🦠COVID FOR TAXPAYING FOLK🦠

My doctor ordered me to get a Covid test Friday. One of those “abundance of caution” things. 

I didn’t have to get out of my car.  A suitably garbed nurse, who introduced herself as Angie, met me in the parking lot. She warned me that it would be “extremely uncomfortable” and not to jerk away. Turned out, it wasn’t all that uncomfortable. Angie knew her onions.

It would be nice to have the results by now, but I am told that because of a glut in testing, it may take five days.

Humph.  I could be dead in five days. So much for the abundance of caution. 

I am pretty sure I won’t be. I am pretty sure it’s a bad cold, which I am sharing with  the man of the house, who has been feeling under the weather all week. He has high blood pressure controlled by meds, and I have a little problem with my ticker, although it has  responded well to treatment. Still, they are both underlying conditions, as they say. And we are both  78, and that in itself is an underlying condition.

We have been careful—rarely going out, wearing double masks when we do, scowling and keeping our distance from the kind of Walmart shoppers who dangle their  masks under their  noses.

So I find myself irritated that Donald Trump was airlifted to a hospital suite just a day after getting a test that produced immediate results. After mocking people like me for being careful, he is  getting state-of-the-art treatment, while I am still hobbling by on Mucinex.

There’s a scene that keeps replaying in my head: that clump of Trump adult children strutting into the debate Tuesday, masked noses in the air;  plopping  their privileged backsides  into the  seats reserved for them  in front,  and then removing their masks, despite having agreed to rules requiring that they wear them. 

The Trumps regard themselves above ordinary rules, reminding  the scholarly on Twitter of of an F.Scott Fitzgerald quote, “They were careless people, they smashed up things & creatures & then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together,& let other people clean up the mess they had made.“ 

But I prefer the  old schoolyard insult: “They think their farts smell like roses.”

Speaking  of roses, at least eight people  contracted it  the previous Friday’s White House Rose Garden nomination gathering, where—surprise!—almost no one wore masks. 

And eleven  people at the debate have tested positive.

I hope the Walmart shoppers are taking note. 

NDWC UNANIMOUSLY ENDORSES JOHN BEL EDWARDS AND GWEN COLLINS-GREENUP

The Northshore Democratic Women’s Club unanimously voted to endorse John Bel Edwards for governor and Gwen Collins-Greenup for secretary of state at its meeting Sunday.

The St.Tammany-based group decided to support the governor because of his stand on expanding Medicaid, his raise for teachers, and the fact that he expanded pre-natal care, supports equal pay for women who perform the same work as men, and has fought against human trafficking and enacted anti-sexual harassment policies across state government, according to president Dianne Broussard.

Gwen Collins-Greenup appeared at a wine-and-cheese event that NDWC gave for women candidates last month. As secretary of state, she told the group, she will make ballot security a priority. She also wants to increase voter participation and voting rights. NDWC members, who do a lot of volunteering for get-out-the-vote activities, often bemoan the lack of voter participation in elections in St. Tammany. They hope Collins-Greenup will inspire citizens to do better, said Broussard.

Press release

ISLA director will explain immigrants’ problems

Homero Lopez, Director and Managing Attorney of Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy in New Orleans, will discuss national immigration issues and the Louisiana situation, Tuesday, Sept 24 at Abita Springs Town Hall, 22049 Level Street, Abita Springs.

The talk is set from 6:30 until 8:30 p.m. He will conclude by answering questions and providing action items for those who want to help. 

Currently there are only five pro bono detention attorneys in Louisiana and ISLA employs two of them. But there are approximately 8,000 detained immigrants in Louisiana throughout 10 privately run detention facilities and three parish prisons, says López.

The majority are asylum seekers who have passed a credible fear interview but whom ICE refuses to release, he says.

The event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by St Tammany Indivisible Chapter and Progressive Northshore Democrats. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.

The event will include a “Bake America Great Again” baked goods sale to raise money for ISLA.

Contact Joan Simon, joan154.simon@gmail.com

How to Let the Good Times Roll Out of New Orleans

“Let’s go to New Orleans and party down at Cracker Barrel,” said no one ever. But the unique and lively venues that actually do bring visitors to New Orleans are being threatened by a proposed city ordinance.
 
Ordinance 32-107 would force any bar or music venue, as well as any grocery or pharmacy that sells alcohol, to install video surveillance cameras to scrutinize customers and passers-by. Many already have such cameras. But under the new law, the cameras would be constantly monitored and recorded by the NOPD, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.
 
No such rule exists anywhere else in the country. What goes on in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas; but what goes on in New Orleans would go to Big Brother, if this rule is passed.
 
And, almost as insidious, the ordinance would threaten a venue’s license if five residents or owners of property within a half-mile, file complaints about anything — anything at all.
 
Which opens to door to abuse. Want that nice little bar on Burgundy? Get five people to complain, get it shut down, buy the building at a bargain price, and open up a Denny’s. Or maybe a ‪Waffle House‬.
 
Given my personal connection with two prestigious French Quarter bars, I am, of course, appalled at this ordinance. The ACLU is also appalled and promises lawsuits if the ordinance is passed.

