Louisiana
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Eleven years ago, on this very day, I was a freshman at Rice in Houston, 228 miles and an entire world away from my family home in Alexandria, Louisiana. That night, I drove my friends and I to the Macaroni Grill on Westheimer, forcing them, against their will, to listen to the Steve Miller Band [...] ...
CenLamar - 1:06 a.m. - 11 clicks 
Apparently, the artist behind my previous art entry is really into church, state and other things that mix like oil and water. Painting joke FTW! Where there’s a painting, there’s a story. Let’s roll. Once upon a time after 2009, Jesus Christ felt that American man had become too wicked. So he made like Akeem and came to America. “I AM JESUS, KING OF THE BRITONS!” he proclai...
Ian McGibboney - Thu 9:29 p.m. - 10 clicks
Latest on Jindal's push to privatize the State Office of Group Benefits . Now comes word that if Morgan Keegan, which is being paid $150,000 to determine the financial value of OGB, will rake in a bonus of up to $750,000 more if OGB is subsequently privatized. Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater promised that Morgan Keegan, which contributed $1,000 to Jindal’s 2007 election campaign, ...
Library Chronicles - Thu 1:40 p.m.
At least in Lafayette, this is true. One very rare case of something getting done the right way in Louisiana. More than 800 miles of fiber-optic cable hum invisibly underground in Lafayette, a city of 120,000, delivering Internet speeds of up to 100 megabytes per second — rare for even major cities. The cutting-edge connectivity in the heart of Cajun country is due not to a private telecom gian...
Library Chronicles - Thu 10:27 a.m.
While Jindal c ontemplates upending public education in Louisiana by outsourcing it to private schools, no doubt breaking the teachers union in the process, the slow grinding of the Jindal crushing machine reaches new targets. Under the benign guise of this headline, the Times-Picayune reports: Two state agencies served notice Wednesday that they want to privatize some of their services by ...
Daily Kingfish - Thu 5:29 a.m. - 12 clicks
Jindal's Medicaid privatization scheme goes into effect today . The move overhauls much of the traditional fee-for-service system in which the state makes direct payments to health care providers who treat Medicaid patients and puts Louisiana alongside dozens of states that have implemented some kind of managed-care system for Medicaid. As of today, beneficiaries enrolled in the new system will...
Library Chronicles - Wed 11:48 a.m.
Jim Henderson was (is) as good as it gets in his profession . That he spent so much of his career in one market is unusual. But it's the sort of thing that's much more likely to happen in New Orleans than in most places. Henderson's trick was his eloquent and understated style actually allowed him to get away with as much or maybe even a little more irreverence than some of the more boisterous...
Library Chronicles - Tue 4:25 p.m.
So far, this is the year of high-falutin' King Cake elaboration. Unsatisfied with the standard slate of 50 or so possible flavors, local bakers are pushing the King Cake to whole new dimensions of unnecessary variety. La Dolce Nola and La Divina have improbably each added a Nutella and an apple-goat cheese flavor although I am told they did this without having coordinated. According to ...
Library Chronicles - Tue 11:45 a.m.
...BP's add cycle must have ended with WWL: More dead dolphins wash up on Southeast Louisiana coast Now I can't play BP ad tetris anymore . No worries, I'm sure after they publish a couple more stories like this one BP will renew another round of ads and these stories will simply vanish. It's like the magic microbes of journalism, BP buys an ad cycle and the stories simply disa...
American Zombie - Mon 10:22 p.m. - 16 clicks
(I’ve decided to make this into a two-part post, instead of a three-parter). In my first post on Governor Jindal’s recently announced proposal for education reforms, I focused on my own experience as a student in Louisiana public schools. While I will always value and appreciate the education I received, I also understand, personally, the [...] ...
CenLamar - Sun 1:26 a.m. - 15 clicks
September 19, 2011 New Orleans Mayor Landrieu Addresses Committee Members At NLC Policy Forum Mayor Landrieu stressed that while Washington maintains a “slash and cut” ideology — reducing investments in key areas such as public safety, infrastructure, community development and education — the citizens of our hometowns still expect and deserve an outstanding government that represents and figh...
Library Chronicles - Sat 2:02 p.m.
Jindal's privatization push has extended to nearly every element of state government. Anything public is a ripe target for Jindali and his henchmen to turn over to his cronies to make a buck or three. That's how the game works: Win election by promoting wedge issues and moral superiority Wrap every proposal around plans to divest the state of public resources, contracting away or outr...
Daily Kingfish - Sat 12:21 p.m. - 14 clicks
With an eye toward crime, Landrieu administration starts tracking quality-of-life issues Basic idea: New Orleans has, for some time, had a lot of potholes, broken streetlights, and abandoned vehicles. Oh and murders too. So what we're going to do is this. We're going to take all of that stuff and put it down on a spreadsheet. (Except not the murders. Those are kept on a separate spreadsheet ...
Library Chronicles - Jan 26
The Lens: In what appears to be a departure from the recent New Orleans Police Department practice of releasing criminal records of homicide victims, the department has not released the arrest record of the Good Samaritan killed in an Algiers carjacking Wednesday. Superintendent Ronal Serpas has been widely criticized for releasing the records of victims, in some cases citing arrests, but not c...
