Tom Piazza on Charity Hospital

Who are you Harrison Boyd?

What's the deal? You're doing the work but you don't get the title or the salary?

Someone explain.

Shoulda

Single-payer is what I want. Public option is what I'll settle for.

Nate Silver parses poll numbers and makes the case for the popularity of expanding medicare wholesale.


Jeff Cohen says liberal groups blew it.

Old Links I Meant To Post

Columns on healthcare reform I liked:

Krugman on the 26th.

Meyerson on the 22nd.

Krugman's piece examines the absent logic of the Blue Dog caucus. I don't get it either. It's bad politics and bad policy.

Charlie Melancon should take a stand. What is he afraid of?

OH! So That's How Gravity Works

Was anybody else similarly enlightened by the gigantic front page graphic in the Times-Picayune this morning illustrating what happens when a car drives off a roof?



Maybe the most bush-league front page I've ever seen.

Can Anyone Verify?

Reference here.

PANO's Frank DeSalvo directed the Human Resources Committee for current District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's transition team.

Who held the equivalent position under disgraced former DA Eddie Jordan?

Someone please do this to my Saturn

 

The Census Progressive

Mayor Nagin was criticized by some fairly recently for calling on displaced New Orleanians to misrepresent their living situations on the 2010 census to boost the city's population numbers thus leading to more federal funding where dollars are distributed proportionally based on population.

I'd support Mayor Nagin's move around census standards if he considered his displaced neighbors to be something more than a statistical prop.

I'd have his back, if his policies did something - anything - to help displaced residents return home. Remember what this man's stance toward public and affordable housing has been and continues to be.

The treatment of displaced and poor New Orleans remains antithetical to the UN's standards on human rights.

"You Gangsta Dawg"

On WBOK this morning, there was a surprise appearance by City tech chief M. Harrison Boyd and Communications chief Ceeon Quiett. They were there to field softballs from the morning team about how Louisiana Technology Council is an incompetent organization with some yet undefined political agenda.

I do have to say, however, that I can't quite wrap my mind around what Mr. Boyd's interests in all this lie. He doesn't, to my knowledge, have any deep roots here. I don't really understand - if in fact there's all kinds of nefarious activity going on in the tech office at City Hall - why Boyd, hired relatively late in the game, would have anything to do with it. So I'm just not sure how something like this would really play. There'd have to be some explanation for why Boyd would stick his neck out like that.

The best part of the interview though was when Gerod decided to 'get tough' on Boyd about an apparent attempt to intimidate LTC's Mark Lewis by sealing his home shut.

"If you jammin' locks - you gangsta, dawg."

I was putting my socks on while seated on the floor when he said that and I just started laughing hysterically. I had to give up. I'm wearing flip-flops today.

Listening to some of the questions posted by the host, ABC's Michael Hill, and a couple of callers, I think it's clear that public opinion on the whole matter is very much influenced by a perceived double-standard when it comes to the Mayor's emails and City Council's emails.

That perception might not be fair but I think that the delays in releasing all of Council's emails make for avoidably bad optics. Just redact what needs to be redacted and get 'em all out.

Red Stick Recycles

I learned sometime last week that Baton Rouge, yes lame-ass Baton Rouge is more progressive than New Orleans as it relates to recycling.

Don't adjust your screens. Just sit down and take a deep breath. Serenity now.

Baton Rouge provides single stream recycling services for its residents. That means you don't have to sort paper from plastic. You just stick your recyclables out on the damn curb.

If stupid Baton Rouge can do it, we can certainly do it too.

We should be horrified that they beat us there.

See previous post on NOLA's green hypocrisy.

Civil Discourse

I went to the OFA press conference in support of healthcare reform outside Mary Landrieu's office earlier today.

We were rudely received by a phalanx of tea-baggers from the 'Baton Rouge Tea Party,' who I guess represent Mary Landrieu's base now (and I'm only sort of kidding).

I have got to say, these people are out of their effing minds.

Even liberal-ole-me will concede that there are some occasionally reasonable conservatives out in the world (sometimes they'll leave comments on this blog) but the folks that came out to protest this press conference were for the most part, well, crazy.

There's nothing quite like having a middle-aged woman scream in your face that you're a socialist communist at ten in the morning.

"You guys don't care about freedom."

"Barack Obama is taking our way of life."

