Postcards from Ledge

Isaac was not Katrina in many ways.  That is not to say that getting through the past and next few days has not and will not be challenging.  I did not evacuate so I was home when the ceiling started dripping in the bathroom and the hall. I was safe in a motel in Lake Charles during Katrina with Honey (who died 9 months after Katrina), Karma (as you know she died two mornings ago in the last of Isaac’s rain bands) and Miles (who is still hogging all the breeze from the crack in my bedroom window, undoubtedly).  I am sitting at Coop’s–once more–trying to charge up the phone and borrow the internet.  I did this a lot 7 years ago. There are no clean up workers eating here this time.  There are a bunch of weary New Orleanians and a lot of gay guys celebrating Southern Decadence that are completely oblivious to the shortage of electricity, food, gas, and patience outside these precious 12 blocks.

The National Guard has been trying to hand out MRES, ice, and water at the Navy station on my block that’s no longer federal property but state.  It was dark during the storm and there were no black berets staring me down.   I am tired and the noise is every where.  Post-Katrina, everything was deathly silent.  I go home to listen to endless generator noise.  I stay in the quarter and it’s just one big party that’s unaware of anything going on outside the bubble.  That kind’ve reminds me of the RNC and the statue that the Republicans have given the electorate this year.

I’m supposed to dial 211 and get help from the endless number of not yet open non profits.  Yup, that’s his idea of hurricane recovery help.  See if any of the nonprofits that were taken down right along with you can get their acts together fast enough and their volunteers back in the office to help any one else that’s also taking it on the chin right now.  I wish I had a second house to go to.  It would be nice if the biggest decision I had was chosing a Cadillac out of the car elevator to match my Guccis daily or stressing over my horse not doing well in its dancy showy thing at the Olympics.  The rest of us just have to rely on the scraps that are thrown us.  Oh, and my guess is that the Romneys don’t give to the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, the Salvation Army, etc. or any of the myriad of charities that do help with disasters. Probably yet one of the many reasons they won’t show us their taxes.  The “you people” just don’t need to know.  They should dial for charity dollars.

Did I mention that Romney wants to privatize FEMA?  The Federal Levees worked.  The City did much better this time out.  Every government agency learned from Katrina and functioned well this time.  (That includes the NOPD which is not high on my respect list as you recall.)  The only group of people that have been a complete screw up this time is our damned privatized electric company.  You can listen into call in shows and read the comments on the media outlets here to get the story.  That’s the response Romney wants to give us.  Call the charities and hope a for profit organization won’t cut costs and people so much that you won’t be without for weeks.

Embracing a radical anti-government ideology from the most extreme elements of the Tea Party, Romney said that the victims in Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Massachusetts, and other communities hit by tornadoes and flooding should not receive governmental assistance. He argued it is “simply immoral” for there to be deficit spending that could harm future generations:

Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better. […] We cannot — we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we’ll all be dead and gone before it’s paid off. It makes no sense at all.

I would like to argue that it is simply immoral to keep giving folks tax breaks to plant their money in the Caymans and to build the economy in other countries and to undermine the wages and earnings of US workers.  It is also immoral to hide your tax returns from the people you want to hire you to “lead” them.

I was thinking that I really have gone from disbelief at what Romney has said and done in the past to a stone cold dislike of the man.

The day Karma died I could not find the SPCA or any one to help me.  I tried to bury her and the water filled up the hole in the back yard as soon as I pushed the shovel in the ground.  I drove first to the police station who told me to call “animal control” or the SPCA.  I drove over there and left her in a blanket and bucket in front of their door.  My sweet companion of over 15 years was left on the SPCA doorstep with the hope they’d cremate her properly.  They are still not open.

Go home and dial 211 my ass.  The man should be sent to live in elsewhere, not elected President.