City IT services....who's running them?

I'm reading the RFP right now. Hope to have a detailed post by tonight.

Can someone explain this?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "I do have to comment on this":

Some one posted this as a comment under the Teep story, and it confused the HELL out of me:

"Daya Naef works for the City Attorney's office:

Notarial Archives
NA #2007-66876
NA #2008-38835
NA #2009-24675
NA #2008-47726
NA #2008-36802
NA #2008-36801"

WTF? How does a person go about looking up what these numbers mean?

How could Daya Naef be working for the City Attorney if she was also working for HSOA subsidiaries in cases against the city, or working as their agent as they got those city contracts?

That's even more messed up than the possible conflict of interest that she and her husband might have.

Would these documents be the things the other Anon poster told us Naef was signing up in Brenda Breaux's office?

Is it wrong to even ask these questions now? I don't like feeling bullied into not asking. I'd like to know what is going on.

BE Posse: I have no idea if Naef was signing things in Brenda Breaux's office, and I have no idea what this string of numbers means or what it might prove. But I'd like to know. Care to explain?

I'm not sure what is in those Notarial Archive documents....I have no idea. Could someone provide access to them or provide a digital form of the documents? I'm ASSUMING that they may be signed by Mrs. Naef. If that is the case would that confirm that she is performing work for the city attorney's office? And more importantly....if that is the case....does this constitute a conflict of interest?

I do have to comment on this

From the comment section on the TP Story:

When Ellis shows up at the front door with a summons, identifies himself as the subject of JB's recent blogs, and JB is served heading out a side entrance ahead of Ellis, what would you call that? If you RT bloggers are so righteous, why not make a public display of the service? Would have made for some great pub. For that matter, where's the legal fund for JB supported wholy by all like-minded bloggers?

Yeah? No shit? That's pretty funny, I don't remember that. Where is the side entrance to Zeitgeist?

Also...why would I need a legal defense fund if I haven't been sued yet?

UPDATE: This is getting better:

If JB didn't try to avoid service, he's free to prove it, though I hear Ellis' folks have video of the event. I'm not against anonymity, but JB was in the process of outting himself, so that argument is moot.

A video of me doing what...trying to avoid service? What exactly would that look like? Did I do a tuck and roll? Was I in a Ninja suit? Did I turn into a bat and fly out the side door...the side door which doesn't exist? So I'm supposed to prove I didn't avoid service...whatever that is. Ok...uh.....well....yeah...you got me, man. I can't prove that. Damn, I should have thought to shoot a video of myself not doing that. Silly me.

Oh and btw, who are Ellis' folks? Let's talk about that. That seems to have slipped through the cracks. The "Folks" were there to film me? Really? What am I, Bigfoot? I hope they caught me on camera...maybe Monsterquest on the History Channel is interested in that footage.

This is beyond stupid. Let's get back to who's running the city portal and website.

The Bigger MAS picture...coming

Sorry for delay in this story...as you can imagine, I've been a little busy today. Please note this comment:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "How is MAS getting paid?":

Another nearly $1.9 million contract handed out by the City's tech department? REALLY?

http://egov.cityofno.com/ECRS_ConView/DisplayContract.aspx?FID=0000000000000000000000000003784

Even better: The company that got this latest contract, MSF Global Solutions, was formerly known as "Imagine GIS, LLC." Seriously.

http://www400.sos.louisiana.gov/cgibin?rqstyp=crpdtlC&rqsdta=35568267K

Nagin must have the biggest balls in the world to keep signing these contracts.

Dambala, please keep fighting this machine. You're our best hope.

As fate would have it...this contract goes into effect as of today. The company is NOT a Meffert owned company. MSF is owned by Marseyas Fernandez, a contractor at City Hall. There is some interesting stuff surrounding this contract and a bigger issue of whether or not MSF actually has a functioning CMS (Content Management Sysytem) to actually run the city portal which was previously being run by MAS.

I don't have the whole story but I'm working on it. I have some folks telling me all sides of the story and I will do my best to give a holistic perspective.

As far as the revelations in da paper....who gives a shit who I am? Does it really matter? What matters is that we keep digging...all of us.

How is MAS getting paid?

Assuming that the MAS Group is conducting work for the city....how are they getting paid?

I am speculating but I would bet it's through one of two city IT contractors....Ciber or VisionIT. Hell, maybe both.

It's interesting that Nagin just stroked a 6 million dollar check to Ciber. When the TP asked the administration what it was for....they basically told them to fuck off.

Maybe that was for Muppet and St. Pierre's lawyer fees.

However, in this case....I have a hunch the conduit may be VisionIT.

UPDATE: My hunch has now turned into pretty, damn sure that VisionIT is paying MAS as a sub. Also, I am getting a larger picture of MAS and the services they're performing. I was painting with a broad brush and I want to refine the story....stay tuned....it's going to get better.

The deeper you dig...

http://www.masgroupinc.com/pg-19-1-home.aspx

http://www.masgateway.com/pg-19-7-imagine.aspx

Imagine Consulting

We are a professional Web and technology services company with an emphasis on e-business development.

