There’s a reason I never think too hard about current events in politics and religion.
It makes my head hurt.
I still think it’s important to keep up with world news, because it’s always good to stay current on which psycho militant Islamic Middle Eastern ruler is planning to blow up the United States during any given week. You know, for personal safety and all.
So when Pope Benedict XVI made what some are calling “negative” remarks about Islam on Sept. 12, I glossed over the media coverage. At least the Vatican wasn’t going to acquire nuclear weapons or send suicide bombers into other countries. But what some offended Muslims have threatened in response to the pope’s words might just constitute a security issue.
I returned to the topic this week to find bloggers had very strong opinions about the incident, which happened something like this:
Benedict was giving a lecture titled, “Faith, Reason and the University” at the University of Regensburg in Germany, where he had formerly been a professor. Just like the title says, he was offering an argument that faith must always be rationalized through basic human reason. According to what I’ve read about the pope, he’s big into the assertion that faith in God, whatever your religious belief, should be reasonable, and he backs it up with scholarship.
For Benedict, that argument doesn’t carry over to the Islamic concept of Jihad, or Holy War. But boy did he pick the wrong “scholarship” to back up his comments — a quote by Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus in 1391:
“Show me just what Muhammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached,” was the offending passage.
Benedict framed those “anti-Islamic” comments with something I think most people can agree on — that religion and violence are unreasonable and incompatible.
If only he had omitted the previous comment and gone with just this:
“The emperor, after having expressed himself so forcefully, goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable.
Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. ‘God,’ he says, ‘is not pleased by blood — and not acting reasonably is contrary to God’s nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats.’”
He was clearly speaking of Jihad, not the whole of the Islamic faith.
Blogcritics.org reprinted a column by blogger Greg Strange, who calls Islam the “Religion of Perpetual Outrage.”
Strange roll calls comments from Muslim leaders and finds this one from Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam the most ironic:
“Anyone who describes Islam as a religion as intolerant encourages violence.”
I’m guessing Islamic militants have a thorough understanding of the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy.
Blogger Douglas Farah opines about the many demonstrations that took place in majority-Islamic countries in which effigies of the pope were burned. He says that sort of readiness to fight is what is taught to so many young people in the Middle East:
“When crowds can form in seemingly spontaneous reaction to an obscure and lightly-reported papal speech, it is evidence of an organization that has pre-positioned its people to strike when the opportunity arises. It was the same in the Danish cartoon riots.”
With the Western idea of freedom of speech, non-Muslims rarely have the same reaction when the tables are turned, according to Farah:
“Should the non-Islamic world riot at each anti-Semetic remark from the president of Iran, the Saudi royalty and imams?
“We would have time for nothing else.”
And though his intent was clouded by his quotation, I think that’s what the pope meant. A college professor of mine once said that nothing will change on the terror front until ideas change; until words cease to inspire violence.
I’m not someone who thinks democracy is a one-size-fits-all proposition, but dialogue is at the heart of diplomacy. But why talk if anything you say can be taken out of context to make the situation worse?
The pope, like most of the world, just wants an end to senseless terrorism. Tragically, his words backfired.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Name suggestions for the Hammond Square Mall
The Hammond Square Mall will be going through a major redevelopment beginning in April, and shoppers will be able to go to a completed "open air lifestyle center" beginning in 2008. New stores inclue Target, Outback Steakhouse, The Home Depot and the return of J.C. Penney.
Developers are looking for a new name for the area. Here's where you can post your suggestions.
Developers are looking for a new name for the area. Here's where you can post your suggestions.
CNN relieves 9/11 appropriately through news coverage
Country singer Alan Jackson asks this question in his 9/11 tribute song: “Where were you when the world stopped turning?”
I was in my webmastering class as a senior at Hahnville High School in St. Charles Parish.
When jetliners crashed into the Twin Towers that morning, I didn’t know it happened.
When I went to lunch around 10:30 a.m., a friend passed me in the hall and said, “Did you hear about the plane crashing into the World Trade Center?”
I immediately thought of the World Trade Center at the foot of Canal Street in New Orleans. I pictured a small single-engine plane dangling off of one or two floors of that massive white structure. I had been to the top of that building not too long before then to see the rotating restaurant on the top floor, which is now defunct.
Then he corrected me.
I didn’t know exactly what happened until I got off the school bus around 3 p.m.
While my future college classmates were sitting transfixed in front of television sets all day, experiencing the worst attack on American soil as a community, my principal decided to shelter us from the valid opportunity to learn and discuss current events.
