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Volunteers Needed to Serve as Legal Observers for Uptown Super Sunday

Hi All!

The ACLU has been asked again this year to help provide legal observers for Uptown Super Sunday, March 16th. Super Sunday is an all-day event (noon to 6pm) when all the Mardi Gras Indians come out to display their costumes to other Indians and the community.

A brief mandatory training will begin immediately before the event, at noon on Sunday. Please send an email to admin@laaclu.org or reply to this message if you are interested in participating.

As a legal observer, your job is simple but crucial. You will be asked to objectively monitor police interaction with participants.

Sunday, March 16th
Uptown Super Sunday Legal Observing
noon - 6pm
mandatory training begins promptly at noon
Location TBA

We will send you details on where to meet and what to bring once you sign up. Thanks!

Marjorie Esman
Executive Director, ACLU & ACLU Foundation of Louisiana

Email: admin@laaclu.org
ACLU of Louisiana Updates: http://www.laaclu.org

Yesterday, the Times-Picayune was cheering about the fact that the Army Corps of Engineers was promising that by 2010 its levee improvements would protect New Orleans against a “100 year storm” - if all the pumps work.

Considering the fact that the Corps was supposed to have already provided this protection pre-Kartina, I’m personally not encouraged.

In contrast, the Netherlands, which is also “under sea level” has a 10,000 year storm system in place. It built the system after a catastrophic North Sea flood in 1953.

The federal government’s response to the catastrophic flood in New Orleans? More of the same and funding cutbacks. Meanwhile, the illegal occupation of Iraq is burning at least $15 billion per month.

Senator Mary Landrieu summed it up well. The Corps is “overcommitted, underfunded, and inappropriately staffed.”

And a city and its people hang in the balance. I’m all for hope, but hope is not a plan.

I saw these folks on Rampart this weekend.

They’ve got two trailers crisscross the country spreading the word.

Gulf Coast citizens were not victims of Katrina and Rita. They were victims of the government: federal, state and local with FEMA handling the bulk of the dirty work.

More here: http://www.krvexpress.org

One of our favorite projects is advising Levees.org founder Sandy Rosenthal on communications strategy.

Here’s a video of her on TV delivering the levees.org message:

http://www.wwltv.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=223351

Another great article on the current New Orleans music and culture scene from Larry Blumenfeld.

This one about Donald Harrison Jr. and Mardi Gras “Indian” culture appeared recently in the Village Voice. (more…)