Memories

Shelley Midura is as stiff as a board while Jay Batt gets loose.



It doesn't take much charisma to take down someone as transparently awful as Jay Batt.

What Ashley said.

TMI? PDA?

Melissa Harris Lacewell on Keith Olbermann last night:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The man Melissa Harris Lacewell says she's dating because of his strong character is a reference to one Mr. James Perry.

A Princeton prof?

That's a nice catch. Does MHL have tenure?

Are, um, you sharing benefits?

--

Hat tip to Ricardo for noticing this.

--

Update: Melissa Harris Lacewell has flagged on her facebook feed this article that calls her and James a "power couple."

I think that's a long ways away.

--

Update II: Looks like James Perry has a new website almost ready to go.

Deep Thought

Jay Batt sucks.

District A

For all of Shelly Midura's shortcomings as a stateswoman, she ended up being the only real progressive voice on Council and pushed for criminal justice reform, environmental sustainability, and was an important Entergy watchdog.

She was engaged and accessible and so was her staff.

Fmr. Councilman Jay Batt is going to be running for his old seat again and is already being called the frontrunner.

When Shelly Midura beat him in 2006, Batt had a campaign warchest of over $1 million.

Midura had maybe a third of that.

Batt lost anyway and he'll lose again this time too.

His act is way out of style.

Correction: Midura had 15% of the campaign funds that Batt did.

Public Safety, Crime, the NOPD, and the 2010 Mayoral Circus

That's the theme for the next weekish here at WCBF.

This is an open thread as I work to prepare some stories and analysis to publish at my convenience.

Is crime a problem by itself or a symptom of other problems?

What should the next Mayor do in an ideal world and to what extent do real world political constraints limit those options?

Links Update:

1. NOPD's misleading rape stats
2. Investigations into racist vigilante killings during Katrina moving forward?
3. NOPD bar fight cover up

Links Update 2:

4. Audit finds $200,000 missing from NOPD evidence room

Local Racist Now A National Racist

Let me second Oyster's congratulations to Audra Shay with the following quote from an article called Do NOT elect a racist:

"The definition of insanity is repeating the same actions over and over again and expecting different results. What exactly do the Young Republicans expect to achieve by electing a 38-year-old woman who thinks racial epithets are acceptable? Also, did I mention that she’s 38? And she’s going to be the leader of an organization with the word “young” in the title? Is it so implausible that people in their 20s (or even early 30s) could join the Republican Party—or have we just completely given up on their vote? Are we expecting “young” people in the Republican Party to soon be entering their 40s?"

-- Meghan McCain.

Update: Is it just me or does it seem like an inordinate number of nationally-known racist politicians and political hacks come from the GNO area?

My Favorite Cabinet Member: Eric Holder Jr.

Good man.

While I'm delighted to learn justice may be served, I'm truly disgusted by what may have transpired under the direction of former Vice President Cheney.

I think Republicans perceive that Democrats just kind of celebrate this as 'more bad news' for the GOP and maybe there is some comfort seeing Cheney's neoconservatism cabal fall apart - but I don't think any of this makes anyone happy.

These people - Yoo, Addington, Cheney, Gonzalez, etc. - committed despicable acts.

Let's have all the truth come out and lets hold people accountable for breaking the law.

Quick Hits

I'm back in New Orleans after some R&R with friends and family in Philadelphia.

My glasses fogged up for ten minutes after I exited baggage claim into the night.

-

1. Mitch Landrieu says he's not running for Mayor.

Interesting but not all-together unsurprising. He said in a recent WBOK interview that he was going to give it some thought at the end of the legislative session. There was significant downside to running for Mayor. If he lost again this time - that might be the end of the road for him politically. It's not as if the last race was a particularly good experience. Plus being Mayor of New Orleans has got to be one of the most impossible jobs in the country right now.

This does, however, give us an opportunity to start thinking more seriously about rumors he was angling for a federal appointment of some sort.

2. Revenge vandalism at Mark Lewis' house.

Really, really, really hard to believe this wasn't a coordinated hit. Very typical move from the intimidation playbook - only it's too late in the game. Very familiar to stuff corrupt union boss Johnny Doc used to have the boys do up in Philly.

That the incident occurred the day before Lewis held a press conference insinuating the Nagin administration had deliberately deleted certain potentially incriminating emails indicates that the directive came from someone who knew the publication of Lewis' findings was imminent.

The only things that give me the slightest pause are the disclosures that political consultant Cheron Brylski dealt with the same tactic in January and that Christopher Reeves' office was burglarized this past Sunday. Seems they caught the burglerer - that one could be a coincidence - but the Brylski thing can't possibly be...

I wonder if the vandalism occurred at Ms. Brylski's place in January had less to do with her being Lewis' PR consultant and more to do with one of Ms. Brylski's other numerous high-profile clients.

Freshman year in college, we "pennied" the door of our RA to punish him for... I dunno, telling us to be quiet or something. Essentially you can squeeze pennies into the small crack between the door and the frame. This prevents the door from opening, locking the person inside.

3. Mary Landrieu seems to have indicated she's considering filibustering the public option with Senate Rumpublicans. That would be, I think, unforgiveable. I don't want to throw her under the bus yet because I think that statement needs some clarification. I'd like to see it in context.

A local MoveOn member is organizing a protest of her office for tomorrow (Thursday June 9th) at noon. Mary Landrieu's office is at 550 Poydras St.

In other public option news, conservative Senator Blanche Lincoln (D - AR) seems to be moving in a favorable direction.

Biotech Industry Falling Apart?

Wow.

Check out this Voices of San Diego piece about the failure of Metabasis Therapeutics, a San Diego biotech firm.

It sounds like the biotech industry is really messed up right now.

Here's another piece possibly foreshadowing all this from back in January.

Additional thoughts at SaveCharityHospital.com

Why I still write to my French ex-girlfriend

Mary Landrieu seems to be shrinking away from engaging constituents critical of her hypocritical stance against the public option.

Call her up mmkay?

Washington D.C.: (202) 224-5824
New Orleans: (504) 589-2427
Baton Rouge: (225) 389-0395
Shreveport: (318) 676-3085
Lake Charles: (337) 436-6650

Senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina, another conservative Democrat, has come out in favor of public option after initially expressing skepticism. Senator Landrieu should get on board with her colleagues and with the overwhelming consensus of Americans that favor a public plan.

Or she could continue to side with incestuous lobbyist gangsters instead of the people of Louisiana.