NOLA Satellite Government

Some colleagues of mine at Tulane have been developing a pretty awesome website that can only advance accountability and transparency in municipal government here in New Orleans.  And lord knows we need more of that.

The site, called NOLA Satellite Government, seeks to take publicly-available information on all sorts of public entities who manage programs and budgets that are supported by public taxpayer funds and collate them with the members of the boards of directors who oversee such entities.  There's a pretty cool visual network program on the site that shows how individuals are connected across boards and agencies.

While the site doesn't propose to draw any conclusions about what these networks mean, it does help citizens have a more accurate visual representation of the behind-the-scenes power brokers and how they are linked to one another.

At its best, this site can provide a starting point for other researchers to use this publicly-available information as a launching pad for investigating much more closely some curious and eyebrow-raising connections.

If these power-brokers have nothing to hide, they should welcome this site as a step towards greater transparency and public accountability of governing institutions in front of the citizens who are paying for them.  If any of these power-brokers complain about the site for whatever reason, that will be a red flag which will hopefully encourage greater scrutiny by investigative journalists into the operations of the programs/organizations/institutions they oversee.

There's nothing but good that can come of this, and I am glad to know the folks behind this effort.  Check out the site, use the information there to spur your own investigations, and write up what you find out on your blogs.  Spread the word and hold our elected and appointed public servants to account.

Here's an article from the Times-Picayune describing the website.

No Cash for Second Hand Transactions in Louisiana?

One of my regular readers (and a worthy ideological rival), Eric, sent me an email with a link to an interesting story on a piece of legislation that apparently made it through the Louisiana Legislature and somehow avoided a veto by the state Governor.

In his email, Eric indicated that outrage over this legislation was something we both could agree on.

He's right.

While I understand the impulse in this legislation to make it more difficult to traffic in stolen property, this way of going about doing this is just pure wrongheaded.

Free human beings should be able to conduct commercial transactions using cash. Forget the other problems with the legislation that exempts some second hand commercial enterprises from the requirements of this legislation. They're ultimately irrelevant to the simple priniciple of conducting business transaction using cash. We should all be able to do this.

In fact, for much of the marginalized and poor, cash transactions are the primary means of engaging in commerce. This overzealous concern with clamping down on the trafficking of stolen property has the unfortunate consequence not only of compromising economic freedom, but also of disproportionately punishing the poor.

It's a foolish piece of legislation that never should have seen the light of day.

Prayers for a Friend

A good friend of mine was shot in the head in an apparent robbery/carjacking. I have known this person for three years. He had become a good friend in that time. He is a good man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He survived the shooting, but has apparently lost his sight and will live with a bullet lodged in his head. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Rising Tide VI

On the local news:



I'll be participating on the Social Media/Social Justice panel. More info at risingtidenola.com. Hope to see you there!

A Window on Bobby Jindal's Government

Good government types should be astounded and outraged at this. Watch all the clips.

Let me tell you something about government privatization schemes from having studied how these were done by many developing world governments as part of the neoliberal reform process. If you skirt the kinds of transparency that are absolutely essential to public accountability for government behavior, what you'll get in the privatization of public assets are backroom sweetheart deals that transfer public wealth (taxpayer dollars) to the bank accounts of corporate fatcats with deep pockets prone to kickbacks to politicians via all kinds of shady negotiations with minimal protections and benefits to the people forced to swallow such privatizations. It's essentially nothing more than raping the public on behalf of the private sector. It's a government-directed and government-forced redistribution of wealth upwards, and a government-induced impoverishment of the less-favored and less-powerful. Let's be clear: there's nothing "laissez-faire" about this process.

I want to reiterate again -- and it's something every person should know -- that the private sector is not interested in free market transparency. It is interested in maximizing the capturing of wealth no matter how that wealth is obtained. If it can reduce any state regulation that would prevent the abuse both of individuals and of the broader public good, it will do so. What drives the private sector is the bottom line. Pure and simple. Even at the expense of the public good.

