Old Man or "That One"?

For those of you who didn't watch the debate, here's the story

Postivity from NYTimes

From the NY Times, a positive story for New Orleans

So what if Tulane was clobbered, 44-13, by Army at the homecoming game on Saturday? In a city where Louisiana State flags flutter outside many bars and homes, nearly 24,000 Tulane fans showed up to listen to live music, drink beer, paint their faces blue and green, and — yes — watch some football.

Kudo's, NOLA voters

NOLA City Business dot com recognizes one of the positive outcomes of last Saturday's election


The city with a reputation for political corruption now has a permanent watchdog.
Voters last weekend overwhelmingly approved changing the City Charter to require New Orleans to have an inspector general, who is tasked with weeding out fraud, waste and mismanagement within city government and recommending ways to make government more efficient. The office also will have a dedicated portion of the city's budget each year and an independent police monitor.



Robert Cerasoli, a Massachusetts native like myself, has been
putting up with Ray "the snake" Nagin and company's run around tactics for over a year now.

He waited nearly 7 months for an office

Cersoli's apparent red tape issues began almost immediately. When trying to advertise for his staff positions in major publications nationwide, he needed city officials to fill out credit information and in some cases tax identification, which took a while, Cerasoli said.
City officials also did not put Cerasoli's funding into the agency's bank accounts and didn't teach him or his first assistant, Marvin Doyal, how to access the accounts until recently.
"No one is coming in and taking us by the hand and leading us through this -- trust me," Cerasoli said.


From New Orleans City Business dot com, November 2007:

Despite failing to fund the inspector general, Mayor Nagin added millions to the city payroll to hire 40 more lawyers to review City Hall contracts, which is supposed to be Cerasoli’s job.
“That’s my job but he’s not giving it to me,” Cerasoli said. “I’m sure he doesn’t trust me to look at the contracts because I’m not going to give them the answers they want.”

The parasites infesting City Hall and sucking up taxpayer dollars could be eradicated by a good stiff application of justice but that’s not going to happen with Mayor Nagin and the City Council giving Cerasoli lip service so far. The Cerasoli stonewall by the mayor and City Council has been painfully obvious.

Cerasoli still has no staff. No office. No budget. City Council members keep saying they are going to fund the IG position but the words ring hollow when the new budget has zero dollars dedicated to the IG.




Someday, this and all of your other insane actions WILL come back and haunt you, Ray Ray.

Scuzzbucket the week ( a few weeks late)

When I saw this quote, I vurpped.

"This is our Katrina" was written by a Mr. Ned Lamont, rich bastard living in Greenwich, Connecticut, referring to the meltdown of Wall Street a few weeks ago:


........in one fell swoop compared Greenwich's money woes to the Japan malaise, Asian tsunami and the New Orleans flood.

"It really is a financial tsunami, and it could go either way," said the multimillionaire telecommunications mogul who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2006. "It took Japan 20 years to recover from their buying binge. How long does it take us to work through excessive leverage? That could take years not months. This is our Katrina."



Oh yeah, Ned? Did you lose any of the nice, cushy things that your silver spoon life has presented to you?

I bet you didn't!!!

It's people like you who make me so angry and at the same time helpless to fix what you and your rich cronies have done to common, every day Americans. You bastards have sucked out any equity we've built up in our homes, you've taken thousands from our future retirement incomes, you've STOLEN from current retirees and what kind of "Katrina Punishment" do you receive? Probably nothing, Ned.


does even one of your homes look like this, Ned?


how 'bout you yachts, Ned, ever have one beat to boards like this?


did any of your "domestic help" ever have to clean your house out like this, Ned?


I know people in your level of society never hear or have to deal with the garbage man, but did you EVER see trash piles this high, Ned?


If THIS was YOUR Katrina, Ned, your neighborhood would look like THIS, bastard


If THIS was YOUR Katrina, Ned, your church would look like THIS


iF this were YOUR Katrina, Ned, your fridge would be putrid by now


If THIS were YOUR Katrina, Ned, you'd be STILL waiting on FEMA


If THIS were YOUR Katrina, Ned, you'd be enjoying these MRE's.


