The Fruits of Fascism - New Orleans Reduced to White Playland

[autorank]

The definition of fascism includes the wedding of government and corporate interests to serve the needs of the wealth who control the corporations. Here’s the undeniable proof. New Orleans was a conglomerate of rich and poor, black and white, with red and blue politics. Then Katrina struck. The federal government’s inefficiencies are now seen in a new light. The net result of the catastrophe is displayed in the following article. The poor have been removed permanently. The policies of rebuilding (sic) resulted in an environment where there’s no room for the poor to return. Low cost housing is being destroyed and high income replacements are assuring that New Orleans will end up a theme part for upper income whites. It’s so bad that the UN has objected.

All the while, the political process goes merrily along with no one pointing out this very public set of events that gives the reward for Bush-Cheney neglect to their wealthy contributor class and the corporations that they control. Mission accomplished!

Link: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00126.htm

Half of New Orleans's Poor Permanently Displaced

By Bill Quigley

Government reports confirm that half of the working poor, elderly and disabled who lived in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina have not returned. Because of critical shortages in low-cost housing, few now expect tens of thousands of poor and working people to ever be able to return home.

• Medicaid medical assistance recipients -.134,000 to 72,000
• The Social Security Administration - 38,000 to 19,000 recipients.
• Public school enrollment – 66,000 to 32,000
• Families on food stamps in New Orleans – 47,000 to 23,000
• Public transit usage numbers are down 75 percent since Katrina.

The black population of New Orleans has plummeted by 57 percent, while white population fell 36 percent, according to census data. Areas that are fully recovering are more affluent and predominately white. New Orleans, which was 67 percent black before Katrina, is estimated to be no higher than 58 percent black now.

Snip


Stop Evicting Katrina Survivors

In the most blatant sign of government action to reduce the numbers of poor people in New Orleans, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is demolishing thousands of intact public housing apartments. HUD is spending nearly $1 billion with questionable developers to end up with much less affordable housing. Right after Katrina, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson predicted New Orleans was "not going to be as black as it was for a long time, if ever again." He then worked to make that prediction true.

United Nations officials recently called for an immediate halt to the demolition of public housing in New Orleans, saying demolition is a violation of human rights and will force predominately black residents into homelessness.

The rebuilding has gone as many planned. Right after Katrina, one wealthy businessman told The Wall Street Journal, "Those who want to see this city rebuilt want to see it done in a completely different way: demographically, geographically and politically."

The political implications of a dramatic reduction in poor and working - mostly African-American - people in New Orleans are straightforward. The reduction directly helps Republicans, who have fought for years to reduce the impact of the overwhelmingly Democratic New Orleans on statewide politics in Louisiana.

*************

Bill Quigley is a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola University College of Law in New Orleans. He can be reached at [e-mail] Interested persons can contact Hope House through Don Everard at [e-mail].

Link: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00126.htm

P.S.

But here’s the sequel. They can build their fascist fantasy land on the bayou but there will be a price. Here’s what happens to New Orleans when we hit just a 1 meter rise in sea level, now more likely than ever by 2100 - but happening in increments all the way. What do you do when mother nature comes down on you?

New Orleans in red

[Elspeth]

1. Poor whites have been displaced too.

The whole thing has been despicable.

[Vincardog]

3. I be the poor whites also vote Democratic. It is Class Warfare.

[lonestarnot]

52. Raging!

[autorank]

11. True.

The "white playland" is for the wealthy whites who want to locate there or move downtown.

It is despicable.

The lesson - after a catastrophe, when the feds say "get on the bus," the answer is "Hell no!"

[crikkett]

54. people had guns pointed at them

and had already been softened up by being left stranded for several days in horrifying conditions.

[Dammit Ann]

64. yep.

lived there prior to the storm. you are dead on.

[NOLALady]

48. They are not

systematically tearing down homes of poor whites.
They are destroying buildings that were not seriously damaged (most were not damaged at all).
Those buildings were inhabited by Black people who are now permanently displaced.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. the fascists bought themselves a bogus deal

forget the rise in seawater. the land is sinking. Oil, water and gas are being pumped out in huge amounts from underneath. There is natural slippage into the Gulf, and worst of all, the natural flooding used to replenish the sediment, and keep the rather porous surface layer hydrated and more voluminous.

between sinking, lack of sediment deposits, and the shifting into the pond scum that used to the Gulf, all it will take is one tiny teeny little storm and those non-spec pumps that W's friends sold and built will be overwhelmed. This city is doomed. Period. sad, but true.

