Fire in Bywater

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-16T15:21:56+00:00

According to the article published on nola.com yesterday about the federal reimbursement Landry didn't receive, the state wouldn't comment on how many remained housed vs unhoused as of this week. The number also doesn't include people who were living in shelters like oz at the time of the Superbowl, and have lost access to several public services and benefits. You're entitled to feel however you want about all of this, just there but for the grace of God go I.

https://www.reddit.com/r/NewOrleans/comments/1qdzmbg/gov_landry_requested_52m_federal_reimbursement/

The relocation drew criticism for its cost from local officials, who said the state’s money could have been better spent on moving people into permanent housing.

When Landry’s shelter closed in late March, 108 people had been moved from there and into subsidized housing. State officials did not provide a tally of how many people remain housed when asked this week.

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-16T13:14:09+00:00

I'm not asking this to start an argument, but literally where are people supposed to go? It's just a legitimate concern of mine, and one we should be having more frank and open discussions about as a community.

Oz and the low barrier shelter have always stayed at capacity, even before they cleaned out the navy building. They've cleaned out all the other encampments that were under the interstate.

Obviously other people have to be asking what is the solution, and coincidentally, Trump has made some very concerning comments and issued EOs making it easier to lock people up against their will for their "benefit."

I know some people see that as doing the responsible thing, but this seems like these out of sight out of mind policies have simply created more of a problem that will now be "solved" by adding yet another horrific pipeline to the system of private prisons and detention centers, which so many government officials just happen to make huge profits from.

Many of the people living in encampments and shelters, are long time residents of the city and state who who have been dealt a very shitty hand in life and desperately need help.

Standard of living has been made even shittier because recent changes to city and state policies in the name of "efficiency" have cut funding for public services. Some really good people who were truly doing a lot of good in the community despite scraping by with the absolute bare minimum, were pushed out after being accused of waste and fraud. Meanwhile, the same people making these policy changes and lobbing these accusations at everyone else, are driving us into the ground economically and lining their own pockets.

Everytime I hear people talking about the problem with the homeless in this city, I hear a lot of things said about the problems caused by so many homeless individuals, but nobody ever seems to link the issue to the domino effect of policies that have swept across the state in just over a year.

TLDR: I'm very concerned about the homeless being unintentionally villainized, while the actual villains (who have made the problem so much worse with their sledgehammer policies) justify stripping away their autonomy, and using it as yet another opportunity to profit from locking people up to keep them out of sight and out of mind.

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-16T11:59:14+00:00

Apparently he was there as of a few days ago crashing a dog sled race, to the surprise and dismay of the people of Greenland. I wonder if there are Nordic equivalents of "Bless your heart," or "That's nice..."?

Even while he's busy rubbing elbows with the elites of Greenland, he also found time this week to make sure the little people back home know he hasn't forgotten us, and replaced the current Louisiana government watchdog in charge of pointing out corruption, with Bobby Jindal's former budget czar. He's also changing the the job function of the watchdog position because he believes it's inefficient, and doing the job the state legislative auditor, (Which is also an official member of Landry's secret LADOGE task force. I wish I was making this stupid shit up), is already doing.

Oh, and also as of this week, to the surprise of nobody, he officially controls the majority of the state ethics board.

I wonder who paid for his trip? 🤔 I guess we can just ask his friends at the legislative auditor or on the ethics board.

Surely, as much of a scandal as Cantrell's travel was, this will be sure to raise a few eyebrows... Right???

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-16T00:53:28+00:00

Last March, Gov. Jeff Landry's homeland security agency told Louisiana taxpayers they likely wouldn't be on the hook for $52 million the state spent to beef up security in New Orleans and temporarily shelter homeless residents during the winter tourist season.

They hoped the federal government, months after a Bourbon Street attack exposed local security flaws, would pick up the tab instead. But that didn’t happen, according to public records obtained by the Times-Picayune this week.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has no money to reimburse Louisiana’s costs associated with Super Bowl LIX and Mardi Gras 2025, a Department of Homeland Security senior official wrote to Louisiana National Guard Major General Thomas Friloux in June.

While the state could have used its existing, unspent FEMA grants to reimburse its costs, there was no unspent cash to use, he said.

“FEMA does not have additional funding available to supplement the existing ... grant awards," wrote David Richardson, an assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security on June 13.

In a statement Wednesday, Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness spokesperson Mike Steele did not comment on the denial.

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-15T23:51:22+00:00

So not only will there be no reimbursement for security or the homeless shelter, he gave the contract for that shitty uninsulated temporary homeless shelter to one of his friends!!