They shouted over speeches by OFA's Steven Walker and Rep. Karen Carter Peterson, which I guess is fair game.

But when they continued heckling a volunteer speaker who offered a personal story of breast cancer survival and the difficulty of obtaining insurance as a carrier of Crohn's disease, well, I was disgusted.

Then, of course, there was the middle-aged white woman who deemed it appropriate to inform a couple of African American volunteers from SEIU that they were "lucky to be here."

But my favorite teabagger comment came from a woman standing right behind me who said:

"My brother pays $1,000 a month for health insurance and he doesn't complain."

I've been chuckling at that one all day long.

I have to also admit that I was a little bit humbled by the conduct of the progressive press conference attendees who exhibited near excessive patience with some of the protesters, sticking around to answer their questions and to try to engage them in a reasonable discourse.

I certainly will not talk to anyone that screams in my face that I'm a communist socialist or a freedom-hater or whatever because I want universal healthcare.

One older African American woman was walking away from a heated discussion with one of these people and smiled at me.

"How can you not forgive them? They're crazy."

I laughed. That's probably the right attitude.

Waterloo

Talking Points Memo published the following reader comment earlier today:

Just to mention something that is obvious, but hopefully not overlooked, i.e., if this country cannot pass a bill which insures that every citizen has access to medical care, which every developed country has managed to do (and got done many many years ago), there is something very fundamentally and structurally wrong with this country.

Such an event, in my mind, would confirm that we live with a completely corrupt and dysfunctional form of government. Forty nine states, each with bicameral legislative bodies, some of which have distinguished themselves recently with unabashed levels of incompetency and cluelessness. Then, graft a federal government over that, which is also bicameral, the non-representative portion of it being filled with officials who are certifiable morons and/or who are bought and sold like whores by wealthy contributors.

Talk about a Waterloo.

This is a defining moment in our history. Do we fulfill our supposed status as a "shining city on a hill" or continue our long slow decline into a second rate oligarchy?

I am not one prone to hyperbole.

I believe this to the depths of my soul.

This is pretty much how I feel about healthcare reform as I filter of my analysis of the issue through the lens of the history of progressive movements in the United States. The most compelling reason for to vote for Democrats, donate to Democrats, and work for Democrats is that the Party represented the best shot for the implementation of progressive policy, however incremental those policies have to be sometimes.

Universal healthcare has probably been the most sturdy plank in the Democratic Party's domestic agenda for the last 60 years. The creation of Medicare and Medicaid represent two of the most substantive and important achievements of the Great Society coalition.

After decades in the wilderness, a new coalition has been forged, one that voted in record numbers, not just to repudiate the neoconservative dogma of the last decade, but to affirm a domestic policy agenda that centered on a repeal of the Bush tax cuts for the rich and universal healthcare coverage for the working and middle class.

It actually happened.

Democrats control the House of Representatives by a comfortable margin.

They hold a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, the first in decades.

And there's an immensely popular and powerful leader in the executive branch that is actively working to keep the campaign promises he made and which the American people voted for.

If real healthcare reform fails - and Republicans certainly realize this - the Big Bang enthusiasm that so many people feel for this so-called new era will disappear into a black hole.

What compelling reason will I have to vote Democrat ever again if they can't deliver on the most fundamental policy promise they've made to their base constituents for the last six decades?

If Democrats can't deliver on their signature issue, what hope is there that they'll be able to do anything worthwhile on issues where there is less historical consensus?

The Blue Dog wing of the Party, in my mind, is doing everything they can to ensure they sink their own ship. If they effectively neuter or kill healthcare reform, I don't see how the Democratic Party will be very popular heading into 2010 and 2012. Given that Blue Dogs come from districts less likely to vote for Democratic candidates under favorable national conditions, how the hell do they expect to get reelected over Republicans in national conditions unfavorable to Democrats? It's not as if Blue Dogs were ascendant in the Party from 2000-2004.

Meanwhile, the Republican opposition smells blood. The 'waterloo' comment by Senator DeMint is a fairly candid way of stating the Party position.

They don't care about healthcare coverage or healthcare reform. They don't have an alternative plan because they believe that if you don't have insurance or if you have bad insurance - it's your own fault. For them, this is only about political victory.

Observe Dick Polman's discussion of GOP flack Michael Steele's latest:

Q: "Is it morally acceptable for 30 to 40 million Americans to be without health insurance?"
Steele: "I don't know if that's the consideration for politicians versus a pastor."

