Closing Time at Jackson Square

Mitch Landrieu wants Jackson Square cleaned up.

Of homeless people, tarot readers, riff raff (like me) and anything generally considered 'sketchy' by Mayberry standards. Because the NFL is coming with fountains of money, a Better Class Of Tourist, who'd better not see any filthy local culture laying about, while they tea bag drunks, piss on our doorsteps, vomit everywhere, scream at our women to show me your tits! and sleep in their vans, down by the river.
The ones surrounded by fast food wrappers.
And Bud Lite cans. 
Its the Official Beer of the NFL, ya know.

Anyway, Kristin Palmer has been selected to make this work, somehow, because it's her district.
To her credit, she's morphed this into a 'we want to clean the place' issue, and called for community input on toning down the language.

So this is your big chance to do the right thing, instead of bitching about it until it happens, and then bitching that nobody did anything to stop it.

Before I offer my musings on this, however, please go here, and read the Nolafemmes piece.

Then go here, and see the actual highlighted document, with actual highlighted changes, highlighted for your reading ease. It's highlighted. The new part.

Then, go here to sign a petition to stop this, if you so desire.

Personally, I would directly email or call CM Palmer's office, through the contact provided.
Please, remember that she asked for your input, and these emails & calls are going through others, as well, so be fucking polite. The contact information is here:

Mary Cunningham, Director, Constituent Services
mbcunningham@nola.gov
504-658-1030 

Anyway....

I understand the need to clean any public area, although I find 
it hard to believe that the streets surrounding the square must be
closed for four hours of cleaning, every night.
Certainly Bourbon Street is also cleaned without being closed
down to foot traffic, four hours a day... if at all. 
And I'm positive it gets much dirtier.
Even so, a pressure washing crew would charge at least $200 a
night to show up & work one guy with a truck for four hours. 
That's $73,000 annually. 
Really? 
 
Sorry, but I'm skeptical.

This would also make it potentially illegal for street musicians,
as they don't have permits, and none are issued.
The Tarot readers would be doomed. 
There's very clear language about "setting up a table without a
class A or B permit" which I don't believe the Tarot readers have.

So much for our 'Cultural Ambassador'.
Perhaps 'White Bread & NFL Ambassador"....

I find something rather beautifully romantic in having a reading
done or a fortune told, by the moonlight, in Jackson Square.
But no, no, no, please just keep it moving back to Bourbon Street,
where the sticky noisy shit pile vacuums all the money out of your
pockets... because that's where the Local Culture is. 
The Mayberry Sex Crimes Unit and Public Beating Spectacle.

 
Then there is the issue of leaving the decision of 'what IS loitering'
up to the NOPD, cited by the D.O.J. as one of the biggest abusers
of selective enforcement & civil rights violations of any police
force in the country. 
This is backed up by a penalty of up to a $500 fine and/or 6
months in the OPP death house?
Sorry. 
That's brutal. 
It just is. 
 
Some angry cop who doesn't like the look of so & so,
or they aren't moving quite fast enough, and BAM! 
They disappear into Orleans Parish Prison,
where people are denied medication,
contact with the outside world,
and the inmates have the greatest
instance of inmate rape in America.
For loitering. 
 
Try selling that to tourists. 
Not that you would, but well,
that's what they'd be looking at, right?  
Not an attractive aspect for that Super Bowl Vacation. 
 
But what about teabagging drunks on Bourbon street? 
That seems to be unregulated, so.... 
 
So, you see my point, I hope. 
It's really kind of overkill and makes everybody look bad,
while proving only that we can't control our own streets,
and spend way too much money cleaning them. 
 
Then's there's the long, protracted civil rights issues,
in which this law will eventually be overturned,
making us look even more like the Scopes Trial Rejects 
than Bobby Jindal's Christian School Voucher program,
also crumbling with illegality. 
 
Anyway, these are just my perspectives. 
You asked for input so... that'll teach ya. 

Binary Instincts

I like The Blues.
Blues and Rock & Roll.
I write a lot of songs based on two chords.
I like that, too.
It's simple & pure.
Sometimes, you only need two chords.

There are only two types of humans, too.
The Male & Female versions.
And they been rubbin' up against each other in all kinds of combinations since forever,  and there's more to come. And that's how it's done. 
Instinct. 
Magic.

Even if there's only two chords, there can be magic.
Sometimes, you can't help it.
It just happens.

Sometimes, though, somebody has to come along and start measuring shit and taking notes and writing crap down in little books, and then, before you know it, you got all kinds of people talking all kinds of shit about things they ain't never done, like they really know something.
 
Don't worry.
It's a binary world.
Some people get it.
Some people talk a lot of shit.
Use your instinct.
And don't worry if you rub somebody the wrong way.
It'll give them something to talk about.

Lingo Rhythm

I was writing about words a while ago
(i know, how stupid),
and I came to the conclusion that street slang,
lingo from wherever,
conveys so much more than words,
which diminish every thought to a conveyance;
where as lingo carries with it the culture from which it came,
emotion,
a derivative soul,
a jangle of it's own that can awaken the heart.