The ordinance was set to be discussed at tomorrow’s council meeting, but after an outpouring of public opposition, the council rescheduled the discussion for ‘so,Stokey in February.” Maybe when we’re all distracted by Mardi Gras? Surely our elected official wouldn’t do that….
 

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After spoof, group donates to homeless in Scalise’s name

Proceeds from a recent spoof of Congressman Steve Scalise’s fundraising methods will be donated, in his name, to an interfaith mission for homeless families, announced Zac Stine, leader of the St.Tammany Indivisible Chapter.
“We are doing this in light of recent events. Nothing justifies that,” he said, referring to the recent shooting in which Scalise was injured. “There is a right way and a wrong way to protest. We held a funny, wholesome event and got lots of publicity. It was the right way to make a statement.” 
The group held a faux fundraiser Sunday with the stated intention of raising $5000, the minimum level of contribution suggested by the Scalise Leadership Fund, which would guarantee a meeting with the congressman. But the event was tongue-in-cheek. “We knew we wouldn’t raise anything close to that, ” Stine said.
To make sure, members set out quart-sized contribution jars for contributions to the homeless, and recycled baby food jars for contributions to Scalise. 
Family Promise of St. Tammany, will get the $775 the group did raise. 

“We will also find a way to donate to victims of gun violence,” he said. “when things like this happen. We need to stand by democracy even more resolutely.”

Following spoof, group donates to homeless in Scalise’s name

Proceeds from a recent spoof of Congressman Steve Scalise’s fundraising methods will be donated, in his name, to an interfaith mission for homeless families, announced Zac Stine, leader of the St.Tammany Indivisible Chapter.
“Nothing justifies this,” he said, referring to the recent shooting in which Scalise was injured. “There is a right way and a wrong way to protest. We held a wholesome, satiric event and got lots of publicity. It was the right way to make a statement.” 
The group held a faux fundraiser Sunday with the stated intention of raising $5000, the minimum level of contribution suggested by the Scalise Leadership Fund, which would guarantee a meeting with the congressman. But the event was tongue-in-cheek. “We knew we wouldn’t raise anything close to that, ” Stine said.
To make sure, members set out quart-sized contribution jars for contributions to the homeless, and recycled baby food jars for contributions to Scalise. 
Family Promise of St. Tammany, will get the $775 the group did raise. 

$5000 to meet with Congressman Scalise. Or give money to the homeless? Which would you do?

Members of the St.Tammany Indivisible Chapter, which for months has been urging Congressman Steve Scalise to have an in-person town hall meeting, were intrigued when one of their members came across a newspaper story about a surefire way to get his attention — donations of between $5,000 and $100,000 to the Scalise Leadership Fund..
They didn’t have that kind of money, but decided to stage a satirical fundraiser to bring attention to the influence of money in politics, using their own congressman as a particularly blatant example. 
Even in Republican St. Tammany, the event had a good turnout, probably helped by abundant food, drink and donation jars — quart-sized ones for the homeless and baby food jars for Scalise 
“We have college loans and rent and insurance, so we don’t have money to pay for honest representation in our government,” said Zac Stein, the group’s leader. “But we”re not going away. We will keep working to make our representatives listen.” Meanwhile, Family Promise of St.Tammany, which ministers to homeless families, was happy to accept the $775 they did raise.
More about the Scalise Leadership Fund: 

https://tinyurl.com/l2kg5vx
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/01/coffee_with_steve_scalise.html
Pictures below: Pictures with the congressman; party napkins featured the congressman’s phone number; giant replica of Scalise’s ear with a central receptacle for cash, messages that can be pinned on; building a border wall with Legos; frozen cavfefe with Kahluha. It all made for a good time.

Congressman Steve Scalise’s Town Hall Meeting happens without him — 2017

The speaker’s table in the Abita Springs Town Hall was draped in red-white-and-blue bunting. The p.a. system had been tested to a fault. Chairs were lined up in ten straight rows, and most were occupied by nicely-dressed adults, constituents of Congressman Steve Scalise.
Scalise, however, was missing. Although it was the April Congressional recess, his office staff explained to the St. Tammany Indivisible Chapter, which sponsored the meeting, that he was too busy to meet with his constituents. He would have an in-person Town Hall meeting in August at another location. 
No member of his staff would come to Abita Springs in his stead. Charles Henry, head of Scalise’s Metairie office, said they did not want to speak for the congressman, and besides, they were worried about security at the event.
This last comment amused the gathered crowd, since Abita Springs rivals the fictional Mayberry as far as crime is concerned. People don’t always bother to lock their doors. It’s that kind of place. 
They decided to ask questions anyway, addressing a large cardboard picture of the congressman propped up behind the table. There were 27 questions, and they were posed respectfully. They were about health care, the environment, the proposed wall along the Mexican border, the president’s tax returns, the budget, immigrants, the emolument clause, and military escalation. Many returned to one theme. Did Mr Scalise remember that he was from Louisiana? Would he reconsider supporting policies that would drown the state and cut off its people’s health care? 
The cardboard sign had no answer. But the organizers videotaped the session and promised to deliver a copy of it to Scalise, along with a list of the questions they asked.

More Pictures

Woman about town Jac Brubaker has added more photos to her album.