HumidCity

Department of Social Services secretary Ann Williamson has tendered her resignation to the Jindal Administration. This comes on the heels of the recent mismanagement of shelters during Hurricane Gustav. From showerless shelters to the understaffed food stamp program, the Gustav Evacuation is widely regarded as only half a success: they got the people out of harms way, but failed to provide for them at the final destinations.

Williamson is one of the few remaining Blanco era holdovers, but I don’t know if that’s truly germaine to the issue. When trying to relocate half a million people, there are bound to be problems and the unpredictable nature of storms can completely destroy even the best laid plans. I applaud the fact that Williamson is taking responsibility for what went wrong, but I think she needs to stay close to the office in order to help her successor pinpoint the parts of the system, (and the people under her command,) which broke down. Governor Jindal has appointed policy advisor Kristy Nichols as the interim DSS secretary.

One problem which is making the headlines is the deplorable conditions of the bathrooms and port-o-lets. Reports indicate that there were insufficient facilities located at shelters. There is a parade of evacuees on the news tonight literally sobbing as if their mother died because they had to step over or in urine and feces to use the bathroom. While I can understand the indignation, the sobbing I can do without. I’m assuming most of these people have never been to a French Quarter bar or Mardi Gras parade.

I may be out of line here, but you can’t blame the Jindal Administration because someone pissed on the floor. If the toilet is backed up or overflowing, move on to the next one. Put a sign on the door and tell someone in charge. Stand guard and point people to a working toilet. During Katrina, we had a dozen people in my mother’s house and her fifty-year old plumbing couldn’t handle the load. (No pun intended.) We peed in the backyard when we had to, visited neighbors if we could, but we didn’t keep overloading the system. If you’re in a situation like this, you need to show some common courtesy, decency and humanity to those you’re stuck with.

-M Styborski, Nation of Morons

well as i finally “un”settle back into my house, the two and five sixths years of post k goobly goo comes to a a not-so screeching halt.  or does it? the emotional, physical, and mental scars won’t heal.  the burning in my lungs and dull nightmares continue.  the unnatural tingling in certain extremities continues relentlessly. neither the powers that be or those that won’t be can fix that. in fact, it’s kinda hard to call it post-traumatic since the trauma isn’t over as we walk amidst the shadows day by day.  the floods of 08 are just a reminder that mother nature can be a bad mother - hush your mouth… i’m just talkin about getting the shaft(?). 

the “everything’s slow in the south” mentality of new orleans has turned to a comatose “nothing’s moving  or getting done” land of shades reminiscent of aeneas’ visit down below in virgil’s classic epic

the slow life. the slow food. the not-so-fast food nation called McNawlins… do you want levees with that? how ’bout a not-so-happy meal? afterall, you deserve a breech today! well, do we really? i don’t think so!

meanwhile… gas and employment go up WHILE politicians give themselves outrageous raises for a job not yet well or done.

can i see the manager? oh, yeah… mr. jindal… he’s decided to do nothing… a lame duck in less than six months.  maybe he should be v-p.  then again, if he did, he might shoot me in the face… then again his refusal to take a stand was sort of a knife in the back. 

another game of formaldehyde and seek!

p.h. fred

www.mcnawlins.com

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In 1994 Bobby Jindal observed an excorcism. It seems his PR people did a good job of burying the story, but unfortunately for them it is a matter of public record and appears on the New Oxford Review right here. I found it through a friend’s LiveJournal post, but since it is a private post I will not identify the person who originated it. I will however share with you the excerpt that he shared from the above linked article:

Susan attempted to escape, and during the scuffle, “Alice,” the student leader for Campus Crusade for Christ, “entered the room for the first time, brandishing a crucifix.” They had tried calling a “rival” Christian group to help, but the preacher “denied” their request for help and told them to not to “confront the demon.” Alice made Susan even angrier. Susan tried lunging toward the door. Bobby began repeating the Hail Mary over and over again. He said, “Being new to Catholicism, I had yet to accept the Catholic doctrines concerning Mary and considered any form of Marian devotion to be idolatry.” But he could not think of anything else at the time, so he prayed to Mary.

Susan eventually calmed down because of the crucifix, and her sister brought out a Bible. They all began daring Susan to read passages from the Bible. She would begin to read a passage and then blurt out obscenities. But after reading several passages, Susan changed, almost in an instant. She proclaimed, “Jesus is Lord,” and then told everyone she could not remember “any of the past few hours.”
Susan even asked Bobby if he was okay. Bobby told Susan’s sister he would “commit” to a “nightlife” of prayer for Susan. Susan spent the night in the house of a missionary, because her roommate had pagan-looking decorations in their dorm room.

Bobby felt a renewed appreciation for his Catholic faith. He no longer doubted, as he had only hours before. Susan and Bobby stayed friends. Susan even became a Catholic. And her cancer somehow completely disappeared.

Watch out William Peter Blatty! Here we go- rival christians,  a miracle cure, profanity, this has it all.  So one thing I want to know is this: if any form of Marian devotion is idolatry then am I to assume that idolatry is excusable if you cannot think of anything else? And before anyone tells me that it is not fair game to get into this since it is his personal faith let me tell you this: he is a public figure. Once you enter that arena you had better be prepared to deal with it. After all Rev. Wright was considered fair game, wasn’t he?

Pagan decoration in the dorm room. *snort*

-Loki, HumidCity Founder (with thanks to the original pots on LJ that inspired this one. )

That’s the number of vacancies in the LSU Hospital System, the entity in charge of Louisiana’s charity hospitals.

Unfortunately, those vacancies cannot be filled at this time because Piyush Jindal has imposed a hiring freeze on all state agencies, regardless of need. I suppose it’s a matter of ethics, don’t you know.

I imagine since he couldn’t finish dismantling our healthcare system during the time he was Secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals under Mike Foster, he’s going to do what he can to lower the census now. The man has the empathy and soul of a rock.

No, that’s unfair to the rock.

- Bigezbear