Pokes head up; ducks

I've been playing home nurse these past few days so there hasn't been a whole lot of time to look at the news. Here is a brief impression as to what has been going on out there in the meantime I gathered by occasionally glancing at my phone.

Injured NFL official listed in stable condition in the neuro ICU Not the most encouraging report. Crappiest thing about a pretty crappy day in the Dome. (More on this game later this week, of course)

On Monday morning I had a chuckle at this story about the 2nd District Congressional candidates canvassing churches over the weekend. The best line,

At Historic Second Baptist Church, the pastor, the Rev. Robert Jackson, commended Cao, for whom Jackson's son, Jed, works doing constituent casework.

"I know he has good judgment," Jackson said of Cao. "He hired my son. He's a very intelligent man."

Jackson, it turns out, had less of a chuckle since his church does not endorse either candidate. The T-P ran a clarification on Tuesday.

Budget hearings are underway in City Council. The coverage by The Lens, particularly via Twitter has been helpful. Councilmembers, however, not so much. So far this week we've learned that Stacy Head wants poor people to pay more taxes.

Head said she will be looking for ways to scale back the increase because the property tax burden is borne by only a small percentage of the city's population. Most property tax is paid by business owners and owners of expensive houses.

"We've got to come up with more money," she said, but it would be unfair to put most of the burden on a relatively small number of taxpayers.

-snip-

Head also suggested raising the city's utility tax, which appears on Entergy customers' bills, because she said that increase would be borne by everyone who uses electricity in the city, even those who live outside New Orleans. She said, however, that she is still researching whether the council can legally do that.

Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge-Morrell objected to that idea, saying she would oppose adding any charges to utility bills. "There is a portion of this city that is struggling to survive," she said, and the council should keep in mind those who can barely pay their rent and utility bills now.

It is amazing to me that there are still ostensible liberals in New Orleans who approve of Ms Head. Not only is she hostile toward poor or less than upper class people when she encounters them at Wal-Mart, she openly endorses policies and also Republican candidates who will advance these hostilities beyond the check-out queue and into people's lives, their wallets, their housing, their health care. I've said in this space many times that Stacy Head is the Peggy Wilson of her generation. I am told by Facebook friends that I'm being suckered into buying a contrived T-P narrative in making this observation although I've always thought of it as my own contrived narrative.

Also the budget hearings have taught us that Arnie Fielkow may have lobbied hard for that NORD reform initiative, but he's not too keen on funding it right away and that coucilmembers' go-to suggestion for every department is, maybe you can write a grant.

When Deputy Director Charlotte Parent told the council that the city’s Health Department budget gave $3.2 million to help service clinics, Councilwoman Stacey Head asked why the department couldn’t run and administer clinics with grant money instead.

In response, Clarkson said that Trigs needs help finding outside money: “It may not be able to be more from the city or more from millage, but you do need another source of income.” Clarkson said that the fact that the city’s libraries were so devastated after Katrina should be enough substance to gain considerable grant funding.

Not gonna get too bogged down in this, but "considerable grant funding" is keeping several city departments operating at current capacity already. Imagine your computer stops working, and you call Jackie Clarkson for technical support. You probably aren't surprised when the first thing she asks you is if the computer is plugged into the wall, but you can't help but sigh anyway. Now imagine that's the extent of the help you get from her and you see how these discussions are going.

And I think that's everything I missed. Oh.. and also Teabagger Paultards in Kentucky are now stomping on women's heads. Adrastos says

This is the second time in a week that teanut goon squads have roughed someone up. This episode was particularly egregious as it involved Ms. Valle being tackled and then stomped on. The teabaggers, of course, are blaming the victim. Rand Paul's statements have been ludicrous in attempting to blame this assault on "political passion." Fuck you, Rand and the horse you rode in on. Someone should send this malaka dead flowers...

Rand Paul is the scariest of this year's crop of tea party extremists. Why? He's smart and a genuine zealot with an overweening sense of entitlement. Watching him smirk his way through the campaign has sent chills up and down my spine. I've come to realize that he's George W Bush with a brain: a frat boy who reads Ayn Rand is just as dangerous as one who doesn't read at all. The analogy is perfected when I contemplate their fathers: both Poppy Bush and Ron Paul are wrong on many issues but not terrible human beings. Their sons on the other hand...

To which I say, yep, pretty much.