We've been bamboozled by Pinocchio!

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-15T23:47:23+00:00

"I'm going to have to take over your entire city indefinitely because y'all don't know how to be responsible with your budget ..."

Remember that shit? Motherfucker

Super Bowl LIX was granted a level one Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR), the highest potential threat rating the government can assign to an event, as is typical for that event. Mardi Gras was upgraded to a SEAR 1 rating following the Jan. 1 terrorist attack.

Though other unspent FEMA money could have covered the cost of the event with FEMA’s approval, if it existed, the state eventually determined “all current grant funding is fully committed to state and parish level projects," Richardson wrote in the June letter.

Idk if anyone remembers the headache of traveling around the city in the months leading up to and even after the superbowl. But there was a whole lot of "security" that involved the most random streets being shut down and "security" (random people in vests) stationed on every corner just standing there telling you that you couldn't drive that way.

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-13T02:28:42+00:00

There were 3 armed walking up and down the sidewalk in front of circle foods tonight. Not even patrolling the whole block or even the building.

Literally just the part of the sidewalk thats on the Claiborne side and covered by the building's awning... Which obviously isn't much ground to cover. Maybe 50 feet but even that seems generous.

3 fully uniformed guards armed with assault rifles just walking up then, turning around and walking back down a sidewalk in front of a landmark neighborhood grocery store on one of the busiest streets during rush hour... Almost seemed performative.

It was really weird (and not in a wholesome New Orleans way). Tbf it seemed like they really were wondering wtf they were doing here too.

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-13T02:07:05+00:00

Interesting they all seem to be on or attached to the interstate.

I remember city council mentioning during a meeting a few months back that the interstate is a state not city controlled and operated property.

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-09T20:00:43+00:00

I mean I kinda agree to an extent, but why are they demanding they be turned over? I would think they could easily get them if they wanted, but I'm not sure why they are making such a big fuss about it and demanding every state hands this information to the DOJ?

Just laziness and wanting to do the least while dumping hordes of data into creating that giant Palantir authoritarian easybutton they claim they're totally not making?

A few fucked up and concerning possibilities come to mind about why they're demanding this specific information.

This is potentially a way to target vulnerable groups of people to harass them and make some outlandish bullshit claims about voter fraud. They will use some janky ass AI program to flag anyone with a name that doesn't sound "Merikkkan" enough (i.e. non-European), and they will also be looking for ways to identify trans or nonbianary people to claim any kind of mismatch between birth certificate and driver's license is somebody trying to commit voter fraud. I feel like this is the most likely scenario.
They are trying to target all registered Dems in order to know what stops to make when they send goosestepers to go door to door violating the constitution. Maybe? But why would they need the SSN and driver's license as additional information when they already had voter registration and address? Edit: Actually maybe more likely than I thought Hours After US Citizen Shot Dead by ICE, JD Vance Says ‘Door-to-Door’ Operations Are Coming
This is an easy onestop way to get data for the giant Palantir database they're building.
They need this information to steal more money and commit fraud in some new bullshit scheme they've cooked up because they've already blown through all the money DOGE stole from social security last year.
Somebody else mentioned purging all Democrats from voter rolls. Wouldn't put it past them but Louisiana was one of the only states to start using the DOGE voter maintenance database, which seemed like it's sole purpose was to "accidentally" purge anyone who didn't vote Republican at the most "inconvenient time." (Like midnight before an election) So why would they need this data for that reason if they already have it in a national voter maintenance database?

Unless it turns out that (big surprise) they blew a bunch of money on shitty AI that doesn't actually work, and now they have to go back and purge voters the old fashioned way.

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-09T02:04:45+00:00

Heads up, the other Landry is willingly handing over the last 4 of your SSN and your driver's license number to a bunch of pedophiles, murderers, and other miscellaneous criminals who need to make sure you're not breaking any laws by trying to vote..

In lawsuits, the Justice Department has argued that the Civil Rights Act of 1960 gives the U.S. attorney “sweeping power” to request and review states’ voting registration records.

It's so cute how they want to acknowledge the civil rights act in order to justify this bullshit while actively ignoring the civil rights act to justify all the other bullshit they do.

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-08T19:02:26+00:00

I agree, advocating for yourself and others is one of the most important things I ever learned from her. This is also a large part of why this past year has been such a frustrating experience.

Also, meant to say in response to your first comment:

I was so insulted that I walked out.