When she got on the public address system at the end of the school day and announced a moment of silence for the many who had died in the event, I was dumbfounded. What in the world had happened?
I remember, too, that I wrote an essay that day on the WWI novel “All Quiet on the Western Front,” by Erich Maria Remarque, in English class. I later found out just how fitting that was.
For the five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, CNN.com replayed their coverage from that day in real time, from 8:30 a.m. until 11 p.m.
I took the opportunity to see what I had missed that day. It was amazing to feel the emotions those reporters felt as our nation changed forever. I missed the actual moment the buildings collapsed, but I watched as CNN correspondents grabbed interviews with whomever they could, from congressmen to civilians on the Manhattan streets.
A lot has changed in five years. Pope John Paul II, who called the attacks “inhuman,” is no longer with us. Neither is Yassar Arafat, former Palestinian prime minister, who was seen issuing a statement that day denouncing the terrorists’ actions.
Most of us in southeast Louisiana didn’t truly know the pain of loss and disaster. Hurricane Katrina was another four years away.
Everything I felt that day came rushing back like never before. I watched in anger as CNN showed footage of Palestinians dancing in the street celebrating America’s pain. Senators cried “act of war” and got away with using expletives on air to describe the revenge we would exact on our enemies.
One senator lamented how distracted we had been. Education, health care and the economy, he said, were all minor concerns compared to national security and the safety of the American public.
I marveled at how five years — approximately 1,825 days — could unravel the good things that came out of 9/11 — the unity, pride, patriotism and solidarity we all felt.
Now 9/11 is inevitably tied to the Iraq War and then to oil prices. Discussion of the pros-and-cons of our polarizing President George W. Bush, as was illustrated so clearly in a Monday rant by Chris Matthews on MSNBC.
When I started to mentally rebut Matthews, I had to remind myself that the year was 2006. What seemed so cut-and-dry then isn’t so simple now.
But hopefully, in the years to come, we will continue to remember the victims and what we felt that day apart from current political spin and repercussions. It’s important for us to be reminded just what’s at stake.
I agree with the bumper sticker. We should not forget.
CNN helped me remember and did a service to all Americans by replaying its 9/11 coverage. I only hope they will continue that tradition every year.
I was in my webmastering class as a senior at Hahnville High School in St. Charles Parish.
When jetliners crashed into the Twin Towers that morning, I didn’t know it happened.
When I went to lunch around 10:30 a.m., a friend passed me in the hall and said, “Did you hear about the plane crashing into the World Trade Center?”
I immediately thought of the World Trade Center at the foot of Canal Street in New Orleans. I pictured a small single-engine plane dangling off of one or two floors of that massive white structure. I had been to the top of that building not too long before then to see the rotating restaurant on the top floor, which is now defunct.
Then he corrected me.
I didn’t know exactly what happened until I got off the school bus around 3 p.m.
While my future college classmates were sitting transfixed in front of television sets all day, experiencing the worst attack on American soil as a community, my principal decided to shelter us from the valid opportunity to learn and discuss current events.
When she got on the public address system at the end of the school day and announced a moment of silence for the many who had died in the event, I was dumbfounded. What in the world had happened?
I remember, too, that I wrote an essay that day on the WWI novel “All Quiet on the Western Front,” by Erich Maria Remarque, in English class. I later found out just how fitting that was.
For the five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, CNN.com replayed their coverage from that day in real time, from 8:30 a.m. until 11 p.m.
I took the opportunity to see what I had missed that day. It was amazing to feel the emotions those reporters felt as our nation changed forever. I missed the actual moment the buildings collapsed, but I watched as CNN correspondents grabbed interviews with whomever they could, from congressmen to civilians on the Manhattan streets.
A lot has changed in five years. Pope John Paul II, who called the attacks “inhuman,” is no longer with us. Neither is Yassar Arafat, former Palestinian prime minister, who was seen issuing a statement that day denouncing the terrorists’ actions.
Most of us in southeast Louisiana didn’t truly know the pain of loss and disaster. Hurricane Katrina was another four years away.
Everything I felt that day came rushing back like never before. I watched in anger as CNN showed footage of Palestinians dancing in the street celebrating America’s pain. Senators cried “act of war” and got away with using expletives on air to describe the revenge we would exact on our enemies.
One senator lamented how distracted we had been. Education, health care and the economy, he said, were all minor concerns compared to national security and the safety of the American public.