Speak only in rhythms, then, and dance the truth of your life.

Parade

Over the course of my life
Emissaries of many tribes
Have passed through my parlor
And each would differently define
Diplomacy, humility, courage and grace

Yet each of them, in their own way
Was the embodiment of these virtues
That is to say, that none were alike
 But at their core, very much the same

Above all things that I have learned
From this nefarious and beautiful parade
Is that the first thing one must find is
A pair of eyes that can see past the differences

And looking through that heavy veil
One comes face to face with the truth
That in each of us beats a heart
Waiting to accept and offer love
And that united as one
We could change everything.

LD - 10/13/12

SIMPLE TRUTHS

 
Every living thing deserves the right to live & love in peace, however it chooses to do so.

Everyone is deserving of love if only they can learn to give it.

There is no jealous god condemning those who are different than you; this only your own fear, preventing the divine in you from awakening.
 
There is no lie that can stand the scrutiny of collective awareness; deep inside we all know The Truth.
 

War can end right now, if we would all refuse to fight one another.
 

You are beautiful, whether you realize it or not, just the way you are.
 

I love you all, no matter how much you piss me off.
Try harder, and I will, too.

best;
LD
XOXOXO

The Culture Wars; a Chronicle of the Battles Between City Hall & The Cultures That Make New Orleans

So much has already been said on this subject, it's difficult to keep up. There are many points of view here, and many interests, pushing their own agendas.

 My intent is to look into the various aspects of this, one by one, avoiding the inevitable cross talk that clouds issues, already complex by their very nature.

 With that in mind, I'll be posting a series of these blogs, in an attempt to filter through the information, the cultural impact, the intentions involved, and the true nature of a society based on cultural & run by text book ordinance.

 During this series, let it always be with an eye to fairness, accurate representation of the actual population, and a profound respect for the history & the culture, themselves, which far out date our 'modern government', and are, in fact, the very life blood & back bone that the City of New Orleans depends upon to exist as anything other than another airport surrounded by malls, hotels & gift shops.

 At this time, let me begin by bringing us to the current events of the day;

SOUND ORDINANCES IN THE FRENCH QUARTER;

There has been a resurgence, by many, myself included, of those questioning City Council Member Kristin Palmer, regarding Rich Webster's story (9/8/2011), posted in City Business. Rich Webster wrote that Palmer was pushing a draft of a sound ordinance that would limit sound levels in the French Quarter to 70 Decibels, a ridiculously low level. The original story is here.
 Nicole Webre, legal council from CM Palmer's office, writes me that the individuals quoted in this article were incorrect, but Rich Webster tell me that there was such a draft, and it was abandoned, due to public outrage.

 Ms. Webre tells me that the draft in question is no longer available for viewing, but is supplying me with the current ordinances, unchanged, I am told, for years.
 In the first of these blogs, I will be posting those ordinances, attempting to define them clearly, explore legitimate enforcement tactics, and look at zoning maps that allow changes in these laws.

PERMIT & ZONING ENFORCEMENT ON LIVE MUSIC & LIVE MUSIC VENUES;

Last Wednesday (9/26/12), Kermit Ruffins held the first of what promises to be weekly meetings, as the Music Community "pushes back" against City Hall. Read the story here.
 The net result of these meetings, at this writing, is a short term solution, as Siberia & Mimi's in the Marigny, have been allowed to feature live music on a 'temporary basis', as New Rules of compliance are worked out. These new rules, according to Scott Hutcheson, Mayor Landrieu's Cultural Ambassador, include a 60 day grace period for unlicensed venues to get themselves straitened out. At this time, this is only a suggestion, and a temporary suspension. No legislation or actual promise from the City currently exists.

For the record, I spoke to Scott Hutcheson about 18 months ago, attempting get a permit to work as an artist, by commission. I was offered a vendors permit for $50, even though they are free to those, like myself, living in a 'Cultural Zone'. 
I declined, and asked for a permit to write & create as a freelance artist. I was told I would need a Home Office Permit, a Zoning Hearing ($400), and would not be able to store any artwork or "other materials" in my home. I would only be able to work in a specific 15% area of my house, and I could never, ever display any of my work when other people were there.
I contacted Scott again, demanding to know what 15% part of his house he ran to when HE had an idea or began to doodle. He assured me, as he assures us all now, that this was "being handled" and he would straighten it out, as he is "Straightening Out" the venue permit problem.

I have never heard from him since.

CULTURAL LICENSING: SECOND LINE & ART VENDORS;

Recent news has surfaced as the City Council has begun to require permits of Second Line vendors, mysteriously listed at $50, but "lowered by request" to $25. The story is here. Having spent several weeks in the Permit Section of City Hall one afternoon, and having been lost in the labyrinth of fiefdoms that demand notarized payment & absolute loyalty, I have my doubts about any requests for lowered rates. We'll see.
More importantly, these new Second Line Vendor Permits specifically prohibit the sales of any alcohol, criminalizing the tradition of filling a cooler up with beer & selling them off to your friends & neighbors, like people have done here for generations.