We offer IntelliPort Series Content Management System as the portal management tool for e-government, e-commerce and e-business solutions. Imagine's highly experienced integration and application development staff successfully built the 2005 e-Government Best of the Web winning website for the City of New Orleans.

The city relied on a static "brochure ware" website with little more than email from type city services. In two years, the IntelliPort CMS .Net solution provided the development platform to create over 70 online city services, re-deployable custom components and department level content management in order to increase revenue, reduce IT costs as well as push information to the public faster and more effectively. With IntelliPort's scalable model infrastructure, the City of New Orleans was able to migrate the website and the key departments and services to remote servers at the onset of hurricane Katrina, keeping the city's information portal online during and after the storm helping thousands of displaced citizens keep up to date with the city's recovery process.

Aside from Mass Portal being a new, tasty, drink at The Bridge Lounge (which only certain zombiefied folks can acquire)....it's another goddamn, Meffert company? He's under a federal probe and he still has city contract's? Where is the contract for Mas Group? Can you folks help me find it?

I am pretty sure this company's registered agent is in Plano, Texas. Who all belongs to the Mas Group? Is anyone currently on city payroll working for or with the Mas Group?

And wait....is he running the city website? Is Intelliport posting the contracts, or lack thereof, on the city website? Are you fucking kidding me....I hate to sound redundant....but are you fucking kidding me?

I know Intelliport put a bunch of kiosks in City Hall and around the city:

http://publickiosks.com/pg-4-1-home.aspx

And I know that Scott Domke and Muppet are still listed as the registered agent for Intelliport.

There was even some crazy co-op deal to put them in local Winn-Dixies.

But according to the Mas Group's website, they handle city government portal solutions....and the only city government listed is New Orleans. They have one fucking client?

When was this contract issued? Please, does anyone know?

***Some contributions were made here by fellow bloggers. HT to you guys. You know who you are.

Bad calls in Corporate Branding

So apparently the Halliburton connected with HSOA is actually an investor relations firm and not the Halliburton we all know and love:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Can anyone out there explain this?":

haliburton is an investor relations company. no relation to dick cheneys former employer. halliburton gets a fee for serving as investor relations for small public companies. no story here.

I tried to go to the website but my browser went nuts informing me that it contained malware:

www.HalliburtonIR.com

That's kind of like opening Vick's Doggie Day Care....or Plaxico Firearms Training....or Nagin's Leadership University...or the Winehouse Rehab Center....alright I'll stop.

All Hands on Deck

From the post I made suggesting that Nagin was about to pull a Johnson Controls:

Anonymous to me

show details 5:58 PM (6 minutes ago)

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Johnson Controls 2.0?":

There are definitely contracts being signed right now that are going to make naginites rich. I am an insider. I am looking at it too.

Folks, now is the time to speak up, before this happens. If you have any information, please share it.

Anon....have you heard of company based in Plano, Texas called Mass Portal?

The End is Nigh

In more ways than one.

But in the immediate sense, I am referring to utility company's stranglehold over the human race:

Taking a Dim View of Solar Energy

The disparity has utilities worried about loosing their grip on the country's energy industry, and the $130 billion residential electricity market. In some cases, utilities are actually taking direct steps to thwart rooftop solar. Two weeks ago in Colorado, the state's biggest utility, Xcel, tried passing a surcharge on homes and businesses using rooftop solar power. The public went ballistic, and with pressure from Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter, the proposal was eventually shelved. In early July, New Mexico's biggest utility, PNM, filed an official request to dramatically reduce incentives for businesses and homeowners to install solar panels, and is now fighting with state lawmakers over whether it has the right to exclusively own solar panels systems hooked up to its grid. During California's last legislative session, Southern California Edison, which serves 13 million residents, successfully lobbied against a bill that would have allowed the city of Palm Desert to pay solar users for the excess power they generate.

Remember the power of going ballistic....I have a hunch we're going to be facing similar issues here. In the meantime...worship the sun:

http://www.southcoastsolar.com/

Can anyone out there explain this?

Is H.S.O.A connected with Halliburton in some way? This was announced way back in 06....before the company started imploding on itself. But I have never seen anything about a Halliburton connection until now.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Bone to Picke":

ARRGH...http://www.secinfo.com/dujPe.vcn.a.htm

November 1 2006 "Home Solutions of America Acquires Associated Contractors; Acquisition to Allow Company to Participate in $270M Rebuilding Project for Stennis Space Center"

Contact people: Jeff Mattich (HSOA) and Matt Kreps, Halliburton Investor Relations.

Zing!

Former city tech chief Greg Meffert is target of federal criminal probe

Wait....I'm sorry....

Are any of you actually going to show up? Really? There's something demeaning about that don't you think?

Johnson Controls 2.0?