I marveled at how five years — approximately 1,825 days — could unravel the good things that came out of 9/11 — the unity, pride, patriotism and solidarity we all felt.
Now 9/11 is inevitably tied to the Iraq War and then to oil prices. Discussion of the pros-and-cons of our polarizing President George W. Bush, as was illustrated so clearly in a Monday rant by Chris Matthews on MSNBC.
When I started to mentally rebut Matthews, I had to remind myself that the year was 2006. What seemed so cut-and-dry then isn’t so simple now.
But hopefully, in the years to come, we will continue to remember the victims and what we felt that day apart from current political spin and repercussions. It’s important for us to be reminded just what’s at stake.
I agree with the bumper sticker. We should not forget.
CNN helped me remember and did a service to all Americans by replaying its 9/11 coverage. I only hope they will continue that tradition every year.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Comments on the Mayoral Debate
Here's where you can post your comments about the mayoral debate, which was held Sept. 6 at the KIVA facility at the Cate Teacher Education Center, SLU.
Get your opinions on the candidates out there!
--------
Note: Here is the news story run in The Daily Star on Sept. 6:
Running for Mayor: Candidates state positions in forum
By Heather Crain
The four Hammond mayoral candidates marketed their strengths and ideas during a political forum Wednesday night at Southeastern Louisiana University.
Those vying for the position are incumbent Mayson Foster, Nick Gagliano, Montee Lemon and Arden Wells. The primary election will be Sept. 30.
Sponsored by local organizations and businesses, the forum was held at the Teacher Education Center in the Kiva room where only a few chairs were vacant.
Steve Bellas, a local broadcast journalist, served as moderator. The time and rules official was Daily Star Publisher Keenan Gingles.
Each candidate gave a three-minute opening remark and a five-minute closing statement. Seven questions were rotated among each contender with three-minute responses and 90-second rebuttals.
The topics included economic development, infrastructure, diversity, education, housing, recreation and safety.
Opening comments
Foster touted his administration’s proven leadership since taking office in January 2003 citing the opening of C.M. Fagan Drive 90 days into his administration, the wetlands assimilation project and the relocation of the Louisiana Army National Guard to the city.
“There is a definite leadership already established in the city of Hammond,” said Foster, a Hammond native and former banker.
Gagliano said he chose to start his career in Hammond after graduating from Louisiana State University. He owns a local marketing and advertising firm.
“I felt that we were a diamond in the rough,” he said. “The potential was unlimited. And 20 years later, I’m proud to say that I’m ready to take on the leadership role to help polish that diamond and make it sparkle for all families in Hammond.”
If elected, Gagliano said he would change the Hammond Planning and Zoning Commis-sion by removing those members who live outside the city limits, including one who lives in Ponchatoula.
“I cannot see the citizens of Ponchatoula allowing a Ham-mond resident to stay on their planning committee,” he said. “We have to make changes.”
Lemon, an employee of Mariner’s Inn, said everyone would be mayor if he were elected. Public transportation, AIDS awareness and education were his key points.
Wells, a local attorney who publicly announced last month that he had withdrawn his bid from the Sept. 30 election for mayor, used his opening address to push his candidacy for Tangipahoa Parish sheriff.
Wells, a Ponchatoula resident, has previously said he is running for Hammond mayor in order to be able to buy uncensored political advertising at political rates.
Moving the seat of Tangipahoa Parish government — including the parish council, courthouse, jail and school board, from Amite to Hammond — was a key point for Wells during the opening.
Economic development
The candidates were asked to identify three components in creating a strategy for an economic development plan.
Foster answered first, saying that the city has already established a plan by working closely with the Hammond Indus-trial Development Board and the Tangipahoa Economic Development Board and by creating the Hammond Area Economic and Industrial Development District.
A new 162-acre business park off Airport Road, a potential Fortune 500 company locating to Hammond and the Small Business Development Center at SLU were his key points. Gagliano said he would establish a position for an economic development director who would be housed at City Hall. Active recruitment and retention would also be key to his economic development strategy. Lemon would create new jobs, promote education and have better communication within the city for his plan. Because of Hurricane Katrina, no one can take credit for the recent growth in the city, Wells said, adding that the elected mayor must ensure proper growth. Hammond must be viewed as the seat of parish government.
Civic center, traffic loop, annexation
Gagliano, whose major platform is upgrading the city’s recreation department, stressed the need for a first-class sports facility to draw people to Hammond.
