

By Cathy Ruse
Birth control mandate a sin against liberty
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
), "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and ending on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday" (in ethnic English tradition, Shrove Tuesday), referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which started on Ash Wednesday. Related popular practices were associated with celebrations before the fasting and religious obligations associated with the penitential season of Lent. Popular practices included wearing masks and costumes, overturning social conventions, dancing, sports competitions, parades, etc. Similar expressions to Mardi Gras appear in other European languages sharing the Christian tradition. In English, the day is called Shrove Tuesday, associated with the religious requirement for confession before Lent begins. - Source: Wikipedia

Fair warning: Spend all the hours you want gazing over the red-tiled roofs of Old Nice, but it's highly unlikely a Cary Grant look-alike will come scrambling over the chimney pots as in the scene from "To Catch a Thief," which was set on the Riviera.
Mardi Gras Indians have been parading at Carnival and Louisiana festivals for generations, but growing interest in their culture has the dancing, costumed Indians on display in a new way at this year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
After missing last year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival because she was roughly eight months pregnant, singer-songwriter Theresa Andersson is thrilled to be back this year _ and just in time to perform songs from her new album, "Street Parade."

When Hurricane Katrina scattered New Orleans residents and its musicians across the country, many wondered if the best days of New Orleans music had drowned with the city. But if its music festivals are any indication, New Orleans is proving its music scene is waterproof.
The NBA's All-Stars will be back in the Big Easy two seasons from now.
The NBA is awarding New Orleans the 2014 All-Star game, now that Tom Benson has agreed to buy the Hornets and sign a lease extension at New Orleans Arena, a person familiar with the decision said.

This column reflects major attitude today, and if you don't want to read it, go ahead and flip the page. Or, if you're on the Internet, scroll elsewhere on The Washington Times site.
Officers on horseback cleared Bourbon Street early Wednesday, declaring an end to Carnival 2012 in New Orleans as Mardi Gras revelers began to prepare for the beginning of Lent, the period of fasting and repentance before Easter.
Rocker Bret Michaels and Grammy-winning singer Cyndi Lauper were to usher in Mardi Gras with musical performances in the wee hours of the morning Tuesday.
From the family-friendly avenues of the Garden District to raunchy displays in the French Quarter, New Orleans let loose with a Fat Tuesday party as parades rolled and revelers frolicked amid showers of beads, trinkets and music.

Bathed in spring-like warmth and showered with trinkets, beads and music, New Orleans reveled in the excesses of Fat Tuesday.
As the sun began to set and the traditional family-atmosphere of Mardi Gras along St. Charles Avenue ended, streams of revelers poured into New Orleans' French Quarter to continue the party well into the night.
Gunfire erupted at a Mardi Gras parade in Louisiana, leaving one man dead. Police have identified a suspect and were searching for him.
As Carnival builds toward its out-of-control crescendo of Fat Tuesday, Barry Kern and his team of float-builders and artists are already preparing for next year's parades.
Mardi Gras. It brings to mind beads, parties and fancy floats in New Orleans as people cram in all the fun they can before Lent begins.