Louisiana
updated
4:05 a.m.
Rule #191: Viral Outbreak YouTube does not get to preface my 1980s song video with a loud commercial for the new Ke$ha atrocity. If I wanted to buy it, I would get on iTunes or go to a music store. If I wanted to hear it for free, I'd be on a different YouTube page. Either way, the ad is pointless. Anyway, aren't music videos already ads? Rule #192: He's driving to Disneyland The ...
Ian McGibboney - Mon 10:22 p.m.
This piece was originally posted at RepealCreationism New Rule: Presidential Candidates Should Not Makes Stuff Up. I’m channeling Bill Maher and I have a New Rule: Presidential candidates should not make stuff up. This rule is inspired by presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. She likes to make stuff up. Now that she is in the running for leader of the free world, she s...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m.
UPDATE: TD 13 has strengthened to Tropical Storm Lee with 40 MPH winds. The Central Gulf Coast is gearing up for what could be a memorable Labor Day weekend as Tropical Depression 13 meanders its way towards the Louisiana Coast. A Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect for coastal counties from the Texas/Louisiana border eastward to the Mississippi/Alabama border. These warnings are expect...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m. - 6 clicks 
Tropical Depression 13 has formed in the northern Gulf of Mexico from a tropical wave that has been sitting over the area for the last day or two. The National Hurricane Center anticipates TD13 to become Tropical Storm Lee tonight or tomorrow, and very slowly make its way towards the Louisiana Coast. In anticipation of TD 13 strengthening into Lee, the NWS has issued a Tropical Storm Warning f...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m. - 7 clicks
My state and its illustrious governor are often held up by national Republicans as leaders in "state-based solutions." You know, the "states are the laboratories" crowd. Our laboratory is looking more and more like Dr. Frankenstein's castle. ...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m.
Happy anniversary. Or something. I put this video together for the same reason I wrote the song, the same reason I wrote the diary the song's based on, the same reason I constantly direct people to the research that led to the diary: The wrong story is being told. ...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m. - 6 clicks
Researchers to study spill's effect on women, Scientists convene to solve Gulf problems, Shrinking the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, As crews remove one giant oil glob, more tar mats could be exposed during storm season, Fed-up oil spill captain critical of Alabama Gulf Coast mayors; accuses them of using spill politically, Legacy legislation issue not going away, Crab fishermen, dealers stil...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m.
Quick update of national weather warnings as of 1:00 AM EST. Possible Tornado reported for Snook, Burleson County Texas. Winter warnings from Boulder CO to Des Moines are in effect. There is a blizzard in Platte, NE. Severe thunderstorm San Antonio. Austin, Texas had massive flooding last week and it's in another flash flood warning tonight. And severe flash flo...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m. - 4 clicks
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) - Mon 10:22 p.m. - 6 clicks
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) - Mon 10:22 p.m. - 4 clicks
Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) owns a number of small businesses—according to the clip, Subway and UPS outlets, so franchises of national corporations—and he's objecting to President Obama's proposal to tax the wealthy a little more for deficit reduction, because it might hit non-rich people like him and then they'd create fewer jobs. As Think Progress describes the scene: Fleming is himself ...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m.
Yahoo Sports NEW ORLEANS (AP)—The home of the New Orleans Saints and site of six Super Bowls will be renamed the Mercedes-Benz Superdome under a deal with the German automaker announced Tuesday. …The deal will allow Mercedes-Benz USA to have its name associated with championships in college and pro football and men’s college basketball over the next 16 months—plus an NFL team that has gon...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m. - 6 clicks
Topics: BP’s Top U.S. Officer Called to Testify at Gulf Oil Spill Trial, Judge rules BP's 2009 oil spill in Alaska was accidental, BP Staff May Face U.S. Criminal Charges After Spill, WSJ Says, In a first, gas and other fuels are top US export, Deep Gulf drilling thrives 18 months after BP's oil spill, In a first, gas and other fuels are top US export, Shrimp season worst in recent history, A Gu...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m. - 5 clicks
Time to welcome me back to the fold. It's been awhile since I've posted anything. This semester has made me... busy. Not only have my classes been more rigorous than the last few semesters, but I've been consumed with the process with graduate school applications. So, I'm sure that you noticed (the inimitable) SaoMagnifico's diaries on fantasy states such as Delmarva and a scenario wherein O...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m.
