One of today’s top stories is Eddie Compass supposedly taking the police department in a different direction. He wants more emphasis on building trust within the community and less emphasis on hassling the little guy. They admit that checkpoints, traffic stops, and shaking down random people on the street have not been effective at combating crime, and have actually served to create mistrust and tension between the police and the community. The “new” police force will create a bond between the community and the police and foster an environment in which people won’t be afraid to step forward and help solve crimes. Along with this comes a greater focus on combating serious and violent crimes, meaning less enforcement of petty “quality of life” laws. At least that’s how I understand it.

Let’s hope the NOPD can genuinely follow through with this change instead of just offering lip service. I’ll certainly rest easier in knowing that the cops are not out to bust me for committing certain moving violations, and that one day we may actually see prostitutes, in broad daylight, walking Tulane Ave. Maybe a return to the glory days of carefree sleaze and mirth is ahead? Probably not, but it sure would be nice.

Aw, so Da Paper is righteously opposed to slot machines at Louis Armstrong Int’l (my emphs):

Money from slots at the airport may seem like an easy source of new money to lawmakers, but it is a bad idea. This is not Las Vegas. There is much more to New Orleans and the rest of South Louisiana than the gambling operations that have sprung up over the past 15 years.

This is a place steeped in history, and its distinctive culture, food and architecture are what entice people to visit — and to return again and again. Why in the world would anyone want a visitor’s first impression of this community to be as a gambling haven?

Are you freakin’ kidding me?! They think gambling isn’t inextricably linked to New Orleans’ cultural history? What an interesting belief that is!

Perhaps Da Paper should review the history of New Orleans from the 50′s to the 70′s, wherein mob boss Carlos Marcello built a $2 billion/year underworld empire with illegal businesses and virtual monopolies on slot machines, illegal casinos and racing wire services. Maybe, just maybe, that had something to do with the city’s reputation for gambling, rather than merely Edwin Edward’s codification of it.

And this line about positive “first impressions” is really rich, too. By my calculations, visitors to the Crescent City waste hundreds of thousands of hours each year waiting for their baggage in a claim area that has all the charm of an East German detention center. Would a bank of slots really ruin the aesthetic there? Hell, I’d pay an extra quarter per slot spin just to have something to do in that soulless dungeon during the invariable 15 minute wait.

Also, would it be so horrible to give travelers a place to deposit their loose coins before they go and set off the security checkpoint metal detectors?

Other than removing the huge jazz mural or the buffet at the Praline Connection, what could you do to possibly worsen the first impression MSY makes upon visitors to the city? If the T-P thinks some rows of slots would degrade the airport as a culturally representative gateway, they are profoundly wrong– both historically, and aesthetically.

Okay, this is a poorly written story about far too many things–school prayer, school boards, media circuses–but the whole bit about Tangipahoa as the epicenter of the biblical apocalypse is absolutely freaking priceless:

The Tangipahoa Parish School System is the first system in the state to test a biometric fingerprint system that scans children’s index fingers to credit their lunch accounts as they move through the cafeteria line, school system spokeswoman Cindy Benitez said.

School officials never asked for parents’ permission to scan the fingerprints of their children, Suzie McGovern of Loranger told the board….

Before the meeting, McGovern and parent Janice Fairburn of Loranger acknowledged religious concerns about the scanners. The Book of Revelation talks of a “mark of the beast,” which is a sign those people are damned. Some Christians believe that the fingerprint scanners are close to assigning their children a mark.

– again, The Advocate

I couldn’t make up this shit up if I tried, people.

I say we all try go down and eat at Stella!, Louisiana Bistro or Bella Luna in the coming week, just to show support for their owners taking a stand against oversize vehicles in the FQ.

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-3/111821195380440.xml

I know how it feels to Finally Get Enough.

I’m not sure whether the Louisiana legislature deserves a reaming, a reacharound, or some combination thereof. In a matter of days, they’ve demonstrated startlingly progressive ideals on the one hand, countered by disastrously misguided social policy on the other:

PANEL BACKS BAN ON BIAS IN STATE JOBS

Homosexual and bisexual state workers would win new employment protection under a bill approved by a House panel Tuesday despite charges that the measure is part of a political agenda promoted by homosexuals.

– from The Advocate

REJECT BAN ON CONDOMS

It is difficult to understand how the Louisiana House of Representatives would eliminate, without discussion or debate, the state’s cheapest activity to prevent a terminal and tragic but preventable disease [ed. note: not to mention unwanted pregnancies].