[autorank]

12. Their IQ just went up after reading that...

IQ=Ignorance Quotient

Thanks for that info.

When this all comes down, the new residents will insist on federal loans and
reimbursement for their "generous" investment in NOLA.

[RainDog]

4. mardi gras as main street parade at disneyworld?

it is so disgusting. it's very much like iraq, in fact. same mindset.

[autorank]

24. It's the same M.O., you're right. n/t

[Warpy]

5. I'm afraid that Disneyland NOLA is going to be like every other

place the fascists have sanitized into a white folks' playground. It's going to lose all the real flavor it had, flavor that came from poor folks who learned music, dancing, cuisine, and storytelling at their grandfolks' feet and who kept the changes coming with each new generation. The engine driving the culture of that city has had the cam shaft and cylinders removed. Nothing is left but an inert block.

Oh, Mardi Gras will continue to happen, beads will be flung from the elaborate floats and tourists will bare their pink bits and puke into the gutters. However, everything that kept it all fresh and vital has been gutted. It's just going to be more commerce, programmed and predictable.

'Scuse me if I stick to rainbow areas where we're all welcome. I've seen the real Disneyland and that's been enough plastic fakery to last a lifetime. I haven't been back to Times Square since it's been sanitized and I won't be going to NOLA, either.

[Swamp Rat]

22. "I won't be going to NOLA, either." - Oh great. Thanks a lot!

We NEED tourists to come here, as most of our economy is based on it. It's how the poor, street vendors, artists, and musicians make a living here.

AND, many of us poor folks are back. It's just that we are having a much tougher time after Katrina since tourism has been greatly reduced, partly due to negative propaganda.

[Warpy]

29. I know, but the NOLA party scene isn't for me

and I can watch drunks puke into the gutter here.

I was actually interested in going there pre Katrina, though, just for the color and the architecture and (of course) the food, but I lacked the money to get out of town.

If it's ever completely rebuilt, and I doubt it will be, perhaps I'd be more interested. Right now I just can't work up any enthusiasm.

[Swamp Rat]

30. Well, the areas you will mostly likely want to visit weren't destroyed,

and there is a lot more to the city than smelly ol' Bourbon Street. :puke:

Let me know if you decide to come here. I'll give you some tips. ;)

Btw, my mother's family is from New Mexico, and I spent part of my childood on ranches there... we spent a lot of 'tourist' dollars there too, so it's only fair... :D

[intheflow]

41. I always thought the same thing about pre-Katrina New Orleans.

It would be interesting to hear the music and taste the food, but I really did have this picture in my mind of the whole city filled with puking young adults. I never got down there pre-Katrina, but I went often during the two years after Katrina. By and large the places that were most devastated were not places you would have gone in a trip down unless you knew someone living there. They were neighborhoods with neighborhood businesses, but not the popular tourist stops. If you're still interested in the color and architechture and the food, I really recommend you go down. You'll still find plenty of each without having to go near the puking. :hi:

And like Swampy said, the economy could sure use your tourist dollars.

[ClayZ]

38. Come to Seattle!

All the Canadians are really shopping and tipping, since the US dollar deflated like a stuck balloon!

:hi:

[Norrin Radd]

42. It's becoming yuppified here, too.

[ClayZ]

43. Points north! Bellingham is nice!

[txaslftist]

63. I like DisneyWorld better.

As far as it being "sanitized" or whatever, I never saw much evidence of that. Lots of folks of all rainbow persuasions there, waiting in lines for rides, eating overpriced food or whatever. The only "discriminating" feature at Disneyworld as far as I know was that you had to pay for the ticket, which wasn't cheap.

[Delphinus]

6. I'm glad to see this in print.

Friends of mine and I have discussed this a lot and have felt the same way.

[autorank]

13. It's sad to see...

...NOLA has been on e of my favorite cities for a long time. An entirely unique place... until
the Bush storm.

I wish everyone there the very best.

[uppityperson]

7. k&r and keep writing Mr. Quigley.

[mojowork_n]

16. More at this website:

http://www.justiceforneworleans.org/

Good to see Scoop give them a boost.