Imagine yourself in their shoes, Ned.


You know, Ned,


I'll bet you and your "pretty", priviledged little family would not even have lasted two days in post Katrina Gulf Coast. You could not even imagine what it was like to have no ice; to stand in line at Home Depot for four hours in 95+ degree heat for a generator that might not be available when your turn came; to have TEN MINTUES to shop at WalMart for things you might need to survive without electricity (clothes lines, bread, peanutbutter). Would you and your family ever think of making sandwiches for people who were less lucky than you? Nah, Ned, I think not.


I don't think the Lamont family could handle the stress that comes with living in an area that went thru a tremendous natural disastrophe. Y'all just wouldn't have the mental strength to get thru this long term recovery. Nope, judging by your shallow statement above, you lack any kind of moral strength, IMHO.


Mr. Lamont, I hope you never have to go thru a Katrina. Because I think you would be one of the idiots that would be wailing about how "unfair" life is.

Loser.

Hat Tip to Ray. Thank for reminding me of this fuckmook.

Scuzzbucket of the Week

Seventh grade teacher in Marianna Florida Greg Howard

From the the jcfloridian dot com

According to parents and students in Greg Howard’s seventh-grade social studies class, Howard on Friday, Sept. 26 asked the class a question regarding Obama’s call for change, and proceeded to write out what the letters C-H-A-N-G-E stood for.

“She told me that he wrote on the board ‘Can You Help A (expletive) Get Elected, and then laughed about it,” said Shelia Christian, a mother of one of Howard’s students.

Jackson County Superintendent Danny Sims said that description of this incident was “pretty accurate.”

Sims said Howard apparently repeated the action in more than one class, having made the comment in “a couple of periods.”

According to a news release from the school board, Howard was suspended with pay on Monday, Sept. 29.

On Wednesday Howard was given a written reprimand regarding his actions, and those actions will be reported to the Florida Department of Education Office of Professional Practices, according to the school board.

As of Thursday, he was suspended without pay for 10 days, was relieved of his football coaching duties, and will be transferred to the Jackson County Adult Education program, according to JCSB.

Howard is also required to submit a letter of apology to the students involved, and is required to attend diversity and sensitivity training, the school board reported.

Sims said Howard’s racial commentary was not directed at any students, but were directed at a political party.

“We’ve handled this swiftly and we’ve handled it with a concern that we’re not going to tolerate it and this is a pretty stiff (action). The situation is behind us and we’re ready to move forward,” said Sims.

“My daughter came home very upset after that happened. When you’re in school teaching our kids, you’re supposed to be teaching them what’s right by the law, not what’s right in your opinion. This is not the stone ages. We don’t come through the back door anymore. I raise my kids to be respectful and they should be led by example,” said Christian.



thanks to animamundi for this heads up.

What a sick redneck.

Dummy of the Day

I'm not the brightest bulb in the box, but this Palin person is embarassingly DUMB.



From the 2millionth weblog,
reference to something this Palin person said IN PUBLIC, as told by
thinkprogress dot org


Speaking at a San Francisco fundraiser on Sunday, Gov. Sarah Palin “fumbled” while praising U.S. soldiers in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, referring to Afghanistan as a “neighboring country”:

“They are also building schools for the Afghan children so that there is hope and opportunity in our neighboring country of Afghanistan,” she told several hundred supporters at a fundraising event in San Francisco.



It scares me that - God forbid - she could be one heartbeat away from running this country. A female George Bush. Shudder.

Farewell

all photos from time.com



Hoping to say farewell to the 2008 Hurricane season real soon. It was ugly.

Due to our cool weather lately, it looks as if there is a small chance that the weather in the Gulf might turn into anything too destructive. Here's T.D. 13 down in the Bay of Campeche




Gustav was ugly, but Ike was worse for Texas






The above picture from Texas looks a lot like this one below of Gulfport after Katrina



Time has an article recalling Ike's wrath here

I don't get it

What kind of people would vote for a crook over and over again?
I don't get it.