THERE ARE MANY SIDES TO EVERY STORY;


 There residential groups, well monied, who are dead set on making the French Quarter a quiet residential neighborhood, just like the one they left to move to the exciting & culturally rich French Quarter.
There are street musicians who risk their lives by living where they do, and choosing a trumpet or trombone over a 9mm and a bag of rock. Yet the City of New Orleans has chosen to criminalize them for doing so.

 This is but the tip on an iceberg, years in the making, as Post K New Orleans becomes, once again, a Mecca for Free Spirited People & an Investment Paradise, all at once.

The HBO Series, 'Treme', is a national favorite, and has captured the attention of visitors & locals alike, by telling a story many thought would never be told, and, at the same time, exploiting the misery & death of tens of thousands of people, neighbors & friends alike, who lost their homes, treasures, livelihoods and some, their very lives, all in the name, it seems, of glorifying The New Tax Base.

Mayor Landrieu calls himself our 'Cultural Ambassador' while standing toe to toe with our defacto Musical Ambassador, Kermit Ruffins.

 The Mayor would "rebuild our infrastructure" by creating 'Hospitality Zones' that  would single out those areas made interesting by the artists & musicians who live there, and add additional taxes to the food & drink & lodging there. While this sounds like charging us for working to make our neighborhoods a more viable art community, it's actually much worse, in that these taxes would be paid to an ungoverned board of 'Hospitality Experts', mostly private hotel & business owners, who could then spend up to 85% of that tax revenue on advertising their own businesses, rather than the infrastructure of the neighborhoods bearing this load.

Even more frighteningly, they would gain the power of Eminent Domain, and have the ability to take your home or property at "fair market value", whatever that means, should they deem that necessary.
This legislation, while tabled for now, will be back, I assure you.
It's Free Money from the group least likely to be able to fight it;
The Musicans & Artists of New Orleans.

 Stepping back a bit, to view this on a longer time line (why is it so hard to get people to remember how they got screwed just 18 months ago?) we see the Eris Parade debacle, in which a dozen or so young people were viciously beaten, tasered and maced by a brute squad from the 5th District, much of it captured on video.
 In these cases, as they came to trial, all video was denied by judges, all reports from the 5thDistrict, including hospital reports from cops who claimed to be injured in "assaults" by puny unarmed musicians, were "lost". 

 The investigation went as far as to say that the officers were acting on the orders of their captain, Bernadine Kelly, and since she wasn't there, nothing bad could have happened. Captain Kelly was immediately moved laterally into a records department, never to be seen again.

A costume show, unmolested during almost two decades, was raided by the Department of Revenue, and told to move inside. Only minutes later, the NOPD arrived to shut down the whole shebang. Both the Club Owner & Event Organizers were summoned to court. I believe the Bartender was ticketed as well, just for being there.

The list goes on & on, recounting stories of unbridled law enforcement, under the leadership of Chief Ronal Serpas. The St Claude Art District was allowed to continue to operate, but many, myself included, received letters insisting we have wheelchair access (I'm on the second floor in a 150 year old building), ADA signage, men's & women's bathrooms, etc. It was made clear that ANY SERVING OF ALCOHOL AT ALL, even giving away tiny cups of wine, would require a Special Event Permit, starting at about $1000 in fees.

During all of this micromanagement of the arts, the MURDER RATE has continued to rise. The 5% reduction Serpas promised in the first year is a distant fantasy. If he could keep the increase down to 5% annually, it would be a notable achievement, considering his career here to date.

If we went through 2012 without the murder of a civilian by NOPD members, it would be a banner year. Unfortunately, that was made impossible, when, earlier this year, Wendall Allen was gunned down, unarmed & in his pajamas, because his brothers had purchased a frat boy amount of weed, and the dealer who sold it to them duped the NOPD into believing the pound he had on him had been purchased there.
Without questioning the dealer for more than an hour they went in, and Wendall Allen was killed for waking up from his nap at the wrong time.

In short, I intend to look into each of these areas, and ask why on earth such detailed persecution is being directed at the very culture that makes New Orleans New Orleans, as we are subjected to an abject failure of Law Enforcement to abate the machine gun battles in Mid-City, the shooting of children at playgrounds & parties, the crack dealers & crooked cops, all while handing out tickets to bicyclists for the licenses they don't have, even though the city neither issues or tracks them any more, and why young men who choose music over drugs & violence are being driven off the streets that made Louis Armstrong The Father of Our City.

Please share this with your friends & neighbors, and feel free to comment.
Conversation breeds communication.

Please note; these comments are moderated, and all vitriol, hate, name calling & other useless garbage will be summarily filtered out.

Truth For the Politically Impaired

If you vote for Mitt Romney & Paul Ryan, you're a fucking idiot and a disgrace to humanity. You should be broken like an animal and driven from the land in shame. 
You won't, of course.
Unless they win.