[DBoon]

8. Ethnic cleansing has come to the USA

We have the forced relocation of hundreds of thousands of people, because their ethnicity, class and political preferences do not suit the powers that be.

They have taken advantage of a natural catastrophe to forceably remove these hundreds of thousands of people to remake Lousiana into a Republican stronghold

[KamaAina]

9. The reports of our death have been greatly exaggerated

yes, "our", even after 17 years...

Certainly the country, indeed the world (France, I'm talking to you...) could be doing more to get all New Orleanians resettled -- but New Orleans, even in its present wounded condition, still kicks the ass of all but a few other cities firing on all cylinders.

A good place to find out what's actually going on there is through the city's incomparable blogosphere. Start here:

http://ashleymorris.typepad.com

and follow the "linkeroos". At some point you may encounter a commenter named "KamaAina" :hi:

Poignant factoid: Disneyland in CA actually does contain a "New Orleans Square". :eyes:

edit: spacing

[NOLALady]

51. It's been 20 years since I've lived in the City

but it is still "my city". I'm not very far away so I don't really feel as if I've left.

I have pictures of "New Orleans Square" that I took with the Jazz Musicians when I visited Disneyland. The food wasn't too good at the time. They should have hired New Orleans cooks.

:hi:

[Hydra]

10. Disaster strikes and Bushco profits

New Orleans was just another victim...sad that so many people buy the "incompetence" plea. This was the plan- Mission Accomplished.

[mojowork_n]

14. The money was there, and some of it was spent -- to complete the destruction.

The Bush administration actually seems to have kept a firm grip on who got to spend what, to maximize the cumulative benefit for all the new, Republican-funded developers.

The majority of local folks who were trying to rebuild their homes would have been better off buying lottery tickets, rather than relying on the federal government. (Statistical odds of getting a pay-off would have been much better.

I posted this on dKos almost a year and a half ago:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/11/14/14327/378/322/271211

5.2 billion dollars have been allocated by Congress specifically for the benefit of *low* and *moderate income* Katrina victims.

That's out of a total of 10.4 billion dollars budgeted for the whole CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) program. So -- with that massive amount of rebuilding money available, how many people have actually been able to cash checks and walk out of the bank with green, folding cash money?


As of the beginning of this month (November, 2006), of **77,000** homeowners who applied for assistance, a total of

**EIGHTEEN*** have received payments.

Of the more than 50 % of New Orleans residents who were renters, NONE has received any compensation at all. None ever will, because no renters are included in this program. In fact, many renters -- STILL displaced from their homes -- are just asking the government to please
take off the locks, bars, yellow plastic ribbon tape and other physical barriers (not to mention the non-material and legal ones) that are keeping them from returning to
their apartments. More than 5,000 rental apartment units, that are in decent shape and capable of being rebuilt, are scheduled for demolition.

Of course, you have to know that the "re-development" of those 5,000 rental units -- into dirt, sawdust, constituent raw materials and re-cyclable copper bits -- is being paid for through the CDBG program. For the benefit of the low and moderate income residents of the city. Who will be paying much higher rents in years to come, to the Republican-connected corporate entities doing the development.

[babylonsister]

15. I remember someone predicting this right after Katrina, and I

didn't (want to) believe it. :cry:

[earth mom]

17. I believed it. We are in a CLASS WAR folks. I know I've been saying that for years myself. nt

[rucognizant]

57. I KNEW!

A young black friend in NJ, and I had been discussing Emminent Domain as it applied to New Haven CT & Westville NJ ( right up the road from her & a place very familiar to me.) When Katrina hit I told her it was a big Eminant Domain scam, to clean up the area and make it a Lily White Disneyland Tourist Trap. She didn't want to believe me!
I saw it then, play out exactly as it has happened!
I wish I could figure out a way to be paid for my clairvoiance!

[Greyhound]

18. That was the plan from the very beginning, and we were all told what would happen.

I guess it's good that it is getting out here and there on the internet.

[Demeter]

19. I've Got To Think That the Conmen Are Conning Themselves Now

All it takes is another hurricane, and NOLA is only a memory, a bad dream.

What happens then to all the people who invested time and money into plasticizing, glorifying and otherwise embalming New Orleans for profit and pleasure? Do they go like vampires to feed off some other community, to rip out its people and its soul?