Neither does Cliff


It’s just a foolish idea to send him back to Congress. There is no excuse for voting for him and he was selfish to even run again. Even the most pro black/anti whitey black people who vote strictly for a candidate because of his color have no excuse for this. There were five other brothers running! You could have still voted black five different ways and not voted for Bill! You have to know where you live, what you need and vote according to who has the best chance of delivering that. Maybe Congressman Jefferson had a moment of bad judgment and is really a good man. That’s fine but you don’t have to put him back in office to validate your forgiveness. He can be a good guy and rebuild his name from his house while a new, less scandalous person works in Washington.

Justice??

I think I'm missing something.


Razoo Bouncers not guilty of murder.




Levon Jones, 26, of Statesboro, Ga., died after being pinned to the sidewalk and restrained by a group of bouncers outside Razzoo Bar & Patio on Dec. 31, 2004, about 12:35 a.m. after a member of his party was denied entrance to the club based on a dress-code violation, police said. Jones, according to media reports, suffocated after being held down by three bouncers, one using a chokehold.

The coroner said Jones suffocated as one bouncer held him in a headlock for 12 minutes and another pushed down on his back, preventing him from breathing. A third held Jones' legs. Coroner Frank Minyard found that Jones was asphyxiated and classified the death as homicide.





Charges have been dropped against Clay Montz, 34, Matthew Taylor, 24, Arthur Irons, 43, and Brandon Vicknair, 24, who are all free.

This happened several months ago, but seeing the report in the paper today reminded me how pissed off this outcome has made me. The presiding judge, Raymond Bigelow



also dismissed the Danziger 7 , the cops who shot two people on the Danziger Bridge in the aftermath of Katrina. Now the Feds are investigating this incident.

Here's a website that has bits and pieces about what went on on the Danziger Bridge. Kind of loosely done, it provides interesting reading...at least to me.

Something tells me that Judge Bigelow is not the most open minded judge around. It's just a feeling I get.

Good News for Big Branch

After losing 1,000 acres to Hurricane Katrina, restoration is continuing at the Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge in Lacombe/Mandeville.

The project, on the drawing board since 2003, plans to dump the sediment in three areas near the mouth of the Bayou Lacombe including Goose Point and Point Platte.
Billed as a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week effort to pump 3 billion cubic yards of water and mud from the floor of Lake Pontchartrain and into the refuge, via a mile long pipe, was postponed as hurricanes Gustav and Ike ripped through the area.



The project, part of the Coastal Wetland Planning Project Restoration Act created in 1990 is just one of dozens funded in 18 years throughout coastal areas.

For those of you who like to hike or bike, Big Branch is a wonderful 4.5 mile rountrip walk which takes you through several refuge habitats to the edge of
Bayou Lacombe. A 1/4 mile boardwalk trail also begins here, and travels to the edge of a nearby cypress slough.



Boy Scout Road is also great for a 4.5 mile bike trip, with a smooth graveled surface. Mountain bikes are recommended. The interpretive guide to Boy Scout
Road will help you enjoy your trip. The Tammany Trace paved bike path, while not on the refuge, runs very near it and provides access to several refuge locations.

We've seen gators and owls there, as well as evidence of wild boar. It's a peaceful trip where all you can hear is the wind rustling thru the trees. No cars, trucks or anything else.



For more info, check out this flyer for Big Branch.

Wacko of the Week

A Chalmette man swung a 4-foot metal sword at another man's head during a fight, authorities said.



Leslie Wilson, 57, of 4019 Jupiter Drive, acknowleged using the sword to go after a neighbor with the intent of cutting off the man's head, the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Wilson told deputies that his neighbor, Albert Estopinal III, 32, of 4021 Jupiter, threatened him first.

Both Wilson and Estopinal were booked with disturbing the peace in the 8 p.m. incident on Jupiter Drive near the corner of Atreus Street. Wilson was also booked with attempted simple escape by somehow getting out and walking away from the sheriff’s car he had been placed inside, while handcuffed, but was immediately stopped and put back in the vehicle.

Estopinal also was booked on an outstanding arrest warrant charging him with felony theft over $500.


How'd you like to have Mr. Wilson living next door?