Alternative New Media for the Gulf South
Resignation -by Nikki Giovanni
I love you
because I don’t want it
any other way
I am helpless
in my love for you
It makes me so happy
to hear you call my name
I am amazed you can resist
locking me in an echo chamber
where your voice reverberates
through the four walls
sending me into spasmatic ecstasy
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRlj5vjp3Ko]
I love you Continue reading “Slabbed Thursday Music Special Twofer: Dedicated to Deb and Tommy”
After SLABBED published the first few posts on Jefferson Parish, I realized I needed a map and when I found a map, the only thing I knew with certainty was that I needed to know more 
about the Parish before I could understand the map. Little did I think I’d find a familiar name common to both the flooding following Hurricane Katrina and the unfolding story of corruption in Jefferson Parish – the name, Aaron Broussard.
Flooding on the east bank has been frequently attributed to the decision by parish leadership to deactivate the stormwater pumping systems and evacuate the operators during the storm. Katrina’s substantial storm surge may have swamped even operating pumping stations but Broussard’s activation of the parish’s “Doomsday Plan” is the most frequently cited reason for the flooding in all areas of the east bank except Old Metairie and parts of Harahan.
A “doomsday plan” indeed! “Water resulting from the backflow through the non-operating pumping stations, as well as storm-related rainwater, remained on the streets and in the homes of residents of Metairie and Kenner for a day and a half…The resulting flooding of Jefferson Parish has been estimated by insurance industry sources at $3 to $5 billion.” Continue reading “The rising tide that’s sinking all ships – the flooding of Jefferson Parish following Hurricane Katrina”
Unslabbed made the prediction this morning and now it is official. Paul Rioux has the story and the party line for the Times Picayune. (The comments from TWalk spinning the story are priceless) Here at Slabbed we give Val Bracy at Fox8 the credit as her reporting on the Jefferson Parish payroll ghosts kicked started the chain of events while US Attorney Jim Letten did the rest. It was clear from the TV news reports that Wilkinson, despite the “pictures” he had on others in Parish government, was finally thrown under the bus due to his toxicity. The meaning of receiving a Target Letter is evidently lost on the pols in Jefferson Parish.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0xsRgivU4M]
sop
Well then you’ve come to the right place. I have read it and will update later with some analysis but I enjoyed researching the man behind this post about as much as I enjoyed reading the depo. (Yeah I know I’m weird that way). I won’t go into the specifics as Jefferson Parish residents well know the gory details but AB’s wiki entry is very enlightening as to the whoppers he told the national media after Katrina. Is it possible Mr Broussard does not know how to tell the truth? Frankly reading AB’s depo reminded me of the testimony of State Farm’s CEO Ed Rust in Watkins, a case out of Oklahoma City where the Farm screwed their policyholders after an F-5 tornado plowed through town. It took those poor souls 7 years to get State Farm to pay up. By comparison the developments with AB are moving at light speed.
Am I the only one that thinks Mr Broussard has a long lost relative in John Banner of Hogan’s Heroes fame? Below the fold I’ve embedded pictures of Mssrs. Banner and Broussard so our audience can decide for themselves. Continue reading “Did I hear someone say they wanted to read Aaron Broussard’s depo in the pumps lawsuit?”
Paul Rioux waded into yesterday’s Parish Council meeting and agenda item #84 full-bore for today’s Times Picayune. We’ve covered the issues and concerns held by Parish residents plus some yesterday on Slabbed. The Times Picayune stuck with the narrow issues in their reporting choosing to leave out the citizen questions about Paul Connick’s law firm providing the parish with professional services. He is just a minor partner there so I guess its is all good.
Next up is a story by Ed Anderson reporting on a bill sponsored in each chamber by two Metairie legislators that would that would strip corrupt public servants of their retirement bennies. Evidently in Louisiana the right of a corrupt pols to their retirement benefits is enshrined in the State constitution.
Next up is today’s editorial on the use of change orders to extend Parish Contracts. From the reporting and now this Oped it is clear the current meme that the current state of affairs is mostly Aaron Broussard’s fault remains alive and well though they did mention the Parish council. With few exceptions, given the campaign cash these “evergreen” contractors tossed to the members of the Parish council I have a hard time branding the contractors with the scarlet letter in isolation. Simply put the system would not exist if there weren’t corrupt pols on the other end of the transaction. Continue reading “Jefferson Parish News Miscellany: Item 84 on display as we enter the Jefferson Parish Council Twilight Zone”