Do they really think that they can control the forces of Nature?

[autorank]

21. They'll be there for their federal bailout...

...and no one will accuse them of stealing when they get their food from an abandoned store after four days of neglect. It's all fitting together, the big plan, the final crack down on one of the few places where an informed middle and working class can still change things, the US of our country.

[Deny and Shred]

62. The Federal Bailout, yes. A basic plank in the Neocon agenda is raid the tax dollars

Whether S&L bailouts, Big Oil tax breaks, no bid military contracts, charter schools, or dozens of other examples, they can't keep their hands off.
You can bet that if there is big corporate development, and then a destructive storm, there will be a big cry for a bailout for the new corporate owners.
I have to recommend HBO/S.Lee's "When the Levees Broke" to anyone who hasn't seen it. I'll recommend Led Zep's 'When the Levee Breaks' also to anyone who hasn't heard it, though it doesn't nail the topic quite like Spike does.

[Echo In Light]

20. K&R

[Swamp Rat]

23. Poor blacks AND whites.

The wealthy African Americans are doing just great here and have mostly returned, if not all of them.

Nevertheless, there were far less poor white dislocated, as there were fewer of them in the first place.

Class warfare is raging across America right now, and we are but just one front of the battlefield.

[autorank]

25. Great statement/graphic

It is class warfare - well beyond race alone.

Hagee, isn't he a McCain supporter;)

[malaise]

46. Profound Swamp Rat n/t

[NOLALady]

49. Hey Swamp Rat,

I was thrilled that our parade decided to go down Orleans Street. It brought back childhood memories of when they used to stop at Dooky Chase.

The float captain said they made the decision because the Lafitte was going to be torn down. From his remark and the actions of 3 City Council members, I get the feeling TPTB have a lot of enablers right in the community.

It seems the Catholic Churches over there have stopped teaching the lesson,

But for the Grace of God...

[New Dawn]

26. I agree, that is fascism.

Imagine what the New York Times and Washington Post would be saying if this happened in ANOTHER country and not the US! They'd be calling for air-strikes.

[autorank]

33. ROFL

That's right. Damn, something we don't agree with. Soooo....air strikes!

[me b zola]

27. K&R

:(

[apocalypsehow]

28. Excellent post, K & R.

:thumbsup:

[autorank]

32. Thanks!!! But can't we hae that apocalpse later;) n/t

[Kurovski]

31. K&R. (nt)

[Orwellian_Ghost]

34. K&R

[snot]

35. Help me understand something . . .

This post is certainly consistent with what else I've seen about the situation, and I've been watching the situation for some time. But one aspect that's puzzled me is that these displaced people had to go somewhere, and in many cases there had to be discussion with the leaders of those other places in order for it to happen. E.g., I know people were shipped to Houston; I believe others were shipped to Utah and beyond; and I believe many of these destinations were under Repub. control, at least at that time. My question is, why would those leaders have agreed to accept them -- was there a quid pro quo promised, or what?

To me, figuring that out would fill in an important part of the story.

[intheflow]

39. I think it was a combination of compassion and faith.

My mother's pea-sized town in Michigan got some survivors, as did small towns across the U.S. Say what you will about the Christian right, they do run soup kitchens and homeless shelters. I think you would have to have a heart of stone like Bush and Cheney to not be moved by the images out of NOLA after the storm. I think most Americans, right and left, were moved to help in any way they could.

The disturbing part to me is that the federal government didn't keep track of who and how many people went where. Families were broken up and evacuated to different parts of the country, or people who evacuated only to return home to no house just left. No one has ever, to my knowledge, looked at anything like, say, postal records to see who lived at each address and make an effort to find them, record where they fled to. Such a data base would be invaluable for many reasons: tracking the economic impact in other regions from the influx of Katrina survivors, reuniting friends and in some cases families (yes, even after all this time), I'm sure there are other reasons.

[autorank]

44. There were lots of promises

Intheflow is right about the general response of citizens and groups who reached out with compassion.
That happened a lot. But as far as cities and states go, here's some info:

"So many promises were made back then. Every media heavyweight, just about everyone in government from the governor of Louisiana, through all 535 members of Congress, on up to the President of the United States, and millions of regular people, all vowed never to forget, never to rest until the Gulf Coast and the city of New Orleans had been made whole once again. Remember how we were never going to abandon those people? Remember how determined we were? We were going to do whatever it took. Whatever it took. And yet today you can compare photos from parts of New Orleans to parts of Haiti, and not be able to tell the difference." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-lemay/dont-forget-the-promises_b_67204.html

There was this general promise festival. None of it happened.