Library Chronicles - Jan 26
Bobby Jindal is offended A day after teachers unions blasted the rhetoric Gov. Bobby Jindal used in rolling out his plan to overhaul the state education system, the governor fired back and said he was offended by a comment a union official made about school vouchers. The comment, by Louisiana Association of Educators Executive Director Michael Walker-Jones, suggested that parents may not have t...
Library Chronicles - Jan 25
Lots of rain was expected today in Texas and the forecast was alarmingly accurate. A tornado watch for East Texas has just expired, but the flash flood watch is up until 1:30 this afternoon-and it's not coming as a surprise to anybody, just in case Diane Sawyer is reading. Jump below the fold for details. ...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Jan 25 - 2 clicks
We'll leave our crescent city brethren to sort through these rumors...but: Several sources have indicated that Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman has been mulling running for Mayor of the Big Easy. With murders spiralling out of control down there , a candidate with law enforcement credentials might be able to crack Mitch's powerful political base. Furthermore, African-Am...
Daily Kingfish - Jan 25 - 2 clicks
...because the arena kind of looks like a toilet anyway? Louisiana seafood marketing group says it may buy naming rights to New Orleans Arena Ohhhhhhh....yeah....I know....that was really nasty. But you know what? I'm not going to back off until these morons realize they have a serious fucking problem instead of taking BP's hush cash and spending it on stupid shit like this...
American Zombie - Jan 24 - 3 clicks
They're leaving for a "Christian" organization. Transgendered Girl Scout in Colorado causes stir in St. Tammany Hey North Shore....I hope you enjoy your "Heritage" cookies. Me...I'm gonna be doin' some late night muchin' on some Tag a'longs, bitches. That's right....peanut butter and chocolate. While you're chokin' on your own bile...I'm gonna be in chocolatey, peanut butte...
American Zombie - Jan 22
Saints 42, Ravens 27 Packers 35, Ravens 21 Are you serious?!! The 49ers won’t win it I don’t even remotely care now that the Patriots got in Why even bother watching? The 49ers won't win it. Good enough for me. I probably still won't bother watching. ...
Ian McGibboney - Jan 22
Joe Paterno didn’t die of lung cancer. He died of heartbreak. Regardless of what you, I or anyone else thinks about his role in the Jerry Sandusky scandal , it’s indisputable that Paterno loved coaching at Penn State. It was literally his entire life. And I’m convinced he always thought he was doing what was right, even when he wasn’t. And that, in combination with his sudden, jarring downfa...
Ian McGibboney - Jan 22 - 3 clicks
"You have well over $29 billion of natural gas offshore, and as president I will authorize on the very first day the development of it. That natural gas will generate jobs that in Louisiana average $80,000 apiece. In addition, it generates royalties. Part of the royalties should be used to modernize the Port of Charleston." &...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Jan 22
The Advocate reports that a class actio has been filed because the Louisiana Office of Group Benefits "unwittingly" overbilled some PPO policyholders and dependents who had outpatient procedures at a hospital or other facility rather than a doctor's office. Plaintiff attorneys say the lawsuit may involve tens of thousands of claims. Read Article: The Advocate ...
Justice is a Fickle Thing... - Jan 20
After horrible showings in the first two primaries, Iowa and New Hampshire, Jindal's horse, Rick Perry, was determined to go third one... but couldn't remember where it was. Oops. Oh, and Rick Santorum won the Iowa Caucus afterall... be we digress. Here's Perry on his "strategic" retreat: Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday morning announced he is suspending his campai...
Daily Kingfish - Jan 19
Environmental expert Wilma Subra (Subra Company) has compiled a fact sheet outlining human health impacts associated with hydraulic fracturing in development of shale gas. Fracking is a questionable technique used to produce shale gas. To learn more, follow this link to the Louisiana Environmental Action Network website. ...
Justice is a Fickle Thing... - Jan 19 - 2 clicks
Anytime Louisiana is the first state to do something, it’s usually terrible. This is one of those things. A lawmaker in Caddo Parish (home of Shreveport and the saggy pants saga that led to gangs) wants to ban the wearing of pajama pants in public . This comes after someone wearing pajama pants allegedly exposed himself at Wal-Mart. OK. Let’s scratch the surface of all the ways this is absol...
Ian McGibboney - Jan 17 - 9 clicks
For any who may be reading this series for the first time : this is a thought experiment where I try to see what would happen if the size of the House of Representatives were doubled to 870 members from 435. And yes, I know Republicans have the trifecta in both of these states. This entire series is theoretical to begin with, gimme a break. Louisiana and Mississippi are both states with siz...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Jan 17 - 9 clicks
Topics: The BP Gulf Oil Spill: A Risk Management Debacle, Gulf currents aided breakdown of oil after BP spill, study says, Revisiting the Deepwater Horizon Plumes, New NOAA study mirrors spill rate from BP well, Gulf of Mexico oil spill environmental data drives damage assessment, Claimants challenge holdback in BP oil spill case, In BP case, legal ties are topsy turvy: James Gill, Editorial: Wa...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Jan 16
Bruce Greenstein replaced Alan Levine as Bobby Jindal's Secretary of the Department of Health & Hospitals (DHH) in 2010, but it wasn't until the second week of 2012 that Greenstein succeeded Levine as Jindal's partisan hack on healthcare. The official coming out event in Greenstein's transition from technocrat to political operative was Greenstein's full-out attack on the Louisi...