You can't watch these clips of testimony without feeling sick to your stomach about the blatant deception and dishonesty that plagues government. And the Jindal administration is no exception, its claims to good government efficiency and transparency notwithstanding.

Walker Hines: Unserious Chameleon

It's hard to believe Walker Hines when he calls himself a "principled" politician. To me, he's just a boy riding on the coattails of his daddy's reputation as a prominent local lawyer (in fact, I think he still lives at home with the parentals) who is just toying with the game of politics as if it were a high school student council experience. Why do I think this? Well ...

In the span of a few short years, Walker has "evolved" from being an earnest "progressive Democrat who believes in the Catholic values of social justice" to membership in that cabal of "conservative state lawmakers who share a common belief in limited government, free markets, federalism, and individual liberty."

Walker likes to point out that he's still the youngest legislator in the Louisiana state legislature. And by God it shows. His complete 180 degree evolution of ideological direction and partisan affiliation just comes across as juvenile and lacking any kind of substantive conviction. He may not fully understand this, but his behavior comes across as youthful naivete and a kind of unmeasured, thoughtless, and rash opportunism. I don't believe anyone will take this young fellow seriously in the next election. I've a mind to run against him myself on an unapologetically liberal platform.

I had high hopes for him, but I noticed in the last legislative session that, when push came to shove on a piece of controversial immigration legislation, Walker simply abdicated his responsibility. The two times that I went to Baton Rouge to testify before his Committee against what I saw as horrible legislation, Walker didn't even bother to show up to the hearing. I wrote to him about his absence, and he wrote back with some song and dance about needing to be elsewhere to shepherd some other piece of legislation through some other committee; but now I just don't think he was being honest with me. Given all this hubbub about switching parties now, I think it is fair for me to conclude that he knew he was pondering a party switch even then and was thus being cowardly at the time in confronting a hot-button GOP issue (immigration) and finding a convenient excuse for not living up to his claim to be a "progressive Democrat who believes in the Catholic values of social justice," since anyone who claims this mantle would have clearly been an outspoken opponent of this pernicious piece of legislation. Heck, even the institutional Catholic Church opposed this legislation that Hines couldn't even take the time to consider as part of his Committee duties. I swear, if I could afford to do so, I'd mount a serious campaign for his seat in the Louisiana State legislature.

Walker Hines Has Just "Caoed" Himself

Walker Hines, my local Representative in the House side of the Louisiana state legislature, has switched parties. He is now a Republican, casting aside his Democratic Party affiliation. And this means he's effectively betrayed all of us Democrats who voted for him. Next election, he's toast. I'm more and more inclined to think that any elected official who switches parties while occupying an office should have to resign the office upon making such a switch and a special election to replace this official should be called immediately. He claims that his switch was based on "principle" as opposed to political expediency. But I have to say a principled person would have coupled his switch of party affiliation with a resignation from the office. Had he run for office as a Republican to begin with, he would have lost outright. He owes his election to his Democratic party affiliation, and a principled person would be behaving much, much differently now. What a shame.

Where Was Anh "Joseph" Cao?

This morning I was proud to stand behind my friend and colleague, Lucas Diaz, Executive Director of Puentes - New Orleans, at a press conference in protest of a repugnant and reprehensible campaign ad mounted by Sen. David Vitter about illegal immigration. The Press Conference got some good local media coverage and there was a great diversity of representation present in that audience and on the stage. One of the attendees in the audience was Cedric Richmond, the Democratic candidate in the race to represent Louisiana's US Congressional District 2 on Capitol Hill. Richmond was a great legislative ally in the Louisiana State Congress last spring when it came to confronting anti-illegal immigration legislation in Baton Rouge. I won't forget his clear position of opposition against this legislation. At this press conference, Richmond didn't seek out the spotlight. He didn't try to coopt the event for himself. He was just another citizen sitting in the audience in support of our grass-roots efforts to protest Vitter's campaign ad. That means something to me.

