Katrina pictures up

I've put several photographs from my visit to New Orleans in a photo album on this blog. These are just a handful of pictures, and unfortunately not the best of the bunch. I'll enlarge and elaborate the photo library later.

Right now we're rushing to publicize Louisiana NAACP President Earnest Johnson, Sr.'s call to Bush and Congress to extend the Voting Rights Act of 1968 in light of the Katrina disaster.

Long story short, one third of Louisiana's voters have been displaced out-of-state. If the Voting Rights Act expires in 2007, as it is set to do, hundreds of thousands of voters could be disenfranchised. The displacement of Katrina evacuees could have major political implications for years to come. It's redistricting by resettlement.

We're making great progress on the missing persons database program. Our goal is to provide a single searchable database of missing and found persons. I'll have more details on that later.

Stay tuned. Other really big stuff is going down.

Comments

[Michael Schmidt]

"If the Voting Rights Act expires in 2007, as it is set to do, hundreds of thousands of voters could be disenfranchised. The displacement of Katrina evacuees could have major political implications for years to come. It's redistricting by resettlement."

And one might well wonder if this was in fact part of the "plan" that looked like the lack of a plan.

[SamChevre]

Can you explain just a bit further? How does the Voting Rights Act (needing to get federal approval to change type of voting machines or district maps) relate to the issue that people are living away from their homes and/or establishing new homes in different areas?

[gordo]

Sam--

Section 5 of the act bars several jurisdictions, including Louisiana, from making changes to their electoral processes without clearance from the Justice Department. These jurisdictions must show that proposed changes do not dilute minority voting strength or hamper minority communities' ability to elect minority candidates.

As we saw recently in Ohio (not a covered jurisdiction), there are a lot of changes that can be made that disenfranchise voters. Changing residency requirements to keep Louisiana's diaspora from casting absentee ballots would have a big impact on elections both statewide and in the New Orleans area. Anyone who thinks that nobody would try to take advantage of this opportunity doesn't know politicians.

While I don't think that the absence of the Voting Rights Act would have this effect as late as 2008, it does illustrate the necessity for the act's renewal. The good people of Metairie elected David Duke once, and exit polls had him getting a majority of the white vote when he ran for governor. Who would get elected in 2006 if there were no Voting Rights Act?

[epistemology]

Terribly expressive photos, Lindsay. Most striking was the van with the grafitti "fuck da city" and especially the flooded graveyard.

[evilchemistry]

In image, Imgp0637, take a close look at the street name. Humanity Great photo.

[ghostcatbce]

I'm really impressed with the pictures,Lindsay. What's realy heartbreaking is that the pictures make it painfully obvious, that if the levees hadn't breached, New Orleans would have been okay. There are plenty of power poles, light poles and trees still standing, to demonstrate that Katrina's winds hadn't done that much damage. It was the levees that finished New Orleans.

[mudkitty]

Ah yes, the voting thing. Boy, disasters are really great for republicans and oportunists of every stripe.

[John]

Hey check out thest photos of Mississippi Gulf Coast at www.wilkersonphotography.com