This is a prepatory post. For those of you not familiar with the Johnson Controls story, please brush up on your Nawlin's city contract history. I was going to do a comprehensive summary of JC but luckily for me...its already out there. It looks like the author is Carl Bernofsky...all the pertinent links to get the background on JC are on his website. Take a few minutes and run through this...don't worry...there won't be a quiz:

Saving New Orleans, or Scamming It?

I bring JC up now, because I want to remind folks that the biggest shennanigans in an Executive public official's reign usually occur in the last leg of his/her tenure. We are approaching that last leg with Senor Nagin. I think we may be on the verge of another Johnson Controls scenario...Nagin's version that is.

Don't have details but I'm digging. More to come.

A Bone to Picke

Here's a question...has anyone ever seen the HSOA contracts for the Sidewalk repairs? Anyone? They're not posted on the city database. I'm just curious if anyone actually has them.

Also...were all of these contracts formally bid? I know the Airport contract was defaulted when it was discoverd that HSOA's bond company, Infinity Surety, was bogus....So does this mean that Picke now has the airport contract or is this an entirely different contract? The original defaulted contract was for 5.6 million...this lists a 4.3 million dollar contract....are they the same contract?:

Anonymous to me
show details 9:51 am (1 day ago)
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "All Roads Lead to HSOA?":

http://pickeconstruction.com

It is a beautiful website. It looks professional and polished. The writing on it is a little nauseating. Were it not for the news stories about money problems and lawsuits, I'd be impressed by them at first glance.

Under investors they tell you they area wholly owed subsidiary of Home Solutions of America. They say they work on the Gulf Coast, but all their projects are in New Orleans, and most of them seem to involve getting government contracts. And they DO have a multi-million dollar contract out at the airport.

Under the projects heading, they tell you right up front:

French Market Shed Renovation
$6 905 834

Orleans Parish Prison
$1 779 771

Louis Armstrong International Airport
$4 324 555

New Orleans Public School
$20 739 176

French Quarter Sidewalks
$ 750 000

Tulane University-- Emergency Temporary Housing
$1 502 232

Would someone check my math, please, because I think that adds up to $36 001 568.

That is a lot of public money to entrust to a company that seems to have big problems.

UPDATE: This comment came in immediately after I made this post. Interestingly enough the link has been locked so I can't follow up on what it was about.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Bone to Picke":

Have you see this?

http://securities.stanford.edu/1036/HOM_01/2006620_f01cHansen.pdf

Does it tell us anything we don't already know?

I'm anxiously awaiting the piece you were going to post about the schools.

Are any of these HSOA subsidiaries getting New Orelans contracts:

Cornerstone Building and Remodeling
Southern Exposure
P.W. Stephens (they do mold)
Fiber Seal Systems ?

Is the Charles Fradella who is the Financial Officer of MLU Services related to Frank Fradella of HSOA?

All Roads Lead to HSOA?

Interesting comment today on a very old post:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Still going.....":

Micheal McGrath used to be President of HSOA; he also used to be the head of a Mortgage company in Florida that got into serious trouble with the Feds. See the Tampa Bay, FLA business papers. If you google this, it will come up.

It is like the S&L deal of the 1980's all over again. These jokers may have played a role in turning off the lights of the whole freakin' economy.

Look into the now defunct Florida HSOA subsidiary Fireline. It appears these people ripped off subcontractors post-K.

William Aaraon Bennett of Benetech is part of the HSOA family. He is a partner in the HSOA subsidiary Associated Contractors.

As Sewell was the guy who reported Fradella to the SEC, I don't understand what is going on if he is still working with them.

Have they paid all the law firms they owed money to, I wonder?

Can't the City of New Orleans find some firm that fixes sidewalks that isn't trailing ceditors after it like TP on a shoe?

That, in fact, does check out:

NJ Mortgage Exec Michael McGrath Pleads Guilty In $140 Million Fraud

Kind of...McGrath was actually Chairman of the Board.

And on Fireline and HSOA in general....we have this:

Home Solutions of America: Story Gone From Bad to Worse

Fireline won't disclose $100M contract client

Home Solutions of America- Fraud Plain and Simple

American Zombie: The Official HSOA 411

Sewell is no longer working for HSOA, of this I'm pretty sure.

How much money have we pumped to this company during Nagin's tenure? If tabulated, the amount of cash in no-bid contracts which have been pumped out to HSOA and Benetech (and the proxy subsidiaries, however goddamn many of them there are...) is going to make us all very sick. Especially when we take into account what we have to show for it.

An example of our how talented our local MSM journalists are

Having some intimate knowledge of the NOPS board in pre-K, I can tell you that this story about the Mose/Ellenese connection is very telling. If anyone is listening to Jeffrey's notion that this story (Mose/Bill J.) is the great American novel of our time....this article is a must read.

Jefferson case shows meltdown of Orleans Parish School Board

Thank you

It pains me that I couldn't be at Rising Tide today and I apologize to my fellow bloggers. I also want to thank them for honoring me with the Ashley Award, as their recognition means more to me than anything. A big thanks to Jacques Morial for mindfuckingly accepting it for me....I hope today's special guests are thoroughly confused.