As far as repatriation goes, here's a little insight, proof by specific acts:

Take a look here
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0603/S00016.htm#4

The state board of elections was trying to make good on the refugees right to vote in Atlanta, Houston and the other cities that took the majority of citizens. That implies that they were, at that time, considered a part of the state and city. The plans were foiled by the Republican legislature which made it virtually impossible for those away to vote. They had to return, have ID, etc. Absurd and offensive but never covered by MSM.

There were promises of return for the refugees and support for the entities that took the refugees. However, I heard a report out of Texas that Obama was working hard to get the NOLA refugee vote. I suspect that a good many former citizens are now new citizens of their new homes.

By denying their vote in that first election, the state assured that their voices would not be heard. Subsequent policy confirms the benefits of that tactic for the greedy and indifferent.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0603/S00016.htm#7

"The Federal government provided Louisiana $24 million to fund voting machine purchases in 2004. In that same year, it withdrew $24 million from levee maintenance support in the Federal budget. The de facto and de jure disenfranchisement of New Orleans evacuees is shaping up to be one of the most disgraceful chapters in the history of American governance. The ballot box, the purported solution, is hidden, swathed in absurdist regulations and out of reach for those most in need of access. The denial of voting rights to Katrina evacuees is a denial of their right to self determination. It is a national disgrace

Who benefits?"


It could have been worse:

The New Orleans Superdome sheltered 12 to 15 thousand citizens during Katrina.
The roof of the dome is designed to withstand 140 Mph winds. Had Katrina remained
a Category 5 hurricane, the winds would have been well in excess of 140 Mph. The roof
of the Superdome above is designed to withstand 140 Mph winds. The Superdome, refuge
of last resort for those unable to leave (the poor), would have simply blown away.

[snot]

53. I still think we're missing something.

E.g., the Astrodome in Houston was made available to temporarily house victims very quickly. This was thousands of people, far beyond what local soup kitchens could have taken on. I doubt there was much public clamor in Houston for the mayor to offer it up, esp. knowing that many of the victims would end up staying in Houston.

And who paid the costs? Sorry to be so cynical, but I doubt the mayor of Houston took that on out of some spontaneous charitable urge.

It just seems to me there had to be some back-room bargaining going on. Not sure if it's anything illegal; but like I said, I wonder if we're missing part of the story.

[autorank]

69. I'll check it out.

I don't think the mayor was a saint, although I don't question his/her motives. But the deal is interesting. I'll bet they messed with this mayor and others in a big way, setting them up for the off load by promising to repatriate the survivors. It's dreadful.

[Horse with no Name]

70. Here is part of it

http://www.allbusiness.com/government/3759827-1.html

>>>snip
Rep. Al Green (TX-09) today announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released $1.6 million in federal disaster aid for projects related to Hurricane Katrina. The funds, which will be provided through
overtime and supplies for the temporary sheltering of Hurricane Katrina evacuees at the Houston Astrodome and the George R. Brown Convention Center.

"I am very pleased that FEMA has released these funds to help reimburse the expenses the City of Houston incurred in their assistance of Hurricane Katrina evacuees last year," stated Congressman Green. "Congress must continue to work with FEMA to ensure municipalities like Houston are fully reimbursed for the essential relief they provided victims in the aftermath of the catastrophe."

[NOLALady]

50. Do you think the leaders had a choice?

The whole world was watching. I would like to think it would have been political suicide to turn anyone away. They were/are American citizens, not refugees.

[Octafish]

36. Karl Rove headed the contract dispensation from the monkey house...

Pigs at a trough:

Who's in Charge? Karl Rove!

[Rex]

37. The Feds never had any intention of helping NOLA. Period.

"Stay away from the heavily armed white guys, they are here to er help you.

[Richard Steele]

40. K&R

[malaise]

45. The Rethugs will pay big time

come November.

[BrklynLiberal]

47. I believe this is what BushCo had in mind all along.....

[BayjanDem]

55. Pure Evil

This is some vile, evil, shit. What kind of country are we living in? For the people? By the people? Yeah right.