Q: "Do Republicans support an individual requirement to get coverage?"
Looking flummoxed, the chairman clearly had no idea what the question was about, despite the fact that this issue - whether Americans should be required to sign up for coverage as part of health care reform - was debated extensively during the 2008 campaign. Steele: "As an individual requirement? What do you mean by 'an individual requirement'? To require individuals to get health coverage? Again, that is one of those areas where there's, there's, different opinions by some in the House and the Senate on this...Look, I don't do policy."

(Translation: He does slogans, not substance.)

And then there was the piece de resistance...

Q: "Why didn't the Republicans, when they held both houses and the White House, do something substantial to address the health care issue?"
Steele: “Well, I think that, you know, there were efforts along the way."

He cited the GOP Congress' passage of the expensive Medicare prescription drug law, but then, apparently remembering that the conservatives in his party actually hate this law, he quickly added, "There's always been a debate about that particular piece of legislation." And then he took a second stab at the core question, about why the ruling Republicans did so little to address health care during the Bush years, why in essence they didn't do policy.

Steele again: "The other reality is, you know, the will to do it...There has been just a general lack of focus on this issue, by many."

Bingo.

This disgusting approach to civic life seems to be winning some momentum in the healthcare debate right now.

I sense that the White House understands the stakes.

I hope Senator Mary Landrieu does too.

TODAY! Wednesday the 22nd, there will be a rally at 10:00 AM outside Mary Landrieu's office at the Hale Boggs Federal Building.

500 Poydras St.

Karen Carter Peterson will speak.

I will be there.

Frank and Leon

Observe the chronology of statements from Frank DeSalvo related to the incident at the Beach Corner and ensuing cover up discussed below.

DeSalvo has been the go-to lawyer for the Police Association of New Orleans and for pretty much any officer accused of a crime.

DeSalvo represented every officer investigated in this case.


1. From February 2008, after news of the Beach Corner dispute became public:

Frank DeSalvo, an attorney for the officers involved in the fight, disputed the assertion that racism played a role in the fight. "They want to call this racism?" he said. "Well, racism works both ways. What the (NOPD) is doing is wrong. They are taking the best of the best officers off the streets because of this. It hurts the city."

I don't really understand what he means by 'racism works both ways.' Is he saying the RTA employees are racist for filing a complaint against the officers that beat them and planted evidence? Or is he calling Riley a racist for putting the accused white officers on desk duty?

2. From April of 2009, after disciplinary action was taken against two of the officers:

Frank DeSalvo, an attorney representing Lapene, said the officer did not strike anybody during the brawl. Witnesses have wrongly identified Lapene as being involved, he said.

"It is a clear case of mistaken identity," said DeSalvo, who added that the officer plans to appeal to the Civil Service Commission. "We are very, very disappointed in the decision."

In claiming mistaken identity, isn't DeSalvo essentially saying that it must have been one of his other clients?

3. On Jennifer Samuels' suspension (she was the one who apparently took a gun from another RTA worker's car):

DeSalvo said she will eventually be cleared, and that the only mistake Samuel made was drinking off-duty and getting involved in police work.

"She stopped a violent act from happening," he said.

Again, it's not clear what DeSalvo is arguing here. Is he working off the original report that lead to Lamont Williams' arrest even though charges were immediately dropped because of contradictory statements? Or is he saying something else? The mistaken identity comment seems to be based on the premise that Williams was attacked but the Samuel defense would seem to rely on the original report, on which civilian witness David McMyne admits to lying after being coached by the police.

4. Upon release of the Public Integrity Bureau report on the incident:

The NOPD said there was insufficient evidence to sustain allegations against Ganthier, Boudreau and Jason Samuel, and they were not disciplined.

DeSalvo, the police attorney, noted Thursday that this lends credence to his assertion that the internal investigation was botched.

"When you put everything together, you'll find that the (PIB) report is a lie, " he said.

DeSalvo promised the facts of the case would come out in the officers' appeal hearings.

Here, he seems to be arguing that because three of the other officers present - and probably responsible to some degree for the fight, improper arrest of Williams, and attempts to game the police report cover up their actions - were not charged, the entire internal investigation should be thrown out.

5. Upon filing suit against the PIB:

"There were some lies involved, and they all came from the Public Integrity Bureau," DeSalvo said. "None of these officers involved in this incident were found to be untruthful."