This is one of those stories that just makes you shake your head and ask, Has it really come to this? Climate change skepticism seeps into science classrooms Some states have introduced education standards requiring teachers to defend the denial of man-made global warming. by Neela Banerjee, Washington Bureau, LATimes -- Jan 16, 2012 Reporting from Washington -- A flash point has...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m.
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) - Mon 10:22 p.m. - 6 clicks
So, by now most people have heard or seen Louisiana Congressman John Fleming's appearance on MSNBC when he bared his soul to us all about how hard these poor multi-millionaires have it. With tears obviously about to glisten in his eyes, he confessed that so many of his millions go back into operating all of those businesses he owns, he has a mere $600K left over. From that $600K, a...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m. - 6 clicks
Bobby Montoya wanted to be a girl scout. The trouble was, apparently, that Bobby was born a boy. At least that's what a scout leader in Denver initially thought. But fortunately, that thinking is not Girl Scout philosophy, which is that "if a child identifies as a girl and the child's family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout". &nbs...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m. - 6 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) - Mon 10:22 p.m. - 5 clicks
Global Warming Denial has been added to the Thou Shalt Not List: Deut. 5:12b: Honor thy beautiful and fragile planet, that drought unending and famine afflicting thine cows and thine horses and then thine wife and children and all that thou canst see shall not afflict you. Otherwise drought kills everything. texans pay $90-a-bale for $8 hay and hay for January/February is nonexistent. Trop...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m.
Pointing out that Texas Gov. Rick Perry wants to roll back health care reform, We Party Patriots notes that: ...Texas has the worst healthcare of any state in the union with nearly a quarter of its residents uninsured. This leaves the state in a vulnerable position because when the uninsured need emergency care and cannot pay, the burden of the cost gets placed on the Hospitals and Doctors...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m.
Thanks for visiting the Louisiana Democratic Party's new Daily Kos page. We are excited to announce that we will begin blogging on Monday, 11/14/11 on the Daily Kos. We are looking forward to sharing our party's story of rebuilding and growth with Louisianans and Democrats across the country. Under the leadership of Chairman Buddy Leach the party will begin its new path laying the ...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 10:22 p.m. - 6 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) - Mon 10:22 p.m. - 6 clicks
Topics: Gulf oil spill's 'trial of the century' could end before it begins, BP Emails Reveal Company Veiled Spill Rate, What BP knew early in the Deepwater Horizon disaster: An editorial, Fuel Fix » Steffy: When BP keeps secrets, it’s time to worry, BP Must Indemnify Halliburton in Gulf Spill Claims, Judge Says, BP Is Spending $500 Million To Fix Its Brand And Get Everybody To Forget About Deepw...
DailyKos (Louisiana) - Mon 12:29 p.m. - 11 clicks
The weather has been weird this year. It's not just your imagination . ...today's rare tropical disturbance over South Florida is symptomatic of how whacked-out our 2012 atmosphere has been. In isolation, the strange winter weather of 2011 - 2012 could be a natural rare occurrence, but there have been way too many strange atmospheric events in the past two years for them all to be simply an unu...
Library Chronicles - Mon 8:43 a.m.
Old boy Lamar White takes Bobby Swindle's latest public money giveaway scandal, his jihad against Public Education in Louisiana, to task in a big way: I wonder, though: Are any of these people aware of the end-game here? Because Jindal’s proposals about performance-based pay and tenure are just window-dressing. On their own, they’re radical, to be sure, but not nearly as...
Daily Kingfish - Mon 7:27 a.m. - 15 clicks
While looking for something I didn't find today, I stumbled upon my 1st-grade report card. It was only downhill from here. From top to bottom, the subjects are: reading; language; handwriting; spelling; social living; mathematics; music, arts and crafts; and P.E. Why can't those always be what we learned? My conduct that year was sterling as well, also something that didn't ...
Ian McGibboney - Sun 10:08 p.m.