And guess who wasn't in the audience: Anh "Joseph" Cao. Cao should have been there. He could have been there. And as an immigrant from Vietnam himself, his presence would have been a strong symbol to Vitter and the Republican establishment backing him up that such vile demonization of immigrants is unacceptable regardless of partisan affiliation. But Cao wasn't there, and I'd bet any amount of money he wasn't there because it would have cost him among his GOP support base. Cao could have made a principled stand against the racist pandering and demagoguery of Vitter and the party that supports him. But he didn't. And that's just about enough for me in making up my mind come election day in November. It's a stark reminder that the "R" behind Cao's name makes him untrustworthy when it comes to standing up to bigotry that reflections poorly on what that "R" stands for. It's a wake-up call about the nature of partisanship in this current environment and that even someone like Cao is not immune to its pernicious effects.

Halloween and the Saints

I'm about as big a Who Dat as they come, but it's now reaching ridiculous levels. We got a glimpse into the irrational madness at the beginning of the season when the New Orleans Public Schools called a half-day school holiday on the Saints' season-opening Thursday night game against the Minnesota Vikings, and my kids came home from school without homework because of the game. Now, it appears that the city's officials are considering moving Halloween trick-or-treating (as if they even have that ability!!) to the 30th instead of the 31st of October so as not to conflict with the Saints game that's scheduled for the 31st. How pathetic is that? The Saints win one superbowl, but are currently a mediocre 3-2 team, and folks want to re-arrange a long-standing public holiday tradition?!?!? NO, NO, and NOT! Get real, people! It's just a friggin' game!

Olive Branch to Anh "Joseph" Cao

OK. I've been silent about the US Congressional District 2 election. The reason is that I find that the options are less than ideal. I want to vote for Cedric Richmond, the Democratic candidate, who would represent a switch from the GOP to the Democrats in an election year that seems very bad for the Democrats. One switch in the opposite direction of the current trends would be a welcome salve in an otherwise depressing election year. However, I just can't seem to get beyond the recent revelations about Cedric Richmond's apparent complicity in old-school machine-style politics (with appearances of Bill Jefferson corruption, to boot). And I have seen nothing from the Richmond campaign that has addressed any of these recent allegations, which have made the rounds in the blogosphere, but which seem not to have penetrated into the general public consciousness. So, I'm leaning towards Richmond, but just can't make the commitment. And I just can't seem to swallow sending a neophyte Bill Jefferson to Congress.

And then there's Anh "Joseph" Cao, the Republican incumbent. Since Cao's vote against the Health Care Reform bill, I swore never to vote for Cao again. And I'm holding on to that oath ... for now. I'm at the point where I'd be willing to entertain eating crow and changing my mind. But to do so would require Cao to really earn my trust on matters that are of paramount importance to me these days. What I like about Cao is that he doesn't seem too beholden to the insanity that is passing for conservative GOP leadership these days. And I also very much like the fact that there is not a corrupt bone in Cao's body and not an unethical thought in Cao's Jesuit-trained mind. There's a lot to be said for that. However, that is just not enough. What is enough? Well ... here's my "olive branch" with its concomitant demands: I will consider a switch to Cao only if Cao explicitly promises and stakes his personal integrity on the line for these four issues: (1) Cao must go on record before the November elections that, if the GOP retakes control of the House, he will oppose any effort to repeal the Health Care Reform bill and will oppose any effort to withhold funding for the implementation of the Health Care Reform legislation; (2) Cao will sponsor (or co-sponsor) a comprehensive immigration reform bill that provides a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States REGARDLESS of any border security and enforcement provision in such legislation. In other words, a path to legality for the undocumented will be his PRIMARY motivation for any immigration reform; (3) Cao will support the DREAM Act legislation and will demand that either a GOP House or a Democratic House bring such legislation to a vote again; and (4) Cao must agree to vote to end the reprehensible DADT policy that prevents openly gay citizens from serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. If Cao publicly agrees to these four stances, then I'll seriously reconsider my oath to never vote for him. If he doesn't agree to these four stances publicly and unequivocally, I will take my chances with Richmond.

