Up at five, par usual and scanning the headlines, reading the articles and I don’t know where to begin, what to write about. Brain’s feeling foggy and there’s a whole lotta misery out there: We got birds falling out of the sky, massive fish kills on the rivers and coasts and the bees, the pollinators of a third of our food supply are dying off, 96% … Continue reading Feeling a bit overwhelmed today…
Stories abound across the Gulf Coast of people with legitimate claims who have been denied by Feinberg and the GCCF, but what of those who have been approved, who have received checks? Many have been given paltry sums, pennies on the dollar that didn’t come close to making up for their damages or lost earnings as a result of the BP oil spill, and for … Continue reading The Taxman Cometh…
So how was your New Year’s Eve? For Ken Feinberg it was a splendid night at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House where he rubbed shoulders with wealth and celebrity, including Natalie Portman, J Christopher Flowers, Donald Tober and Eric Bogosian. The opera, Verdi’s “La Traviata” was reportedly a tremendous success and enjoyed by all. Meanwhile… Dan Ford, owner of Gulf Coast Tire and Automotive received … Continue reading A Night at the Opera…
From the Times Picayune… In this impromptu gang of friends, “Band Camp” was the oldest, at 26. He was taking his turn with a cardboard sign, appealing to the charitable instincts of drivers on Elysian Fields Avenue as they slowed for the red light at North Claiborne. A month from now, he would likely be doing the same thing in a different city with different … Continue reading In Memoriam…eight kids
The Associated Press reports British Petroleum will survive the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico: Cleanup, government fines, lawsuits, legal fees and damage claims will likely exceed the $40 billion that BP has publicly estimated, according to an Associated Press analysis. But they’ll be far below the highest estimates made over the summer by legal experts and prominent Wall Street banks, such as Goldman … Continue reading BP’s gonna be okay…coastal residents? Umm, not so much, not yet
Worth a look…$250,000,000 on a new prison, yet Charity Hospital remains closed…what’s the intended message? From Critical Resistance in New Orleans: New Orleans Sheriff Marlon Gusman and other city officials are trying to push forward the expansion of the notorious Orleans Parish Prison(OPP) which would add 5,800 new beds, extend the prison 9-10 city blocks, and cost $250 million. Orleans Parish Prison (OPP) is already … Continue reading From Critical Resistance on Sheriff Gusman and the new OPP…
Who do you trust? Who do you believe? Who’s looking out for you and who is not? Such are the questions in the Gulf Coast, about the claims process and the safety of Gulf seafood. In the federal version, the seafood is fine, the FDA is doing their testing and everything is coming up aces while Feinberg is doing his best as a neutral arbitrator … Continue reading Who do you trust?
So, Bobby Jindal maintains that in the next legislative session, he will not permit taxes to be raised to close the monstrous Louisiana budget gap, but like all things having to do with terminology, language and narrative, this is untrue. Sure, he won’t force everyone to pay a higher state income tax, but what about… Are bus fares going up around the state? Are school tuition … Continue reading A Quick Note on Taxes and Narrative…
Hello again. Yes, I still kill people for a living. But this doesn’t mean I can’t be imbued with the holiday spirit, I am…in my own way. Just yesterday I was standing at the corner of Mandeville and St. Claude Ave when I noticed an SUV going much faster than it should have, so I took out the driver side rear tire with one well … Continue reading Merry Christmas from the New Orleans Assassin…
Two interesting articles about the operations from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility in the Times Picayune yesterday, discussing some of the problems many of the fishermen have been having in their attempts to receive compensations from the fund, and some of Feinberg’s responses to these problems. Some highlights: On the plight of Elmer Rogers, a shrimper who has been waiting for compensation since August: “If … Continue reading GCCF Follies from the Times-Picayune…
Drake Toulouse: Photography and Words 