• Rush Limbaugh apparently said this past week that he wouldn't disclose who he voted for in the Florida Republican primary because "it would destroy my objectivity as a journalist." I'm starting to think more and more that maybe Rush really is just an avant-garde performance artist. I've suspected that for years. • A new study claims that a lower IQ in childhood makes someone more likely t...
Ian McGibboney - Sun 7:25 p.m.
A few days ago, The Wall Street Journal compared Governor Bobby Jindal’s plans for education reform to Newt Gingrich’s plans for a moon colony. And they weren’t being facetious or ironic. Quoting from their article “Jindal’s Education Moon Shot“: Newt Gingrich wants the U.S. to return to the moon, but as challenges go he has [...] ...
CenLamar - Sun 12:00 a.m. - 16 clicks
Somebody guessing a person for a game: "Glenn Beck?" Girl: "Who's Glenn Beck? I've never heard of him." Me: "You're not missing much." ...
Ian McGibboney - Sat 11:02 p.m.
On Thursday I picked up a copy of the Krewe du Vieux's annual news pamphlet Le Monde de Merde with my morning coffee. You can view the document in its entirety as well as archives from its previous years at this link . Please take a minute to do so. Is there any organization that more perfectly captures Carnival's roguish spirit of celebratory misrule, of turning the everyday mundane exi...
Library Chronicles - Sat 1:43 p.m.
When are people going to realize that political punditry has nothing to reality ? There's no amount of empirical evidence that will win an argument with the so-called 1 percenters. Even if their policy recommendations are demonstrably bad for the rest of us, they're still good for them. That's the whole point. ...
Library Chronicles - Sat 11:04 a.m.
Which transaction will be completed first? Drew Brees' contract extension or Garland's repayment of Heebe's loan ? Careful now. They're both trickier propositions than you may think. ...
Library Chronicles - Sat 10:47 a.m.
$1,000 cocktail hour with the Mayors doesn't necessarily seem like a setting for trouble at first glance. But recall the venue has something of a reputation . Also one of the principals involved is unusually touchy when it comes to name calling . ...
Library Chronicles - Sat 10:24 a.m.
And that's just this one pipleline . The Waterkeeper Alliance and several Gulf Coast Waterkeeper organizations filed suit Thursday against Taylor Energy Co. for failing to halt the flow of oil from wells off Louisiana's coastline that were severed by an underwater landslide during Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The organizations filed suit under provisions of the federal Clean Water Act and Resource Co...
Library Chronicles - Sat 9:06 a.m.
While at a bookstore last night, I stumbled upon the official New Orleans Saints 2012 calendar. I pondered buying it, because I still have the 2011 version of that same calendar up on my wall, open to Drewcember. But then I flipped it over to find that Reggie Bush is January. Really? I get there's some lead time on these things, but I didn't realize it was an entire year. To make ma...
Ian McGibboney - Sat 7:23 a.m. - 20 clicks
Rule #189: But many of his best friends are blah If you say black, don't go back. At the 27-second mark in this video from January, Rick Santorum hesitates before saying, "I don't want ... to ... to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money." But because he fudged the word "black," he later said he was trying to say "blah." What? OK, so I suppose that'...
Ian McGibboney - Sat 7:23 a.m. - 18 clicks
Major cuts to LSU's Interim Public Hospital in New Orleans . A drop in state tax revenues necessitated the midyear budget reductions, which where ordered by Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration. The cuts affect the seven-hospital system anchored in New Orleans. The system and its $780 million budget also include facilities in Baton Rouge, Bogalusa, Houma, Independence, Lafayette and Lake Charles. ...
Library Chronicles - Fri 10:23 p.m.
A Facebook friend shared this picture last night. It has its own Snopes page . But you knew that. Forget the fact that it's manipulated, and focus instead on what the message is supposed to be: the Obamas disrespect America through deliberate mockery of pledging. Even if that were true — which, again, it isn't — I get so tired of people obsessing over stuff like this. Aren't ther...
Ian McGibboney - Fri 8:21 p.m.
With all due respect to Bettye Jones, who recently retired from her position as Executive Director of Cenla Pride in order to move closer to her family in suburban Atlanta: What the hell are you talking about? From David Dinsmore’s comically ignorant and completely misleading article, which was, evidently, paid for by Gannett (bold mine): [...] ...