He also proposed two traffic loops for Hammond on the north and south side, including expanding Club Deluxe Road, and spoke in favor of annexation by giving property owners a property tax incentive.
Wells said he hadn’t given much thought to a traffic loop, although he said there is need for more entrances and exits off the interstates, especially at Natalbany and along Interstate 12. He does not think Hammond needs a civic center because of the present facilities, such as the University Center.
Foster said a civic center is a definite need. The Tangipahoa Parish Tourism Commission is looking into establishing such a facility.
Foster pointed toward the city’s new master street plan available on the city’s Web site, which introduces a traffic loop and other extensions.
Annexation, he said, is not as easy as one thinks. The majority of the property owners and voters in the area must be in agreement in order to annex, and the city has been in negotiations.
Creating environment of inclusion in city
Lemon, the only African-American mayoral candidate, spoke first on the diversity question.
He said he would introduce more socialization into the community by encouraging the various races to socialize outside the workplace, such as church and recreation.
“I want everyone to be mayor with me,” he said. “We need to get along better. We should be a role model and set an example. We have to love one another.”
Diverting from the question, Wells made the assumption that Foster was against gambling and would garner the anti-gambling votes, while Gagliano was pro-gambling.
During his rebuttal, Gagliano refuted Wells’ claim, saying he is against gaming in Hammond. In response to the diversity question, Gagliano said he would actively knock on the doors of the community to learn about the needs of the diverse population.
He also stressed the need for a better-run sports program, which he believes would bring the races together.
Foster pointed toward African American city employees in department head positions as creating racial inclusion, including Director of Administration Martis Jones, the first African American female in the position, and the two men in charge of city finance and purchasing.
Operation Unity was also formed for this purpose soon after he took office, Foster said.
Education
The candidates were asked how they would advance the new education initiative formed by SLU, the Tangipahoa Parish School System, the Hammond Chamber of Commerce and the city.
Again, Wells said he would move the seat of parish government, including the school board, to Hammond. He questioned why residents have to drive 20 miles to Amite to attend school board meetings.
Foster said supporting the school system and SLU is key to further advancing the education initiative.
He mentioned the $60,000 city contribution to the school board that will purchase computers and related items for the in-school magnet program in Hammond.
Education is among Gagliano’s top three points in his 10-point plan. Because education is crucial to economic development, Gagliano said he would work with private and public schools to help them accomplish their goals.
He would also focus on vocational training and start an apprentice program at the city for students.
Lemon also stressed after-school and vocational training for students.
Housing
The candidates were asked what policy they would initiate to create affordable housing that would encompass green space, recreation and retail accessibility.
Foster referred to the new subdivision ordinance passed by the Hammond City Council this week that establishes rules for lot widths, green space, parking, drainage and more.
He also mentioned the city’s role in acquiring a grant to help residents with home down payments.
Wells said he is against government regulation on housing. People should be allowed to do what they want on their land unless it were to cause harm.
Lemon stressed the need to remove blighted houses in Hammond that often house drugs. He said he would get people out of the projects and into nice homes.
Gagliano would establish a zoning committee in each council district that could advise the city on housing needs. He commended the preservation districts such as the Iowa Addition Overlay District and the Hyer-Cate Preservation District and would encourage more of the same.
Recreation
Gagliano, who is president of the South Tangipahoa Youth Soccer Association, said the current amenities are woefully inadequate. He is calling for creating better facilities in Hammond for all sports.
He would establish a sports complex to house baseball, football, soccer and other recreation that would also attract major tournaments. He would also create more basketball courts and expand those already in place.
Restructuring the recreation department will also be a top priority for Gagliano.
Foster said the city’s recreation situation was in bad shape when he took office but positive changes, including more programming, have been made since then.
A recreation district must be implemented for further improvements, Foster said.
Lemon said the city needs an indoor facility on the north and south side of town.
Wells said he would govern and make the best of what recreation facilities the city had, but ultimately, the city isn’t responsible for providing recreation for everyone.
Safety, community policing
Lemon commended the Hammond Police Department and promised to be more involved as mayor. He said criminals should be “scared straight.”
Gagliano said crime is already growing in the city evidenced by a recent robbery at gunpoint at a local store and cars being broken into.
He touted more police pay and a substation on the east side of town. He supported community policing by neighbors looking out for one another.
Wells said the police department is wrought with nepotism and corruption, and he would change that if mayor.
In addressing Wells’ claim of nepotism, Foster said the department is under the civil service code and relatives can likely be hired.