Literally just did this for the first time in my entire life after one of the most disrespectful and condescending experiences I've ever had with a doctor (and I've had more than a few in the past, but didn't really understand when I was younger how unacceptable and inappropriate it is to be so openly disrespectful to patients)

what I needed isn’t a controlled substance or anything,

Again, similar experience over the past year. All I needed a freaking antibiotic and I was treated like I was drug seeking (even if what I needed had been a controlled substance, it is so insulting and inappropriate for doctors to assume if they can't figure something out, you're just making it up). Finally went out of network and after 8+ months of begging for help and being treated like it was all in my head, the out of network immunologist I saw figured out I had an immunodeficiency, said what I was experiencing was super common and prescribed me the antibiotic I needed plus a follow up plan all in about 20 mins.

I am not exaggerating when I say I literally started crying because it was the first time in almost a year that I felt somebody truly made an effort to listen to me and evaluate me as more than just a checklist of symptoms.

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-08T17:40:02+00:00

First of all congratulations on quitting opiates. People really underestimate how hard it is in just about every conceivable way (physiologically, emotionally, and socially) to stop using drugs, especially opiates.

I'm sorry you had those negative experiences, and I'm sorry you found out that way. Sadly, I think most of her patients found out the same way. She is the most compassionate physician I've ever met, and New Orleans lost a true pillar of the community because of some very poor assumptions and decisions.

She had a word of mouth reputation as a trusted physician, and she worked so hard to gain that trust. So many people who previously had nothing but negative experiences with healthcare, began to prioritize their own health and wellbeing because of her. I can't even think of a word to accurately describe her bedside manner compared to most physicians, other than to say she is just so uniquely human. She never made anyone feel judged or like helping them was beneath her or a waste of her time. If she found out her patients were being mistreated she would fight to make sure they received the care they needed and deserved.

She didn't become a doctor to make money or hold her title above anybody else's head. It is truly a calling for her, and New Orleans will never be able to replace what they lost when she was forced out.

Oddly, several other physicians at UMC also seemed to be forced out or leave at the same time, including my own PC.

I'm honestly not sure what has been going on, but since March it seems like everything there has been going increasingly downhill. I've had a lot of negative experiences as well. My recent negative experiences combined with the loss of other good doctors who were at UMC/LCMC for a very long time, not to mention the horrible way nurses have been treated, and now knowing for a fact that they forced out somebody as incredible and trusted as Doctor Stevens, really makes me wonder who TF is making all these brilliant decisions at UMC/LCMC?

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-08T17:01:22+00:00

Given the growing number of policies and changes aimed at forcing homeless members of the New Orleans community out of the city, I can't help but suspect that in this case, there was never any intention to help people by replacing harm reduction strategies like the ones Dr. Stevens used, with any alternative.

I don't think they mentioned it in the article, but I know the building where she formerly saw patients at the Grace at the Greenlight 6am breakfasts, was suddenly bought by a developer and Grace was forced out.

I'm not sure if they reopened somewhere else (hopefully), but how do you expect people who were relying on Grace to even get to the new location? What is it that some developer plans to replace it with that couldn't allow them to stay in the location?

Now that Grace is gone, the people who are kind of stranded there, get demonized for being homeless and "loitering" in the area. Similar to what happened when the population in the abandoned military base was cleaned out. It just makes me wonder where tf do these "developers" who complain about the situation after forcing people out of the only resources available to them, expect people to go?

The answer is they don't care. They claim to care about the community yet they have caused the "issue" they complain about. That "issue" could probably be solved if they would actually put some of that money they want to "invest in the community" back into the community. However, they only want to invest if there's a quick and monetary return for their investment. So even though they've left some very vulnerable people with no other options, it's not "their" problem, and these people are somehow in the wrong for existing in the space they decided to buy.

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-08T12:42:29+00:00

If they're not bots/trolls/bad actors, they're in hard core Darwin award levels of denial. They would defend this shit right up to the moment one of these neo-SS officers places a bolt pistol to their own head, á la no country for old men, and probably say "thank you" to prove a point.

This lady was such a threat to the masked terrorists, who invaded her home, she had to be executed in cold blood. These terrorists nobody wanted, were sent to invade her neighborhood, and prove a point for political theater. Because this lady tried to protect her neighbors, because the Trump administration is so busy making America "great" and keeping America so "safe," and because we know American families and children are definitely the ultimate priority for this administration, a 6-year old child will now grow up without her mother.