CenLamar - Fri 3:08 a.m.
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 - Fri 1:06 a.m. - 14 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. - 15 clicks
Good to see James Gill writing about this horrible ordinance . ...the cops aren't as nuts as the City Council. They are not about to enforce an ordinance that forbids "any person or group of persons to loiter or congregate on Bourbon Street for the purpose of disseminating any social, political or religious message between the hours of sunset and sunrise." Thus, Newt Gingrich's supporters, say,...
Library Chronicles - Thu 3:40 p.m.
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.
Trump endorsing Mitt is funny for many reasons including this. All joking aside, in American popular culture, Donald Trump is iconically tied to the phrase “You’re fired.” And not a pained “You’re fired” but the pleasure of chopping wood job well done “You’re fired.” Also, isn't Mitt, by his own estimation , something of an anchor baby anyway? But mostly it's just funny because, well, the...
Library Chronicles - Thu 9:41 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. - 16 clicks
So I just got some terrific financial advice from a guy bragging about the size of his savings account. "Spend less than you make." Now, if I can just think of ways to not need new tires, doctor's visits or any of the other one-time things that clean my clock despite my best efforts, I'll be in business! Am I right, America? ...
Ian McGibboney - Wed 8:09 p.m.
You’ve probably seen this inspired piece of “art” that’s going around Facebook lately. But do you know the true story behind it? Once upon a time, Jim was waiting for a bus in Washington, D.C. He wasn’t feeling too wonderful, because he’d spent the entire day looking for a job to no avail. He’d worked in an apple pie factory, but Mexicans took his job to China. Not that it mattered, b...
Ian McGibboney - Wed 7:28 p.m.
Based on the pretend withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 . Mr. Panetta offered no details of what stepping back from combat would mean, saying only that the troops would move into an “advise-and-assist” role to Afghanistan’s security forces. Such definitions are typically murky, particularly in a country like Afghanistan, where American forces are spread widely among small bases across the desert, farm...
Library Chronicles - Wed 1:49 p.m.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Pfizer has recalled 28 lots of birth control pills, principally Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets. The recall was caused by problems with "ingredients and sequence of the medication." Apparently, the tablets were manufactured and packaged by Pfizer Inc., and marketed by Akrimax Rx Products and labeled under the Akrimax Ph...
Justice is a Fickle Thing... - Wed 1:49 p.m.
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.
But I ran out of time today before polls closed. I'm guessing Mitt breaks 40% tonight while Newt struggles for 30 if that much. Saul Alinsky could surprise with 5 to 10% though so keep an eye on that. ...
Library Chronicles - Tue 4:25 p.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.
Haven't seen the last one of these fights . Not by a long shot. With a sweeping series of bills introduced Monday night in the state Senate, Republicans in Arizona want to make Wisconsin’s battle against public unions last year look like a lightweight sparring match. The bills include a total ban on collective bargaining for Arizona’s public employees, including at the city and county levels. T...
Library Chronicles - Tue 4:25 p.m.
But if Dambala is right about this , I don't think the oil industry is suddenly lacking for a local mouthpiece. I mean, they'll always have the city funded GNO Inc., right ? ...
Library Chronicles - Tue 1:09 p.m.
As Florida Republicans go to the polls to give Mitt what looks like a sizeable victory today, the various Super PACs are filing finance reports for the final quarter of 2011. Here's what we know so far . Stephen Colbert's gag Super PAC appears to have out-raised PACs associated with ex-candidates Herman Cain and Rick Perry. Colbert's PAC included a copy of its form (PDF) with a press release...
Library Chronicles - Tue 12:44 p.m.
Beneath this sad headline, Gingrich Sued Over Use of ‘Eye of the Tiger’ we find a much sadder story being told here. “ My legacy, my life, has been ‘Eye of the Tiger, ’ ” Mr. Sullivan told the Chicago Sun-Times, which reported about the legal action on Monday. “Those copyright laws are there to protect people like me who are lucky enough to create a copyright. ‘Eye of the Tiger’ is an iconic ...