The attorney for the accused officers said the police department's investigation is flawed and that Sgt. Darryl Watson, who conducted the investigation, may have broken the law.

"He filed a false police report," the attorney said. "They have been disseminating it. There have been repercussions to police officers because of it and now it's time for him to eat his words and we are going to feed it to him."

Setting the menacing threat aside, it's quite a stretch to say that "none of the officers involved in this incident were found to be untruthful" given how obvious it is that Mr. Lamont Williams was arrested on weapons charges without possessing a gun, a witness admitted to being coached by police to lie, and that Williams was brutalized.

I mean if it's clear that one or more of the officers took part in some serious criminal conduct - be it assault, planting evidence, or coaching a witness to lie - how can DeSalvo credibly represent all of those involved? Invariably, at least one of them did something seriously wrong.

That's not to say his representation hasn't been effective, because as we can see, it would appear as though the NOPD officers are getting off pretty much scot-free. Even Lapene landed soft with the DA and although he resigned from that job, his firing from the NOPD is still under appeal with the civil service commission.

--

I will give DeSalvo this:

That PIB report is pretty poorly written. Lots of grammar errors and clarity problems.

I can relate.

--

Mr. DeSalvo is quite close to our District Attorney, Leon Cannizzaro.

A dispatch from the DA's swearing-in:

Cannizzaro, who enjoyed a 22-year career as a judge until retiring from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal last year to run for district attorney, was treated to a lengthy, thoughtful ceremony Sunday, attended by a few hundred people, including a host of elected city and state officials.

"It looks like a coronation," campaign strategist Billy Schultz joked as he opened the ceremony, which featured a full-length program of speakers including defense attorney Frank DeSalvo; Clerk of Civil District Court Dale Atkins; state Rep. Austin Badon Jr., D-New Orleans; Magistrate Commissioner Anthony Russo; and City Council President Jackie Clarkson.

In fact, DeSalvo was a formal part of Cannizzaro's transition team.

Guess what he was in charge of?

Human resources.

Thus, it wouldn't seem to be too much of a stretch to imagine that Lapene was hired partially on the recommendation of Mr. DeSalvo. Lapene and his former unit continue to count on DeSalvo as their attorney. At the time of Lapene's hiring, a criminal investigation into the incident should have been ongoing except for the fact that Cannizzaro's office had deemed the entire matter to be a matter for civil courts a few months earlier.

Without going over the top about this, I don't think we should feel too comfortable about the close personal relationship between Mr. DeSalvo and Mr. Cannizzaro given how commonplace allegations of criminality against the police have been and given that public mistrust of the criminal justice system is a main factor contributing to the deterioration of the rule of law in this city.

Certainly a fuller explanation of why the NOPD and DA handled the Beach Corner fight the way they did is warranted, particularly as it relates to the decision to hire Mr. Lapene.

--

The bar fight and the blurry blue line

Cliff wrote last week that the the NOPD has an image problem, linking to a few of the latest embarrassments.

I'd argue that the NOPD has a reality problem.

One example Cliff discussed was the fight at the Beach Corner bar.

Now, stories like this could trigger a few uncomfortable discussions about race and the police department. It could cause an officer or two to get fired or indicted. If everything in these stories is true then I think that's a good thing. At the least all of the officers involved in that bar fight should be terminated. If they can get away with lying and planting guns on innocent people then I don’t have any confidence in their capabilities to catch the guilty. If you want to eliminate the race card and conspiracy theories out of local government then you have to correct the things that make it so believable.

Cliff touches on it but let's really flesh out what's gone on here.

--

1. In February, 2008, there was a fight at the Beach Corner Lounge. Lamont Williams of the RTA was arrested on weapons charges. Opposing accounts of the evening emerged a few weeks later after Williams and his coworkers retained the services of an attorney and filed a complaint.

The initial police report, compiled by the responding officers, describes the incident in detail -- and includes two starkly conflicting versions.

In one version -- told by [Hans] Ganthier, [Jason] Samuel and a 29-year-old Kenner resident -- the men disarmed Williams, taking a gun from him.

Both Ganthier and Samuel said a gun had been taken from Williams. The Kenner resident, Donald McMyne, agreed. McMyne could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

According to the report, the three men gave the following account:

McMyne said he was sitting at the bar and heard there was a disturbance in the men's restroom. As Lamont Williams left the restroom and walked toward the front door, McMyne was sitting on a barstool and said he told Williams to "just relax and calm down." While walking toward the front door, Williams "lifted the front of his shirt exposing a dark-colored handgun," McMyne told police.