In case you weren't there (like me), this was my thank you:

I am deeply honored to be recognized by all of you…and even more honored to receive an award named after Ashley Morris. He was truly one of kind, and while I only got to know him in the last couple years of his life, he was one of those individuals who leaves a lasting impression..

I, like many of you, started blogging in the wake of Katrina. It has proven to be a multi-faceted experience for me….therapeutic, cathartic, rewarding, anxietal, obsessive, and even threatening.

What I would like to tell the people in this room is that you are all special. You all share a collective love for this city and are using your blogs and activism to shape a better vision of New Orleans. While we all may not agree on everything, we all….most certainly…..care. We care enough to pay attention….and that means everything to the health of a community.

We all know that traditional mainstream media resources are facing some serious challenges with the advent of the internet and quite often blogs are portrayed as the nemesis to quality journalism. I don’t believe this is true. Blogs are just another tool for the 4^th estate to perform it’s job. In a way, I think the internet is the ultimate evolution of the 4^th estate. All of you…particularly you….New Orleans bloggers…have proven that in the years following Katrina. Nowhere have bloggers made such an impact as they have here in New Olreans in the aftermath of Katrina.

And for that matter, I think the MSM, investigative journalists in this city are head and shoulders above the national pack. I am personally not worried for their future as some….as I have faith that quality and integrity is always in demand regardless of the medium or technology used to relay the message. I hope our blogs continue to serve them in the future. After all…we’re on the same team.

Although, I must say….it would be nice if we could figure out a way to get paid too. It would definitely help me justify the amount of time I spend blogging to my wife….and believe me I need all the help I can get there.

Regardless, I will continue to do my best for this city…because I care. I know all of you do as well and I know how privileged I am to be a part of this community. Once again, thank you so much.

Sinn Fein and Ashe’

Git you some James!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Alex Morgan, 206-331-2009

DATE: August 21, 2009

James Perry Files Request for Injunction Today in Civil District Court to Halt Abuse of Power by Nagin Administration

Urges Court to Act to Prevent Payment with Public Funds of Contracts Awarded in Violation of City Charter

New Orleans, LA – James Perry, as a taxpayer in good standing, filed a request for a preliminary injunction today against the Nagin Administration in Civil District Court.

James Perry, New Orleans Mayoral Candidate: “My hope with today’s filing of a request for preliminary injunction is that the court will act expeditiously to halt the abuse of power by the Nagin Administration by awarding contracts in violation of the City’s Home Rule Charter.”

“As a private citizen I have serious concerns when my government begins to operate outside of its governing charter and without regard or respect for the rule of law,” said Perry. “The City Charter expressly prohibits any city department or agency with the exception of the Sewerage & Water Board, Civil Service Department, the Public Belt Railroad Commission and the Board of Liquidation from the hiring of special counsel without the approval of two-thirds of the New Orleans City Council.”

“I say enough is enough with this use of semantics and creative interpretation by the Nagin Administration to justify the awarding of contracts in violation of the city charter.”

James Perry and host a press conference call today at 5:30pm CST to discuss his reasons for filing today’s injunction and why he took a stand today against the Nagin Administration’s abuse of power, violation of city charter.

Guilty....

He was found guilty on 4 of 7 counts:

Guilty:

- two bribery counts

- two obstruction counts

The Mose Verdict is almost in.....

I will post in one momento....

He may walk

I have a sneaking suspicion that Mose may slide through. Not that I'm happy if he does, but hat's off to Michael Fawyer if he is acquitted....he played this brilliantly.

I believe this

I have word that the previous post is mostly untrue.

But I still want to know if Mrs. Naef is signing off on city documents.

A Deafening Silence

BE Posse....you have ample opportunity to dismiss anything which has been posted....would love to hear you clear these issues up. Is Daya performing any city related business, particularly in Brenda Breaux's department? Is she signing city documents? If these accusations are untrue...please verify that.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ellis and his Pus...eh...Posse": SO one poster here says that Naef signs a lot of things over with Brenda Breax, who is the City Attorney who deals with housing. AND Naef, Ellis, et al are personal friends with Deputy City Attorney Evelyn Pugh, whom Stacey Head e-mails about why over a dozen permits (Pugh is Safety and Permits)to demolish homes got issued in a two day period last September 8 & 9. (This is in Head's e-mails, you can read this online). In Head's e-mails, which are posted online for all to read, we learn of properties such as 3121 Josephine, which was demolished even though it was on the NCDC agenda, due to be discussed on Oct. 6th. Some of Head's other e-mails are frustrated missives about a warehouse that fences stolen copper and other building supplies. Who gets to issue the "Imminent Danger of Collapse" permits at City Hall? Who decides which companies are going to come and pick up the copper or usable building supplies? I do not know the answers to those questions, but the problems revealed by Head's e-mails and the list of things Naef's various L.L.C.'s were set up to do makes me wonder. This post is not offering any real new information. I do not know if these things are connected. They may not be. I hope someone will ask and find out if they are.