Plaquemines Parish BP Spill Compensation Shenanigans

Plaquemines Parish Council Chairman (or should I say "Yahoo") Don Beshel, and a Republican I should note, has come up with an outrageous form letter that he's encouraging all Parish residents to submit to the BP Oil Spill claims adminsitrator for financial compensation because folks either have to pay higher seafood prices at the supermarket, or they actually now have to go to the supermarket to buy seafood that they could get previously directly from fishing themselves. [Click here to see a copy of one of these absurd letters.] Hell, by that measure, everyone in the damn world ought to be able to file a compensation claim against BP because the prices of fish are going up in supermarkets. And 4,000 people sent in this form letter seeking to cash in. It's crap like this that really ticks me off. And knowing the political/ideological proclivities of this Parish, I'd bet gobs of money that a majority of the folks submitting these fraudulent claims would generally pass themselves off anti-entitlement conservatives. I noticed the same thing post Katrina when many, many people that I know personally to be anti-entitlement and pro-personal responsibility conservatives (when it comes to such things as Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, etc.) all of the sudden themselves become the strongest voices of entitlement grievance because they were under-insured (or simply not insured) against hurricane damage and flood losses. So many of these erstwhile anti-entitlement conservatives, when it came to having to assume personal responsibility for their own gambles, looked to point the finger anywhere else but at themselves for their losses -- and then expected (and sued) anyone and everyone they could, whether it be insurance companies or FEMA, to get what they were "entitled" to. It really disgusts me.

Material Girl at the Freret Street Market

Tomorrow is Saturday, and it's the day of the Freret Street Market. There are lots of great arts, crafts, and local food to be had at the Freret Street Market, so I encourage all in the area to take advantage of what should be a lovely day to peruse the goodies and vendors at the Market.

And though Michele Benson Huck Pottery doesn't participate in the Freret Street Market, a very creative and talented artist who works with fabrics and makes incredible designs does have a booth there. If for no other reason, you should go out to the Freret Street Market to check out this artist's work.

The name of the shop is Material Girl, whose proprieter is the talented Lori Norvell. As Lori says on the Facebook page for Material Girl, she specializes in "Eco-Chic Accessories." She even takes special orders. Check out the link above to Material Girl, look at the fabulous, creative, and colorful designs and creations to be had, and treat yourself to one of these hand-made gems.

At the last Freret Street Market, I got a couple of things for my squirrelly girlies, and they love them. And it's all very affordably priced. (Heck, I'd even say they're all underpriced, but Lori loves the idea of people simply enjoying her stuff that she'd rather make her things as affordable as possible so that as many folks of all economic situation can have something from Material Girl to take home, than to go home empty-handed simply because of price.

Check it out! You won't be disappointed.

Rising Tide V Conference

It's coming up! If you are a NOLA blogger, or just want to see what folks in the NOLA New Media community are doing to keep focus on our great city, come to the conference!

The New York Times Features NOLA

The New York Times has a great photo feature on New Orleans today in its "Lens" blog. The feature is titled "Ward by Ward, New Orleans Marches Back." The photographer is Mario Tama. Check it out.