He also said crime numbers are about the same as this time last year. He pointed toward neighborhood watch groups already established and encouraged local businesses to install good cameras.
Closing
Wells said he didn’t get to talk about a lot of issues he wanted to address. Describing Louisiana as an old plantation with many rich and poor people with some middle class, he said political corruption abounds in the parish.
He also claimed that vote buying, especially among the poor African-American community, was a factor in the district attorney and sheriff races and would be a factor in the Hammond mayoral race.
He encouraged African-Americans to remember the sacrifice of civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and not take bribes.
Lemon again stressed the need for AIDS awareness in Hammond, after-school programs for children and a willingness to work together in city government.
“We have an opportunity to determine our future like never before,” Gagliano said in closing. “It’s a clean slate. We can decide what we want our future to be. It’s time to raise the bar in our city of Hammond.”
Gagliano stressed his platform of being a candidate for all of Hammond’s families.
Foster reiterated the accomplishments of his administration, including the city’s quick response to Hurricane Katrina, the wetlands assimilation project, C.M. Fagan Drive, 120 demolished blighted homes, a council of nonprofit organizations and more.
“This race is about leadership,” he said. “This race is about proven leadership. And I believe that actions speak a lot louder than words. You know it’s easy for people to sit up here and talk about what they’re going to do, but until you’ve sat in that desk and you have the people that are calling you on an on-going basis, you don’t know the pressures that are coming down from every side.”
Get your opinions on the candidates out there!
--------
Note: Here is the news story run in The Daily Star on Sept. 6:
Running for Mayor: Candidates state positions in forum
By Heather Crain
The four Hammond mayoral candidates marketed their strengths and ideas during a political forum Wednesday night at Southeastern Louisiana University.
Those vying for the position are incumbent Mayson Foster, Nick Gagliano, Montee Lemon and Arden Wells. The primary election will be Sept. 30.
Sponsored by local organizations and businesses, the forum was held at the Teacher Education Center in the Kiva room where only a few chairs were vacant.
Steve Bellas, a local broadcast journalist, served as moderator. The time and rules official was Daily Star Publisher Keenan Gingles.
Each candidate gave a three-minute opening remark and a five-minute closing statement. Seven questions were rotated among each contender with three-minute responses and 90-second rebuttals.
The topics included economic development, infrastructure, diversity, education, housing, recreation and safety.
Opening comments
Foster touted his administration’s proven leadership since taking office in January 2003 citing the opening of C.M. Fagan Drive 90 days into his administration, the wetlands assimilation project and the relocation of the Louisiana Army National Guard to the city.
“There is a definite leadership already established in the city of Hammond,” said Foster, a Hammond native and former banker.
Gagliano said he chose to start his career in Hammond after graduating from Louisiana State University. He owns a local marketing and advertising firm.
“I felt that we were a diamond in the rough,” he said. “The potential was unlimited. And 20 years later, I’m proud to say that I’m ready to take on the leadership role to help polish that diamond and make it sparkle for all families in Hammond.”
If elected, Gagliano said he would change the Hammond Planning and Zoning Commis-sion by removing those members who live outside the city limits, including one who lives in Ponchatoula.
“I cannot see the citizens of Ponchatoula allowing a Ham-mond resident to stay on their planning committee,” he said. “We have to make changes.”
Lemon, an employee of Mariner’s Inn, said everyone would be mayor if he were elected. Public transportation, AIDS awareness and education were his key points.
Wells, a local attorney who publicly announced last month that he had withdrawn his bid from the Sept. 30 election for mayor, used his opening address to push his candidacy for Tangipahoa Parish sheriff.
Wells, a Ponchatoula resident, has previously said he is running for Hammond mayor in order to be able to buy uncensored political advertising at political rates.
Moving the seat of Tangipahoa Parish government — including the parish council, courthouse, jail and school board, from Amite to Hammond — was a key point for Wells during the opening.
Economic development
The candidates were asked to identify three components in creating a strategy for an economic development plan.
Foster answered first, saying that the city has already established a plan by working closely with the Hammond Indus-trial Development Board and the Tangipahoa Economic Development Board and by creating the Hammond Area Economic and Industrial Development District.
A new 162-acre business park off Airport Road, a potential Fortune 500 company locating to Hammond and the Small Business Development Center at SLU were his key points. Gagliano said he would establish a position for an economic development director who would be housed at City Hall. Active recruitment and retention would also be key to his economic development strategy. Lemon would create new jobs, promote education and have better communication within the city for his plan. Because of Hurricane Katrina, no one can take credit for the recent growth in the city, Wells said, adding that the elected mayor must ensure proper growth. Hammond must be viewed as the seat of parish government.