Of course

Well....the militant, right wing, gun-toting, town hall screaming, crazies have accused Obama of everything they can possibly think of from being African to being a Nazi. As Bill Maher said in his New Orleans performance they've called him everything they can think of other than what they really want to call him....you fill in the blank.

So I guess it was just a matter of time before they brought Voodoo into the mix:

VOODOO IN OBAMA'S WHITE HOUSE

Imagine that. Obama's true plan is to replace private health care with Santeria....you heard it here first.

You'd think I'd get a cabinet position, huh?

I'm starting to dig Cannizzaro

Raw: Orleans DA slams NOPD

I like the fact that he's:

1. Telling us that our city's law enforcement departments are incompetent. He's definitely not mincing words here. There's no "things are looking up" bullshit going on here. He's telling us the truth about just how fucked up the D.A.'s office was when he came in. I, for one, appreciate the candor.

2. He seems to be taking responsibility for the office. That alone is a revolutionary notion in New Orleans city government....an elected leader who actually steps up to the plate and takes responsibility for their job/department.

I think the D.A.'s office should be the top priority for our city for as long as it takes to get it running right. The solution to our crime problem is contingent on successful convictions...we have to get this right in order to make progress.

My lawyer once stated, "If you want to get away with murder in this country....come to New Orleans....its a cakewalk here." That's a pretty sad perspective, but true nonetheless.

In Related News: The drama continues right outside mayoral candidate, James Perry's campaign headquaters.

Oh calm down

Economist: New Orleans faces $43M hole in 2010

All we have to do is fire Ciber from the city IT contract and we'll make that up in one year with a couple million to spare.

Things you should know

Thanks to some sleuthy work by another unnamed blogger (at his/her bequest) we now learn that the law firms Nagin is contracting with city cash, donated to his last mayoral campaign.

Gordon Arata must have been anticipating a Nagin debacle back in 2006:

By the by, the law firm of Gordon Arata has contributed $15,000 to Nagin:

Candidate/Committee Report Type Description (Loan Interest Rate) Date Amount
Source Address City ST Zip
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ray Nagin 40G CONTRIB 02/16/2002 5000.00
Gordon Arata McCollam Et al 201 St Charles 40th Floor New Orleans LA 70170
Ray Nagin SPCL CONTRIB 02/16/2002 5000.00
Gordon Arata McCollam Et al 201 St Charles 40th Floor New Orleans LA 70170
Ray Nagin 30P CONTRIB 12/24/2001 2500.00
GordonArataMcCollam etc..LLP 201 St.Charles 40th Fl New Orleans LA 70170
Ray Nagin 180P CONTRIB 04/06/2005 2500.00
Gordon Arata McCollam et al 201 St Charles Ave 40th Floor New Orleans LA 70170

Total Amounts (4 records) 15000.00

Beveridge must have as well:

Beveridge has given $4500:

Candidate/Committee Report Type Description (Loan Interest Rate) Date Amount
Source Address City ST Zip
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ray Nagin 180P CONTRIB 06/20/2005 2500.00
Beveridge & Diamond P.C. 1350 I Street NW Suite 700 Washington DC 20005
Ray Nagin 40G CONTRIB 02/28/2002 1000.00
Beveridge & Diamond P.C. 1350 I Street NW Suite 700 Washington DC 20005
Ray Nagin SPCL CONTRIB 02/28/2002 1000.00
Beveridge & Diamond P.C. 1350 I Street NW Suite 700 Washington DC 20005

Total Amounts (3 records) 4500.00

The city also seems to be overpaying on the legal contract:

Here's the rates from the contract:

Michael Botnick $250.00/hr

Associate(s) $175.00/hr

A legal services signed by the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - East with Gordon Arata included the following rates:

http://www.slfpae.com/minutes/09June18%20SLFPA-E%20Board%20Meeting%20Minutes.pdf

WHEREAS,

Gordon, Arata, McCollam, Duplantis & Eagan, LLP proposes to

use the following staff to perform services under this contract:

Michael E. Botnick – 34 years experience - $200 per hour

Scott A. O’Connor – 20 years experience - $200 per hour

C. Peck Hayne, Jr. – 22 years experience - $200 per hour

Loulan Pitre – 23 years experience - $200 per hour

Steve Copley – 25 years experience - $200 per hour

Blake G. Arata – 56 years experience - $200 per hour

John M. McCollam – 50 years experience - $200 per hour

Aimee Williams Hebert – 11 years experience - $200 per hour

Sara E. Mouledoux – 6 years experience - $150 per hour

Abaigeal Van Deerlin – 3 years experience - $125 per hour

Dana Dupre – 2 years experience - $100 per hour

Wesley W. Sharples – 2 years experience - $100 per hour

Benjamin S. Allums – 2 years experience - $100 per hour

Nice sleuthing, sir/mam.

Who's zooming who....who's doing who?

Is everyone fucking everyone in this town? Or is everyone just fucking the Jefferson brothers? Dollar Bill taps Renee Gill Pratt and then passes her on to Mose. Now Mose comes out on the stand and fesses that he was tapping Ellenese.