[crikkett]

56. "No Iraqi ever left me on my rooftop to die:"

I saw that slogan here on DU and put it on a sign that stayed on my car for almost a year.

[dixiegrrrrl]

59. Mississippi Repubs did same thing on the coast after Katrina

Family and community is a deep Southern value.
Splitting up families was horrible, reminded me of the Nazis shoving people
into boxcars...no difference, really.
Blackwater showed up to intimidate any resisters to the diaspora.
Add that pain to the crimes of the Reich in New Orleana,.
In Biloxi, Gulfport, all over the "Redneck Riviera " the same thing is going on.
Casino interests immediately started buying the beachfront properties, the Misissippi Legislature allowed casinos to now build on the beach instead of on the floating water boats, the entire coast line is now a gambling den.
All I have is pictures and memories of pre storm times, cannot even bear to go anywhere near the coast again.

:cry: :cry: :cry:

[Sugar Smack]

60. Dixiegrrrrl, I want to welcome you to DU and thank you

for a beautiful and sad post. The "gentrification" of NOLA is nothing short of obscene. I wanted so badly to see the city and I still do. SwampRat seems to bring it back to life in his posts. It's the spirit of the place that's being crushed under all the disgusting greed, and I hope the city finds a way to fight back and keep is roots alive. :hug:

[MrScorpio]

58. The same thing is happening in Detroit

However, it was an economic hurricane instead of a natural one

[autorank]

61. V'ery true...

...there are so many outrages. Detroit took decades to ruin and the process has been relentless.

I wonder how far out the suburbs will be built to keep the GM and other leaders "distanced"?

[floridablue]

65. Gives Repubs a Senate and a couple of House seats Automatic

[MasonJar]

66. New Orleans will not be the wonderful cosmopolitan city it was. So

who will even want to go there? New Orleans was a unique city; it will become just so so commonplace without its diversity. Also, you dumb___ GOPers, your days are numbered, but did you have to destroy one of the world's great cities on the way to your much-deserved demise?

[jonnyra]

67. Two things to think about...

1. The fact that it is on video...when Bush was being warned about the coming disaster he ASKED NO QUESTIONS...NONE. He simply said some shit about about being prepared and walked off.
2. Bush put Karl Rove...yes KARL ROVE in charge of New Orleans rebuilding efforts. This is something long forgotten...Karl-fucking-Rove was involved in this from the beginning. And you think it wasnt a racist fueled project??

Watching people drowning, dying in the heat...stranded on their rooftops...that hideous event had an extreme impact on my life. And all the while Bush was strumming guitars and Cunt-that-lies-a-lot Rice was shopping for shoes. The people running this nation are evil...its as simple as that.

[autorank]

68. Your two points are a good reminder - this is impeachable, period.

The handling of this event compounded the handling of Iraq and cost Bush major support among a variety of leaders in his own constituency. This lead up to the Baker-Bush meeting in the White House.

The video portrays the total incompetence and the Rove factoid shows negligence before the fact. The list of no bid recipients shows how Bush turned his failure into benefit for his friends.

This truly is fascism.

Thanks for your comments.

[misanthrope]

71. It's this simple...

...they were able to dispense of one of the last remaining Democratic centers in the South. And nature did the hard part.

Living in Mobile, Ala., I had plenty of connections with the Crescent City. You can't be this close and not know it well.

As Katrina took that last fateful turn northward, I called a buddy who had moved from NOLA to Oregon in the year previous and told him this was going to be it. I said the most unique city in America was about to get popped good and in the resulting chaos, ShrubCo was going to find a way to dismantle the city and scatter its Democrats across the nation to dilute their strength.

I haven't been back since the storm owing to a reluctance to expose my weakened lungs to what floats in the air there now. I also hear from friends who tried to go back and eventually left, musicians and artists that tell me the vibe is different now. They say the old town is gone. I find it heartbreaking as I always maintained that Mobile's greatest attribute--and saving grace--was its proximity to New Orleans. I feel as though the spiritual heart of the Gulf Coast has been removed.

However, I also realize that human intervention in the natural order of the delta along with climate change has doomed NOLA as well. Before the end of this century, I think it's likely the Crescent City will become the American Atlantis and sink beneath the Gulf waves.