Louisiana Democrat 2 Democrat - Jan 15 - 2 clicks
The Saints' playoff suicide against the San Francisco 49ers probably angered me more than any other loss I've ever endured. And after several hours of reflection, I think I've figured out why. It's not because the Saints started off stumbling, came back, fell behind, came back again and melted at the absolute worst time. It's not because the 49ers seemed hellbent on playing dirty from the...
Ian McGibboney - Jan 15
Jindal-supported Presidential Candidate, and now notorious dolt, Rick Perry had a little problem finding the living, breathing, human reporters the other day: After Perry left, walking by a mannequin wearing a Squat N’ Gobble T-shirt whose hand was raised above her head – a hand Perry tried to call on during a question-and-answer period -- a spirited discussion broke out in the...
Daily Kingfish - Jan 14
Despite being the technical favorite in the game, the New Orleans Saints leave doubt in many minds as to their ability to win on the road, on grass, outside, in slightly cool weather and against crowd noise that isn't theirs. After all, the Saints lost half of their games outdoors this season. Two. That means they won the other two. That glass is half full, if you ask this homer. The San Fran...
Ian McGibboney - Jan 14
Welcome back. We feel g ood to be back too. Sometimes there are more important things that Louisiana State Politics... Sometimes. Anyway, since we last left our fearless leader, Bobby Jindal, he was basking in a not-exactly-impressive electoral victory against no real opponents. Sure, Tara Hollis was out there, and the comment pages of many blogs and newspapers reflected, she had her partisans. ...
Daily Kingfish - Jan 10
BP's PR campaign targets BCS game, and continues through Saints' playoffs. BP blasted by Norway’s regulator over offshore fire. Three firms appeal citations alleging Gulf spill safety violations. Halliburton denies destroying evidence in BP oil spill case. Transocean’s CFO steps down. Oil and gas group starts election push. You are in the current Gulf Watchers BP Catastrophe - AUV #575. AUV #5...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Jan 9 - 2 clicks
Democratic women presented the Mount Olive Feeding Ministry with a $2000 check to feed the hungry ...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Jan 5 - 2 clicks
Just in case you forgot, or wondered what the government was doing: U.S. prosecutors are preparing what would be the first criminal charges against BP PLC employees stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident, which killed 11 workers and caused the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, said people familiar with the matter. http://online.wsj.com/... But is it really BP that's go...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Dec 29
This sentence is from a jointly signed letter to FDA Commissioner, Margaret Hamburg, by Sen. Landrieu and Sen. Vitter: Unfortunately, many consumers still believe that Gulf seafood is unsafe, in part because some groups continue to spread misinformation and unscientific claims that deny what this testing has proven." OK...here's your "unscientific" opinion from "un-scientists". ...
American Zombie - Dec 18
A rather interesting and contentious board meeting took place in Red Stick last Tuesday when EBR District 3 Metro Council member, Chandler Loupe , grilled Mayor Kip Holden's CAO, John Carpenter, over the 2011 MMR crime camera contract. Luckily, I got the video so...just watch this: Kind of like watching this, huh? Man...watch Loupe again...he's so angry he's literally shaki...
American Zombie - Dec 16 - 14 clicks
HankNYNY is in the courtroom in NYC where protesters are being forced to allow retinal scanning for identification. This is confirmed from within the court. Some are refusing to allow themselves to be scanned. Meanwhile, OccupyNOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) has been ordered by a court to leave. They've packed up their tents and are refusing to go. I am now liveblogging both events, and I'm pi...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Dec 13 - 15 clicks
Qualifying for state and local Democratic party positions opens today across Louisiana and the future of the party is riding on who among us will step forward to lead the effort to build this party. Build is right word because there has never really been a Democratic Party in Louisiana. There has been a Democratic banner under which candidates have run for office, but there has never bee...
Louisiana Democrat 2 Democrat - Dec 6
(This is a speech delivered at the Lafayette Parish Democratic Executive Committee's fourth annual Lifetime Achievement Awards Banquet which was held on October 6, 2011. I got to deliver the speech by virtue of the fact I was the Democratic candidate for Lafayette City-Parish President.) There are a lot of people thinking about this these days, particularly in our state and in our paris...
Louisiana Democrat 2 Democrat - Dec 6
I'm not even going to call it a national championship game. The Bowl Championship Series pollsters and computers have decided that LSU and Alabama are the #1 and #2 college football teams in the country, and will play each other in the BCS title game (I do not consider it to be a true national college football championship game) in New Orleans on January 9, 2012. Due to the fact that two tea...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Dec 4 - 2 clicks