Night Out Against Crime

A few nights ago, I attended my neighborhood's "Night Out Against Crime" event. It just so happened that the event in my neighborhood took place at the Catholic elementary school that is literally right across the street from my house, so it was very convenient and easy to attend. It also happened that the event in my neighborhood served as the overall kickoff location for what was a city-wide initiative that featured some 200 neighborhood gatherings like the one in my neighborhood. So, I got to see up close and personal just about every major political personality (at the local, state, and federal levels of politics) that have any connection to the City of New Orleans. Of course, Mayor Mitch Landrieu was there along with his Chief of Police Ronal Serpas. Other local politicians included city councilwomen Susan Guidry and Jackie Clarkson. New Orleans District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro was there, along with his Federal Counterpart, US Attorney Jim Letten. And US LA District 2 Congressman Anh "Joseph" Cao was in attendance. Along with a fair number of other folks. All in all quite an event, and I'm gonna put some pictures that I took of all these folks at the end of this posting. But before I do, I just want to make one comment/observation about the event. The event seemed to me to be too staged and too orchestrated. The politicians who got up on the stage to speak went through the standard boilerplate routine of thanking every other politician in attendance and for expounding general platitudes about fighting crime. It seemed like just another "all talk, no action" speechifying and the leadership there just didn't seem to have their hearts into it as one might have hoped they would. And you just knew that every single one of them was going to go to as many other neighborhood gatherings and say the exact same thing with the exact same amount of measured and choreographed "rah-rah enthusiasm." I stood there with my camera wishing that, for once, just one of the many politicians there would break from that tired scripted pablum they feed us and really just give us a frank, honest-to-goodness and heart-to-heart invocation. To put some real emotion and feeling into their speeches. I walked home from the event with my kids in tow thinking that for all the grand display of police and politicians there, that nothing really was going to come of it. It was a nice diversion for a couple of hours, and that was about it. And meanwhile, the bullets would continue to fall from the sky and put holes in our roofs. This was probably the first time that I ever really felt like the life of a politician was both a bore and a waste. Don't get me wrong. I wasn't angry or disgusted or negative about the profession; just kinda unenthused and a bit disillusioned by the malaise and boredom projected by the political leadership under a veneer of what seemed like a forced and strained cheerleading. Anyway, here are some of the pictures I snapped of the event:

Mayor Mitch Landrieu

Police Chief Ronal Serpas

US Attorney Jim Letten

Other Politicians: Jackie Clarkson, Susan Guidry, Anh "Joseph" Cao, and others.

Perhaps the best part of the event, though, was that Squirrelly Girlie the Younger got to meet some Police horses:

He Ain't Lazy, He's My Louisiana Brother!

New data reveal that -- surprise! -- Louisiana is the country's "laziest" state!

In a new ranking by Businessweek.com based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Louisiana claims the top spot as the country's laziest state.

Qualifier:

To be clear, by "lazy" we do not mean lacking work ethic or engagement. Rather, it is a measure of leisure time spent doing sedentary activities compared with activities that require more physical effort, such as exercising and even working.

I chalk it up to the oppressive heat during the dog days of summer, and the lure of fried shrimp po-boys. More data:

While residents in developed areas such as New Orleans, a compact city with sidewalks, gyms, and outdoor events, have opportunities to be active, Louisianans in the rest of the state spend more time at sedentary activities than the average American. According to BLS data, for example, they sleep an average 8 hours and 44 minutes per day, watch an average 3 hours and 5 minutes of television, socialize for 54 minutes, and relax for 29 minutes. The average time spent working among all Louisianans — 2 hours, 41 minutes — is shorter than in all other states, according to the BLS data.

The average for the U.S. population: 8 hours, 35 minutes sleeping; 2 hours, 38 minutes watching television; 44 minutes socializing; 18 minutes relaxing; and 3 hours, 23 minutes working. Looked at another way, Louisianans over the course of a year spend on average 3,285 more minutes sleeping and 9,855 more minutes watching television than the national average.

In North Dakota, the least inactive state, people sleep 8 hours, 4 minutes; watch 2 hours, 19 minutes of television; socialize for 40 minutes; and relax for 22 minutes. The average time North Dakotans spend working is just over 5 hours.