Civic center, traffic loop, annexation
Gagliano, whose major platform is upgrading the city’s recreation department, stressed the need for a first-class sports facility to draw people to Hammond.
He also proposed two traffic loops for Hammond on the north and south side, including expanding Club Deluxe Road, and spoke in favor of annexation by giving property owners a property tax incentive.
Wells said he hadn’t given much thought to a traffic loop, although he said there is need for more entrances and exits off the interstates, especially at Natalbany and along Interstate 12. He does not think Hammond needs a civic center because of the present facilities, such as the University Center.
Foster said a civic center is a definite need. The Tangipahoa Parish Tourism Commission is looking into establishing such a facility.
Foster pointed toward the city’s new master street plan available on the city’s Web site, which introduces a traffic loop and other extensions.
Annexation, he said, is not as easy as one thinks. The majority of the property owners and voters in the area must be in agreement in order to annex, and the city has been in negotiations.
Creating environment of inclusion in city
Lemon, the only African-American mayoral candidate, spoke first on the diversity question.
He said he would introduce more socialization into the community by encouraging the various races to socialize outside the workplace, such as church and recreation.
“I want everyone to be mayor with me,” he said. “We need to get along better. We should be a role model and set an example. We have to love one another.”
Diverting from the question, Wells made the assumption that Foster was against gambling and would garner the anti-gambling votes, while Gagliano was pro-gambling.
During his rebuttal, Gagliano refuted Wells’ claim, saying he is against gaming in Hammond. In response to the diversity question, Gagliano said he would actively knock on the doors of the community to learn about the needs of the diverse population.
He also stressed the need for a better-run sports program, which he believes would bring the races together.
Foster pointed toward African American city employees in department head positions as creating racial inclusion, including Director of Administration Martis Jones, the first African American female in the position, and the two men in charge of city finance and purchasing.
Operation Unity was also formed for this purpose soon after he took office, Foster said.
Education
The candidates were asked how they would advance the new education initiative formed by SLU, the Tangipahoa Parish School System, the Hammond Chamber of Commerce and the city.
Again, Wells said he would move the seat of parish government, including the school board, to Hammond. He questioned why residents have to drive 20 miles to Amite to attend school board meetings.
Foster said supporting the school system and SLU is key to further advancing the education initiative.
He mentioned the $60,000 city contribution to the school board that will purchase computers and related items for the in-school magnet program in Hammond.
Education is among Gagliano’s top three points in his 10-point plan. Because education is crucial to economic development, Gagliano said he would work with private and public schools to help them accomplish their goals.
He would also focus on vocational training and start an apprentice program at the city for students.
Lemon also stressed after-school and vocational training for students.
Housing
The candidates were asked what policy they would initiate to create affordable housing that would encompass green space, recreation and retail accessibility.
Foster referred to the new subdivision ordinance passed by the Hammond City Council this week that establishes rules for lot widths, green space, parking, drainage and more.
He also mentioned the city’s role in acquiring a grant to help residents with home down payments.
Wells said he is against government regulation on housing. People should be allowed to do what they want on their land unless it were to cause harm.
Lemon stressed the need to remove blighted houses in Hammond that often house drugs. He said he would get people out of the projects and into nice homes.
Gagliano would establish a zoning committee in each council district that could advise the city on housing needs. He commended the preservation districts such as the Iowa Addition Overlay District and the Hyer-Cate Preservation District and would encourage more of the same.
Recreation
Gagliano, who is president of the South Tangipahoa Youth Soccer Association, said the current amenities are woefully inadequate. He is calling for creating better facilities in Hammond for all sports.
He would establish a sports complex to house baseball, football, soccer and other recreation that would also attract major tournaments. He would also create more basketball courts and expand those already in place.
Restructuring the recreation department will also be a top priority for Gagliano.
Foster said the city’s recreation situation was in bad shape when he took office but positive changes, including more programming, have been made since then.
A recreation district must be implemented for further improvements, Foster said.
Lemon said the city needs an indoor facility on the north and south side of town.
Wells said he would govern and make the best of what recreation facilities the city had, but ultimately, the city isn’t responsible for providing recreation for everyone.
Safety, community policing
Lemon commended the Hammond Police Department and promised to be more involved as mayor. He said criminals should be “scared straight.”