Mose Jefferson testifies he had 'romantic relationship' with Ellenese Brooks-Simms

Not to mention that Ellenese testified that her biggest critic, Stuart Piltch, the former insurance watchdog/auditor for NOPS, was trying to seduce her daughter and even offered her a "loan".

You couldn't make this stuff up if you tried. Somebody call Hollywood and tell them to forget 90210...try 70130.

Who's bought and paid for?

Everybody on City Council except Midura. We're in trouble...big trouble:

New Orleans City Council members bicker over Entergy contracts

I have come to the conclusion that there is no way to stop Entergy's stranglehold over this city....it's impossible....period. They will continue to buy off existing council members, they will pump Feilkow's war chest full of cash for the next mayoral election, the Utility Committee will be dissolved, they will renege on their Arkansas plant agreement, and they will rape us at their convenience.

There is only way to beat them:

http://www.southcoastsolar.com/

Get off their grid....as soon as you possibly can. And please support any attempt by local developers to create alternative energy plants... including this proposed Plasma plant:

http://www.sunenergygrp.com/

You're going to see a lot of propaganda against it....don't buy it. I've been researching this technology and I see enormous potential for it, specifically in New Orleans as we are geographically positioned to expand this plant and create a truly renewable energy resource.

I am going to be looking further into the pros and cons of this technology in future posts.

...mic on?......HELLO CLEVELAND!!...

....Land....land....land...

Hey, is there an echo in here? You bet your sweet ass there is.

Our favorite performer, Mr. Anon., has once again taken the stage with a brand new, little ditty he picked up from Louis Armstrong...the airport that is:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Elvis has left the building...":

Try this:

'domestic filing' 36849181K 09/19/2008

It is a little L.L.C. called Echo Tango.

Wanna bet "Echo Tango" has something to do with who is getting the contracts out at the airport?

Louisiana Secretary of State

Detailed Record

Charter/Organization ID: 36849181K

Name: ECHO TANGO, L.L.C.

Type Entity: Limited Liability Company

Status: Active

Annual Report Status: In Good Standing Add Certificate of Good Standing to Shopping Cart

Mailing Address: C/O DAYA J. NAEF, ________ STREET, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70125

Domicile Address: ____________, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70125

File Date: 09/19/2008

Registered Agent (Appointed 9/19/2008): DAYA J. NAEF, 8006 NELSON STREET, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70125

Member: ERIC D. TORRES, ___________ STREET, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70112

Bravo! Encore!

UPDATE: It just occured to me that Echo Tango are military call signs for E.T. Do these guys have a fascination with little green men or could that stand for the initials of the aformentioned member of the company listed above? How creative....eh..

Update 2 -The response from Mr. Torres: Echo Tango was formed as a holding company for a real estate purchase I was considering making. The deal fell through. I've already told you that Daya is only listed as the registered agent and has no other interest in the company.

Echo Tango is a nick name that was used during a campaign I worked on.

There are no contracts at the airport. I have no interest in getting contracts out at the airport. You have no proof and no substantiation of any of the lies you are posting.

Fair enough...once again, its an open mic.

Elvis has left the building...

So it would seem the BE Posse has exited stage left.

However, open mic night is every night in Teatro de Zombi and the doors are always open. Bring your own rotten tomatos.

Hallelujah!!!

New Orleans Saints waive cornerback Jason David

I was getting sick to my stomach in Friday night's game watching David get smoked time after time. I was hoping we may put one of the Pee Wee players in to see if they could do a better job.

One problem solved....now my main concern is the running game.

Caveat: One of my friends who works for one of the finer eating establishments in Uptown told me about hosting a dinner party for the Saint's defensive sqaud. He said the party got a little a rowdy and the staff was hamming it up with the players. David got somewhat confrontational with the executive host and the host replied, "Well I'd love to tell you what we call you around here, but I'm afraid I'd lose my job." Charles Grant replied, "Go ahead...I got your back...tell him." The host replied, "We call you toast....cause your always getting burnt." He said the team erupted in laughter and David was none too happy about it.

tabula soberupa....

hmmm.....i forgot a zero. shame on me.

Represent dawg...

Eli is making a public appearance today in a NetRoots Nation panel discussion on local blogs and their effect on city government. If you can't make it...hopefully there will be online video...cross your fingers.

Saint's tonight baby!

Damn, I blew my cover

Yes...I am Brad Pitt:

Brad Pitt: I'll make New Orleans safe for committed homosexuals, tax-paying potheads and atheists

Just because its fun....turn your speakers up and dance your ass off

Tabula Grossa

In case anyone is keeping score....I can confirm that the city has now paid at least $60,000 in attorney fees to defend Ray Nagin's shenanigans.

I'm still waiting on an attorney...any attorney...Beuller...Beuller...to tell me if this is even legal for him to use city money to defend himself against criminal charges. I get the attorney's fees for the TP and WWL lawsuits....but what about the lawyers for the federal investigation? Can he use city money to pay these guys? Anyone? Please answer.