Now what I want to know is what constitutes "average time spent working" -- because it seems exceedingly low for those of us who know that we spend more than 8 hours of the weekday working. If these statistics on average time working are true, I guess we have a clear indicator of why the U.S. is losing so much ground in competitive productivity across the world. But, my suspicion is that this category is classified in a way that isn't quite accurate, which makes me want to question the whole survey.

Regardless, we do like our slow pace of life here in Louisiana. That's true.

Bobby Jindal's Sand Berms Histrionics = Epic Fail

Remember when Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal criticized the Federal Government for not acting quickly enough to appropriate money to throw at the construction of sand berms to keep the oil from hitting the Louisiana coast without even minimal study about its efficacy or environmental impact? I do. And I remember conservatives lambasting the Obama administration for dragging its feet on the point. Michelle Malkin, referencing a comment from the Obama administration that conservatives jumped all over, went so far as to maliciously try to flip the tables on the Obama administration by writing the following: "Put the boot on their necks, Gov. Jindal." And all this came out of an understandable desire to try to do anything to mitigate the effects of the BP oil spill. Well, what came of these sand berms that Bobby Jindal so desperately wanted, careful scrutiny of the efficacy of the proposal be damned?

See for yourself.

The result: A colossal waste of taxpayer dollars. We got zero benefit (and potentially even some environmental harm) from the escapade.

Now, I understand the need to find a quick solution to a pressing problem. But it's precisely when the pressure to quickly do something, anything, takes root that calmer heads need to prevail. Had Jindal listened to the best scientific assessments of the proposal, he wouldn't have engaged in such wasteful folly. Had conservatives not pummeled Obama to act "unconservatively" (i.e. throwing money at a problem regardless of the efficacy of doing so) as a kind of political payback for the Bush Administration's pummeling over its response to Hurricane Katrina, this misguided and foolish idea of building miles of sand berms would not have seen the light of day. In fact, it seemed pretty clear to me at the time (which is why I never jumped on the "build sand berms NOW!" bandwagon to begin with), that until someone could stop the flow of oil into the gulf, it made little sense to construct sand berms that were sure to erode and wash away after a short time. Better to construct sand berms once the gusher was capped and then use the temporary reprieve provided by the sand berms to aid in the clean-up of the oil.

So, let's see how small government conservatives worried about pissing taxpayer dollars down a toilet respond to Jindal's misadvanture. Let's see if they ascribe any blame to Jindal's political grandstanding against a reluctant and hesitant Obama administration (which in retrospect seems quite prudent) for the absolute waste of taxpayer money on this debacle of a project. I doubt it. They'll probably just point to it and call it an example, once again, of wasteful liberal spending on politically motivated projects.

The Democratic Take-Back of Congressional District 2 Begins

Formal qualifying for this Fall's local, state and national elections has officially begun. Democratic State Rep. Juan LaFonta has officially thrown his hat into the ring to contest Republican incumbent Ahn "Joseph" Cao for Louisiana's Congressional District 2 seat. Given Cao's sellout of his constituents in the Health Insurance Reform vote, this is one Congressional House election that Republicans aren't talking about when they speak of a 2010 repeat of 1994. Why? Because this is one sure "flip" that won't be going their way. I suspect that another strong Democratic Candidate in Cedric Richmond will also soon be throwing his hat into the ring, too. I'll be following and tracking this particular Congressional race closely. I like both Richmond and LaFonta, but for various reasons. And I have my reservations about each of them, too. But one thing is for sure, I WILL NOT be voting for Cao.

Attention BP: Don't F*** with Our Food!

Or else you'll get an angry lady on your tail. And I ain't talkin' about Sarah Palin, but someone much, much more important, powerful, and influential with the foodies (and that's just about everyone) down here in the N'Awl.

The Krewe of Dead Pelicans

We always find a way to turn a colossal tragedy and a serious protest into something colorful and redeeming. I know the folks in this picture. Talk about turning lemons into lemonade...