Dardenne enphasizes savings, not vote integrity.

2theadvocate.com | News | Dardenne reorganizes state office: "Chief state elections officer Angie LaPlace will keep her $100,000-a-year job under the administration of new Secretary of State Jay Dardenne."

The article contains much information about salaries in Dardenne's office, and nothing about how he intends to deal with the nationwide concern over voting integrity. We have machines all over the state which are hackable, or stuffable. Is anyone going to do anything about it? Apparently no plans are forthcoming from Dardenne.

He ignored inquiries about the subject of voter fraud during the election. Now he's only concerned with cutting his staff. (Will that make them more or less effective in checking voting machine fraud?)

And she's not the only one.

Blanco dissatisfied with pace of grants

BATON ROUGE -- Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Tuesday she is not satisfied with the pace of approving rebuilding grants for hurricane victims and wants solid answers from the consultant hired by the state to manage the progra

Bush wins this poll.

Heh.


Go vote.

What a week!

Democrats take House.
Rumsfeld out.
Mehlman out.
Macaca out.
Democrats take Senate.
And it all started with a great and classy Saints win.


Only regret is that a Democrat with support and endorsements did not run against Boustany. Would have won it walking away.

Anyway, after six years it's great to be part of the majority of this wonderful land.

Vote.

Throw the bums out.
And the gay-sex evangelists who snort crystal meth.
And gay-hating gay congressmen.
And the war apologists.
And the thieves of democracy.
And the money changers.

Add your own candidate for defeat here.

Bill Winter for Congress

Bill Winter is running in Colorado against Tom Tancredo, who trashed New Orleans after Katrina (see the sidebar on the right). Winter is a classy Democrat, so why not head over to his site, look him over, and donate some $$$ if you can?

Winter for Congress

Hell And Back

Just go read this. from Chris Rose, the best writer the Picayune ever had.

Rodney Alexander implicated in sex scandal again.

AMERICAblog: A blog for a great nation that deserves the truth:

"Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.), already enmeshed in the ex-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) page scandal, now faces a new controversy as a former staffer has sued his office for sexual harassment.

Elizabeth Scott, Alexander's former scheduler, claims that Royal Alexander, the Congressman's chief of staff, 'engaged in a course of misconduct' that included 'inappropriate sex-based comments, ogling and touching' and 'sexual advances,' according to Michael Hoare, Scott's attorney. Scott told the Congressman of his aide's alleged improper behavior but the Louisiana Republican took no action to correct the situation, Hoare said....
"

New York, Ground Zero, Last week.

  

Your Right Hand Thief asks the right question.

Your Right Hand Thief:

"Why did Alexander's office not insist on an investigation into the allegations of inappropriate conduct between Congressmen and other pages?"

A day of shame

2theadvocate.com | AP Top Stories:

"WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some of the most notorious names in the war on terror are headed toward prosecution after President Bush signed a law Tuesday authorizing military trials of terrorism suspects.

The legislation also eliminates some of the rights defendants are usually guaranteed under U.S. law, and it authorizes continued harsh interrogations of terror suspects."

They've just shredded the Coonstitution.

And Nedra Pickler seems pleased with it.

Say what?

LOSING CYPRESS:

"Extensive cypress logging has occurred in recent months around Lac Des Allemands in St. Charles and Lafourche parishes and in scattered sites within the Atchafalaya River Basin. Corps officials say logging is permissible in those areas."

Why are we still permitting logging of cypress forests? Ask Bob Odom.

Woohoo!

Saints are 5-1.

Sg.
Proud Saints fan for 30 years.

Sad. Sad. Sad.

2theadvocate.com | AP Top Stories: "

Oct 12, 6:45 PM EDT

Nearly 3 dozen Katrina victims remain unidentified in La.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The bodies of 65 Hurricane Katrina victims, of which just half have been identified, remain unclaimed more than a year after the storm, the Orleans Parish coroner said Thursday.

In all, more than 1,300 bodies were collected in Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered the region last year. Of those, 33 remain unidentified as investigators exhaust DNA and other tests, said coroner Frank Minyard.

'It's getting tougher,' he said. The number of unidentified bodies continues to fall slowly; in August, there were 49."

No one to even claim the bodies.

Humane

2theadvocate.com | AP Top Stories:

"GRAY, La. (AP) -- Senior citizens seeking aid from the state's hurricane housing grant program won't be penalized if they choose to move out of state or into rental housing rather than reconstruct their damaged homes, Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced Thursday.

The move exempts the elderly from a penalty that is levied against other homeowners who seek grants but don't rebuild their homes in Louisiana."

This seems like a good idea to me.

NOLA.com: Times-Picayune Updates:

"
A New Orleans judge widely criticized for granting thousands of free and reduced bail bonds to felons accused of violent crimes has been sidelined by the Louisiana Supreme Court on recommendation of its judicial disciplinary panel.

In an order issued Wednesday, the high court barred Criminal District Judge Charles Elloie from exercising 'any judicial function' pending the outcome of a continuing investigation of his conduct by the Judiciary Commission and the court.

In its recommendation, the commission said it has reason to believe that Elloie has violated the law and rules of judicial conduct and that he will continue doing so, threatening the administration of justice and the public, unless he is suspended from office. "

Some interesting articles about Republican candidates.

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

--AZ-01: Rick Renzi

--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

--CA-04: John Doolittle

--CA-11: Richard Pombo

--CA-50: Brian Bilbray

--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

--CO-05: Doug Lamborn

--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

--CT-04: Christopher Shays

--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

--FL-16: Joe Negron

--FL-22: Clay Shaw

--ID-01: Bill Sali

--IL-06: Peter Roskam

--IL-10: Mark Kirk

--IL-14: Dennis Hastert

--IN-02: Chris Chocola

--IN-08: John Hostettler

--IA-01: Mike Whalen

--KS-02: Jim Ryun

--KY-03: Anne Northup

--KY-04: Geoff Davis

--MD-Sen: Michael Steele

--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

--MN-06: Michele Bachmann

--MO-Sen: Jim Talent

--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

--NV-03: Jon Porter

--NH-02: Charlie Bass

--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

--NM-01: Heather Wilson

--NY-03: Peter King

--NY-20: John Sweeney

--NY-26: Tom Reynolds

--NY-29: Randy Kuhl

--NC-08: Robin Hayes

--NC-11: Charles Taylor

--OH-01: Steve Chabot

--OH-02: Jean Schmidt

--OH-15: Deborah Pryce

--OH-18: Joy Padgett

--PA-04: Melissa Hart

--PA-07: Curt Weldon

--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

--PA-10: Don Sherwood

--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

--TN-Sen: Bob Corker

--VA-Sen: George Allen

--VA-10: Frank Wolf

--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

--WA-08: Dave Reichert

Sheepish

I've been away from the blog a while. But I haven't quit. I've just been preoccupied and busy with a new school year, friends, relatives, a trip to New York, and, as of today, a teenager with pneumonia in the guest room.

getting back in the groove, I note that the bigh headlines today are that New Orleans has all the water back on, that they're replacing the street signs, and that Gov. Blanco is proposing a $100 rebate to taxpayers. All good news.

Pics of NY coming soon -- including last Friday's anti-bush demonstration and the much beloved Chrysler building.