UPDATE:

ooohhhhh...DSU got da scoop:

City Hires D.C. Law Firm Amid Federal Probes

We bloggahs....we're chopped livah!

Ray is a busy bee

It appears our mayor was conducting some interesting business on the side during his last trip to Washington, D.C.

http://egov.cityofno.com/ECRS_ConView/DisplayContract.aspx?FID=0000000000000000000000000003646

That's right folks...another 15k of your tax dollars just went to contract a law firm from D.C. to help defend Ray. "Defend him from what", you may ask? I'm assuming a federal investigation. Is that even legal? I thought a public official was not allowed to use public funds to defend himself from criminal activity. Wasn't that established by the supreme court in Jones V. Clinton? Help me out here, lawfolk.

The firm is Kelley, Drye and Warren. Their website lists their fields of expertise including: government contracts, government relations, and white collar crime. That would pretty much sum up our mayor's tenure.

Interestingly enough K,D&W also represented American crawfish farmers in a 1 billion dollar lawsuit against insurance companies who created surety bonds allowing the Chinese to sell crawfish at below market prices. Maybe that's why Nagin was detained in China...just joking.

A 10,000 foot view on health care

Health care is a basic human right.

Yes, I believe that...not just as an American but as a human being.

As an American, you have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...your right to life is obviously contingent upon your health, no?

From a human perspective...what teleological goal could be more important than the health of a society's populous? Increasing capital? No shit? Do you really want to live in a society where the pursuit of capital takes precedent over human solidarity?

Imagine 100 people are magically transported to an uninhabited island somewhere in the Cosmos. They're survival as individuals, and as a species, is dependent upon their ability to cooperate with one another and reproduce. What do you think their first priority would be? My guess is that it would be to take every measure possible to ensure the health and well being of their tribe. Does that sound logical?

Or do you think that their main priority would be to develop a form of currency based on seashells....and they then spend endless hours hording these seashells while other members of their newly formed tribe starve or perish to the elements. Does that sound logical?

Well, to me, that analogy is indicative of our current public health care discourse. I am finding it hard to believe that we've become a society which values notions of material wealth (whatever that may be) over our own physical well being..."Protect the market at all costs...including your life." Really? It also amazes me that many of the people advocating this logic aren't by any means "wealthy" nor will they ever be.

What also interests me is the notion of "entitlement" being thrown around by conservative groups. These are people who shun any form of government program, i.e. Medicare, Welfare, because they claim "government hand outs" promote a sense of "entitlement." They just can't stand the notion that some people in our country think they deserve some level of care and protection from their government. They would like to think that they are fiercely independent and self sufficient and they don't need anything from their government...even in the event of a natural disaster like Katrina.

Yet when it comes to issues like immigration....they suddenly take a turn. The notion of entitlement takes on a whole new perspective. Then they ask their government to build massive walls to keep people away from what they are entitled to. Or maybe issues like marriage...where they feel they are entitled to this "sacred institution" while homosexuals shouldn't be. Or maybe issues like abortion...where they feel they are entitled to tell a young woman what she can and can't do with her body. Or maybe issues of religion...where they feel they are entitled to shove their fairy tales down people's throats by asking their government to pass laws which force their notions into public schools.

To me, this is the same mindset of people who felt entitled to sit at the front of the bus 50 years ago, or have separate bathrooms in restaurants.

As Greg points out, this logic is rapidly approaching a Soylent Green mentality. "Fuck the poor, the sick, the physically challenged....let's just eat them." I suppose that would be the logical path to follow if your only goal in life is to increase capital.

I can see the "socialist" accusations swirling in conservative minds after reading that.

I'm not going to attempt to dissect the semantics of the meme, "Socialism". I don't consider myself communist, nor do I subscribe to the notion that capitalism is a panacea. What I do subscribe to is human solidarity....I think there is no more worthy cause for a society than to promote the health of it's citizens. For me, everything else is secondary. I don't really want to live in a society that's more concerned with counting seashells than striving for the well being of it's populous. If that makes me a socialist, so be it.

This country needs a public health care system. I admittedly don't know enough about the particulars to say Obama's plan is the "right" plan but what I do know is that something has to change because the current system is failing us miserably. And I believe that an unbridled, free market system will absolutely not resolve the matters at hand.

double hmmm....

Anonymous said...

"Target Letter Tuesday".......some fine upstanding politicians and their hardworking staff recieved the official we love you so much so you are now a target of our affection letter from the Feds.

What federal defense attorneys who haven't yet been retained are still available? Some are suggesting that attorneys in Houston, Tx; Dallas, Tx, Washington, DC; and Huntsville, AL have been contacted.

Hmmmmm.....

Explanation: I was driving home last night listening to WWL and financial adviser, Dave Ramsey, was on. Now don't get me wrong, I think overall he's probably putting folks on the right track (debt free can't be a bad thing), but last night he started stumping against Obama's health care plan with a fervor which bordered on Glenn Beckishness. His tone had this "they don't know what they're about to do...but I do" vibe. It reeked of propaganda. I just couldn't help but wonder how much dinero he's getting for pushing that agenda to his audience who follows him religiously...literally. He mixes a little Christianity in with his show just for good measure.

