Waters A recent hearing led by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., of the housing subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee, included a testy exchange between the madame chair and John Trasvina, an assistant secretary for U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department over discrimination in St. Bernard Parish. For about five minutes, Waters pressed Trasvina for […]
Author Archives: The Editors
Posted inGovernment & Politics
No worse fate
Lil’ Liddy ordered to stay in New Jersey Recent reports indicate the four men accused of tampering with the phones in U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu’s New Orleans office were not attempting to place a wiretap but instead may have been attempting to elaborately prove her staff’s disinterest in answering constituent phone calls. I have a […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
What is the 'shadow government?'
In a joint appearance on WBOK-AM radio today, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Warren Riley alluded once again to a conspiratorial “shadow government” that has aligned to tarnish their reputations. A caller asked them to name names. Nagin and Riley demurred, saying it would be “un-P.C.” — never mind that they’d just […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
O'Keefe: Neither pimp nor journalist
Since four men were arrested by the FBI for illegally entering U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu’s New Orleans office, many news media outlets have been quick to identify one of them, James O’Keefe, as a journalist – often an “investigative journalist.” They’ve also identified O’Keefe as a guy who dressed as a pimp and entered ACORN […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Louisiana Liddys dial-a-felony
Tuesday’s news that four men have been charged with attempting to commit a felony after an attempt to tamper with the phones in U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office in New Orleans has become a big national story. Talking Points Memo has been out in front, reporting on the backgrounds of the four men involved with […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
What’s so great about a national search?
Every candidate for mayor has pledged to conduct a national search for a new police superintendent. All but John Georges and Rob Couhig say on their Web sites that this pledge is integral to their program to reduce crime. The clear inference is that the police force here is so broken, the problems so endemic, […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Affidavit for undercover film maker
The story seems to be everywhere, but few sites have posted the affidavit that led to the arrest of gonzo journalist James O’Keefe and three others. Working with a hidden camera, O’Keefe and Hannah Giles posed as a pimp and prostitute seeking advice from ACORN employees. Their videos led to tremendous outrage and a congressional […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Who's more distracted?
Today in a front-page story, The Times-Picayune reported on a survey by pollster Dr. Silas Lee that found 63 percent of New Orleanians expect the Super Bowl and/or Mardi Gras to be a “major distraction” from that other February event, citywide elections. No freakin’ duh. That’s like asking whether you dress differently when it is […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
New Orleans politicians look to bask in glow of popular, and not so popular, athletes
Saints win! Fans swoon! Politicians think: How do I get me some of that popularity? It’s no secret that New Orleans is stricken by Saints fever and hallucinations. Only every once in a while can a team coax an already sports-obsessed city to go all the way, to untether itself from professional dress codes on […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
2 Louisiana companies buck intent of Supreme Court ruling
Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling lets corporations, unions and interest groups spend on ads for or against candidates without making financial disclosures. Some corporations, including at least two in Louisiana, have decided to voluntarily report to the public their political expenditures nonetheless. Well in advance of this week’s decision, the Center for Political Accountability had […]