ Cross-posted at Daily Kos. ] Between 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, which do you think gets most attention, and why? What if the national focus on 9/11 is exaggerated and the nation should focus instead on 8/29—Hurricane Katrina—as the...
9/11 “Battle of New Orleans” Joins Victims of BP Oil Spill, Exxon Valdez, Hurricanes, and 9/11 First Responders
[ The following press release is presented as a public service announcement ] NEW ORLEANS — In a historic gathering, Gulf Coast residents devastated by the BP oil spill will join 9/11 first responders, victims of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and survivors of hurricanes...
New Oil Explosion, Fire, off Louisiana Coast
Long, Hot Summer [ Update: Think Progress’s Ben Armbruster reports, “One day before its gulf oil rig exploded, Mariner Energy said ‘Obama is trying to break us’ with the deepwater drilling moratorium,” even though the platform that exploded today was not affected by...
Celebrity Sighting: Levees Not War Meets FEMA’s Fugate
Tomorrow we’ll post some comments on President Obama’s remarks at Xavier University on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. But first, allow us to babble excitedly about the public-safety-and-disaster geek’s idea of a celebrity sighting: After all the...
Live-Blogging from Rising Tide 5 in New Orleans
Winner of the 2010 Ashley Morris Award: Clifton Harris of Cliff’s Crib New Orleans blogger Clifton Harris, right, receives the Ashley Morris Memorial Award from emcee George “Loki” Williams, center, and Mark “Oyster” Moseley. Photo courtesy of M. Styborski. Cliff...
Come Surf the Rising Tide : Aug. 28 in New Orleans
* We’ll be in New Orleans for Rising Tide 5—and you’re invited too. First, on Friday afternoon, we’re embarking on a boat tour of Barataria Bay southwest of New Orleans—thanks to friendly connections at the Plaquemines parish government, Loyola University, and the...
Rising Tide 5 Is Aug. 28 in New Orleans: Register Today
A Conference on the Future of New Orleans The Rising Tide Conference is an annual gathering for all who wish to learn more and do more to assist New Orleans’ recovery. It’s for everyone who loves New Orleans and is working to bring a better future to all its...
Drew Landry Sings “BP Blues” to Presidential Commission
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52am1DN_svA&feature=player_embedded * “Just Do the Right Damn Thing” Some of the most sensible and melodious testimony we’ve heard in a long time was given yesterday in New Orleans by crawfisherman and singer Drew Landry before the...
What Happens When You Call OSHA, White House
Before we tell about the fun we had today phoning OSHA, sweet OSHA, we wanted to mention our recent and more enjoyable phone experience with Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a 400,000-member grassroots organization that is behind...
Stop BP from Hurting Cleanup Workers:
Join the “BP Makes Me Sick” Coalition
“We cannot let the denial of protective gear that hurt so many 9/11 cleanup workers happen again with the Gulf cleanup workers.” BP Refuses Respirator Masks for Cleanup Workers Levees Not War has joined the “BP Makes Me Sick” Coalition of Gulf Coast fishermen,...
Martha Serpas: Our Life, Between Sea and Oil
In today’s New York Times, Louisiana poet Martha Serpas gives a rich and sensitive account of Louisiana’s environmental predicament by focusing on Bayou Lafourche where she was raised and the Cajun people who have survived through generations of “persecution,...
Smoke on the Water: Alabama Conservationist’s Gripping Video of Death at Sea
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxDf-KkMCKQ&feature=player_embedded * On MSNBC’s Countdown on June 30 Keith Olbermann spoke to John L. Wathen, an Alabama conservationist with Hurricane Creekkeeper (Waterkeeper Alliance) who has flown over the Gulf of Mexico to...
Gulf Coast Benefit Concerts on July 1, Coast to Coast
* In the spirit of Independence Day, nationwide concerts will be hosted by music venues on July 1st, 2010 to benefit those directly impacted by the Gulf Coast Oil Spill. The organizers have created an ambitious goal: Gather music venues around the country to donate...
“The Oysters Never Had It So Good.”
* For anyone who might be concerned about the effects of BP oil on Louisiana seafood and needs reassurance that “oil will be well,” you just need to sit back, relax, and watch this 1960 newsreel of “progress at work” titled Lifeline to an Oyster, “presented as a...