It's amazing how long and pervasive the reach of insurance and pharma companies has become. They've successfully convinced the American public that public health care is not in their best interest because "it's socialist! It will kill our economy!!". This is what our society has come to...we are willing to sacrifice our own health for the idealism of "The Free Market".

A nation of Boxers.

Things that make you go...hmmmm...

Mr. Perry seems to be a man after my own heart. I hope he's fo' true cause if he does become the mayor, I'm gonna remind him of this sentiment he expressed ad nauseum.

Run the gamut, J.P. Don't wait for an election....just take the reigns, cause we got no time to waste. Get on this thing like stink on shit:

James Perry Issues Statement on Mayor Nagin’s Decision to Suspend City’s Economic Development Council

James Perry, New Orleans Mayoral Candidate: “Today’s decision by the Mayor is yet another example of politics impeding New Orleans’ progress. What should have been a mechanism to attract desperately needed economic development and private investment has been politicized in response to the Council’s vote against the Mayor on the purchase of the Chevron building.”

“With our City in the midst of toughening economic times, it is unacceptable for our elected so-called ‘leaders’ to discourage investment simply to settle personal and political scores. This action is not only irresponsible but shameful.”

“A shared prosperity of true economic development devoid of politics should be something that unites us. We must move past this pettiness and put progress above politics.”

Because I grew up Catholic

I think this may be this funniest post I've ever read:

OUR LADY OF BLOW STUFF UP

I also like, "Our Lady of Perpetual Capitalism".

Or....

"Our Lady of Shut the Fuck Up, We have to turn some bills."

Hey....far be it from me to tell the Catholic church when to scuttle nostalgia or when to exploit it. They wrote the frikkin' book on it....really.

But I would like to see the building survive.

tap...(screeeeechhhhh)...hello?

still on

Mea Culpa

It was brought to my attention that the comment section in one of my posts contained a rather nasty, personal attack on an individual who I am not familiar with.

I apologize to this person for allowing the comment to be posted and I deeply regret that I allowed it to get through in the first place.

While we're on the subject....this blog has become somewhat of a sounding board for potential corruption issues within city government. I think this is very healthy and maybe it provides a little sunshine to expose dealings which may otherwise not be brought to light. But I have no intention or desire to launch personal attacks against anyone in the private sector. For that matter, I don't care about the private lives of public officials unless of course it affects the public performance of their job or if it affects public money, i.e., Vitter and his prostitute habit, Meffert and Nagin taking personal trips to Hawaii on a city contractor's dime.

In the aforementioned case I let the comment slip in because I admittedly didn't screen it properly. I was out of town and was administering the blog from a cell phone....my bad.

For future reference...please don't post comments attacking anyone on a personal level. I am not interested in people's private lives or their personal dirty laundry. I am only interested in public corruption and issues which affect public money.

Once again, I apologize for that comment slipping through.

They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up

A biblical metaphor for Mr. Prince:

Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder

Reports of my city's death...

...are highly exaggerated:

Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?

I don't know about you guys but I'm getting rather nauseated with these diatribes:

What does it mean to miss New Orleans? It means knowing that one of the most golden citadels of our shared history - a cradle of multiculturalism, the birthplace of jazz, seed corn of so much that is America - was allowed to die of neglect, disdain, racism, greed and simple stupidity right before our eyes. A city stands where New Orleans once was, but it is not New Orleans, not really. All that was the city, all that it gave this country, and so many of the people who lived there, are gone forever.

Oya! The drama!

How the fuck does Mr. Pitt know what New Orleans really is? I mean, I've been to San Francisco a couple times....but I don't know what it really is. For that matter I've lived in New Orleans for nearly half my life....and I wouldn't be so arrogant as to assume I know what it really is. That's actually one of the things which I love about this city...it's endlessly mysterious.

I'm guessing this nostalgic epitaph was penned more for George W. Bush's mausoleum headstone than my city's. A city which has been here longer than the country itself and will probably be here long after America disintegrates under the weight of Empire.

I just had the opportunity of playing tour guide to a young lady from my little hometown who is passionate about moving to New Orleans. I can't tell you the pleasure I got from watching her eyes light up as we roamed the streets (which were packed mind you) of this city and met the amazing folks who make NOLA home for me. She comes from an area where racism is still pervasive (in ways a metropolitan area can't imagine), and freedom of thought and expression is comprised of which flavor of Jesus you prefer to shove down people's throats (not that I have any issues with J.C....its his fan club I detest). She made me feel like I was watching myself 20 years ago when I was first introduced to New Orleans. I realized that I still feel as passionate about this city now as I did then, maybe even more.

So to come off that weekend, and read an epitaph for New Orleans...well...forgive me if that donut is a little hard to swallow.

Mr. Pitt: We are here. We are very much alive. We are still New Orleans.