But that’s what happened when lawmakers adopted an amendment to the state budget offered by Rep. Gary Beard, R-Baton Rouge. It forbids the Office of Public Health from using federal dollars to buy and distribute condoms.

– also from The Advocate

So, did someone drop schizo germs in the Capitol Hill water supply? Did my super-secret mind-control ray finally start to work (at least on half of the House)? Or did all the real legislators high-tail it to Vegas for the week, leaving a horde of malfunctioning robot clones in their stead?

Then again, maybe this is just the legislature’s way of saying, “Discriminating against homos in the workplace isn’t cost-effective. We’ll get the job done much faster if we simply help them kill themselves.”

And BTW, no, I don’t make a habit of reading The Advocate. I do, however, subscribe to the daily newsletter from the Coalition for Louisiana Progress. Perhaps you should, too.

Glad to see our legislators, in a sudden and rare fit of good sense, have declined to follow the lead of Florida and some other states that have banned all smoking in restaurants and many other public places.
I smoke only the occasional pipe, and do that only at home or in my office. I know all about the effects of second-hand smoke, so don’t start. I frankly don’t care and, statistically, I see no evidence that all the second-hand smoke we inhaled when we were children has affected the life expectancy of the baby boom generation.
I am proud of the fact that Louisiana, despite its numerous social and economic problems, is resisting the ongoing effort to legislate its citizens into health.
I lived in Florida for over 15 years. Its law that bans smoking in restaurants etc had virtually no effect on restaurant patronage, so I don’t buy that argument. What I DO buy into is the idea that New Orleans and Louisiana are unique in culture and should do everything possible to preserve that. If that means Joe and Jane Betternyou are going to get offended when the locals light up over their coffee or whatever, then Florida is a scant two hours east.

So, there was this act passed by Congress–the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act–that allows folks to get free copies of their credit reports once a year. Of course, since credit reports are created by three separate companies–Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion–that would normally mean making three separate visits to three separate websites, or, if you wanna get old skool, three separate phone calls to three separate service representatives in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. Lucky for us, someone decided there ought to be one single website to guide people through the process: AnnualCreditReport.com.

So what in the Sam Hill does this have to do with New Orleans? Well, the act is being implemented in stages so that the friendly offshore labor pool doesn’t get overwhelmed. I am happy to report that the act took effect in Louisiana as of June 1, so ladies and gentlemen, go to it! Make like Harry Lee and gruffly dispute the credit card that cousin Bubbalene opened up in your name! Do as the Ladies of 70118 do and effect a honeyed Southern accent to ask if that sweet lil’ ol’ man will take off those six or seven weensy little late payments on your Macy’s account! Act like belligerent Bourbon Street boozer and insist that you’ll pay those good for nothin’ scoundrels when the National Weather Service has certified that hell has frozen over! The possibilities are practically endless….

Lots of rain today. I had to slosh out to Metairie (God, I can’t stand Jefferson Parish) to do a little bidness. Thankfully the traffic wasn’t all knotted up on I-10 (a rarity for 4pm).
On the way out, I passed an all-too-familiar scene on Washington — four cop cars, an SUV up on the curb and the requisite black male aged 21-35 in handcuffs.
I’m really at a loss to figure this out. It seems obvious to me that if someone 1) stays pretty much away from the drug culture and 2) regulates their waking hours to pretty much the same of those of most working people that they run a pretty good chance of living a relatively crime-free life. Am I blind? Stupid? Uninformed? Enlightment me if I am. Please.

Stopped for a beer at The Bulldog on Magazine last night. I was less adventurous than usual and went with an Abita Select (good stuff that).
We’re at the time of year when the air is very chunky and temperatures have gone into the more summery range. It’s kinda like everyone gears down, walking more slowly and trying to stay in shade as much as possible. This morning’s thunderstorm is gonna mean some major humidity by this afternoon.
The T-P has a front-page piece this morning about Congress possibly moving to STRENGTHEN the Patriot Act. WTFF? Back when Clinton was in the White House, all the right-wingers kept saying they were afraid of their own government. Now that they’re in power, they’re moving to make it WORSE. The battle is no longer over how much government is in our lives but over which parts of life the government is going to control.

Dicks.

Notice to dog owners in my neighborhood..

If, while walking your dog, it takes a bigass, greasy dump — PLEASE PICK IT UP.

I am tired of having to step over or around (thankfully, not yet IN) some pile of dog dookie in front of my house on the way to my truck.

This is simply part of being a responsible pet owner and a good neighbor.

Thank you.

You jerk.