Williams left the lounge and McMyne followed him out. Next, McMyne said, he tackled Williams from behind, and they struggled. The two off-duty officers joined in and assisted in removing the handgun from Williams, McMyne said.

Williams and his RTA coworkers told a different story.

Hagan, who is black, said he left three co-workers to use the restroom. While waiting in line, a white man walked in and skipped the line. Hagan told the line-skipper that he was next in line, and the man responded: "Oh, you getting (expletive) cocky with me?"

Hagan advised the man to "just go ahead" and left the restroom and told his co-workers they should leave. While walking out, Hagan said someone whistled and "a large group of unknown white males" approached him and his co-workers. The co-workers split up.

The men followed Hagan, Damon Tobias, 27, Williams and Kisa Holmes, 31, outside the bar and on Canal Street. After getting into his car, Hagan said, he told the group of men following him, and a woman who had joined them, that he had a gun and "if I have to use it to defend myself I will."

At that point, the unidentified woman swore at him, reached into the glove compartment of his truck and removed the handgun. Hagan said the woman then put him into "some type of arm hold" and detained him. The woman eventually released him and he went to the aid of his colleague who was being attacked.

Tobias told police he was attacked by a group of men who followed him from the lounge. A third colleague, Holmes, corroborated her colleagues' version and said she saw the group attack them from afar. She had fled from the scene. The group said they believed their alleged attackers were off-duty officers, the report said.

The NOPD opened an investigation upon the citizen complaint. Warren Riley told WWLTV there would be accountability.

"There will be no cover-up. There will be hiding no information. If these officers were wrong, they will suffer the consequences of their actions."

Three officers were reassigned from the special operations unit pending the outcome of the investigation including Sergeant Hans Ganthier, and Officers Jason Samuel and Joey* Lapene.

*For some reason earlier media accounts refer to "Joey" Lapene whereas later ones refer to him as "David" Lapene. He's just one person. I will call him David.

2. In February of 2009, Mr. Lamont sues the NOPD, the city, and the three officers.

The lawsuit alleges that several off-duty police officers used excessive force and falsely arrested Lamont Williams, 36, in an apparent dispute between Regional Transit Authority employees and off-duty police officers last year.

A criminal inquiry was opened, but a spokeswoman for District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro said Friday that the district attorney believes the incident is a civil matter. She declined to comment further.

The NOPD recently finished its own administrative investigation and is holding disciplinary hearings for the officers, NOPD spokesman Bob Young said. Once those hearings are completed, the police superintendent will have the final say on whether penalties will be handed down to the officers.

3. In late April of 2009, Officer David Lapene is fired from the NOPD for his role in the fight.

Officer David Lapene was dismissed after a hearing and a "thorough review of the evidence," according to a department news release. He was found to have broken four regulations of the department.

Lapene violated regulations governing moral conduct, adherence to the law, truthfulness and professional conduct, the NOPD news release said.

Another officer, Jennifer Payne, was suspended without pay for 80 days as a result of the same investigation, NOPD spokesman Bob Young said Thursday night.

Payne was the woman accused of seizing Mr. Hagan's handgun in the initial report.

*Note: Jennifer Payne is sometimes referred to as Jennifer Samuel. She is married to officer Jason Samuel, who was also investigated as part of the bar incident.

4. Between May and June of 2009, David Lapene is hired by DA Leon Cannizzaro before subsequently resigning.

Cannizzaro has defended Lapene's hiring to WDSU. He said Lapene's case was reviewed by the two previous interim district attorneys, and both times there were no charges filed. After looking at the file, Cannizzaro said agrees with that decision.

Prior to Lapene's resignation, it was reported that the District Attorney's daughter, Laura Cannizzaro was present at the bar during the incident in 2008.

5. In July, 2009 the investigation by Public Integrity Bureau into the incident at the Beach Corner leaks to the public.

An internal report from the New Orleans Police Department Thursday night suggested that several officers lied about what happened at the Beach Corner Bar and Grill in February 2008.

--

Another part of the internal report states that a civilian man named Donald McMyne was also part of the investigation. He told investigators that he never saw the fight, but later an officer told him what happened. McMyne stated that that officer asked him to lie.