Library Chronicles - Tue 12:03 p.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 - Jan 30 - 19 clicks
What you are about to read is wrong . What's happened in the past decade, Laycock says, is that the culture wars have become a zero sum game. When one side wins, the other loses. "The conservative religious groups want to take away all the liberty of the pro-choice and gay-rights people, and the pro-choice and gay-rights people want to take away all the liberty of the con...
Ian McGibboney - Jan 30
The Crusades The Spanish Inquisition The Holocaust What doesn't count as a war on religion "President Obama wants to take away my right to use federal dollars to deny people medical services that make my narrow personal beliefs cry!" "It troubles me that the government I distrust so much for its overbearing power and thirst for absolute control of the people is becoming less domin...
Ian McGibboney - Jan 30
(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 - Jan 29 - 3 clicks
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 - Jan 28 - 7 clicks
I smiled so big when I saw this: When most leaders or other non-singers try to pay tribute to a song, it's usually pretty awkward. Not here, because President Obama is a badass. Not the kind of voice even I expected. Rev. Al Green said afterward that Obama "nailed it." I'd say he did. I love moments like this for reasons I can barely explain, but really I shouldn't have to. For my ...
Ian McGibboney - Jan 28
At the risk of sounding like a sexist Barbie doll, math is hard. I’m bad at math. Really, really bad. Just yesterday, in fact, I miscalculated someone’s age by 10 years. Granted, that was unusual. But the fact remains that I do not think in optimal terms to be a math whiz. I took gifted math classes in school from 2nd grade to 5th, and struggled mightily the whole time. Even in the lower-leve...
Ian McGibboney - Jan 28
No matter how you slice it, there is absolutely no way Ron Paul looks good in the wake of his newsletter hullabaloo . Anybody trying to justify or excuse the racist content of his past publications should just quit while they’re slightly less behind. Let’s examine the possible scenarios: 1) Ron Paul is directly responsible for the racism, and it reflects his exact thoughts. Well, obvio...
Ian McGibboney - Jan 28
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 - 5 clicks
Rule #185: All we want is white beyond the Thunderdome If you lead a push to put a more positive spin on slavery in your state’s textbooks, you lose all right to insist you’re not racist. Tea party activists in Tennessee are calling for textbook criteria that calls for “No portrayal of minority experience in the history which actually occurred [to] obscure the experience or contributions of ...
Ian McGibboney - Jan 24
It’s a source of great irritation to many drivers. It’s a bad idea for city officials. But, it's a bonanza for “entrepreneurs” who can make crime, however slight, profitable - $12 million in profits to be exact! And, the insult that is added to the injury is taxpayers picking-up the tab for a bad idea gone really, really bad. KTRK -TV reports that the city of Houston agreed to settle a la...
Justice is a Fickle Thing... - Jan 24
...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 - 6 clicks
I don't know how real God is, but Traffic Jesus is definitely out there making some signs happen. This afternoon, having left work early because I'm sick as turd, I found myself behind an old Honda CR-V at a stoplight. It's one of those cars that exemplifies the 1980s subcompact trend — reliable, but nevertheless really showing its age. It was blue, but it's hard to tell if it started out tha...
Ian McGibboney - Jan 23
If you had told me last year that the final four Republican presidential candidates were Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul, I wouldn't have believed you. Well, OK, maybe half-believed you. Romney? Yes. He's the theoretically electable one. Santorum? Yes. He's the pure, crazy, double-down guy. Paul? Yes, but not as a Republican. I wonder how his supporters reconcil...
Ian McGibboney - Jan 23
Charles Broward with the Florida Times Union reports that a Florida jury has awarded $168 million to a Clay County deputy who filed a lawsuit against Memorial Hospital Jacksonville over a botched gastric bypass surgery in 2007. The suit alleges that complications arose during the surgery which were not treated in a timely fashion, causing the deputy to suffer severe brain injuries due to "...
Justice is a Fickle Thing... - Jan 23
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 - 5 clicks
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 - 5 clicks
It was just a matter of time before the ugly visage of the corporate vulture became public. At last, the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $158 million to the state of Texas on claims that the company “overcharged” Medicaid and “illegally promoted” the antipsychotic drug Risperdal. Johnson & Johnson “allegedly” over-hyped the benefits of the drug and downplayed i...