Gagliano said crime is already growing in the city evidenced by a recent robbery at gunpoint at a local store and cars being broken into.
He touted more police pay and a substation on the east side of town. He supported community policing by neighbors looking out for one another.
Wells said the police department is wrought with nepotism and corruption, and he would change that if mayor.
In addressing Wells’ claim of nepotism, Foster said the department is under the civil service code and relatives can likely be hired.
He also said crime numbers are about the same as this time last year. He pointed toward neighborhood watch groups already established and encouraged local businesses to install good cameras.
Closing
Wells said he didn’t get to talk about a lot of issues he wanted to address. Describing Louisiana as an old plantation with many rich and poor people with some middle class, he said political corruption abounds in the parish.
He also claimed that vote buying, especially among the poor African-American community, was a factor in the district attorney and sheriff races and would be a factor in the Hammond mayoral race.
He encouraged African-Americans to remember the sacrifice of civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and not take bribes.
Lemon again stressed the need for AIDS awareness in Hammond, after-school programs for children and a willingness to work together in city government.
“We have an opportunity to determine our future like never before,” Gagliano said in closing. “It’s a clean slate. We can decide what we want our future to be. It’s time to raise the bar in our city of Hammond.”
Gagliano stressed his platform of being a candidate for all of Hammond’s families.
Foster reiterated the accomplishments of his administration, including the city’s quick response to Hurricane Katrina, the wetlands assimilation project, C.M. Fagan Drive, 120 demolished blighted homes, a council of nonprofit organizations and more.
“This race is about leadership,” he said. “This race is about proven leadership. And I believe that actions speak a lot louder than words. You know it’s easy for people to sit up here and talk about what they’re going to do, but until you’ve sat in that desk and you have the people that are calling you on an on-going basis, you don’t know the pressures that are coming down from every side.”
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Losing grip on hip at age 22
I got back to my apartment Thursday night to find my roommate eagerly watching the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.
Some of her favorite bands were performing, and most of them were winning the little moon man statues given out for the best music videos of the year.
VMA night is one of the only nights of the year one can actually see musicians on the network, but that’s beside the point.
As bands such as Panic! At the Disco, A.F.I. and The All-American Rejects took the stage, I realized something. I’m just not that into mainstream music.
Don’t get me wrong. I listen to B 97.1 FM just as much as the next twentysomething. I keep up with the top 10 songs on iTunes. I even turn on VH1 every once in awhile, especially on Saturday mornings when they air the top 20 music videos of the week. I know what’s out there. I’m just not enamored by it.
The enthusiasm I had for any one genre of music seems to have faded away with my K-12 school years. Back then I loved alternative rock. Bands like the Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains seemed like a weird fit for a middle school girl, but I longed to be old enough to go to their concerts.
A few of those bands have stood the test of time, such as New Orleans-based Better Than Ezra and Orange County, California’s No Doubt.
But what was left of the late ‘90s rock and hip-hop scene seems annoying and almost regurgitated. The bands I first mentioned are part of a scene some call “emo,” that is, “emotional rock.” These bands’ piercings, makeup, weird hairstyles and over-the-top wardrobes scream out “we’re not very good musicians, so we need a schtick to be successful.” It’s a post-punk, post-alternative mix of distorted guitar and whiny vocals.
Panic! At the Disco gets creative with its instrumentation, using xylophones and horns, but the formula is still the same. I’ve heard it before being played by much better groups. I’ve realized that being strange for the sake of being strange just isn’t that interesting. And this is coming from someone who used to wear black lipstick in high school. (And no, I don’t consider myself a sell-out.)
Meanwhile, hip-hop, R&B and rap are not much better, although urban music seems to be the most innovative these days. A few years ago, we had the genius of Alicia Keys to save us from teeny bopper “artists” like Rihanna, Ciara and Cassie. Now three notes, a beat and vulgar lyrics will suffice for a hit tune, i.e. The Ying Yang Twins’ “Wait.”
Maybe it’s just that the major labels are marketing to teenagers now more than ever before. But if that’s true, I find it hard to believe that even teenagers like some of this stuff.
Now I find myself retreating into country music, which I admittedly hated for the first 19 years of my life. I find myself listening to 90.9 KSLU (college alternative) and Martini 106.1 (jazz, swing, blues and lounge) just to find some variety. I actually enjoy bluegrass music. If I find an artist I like, I find out who else is on that artist’s (usually independent) record label through the Internet. Or, I go to that artist’s friends pages on MySpace.com. That has become my new means of finding decent music. B 97 surely doesn’t help.