Also, Officer Jennifer Samuel changed her story several times, according to the report. The report states that Samuel removed Kennis Hagan's personal gun from his parked car, and the remaining officers conspired to falsely arrest Williams for possession of Hagan's firearm. They then convinced the civilian to participate in the conspiracy. The civilian has since admitted to the conspiracy, which was documented in an official NOPD arrest report.Investigators also noted that Officer David Lapene admitted that he exited the bar right behind Damon Tobias. He admitted to walking behind Tobias when he claimed an unknown person swung over his shoulder and punched Tobias in the face. He repeatedly denied punching Tobias, even though Kisa Holmes identified him at the scene as the person who punched Tobias.

6. Just last week, PANO sued the Public Integrity Bureau and the Officer who filed the investigation for how the case was handled - though it's not clear to me on what grounds other than... well, revenge.

The attorney for the accused officers said the police department's investigation is flawed and that Sgt. Darryl Watson, who conducted the investigation, may have broken the law.

"He filed a false police report," the attorney said. "They have been disseminating it. There have been repercussions to police officers because of it and now it's time for him to eat his words and we are going to feed it to him."

--

The PID report is available at NOLA.com.

I downloaded and read the report.

The details are quite striking, particularly when the civilian witness, Donald McMyne, admits he was coached by officers to fabricate his entire story about recognizing the alleged bathroom dispute, seeing a gun on Mr Lamont, and tackling him from behind. Apparently none of that actually happened.

---

There are so many burning questions here...

For the NOPD, remember Riley's words:

"There will be no cover-up. There will be hiding no information. If these officers were wrong, they will suffer the consequences of their actions."

1. Since it is clear that this incident involved several officers from the Special Operations Division and a transparent attempt to cover up what actually transpired, why has only one officer, David Lapene, been fired?

2. Did the firing of Lapene and suspension of Samuels represent attempts to find fall guys for an incident that fingers Riley's elite unit? Is there a pattern of special treatment for SWAT and Special Ops units emerging?

3. Given how shockingly casual these elite NOPD officers were about planting evidence, coaching false witnesses, and providing false accounts to their own investigators, what is to prevent the public from simply assuming that this stuff occurs rather regularly?

-

For the DA, refer to the statement from Mr. Cannizzaro's office:

A criminal inquiry was opened, but a spokeswoman for District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro said Friday that the district attorney believes the incident is a civil matter. She declined to comment further.

4. Was Mr. Cannizzaro aware of the PID report when he hired Mr. Lapene?

5. If not, is the DA reconsidering the prospect of criminal prosecution?

6. Did you discuss the incident at the bar with your daughter and aspirant assistant DA, Laura Cannizzaro?

7. Why did Ms. Cannizzaro refuse to answer questions when she was approached by Public Integrity Division investigators the night of the incident?

8. What was her role in the hiring of Lapene?

--

More later.

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.

In Which 'Going Green' Is Not A Reference To Corruption

The City of Philadelphia recently took advantage of a state grant to replace - at no cost to municipal coffers - Center City's metal wire garbage cans with new solar powered trash compactors.

Called "Big Bellies," the new cans harness solar energy to compact refuse, so that each is able to hold more of it. Thus, they don't have to be emptied as often, which saves gas and manpower. Whereas the old wire cans held 55 gallons of trash, the new compactors can hold four times as much. They also are not open air like the old cans, eliminating the litter blown out onto the streets from overflowing receptacles.



The city is also installing solar recycling compactors at some sites, marking the first time pedestrian recycling services have been made available in Philadelphia.

--

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and his allies on City Council fell just short in the most recent attempt to ban plastic shopping bags after late lobbying from plastics interests and big supermarket chains. The bags take forever to break down in landfills, are often littered on city streets, and are especially damaging when they end up in waterways.

Though the measure fell short, even opponents acknowledged such a step was inevitable and would succeed in some form soon.

San Fransisco was the first American city to institute such a ban, in 2007. Hundreds of towns and cities around the world have already done so or may soon follow suit. San Fransisco has banned the bags outright, while other cities are levying mandatory surcharges in order to discourage their use.

--

San Fransisco, true to form as the nation's most progressive city on environmental issues, very recently became the first city to enact a mandatory composting program. By requiring residents to separate biodegradable foodstuffs from the garbage, San Fransisco appears on its way to fulfilling its goal of eliminating landfill waste by 2020.