Justice is a Fickle Thing... - 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 - 5 clicks
In general, the federal Voting Rights Act requires states to draw majority-minority districts as long as they are compact and respect communities of interest. What might congressional maps of the 5 “deep south” states look like if this were not required? ...
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 - 4 clicks
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 - 5 clicks
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 - 5 clicks
Very important for all of you to click this link and fill in the form. Only takes about 20 seconds: Stop SOPA Please fight censorship and keep the intertubes free, free, free..... ...
American Zombie - Jan 18
In honor of the worldwide Internet protest against SOPA, the bill that would give businesses latitude to shut down alleged copyright infringers (in other words, virtually everybody), I will not post here today. Crap. ...
Ian McGibboney - Jan 17
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 - 14 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
" We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." ...
Daily Kingfish - Jan 16
As a kid, I would often feel down on Sunday nights, especially after exciting weekends. Much of that was having to wake up early the next morning to start the school week — but it was particularly acute following an extended holiday or some other event. That feeling faded as I got older and my life became less strictly structured, but has made a comeback in the past year or so. These past few wee...
Ian McGibboney - Jan 15
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 - 4 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 - 3 clicks
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 - 2 clicks
You can go with this: Dauphin Island fish show up with lesions, BP spill link questioned Or you can go with that: How Microbes Teamed to Clean Gulf Dr. Valentine and colleagues have now used a computer model to explain just how that scenario might have played out, though some scientists remain skeptical. Magic microbes story, redux. This story keeps coming back almost as much as ...
American Zombie - Jan 13
Courthouse News: Fifty-two investors claim fund managers associated with supply-side economist Arthur Laffer took $3.1 million to prop up a Ponzi scheme, then said nothing as their money was "wasted with no reasonable expectation of recovery." Who wouldn't invest with Laffer? Look at his prescience on oil, stocks and gold five years ago. When he teams up with Kudlow , it's like an unbeatable...
Right Hand Thief - Jan 12
Our VERY FAVORITE political ad of 2012 (so far!). We hate dark money. We hate corporate personhood, or at least the evolving Judicial definition. But we love this ad. Old "Mitt" never saw it coming. ...
Daily Kingfish - Jan 12
Guys...I suspect that some of the avenues for information input to this blog have been hacked or compromised. I'm telling you this because I do not want anyone to send me information and assume you will remain anonymous. Until I can figure out what to do about it, or until I can find out what exactly is going on...please do not contact me by email or by the comment section unless it's...
American Zombie - Jan 11
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 - 3 clicks
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
Sorry for the lack of posts recently. We're ready to make 2012 even better than last year... So stay close. ...
Daily Kingfish - Jan 6
In the past I've been uncharitable towards consultant Mike Bayham's political analyses, and have harped on his miscues. But Bayham is on the ground in Iowa, writing compelling firsthand reports on the GOP campaigns. He'll be liveblogging the Iowa caucus results at his blog. Check it out. I'll be at an undisclosed location tonight, watching other entertainments. I don't have any exciting predi...
Right Hand Thief - Jan 3
I've been waiting all week for his commentary on the "Brees is a dick" scandal. We Make the Rules, Pal. It was worth the wait. It was all so cute and quirky and hip. A little "edgy" yet wholesome as milk. Real funky but not threatening. Made for great media. A tightly-scripted little melodrama that if you didn't know any better you might have mistaken for an HBO Original Series. &...
American Zombie - Dec 29
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
Why Is the FDA Saying It's OK to Eat Seafood 10,000 Times Over the Safe Limit for Dangerous Carcinogens? After you read that, if you haven't already, please watch Dr. Scott Milroy's presentation I posted in the previous post: Take into consideration what Dr. Milroy is suggesting: The FDA is not only allowing PAH levels 100 to 10,000 times higher than normally considered...
American Zombie - Dec 19
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 - 4 clicks
After a thrilling upset of #1 Kentucky Wildcats, the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball program still can't crack Fletcher Mackel's top 25 . The local sports newsman has an AP vote, and last week he rated the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers behind the likes of Memphis, who was 5-3 at the time. C'mon Fletcher! Show the Hoosiers some love. --- Also: a warm welcome to former Hoosiers standout ...
Right Hand Thief - 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 - 17 clicks