I’m also beginning to pay a lot of attention to Web sites like Pandora.com, which is a network of Internet radio stations that suggests songs based on the artists a user likes. Its creators call it the “Music Genome Project” because they’ve perfected a way to classify different musical traits to group similar tunes together.
Then there’s Last.fm, which tracks songs played on your computer and allows you to link up with people who enjoy the same music. That way, you can share musical discoveries with your online peers.
I now understand why my mom still listens to James Taylor and Barry Manilow. It was the music of her youth, sure, but at least that music had feeling. It came from a deeper place and was about the important things in life, not jewelry, cars and superficialities.
I’m just waiting for the day when I won’t have to actively seek out good music. In some future Utopian society, the satellite radio will be free for all, and eclectic musical tastes will be the norm rather than the exception.
Until then, I’ll keep searching, with a confused iPod full of Justin Timberlake and Dave Barnes songs to tide me over.
Some of her favorite bands were performing, and most of them were winning the little moon man statues given out for the best music videos of the year.
VMA night is one of the only nights of the year one can actually see musicians on the network, but that’s beside the point.
As bands such as Panic! At the Disco, A.F.I. and The All-American Rejects took the stage, I realized something. I’m just not that into mainstream music.
Don’t get me wrong. I listen to B 97.1 FM just as much as the next twentysomething. I keep up with the top 10 songs on iTunes. I even turn on VH1 every once in awhile, especially on Saturday mornings when they air the top 20 music videos of the week. I know what’s out there. I’m just not enamored by it.
The enthusiasm I had for any one genre of music seems to have faded away with my K-12 school years. Back then I loved alternative rock. Bands like the Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains seemed like a weird fit for a middle school girl, but I longed to be old enough to go to their concerts.
A few of those bands have stood the test of time, such as New Orleans-based Better Than Ezra and Orange County, California’s No Doubt.
But what was left of the late ‘90s rock and hip-hop scene seems annoying and almost regurgitated. The bands I first mentioned are part of a scene some call “emo,” that is, “emotional rock.” These bands’ piercings, makeup, weird hairstyles and over-the-top wardrobes scream out “we’re not very good musicians, so we need a schtick to be successful.” It’s a post-punk, post-alternative mix of distorted guitar and whiny vocals.
Panic! At the Disco gets creative with its instrumentation, using xylophones and horns, but the formula is still the same. I’ve heard it before being played by much better groups. I’ve realized that being strange for the sake of being strange just isn’t that interesting. And this is coming from someone who used to wear black lipstick in high school. (And no, I don’t consider myself a sell-out.)
Meanwhile, hip-hop, R&B and rap are not much better, although urban music seems to be the most innovative these days. A few years ago, we had the genius of Alicia Keys to save us from teeny bopper “artists” like Rihanna, Ciara and Cassie. Now three notes, a beat and vulgar lyrics will suffice for a hit tune, i.e. The Ying Yang Twins’ “Wait.”
Maybe it’s just that the major labels are marketing to teenagers now more than ever before. But if that’s true, I find it hard to believe that even teenagers like some of this stuff.
Now I find myself retreating into country music, which I admittedly hated for the first 19 years of my life. I find myself listening to 90.9 KSLU (college alternative) and Martini 106.1 (jazz, swing, blues and lounge) just to find some variety. I actually enjoy bluegrass music. If I find an artist I like, I find out who else is on that artist’s (usually independent) record label through the Internet. Or, I go to that artist’s friends pages on MySpace.com. That has become my new means of finding decent music. B 97 surely doesn’t help.
I’m also beginning to pay a lot of attention to Web sites like Pandora.com, which is a network of Internet radio stations that suggests songs based on the artists a user likes. Its creators call it the “Music Genome Project” because they’ve perfected a way to classify different musical traits to group similar tunes together.
Then there’s Last.fm, which tracks songs played on your computer and allows you to link up with people who enjoy the same music. That way, you can share musical discoveries with your online peers.
I now understand why my mom still listens to James Taylor and Barry Manilow. It was the music of her youth, sure, but at least that music had feeling. It came from a deeper place and was about the important things in life, not jewelry, cars and superficialities.
I’m just waiting for the day when I won’t have to actively seek out good music. In some future Utopian society, the satellite radio will be free for all, and eclectic musical tastes will be the norm rather than the exception.
Until then, I’ll keep searching, with a confused iPod full of Justin Timberlake and Dave Barnes songs to tide me over.
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