When food scraps go to landfills, they unnecessarily take space and release methane gas as they break down. Compost is, of course, very useful to farmers and gardeners.

--

In January, Philadelphia debuted single stream recycling. The new initiative means an end to separating plastic from paper from glass and combines recycling day with regular trash pickup schedules.

Philadelphia has long had a reputation for filth, dating back to colonial times. Residents are notorious litterers and even though there has been curbside recycling pickup for a decade-ish, the city had embarrassingly low recycling rates.

Since the institution of single stream, recycling rates have doubled.

--

It's a good thing when cities reduce the amount of trash they produce. Not only does trash strain natural resources end energy, but it contributes to air and water pollution. It also costs a lot of money. Cities like Philadelphia and New Orleans pay landfills to take our waste based on weight. Reducing the amount of trash we produce reduces the amount we pay out of taxes for landfills.

Philadelphia has reversed a longstanding reputation for overall uncleanliness and residential indifference toward the environment. Mayor Nutter promised to set the city on a pathway toward becoming one of the nation's greenest and his initiatives since his inauguration indicate that the city is on a path to success.

New Orleans' very existence, more than any other city on the planet, partially depends on the world's ability to reduce greenhouse gases. New Orleans, more than any other city in the nation, depends on massive federal spending to protect it from the specter of rising seas and vulnerability to hurricanes. New Orleans, more than any other city in the nation, badly needs to take advantage of federal incentives promoting green industries by making itself attractive to environmentally-oriented start-ups.

Yet New Orleans is not examining mandatory composting laws, single stream recycling, plastic bag bans, or rain barrel distribution programs.

In fact, the City of New Orleans does not have any recycling services.

We're practically begging for the environmental movement to somehow solve our existential crisis while we continue gorge ourselves on the most wasteful consumption practices.

What kills me is more than simply not having the laws, is not even having a discussion about them on the agenda.

It's exceedingly hypocritical.

It's embarrassing and it's pathetic.

--

New Orleans pays exorbitant fees to dump trash at Old Gentilly Landfill, which of course, is co-operated by sanitation dept. contractor Jimmie Woods of Metro Disposal and construction caballer Steven Stumpf.

Though the city owns the landfill, they 'tip' the operators based on the amount of trash they handle. See the T-P:

In 2001, Stumpf and Woods formed a joint venture and submitted the only proposal to operate the new facility. In the final days of the Morial administration in early 2002, they signed a deal under which -- provided the landfill received a state permit -- they would keep 97 percent of the proceeds, with the city getting the other 3 percent.

Stumpf and Woods, as well as other contractors dependent on sanitation department contracts, are major contributors to political campaigns at all levels. Moldy City has blogged extensively about this over many moons.

It is not in the personal interests of private trash hauling and landfill operating contractors and their political allies to do anything that might jeopardize the volume of waste produced in the city of New Orleans.

--

Anyone considering a run for Mayor better have a detailed plan for how we can make up for lost time on these environmental quality issues, one that acknowledges the difficulty to navigate through the poisoned political waters that have contaminated all discussions around reforming how we do sanitation.

These are the types of things Mayoral candidates should start offering right now so that citizens have an opportunity to see if there is any substance to these people before the campaign gets reduced to lawn signs and robo-calls.

--

See also these two (1, 2) articles in the New York Times magazine about inner-city minorities taking charge of local green and good food initatives, busting negative stereotypes that poor people don't care about the environment.

I win

Phillies over Mets.

Fireworks on the Parkway.

Yuengling, Yards, and Kenzinger.

Happy 4th of July!

Hmm

Has Sarah Palin been secretly moonlighting as a journalist in Argentina? Is that what this is about?

Update:

I would guess there are a few things going on here.

1. She's being investigated by the feds on a couple of fronts including how she built her home and absue of power due to Todd Palin's involvement in decision-making.

2. She's decided that she'd rather be a millionaire talk show host on Fox than a failed candidate for President.

These don't have to be mutually exclusive.

To point 2, wouldn't she be pretty successful as a fox news hack? She always wanted to be a tv newslady anyway.

Segmented Circle

American Zombie is navigating the e-maelstrom once again. Here, here, and here.

