OUR TOP LOCAL STORY IN LAFAYETTE TODAY: The Rally for Economic Survival is still two days away, but it is already causing a stir in Lafayette. This morning, a sign promoting the event located at the corner of Coolidge and St. Mary was found to have been vandalized over the weekend. The vandals wrote in red spray paint "Fuck Big Oil!" and "Unfuck the Gulf." There are no reports of vandalism of other rally signs. The rally, which "hopes to send a message to the Obama Administration to lift the [deepwater drilling] moratorium immediately," will be held Wednesday from 10:30 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. at the Cajundome. Country musician and lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Sammy Kershaw will open and close the rally with a performance. Governor Bobby Jindal, Lieutenant Governor Scott Angelle, and Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser are all slated to speak at the event, as are representatives of Louisiana's seafood, restaurant, and energy industries. The full agenda can be found here. A counter-protest will be held outside of the Cajundome by those in support of the moratorium. I will be at both events and will have a full report later in the week.
COMMENTARY: I understand that the issues of deepwater drilling and the moratorium are the cause of a great deal of tension in Acadiana right now, but for Pete's sake, vandalizing signs and hurling obscenities at those that disagree with you are not routes to take in having a civil discourse about the issue. The people guilty of these acts (in particular, the vandalism of the Oil Center sign) are what's wrong with American political discourse--and, dare I say, with America--today. I hope that the people responsible for the destruction of the sign are caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
I will withhold comment about the rally itself until I see what happens on Wednesday. If you judge the event based on its cover (and some of its speakers), it has all of the makings of a Republican/Tea Party/"conservative business platform" rally. Furthermore, I heard rumors that the organizers of the event (which, based on the phone number listed on the rally's website, seem to be based in Baton Rouge) are busing in attendees from Texas. If this is true, it would destroy (for me, anyway) any feeling of a grass-roots protest that I thought this rally would have. We won't know for certain how it will all turn out until Wednesday, so I'll take everything at face value and report back to you on Wednesday.
I also must wonder why the organizers didn't hold the event in Baton Rouge or New Orleans--sites that would have offered a better opportunity for them to attract national media attention. Lafayette is a good fit based on the city's continuing ties to and dependence on the oil industry. Furthermore, I'm not going to complain about an event that attracts thousands of attendees and protesters because that means more tax revenue for the city and the parish. Out-of-towners will need to eat and buy gas, and they might even be tempted to purchase souvenirs from one of the many shops and stores in town. So, thank you to the rally's organizers for choosing Lafayette. We appreciate your business.
IN OTHER NEWS: KLFY-TV has hired two new reporters. Sean Maginnis and Alissa Reitmeier join Lafayette's oldest television station, replacing Robert Burns and Sarah Forgany. We at RAoA wish them the best of luck with their new endeavors.
FROM THE "SAME SHIT, DIFFERENT DAY" FILE: The Associated Press is reporting that the federal government is allowing BP to keep the oil well capped for another twenty-four hours. Yesterday, retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen announced that a seep had been detected a distance away from the well.
AND FINALLY: Another Idiot of the Month nominee. Dateline: Aventura, Florida. 64-year old Armand M. Pacher was arrested after police received a tip from a veterinarian that the retired insurance executive was having sex with his dog--a great dane he had named "Christie Brinkley." That's right, folks. He named the dog after the famed supermodel and was have intercourse with it. So, I guess we can say that he really "screwed the pooch." The full story can be found here.
That's the news. I'm Ian Auzenne. Make it a great day, everybody.
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