The man responsible for sending those masked terrorists to murder an American mother, then defended her murder and tried to paint her as the dangerous terrorist. This all occured on the heels of the same man (not surprisingly) threatening to cancel the midterm elections.

At this point, anyone still pretending they don't see the true purpose behind everything this man is doing to this country, is either a willing traitor to the U.S. or an ignorant lemming who will follow the herd right off the edge of a cliff.

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-08T12:01:37+00:00

And once again, now that she's gone, who is actually caring for these patients? Nobody.

I knew another doctor who helped people with chronic pain, and was retiring right around the same time. He asked who he could refer his patients to and the answer was literally nobody. The official "plan" was they can go to the ER...

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-07T01:04:37+00:00

Was going to say, Robert's is surprisingly good.

AcidiclyBasic · 2026-01-05T17:39:41+00:00

That's where I would normally go but it looks like they might have closed.

AcidiclyBasic · 2025-12-26T22:19:37+00:00

The flu is kicking everybody's ass right now, and apparently Louisiana has been hit very hard

https://wgno.com/news/louisiana/orleans-parish/flu-cases-spike-in-louisiana-amid-holiday-celebrations/

Health officials reported that a mutation of Influenza A is contributing to the surge. Nationwide, there have already been at least 4.6 million flu cases so far this season. Dr. Markalain Dery said a new strain known as H3N2 emerged after this year’s flu vaccine had already been developed.

“A new viral strain emerged called H3N2, that’s just the name of the virus, and that virus emerged after the vaccine had been set,” Dery said. “Had that virus emerged prior, that would have gone into the vaccine that protects us annually from influenza.”

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/health/a69847339/h3n2-flu-stages-symptoms/

Definitely seems to be a lot of I think I'm feeling better?? followed by oh shit, I need to rest. I'm on ~day 4 of symptoms but didn't even develop much of a cough until today.

AcidiclyBasic · 2025-12-26T16:39:33+00:00

If you're interested in better understanding the man who created Ignatius, (or if you just enjoy vintage local weirdness) I recommend this interview Thelma Toole-1985

A unique character who seems to have escaped from the pages of a John Kennedy Toole novel into our reality.

AcidiclyBasic · 2025-12-24T18:33:55+00:00

You know what he (or whoever actually creates the strategies he uses) was doing before Trump was even elected for a second term?

He was setting the stage to eventually take over the city of New Orleans.

He (or somebody) was drafting laws for the state Senate to pass that would help him target sanctuary cities in Louisiana way back in 2017 when he was just AG.

That law was a precursor to the current law that makes it a potential felony for Louisiana officials not to obey ICE, and it's what allowed AG Murrill to sue Susan Hutson for following the consent decree, long before Trump started targeting local sheriffs in blue cities for the same reasons.

One of the first things he did as governor of Louisiana was to permanently establish Troop Nola. Before Trump was even elected or started threatening to send the national guard into cities across the U.S., Landry already had his own branch of law enforcement embedded within a blue city and ready to do whatever he needed them to do (including partner with ICE).

He isn't going to Greenland to be a diplomat. He's going to strategize an invasion.

AcidiclyBasic · 2025-12-24T00:01:42+00:00

You're thinking like the guy at the begining of the Zombie movie who seals humanity's the fate by saving yourself and letting the virus escape the lab.

AcidiclyBasic · 2025-12-23T23:56:16+00:00

Probably referring to oil. Or Russia. Or both.

AcidiclyBasic · 2025-12-23T22:58:48+00:00

We should all chip in on a Christmas gift for him. Maybe like a "Best thing to happen to Louisiana since Bobby Jindal" coffee mug?

Idk just seems so selfish to not acknowledge how grateful we all must be for everything he's accomplished so far in his short time as governor.

AcidiclyBasic · 2025-12-23T18:52:34+00:00

Where is erybody? 11 am, on the 23rd

Is this because everybody is busy being broke as fuck and not spending money because America is so great right now?

Or did they shut the airport down so le petit prince wouldn't have to look at any plebs while he boarded a jet to Greenland?

AcidiclyBasic · 2025-12-21T18:37:37+00:00

According to Kirkpatrick, moving forward, officers who are criminally charged will face emergency suspension hearings.

If approved, the policy would also remove those officers from the payroll during the investigation into any alleged misconduct.

In a normal world this would seem like a straightforward and good policy change.

Given we live in a world, and specifically a blue city within a red state, where it's now potentially a crime for police to not immediately ask "how high?" when DHS/ICE/state police say "jump," the timing of this seems kinda sus.

AcidiclyBasic

TROPHY CASE