Timing is going to be increasingly sensitive with everything as the race to the punchline heats up after hurricane season moves to past its peak. If we're going to get something good, we'll start to have a pretty good idea by the time September rolls around. Otherwise, it might have to wait until next summer. The DOJ is likely to be exceptionally careful about indictments near election time, probably more so now after Alberto Gonzales' DOJ violated so many standards.

Kristoffer Bonilla and John Thomas Wray Rock

I'm so glad to see Mr. Bonilla and Mr. Wray fighting for marriage rights in Louisiana via the courts. Opponents of gay marriage should be forced to explain their opposition because frankly, I don't understand it. In 2004 I think that gay marriage was a wedge that religious conservatives used to their own electoral benefit. But mainstream opinions about this are changing fast and I don't think progressives should sacrifice discussion of this in conservative districts due to political practicality anymore. It shouldn't necessarily be the lotus of someone's policy agenda but it certainly shouldn't be so marginalized as far as our discourse is concerned. I almost never see letters to the editor on the matter.

Gay couples should be able to enjoy the rights and benefits the state affords to married straight couples.

Period.

It's because of totally bankrupt arguments like this, from state Sen. AG Crowe (R - 12th Century) that I think we should be more bold about confronting opponents to civil rights for our LGBT friends and family.

Crowe said gay marriage is what makes no sense.

"It's absurd to have to have a conversation about how illogical it is," Crowe said, when asked why he is against same-sex marriage. "Families are the foundation of our country. Families have been portrayed Scripturally as a man and a woman."

No, Senator Crowe. I think we do need to have a conversation about this. Just how does preventing couples from obtaining the benefits of family life strengthen the family? Should the country adopt as a matter of policy everything that is portrayed in the Scriptures?

More on City Hall, Place, and Protest

Adrastros smartly flagged this op-ed by Richard Campanella and John Klingman about the plan to move City Hall into the Chevron Building. However, I thought it fell short of the expectations set by the title of the piece, City Hall not just a place, but a statement.

Klingman and Campanella argue that moving City Hall is a poor choice because civic institutions as important as a city hall should located in places that reflect that importance:

All three of our city halls were designed as iconic civic structures positioned to face important public urban spaces. They reflected visionary thinking.

The rest of the article alludes to the why public space at a City Hall matters, referring to it as a critical place that "serves important ceremonial and civic purposes," but it doesn't actually come out and say 'it.'

In his post, Adrastros does:

I suspect that what Nagin *really* likes about the Chevron building is that there's no place for people to demonstrate against him.

Now that's not quite right, as Mayor Nagin will be out of office before the Chevron building is open for business but the spirit is dead-on.

The title of the Klingman and Campenlla op-ed, "City Hall not just a place, but a statement," would suggest the kind of article I wish they'd written.

One of the more interesting fields I studied at university is the sociology of social movements. One very interesting topic was about the importance of public space for the exercise of the democracy - freedom of assembly - and how these spaces have been systematically eroded following the urban disorders of the second half of the last century. One of my faves on the topic, Fortress Los Angeles (available to read), discusses the militarization of space in L.A. following the Rodney King riots in the '90s. For more, also see this chapter from The Right to the City.

My objection to the relocation of City Hall has nothing to do with the design of the Chevron building or the fact that it is not an "iconic" structure. Rather, I wrote just the other day that this project concerned me precisely because it is along the same lines of so many other poorly conceived development projects the city has undertaken since Katrina that seem to reflect an unhealthy concern for the traditional benchmarks of individual political legacy instead of smart investments in quality of life, neighborhood infrastructure, and existential sustainability.

However, a secondary concern involves the proposal itself: not the look of the Chevron building but its location. Think about the absence of Duncan Plaza over the last year. Has its function as a gathering place for citizens looking to petition the government been replaced? What about its significance as a camp for the homeless? Did they not exert a symbolic and real pressure on the Mayor and Council to address the largely ignored challenge of poverty? If we're going to spend $9 million on something designed to promote the personal legacy of the current Mayor, I'd rather invest in remaking Duncan Plaza into a more pedestrian-friendly town square than moving City Hall into a fortress.

The plan to move City Hall reflects an uncomfortable authoritarianism that mostly seeks to commemorate the paranoia of the man proposing it instead of to substantively bolster this important municipal institution in a manner that will increase civic participation and strengthen local democracy.

Option = Competition

TPM had an interesting piece a few days ago on how the private insurance industry behaves like a monopoly in practical regional settings.